Anonymous wrote:Yup compulsive parents, checking the rankings on daily basis. Oh oh X is moving to #1 and Y is falling to second I better start making friends withe coach from X. My DC is national team material she/he needs to be in #1 team.

This forum and others are full of postings from compulsive parents, some losers, they go low.

And the post never said kids don’t like winning, rankings is just marketing material. Some kids don’t even know about theses rankings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you remember which teams ranked 1,2,3 for age groups U10-U15 five or six year ago?

Who CARESS! Only obsessed parents that dream the name of the team will give them fast entry to college.

Do you know who cares? The kids! The kids care. People love to be like....Kids only play because it's fun. Well maybe rec players but once you get a little older. I'd say U12. My son and his teammates started taking it much more seriously and started looking at State Championships, winning tournaments, State Rankings, National Rankings, this stuff motivates kids. They all have phones and they look up their rankings and bitch about how they should be higher, etc. They love when they get to play a team ranked higher than the year so they have the opportunity to move up. The fact that your kid doesn't care about rankings says alot....probably it means your kid's team isn't ranked.

This is so true. My U12 DD looks up opposing team rankings prior to every tournament or league games. Every kid prefers to win. I’ve seen many kids cry when their team looses a tournament game. While my DD doesn’t cry when her team looses, she definitely prefers her team to win instead of being told it’s good for development.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you remember which teams ranked 1,2,3 for age groups U10-U15 five or six year ago?

Who CARESS! Only obsessed parents that dream the name of the team will give them fast entry to college.

Do you know who cares? The kids! The kids care. People love to be like....Kids only play because it's fun. Well maybe rec players but once you get a little older. I'd say U12. My son and his teammates started taking it much more seriously and started looking at State Championships, winning tournaments, State Rankings, National Rankings, this stuff motivates kids. They all have phones and they look up their rankings and bitch about how they should be higher, etc. They love when they get to play a team ranked higher than the year so they have the opportunity to move up. The fact that your kid doesn't care about rankings says alot....probably it means your kid's team isn't ranked.

Oh yeah kids are chatting about teams that ranked 123 SIX years ago....bravo!

Anonymous wrote:Do you remember which teams ranked 1,2,3 for age groups U10-U15 five or six year ago?

Who CARESS! Only obsessed parents that dream the name of the team will give them fast entry to college.

Do you know who cares? The kids! The kids care. People love to be like....Kids only play because it's fun. Well maybe rec players but once you get a little older. I'd say U12. My son and his teammates started taking it much more seriously and started looking at State Championships, winning tournaments, State Rankings, National Rankings, this stuff motivates kids. They all have phones and they look up their rankings and bitch about how they should be higher, etc. They love when they get to play a team ranked higher than the year so they have the opportunity to move up. The fact that your kid doesn't care about rankings says alot....probably it means your kid's team isn't ranked.

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous

PLLEEEAAASSSSEEEE. Come on now coach. Soccer isn’t rocket science.

Coach again:

You're right, it's not. As someone who's been coaching a long time and involved with the sport for even longer, it's easy for me to identify progress in a player over time.

That being said I can also tell you with certainty that your average parent hasn't a clue. I view it as part of my job to help them understand what progress looks like and what end result we're looking for. It's a loooong road from u-littles to college (and perhaps beyond).

If you're on this forum, I'd wager you're already beyond what I would considering the average parent. Most parents couldn't name the league above or below the one they are in (not division... league). Most parents couldn't name the coaches an age group above or below their current team, hell even within their own age group! Most parents don't understand the difference between Jeffersons Cup and a coffee cup (that's a joke folks).

For those rare ones that are willing to go out and try to educate themselves (as perhaps the OP is), I try to do my best to give a neutral observation, based on my experience. Just my 2c.