Anonymous wrote:Taking a break from soccer will actually help them improve. Don't buy into the BS that you have to train everyday/everyhour.

Please explain how a potentially “significant” break makes them improve?

No one says you need to train every day or every hour. The frequency and consistency depends on the player's goals.

Taking a break from soccer will actually help them improve. Don't buy into the BS that you have to train everyday/everyhour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:missing practices in this specific condition will only compound the issue for all, not just your kid. Does not sound like the right thing to do. Either be present or not.

For teams that practice August-Dec and Jan-June at that age (we've been on those), at the younger ages U9/U10 missing a few throughout the year is not going to make a difference and it may just keep the kid from burning out.

Depends on what level the player is at vs the other players and what the coach is teaching them at those practices. If when your plauer shows up to games and practices, they have no idea whats going on since they’ve missed several practices... well that doesn’t sound like it would a positive thing.

Really, missing a handful of practices across a ten month season is going to make the kid fall so far behind? This might be one of the biggest exaggerations of the year.

Anonymous wrote:missing practices in this specific condition will only compound the issue for all, not just your kid. Does not sound like the right thing to do. Either be present or not.

I’m not OP but I have the daughter. Generally I agree with you, but she’s been practicing continually since mid summer. Missing a couple here and there in the middle of winter may actually help her become more interested again. She will go to most in the spring. I may not push it on those days with cold driving rain. She’s U9 and not on a top team. This will be her last season in travel to finish what she started.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:missing practices in this specific condition will only compound the issue for all, not just your kid. Does not sound like the right thing to do. Either be present or not.

For teams that practice August-Dec and Jan-June at that age (we've been on those), at the younger ages U9/U10 missing a few throughout the year is not going to make a difference and it may just keep the kid from burning out.

Depends on what level the player is at vs the other players and what the coach is teaching them at those practices. If when your plauer shows up to games and practices, they have no idea whats going on since they’ve missed several practices... well that doesn’t sound like it would a positive thing.

One of my kids complained before every practice throughout his U9 year. He didn't ask to quit mid-year but I may have preempted that. I definitely told him repeatedly before we signed up that it was a full-year commitment and we would see it through, but that of course the following year would be his choice. My kid was on the very young end of his age group and, though he lived for the games, he struggled with the tedium and seriousness of practice.

I did not think he would want to sign up again, but something changed toward the end of U9. I don't think he started to appreciate the value of practices but he did accept that they were a means to an end, or a necessary part of the deal, or something along those lines. At tryouts in May, he decided that he did want to sign up again and has never looked back.

Especially since the age change, now that kids start so young, I think some kids don't have the maturity for the level of commitment of travel soccer. Training is not necessarily fun and can be very repetitious. Then there are the kids who are ready: my next son begged to be allowed to play up his U8 year and started travel at an even younger age than his older brother--and has loved every second. It really depends on the child.

I don't see the point of travel if your child doesn't truly love the experience. Your child seems very mature OP. I think you should let him switch to rec. It sounds like he has other priorities like playing with his friends. When he looks back on his childhood you want him to think about all those fun times he had with his buddies.

I am also in the camp of finish what you start but to offer a different perspective if you force your kids to finish out the season might they start to dislike playing. That is the flip side I think about when I read this thread. You want your kid to love the sport and have a passion. Agree that understanding the underlying reason for quitting is important. I would also cringe at losing the payment made for a year commitment but nothing I would expose to my child in trying to guilt them into playing.

Anonymous wrote:missing practices in this specific condition will only compound the issue for all, not just your kid. Does not sound like the right thing to do. Either be present or not.

For teams that practice August-Dec and Jan-June at that age (we've been on those), at the younger ages U9/U10 missing a few throughout the year is not going to make a difference and it may just keep the kid from burning out.

missing practices in this specific condition will only compound the issue for all, not just your kid. Does not sound like the right thing to do. Either be present or not.