Reply to How good are travel teams in the low tier?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]First - until u13 kids play less than 11 v 11.   Teams combine and combine again as kids get older because you need more kids on older age teams.  Half the kids on your club’s u12 B team will be on the A team at u13.

Second - kids find other things they are interested in doing as they get older.  That starts in middle school and continues through high school.  Interests change.  Abilities change.  Time demands grow.  The best players at u9 are rarely the best players at u13, and those best players are rarely the best at u20s/college.  Probably the best player in my daughters club in her age group from u9 - u12 was hit hard by puberty growth spurts.  She ended up quitting at u15 and switched to lacrosse.  She was team captain for a Big10 lacrosse team though.  Another B team kid with my daughter switched to cross country in high school and ran for a Big10 school.

And - lots of kids will play because it is fun and it will help them make a varsity team in high school.  In areas with lots of soccer - if you quit club at a young age - you are not playing in high school.  Same with other big club sports that have caps on team numbers; volleyball, baseball, hockey.

B teams at young ages are standard.  My daughter played 4 years in college.  At u11 and u12 she was on her club’s B team as were 2 other girls (not the x-country kid) who also played 4 years in college.

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I agree that B players can become good enough to play high school or college soccer or even another sport. But B players aren’t going pro. Maybe for girls, that’s possible, but not for boys. Many of the kids on the A team aren’t aiming to play just to be good enough to play in high school or college, they’re hoping to go pro. I think that’s a completely different mindset.  Sure, they’ll have a great chance at college level soccer once they realize they may not be good enough to go pro. But the kids who eventually become pro aren’t playing on B teams, unless maybe they’re playing up and it’s a B team that is good.   I have no idea if my kid will succeed in going pro but the difference in his mindset from his B player brother or other players is stark. He’s not unique though as a couple of friends with talented kids have the same mindset.  I’m sure some other parents can relate with their soccer playing kids about what I’m talking about. [/quote]

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