Anonymous wrote:How would they know that?
How do you know a kid will never start for you?
You know they won’t develop under you enough to improve and start? Nice

Did I say that? Nope. What I find is parents who want there kid on A team just to be on A team. You develop more by playing in real games at a competitive level. You have to be a moron to not notice how competitive your kids team is, or if they are only registering for bottom tiers in tournament. There are several clubs at selective age levels were A and B teams are pretty much at same level. Obviously the A team will have 3-4 kids that of much higher caliber. But the other 12-14 are not the difference makers. Go for playing time on the most competitive team. Sorry but the vast the majority of the kids are not going to play at a college level. This should be about the kids applying themselves to get better and learning how to be a team player.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anyone have any experience with a child that has been on B team for year or two and now is offered a spot on the A team but doesn't want to move. They are so happy and developing well and would be a sub on the A team while for now is a starter etc. is it ultimately up to the player to decline the spot and stick with B? we are talking U10 here .. young kids. [/quote]

Yes, not our child but a few friends of our child did. They liked their old team and they wanted to stay together so they declined the A team spots. This is a big club. The parents were really happy they did because the A team is supposed to be more stressful and at that age or any age really unless your child is a prodigy it's about having fun.[/quote]

This was definitely true in my DD's club. Being on the A team was very stressful for her. Mostly because the of the parents. On the A team you tend to get a lot of parents who take it WAY serious, and their disappointment with other players' weaknesses are vocalized on and off the field. Kids can hear parents, who are not their own, regularly shout out criticisms during the game. Some coaches are better than others in controlling this dynamic.

[/quote]

I just looked up the information for the team where DS's friends turned down the A team offers. That team which is still mostly together is doing extremely well!! On par with the A team, a few years later. That year the club had wanted to keep about half the kids on the B team, send a few up to A and a few to C but instead they all stayed. It goes to show you how club management and coaches can't really predict how kids develop and how important team chemistry is and kids being happy. I wish our DC had a team like that to stick with.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anyone have any experience with a child that has been on B team for year or two and now is offered a spot on the A team but doesn't want to move. They are so happy and developing well and would be a sub on the A team while for now is a starter etc. is it ultimately up to the player to decline the spot and stick with B? we are talking U10 here .. young kids. [/quote]

Always move to the higher team. At U10 every kid will play. You have no sub rules or any reason to not play all the kids on the roster. It will be much easier later to be on the top team than trying to move to the top team at a later age. Plus, playing with better players will make him better. [/quote]

That's not true. DS's coach did not play everyone and there were kids who would get 10 minutes a game. It was horrible for that age.

My thoughts after having kids in club soccer, club basketball, and club swimming.

1. Don't count on your kid being offered a spot to move up again. It gets harder as they get older. This being said, there are lots of perfectly valid reasons not to take the spot (soccer is not kid's primary sport; practice schedule/location may not work for family; kid would rather be star on b team than fighting for playing time on A team).

2. Why are they moving your kid? 1. They see potential in your son and think he needs to move up to develop more; 2. they need more space on their bottom teams so they can make $; 3. a combination of the two.

[quote=Anonymous]Anyone have any experience with a child that has been on B team for year or two and now is offered a spot on the A team but doesn't want to move. They are so happy and developing well and would be a sub on the A team while for now is a starter etc. is it ultimately up to the player to decline the spot and stick with B? we are talking U10 here .. young kids. [/quote]

Kids are usually just afraid of change. Accept the spot and let him be challenged and grow as a player and a person a little bit. They don’t keep the same classmates every year, why should this be different?

Travel soccer is a marathon. If your kid is happy with the team, getting a lot of playing time and wants to stay. Stay. Next year everything can and will change. It’s a year to year thing.

How would they know that?
How do you know a kid will never start for you?
You know they won’t develop under you enough to improve and start? Nice

This depends on how good your B team is. Some programs the A and B teams are very close. In that case stay with B. However if they are leagues apart ( and you should know that really quickly) Take the A slot. Travel soccer (since you are playing a good chunk of change) is about player development. If kids wants to be with friends play rec.

As a coach, Just remember, Touches on the ball in real game time is pivotal to development. It’s not always about being on the A team. Too many times I’ve had a parent complain to me on A team why the kid isn’t playing. Generally the parents who only want there kid on top team regardless of knowing they will never start for me.

[quote=Anonymous]Anyone have any experience with a child that has been on B team for year or two and now is offered a spot on the A team but doesn't want to move. They are so happy and developing well and would be a sub on the A team while for now is a starter etc. is it ultimately up to the player to decline the spot and stick with B? we are talking U10 here .. young kids. [/quote]

My kid turned down a spot on the A team at U12 and has stayed with the B team since then. He's now U16. I had him write a list of pros and cons so he could think out his decision, but at the end of the day he was happy where he was and didn't want to make a change. He has never wanted to play in college, just likes to play the game. He also is a multi-sport kid so the B team was less time commitment and allowed him to keep playing his other sports without much conflict.

We are in the same boat but for us it is because the A team requires more practice time and the field is an hour away. It is tough

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anyone have any experience with a child that has been on B team for year or two and now is offered a spot on the A team but doesn't want to move. They are so happy and developing well and would be a sub on the A team while for now is a starter etc. is it ultimately up to the player to decline the spot and stick with B? we are talking U10 here .. young kids. [/quote]

Yes, not our child but a few friends of our child did. They liked their old team and they wanted to stay together so they declined the A team spots. This is a big club. The parents were really happy they did because the A team is supposed to be more stressful and at that age or any age really unless your child is a prodigy it's about having fun.[/quote]

This was definitely true in my DD's club. Being on the A team was very stressful for her. Mostly because the of the parents. On the A team you tend to get a lot of parents who take it WAY serious, and their disappointment with other players' weaknesses are vocalized on and off the field. Kids can hear parents, who are not their own, regularly shout out criticisms during the game. Some coaches are better than others in controlling this dynamic.

[quote=Anonymous]Anyone have any experience with a child that has been on B team for year or two and now is offered a spot on the A team but doesn't want to move. They are so happy and developing well and would be a sub on the A team while for now is a starter etc. is it ultimately up to the player to decline the spot and stick with B? we are talking U10 here .. young kids. [/quote]

Yes, not our child but a few friends of our child did. They liked their old team and they wanted to stay together so they declined the A team spots. This is a big club. The parents were really happy they did because the A team is supposed to be more stressful and at that age or any age really unless your child is a prodigy it's about having fun.

[quote=Anonymous]Anyone have any experience with a child that has been on B team for year or two and now is offered a spot on the A team but doesn't want to move. They are so happy and developing well and would be a sub on the A team while for now is a starter etc. is it ultimately up to the player to decline the spot and stick with B? we are talking U10 here .. young kids. [/quote]

Always move to the higher team. At U10 every kid will play. You have no sub rules or any reason to not play all the kids on the roster. It will be much easier later to be on the top team than trying to move to the top team at a later age. Plus, playing with better players will make him better.

by the way, he will probably have fun on the "A" team too once he breaks into the team.

what's more important to you and him? having fun or improving? seems like you have to choose.