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Post by spectator on Mar 18, 2015 9:01:57 GMT -5
Anyone else have kids playing high school soccer this spring? How's it been?
For us, first year as a freshman on JV, it's been a little confusing and frustrating.
It's a very strong team despite that (only lost 1 game) and my daughter is having a blast with her friends, but she's been really confused by what this coach has told them to do. I now see why some club coaches prefer players not do high school soccer - if you have a coach that doesn't really know the game well or uses a totally different style, it does create a new re-learning curve when the clubs come back to train in spring. Example - one of our defenders is an excellent player on her club team - doesn't just kick the ball to clear it but this coach has told them and praises them for just booming it out of the backfield. This player's club coach came to a game and commented on that - actually he groaned. It's really hard on 14 year old girls who want to play the game but also respect and please their coach - when they have two coaches telling them two separate things.
Overall, she's loved the experience and definitely wants to remain on the team so if she ends up on JV again next year (highly likely since we have such a young varsity team) she'll at least know what to expect. One of the sophomores on the team has been a great 'mentor' - she had a similarly frustrating year with this coach as a freshman and has told my daughter how to handle certain things. The girls on the team are great - no drama at all and they have become a cohesive group of friends on and off the field.
Definitely a new experience for both me and my daughter - wouldn't have missed it but it wasn't what she'd expected from a high school JV team. Many of her friends at other schools in this area are in similar situations with the JV coaches being more of assistants than coaches. Most are teachers either at the school or in an elementary or middle school that feeds into the high school so this is more income supplementation than anything. (teacher pay is another rant for another day, it's criminal that they aren't paid more IMO) so in this case, I guess we get what we (don't) pay for in the JV coaches around here. I'm sure Varsity will be a totally different experience for her later - that coach is very good and knows players - I do like that he's been so involved with the JV team - some of our friends' varsity coaches don't even bother with the JV teams at all.
Interesting times - four - maybe five if we can get one of the 'snowed out' games rescheduled - then back to the club for training. Oh - and this is both a plus and a minus - every game but one has been played on turf so rain or shine, 75 degrees or 20 - they play. A few weeks ago was the coldest I've ever been watching a game - it was miserable! The game this week required sunscreen and we were sweltering hot! The other minus is the turf burn on my kid's legs - she's more worried that won't clear up by Spring Break - priorities of a 14 year old girl! LOL
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Post by SoccerMom on Mar 18, 2015 11:10:50 GMT -5
Good to hear she's all healed and back to playing again!
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Post by lovethegame on Mar 19, 2015 10:39:34 GMT -5
High School soccer does have it's good and bad. I've seen some good and bad coaching. Good coaches manage to take what they have and find a way to win. Some coaches get in their own way and don't win the big games despite having the most talent. Over the years I've watched high school soccer, I've seen some very good players struggle a bit because their game doesn't match with the coach's style. Other players may not be the best on their club team, but they excel at high school because it suits their game. It sounds like your daughter is having a great time, and that's so important.
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Post by touchlinedad on Mar 19, 2015 11:00:10 GMT -5
My son is enjoying his JV experience. Fortunately, my son has a good coach who is very experienced and is a player himself, so he has the team playing well and not just booming it forward out of the back in hopes of scoring a goal. Club soccer is filled with so much pressure and BS that, as a parent, I would encourage your son or daughter to just play hard, have fun and try to get in touch with what they love about the game, and not worry so much about winning, losing or what tournament your team is going to.
The one thing that I have noticed is that high school games are held on what seem to be much larger fields than they do in club soccer, especially in terms of width. That has really expanded the game and makes it more like the game you see played on TV. The right and left backs can move forward, make the overlapping runs, the midfielders get more time with the ball and the whole game just seems more free flowing. So many of the club fields just don't seem as big, so the players have less space and everything seems more crowded.
It makes me wonder if the club games would be different if all games were held on fields at least 120 yards long and 70 yards wide. In the current Georgia Soccer rules, the minimum is 100x50 yards, the max is 130x100 yards and the recommended is 110x70. I'm guessing most of the fields I've seen my son play on are 50 yards wide and I think having that extra 20 yards would make a huge difference. Does anybody else see that as an issue?
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Post by paterfamilias on Mar 19, 2015 11:23:41 GMT -5
Perhaps your son has been fortunate enough to play all his games on a 70X120. All the fields we have played on have been 120 in length but width varies between 55 and 70 depending on the football field they are playing on.
Field size matters as the child moves up in age. At U13/U14 we try to keep those teams on the smaller fields (60X105). At U15/U16, we use intermediate sized fields (65X110) and at U17/U19 we use the largest fields. It is not an ideal solution and if we host RPL games at the younger ages we move them to the larger fields. Sometimes however, it just does not work out. I would hope that all the field schedulers do their best to match age/skill level with the appropriate fields available.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 19, 2015 11:41:55 GMT -5
field size would make a great thread! ( we've had some issues recently where our younger teams have been playing 8s on some of the narrest fields humanly possible.... (yes exaggeration, but i'm not kidding, one was no wider than a 6v6 field!) )
when i was in high school it was the reverse, we played on narrow fields that were predominately football fields that were extremely narrow and had large crest for drainage.
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Post by mamampira on Mar 25, 2015 14:27:34 GMT -5
Well, it has been an ok season for the team so far. There are a couple of players carrying injuries now on the team, including my son. His will require surgery to scope out a piece of bone that is floating around in his knee...ouch...so we shall see how this part of the journey goes.
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Post by spectator on Mar 25, 2015 23:07:53 GMT -5
Well, it has been an ok season for the team so far. There are a couple of players carrying injuries now on the team, including my son. His will require surgery to scope out a piece of bone that is floating around in his knee...ouch...so we shall see how this part of the journey goes. OMG I am so sorry about your son's injury. I know how hard that is on you as his mom - they are and will always be our babies - even if they're teens now. Take care of him and of you. And remember, it's far more important he be able to walk down stairs when he's 30 than play a game now when he's in his teen years. I had to tell myself that when she missed most of the U15 club season with her injury. A player on our club team had a brother with a similar injury and his mom said that was a much easier recovery than her daughter's torn ACL if that's any consolation. Hang in there, mom!
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Post by allthingsoccer on Mar 26, 2015 7:53:49 GMT -5
spectator- have fun with it.
Sometimes you get lucky and have a coach that is more experienced. But if not, no worries. As long as she doesnt pick up any bad habits she should be good to go. It might make her more hungry for better coaching. (the club team)
Having fun in High School isnt easy these days. No drama?? Man that's a win, win!!
Enjoy the memories.
Cheers, J4K
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Post by lovethegame on Mar 26, 2015 7:55:24 GMT -5
Well, it has been an ok season for the team so far. There are a couple of players carrying injuries now on the team, including my son. His will require surgery to scope out a piece of bone that is floating around in his knee...ouch...so we shall see how this part of the journey goes. I'm so sorry to hear about the injury and surgery. Hopefully, it's a fast recovery and he's back to playing soon.
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Post by volunteercoach on Mar 26, 2015 10:01:47 GMT -5
spectator -
I community coach at a high school in the metro area and truly do like hearing/reading about parents experiences with HS soccer. Currently, I work with a varsity girls team (my only experience coaching) and have been for a few years. It has been a very different experience then I could ever have imagined. Club and HS will never be the same for a lot of reasons. Fortunately, my team is made up of girls mainly with club level experience. On the down side, they are spread across U14-U19, a handful of clubs and a handful of levels. Skill, size, speed of play, and a big thing...style of play vary vastly from player to player. Imagine trying to combine 18 girls with 18 different styles of play to be able to compete in a game 2 weeks after tryouts. Now imagine trying to train players on the same team ranging from Athena D to ECNL. It is/has been a very large undertaking to say the least.
I try to focus a lot of drills to improve the individual skills on the ball, confidence and team tactics. I also bear in mind that the girls play HS to have fun. They make the decision to play for me knowing that HS is not where they will be getting scouted. There is so much pressure in club ball for performance that I see a lot of them lose their love of the game. They forget why they play and burn out before they even get to college. I try to help remind them that the reason they have been playing so long is because at some point in their lives it was fun for them, it fulfilled them. I have had some experiences with parents that want MORE discipline. MORE punitive measures if they don't work hard. But the funny part is, that road is a hard one to go down because kids will up and quit playing. I know many of them won't remember a training session where they busted their backsides or ran for their work rate, but they will remember the time they went sliding in the mud after practice with their friends. Through the years I have found the more bonded the team, the better they play for each other at the HS level.
As far as quality of coaching, I agree, even at our JV/9th grade level it is very rudimentary at best. I see those teams range from girls with no playing experience at all to Athena B/A. I feel for those coaches, as they have to bridge a very very large gap. Not to mention, the pay isn't much at all. Those coaches are out there to make sure your children at the very least have the opportunity to play. For myself personally, I step into every season without any sort of monetary expectations. Sometimes I get paid, sometimes I don't. I coach because I love the game, I love watching players grow, I love to build confidence and I love watching them have fun while they play. The best advice I have for the girls that are more skilled in those situations is to be a leader. Help build your team up, coach them on the field. There is so much power in praise and encouragement. It helps your child develop skills they will carry all their lives, not just throughout soccer. At the end of the day it is just a game. For most kids, it ends after high school. For others they get four more years in college. And the very few get to go on and play thereafter. Help them enjoy the game! The time really does fly by.
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Post by mamampira on Mar 26, 2015 10:29:34 GMT -5
Well, it has been an ok season for the team so far. There are a couple of players carrying injuries now on the team, including my son. His will require surgery to scope out a piece of bone that is floating around in his knee...ouch...so we shall see how this part of the journey goes. OMG I am so sorry about your son's injury. I know how hard that is on you as his mom - they are and will always be our babies - even if they're teens now. Take care of him and of you. And remember, it's far more important he be able to walk down stairs when he's 30 than play a game now when he's in his teen years. I had to tell myself that when she missed most of the U15 club season with her injury. A player on our club team had a brother with a similar injury and his mom said that was a much easier recovery than her daughter's torn ACL if that's any consolation. Hang in there, mom! Thanks much. It is some consolation and we are thankful for the fact that it is not a torn ACL. Yes, he is my baby boy and a dear soul at that. What comes to mind at this moment is how our children learn to define who they are when all their might and effort is placed in the sport that they love. I recollect on my childhood and how many options I had: the arts, sports, music, just simple play, a more creative, free flowing childhood. The scopes through which I saw myself and hence determined the parameters of my being (however naive at that age) were varied and less dictatorial. Here and now, suburbia and the options we have dictate that a child concentrate or focus on one or two sports (in our case, one) and so he begins to come to terms with his personhood on the soccer field. Makes those important, instinctive decisions on the fly - good or bad. Makes mistakes, learns from them. It is inevitable with practice four nights a week and high school games, and then the club game rotation that follows as well. And then there is the looming goal of perhaps playing in college (with scholarship attached, even better aha!) So, now, when faced with an injury that may or may not impact his future as a serious player, we begin to appreciate it as an opportunity to contemplate on the 'what ifs' in life. We begin to seek out the other gifts that have been bestowed upon us. And so the silver lining reveals itself. But when all is said and done, I want my boy to be happy and to thrive now, and into adulthood and his paradise years.
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Post by mamampira on Mar 26, 2015 10:50:50 GMT -5
spectator - I community coach at a high school in the metro area and truly do like hearing/reading about parents experiences with HS soccer. Currently, I work with a varsity girls team (my only experience coaching) and have been for a few years. It has been a very different experience then I could ever have imagined. Club and HS will never be the same for a lot of reasons. Fortunately, my team is made up of girls mainly with club level experience. On the down side, they are spread across U14-U19, a handful of clubs and a handful of levels. Skill, size, speed of play, and a big thing...style of play vary vastly from player to player. Imagine trying to combine 18 girls with 18 different styles of play to be able to compete in a game 2 weeks after tryouts. Now imagine trying to train players on the same team ranging from Athena D to ECNL. It is/has been a very large undertaking to say the least. I try to focus a lot of drills to improve the individual skills on the ball, confidence and team tactics. I also bear in mind that the girls play HS to have fun. They make the decision to play for me knowing that HS is not where they will be getting scouted. There is so much pressure in club ball for performance that I see a lot of them lose their love of the game. They forget why they play and burn out before they even get to college. I try to help remind them that the reason they have been playing so long is because at some point in their lives it was fun for them, it fulfilled them. I have had some experiences with parents that want MORE discipline. MORE punitive measures if they don't work hard. But the funny part is, that road is a hard one to go down because kids will up and quit playing. I know many of them won't remember a training session where they busted their backsides or ran for their work rate, but they will remember the time they went sliding in the mud after practice with their friends. Through the years I have found the more bonded the team, the better they play for each other at the HS level. As far as quality of coaching, I agree, even at our JV/9th grade level it is very rudimentary at best. I see those teams range from girls with no playing experience at all to Athena B/A. I feel for those coaches, as they have to bridge a very very large gap. Not to mention, the pay isn't much at all. Those coaches are out there to make sure your children at the very least have the opportunity to play. For myself personally, I step into every season without any sort of monetary expectations. Sometimes I get paid, sometimes I don't. I coach because I love the game, I love watching players grow, I love to build confidence and I love watching them have fun while they play. The best advice I have for the girls that are more skilled in those situations is to be a leader. Help build your team up, coach them on the field. There is so much power in praise and encouragement. It helps your child develop skills they will carry all their lives, not just throughout soccer. At the end of the day it is just a game. For most kids, it ends after high school. For others they get four more years in college. And the very few get to go on and play thereafter. Help them enjoy the game! The time really does fly by. Volunteercoach your commitment is admirable and the girls you work with are lucky to have you. Hopefully there are many other like you out there. I agree with you wholeheartedly that time flies by and "there is so much power in praise and encouragment."
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Post by volunteercoach on Mar 26, 2015 11:37:58 GMT -5
spectator - I community coach at a high school in the metro area and truly do like hearing/reading about parents experiences with HS soccer. Currently, I work with a varsity girls team (my only experience coaching) and have been for a few years. It has been a very different experience then I could ever have imagined. Club and HS will never be the same for a lot of reasons. Fortunately, my team is made up of girls mainly with club level experience. On the down side, they are spread across U14-U19, a handful of clubs and a handful of levels. Skill, size, speed of play, and a big thing...style of play vary vastly from player to player. Imagine trying to combine 18 girls with 18 different styles of play to be able to compete in a game 2 weeks after tryouts. Now imagine trying to train players on the same team ranging from Athena D to ECNL. It is/has been a very large undertaking to say the least. I try to focus a lot of drills to improve the individual skills on the ball, confidence and team tactics. I also bear in mind that the girls play HS to have fun. They make the decision to play for me knowing that HS is not where they will be getting scouted. There is so much pressure in club ball for performance that I see a lot of them lose their love of the game. They forget why they play and burn out before they even get to college. I try to help remind them that the reason they have been playing so long is because at some point in their lives it was fun for them, it fulfilled them. I have had some experiences with parents that want MORE discipline. MORE punitive measures if they don't work hard. But the funny part is, that road is a hard one to go down because kids will up and quit playing. I know many of them won't remember a training session where they busted their backsides or ran for their work rate, but they will remember the time they went sliding in the mud after practice with their friends. Through the years I have found the more bonded the team, the better they play for each other at the HS level. As far as quality of coaching, I agree, even at our JV/9th grade level it is very rudimentary at best. I see those teams range from girls with no playing experience at all to Athena B/A. I feel for those coaches, as they have to bridge a very very large gap. Not to mention, the pay isn't much at all. Those coaches are out there to make sure your children at the very least have the opportunity to play. For myself personally, I step into every season without any sort of monetary expectations. Sometimes I get paid, sometimes I don't. I coach because I love the game, I love watching players grow, I love to build confidence and I love watching them have fun while they play. The best advice I have for the girls that are more skilled in those situations is to be a leader. Help build your team up, coach them on the field. There is so much power in praise and encouragement. It helps your child develop skills they will carry all their lives, not just throughout soccer. At the end of the day it is just a game. For most kids, it ends after high school. For others they get four more years in college. And the very few get to go on and play thereafter. Help them enjoy the game! The time really does fly by. Volunteercoach your commitment is admirable and the girls you work with are lucky to have you. Hopefully there are many other like you out there. I agree with you wholeheartedly that time flies by and "there is so much power in praise and encouragment." Thank you mamampira! Sometimes coaching feels like a thankless job, but its worth it when you see your kids grinning ear to ear and chattering excitedly after winning a big match. And the best part is, all of their success is on them and their work, I simply help give them the tools to get there! I have never coached in the club world (played in it my whole life) but I do truly believe there are many great, fun, inspiring coaches (both on the HS and club side).
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Post by spectator on Mar 26, 2015 11:53:07 GMT -5
Rather than quote and replay, here's my generic response:
First -what a difference a week makes - I posted this on the 18th - we've had two great games since that day and my daughter has gotten a ton of playing time, public kudos from the coach and she's feeling a lot more confident. I did hear that the Varsity Coach had a meeting with the JV coach after our game on the 16th and now she's changing the line up and positions - and it's working - they're doing much better (not that they were doing poorly but you see a better chemistry on the field).
j4k - She is having fun. It's way less stress and presssure than club and she's back with lots of girls she's already played with and against. She's really happy to be part of a team at her high school, too. They wear those spirtwear shirts and team jackets with a lot of pride and swagger LOL.
Only two games left and it's back to club play. This first high school season has flown by.
Volunteercoach - wow - thank you for your commitment to the game and to the players. Any volunteer job is usually thankless- coaching and refereeing seem to be even more thankless than most. And her JV coach isn't a bad person - she does use her best traits to keep it fun - they all have 'secret buddies' they give gifts and snacks to prior to each home game; she's taken them on a run then out for pizza twice this season and I know she's not making a lot of money so we've collected $20 from each player's family to get her a nice gift certificate at the end of the season. She is appreciated - it was just a different experience than the only other style of coaching my kid knew (club).
I can't believe this will all be over by next Monday night.
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Post by volunteercoach on Mar 26, 2015 12:33:01 GMT -5
Rather than quote and replay, here's my generic response: First -what a difference a week makes - I posted this on the 18th - we've had two great games since that day and my daughter has gotten a ton of playing time, public kudos from the coach and she's feeling a lot more confident. I did hear that the Varsity Coach had a meeting with the JV coach after our game on the 16th and now she's changing the line up and positions - and it's working - they're doing much better (not that they were doing poorly but you see a better chemistry on the field). j4k - She is having fun. It's way less stress and presssure than club and she's back with lots of girls she's already played with and against. She's really happy to be part of a team at her high school, too. They wear those spirtwear shirts and team jackets with a lot of pride and swagger LOL. Only two games left and it's back to club play. This first high school season has flown by. Volunteercoach - wow - thank you for your commitment to the game and to the players. Any volunteer job is usually thankless- coaching and refereeing seem to be even more thankless than most. And her JV coach isn't a bad person - she does use her best traits to keep it fun - they all have 'secret buddies' they give gifts and snacks to prior to each home game; she's taken them on a run then out for pizza twice this season and I know she's not making a lot of money so we've collected $20 from each player's family to get her a nice gift certificate at the end of the season. She is appreciated - it was just a different experience than the only other style of coaching my kid knew (club). I can't believe this will all be over by next Monday night. I am glad she has had an enjoyable season! Most HS coaches I encounter really do mean well - they just don't know the game. She will definitely appreciate her club team more once they get back rolling! I know mine are always itching to get back with their club teams right around playoff time. It's always nice to go back to playing with girls you're familiar with and that are around your same age/skill!
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Post by mamampira on May 22, 2015 8:13:14 GMT -5
Upon attendance at first club practice following the end of the high school season, my son commented that practicing with club teammates "is such a step-down" from high school. Added that "players attitudes are not serious" and that in high school there was "an intensity and commitment" from each and every player. Pointed out that coach tries to instill discipline...I guess it is a real challenge to re-acclimate, reconverge towards common goals...We are heading to State Cup this weekend - hoping for the best. He certainly is planning to do his part.
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