Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2015 9:47:59 GMT -5
Why is it so hard for parents understand what youth (u8-u11) soccer is about.?
Perfect example-- I was talking with a parent last night about frustrations with a few lower level players on a u9 team. I said to the parent, honestly, what good will it do for anyone involved if our team only carried 8 kids to play 6v6 soccer. yes, we would play better soccer and probably get good results, but how is that going to help us when we transition to 8v8 and then to 11v11, if our club only has 8 kids. They don't understand the big picture, its not about developing 6-8 kids, its about developing 13-15.
Would the kids be better off on the 2nd team, most likely, but what difference does it make right now - so we lost a game on Saturday because we tried to build from the back. big deal.
I found this quote on the big soccer forum in a discussion about "youth clubs stretching the truths"
"Parents wanting their kids to have the best soccer training, is no different from wanting them to have the best education…the problem is all the lies, myths, stretching of the truth, misinformation, and general ignorance makes navigating Youth Soccer much more challenging and difficult for parents…I think for many, they, with the best of intentions, are just trying to do the best they can for their kids…"
|
|
|
|
Post by jash on Apr 2, 2015 11:34:40 GMT -5
I agree with everything you said except that you stopped it at U11.
I'd argue that youth soccer all the way through U19 is sorely misunderstood by many parents. The vast majority (I won't make up a statistic this time) of these kids won't play anything other than some adult league or intramural after they leave high school -- if that.
Why are we pretending otherwise by treating them like professionals?
|
|
|
|
Post by SoccerMom on Apr 2, 2015 11:56:27 GMT -5
Why is it so hard for parents understand what youth (u8-u11) soccer is about.? Perfect example-- I was talking with a parent last night about frustrations with a few lower level players on a u9 team. I said to the parent, honestly, what good will it do for anyone involved if our team only carried 8 kids to play 6v6 soccer. yes, we would play better soccer and probably get good results, but how is that going to help us when we transition to 8v8 and then to 11v11, if our club only has 8 kids. They don't understand the big picture, its not about developing 6-8 kids, its about developing 13-15. Would the kids be better off on the 2nd team, most likely, but what difference does it make right now - so we lost a game on Saturday because we tried to build from the back. big deal. I found this quote on the big soccer forum in a discussion about "youth clubs stretching the truths" "Parents wanting their kids to have the best soccer training, is no different from wanting them to have the best education…the problem is all the lies, myths, stretching of the truth, misinformation, and general ignorance makes navigating Youth Soccer much more challenging and difficult for parents…I think for many, they, with the best of intentions, are just trying to do the best they can for their kids…" Do they only train with the 8 kids? our u9 teams have only 8 kids but theyre separated into pools, so 16 kids practice together. sometimes they even mix all the pools during practice, theres 3 pools. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2015 12:23:49 GMT -5
No, we typically have 10-11 kids at training. Our club does not pool players.
|
|
|
|
Post by SoccerMom on Apr 2, 2015 13:15:31 GMT -5
No, we typically have 10-11 kids at training. Our club does not pool players. oh ok, we pool and roster changes some every week |
|
|
|
Post by Soccerhouse on Apr 2, 2015 13:27:34 GMT -5
No, we typically have 10-11 kids at training. Our club does not pool players. oh ok, we pool and roster changes some every week do they pool on both the boys and girls sides at that age? |
|
|
|
Post by SoccerMom on Apr 2, 2015 13:28:20 GMT -5
oh ok, we pool and roster changes some every week do they pool on both the boys and girls sides at that age? yes, even the U10's |
|
|
|
Post by soccerdadguy on Apr 2, 2015 14:16:00 GMT -5
Everyone involved in the process is responsible at some level.
- The parent who associates their child's accomplishments and failures as their own
- Coaches at the academy level who play the same kid game after game (for the 95% of the game game) at a key position when others play just half
- The clubs that force kids to sign "contracts" which are more restrictive than most of us getting a real job
- Parents who are mean to their children for how the mistakes that get made
- Coaches don't hold kids accountable in the same ways
- Clubs focused on maximizing profits and over kids and fun
I could go on and on. We are all guilty at some level as parents, coaches and clubs. Everyone is also for the most part good, and most of these excesses are just the human nature. But to just focus on parents misses the mark, the issues are a lot more broad than that.
|
|
|
|
Post by sidelinemama on Apr 2, 2015 17:34:23 GMT -5
I also quickly thought that this is a problem well past U11. I wish parents could just relax and let their kids enjoy the sport. They will improve as they are meant too, and the extreme pressure just leads to burn out in so many. I am going through round two of soccer with my second child and I can't believe the short sightedness of the parents of the younger kids that don't realize you need 13 girls, so you need to give the less abled ones time to play and improve, or you may not have enough in the end. It's truly crazy.
|
|
|
|
Post by spectator on Apr 2, 2015 18:56:33 GMT -5
The article I posted last week about the adultification of youth sports was so spot on. Perhaps we should print copies and put them on the cars in parking lots of youth soccer complexes around metro Atlanta??
Parents - specifically American parents - will do the most ridiculous things under the guise of 'wanting what is best for my child'. And if that parent thinks his or her little player is too good for a weaker team, why they'll just pack up and move to a better one whenever they want because that's what is 'best' for their child.
"Best" isn't always just being on a better team. 'Best' can be the greatest lesson and experience a child could have - oh and a little fun, too. If a child is playing with his or her friends and enjoying the game, getting some decent coaching and learning, then from U9 through U12, just let them. The craziness gets worse from U13 on but at least if you set the foundation of loving the game, embracing a team, and having FUN, the player will develop and grow into the best they can be - not necessarily what you as parent think is the 'best' for them.
Example - at U13, we found ourselves on a seriously underperforming team the first fall season. The talent gap between the players was as wide as the grand canyon and some of the parents of the better players grumbled that they wanted to move in Spring. Coach - freaking GENIUS of a man - held a parent meeting pronto and discussed his goal for the team in the spring, noted the challenges the fall had but more importantly talked of how the girls worked well together - the better players would help the less experienced ones at his encouragement. He gave his own players a stake in the development of their peers. Those that were not as experienced, did enjoy the peer mentoring and for a bunch of 12 year old girls, there was not a single shred of drama or bickering. That was the tightest group of kids I've seen my child play with yet. Her lesson was not to judge less experienced players, to help her team as best as she could with both her level of play and her leadership. The coach made the better players not only better players but leaders on and off the field. You can't transfer to or buy that kind of lesson. It benefits her still today.
Now, did we make a move the next season, yes. Several of the better players did but we were honest and upfront about it before tryouts and because some of the kids decided to quit that next year, the team dissolved. Small club, that's a risk. But the lessons that coach taught the players and some of us (formerly) psycho parents was invaluable and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. THAT'S what parents who don't get it will never get - this game is so much more than just the game on the field or the outcome of the score. This is a your player's childhood - let them have it at their own pace!
|
|
