The players loose their edge playing HS and some of their skills. I'm just happy district playoffs are starting so the season can end ASAP. Then my DS can get back to practicing with his ECNL club and get back his skills.

At our high school, it's not like the coach is making a strategic decision to play direct because that's what works in high school. It's the only thing he can do with the players he's working with. Possession doesn't work when half the team doesn't have the skills or experience to do it. Who cares? If the kids are enjoying themselves then I enjoy watching them.

In my experience, the club players just dance around with the ball, never move it forward, and lack speed and athleticism. So the non-soccer kids that just play kick and run win the games because they are superior athletes. My son is one of these types of players. He’s big and fast and soccer is his third sport, but he dominates the smaller and slower club players. A team full of really good club players that play a possession style might defeat them, but in practice the kick and run teams win so coaches stick with that.

Interesting thread. My daughter is on a week club team . . . so for us her (really strong) high school team (in DC) is much better than club! More targeted passing; fewer long balls to nobody (or worse yet, the other side's goalie) . . .

I do agree with someone's post upthread about Lacrosse being the worst ever! A bunch of girls running around vaguely waiving their sticks at each other. Wow - Title IX really gave this "sport" a big boost!

For us the club team isn't half as good as we think it is but the HS team is twice as bad.

JFC, get over yourselves. Your kid's club team isn't half as good as you think it is, and your HS team isn't half as bad.

It comes down to the discipline and competency of the coach. Because of the reputation of HS soccer, I don't see many top end coaches taking those roles.

They feel like what they are doing is right because they can score, but if you break down the game you quickly realize all the goals are breakaways where the back line is flat and a forward takes the long ball to the house. You play long ball 100% of the time, you will get a breakaway 5-10% of the time. The issue becomes when you have a strong back line that just shuts that down so now they force you to move the ball and build, but if you don't know how you pretty much forfeit the game. Just look at he ridiculous scores in the area. 8-3 win, 6-0 win, etc

In a competitive club environment, you see great games that result in 1-0, 2-1 games. No respectable team should be allowing more than a 1-2 point differential.

As hard as it is to watch, most kids love HS soccer because of the friendships. These are their closest friends and since they are all in the same HS they most likely come from similar backgrounds. My club kid plays for a big Prince William club and constantly gets joked about because he's from Loudoun and is perceived as rich and soft.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened to high school soccer? My husband played in one of the FCPS high schools back in the 90s and he talks about how good hs teams were back then. ODP was a big deal back then too. is it just because all the clubs took over? When did this all start? In the early 2000s?
Is it just because people realized club soccer was where the money was at? Sad since I would have loved for my son to play hs school soccer but reading all these stories makes me think it’s not a good idea.

All boys used to play it. You had all the usmnt and former US pros playing HS.

Now the best boys are at MLS academies and in MLS Next. They don’t play high school.

Yes. I played HS soccer with Mia Hamm. So true for the girls too.

I'm the same generation and played with and against lots of players who went on to play at a high level in college and as pros. It seemed to matter more. HS Soccer games were the main event during the spring season. For the guys who still played club soccer, it seemed like it was practice to get ready for the high school season. Most people I knew played fall and winter HS sports and cut back on or didn't even play club anymore by high school - even the ones who kept playing after HS.

Anonymous wrote:HS sports should really only be for the average non club playing kid to play on a team.
The fact that you all are here complaining about a high school extracurricular is pretty obnoxious. Not to mention taking away the opportunity for kids who don’t have other options to play. You guys are pathetic.

Come on. HS sports were king until, what, 10 years ago? Don't pretend like this is a age old problem. Every parent on here lamenting the lack of quality of HS sports came up in a generation with pretty much no club sports and HS sports were the top level, where all the best kids played and were recruited from.

Yes, things have changed, but don't act like we're a bunch of rubes. Talk about obnoxious.

Anonymous wrote:The problem comes in early years. American coaches want to please parents - pleasing parents means making any activity ‘fun’

My kid was trained in my home country (Germany). There is no wish for soccer training to be ‘fun.’ It is a Teutonic and highly skilled trade that takes years to refine.

Americans have little to no technical skill. That’s what I see - sure a lot of pure athleticism but to what end? Speed and endurance are necessary part of game but without technical proficiency you have your average American high school soccer game. Unwatchable.

You guys are good. My son has been a diehard Bayern fan for the past 12 years. However, you never have a Maradona or a Messi or a Ronaldo because it’s all a unit,

My son’s idol said it best:

Thomas Müller: "In Germany, we don't believe in superstars. We are taught from an early age to play as a team, not to shine alone. That's why you won't see many German players winning a Ballon d'Or, but that's also why you can see 4 stars on our jersey."

HS sports should really only be for the average non club playing kid to play on a team.
The fact that you all are here complaining about a high school extracurricular is pretty obnoxious. Not to mention taking away the opportunity for kids who don’t have other options to play. You guys are pathetic.

The problem comes in early years. American coaches want to please parents - pleasing parents means making any activity ‘fun’

My kid was trained in my home country (Germany). There is no wish for soccer training to be ‘fun.’ It is a Teutonic and highly skilled trade that takes years to refine.

Americans have little to no technical skill. That’s what I see - sure a lot of pure athleticism but to what end? Speed and endurance are necessary part of game but without technical proficiency you have your average American high school soccer game. Unwatchable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened to high school soccer? My husband played in one of the FCPS high schools back in the 90s and he talks about how good hs teams were back then. ODP was a big deal back then too. is it just because all the clubs took over? When did this all start? In the early 2000s?
Is it just because people realized club soccer was where the money was at? Sad since I would have loved for my son to play hs school soccer but reading all these stories makes me think it’s not a good idea.

All boys used to play it. You had all the usmnt and former US pros playing HS.

Now the best boys are at MLS academies and in MLS Next. They don’t play high school.

Yes. I played HS soccer with Mia Hamm. So true for the girls too.

HS soccer is definitely hard to watch when you have 3 kids whose club coaches emphasize possession. I will say there are some really good athletes with a ton of foot speed, but they just kick the ball down field. I have seen corner kicks that were kicked so hard they land past the opposite corner. Shots on goal that put Justin Tucker to shame. I don't care how hard and high you can kick the ball, it's not impressive.

Anonymous wrote:What happened to high school soccer? My husband played in one of the FCPS high schools back in the 90s and he talks about how good hs teams were back then. ODP was a big deal back then too. is it just because all the clubs took over? When did this all start? In the early 2000s?
Is it just because people realized club soccer was where the money was at? Sad since I would have loved for my son to play hs school soccer but reading all these stories makes me think it’s not a good idea.

All boys used to play it. You had all the usmnt and former US pros playing HS.

Now the best boys are at MLS academies and in MLS Next. They don’t play high school.