The only reason I would think about it is because there is a paid coach instead of parent volunteers which might mean that your child gets better instruction. That said, we have stuck with Rec Sports. They allow DC, now 10, time to play sports he likes while doing other activities. There is less of a commitment and time demand for the sport.

I can only speak for Arlington. But the best (and to me, the only) reason to have early elem kids try out for travel is it's so much easier to make a team at that age. By the time they're 10/11, most of the spots are filled so you can have 50/60 kids competing for a handful of spots.
But, paying 2k a year for an 8-year-old to play soccer is otherwise kinda crazy.

Anonymous wrote:The absolute worst player on our rec team made a Valor travel team one season. They literally do take everyone who can pay. Our age year has 5-6 travel teams.

Oh yeah, the low level VA Valor teams are pitiful.

As someone told me when i got into this world:

Travel sports is a lifestyle choice.

It's true.

The absolute worst player on our rec team made a Valor travel team one season. They literally do take everyone who can pay. Our age year has 5-6 travel teams.

2 practices a week and weekend games. Cost is $1500-2500. The clubs will take your money happily by making more teams, so as long as your kid is running in the right direction and not completely clueless, they will take him/her.

Anonymous wrote:By the way, the ckubs take everyone. They just make more sh!tty teams. Don't think your kid making a team means anything.

+1 in the early years. We fell for this in 3rd grade and most games were within an hour. There were some up to 2 hours away. Long and holiday weekends were tournaments. They play in all weather and it’s a year commitment with the same team. That’s a problem if they don’t like the coach and don’t become friends with the other kids, especially when they are young. My kid didn’t like it and went back to rec after that until middle school. At that point she understood the commitment and wanted more practices.

Check out the Soccer forums on the site

We have had a great experience but know that Holiday weekends are now tournaments (Labor Day, that Oct long weekend, Memorial Day), etc. You don’t just bail on games bc you want to go on vacation. Your kid won’t play if they miss games and practices and it leads to bad morale on the team.

By the way, the ckubs take everyone. They just make more sh!tty teams. Don't think your kid making a team means anything.

We do travel soccer and most games are in the DMV area. Most we’ve travelled is 1hour. There are several good teams in the area so most teams don’t have to travel that far for competitive games. Practice is 2 to 3 times a week with games on the weekend but not every weekend. This is for 3rd to 5th grade soccer.

OP, depending on the club, tournaments are not necessarily out of town at the elementary ages. I have kids playing at two different clubs, and the farthest we’ve traveled is 45-60 minutes.

Practices will be twice or more likely 3x weekly. And contrary to stereotypes, we’ve encountered few families who take it seriously and are imagining college scholarships. It’s mostly just kids who love the game and want to play more often than rec leagues provide.

^^ I should also add that when my kids got to high school level, they were traveling by plane to tournaments as far away as Cali. And my oldest went to Brazil with his soccer team. If your kid is good and is on a good team, the time and money commitment will only increase as they get older.

It's a big commitment. Time and money wise. There will be out-of-town tournaments and hotel stays. Practice is usually 2 to 3 nights a week. If you don't want to commit you could stick with school and rec level soccer.

I have two kids that both did travel soccer from elementary through high school.

I’m considering tryouts for my elementary school student and want to get a sense of the type of commitment it will require.

Please provide any insights.