Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is a strong player, consistently starting and playing most of the game in MLSNext. He's a kid with a lot of dedication, arriving early, doing drills outside of school, etc . . .

However, over the past two years, he's begun playing another sport, and he's fallen in love with it. He's at the point, where if he wants to keep growing in that sport he needs to move to a more intense/competitive team.

He's tempted to take a year off from club/travel soccer, but still train on his own, do some camps, maybe work with a private coach, to see how far he can get in the other sport. Then at the end of the year, he'll see where he is, and decide whether he wants to stick with the new sport, or go back to soccer. He very much wants to play one of the two sports in college.

Is this realistic? If so, what things would be the top priority to keep up his skills?

Is the other sport lacrosse? If so, I say go for it. The recruiting environment is much easier for boys lacrosse than soccer, and plenty of kids successfully make the switch. For other sports, I would be hesitant if the main priority is playing in college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a soccer boy the same age but he loves all sports. If it were him, I could see he’d spend the next year on the new sport and never go back to soccer. He’d get immersed in the new thing and soccer would slip away.

OP here,

That's fine if he does that. I think he'll spend the year playing the new sport, realize that he likes the new sport better and that he's also good at it, and continue playing the new sport throughout high school.

He's worried he won't be as good at the new sport, so he's trying to keep both options open, which is why I'm asking.

I'd be worried he was right as well. Assuming your child is equally amazing at another sport they haven't spent years playing is a bit ridiculous for this area. DMV is just not a plane kids can really swap out sports randomly once they hit high school. If it's not as established it's possible. If he's trying to switch to baseball.... yeah best of luck

Anonymous wrote:I have a soccer boy the same age but he loves all sports. If it were him, I could see he’d spend the next year on the new sport and never go back to soccer. He’d get immersed in the new thing and soccer would slip away.

OP here,

That's fine if he does that. I think he'll spend the year playing the new sport, realize that he likes the new sport better and that he's also good at it, and continue playing the new sport throughout high school.

He's worried he won't be as good at the new sport, so he's trying to keep both options open, which is why I'm asking.

OP says her son plays MLS Next so he does stand a realistic chance of playing college.

OP, our son took a break from travel soccer in 6th grade so at an earlier point. He wasn’t on an MLS Next team but a team that played at what today is ECNL level. He wanted to play travel baseball. We let him make the choice. Travel baseball was fine but he wasn’t a superstar and for the first time in his young athletic career sat on the bench a lot. Needless to say he regretted leaving soccer. Still I don’t regret that he tried a different path. I think otherwise he would always have thought “what if”. He had no issue finding a team when he went back but he wasn’t able to get a spot at the same level. He’s worked tirelessly over the last few years to reach his goal. The time off came at a price but also gave him a drive and determination that might not have appeared if he had stayed in one spot and gotten secure. It’s possible your son will thrive at his new sport and all will be well. It’s also possible he will miss soccer and the break will renew his fire.

Anonymous wrote:Odds are he won’t get recruited (or won’t want to attend schools where he’s recruited) so he should do whatever he likes but if he wants to keep playing soccer he needs to commit to a team for the year.

Or not play travel soccer. Tons of kids okay multiple sports with ease when it's not competitive level.

Odds are he won’t get recruited (or won’t want to attend schools where he’s recruited) so he should do whatever he likes but if he wants to keep playing soccer he needs to commit to a team for the year.