Anonymous wrote:PP is correct. Same experience. Our first was the guinea pig and is now losing interest after 4 years of intense travel soccer. At 8, they are gung ho, but travel is a killer. With our youngest, we are delaying entry until older. Oldest is an exceptional soccer player too, but the clubs really overdo. Elementary school is too young for more then 2 days a week + a local weekend game. But you will see hundreds of families all going down this route . . . .

I’m 15:02. Do you think your oldest is losing interest because it was too much too soon or that he would have anyway? My older child plays a different sport competitively and decided to step back after 5 years and try other things. We think his interests have changed and we are okay with that.

Thanks to all for the replies discussing the pros and cons. It is a lot to consider.

RE the too much travel issue: that was my #1 concern when we were looking to move DD from Rec to travel, getting to practices and traveling to games is a huge burden on the family. Our solution was to find a smaller club close to home that only has one team per age group and the travel will be very limited. We are with FPYC and about 1/2 our games are at home and the other 1/2 were less than 1 hour away with maybe one exception.

I would switch to travel now. Once you hit full field play at U13 its more difficult to make the switch to travel from rec. We have been happy with VYS travel for girls this year.

PP is correct. Same experience. Our first was the guinea pig and is now losing interest after 4 years of intense travel soccer. At 8, they are gung ho, but travel is a killer. With our youngest, we are delaying entry until older. Oldest is an exceptional soccer player too, but the clubs really overdo. Elementary school is too young for more then 2 days a week + a local weekend game. But you will see hundreds of families all going down this route . . . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

Our DD is slightly older but we made the mistake of doing travel at u9. If I had it to do over I would find a select/classic team that is competitive and has a good coach who knows the game. Maybe even a parent coach who has played soccer at a high level. At the end of the day, what killed travelfor me at that age was the actual travel. We traveled all over to play against teams that weren't that good. The reality is that at that age, it does not make sense to travel all over the DMV playing games. It is probably more efficient to use that time training. U12 or u13 is the age when travel becomes critical. By u14 for sure. Don't fall into the trap that you have to do travel at u9 because you don't. Use your time and money to invest in training.

Well that is really the trick isn't it. So, now please share with the class how you do that.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

Our DD is slightly older but we made the mistake of doing travel at u9. If I had it to do over I would find a select/classic team that is competitive and has a good coach who knows the game. Maybe even a parent coach who has played soccer at a high level. At the end of the day, what killed travelfor me at that age was the actual travel. We traveled all over to play against teams that weren't that good. The reality is that at that age, it does not make sense to travel all over the DMV playing games. It is probably more efficient to use that time training. U12 or u13 is the age when travel becomes critical. By u14 for sure. Don't fall into the trap that you have to do travel at u9 because you don't. Use your time and money to invest in training.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

We faced a similar dilemma when our DD was young. We turned to travel and have not had any regrets (other than those about the confused state of travel soccer in this country). As you say, it can be hard to leave those friendships but the reality is that many rec teams begin to dissolve as girls peel away for various reasons. In my opinion, the longer you wait to enter travel, the tougher it is to excel. Soccer technical skills are most easily learned when very young. Even in rec, you can replace the typically better training in travel by getting extra training, or self practice, but the reality is, the motivation and increased intensity in the travel environment really helps with that.

Anonymous wrote:Going from oldest (house) to youngest (club) could be overwhelming, based on size but also potential skills development. It isn't an issue with all girls, but it might take a while for the gap to close if the skills gap and size are larger.

I know. That’s my concern both for skills and socially. But if she ever wants to make the jump to travel she will always have this issue with age so I’m thinking it’s easier for her to do when she’s younger. Is that right?

Anonymous wrote:
... At that age we continued to play rec but skip the rec practices. It depends on the scheduling but sometimes you can make a lot of the rec games(sometimes not). By the end of the season, she was not really having fun in rec. .

Your DC played travel and rec games only? or just rec games?

Going from oldest (house) to youngest (club) could be overwhelming, based on size but also potential skills development. It isn't an issue with all girls, but it might take a while for the gap to close if the skills gap and size are larger.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

So the spring tryouts will be for u9 next year(fall 2018 - spring 2019). If she loves soccer she will be around girls who want to play soccer and are a lot more focused. The coaching at that year group is about keeping it fun. If it isn’t find a new club. She will get a professional coach, play against tough competition, have a ref during the games, get a cool uniform with a backpack and develop her skills. The skills development part is the biggest thing. It will allow her to control the ball and become a better player. The downside will be the commitment on your part and it can be a lot of soccer.

At that age we continued to play rec but skip the rec practices. It depends on the scheduling but sometimes you can make a lot of the rec games(sometimes not). By the end of the season, she was not really having fun in rec. The girls make friends on the new team pretty quickly. The u9 year is usually the first year for travel, so most of the girls will be new also.

You can contact the club(start with the u9 coach) and say you are interested in travel soccer. See if you can attend a practice and get feel for what it will be like. Remember the drills and things may be intimidating because the girls on the u9 team will have at least six months of practice time and are a year older.

Anonymous wrote:age groups should be same for rec or travel. by birth year

I’m PP. VYS is not birth year for house. She plays with her grade level not birth year. Most girls were born in 2011.

age groups should be same for rec or travel. by birth year

Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

It’s the time of year that we start seeing new girls practicing at our club and the new parents always have a boatload of questions. I remember when we first started looking into travel soccer and how confusing everything is. So ask your questions and everyone chime in. Remember to give a rough age and location. Some answers will be different based on age and location.

I will start off with advice for those who have not done travel, but are interested. Remember there are lots of level of soccer in this area. This will be for the younger side u9-u12ish. So right now is the time to contact clubs in your area and arrange to attend a practice or two. Questions to ask: is this where all your practice will be held, how many days do you practice during the week, what happen if she misses a practice or comes late, do girls have positions(position should not be defined till about u12) and what are you teaching(should be individual skills till u12 ish). See if you like the coach and the way practice is run. Is it appropriate for your daughter. Visit a few clubs and compare. Ask your daughter what she likes and dislikes about each one. Travel soccer is a commitment. Do your home work. Just a few thoughts.