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Post by newguy on Jul 30, 2023 16:30:38 GMT -5
Looking for the wise advice of those who have traveled the path before us. First year we are old enough to play middle school ball and kid wants to try out but practice will conflict with one of our three club practices each week and haven’t looked into games yet. I know seventh grade problems but curious how others handled this.
Thanks all and welcome to the end of summer.
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Post by davidj on Jul 30, 2023 16:56:15 GMT -5
What’s your regular club? Do you have the same coach this year as last year to where he knows your kid/commitment level?
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Post by bogan on Jul 30, 2023 17:14:45 GMT -5
My son played middle school soccer but rarely attended the middle school practices-he would just miss his Thursday club practices when he had games. Coach was fine with it. But it’s up to the coach.
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Post by newguy on Jul 30, 2023 17:20:01 GMT -5
What’s your regular club? Do you have the same coach this year as last year to where he knows your kid/commitment level? Moved to a new club this year so new club and coach. Landed at SCCL-C with the possibility of playing up at ECNL-R some games. |
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Post by mightydawg on Jul 30, 2023 20:20:34 GMT -5
The way that we have always handled it is club games>school games>club practices>school practices. Talk with coaches of both teams and let them know what is going on. Most coaches are understanding but there can be consequences.
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Post by Keeper on Jul 30, 2023 20:20:40 GMT -5
Assuming this is one of the middle schools that plays in the Fall? Talk to both coaches before, most MS coaches know club comes first so just let them know and when you’ll have to miss. MS coaches just need them their for games anyway..
7th grader and wanting to play ECNL-RL means a lot of games and training between now and June so don’t over do it and burnout. That’s the biggest issue with kids playing school and club so find the balance.
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Post by blu on Jul 31, 2023 8:14:37 GMT -5
Look at the game schedule too, those will likely be weeknights with more club practices being missed.
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Post by newguy on Jul 31, 2023 9:50:54 GMT -5
Thanks all. We will talk to the coaches and make sure everyone is on the same page (hopefully).
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Post by soccerparentx on Jul 31, 2023 9:59:59 GMT -5
Looking for the wise advice of those who have traveled the path before us. First year we are old enough to play middle school ball and kid wants to try out but practice will conflict with one of our three club practices each week and haven’t looked into games yet. I know seventh grade problems but curious how others handled this. Thanks all and welcome to the end of summer. It depends on the kid's coaches level of understanding, what your kid wants to do, and ultimately what your values are. Mine is in the last year of being truly able to play multiple sports. That requires saying 'no' to multiple practices a night and accepting the decisions that the coaches want to make because of a perceived "level of commitment". At the same time, we set expectations early on with the coaches-- I mean after all, we are the ones paying their checks. At the end of the day, I value my kid's ability to be social with school friends (which as we all know is loads of fun during middle school) and have fun playing a sport where it can be a grind in the US soccer pyramid to nowhere. The caveat to all this is that your kid may not have fun b/c the MS team isn't great soccer-- I could be wrong depending on # of club players on that team. It really depends on what he or she wants to get out of the experience. |
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dc
Jr. Academy
Posts: 52
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Post by dc on Jul 31, 2023 10:41:46 GMT -5
Looking for the wise advice of those who have traveled the path before us. First year we are old enough to play middle school ball and kid wants to try out but practice will conflict with one of our three club practices each week and haven’t looked into games yet. I know seventh grade problems but curious how others handled this. Thanks all and welcome to the end of summer. In the end, it is what your child wants to do that is important. Don't let the coaches dictate your child's choice. My kids all played middle school soccer and club in the same season. Sometimes they chose club practices over middle school practices/games and sometimes they chose middle school practices/games over club practices. We never saw any sign of burnout because middle school practices were generally less intense and more fun. In our experience we did have one club coach and one middle school coach attempt to tell us that our kids could only play one or the other. In both instances, we sat down with the coach and reminded them that these were 12-13 year old kids, not adults and not pros - just kids. If you do have to have a sit down with a coach, make sure you know the club or school policies on missing practices, expectations, etc before meeting with them. I have one kid who plays post-collegiately and says all the best soccer memories he has are from school soccer. This includes multiple trips to nationals. There's something about going to school with your teammates for eight hours a day and nine months of the year compared to just six-seven hours a week for a few months of the year. One of our kids also ran XC and played ENCL in the same season for his last three years of high school. If you kid wants to do both, my advice is to let him/her play. They're only in middle school once. |
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Post by Whistledown on Jul 31, 2023 23:14:06 GMT -5
Looking for the wise advice of those who have traveled the path before us. First year we are old enough to play middle school ball and kid wants to try out but practice will conflict with one of our three club practices each week and haven’t looked into games yet. I know seventh grade problems but curious how others handled this. Thanks all and welcome to the end of summer. In the end, it is what your child wants to do that is important. Don't let the coaches dictate your child's choice. My kids all played middle school soccer and club in the same season. Sometimes they chose club practices over middle school practices/games and sometimes they chose middle school practices/games over club practices. We never saw any sign of burnout because middle school practices were generally less intense and more fun. In our experience we did have one club coach and one middle school coach attempt to tell us that our kids could only play one or the other. In both instances, we sat down with the coach and reminded them that these were 12-13 year old kids, not adults and not pros - just kids. If you do have to have a sit down with a coach, make sure you know the club or school policies on missing practices, expectations, etc before meeting with them. I have one kid who plays post-collegiately and says all the best soccer memories he has are from school soccer. This includes multiple trips to nationals. There's something about going to school with your teammates for eight hours a day and nine months of the year compared to just six-seven hours a week for a few months of the year. One of our kids also ran XC and played ENCL in the same season for his last three years of high school. If you kid wants to do both, my advice is to let him/her play. They're only in middle school once. In the end, it is what your child wants to do that is important. Don't let the coaches dictate your child's choice. This is the best advice. |
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