Anonymous wrote:Op, totally agree! One of my kids is on the highest non-travel team (we only have one travel team at each age) and the club is considering going to two.

She’s going into 4th grade. There’s no chance I’d put her on a travel team and spend the money to send her to Dallas/Denver/LA/or North Carolina for a week twice a year.

The highest non-travel team? So, a rec team? How is there a highest rec team?

Op, totally agree! One of my kids is on the highest non-travel team (we only have one travel team at each age) and the club is considering going to two.

She’s going into 4th grade. There’s no chance I’d put her on a travel team and spend the money to send her to Dallas/Denver/LA/or North Carolina for a week twice a year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been this way for years. Extra fun to “travel” to play against another local team.

Better yet, drive hours away to play a team despite living 15 minutes from 5 other clubs.

Yes! It’s a scam, a total scam. Travel teams started when there was one group of standout players on a team in a city and they didn’t have competition so they drove to play the team of standout players in the next big city. Now there are SO many kids playing travel in the SAME city, but somehow you have to pay to drive 5 hours to another state and stay in a hotel and buy food….it’s a scam.

Scam isn't really the right word since it implies fraud. Here, you know what you're buying, and they just execute it. People keep paying, and the clubs just keep executing. It is not unlike fast food. Everyone knows it's not the healthiest thing you can eat, but it continues to sell. When you stop paying, they'll stop. Promptly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been this way for years. Extra fun to “travel” to play against another local team.

Better yet, drive hours away to play a team despite living 15 minutes from 5 other clubs.

Yes! It’s a scam, a total scam. Travel teams started when there was one group of standout players on a team in a city and they didn’t have competition so they drove to play the team of standout players in the next big city. Now there are SO many kids playing travel in the SAME city, but somehow you have to pay to drive 5 hours to another state and stay in a hotel and buy food….it’s a scam.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay to play.

Capitalism! If it's not worth it to you, don't do it. The market sets the price.

...so sick of all of the 'money grab' commenters.

If it was straight capitalism, I’d agree with you.

I know a couple of coaches who’ve looked into starting clubs - and one who did - as well as another guy who runs a (disintegrating) one. The way that many localities dole out public field space makes it very difficult to get a new club off the ground. The club needs to be a non-profit, which limits the profit motive...If you do go the for-profit route (Barca, St. James), non-profit clubs may block you from joining their leagues. If you were to try to start a club tomorrow, in many jurisdictions (such as Fairfax and PW), a new applicant has a 6 month waiting period before being eligible to receive field space. Many places a club also needs at least 5 teams and to have a rec program, in order to get space. Hard to have 5 teams signed up when your only near-term option may be renting private space, which is limited and expensive. The reality is, trying to start up a viable competitor in a lot of places is extremely difficult (Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun) and why those local ‘flagship’ clubs have run virtually unchecked since the 70s.

I don't fault parents or kids for buying into the system. The reality is that by u14/15, the kids whose parents had been paying insane fees and traveling since u9, will get moved to lower teams to make room for kids who were playing for smaller clubs with better coaches and less traveling. What these parents didn't learn until it was too late is that what is important is good training and solid playing experience. That does not have to be at an elite club at u10.

Anonymous wrote:It’s been this way for years. Extra fun to “travel” to play against another local team.

Better yet, drive hours away to play a team despite living 15 minutes from 5 other clubs.

Anonymous wrote:Pay to play.

Capitalism! If it's not worth it to you, don't do it. The market sets the price.

...so sick of all of the 'money grab' commenters.

It’s been this way for years. Extra fun to “travel” to play against another local team.

Pay to play.

There are plenty of travel teams that are not 3K.

My kid was a bottom dweller for years, but is now playing at a very high level. We were willing to keep paying, if DC was willing to keep applying their self. The system worked for our child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in rec you have a volunteer parent. 95% of volunteer parents don't know how to coach the sport.

You are asking 1 person with a full time job and kids at home to be a coaching genius and know how to train every age group as the kids go from U9 to U19... for free.

i get this but to pay $3K+as a young travel player on a 4th rate team seems insane regardless.

Then stay in travel and not worry about other people's money or choices? Or are the rec players getting too thin for you?

Anonymous wrote:in rec you have a volunteer parent. 95% of volunteer parents don't know how to coach the sport.

You are asking 1 person with a full time job and kids at home to be a coaching genius and know how to train every age group as the kids go from U9 to U19... for free.

i get this but to pay $3K+as a young travel player on a 4th rate team seems insane regardless.

in rec you have a volunteer parent. 95% of volunteer parents don't know how to coach the sport.

You are asking 1 person with a full time job and kids at home to be a coaching genius and know how to train every age group as the kids go from U9 to U19... for free.

Has anyone noticed this? I realize all clubs took a hit from COVID but now it is as if anyone can make a travel team. Parents are paying thousands of $$$ to be on a mediocre travel soccer team. This is nothing like it used to be even just a few years ago where just to make a travel team was super competitive. Rec leagues now can barely make up a few teams where they used to have several per age group. Just an observation from a parent who has had a kid on a travel soccer team for several years. Now younger kid has been doing rec soccer and was asked to tryout for travel this year… opted not to due to another sport he excels more at. But honestly the likely hood would be he’d make a 3rd or 4th travel team for soccer…. Just did not seem right.