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Post by greenmonkey on May 25, 2017 14:15:06 GMT -5
Competition: Not just Athena/Select levels but add the additional leagues AND then add DA, ECNL, ENCL, etc.
Clubs: Now there are even "pre-ECNL" and "pre-DA" teams at U12/13 girls and two clubs only have one or the other (UFA girls DA and AFU with ECNL) And 2 other clubs TopHat and Concorde have both. Not sure on the boys side. Also there are many many great clubs depending on your grading scale that probably make lots of soccer players and their families very happy.
Coaches: Many of the "top team" coaches at the "top clubs" seem to come with diverse parent opinions. Lots of you either love them or you don't.
So how do YOU prioritize?
As for us we are Coach, Competition, then Club
GM
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Post by footy on May 25, 2017 23:15:08 GMT -5
Competition, coach, club (coach and club are almost equal).
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Post by spectator on May 26, 2017 6:29:02 GMT -5
COACH!!!! A good coach regardless of club or level of competition is most important to us. A good coach will get a team to a higher level by developing players and the team and RETAINING those players
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Post by fanatic21 on May 26, 2017 6:55:18 GMT -5
Coach, especially at the younger ages (say U14 and below). If a player's goals are college soccer and/or beyond though, competition may have to become the priority at the older ages. Club, aside from reasonable location is the least of my concerns - but of course some clubs generally have higher levels, some because of DA and/or ECNL.
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Post by infoguy on May 26, 2017 9:42:19 GMT -5
I believe you can hit all 3 at a club, but it's hard to land all 3 at the same time. Go to a club that offers growth.
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Post by touchlinedad on May 26, 2017 10:05:42 GMT -5
It all depends on what the player's goals are. If playing beyond high school is the goal, then I agree, Coach, Competition, Club is the correct order. But if you son or daughter is playing because he/she loves the game and doesn't plan on playing college or beyond, then I would say it becomes more of a player's preference. He might like the coach and the club and prefer to stay with them instead of more competition. I know of many kids who have hopped from team to team in search of better competition only to be miserable because they didn't have friends on the team and never meshed well. For the vast majority of players, finding a coach/team that works well for you and sticking with it is probably best.
What I've learned from my years watching my children is they are happiest when their team is a collection of players who mesh well with one another and they have fun. At the end of the day, that is what it's all about for the vast majority of Academy and Select players. There are very few players who have the ability and the DESIRE to play at the highest level. There are very few Andrew Carletons in the world. If you have a young player who wants to go far, he or she needs to understand early on there will be lots of sacrifices even to make it at a college level. I recommend the documentary of the story about Jay DeMerit, "Rise and Shine." It's very inspirational but the message I took from it is that it takes tremendous mental strength and belief along with ability to do what he did. A player can have the ability, great coaching and great competition but if that player doesn't have that mental strength to make the sacrifices needed to work day in and day out toward getting better, that player is not likely to play in college and definitely professionally.
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Post by spectator on May 26, 2017 10:06:30 GMT -5
Coach, especially at the younger ages (say U14 and below). If a player's goals are college soccer and/or beyond though, competition may have to become the priority at the older ages. Club, aside from reasonable location is the least of my concerns - but of course some clubs generally have higher levels, some because of DA and/or ECNL. Coaches still play a vital role in getting college looks. We know good players on high level RPL teams who have zero college prospects because their coach or team manager did little to no prep work before or have handouts for coaches during key tournaments (Disney/CASL) or showcases - of their club offered no classes or guidance to parents and players about the process. College coaches don't just fall into players' laps because of the level they are - prior to Junior year, the club coach is a vital liaison between player and college prospective coach. We know girls who play or played ENCL who don't have as many college prospects as their counterparts on RPL or even Athena A teams - being on the level team doesn't guarantee you a college coach looking at you - in this case, the girls don't play that much on these ENCL teams but their parents want them on that level team versus perhaps playing RPL and actually playing. A good example I can give - a friend's daughter has been on an Athena B team most of her soccer career but she has had a great coach for the past 3 years - who, about two years ago, asked the players what their goals were. For those who wanted to play beyond high school, he got them in touch with schools that fit their level and educational goals - smaller D3, D3, 2-year, etc. Every girl on that team (granted not that many - about 4) will go on to play soccer at a smaller school all because that coach gave them that option and knew how to make the contacts and guide them. The kid with the skills to play high level D1 may not need that kind of guidance, but the majority of players aren't that level and if a kid wants to play at the college level, there ARE schools for almost every level - just make sure the academics is in line with the ultimate career goal the kid has and a good club coach can help tremendously in this process. IMO - the coach is still the most important component regardless of the age - younger to develop the skills, later on to help in the process if the end goal is to play in college.
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