What's next in the soccer war?

I personally haven't heard much, but unfortunately as my kids get older i'm starting to distance myself more and more from the club. I just fear parents will pay more for less, fees at the clubs are going up and up every year. I just yearn for the good ole days when state cup had meaning. sorry probably said that already........

The alphabet soup of leagues is really confusing to "new" parents, and we probably all could teach a nice soccer 101 league course in college. Could be like a current event class. Whos in!

I've asked a few times for someone to write it up. No way am I going to take the time to learn this mess that youth soccer has become :-)

Anyone else feel like the new future of youth soccer in Georgia is a messed up version of The Sneeches?
Champions league has 'stars on thars'

Yes - the decision makers are the ones not thinking about what is best for the kids and what will bring in the most money.



I'm less inclined to give parents the pass you are though - especially since most have the mentality that youth sports is a consumer good and they as parents have a say in everything. If you are a parent at one of these clubs and don't agree with this new league, leave the big club. It won't be the death of your kid's dreams (or yours).



Of course this was all tongue in cheek and joking - if you can't laugh at this absurdity, perhaps you should remove yourself from it?



Read more: gasoccerforum.com/thread/2767/next-soccer-war?page=2&scrollTo=20080#ixzz5CBblG6i7

I think the analogy is hilarious. I read the tongue and cheek post which was also funny.

I don't agree with your "just leave the big club if you don't like it" comment though. We already left a small club for a big club because the small club was treating some players (including my daughter) very poorly. The big club has been a much better experience for both of my kids. I don't like the new champions league idea, but that one small club and our current big club are the only clubs that are within a 40 minute drive (each way) to us. Between my husband's job and my job and our kids' soccer schedules (3 days training per week, both of them) there is not another option at least until the kids start to drive themselves and that is a few years away. Sometimes parents are just stuck with only a few options.

Frankly if you feel that 'stuck', don't play soccer at all or switch to a different level that fits your commitment and any restrictions you have with schedules.  I'm not being rude - just stating a fact that if parents truly believe that you are paying for a service and have a say in how things are run (I personally do not subscribe to the belief that youth sports are a consumer goods product), then you as a parent have every right to make a change or find an alternative.  Not advocating that you up and move closer to a club that fits your desires, but to stay somewhere out of convenience and hope that things will get better isn't the best strategy in my humble opinion.

At the end of the day, no one or nothing is holding you hostage at any club - big or small - other than your willingness to stay there.  So I stand by my comment - leave the club if you aren't happy with where it's headed.  Life is too short to be trapped by something like that.

Good luck to you, though - hope it works out is good for your player(s).

I read above the comment about the big six and their results in SRPL. I would remind the poster these were the 2nd and in some case 3rd team depending on club.

Hope it works out for you.

Granted I haven’t asked anyone at the club, I’m at a big 5 club and haven’t heard anything from the club except for what’s been discussed here.

My two cents as the old chick aging out this year:

My kid has played at pretty much every level since U13 - from the most dysfunctional Athena D team at U13 to SRPL. We are not a a club with ECNL or DA . Does the level matter - yes and no.

Twelve year olds aren't thinking about college - most of them aren't really developed enough to play on the full 11v11 field well.  Coaches will snatch up the larger faster kids at 12 and put them on the 'top' teams.  Back when my kid was U13 - that was just Athena A and  RPL - no division 1 RPL, ECNL, DA - just Athena and one level of RPL.  And then the layers came -and parents chased that highest level thinking it was the ticket to whatever  - college, pros, national team - and the kids were a whopping 13 or 14 by this time.  

The truth is - if your kid wants to play college ball, there are colleges where he or she can play.  That school may not be where he or she wants to go as a student so make sure the decision is what is right for the kid well beyond soccer because face it, maybe 1% of the players now will be chosen for a national team or make a MLS team.  Hardest thing for a parent to face is that your kid isn't that 1% but the math doesn't lie.  Let the kid play - period.  School should always come first - soccer is an activity not a career - especially for a pre-teen or teenager.

Now - do you have to be on an ECNL or DA team to play in college - no you do not.  You may not get that power conference D1 scholarship - which by the way is rarely 100% athletic - soccer players are typically pretty good students so the Academic money will far outweigh the athletic and combined may equate to that 'full ride' but anyone telling you their kid got a full Athletic ride for soccer is full of it.  Oh and that D1 quest - has lots of layers.  For every Alabama, USC, Penn State - there's a Wofford, Robert Morris University, or Mount St Mary's - all good schools but hardly recognized powerhouses.  You have to think about the school - size, academic offering, etc.  Does your kid want to play soccer badly enough to go to a school that is most likely smaller than his or her high school here in Metro Atlanta?  (700 students?  1500 students?)  If so, great.  If not, don't compromise just to play at a D1 school to say you're at a D1 school.

What we learned in the college search is there are schools with soccer programs you have never ever ever heard of much less considered?  But there is a school out there for any kid who wants to play - the question will always be - does your kid want to spend 4 years there and will he or she emerge with a viable degree that will get them a job - or into grad school?  On my daughter's team, every senior who wanted to play in college will be doing so - at schools they also wanted to attend.   We know a girl who was on an Athena B team who will be playing at a small D3 school - but it's the school she wanted to go to in an area she loves.  (For the record, she's a very good player but at a very large club and has never been recognized or given an opportunity to move up - that club tends to recruit and take new players over those that have been there - not dissing that club, just friends with the family and have heard that for years - but they liked the coach and team and stayed - I'm happy that she gets to continue playing).

Point is - don't chase a level thinking it'll give your kid the 'full ride' to a power conference school.  Let him or her dictate where they want to spend those four years of their life and if they want to play for the school or play club soccer at a larger school.  We know tons of girls who are attending large schools and playing club soccer for the love of the game and fun social interaction while they are at that school.  Or your kid may hang up his or her cleats by their senior year - it is, after all, their life - their decision.  By the time they're seniors, the other hardest thing for a parent is realizing their kid is about to leave and make their own decisions.  (Or at least that's mine - pass the tissues - I will be a mess come August when she leaves!)

I honestly think the only people who give a flip about what soccer level a teenage kid plays are the clubs who cash the checks and the parents who get sucked into the ego games or who think there needs to be some kind of ROI on your 'investment' in your child's soccer.  I've said countless times, I don't believe children's activities are 'consumer services' where parents get to dictate the game plan.  These are your kids - let them play and enjoy what they do - if you get a 'return' via some college money, bonus - if not, your kids got some fresh air, exercise, learned teamwork and had some fun with their friends.  That to me is a much greater 'return' on the 'investment' than any $ could ever be.

Again -just my two cents - there are days I wish I could travel back in time to when my kid was in Academy and just smack myself upside the head for getting wrapped up in the trivial crap of whether she was on the 'top' team for that week or not.  I'm glad I realized it soon enough to have enjoyed these past 7 years and the journey she was on - thankfully she let me come along for the ride.  I will miss that.

(crap, off to find a Kleenex  - I suck as the mom of a senior lately)

That was more than two cents.

😁