Anonymous wrote:Would love some tips on travel tryouts, particularly on how to stand out in a crowded field of kids.

My daughter just squeaked onto a travel team last year (the numbers trying out were low) and worked hard and improved, but didn't make it the second time around. There were a lot more girls trying out the second year, and the new coach of her team said he didn't get a good feel for her talent during tryouts.

After a good year of rec and developmental (starting both teams most games, and doing well on offense, defense and goal), she's planning to try out again, but would love to be more strategic this time around. A couple of people mentioned to us that she has a tendency to play defense when nobody else is playing defense (she hates it someone scores on her team), and we wonder if that might have hurt her in a tryout setting where most of the girls are trying to show off their offensive moves. I've told her that this time around, she should try to highlight her offensive skills unless she is specifically assigned to play a position.

We're fine with sticking with rec and developmental, but developmental ends after next year, and she wasn't getting better just playing rec. I also signed her up for a weekly academy being offered this spring.


Thoughts?

Get in touch with the coach in advance, ask if she can come practice with the travel team, mention that you don´t think she shows well at big tryouts, and maybe do this for 2 or 3 different travel teams.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

Our DD is slightly older but we made the mistake of doing travel at u9. If I had it to do over I would find a select/classic team that is competitive and has a good coach who knows the game. Maybe even a parent coach who has played soccer at a high level. At the end of the day, what killed travelfor me at that age was the actual travel. We traveled all over to play against teams that weren't that good. The reality is that at that age, it does not make sense to travel all over the DMV playing games. It is probably more efficient to use that time training. U12 or u13 is the age when travel becomes critical. By u14 for sure. Don't fall into the trap that you have to do travel at u9 because you don't. Use your time and money to invest in training.

And yes, traveling "all over the DMV". How terrible.

When I see comments like this I can pretty much just picture the parents right away. They are the parents who view sports as a social outlet or just a way to get some exercise. But most of the time it is not much more than a box to check that says "I'm Parenting". When you are already bemoaning traveling "all over the DMV" before you have set foot on a practice field I'm pretty sure the kid picks up on that.

Taking the fiscal issues out of it and assuming money isn't the driving factor the decision of the level that a kid plays at should be player driven. But once the decision is made then you need to be supportive and that means not bitching about driving to Alexandria on a Saturday morning for a 8:00am tourney game. Yes, your weekends are no longer your own. It sucks, UNLESS your kid loves what they are doing and they will love it more if you just bite your tongue when around them.

My parent bemoaned that shit back in my day and we all made it to the top of the sport. Nothing wrong with parents who don't want their child's sport to take up 100% of their leisure time. In fact, we learned soon on if we weren't committed then my parents wouldn't bother driving. IF we weren't giving 100% of effort the rides would end. My parents bemoaned it, but they never missed a single game and we know they loved watching us play. Anyone who loves sitting in 3 hour traffic jams for a 70 minute game is a complete dolt.

Even my own kids don't like sitting in the back of the car for hours to go blow some team out 11-0. It's bullshit.

I see the parents that love, love, love the travel---dressed up in their soccer gear, intense as shit on the sidelines "send it!!", living vicariously through their little Mia/Christians. If you are saying you love 'travel' there is something quite wrong. IF all the competitive games were 10 minutes away I'd be absolutely thrilled. They aren't ---so, yes, I will bitch if I have to get up at 5:45am on a Saturday morning to drive out to middle of nowhere.

Guess what? Our coaches don't like driving out there either.

You ain't playing when you are spending most of your time in the back of the car. Travel in kiddie soccer is unique to the US where soccer isn't quality. Go figure.

Nice. There is one parent like you inside the beltway and about 5000 pther numbskull idiots I have listen to every weekend. All you DCUM lurkers, listen to this guy. Damn straight. So many fools . . . .

You are an idiot. Seriously start your own thread. I know a lot of people like you. You are so unhappy with travel soccer but there you are on the sidelines ever weekend bitching about how your kid should be starting for the top team.

Great post CCL Guy. Thanks again!

Anonymous wrote:^^^ PP. Riiiight. You hate the travel AND YET you keep signing your kid up for it because you are both stubborn and stupid. I told the OP to look it all over and understand that travel is involved so choose wisely. You my friend keep making the same stupid mistakes year after year for you and your family. Please shut up with your tired message. Amazing how people sign up for TRAVEL and overlook the TRAVEL part. Just do what works for your kid and family, I’m sorry that I find that worrying about what YOU can actually control to be a reasonable alternative. SMH

Thanks for your post, CCL Guy.

Would love some tips on travel tryouts, particularly on how to stand out in a crowded field of kids.

My daughter just squeaked onto a travel team last year (the numbers trying out were low) and worked hard and improved, but didn't make it the second time around. There were a lot more girls trying out the second year, and the new coach of her team said he didn't get a good feel for her talent during tryouts.

After a good year of rec and developmental (starting both teams most games, and doing well on offense, defense and goal), she's planning to try out again, but would love to be more strategic this time around. A couple of people mentioned to us that she has a tendency to play defense when nobody else is playing defense (she hates it someone scores on her team), and we wonder if that might have hurt her in a tryout setting where most of the girls are trying to show off their offensive moves. I've told her that this time around, she should try to highlight her offensive skills unless she is specifically assigned to play a position.

We're fine with sticking with rec and developmental, but developmental ends after next year, and she wasn't getting better just playing rec. I also signed her up for a weekly academy being offered this spring.

Thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would switch to travel now. Once you hit full field play at U13 its more difficult to make the switch to travel from rec. We have been happy with VYS travel for girls this year.

I'm a boys' parent, but I've found it's exactly the opposite. At U9, you have a feeding frenzy -- at least twice as many people trying out as you have spots available, even at clubs with four teams in an age group.

At U13? A lot of kids have moved back to rec because they've found soccer isn't their No. 1 activity any more, and the teams are scraping to find enough players to fill out a roster.

The girls side is different.

I'm the person who suggested switching now in this quote. I would either switch at U10 or U11. Don't wait until U12 if you want travel eventually because its harder to make the team. By U12 on the girls side, your girl might be competing with girls who have already hit puberty and there is a big size difference on the field. This evens out by U15 but can be tough for the smaller kids at tryouts. Clubs definitely look at size when making decisions. Girls try-outs aren't quite the madhouse that boys try-outs are but they look at footskills and overall fitness which are not as easy to get in rec. Also, I would go to another club's try-outs prior to VYS try-outs if possible, or ask if you can attend a practice. The first try-out can be a little hard to know what is going on. Its set up sort of like a travel practice so the only ones not sure how to do stuff are the rec players.

Anonymous wrote:Can ulittle kids develop without travel?

Can clubs make money without travel?

clubs make $$ on the rec program. Don't have to pay coaches.

Can ulittle kids develop without travel?

Can clubs make money without travel?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

Our DD is slightly older but we made the mistake of doing travel at u9. If I had it to do over I would find a select/classic team that is competitive and has a good coach who knows the game. Maybe even a parent coach who has played soccer at a high level. At the end of the day, what killed travelfor me at that age was the actual travel. We traveled all over to play against teams that weren't that good. The reality is that at that age, it does not make sense to travel all over the DMV playing games. It is probably more efficient to use that time training. U12 or u13 is the age when travel becomes critical. By u14 for sure. Don't fall into the trap that you have to do travel at u9 because you don't. Use your time and money to invest in training.

And yes, traveling "all over the DMV". How terrible.

When I see comments like this I can pretty much just picture the parents right away. They are the parents who view sports as a social outlet or just a way to get some exercise. But most of the time it is not much more than a box to check that says "I'm Parenting". When you are already bemoaning traveling "all over the DMV" before you have set foot on a practice field I'm pretty sure the kid picks up on that.

Taking the fiscal issues out of it and assuming money isn't the driving factor the decision of the level that a kid plays at should be player driven. But once the decision is made then you need to be supportive and that means not bitching about driving to Alexandria on a Saturday morning for a 8:00am tourney game. Yes, your weekends are no longer your own. It sucks, UNLESS your kid loves what they are doing and they will love it more if you just bite your tongue when around them.

My parent bemoaned that shit back in my day and we all made it to the top of the sport. Nothing wrong with parents who don't want their child's sport to take up 100% of their leisure time. In fact, we learned soon on if we weren't committed then my parents wouldn't bother driving. IF we weren't giving 100% of effort the rides would end. My parents bemoaned it, but they never missed a single game and we know they loved watching us play. Anyone who loves sitting in 3 hour traffic jams for a 70 minute game is a complete dolt.

Even my own kids don't like sitting in the back of the car for hours to go blow some team out 11-0. It's bullshit.

I see the parents that love, love, love the travel---dressed up in their soccer gear, intense as shit on the sidelines "send it!!", living vicariously through their little Mia/Christians. If you are saying you love 'travel' there is something quite wrong. IF all the competitive games were 10 minutes away I'd be absolutely thrilled. They aren't ---so, yes, I will bitch if I have to get up at 5:45am on a Saturday morning to drive out to middle of nowhere.

Guess what? Our coaches don't like driving out there either.

You ain't playing when you are spending most of your time in the back of the car. Travel in kiddie soccer is unique to the US where soccer isn't quality. Go figure.

Nice. There is one parent like you inside the beltway and about 5000 pther numbskull idiots I have listen to every weekend. All you DCUM lurkers, listen to this guy. Damn straight. So many fools . . . .

You are an idiot. Seriously start your own thread. I know a lot of people like you. You are so unhappy with travel soccer but there you are on the sidelines ever weekend bitching about how your kid should be starting for the top team.

^^^ PP. Riiiight. You hate the travel AND YET you keep signing your kid up for it because you are both stubborn and stupid. I told the OP to look it all over and understand that travel is involved so choose wisely. You my friend keep making the same stupid mistakes year after year for you and your family. Please shut up with your tired message. Amazing how people sign up for TRAVEL and overlook the TRAVEL part. Just do what works for your kid and family, I’m sorry that I find that worrying about what YOU can actually control to be a reasonable alternative. SMH

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

Our DD is slightly older but we made the mistake of doing travel at u9. If I had it to do over I would find a select/classic team that is competitive and has a good coach who knows the game. Maybe even a parent coach who has played soccer at a high level. At the end of the day, what killed travelfor me at that age was the actual travel. We traveled all over to play against teams that weren't that good. The reality is that at that age, it does not make sense to travel all over the DMV playing games. It is probably more efficient to use that time training. U12 or u13 is the age when travel becomes critical. By u14 for sure. Don't fall into the trap that you have to do travel at u9 because you don't. Use your time and money to invest in training.

And yes, traveling "all over the DMV". How terrible.

When I see comments like this I can pretty much just picture the parents right away. They are the parents who view sports as a social outlet or just a way to get some exercise. But most of the time it is not much more than a box to check that says "I'm Parenting". When you are already bemoaning traveling "all over the DMV" before you have set foot on a practice field I'm pretty sure the kid picks up on that.

Taking the fiscal issues out of it and assuming money isn't the driving factor the decision of the level that a kid plays at should be player driven. But once the decision is made then you need to be supportive and that means not bitching about driving to Alexandria on a Saturday morning for a 8:00am tourney game. Yes, your weekends are no longer your own. It sucks, UNLESS your kid loves what they are doing and they will love it more if you just bite your tongue when around them.

My parent bemoaned that shit back in my day and we all made it to the top of the sport. Nothing wrong with parents who don't want their child's sport to take up 100% of their leisure time. In fact, we learned soon on if we weren't committed then my parents wouldn't bother driving. IF we weren't giving 100% of effort the rides would end. My parents bemoaned it, but they never missed a single game and we know they loved watching us play. Anyone who loves sitting in 3 hour traffic jams for a 70 minute game is a complete dolt.

Even my own kids don't like sitting in the back of the car for hours to go blow some team out 11-0. It's bullshit.

I see the parents that love, love, love the travel---dressed up in their soccer gear, intense as shit on the sidelines "send it!!", living vicariously through their little Mia/Christians. If you are saying you love 'travel' there is something quite wrong. IF all the competitive games were 10 minutes away I'd be absolutely thrilled. They aren't ---so, yes, I will bitch if I have to get up at 5:45am on a Saturday morning to drive out to middle of nowhere.

Guess what? Our coaches don't like driving out there either.

You ain't playing when you are spending most of your time in the back of the car. Travel in kiddie soccer is unique to the US where soccer isn't quality. Go figure.

So traveling all over the DMV has now turned into "hours in the back of a car"? There are MANY levels of travel teams with MANY levels of commitment. Find the one that offers you balance and be happy. You do not have to accept the offer to the A team that requires more travel. You're problem is you can't get passed your own ego of seeing your child play on a more convenient B or C team when you can instead bitch and moan about how your great A team player "haaaas to drive all over only for her super awesome team to win 11-0, when they could just as easily win 11-0 locally. But her talent is to high to be wasted on anything less. DAMN TRAVEL SOCCER! If there was only a way that my daughter could be just as elite anywhere else but unfortunately her talent demands this of us."

Unbelievable, the forum IDIOT . . . CCL Guy . . . is back. STFU with your tired message. You are the one arsehole with this viewpoint.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel.

Our DD is slightly older but we made the mistake of doing travel at u9. If I had it to do over I would find a select/classic team that is competitive and has a good coach who knows the game. Maybe even a parent coach who has played soccer at a high level. At the end of the day, what killed travelfor me at that age was the actual travel. We traveled all over to play against teams that weren't that good. The reality is that at that age, it does not make sense to travel all over the DMV playing games. It is probably more efficient to use that time training. U12 or u13 is the age when travel becomes critical. By u14 for sure. Don't fall into the trap that you have to do travel at u9 because you don't. Use your time and money to invest in training.

And yes, traveling "all over the DMV". How terrible.

When I see comments like this I can pretty much just picture the parents right away. They are the parents who view sports as a social outlet or just a way to get some exercise. But most of the time it is not much more than a box to check that says "I'm Parenting". When you are already bemoaning traveling "all over the DMV" before you have set foot on a practice field I'm pretty sure the kid picks up on that.

Taking the fiscal issues out of it and assuming money isn't the driving factor the decision of the level that a kid plays at should be player driven. But once the decision is made then you need to be supportive and that means not bitching about driving to Alexandria on a Saturday morning for a 8:00am tourney game. Yes, your weekends are no longer your own. It sucks, UNLESS your kid loves what they are doing and they will love it more if you just bite your tongue when around them.

My parent bemoaned that shit back in my day and we all made it to the top of the sport. Nothing wrong with parents who don't want their child's sport to take up 100% of their leisure time. In fact, we learned soon on if we weren't committed then my parents wouldn't bother driving. IF we weren't giving 100% of effort the rides would end. My parents bemoaned it, but they never missed a single game and we know they loved watching us play. Anyone who loves sitting in 3 hour traffic jams for a 70 minute game is a complete dolt.

Even my own kids don't like sitting in the back of the car for hours to go blow some team out 11-0. It's bullshit.

I see the parents that love, love, love the travel---dressed up in their soccer gear, intense as shit on the sidelines "send it!!", living vicariously through their little Mia/Christians. If you are saying you love 'travel' there is something quite wrong. IF all the competitive games were 10 minutes away I'd be absolutely thrilled. They aren't ---so, yes, I will bitch if I have to get up at 5:45am on a Saturday morning to drive out to middle of nowhere.

Guess what? Our coaches don't like driving out there either.

You ain't playing when you are spending most of your time in the back of the car. Travel in kiddie soccer is unique to the US where soccer isn't quality. Go figure.

Nice. There is one parent like you inside the beltway and about 5000 pther numbskull idiots I have listen to every weekend. All you DCUM lurkers, listen to this guy. Damn straight. So many fools . . . .

MSI Classic coaches are not really that good overall. Maybe you get lucky.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thanks - we are a brand new family. DD was born in late 2010 and we live in Vienna. I see that VYS is a hot topic for many based upon that other thread. DD loves soccer and we are torn between having her try out for travel or having her stay in rec. She is competitive. All I care about is that she has fun. We are not concerned with the finances.

So my question, she has been playing with friends on her team since K. I know the age groups are different for travel and it is a matter of time before they all go in their own directions anyway. We also want this to be a fun, social experience. What are the benefits of her trying out now or waiting until later? She will always be one of the oldest in rec or one of the youngest in travel. [/quote]

Our DD is slightly older but we made the mistake of doing travel at u9. [b]If I had it to do over I would find a select/classic team that is competitive and has a good coach who knows the game. Maybe even a parent coach who has played soccer at a high level.[/b] At the end of the day, what killed travelfor me at that age was the actual travel. We traveled all over to play against teams that weren't that good. The reality is that at that age, it does not make sense to travel all over the DMV playing games. It is probably more efficient to use that time training. U12 or u13 is the age when travel becomes critical. By u14 for sure. Don't fall into the trap that you have to do travel at u9 because you don't. Use your time and money to invest in training. [/quote]

Well that is really the trick isn't it. So, now please share with the class how you do that. [/quote]

Can you do anything by yourself?

I have boys, but people say this stupid sh*t all of the time. We did our research. We figured it out. Some people just aren't willing to try and buy into what they are being told.

For starters, get off this thread and start looking around. I could instantly see quality training for myself when I went around and I asked a lot of questions of other parents IRL. The first sign you are doing it all wrong is if you are caught up in 'color placement' and leagues in the U13 and under crowd. Bye-bye[/quote]

Someday I will meet this PP.

My DCs are top soccer players (teams,.Clubs), and I won't say more then that. But, They are done. Like you.

This color system is a joke, and even being on the top of the heap, the training is mediocre. No one figure it out so don't waste your time

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would switch to travel now. Once you hit full field play at U13 its more difficult to make the switch to travel from rec. We have been happy with VYS travel for girls this year.

I'm a boys' parent, but I've found it's exactly the opposite. At U9, you have a feeding frenzy -- at least twice as many people trying out as you have spots available, even at clubs with four teams in an age group.

At U13? A lot of kids have moved back to rec because they've found soccer isn't their No. 1 activity any more, and the teams are scraping to find enough players to fill out a roster.

The girls side is different.

Anonymous wrote:I would switch to travel now. Once you hit full field play at U13 its more difficult to make the switch to travel from rec. We have been happy with VYS travel for girls this year.

I'm a boys' parent, but I've found it's exactly the opposite. At U9, you have a feeding frenzy -- at least twice as many people trying out as you have spots available, even at clubs with four teams in an age group.

At U13? A lot of kids have moved back to rec because they've found soccer isn't their No. 1 activity any more, and the teams are scraping to find enough players to fill out a roster.