Anonymous
03/11/2021 15:10
Subject: Re:When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:honestly 7 or 8 is normal to join a u9 travel team. I personally would recommend at 7 joining a pre-travel program and skipping last year of rec as to not learn bad habits and to train with more serious players and professional coaching .
yes, those serious 7 year olds are absolutely dedicated to their craft
Your point is valid. On the other hand rec does take a nosedive both in ability and degree of focus / interest from the kids over the year or two that most of the more able and motivated kids leave for travel.
Anonymous
03/11/2021 15:05
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
^^ this. Let your kid keep having fun playing. Plenty of time to move up later, when it is more developmentally appropriate, in 4th or 5th grade. Best way to get a kid to hate something? Overdo it, taking the fun out of it
Anonymous
03/11/2021 14:08
Subject: Re:When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
You're already too late. But don't worry there are plenty of teams that will milk you dry to give you an illusion that your kid is talented.
Anonymous
03/11/2021 14:06
Subject: Re:When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
5th grade.
Anonymous
03/11/2021 14:01
Subject: Re:When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
Anonymous wrote:honestly 7 or 8 is normal to join a u9 travel team. I personally would recommend at 7 joining a pre-travel program and skipping last year of rec as to not learn bad habits and to train with more serious players and professional coaching .
yes, those serious 7 year olds are absolutely dedicated to their craft
Anonymous
03/11/2021 13:50
Subject: Re:When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
honestly 7 or 8 is normal to join a u9 travel team. I personally would recommend at 7 joining a pre-travel program and skipping last year of rec as to not learn bad habits and to train with more serious players and professional coaching .
Anonymous
03/11/2021 13:07
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
Should make switch from Rec to Travel at 3 years old or else your kid will be behind in college recruiting
Anonymous
03/11/2021 12:33
Subject: Re:When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
Anonymous wrote:If he's 1st grade then I'm guessing he would be U8 for fall? I'd try an academy type setting for the next year instead of just being on a team. He will learn a lot more about ball mastery. Then be better prepared to try and make a U9 travel team the following year.
If he is one of the best players in his rec league he won't have any problems being good enough for a U9 travel team when the time comes. Much of the battle is just being on top of when there might be tryouts/teams forming, but it sounds like your current rec program offers travel so presumably you can contact your current league to find out when tryouts for fall/U9 would take place so you don't miss out (many tryouts are in late spring for fall teams).
Anonymous
03/11/2021 12:19
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If he is interested and is willing to work hard and go against very competitive and highly skilled players (in both practice and in games vs. other teams), then there is no reason not to have him play travel as soon possible.
You probably are a bit too late for the spring, but tryouts for the fall will be here very soon.
If you are in DC, Stoddert is fine. If you are near the MD border, you would also look into Bethesda and Potomac. If you are near the VA border, take a look at Arington, McLean, and Alexandria. At this age, no need to travel past any of these clubs.
At what age would you travel past Bethesda or Arlington? And where would you go exactly?
If you spent a couple of years in those programs and didn’t enjoy it, then you should look into other (perhaps further) programs than those.
My point is that when starting out at this age go to a travel club that is closest to you.
Anonymous
03/11/2021 12:03
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
Anonymous wrote:If he is interested and is willing to work hard and go against very competitive and highly skilled players (in both practice and in games vs. other teams), then there is no reason not to have him play travel as soon possible.
You probably are a bit too late for the spring, but tryouts for the fall will be here very soon.
If you are in DC, Stoddert is fine. If you are near the MD border, you would also look into Bethesda and Potomac. If you are near the VA border, take a look at Arington, McLean, and Alexandria. At this age, no need to travel past any of these clubs.
At what age would you travel past Bethesda or Arlington? And where would you go exactly?
Anonymous
03/11/2021 11:59
Subject: Re:When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
If he's 1st grade then I'm guessing he would be U8 for fall? I'd try an academy type setting for the next year instead of just being on a team. He will learn a lot more about ball mastery. Then be better prepared to try and make a U9 travel team the following year.
Anonymous
03/11/2021 11:42
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
Anonymous wrote:We are new to the soccer world. So we are grateful to your advice.
We have an enthusiastic, motivated and highly capable 1st grader soccer player. Our hope is that he continues to grow in love of the game, develop new skills, and have fun.
He has shown to be one of the better players in his rec league. He will play in this league in the Spring.
We'd love advice for when we should start thinking about him moving past rec soccer? Or should we be happy with rec soccer for a few more years, considering he loves other sports too like basketball and baseball. Although he is good at these other sports, we feel that soccer is where he might best excel based upon speed, footwork, and knowing where to be. None of these skills he got from either of me or my wife, but it's a joy to watch
Also, are there leagues that you'd recommend? He currently plays Stoddert. He also tried DCYFC which he liked, but it was hard because he didn't know any of the other players.
Thanks, in advance!
Any travel club will let you do a couple free training sessions; then you can see where you child belongs and most importantly you can see if your child enjoys it.
Anonymous
03/11/2021 11:41
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
If he is interested and is willing to work hard and go against very competitive and highly skilled players (in both practice and in games vs. other teams), then there is no reason not to have him play travel as soon possible.
You probably are a bit too late for the spring, but tryouts for the fall will be here very soon.
If you are in DC, Stoddert is fine. If you are near the MD border, you would also look into Bethesda and Potomac. If you are near the VA border, take a look at Arington, McLean, and Alexandria. At this age, no need to travel past any of these clubs.
You probably are a bit too late for the spring, but tryouts for the fall will be here very soon.
If you are in DC, Stoddert is fine. If you are near the MD border, you would also look into Bethesda and Potomac. If you are near the VA border, take a look at Arington, McLean, and Alexandria. At this age, no need to travel past any of these clubs.
Anonymous
03/11/2021 11:40
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
U9 is a standard entry year, but tons of kids make the move earlier or later. If your happy with rec and he's happy with rec, stick with rec
Anonymous
03/11/2021 11:37
Subject: When to switch from "rec" to "travel" for a motivated player
We are new to the soccer world. So we are grateful to your advice.
We have an enthusiastic, motivated and highly capable 1st grader soccer player. Our hope is that he continues to grow in love of the game, develop new skills, and have fun.
He has shown to be one of the better players in his rec league. He will play in this league in the Spring.
We'd love advice for when we should start thinking about him moving past rec soccer? Or should we be happy with rec soccer for a few more years, considering he loves other sports too like basketball and baseball. Although he is good at these other sports, we feel that soccer is where he might best excel based upon speed, footwork, and knowing where to be. None of these skills he got from either of me or my wife, but it's a joy to watch
Also, are there leagues that you'd recommend? He currently plays Stoddert. He also tried DCYFC which he liked, but it was hard because he didn't know any of the other players.
Thanks, in advance!
We have an enthusiastic, motivated and highly capable 1st grader soccer player. Our hope is that he continues to grow in love of the game, develop new skills, and have fun.
He has shown to be one of the better players in his rec league. He will play in this league in the Spring.
We'd love advice for when we should start thinking about him moving past rec soccer? Or should we be happy with rec soccer for a few more years, considering he loves other sports too like basketball and baseball. Although he is good at these other sports, we feel that soccer is where he might best excel based upon speed, footwork, and knowing where to be. None of these skills he got from either of me or my wife, but it's a joy to watch
Also, are there leagues that you'd recommend? He currently plays Stoddert. He also tried DCYFC which he liked, but it was hard because he didn't know any of the other players.
Thanks, in advance!