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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I can vouch that it is hard to go from travel to rec.  We did both last year, and after the structure of the travel program and the dedication of the players, rec can be frustrating.  It's fun, but the girls goof around a lot at practice (if they show up) and are less likely to show up for games, so you end up very short-handed some weekends and praying one more girl will show up so you don't have to forfeit the game.  It's one thing for this to happen in kindergarten, but by 3rd grade when everyone's been playing for 4 years, you kind of figure maybe they could buckle down a bit for 2 hours a week.

We do love our rec team, though.[/quote]

It depends. *Generally*, the rec experience nose-dives at U9 (or whatever age your local club/league starts travel) but then perks back up by U12. The players who are just being pushed out there by their parents are gone, and players who played travel but chose different priorities are back in rec.

I'm coaching several former travel players this year at U14. They were initially shocked that so many players in the league were so good. Took an adjustment period.

But you can also get a group of kids that goofs off. Again, that's a little less of an issue as you get older -- kids mature (somewhat), and the kids who have no interest in soccer are long gone.

Forfeits and short-handed play, though, are a legitimate problem. A lot of these players are playing rec soccer because it's NOT their first priority. (I've seen a few counterexamples in which coaches somehow convince kids and their parents that this is the most important thing in the world.) They'll miss time for basketball, lacrosse, plays, music performances, etc.

And a lot of rec-league organizers make it worse. The Vienna approach under the longtime VP of House was to have small rosters because he viewed it as a mortal sin to have players on the bench. The result is that you're often one Scout trip away from asking out-of-shape players to get through all 70 minutes of a full-field game.

Rec leagues need more flexible rosters. Maybe ask on the registration form how much of a commitment each player is likely to make and bear that in mind when making the roster. If you put 20 people on a roster, you can probably deal with that one game in which all 20 show up, and you'll be grateful for all the times you have 6-7 players out but can still field a team.[/quote]

Regarding last point, I think 20 is exaggerating but you're right, often it is the parent's kid and a few of their close teammates that stuck around that get the most playing time.  If you're not that good in rec at U13 or above, do not expect to get much playing time.  I actually would favor the Vienna approach as most young kids don't see the point of going to practice and then sitting for most of the game.  You can't control the coaches once the season starts so you try to not give them the option of having a bench.  Also, at U8-U12 the games are really short, with bench players and equal time per player, a kid may only get 15-20 min a game, hardly worth the drive and in terms of development and fun, which is what rec should be about, nowhere nearly enough.  I like the idea of commitment column, but would need to specify that the info would only be used to avoid forfeits and the information SHOULD NOT be passed on to the coach, who could use it to pigeonhole a player and give them less attention and game time anyway.[/quote]

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