Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DD, 11, is in tryouts this week. She has been on the "pre ECRL" team for her club for three years, and is one of the top girls on that team. But, the club has a history of dropping the majority of that team in favor of girls coming in from outside when the teams go NL/RL (many girls in the area come to the club that year for the NL/RL option). DD was injured for about half of the fall season. She has been "guesting" for another club recently who has had more training and a couple of tournaments. She has an offer to join them next season. It is a nice club with athletic kids who play multiple sports, so they don't take the soccer as seriously but probably have more balanced lives (we are in Southern CA where soccer is year round and taken very seriously). DD played poorly in the first day of (unofficial) tryouts for her normal club. They combine the NL and RL girls and it's challenging for her both physically and mentally. We need to prioritize tryouts this week (they overlap). I don't know if it is worth really pushing her tonight at the NL/RL tryout. She will be on the bubble to make the RL team, though we know 2 girls who think they WILL make it who are not better than DD. But, is being one of the lowest players on an RL team worth it? Are we just going to be paying tons to travel to games where she won't play more than 5 minutes? If she drops out of the RL path, it's likely forever (too hard to get back in). Any advice from people who have BTDT?
It's hard for us to judge since it's probably a different market. I would go with your instinct. I would look for a team where she gets more playing time at this age. If there are other clubs nearby, go to a tryout or watch a game. Think about how your kid would fit in with the other teams. You really want the playing time at this age. If they are good enough in the future, they can always make another team.