Kate was the coach of the U9 Girls red, kids loved her. Results, meh

Anonymous wrote:One thing I learned, having a high schooler and a middle schooler now- that your kid doesnt have to be on the top team at u9, u10, u11, etc. There are a LOT of years for youth soccer.
You could have a team of u10 boys that crush the competition, and then 2 years later youll see only a few of them at a skill level for a top team, and then 2 years later it will be swapped.
U12/U13/U14 is when theyll start to all fall into place, and then at U15/16/17 is when it really gets going.

So dont feel like you have to absolutely make the right decision at U9/U10 or youll be screwed. Far from it.

So true---but only at certain Clubs. Some Clubs will hang on to the same team and offer no chance for advancement.

Our kid was never moved up. Kid could score 30 goals a season, anytime he was absent for a game they would lose. He was continually told he would move up. Anytime they played him up levels he would perform the same way, even better since he had better teammates around him.

It took taking him elsewhere for things to start coming together. He was behind a bit for playing many years below his level---but within in a 3 month period of time--speed of play was up and he advanced all the way up to the top at new Club.

But, yes, this insane emphasis on sorting U9/U10/U11 kids and banishing some to lower teams and not investing any time in the them, when so many kids on top teams peak at 9-11. Development system in the US is broken. Our timetable is off. Europe they don't even get serious about a kid's potential until 16/17--but then an American kid is finished.

Anonymous wrote:One thing I learned, having a high schooler and a middle schooler now- that your kid doesnt have to be on the top team at u9, u10, u11, etc. There are a LOT of years for youth soccer.
You could have a team of u10 boys that crush the competition, and then 2 years later youll see only a few of them at a skill level for a top team, and then 2 years later it will be swapped.
U12/U13/U14 is when theyll start to all fall into place, and then at U15/16/17 is when it really gets going.

So dont feel like you have to absolutely make the right decision at U9/U10 or youll be screwed. Far from it.

NP here. This is helpful to me. We are electing to do PPA rec which seems like a nice balance -- 2 practices a week + game. But then I get concerned that they should be doing travel etc...

One thing I learned, having a high schooler and a middle schooler now- that your kid doesnt have to be on the top team at u9, u10, u11, etc. There are a LOT of years for youth soccer.
You could have a team of u10 boys that crush the competition, and then 2 years later youll see only a few of them at a skill level for a top team, and then 2 years later it will be swapped.
U12/U13/U14 is when theyll start to all fall into place, and then at U15/16/17 is when it really gets going.

So dont feel like you have to absolutely make the right decision at U9/U10 or youll be screwed. Far from it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honest opinions please.
Is it playing on Stoddert Blue U9 "worth it" in terms of effort/time/money? Games are played in CCL.
Alternative would be things like: just sticking with rec, or playing in MSI classic, or playing in PPA (developmental or premier).
This is our 3rd child and we have become far more stingy with our time and money.
Willing to do it if the training and exposure to a higher level of play is worth it.

Boy or girl? Our daughter played U9 red this year, and I found the coaching to be uninspired at best.

who was the coach?

NP. I think Kate coached GU9 red. I could be wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honest opinions please.
Is it playing on Stoddert Blue U9 "worth it" in terms of effort/time/money? Games are played in CCL.
Alternative would be things like: just sticking with rec, or playing in MSI classic, or playing in PPA (developmental or premier).
This is our 3rd child and we have become far more stingy with our time and money.
Willing to do it if the training and exposure to a higher level of play is worth it.

Boy or girl? Our daughter played U9 red this year, and I found the coaching to be uninspired at best.

who was the coach?

Anonymous wrote:Honest opinions please.
Is it playing on Stoddert Blue U9 "worth it" in terms of effort/time/money? Games are played in CCL.
Alternative would be things like: just sticking with rec, or playing in MSI classic, or playing in PPA (developmental or premier).
This is our 3rd child and we have become far more stingy with our time and money.
Willing to do it if the training and exposure to a higher level of play is worth it.

You need to make up your mind about your priorities and your child's priorities. It's very extreme to be deciding between rec and a CCL travel team but I know other families who were conflicted like this and went with MSI Classic and played up one age group to U10. Don't burn yourselves out. If your child loves the game she'll still be loving the game at U12 when she'll really want a more competitive level of play and it's then that you can take the weekends to drive out to Roanoke or wherever.

The boys u9 and u10 teams were a wreck this year. Only accept if there are new coaches.

Anonymous wrote:Honest opinions please.
Is it playing on Stoddert Blue U9 "worth it" in terms of effort/time/money? Games are played in CCL.
Alternative would be things like: just sticking with rec, or playing in MSI classic, or playing in PPA (developmental or premier).
This is our 3rd child and we have become far more stingy with our time and money.
Willing to do it if the training and exposure to a higher level of play is worth it.

Boy or girl? Our daughter played U9 red this year, and I found the coaching to be uninspired at best.

Who is the coach?

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s worth it for the top team provided your son is enthusiastic about playing. I would choose a less expensive option if not.

I agree with this sentiment. My son played Stoddert U9 and U10 and loved the experience and improved significantly. The coaches are great with the kids and teach a love of the game along with top notch instruction. If your son made blue, he would be playing against the top teams in the region in CCL. True there is the once a season trek to Leesburg to play Loudoun, and to Poolesville, MD for Potomac. But it’s not 4 hrs of driving - that doesn’t happen at this age. The games in Arlington and McLean are pretty easy to get to. Rest of games are at Soccerplex which is the same for PPA Premier and MSI Classic, I think. The 4:30 twice a week practices can be tough unless you have a carpool.

I can say it was worth it for my son. But everyone is different. There are certainly other alternatives for furthering development that could be less expensive and may still be quality instruction and competition. Stoddert just happened to work well for us. You could always try out again at U10, U11, etc. if you went another route now.

Stoddert teams are weak. Not worth it.

I think it’s worth it for the top team provided your son is enthusiastic about playing. I would choose a less expensive option if not.

Travel at u9 is a waste. Save your money and time. A strong classic team will do more than spending 4+ hours driving to VA.

Honest opinions please.
Is it playing on Stoddert Blue U9 "worth it" in terms of effort/time/money? Games are played in CCL.
Alternative would be things like: just sticking with rec, or playing in MSI classic, or playing in PPA (developmental or premier).
This is our 3rd child and we have become far more stingy with our time and money.
Willing to do it if the training and exposure to a higher level of play is worth it.