Reply to Spring Travel Soccer Tryouts 2018

Forum Index » Soccer

Reply to "Spring Travel Soccer Tryouts 2018"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]23:49 - that seems to be happening more and more.  I was talking to a parent last night whose kindergartner is already being scouted to play up a year in travel.  (their 3rd grader plays travel and the K girl has had a lot of exposure.)  And the 2009 roster included a bunch of 2010 girls playing up, who will likely step back to 2010 rosters next year and dominate.[/quote]

Scouting in kindergarten?  [/quote]

So my younger daughter played up at U9...she spent a lot of time as a 4-7 year old at her big sister's practice field and games, always had a ball at her feet, loves to juggle, etc.  Played in the travel club's pre-travel program. Also played rec with her school friends.  Didn't mind drills and repetition from an early age.  So when the club's TD asked us if she'd be interested in playing with the U9s as a seven year old, we asked her, and she said yes and we said yes.  That happens a lot in our club.  Fast forward a few years, she's still playing and still loves it as an eighth grader.  So I'd say for her, it was the right decision.  She played up until U13, then dropped back down to her true age group when her size became an issue. So for some kids, playing up is the right call.  We appreciated the opportunity.  Is that recruiting?  I guess.  Did it give her a leg up on new kids coming in at U9? Of course.  But coaches understand the distinction between a play up and a new travel player and know that over time, that gap will close as the new player catches up on foot skills and gains confidence.

It just seems like the PP is framing this sort of scenario as some kind of injustice and favoritism. If a kid shows a love for the game and an interest in playing at a higher level at a younger age, why is that a problem?  My kid enjoyed rec with her friends, but was ready for something more than "sharks and minnows" at a younger age.  That's the choice we made - totally get that it's not for everyone.  And, yes an advance year of formal training IS going to make my 8 year old look different than one who didn't play up but any coach worth his salt will understand why that difference exists and not overlook a new kid with good potential.

Maybe not everything in travel soccer is a conspiracy, you know? Or maybe I don't understand the PP's issue/beef. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics