Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too think it is crazy to think that these judgments are made at these ages, and I think that it has pernicious ripple effects for the girls' side a younger ages.

But wish all the luck to everyone looking this summer.

It's not that crazy when you account for when girls hit puberty and when they're done growing. From a coaching standpoint max height is likely determined. Technical base is also established. As much as people joke about U11 girls with social media pages, things start really early on the girl's side and you're likely on your path by U15.

There are a lot of girls that quit soccer between u11 and u15. Even more that just aren't as good at u15 than they were at u11. So starting early isn't necessarily good.

This is an interesting point. We are moving into U12 this fall and the things the Pre-GA girls are doing is over the top...their summer training is in over drive, FUTSAL, technical training, team training, small group sessions, weight training & flying across the country to attend as many guest tournaments as possible.

-My question is, (we're on the 2nd team and would like to move up) how many girls have you witnessed "burn out" from this over the top training approach? Or do these kids keep this level of intensity up? I almost feel like we are missing the training already at U12. -Thanks!

Burn out for players and parents. DD just committed and we are completely burnt out.

Congrats and I completely understand. DD is going through this now and it's pretty stressful! Have some visits lined up in early August and I hope with those, a decision can then be made.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too think it is crazy to think that these judgments are made at these ages, and I think that it has pernicious ripple effects for the girls' side a younger ages.

But wish all the luck to everyone looking this summer.

It's not that crazy when you account for when girls hit puberty and when they're done growing. From a coaching standpoint max height is likely determined. Technical base is also established. As much as people joke about U11 girls with social media pages, things start really early on the girl's side and you're likely on your path by U15.

There are a lot of girls that quit soccer between u11 and u15. Even more that just aren't as good at u15 than they were at u11. So starting early isn't necessarily good.

This is an interesting point. We are moving into U12 this fall and the things the Pre-GA girls are doing is over the top...their summer training is in over drive, FUTSAL, technical training, team training, small group sessions, weight training & flying across the country to attend as many guest tournaments as possible.

-My question is, (we're on the 2nd team and would like to move up) how many girls have you witnessed "burn out" from this over the top training approach? Or do these kids keep this level of intensity up? I almost feel like we are missing the training already at U12. -Thanks!

Burn out for players and parents. DD just committed and we are completely burnt out.

Middle school ages are when good athletes move on to other sports. Lots of girls start out with soccer because it’s “the” sport for athletic girls at young ages. In middle school, at those ages, you can really get going on basketball, volleyball, x-country, track, wrestling, etc.. .

And, soccer becomes, more and more, a sport for fast and quick kids. Girls hit their puberty growth and many slow down (in relative terms).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too think it is crazy to think that these judgments are made at these ages, and I think that it has pernicious ripple effects for the girls' side a younger ages.

But wish all the luck to everyone looking this summer.

It's not that crazy when you account for when girls hit puberty and when they're done growing. From a coaching standpoint max height is likely determined. Technical base is also established. As much as people joke about U11 girls with social media pages, things start really early on the girl's side and you're likely on your path by U15.

There are a lot of girls that quit soccer between u11 and u15. Even more that just aren't as good at u15 than they were at u11. So starting early isn't necessarily good.

This is an interesting point. We are moving into U12 this fall and the things the Pre-GA girls are doing is over the top...their summer training is in over drive, FUTSAL, technical training, team training, small group sessions, weight training & flying across the country to attend as many guest tournaments as possible.

-My question is, (we're on the 2nd team and would like to move up) how many girls have you witnessed "burn out" from this over the top training approach? Or do these kids keep this level of intensity up? I almost feel like we are missing the training already at U12. -Thanks!

At U12 the over the top training is mostly parent driven. Fed by FOMO of the other parents. Around 15/16 it’s not uncommon for girls to stop playing not so much from burnout but just discovering their own interest level in soccer compared with other sports, non sports, academic goals, and “normal” high school experiences. They just don’t want to devote 100% of their time to one activity. On my daughter’s team there are less than half remaining from U12. Some of those are still playing but at different clubs. The rest just went different directions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too think it is crazy to think that these judgments are made at these ages, and I think that it has pernicious ripple effects for the girls' side a younger ages.

But wish all the luck to everyone looking this summer.

It's not that crazy when you account for when girls hit puberty and when they're done growing. From a coaching standpoint max height is likely determined. Technical base is also established. As much as people joke about U11 girls with social media pages, things start really early on the girl's side and you're likely on your path by U15.

There are a lot of girls that quit soccer between u11 and u15. Even more that just aren't as good at u15 than they were at u11. So starting early isn't necessarily good.

This is an interesting point. We are moving into U12 this fall and the things the Pre-GA girls are doing is over the top...their summer training is in over drive, FUTSAL, technical training, team training, small group sessions, weight training & flying across the country to attend as many guest tournaments as possible.

-My question is, (we're on the 2nd team and would like to move up) how many girls have you witnessed "burn out" from this over the top training approach? Or do these kids keep this level of intensity up? I almost feel like we are missing the training already at U12. -Thanks!

Wow. So, my DD is a rising U17 and is getting ready to play in the ECNL Final 8 and is in the middle of all this recruiting stuff right now. So, at that U12 age, my DD was playing in a local summer futsal league and doing some small group sessions. That's pretty much it. No team trainings, no weight training (that's kinda crazy IMO at that age) and not flying around to play in tournaments.

She started to pick up more of that stuff as she progressed and realized that she wanted to play a higher level. She had a big growth spurt and was kinda like a stork compared to some of her team mates, so we found a local (and local I mean around the corner from our house) guy that specialized in speed and agility training - he worked with her on how to best use her body to get going faster. and more efficiently. She still does summer wrokouts with him once a week. Weight training really didn't start until around U15/U16 and she was working wiht a female trainer who was recommended to us. She'll do that before school once or twice a week.

Becuase of National playoffs, her soccer season really never ends. She'll have an club break after final until 8/11 but knowing her, she'll be doing indvidual stuff. But, all of this stuff really has been driven by my DD - she's the one who is asking for more, she's the one wanting to do it. It's not us the parents. It was of our time getting her to place A & B, but as she gets older, we are seeing it pay off with strong college interest, etc. No that she drives, it's a lot easier. LOL.

As far as burnout, her team, remarkably, has been pretty stable since U13. She's probably turned over only about 5 girls since then and only added (1) this year. The same squad will be back next year. And those 5 weren't all burnout. We had a couple of girls move. Two did move down from ECNL level to play at the RL level, but are still playing. One is doing really well for her HS team too.

Hope this was helpful. Good Luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too think it is crazy to think that these judgments are made at these ages, and I think that it has pernicious ripple effects for the girls' side a younger ages.

But wish all the luck to everyone looking this summer.

It's not that crazy when you account for when girls hit puberty and when they're done growing. From a coaching standpoint max height is likely determined. Technical base is also established. As much as people joke about U11 girls with social media pages, things start really early on the girl's side and you're likely on your path by U15.

There are a lot of girls that quit soccer between u11 and u15. Even more that just aren't as good at u15 than they were at u11. So starting early isn't necessarily good.

This is an interesting point. We are moving into U12 this fall and the things the Pre-GA girls are doing is over the top...their summer training is in over drive, FUTSAL, technical training, team training, small group sessions, weight training & flying across the country to attend as many guest tournaments as possible.

-My question is, (we're on the 2nd team and would like to move up) how many girls have you witnessed "burn out" from this over the top training approach? Or do these kids keep this level of intensity up? I almost feel like we are missing the training already at U12. -Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:I guess we didn't really look at her teammates as her competition. Even those players that played the same position - they just have different attributes. My daughter plays midfield, but can also play CB or the 9, etc. The other top mid on her team is small and very skilled, but can only really play attacking mid (she's amazing though). If a college is looking for a mid like her teammate, well, then my daughter isn't it. Both she and her teammate found great schools, but we just didn't approach it as a competition. Too stressful already! I guess if they had very similar profiles, strengths, etc. it would be different. That was just us, though!

Consider yourself lucky. More often than not it's a cut throat, trust no one, watch your back, keep your cards to yourself situation. That goes for club coaches as well. The things they say to you might not be what they say to college coaches.

I guess we didn't really look at her teammates as her competition. Even those players that played the same position - they just have different attributes. My daughter plays midfield, but can also play CB or the 9, etc. The other top mid on her team is small and very skilled, but can only really play attacking mid (she's amazing though). If a college is looking for a mid like her teammate, well, then my daughter isn't it. Both she and her teammate found great schools, but we just didn't approach it as a competition. Too stressful already! I guess if they had very similar profiles, strengths, etc. it would be different. That was just us, though!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD has had 6 phone calls since yesterday. Two want to set up a school visit already in August. These schools are both a plane ride away and it seems like a long way to go based on one call. We can’t say no to anything at this point. One coach said their high school recruiting class will be small because they are looking to use the transfer portal now. DD doesn’t want to share with her teammates the schools she’s talking to because she doesn’t want to tip them off. Most teammates are being similarly quiet. It’s a little weird as these are some of her best friends. ECNL playoffs in CA are going to be interesting. I plan to trust no one and offer only vague if not misleading info.

Curious why sharing with your teammates or friends would be a bad idea? Let's say you are a goalie on your team what downside is there to sharing your recruiting progress with you left wing? Doesn't seem like that is at all a same universe kind of thing and even if you have another goalie on your team who cares if they both get attention from the same school? Am I missing something about the double secret lurker behavior?

Because your teammate is your competition. The likelihood of a college signing a kid from your club is small. The likelihood of them signing 2 kids from the same club is smaller. Especially if they play the same position.

They will likely ask the teammate about you. It’s nice to think that this teammate would be positive and helpful, but that’s not always the case when they are trying to beat them to a spot.