Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Contact the coaches and have your son practice with the team/club age-group outside of the tryout process. It's getting late in the spring season so there may not be many of those opportunities left.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. Many clubs will find a team for your player especially after the first check clears.

I really wish we'd stop saying that. At U9 and U10, the bigger clubs typically have twice as many kids trying out as they have spots available. No checks can change the basic math.

Yes, you could race around to a smaller club. Not sure if it's still the case with the merger, but Great Falls used to be pretty wide-open. Maybe Cugini, FCBescola, PAC, some other smaller club. That may or may not work.

But let's quit telling parents, "oh, anyone can play travel." It's not always true.

No it is pretty much true. Big clubs are not terribly selective, they simply find the suitable placement for the kid. They will continue to add teams as long as a basic level of talent supports another team. Arlington and Loudoun will go up to 6 teams deep if they need to. If the kid can play soccer he will find a travel team.

Just saying, Arlington teams placed in almost all ages, sexes and tournaments this past Memorial weekend. Their 6 teams, and less at older ages, are all still competitive despite the number of teams.

OP here, thank you all. He knows that he needs to perform differently at the next tryouts. Even if he does, I'm not sure it will be sufficient. He would be happy with an offer from any level of our league's travel teams. If it doesn't happen this year, I'll encourage him to do the summer futsal offered through our county, play rec next year, keep practicing, and try again next year.

My U9 daughter had a horrendous first tryout night this year. Basically stood in on the field as a defender and talked to a new friend. I don't think she even realized what she was doing.
We asked her that evening what had happened and had a long talk. She was quite upset and we told her to try her best at tryout #2. We told her that there are few times in life when you
get a "do-over" but she was getting one so she should use the first day as a practice, relax, and do her best.

She ended up rocking the second tryout getting a spot on the A team of one of the big clubs. I know it's easier to break in at U9 when teams are forming but moral of my story is that
a kid can have a horrendous day 1 and make the team on day 2.

By U10 some of the kids have been playing together. It’s hard to break into the group. If you are new to the team, they do not pass to you. I was watched my DD pass, set up give and goes, make over lapping runs, etc. I could see what she was doing, but it does not work at a u10 tryout.

Op here. They did a reasonable job of mixing up current travel players with newbies (as far as I could tell based on the kids I am familiar with). The situation was really on DS and he knows that.

Anonymous wrote:By U10 some of the kids have been playing together. It’s hard to break into the group. If you are new to the team, they do not pass to you. I was watched my DD pass, set up give and goes, make over lapping runs, etc. I could see what she was doing, but it does not work at a u10 tryout.

Coaches are smarter than that.

Also at one tryout saw a mom from my U7's team there with her child at the U10 tryouts...to 'weigh their options'. Said child is in kindergarten. Kind of felt like an alternate reality.

Anonymous wrote:By U10 some of the kids have been playing together. It’s hard to break into the group. If you are new to the team, they do not pass to you. I was watched my DD pass, set up give and goes, make over lapping runs, etc. I could see what she was doing, but it does not work at a u10 tryout.

+1 my son is not the fastest but he is good with ball distribution, but at tryouts it was nearly impossible for him to break into the existing team.

By U10 some of the kids have been playing together. It’s hard to break into the group. If you are new to the team, they do not pass to you. I was watched my DD pass, set up give and goes, make over lapping runs, etc. I could see what she was doing, but it does not work at a u10 tryout.

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of people who say this because their children are very talented and they see much poorer players getting on "travel" teams. There are more travel teams than ever but, no, there isn't a travel team for everyone.
DS has 3 friends who are decent athletes and tried out last year and did not make any of the teams in No. Va.. They tried about 5 teams. I guess if you are being very literal they could have tried teams in Maryland.

Then they needed to try 6 clubs or they are shooting to high. There is a team for nearly every kid who wants to play soccer at 8-9 years old.

I know a lot of people who say this because their children are very talented and they see much poorer players getting on "travel" teams. There are more travel teams than ever but, no, there isn't a travel team for everyone.
DS has 3 friends who are decent athletes and tried out last year and did not make any of the teams in No. Va.. They tried about 5 teams. I guess if you are being very literal they could have tried teams in Maryland.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Contact the coaches and have your son practice with the team/club age-group outside of the tryout process. It's getting late in the spring season so there may not be many of those opportunities left.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. Many clubs will find a team for your player especially after the first check clears.

I really wish we'd stop saying that. At U9 and U10, the bigger clubs typically have twice as many kids trying out as they have spots available. No checks can change the basic math.

Yes, you could race around to a smaller club. Not sure if it's still the case with the merger, but Great Falls used to be pretty wide-open. Maybe Cugini, FCBescola, PAC, some other smaller club. That may or may not work.

But let's quit telling parents, "oh, anyone can play travel." It's not always true.

No it is pretty much true. Big clubs are not terribly selective, they simply find the suitable placement for the kid. They will continue to add teams as long as a basic level of talent supports another team. Arlington and Loudoun will go up to 6 teams deep if they need to. If the kid can play soccer he will find a travel team.

100 kids. 44 spaces.

At Arlington, with six teams, maybe 120-150 kids for 66 spaces.

Plenty of kids who can play soccer don't make travel teams, at least not at the big clubs. (And plenty of kids who CAN'T play soccer DO make travel teams. Tryouts aren't perfect.)

Arlington had less kids than you put there. They were holding post-tryout sessions. The girls' side even less. Most kids could find a spot and that is just one Club. You can drive anywhere and find a Club willing to take a kid. It's the 'drive' that is the issue.

And this is why RantingSoccerDad needs to step away form the keyboard. He needs to stop telling people what to do based on experience from a decade ago.

Travel soccer is more inclusive than it was when he played as a kid and therefor there are spots for most kids who really do wish to play. Clubs generally do not turn away 8 and 9 year old kids unless they truly cannot find a spot for them. If a kid doesn't make a team it is because they are either truly limited by coaching and fields or they simply do not have enough kids to round out that one last team.

Yes. There is a travel team for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:I have one child who tries out well and one who doesn’t. The one who tries out well isn’t the better athlete. He just has the attitude that tryouts are really fun. I have no idea where that comes from. My son who tries out poorly keeps asking to tryout again. So at least he isn’t giving up. We just help him to reframe failures as practice opportunities for future tryouts.

By the way, my son who tries out well actually has severe anxiety on the field in game situations and was sent down a team after the season started. He has teammates who moved up after it was clear they just had a bad tryout. And some of the kids who started out on the bottom team and looked shaky at best are now far better players than my son two years later. As for my son’s anxiety on the field, it’s frustrating and there hasn’t been an easy answer. What has helped is that his coach recognized where he is strongest on the field and keeps him there. I know it goes against the advice you read about specializing but it keeps him in the game (and we aren’t looking for a college scholarship) . The more success he has in his position, the more confident he is. He definitely still has bad days but we worked a lot on coping statements for when he makes a mistake (“flush it” or “the most important play is the next one”).

If this year doesn’t work out, try for a select level team so he gets good training and come back next year.

Yes. In the pros they call the one that can't play well in games a "practice player". I see a lot of kids that can look good in a tryout or practice, but never perform in the games.

The other issue is really the tryout format. Some kids' style of play doesn't fit the tryout mold of chaotic scrimmages where nobody passes and don't know how to move. They do this in older age groups too--don't give the ball up so they have more time with it to be seen more by evaluators--and keep dribbling into the ground. Tryout format like that does not favor intelligent players.

That's why, in an ideal world, kids would be based on things other than merely scrimmages. With the size of tryouts in this area it isn't possible. For one kid, I really had to search high and low for somewhere that really saw him for what he was. He is now in a position that requires speed and the coaches talk about his speed...and two Clubs prior to that cited it as one of his weak points which we never understood because he could chase anyone down and was a very quick decision maker, had agility. He is one of the faster kids on the field now--and hasn't hit his growth spurt just shy of 13. Finally, got him out of the bottom tier and he is on a top team and excelling. I still don't get the speed thing--except at first tryout at U9 they were timing kids and he was one of the few that didn't cheat and go off the line much earlier than the whistle. Why anyone is timing U9 players is frickin' beyond me as well....

Everyone has his/her own problem. My son had no problem making A team but got super nervous about SOLs. He’s now haunted by the thought of failing one test no matter what I told him. If only he had the same confidence on his academic abilities...

I have one child who tries out well and one who doesn’t. The one who tries out well isn’t the better athlete. He just has the attitude that tryouts are really fun. I have no idea where that comes from. My son who tries out poorly keeps asking to tryout again. So at least he isn’t giving up. We just help him to reframe failures as practice opportunities for future tryouts.

By the way, my son who tries out well actually has severe anxiety on the field in game situations and was sent down a team after the season started. He has teammates who moved up after it was clear they just had a bad tryout. And some of the kids who started out on the bottom team and looked shaky at best are now far better players than my son two years later. As for my son’s anxiety on the field, it’s frustrating and there hasn’t been an easy answer. What has helped is that his coach recognized where he is strongest on the field and keeps him there. I know it goes against the advice you read about specializing but it keeps him in the game (and we aren’t looking for a college scholarship) . The more success he has in his position, the more confident he is. He definitely still has bad days but we worked a lot on coping statements for when he makes a mistake (“flush it” or “the most important play is the next one”).

If this year doesn’t work out, try for a select level team so he gets good training and come back next year.

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Contact the coaches and have your son practice with the team/club age-group outside of the tryout process. It's getting late in the spring season so there may not be many of those opportunities left.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. Many clubs will find a team for your player especially after the first check clears.

I really wish we'd stop saying that. At U9 and U10, the bigger clubs typically have twice as many kids trying out as they have spots available. No checks can change the basic math.

Yes, you could race around to a smaller club. Not sure if it's still the case with the merger, but Great Falls used to be pretty wide-open. Maybe Cugini, FCBescola, PAC, some other smaller club. That may or may not work.

But let's quit telling parents, "oh, anyone can play travel." It's not always true.

No it is pretty much true. Big clubs are not terribly selective, they simply find the suitable placement for the kid. They will continue to add teams as long as a basic level of talent supports another team. Arlington and Loudoun will go up to 6 teams deep if they need to. If the kid can play soccer he will find a travel team.

100 kids. 44 spaces.

At Arlington, with six teams, maybe 120-150 kids for 66 spaces.

Plenty of kids who can play soccer don't make travel teams, at least not at the big clubs. (And plenty of kids who CAN'T play soccer DO make travel teams. Tryouts aren't perfect.)

Arlington had less kids than you put there. They were holding post-tryout sessions. The girls' side even less. Most kids could find a spot and that is just one Club. You can drive anywhere and find a Club willing to take a kid. It's the 'drive' that is the issue.

And this is why RantingSoccerDad needs to step away form the keyboard. He needs to stop telling people what to do based on experience from a decade ago.

Travel soccer is more inclusive than it was when he played as a kid and therefor there are spots for most kids who really do wish to play. Clubs generally do not turn away 8 and 9 year old kids unless they truly cannot find a spot for them. If a kid doesn't make a team it is because they are either truly limited by coaching and fields or they simply do not have enough kids to round out that one last team.