Reply to Searching for a Good U9 Travel Program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We have multiple kids in various sports and while our oldest is doing well and enjoying his travel soccer team, our younger son is on a U9 team in the same club and having a not-so-great experience. He thrives based on encouragement and so far, the coaching has been extremely impersonal. It’s also clear that the coach plays favorites, but we expected that. We don’t put too much stake in it all at this age and don’t need anything super intense, but also recognize that these are formative years in a sport that he considers his favorite. Are there any U9 travel teams in the area you’ve had a positive experience with? A coach that wants to actually form a relationship and help the kids grow without too many politics?[/quote]

Most clubs' coaches at younger age levels don't age up with the kids, so if you want a team that might offer a chance to build a long-term relationship with the coach (and his teammates), you might need to seek out parent-led travel teams and/or you should beging asking clubs about the longevity of their coaching staff and how long coaches stay with their groups (e.g. 1 year, 2, 3, until they graduate).[/quote]

Yes, and we know ours won’t age up with our son, so we can always just suck it up and get through this year. But coming off of a year off from soccer due to Covid, I quickly saw my son’s excitement to play turn into disappointment in that his coach just doesn’t seem to connect to the boys. So if we could potentially switch to a new team that he actually enjoys, I think it could make a difference for him. Doesn’t need to be a relationship so to speak, just a rapport really where he’d feel engaged.[/quote]

Many young coaches and/or coaches who don't have children of their own and are paid simply lack many of these relationship skills because they don't know what it's like for young kids the way parents do. I'm not saying the coach then has to be a parent of one of the kids on the team, but if the coach has had children of their own/parented children the age of your kid, often they simply better understand how to communicate with children of those ages.[/quote]

That’s asinine. You may as well say no one should be a teach if they don’t have kids. Plus there are plenty of crappy parents, they didn’t magically become great at working with kids because they popped out a kid or got some lady pregnant. There are good coaches and bad coaches - some go on to have kids, some don’t. Maybe having a child changes their coaching for the better, maybe sleepless nights and stretched finances make them more irritable or only in it for the extra paycheck.

Your bigger clubs with a longer history of development run a higher probability of having good coaches at any given age. Of course, you should attend some trainings and matches to confirm for yourself as there will be outliers. You may find a coach at McLean/Arlington/Alexandria that isn’t a good fit or isn’t a good coach. You might find a unicorn at Vienna/Reston/Villareal or another smaller club who is a good coach. Look at whether they provide any real instruction and feedback, see how the players play. Good luck, it sucks. Every training session and match run by a terrible coach is pure hell, especially knowing you are paying a ton of money for it. [/quote]

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