Anonymous wrote:This is an easy one for me:
- Better health via exercise & healthy eating
- Hard work and determination
- Academics + Sports (or other activities) = well-rounded for College
- But most of all, father/daughter bonding time.
Anonymous wrote:Wish more clubs would set up scholarship programs
Anonymous wrote:Are there many African Americans on the team that your children play with? I am a teacher with PGCPS, at a 99 percent African American school and no one ever talks about watching or playing soccer.
Anonymous wrote:Are there many African Americans on the team that your children play with? I am a teacher with PGCPS, at a 99 percent African American school and no one ever talks about watching or playing soccer.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Because it’s the politically correct and socially acceptable sport to play here in my part of nova. Others? Maybe they are looking for some admission edge to some slac in New England.[/quote]
I really do not get this statement. You can not just force your kid to play soccer and except the kid to have an edge in college admissions. The kids who play in college are really good, are self driven and lucky(in terms of finding a good coach vs a bad one, avoiding injuries, etc). These kids are the top 5% of kids in their age group. They are a very select few.
You can‘t just say oh my 3rd or 4th grade kid will play soccer as a hook for college. He or she will in 7-8 years be one of the top players(like top 3 player) on a regional highly competitive ECNL/DA team because I want him or her to play soccer. It does not work that way.
People have gone on record in this thread to state that at the ECNL or DA level there is no way a kid is being forced to do it. At that level the commitment and expectation is to high for kids to treat it like a hobby.
Not only the ECNL/DA level. Any high level teams. Look at the Bethesda Tournament (I'd say U13 and older) for example, ... any player that plays for a team in any of the top 2 or 3 divisions works his butt off. I know my son trains as much or more than ECNL/DA kids.
Anonymous wrote:My teen (solid team, but the level below DA/ECNL) plays because she loves it and loves the sport and because she can work hard and see demonstrable improvement. She likes getting better. Not just winning, but improving her level of play and working towards the goals she sets. My spouse and I both did other sports in high school, so soccer is her thing and she led us to it, not the other way around. She also goes to a demanding high school, and getting to run around outside is a nice outlet after the academics.