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Post by kalicut on Jan 23, 2024 20:54:01 GMT -5
Hope everyone is doing well, have a 5 year old son already super active, adventurous and loves competition! From the Northeast Ga area.
We started “rec” sports last at 3 with T Ball and Soccer, he enjoyed both but let’s be honest he was 3 year old! This past fall rec soccer his love for soccer peaked, and he fell in love! His first game he was able to score 10 goals in the first 10mins, then had the parents of the other team want us to get his birth certificate (I’m just bragging) He quickly caught onto “new ball” and the other rules and took advantage of them, if he couldn’t steal the ball he would get close enough to kick it out so he could get a new ball in play.
After his last game of this amazing season, he came up to me head down with tears in his eyes and said “Daddy, I wish soccer wasn’t over… I want to play more…”
We live in a county that knows nothing about the sports. Heck our high school team hasn’t won a game in years, let alone scored more than 5 goals in a season… so I’ve had little to no guidance to steer him in the right direction.
I’ve been researching, found a few clubs with in a 30 mile radius. Ended up picking Lanier Soccer Association.
YouTube has been my best friend as far as at home practice, we live 1m from our rec fields. We’ve been working a lot on passing, dribbling, shooting and 1v1s. (I can break these down better if need be)
He’s had us out daily practicing, in 30° weather sometimes…
December we found Atlanta United’s clinics and signed him up, he absolutely loves it! Unfortunately had to miss this past one due to him being under the weather, he was highly disappointed. We went ahead and signed him up for their half day camp this summer.
Looking for general advice and recommendations to keep it fun, enjoyable and competitive while always trying to improve. We love him, don’t want to see him burn out or feel we’re pushing him to hard, but man to watch your child love something and do so well is something else!
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Post by slickdaddy96 on Jan 24, 2024 8:39:42 GMT -5
My advice is have him evaluated (tryout) for Lanier or whatever club you choose Pre-Academy or PDA (whichever they call it) program. If a coach thinks he is good enough to be in that, that is still relatively fun but also more competitive than "rec" ball. Keep gauging his interest, and his skill and interest will gauge where you go from there. If he continues to enjoy and get better skill wise then the next step is Academy (U9-U12 ages), then ultimately Select (U13-U19). If he becomes the best on the team type player as he progresses look for higher level teams (which will probably require travel to get him to) so that he still faces challenges and better players to get better. Being a dominate player on a lower level team is not advantageous to him in the long run if he gets to that point.
As always though let his attitude/desire and skill level dictate how you proceed as he gets older. If you push him when he is losing interest you will just eventually burn him out. Either he is into it or not into it.
I will caveat that early success at this age doesn't mean as much as looking dominate in Academy and Select as he gets older. I've seen a lot of kids look great at 5 years old only for everyone else to catch up with them by early to mid academy ages. Remember that "new ball" doesn't exist as any type of rule once they normally get into Pre-Academy and if they still do it there then definitely not in Academy ages. He will have to learn skills of keeping the ball in play, 1v1 tactics, defending, and attacking not just kicking the ball out so a new ball can come out.
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Post by kalicut on Jan 24, 2024 9:30:45 GMT -5
My advice is have him evaluated (tryout) for Lanier or whatever club you choose Pre-Academy or PDA (whichever they call it) program. If a coach thinks he is good enough to be in that, that is still relatively fun but also more competitive than "rec" ball. Keep gauging his interest, and his skill and interest will gauge where you go from there. If he continues to enjoy and get better skill wise then the next step is Academy (U9-U12 ages), then ultimately Select (U13-U19). If he becomes the best on the team type player as he progresses look for higher level teams (which will probably require travel to get him to) so that he still faces challenges and better players to get better. Being a dominate player on a lower level team is not advantageous to him in the long run if he gets to that point. As always though let his attitude/desire and skill level dictate how you proceed as he gets older. If you push him when he is losing interest you will just eventually burn him out. Either he is into it or not into it. I will caveat that early success at this age doesn't mean as much as looking dominate in Academy and Select as he gets older. I've seen a lot of kids look great at 5 years old only for everyone else to catch up with them by early to mid academy ages. Remember that "new ball" doesn't exist as any type of rule once they normally get into Pre-Academy and if they still do it there then definitely not in Academy ages. He will have to learn skills of keeping the ball in play, 1v1 tactics, defending, and attacking not just kicking the ball out so a new ball can come out. I’ll check into the pre academy. The exact reason we went looking for somewhere else is the lack of competition, he was bored at our county’s rec program and we should have played him up to 6U. If he’s the best, he’s getting nothing out of it. I do understand what you mean by catching up, and luckily he is wanting and willing to practice a lot. We normally start by just passing back and forth, then increase to walking passing to a full run. Line up 4 balls to take about 24 shots total, working on executing and following through with a shot. Dribbling drills going through cones, slowly increasing difficulty by adding curves and taking shots at the end, but always stepping back when we’re losing control Lots of 1v1 or 2v1 (to help force passing) Dribbling with the ball keeping head up and moving instead of looking down by having him call out the color cone me or his mom has held up. We’ve added juggling in before bed, he just wants to juggle so bad because “it’s cool” |
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Post by youthsoccerdad on Jan 24, 2024 9:44:04 GMT -5
Hope everyone is doing well, have a 5 year old son already super active, adventurous and loves competition! From the Northeast Ga area. We started “rec” sports last at 3 with T Ball and Soccer, he enjoyed both but let’s be honest he was 3 year old! This past fall rec soccer his love for soccer peaked, and he fell in love! His first game he was able to score 10 goals in the first 10mins, then had the parents of the other team want us to get his birth certificate (I’m just bragging) He quickly caught onto “new ball” and the other rules and took advantage of them, if he couldn’t steal the ball he would get close enough to kick it out so he could get a new ball in play. After his last game of this amazing season, he came up to me head down with tears in his eyes and said “Daddy, I wish soccer wasn’t over… I want to play more…” We live in a county that knows nothing about the sports. Heck our high school team hasn’t won a game in years, let alone scored more than 5 goals in a season… so I’ve had little to no guidance to steer him in the right direction. I’ve been researching, found a few clubs with in a 30 mile radius. Ended up picking Lanier Soccer Association. YouTube has been my best friend as far as at home practice, we live 1m from our rec fields. We’ve been working a lot on passing, dribbling, shooting and 1v1s. (I can break these down better if need be) He’s had us out daily practicing, in 30° weather sometimes… December we found Atlanta United’s clinics and signed him up, he absolutely loves it! Unfortunately had to miss this past one due to him being under the weather, he was highly disappointed. We went ahead and signed him up for their half day camp this summer. Looking for general advice and recommendations to keep it fun, enjoyable and competitive while always trying to improve. We love him, don’t want to see him burn out or feel we’re pushing him to hard, but man to watch your child love something and do so well is something else! I am not sure there are any words I can say or experiences I can share that will have an impact on your journey. This forum probably has the highest percentage of parents who had kids scoring 10+ goals at the age of six. While a couple will disagree I think most would tell you to do it for fun, but never fool yourself, there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. At least on the boys side. |
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Post by rpsoccer on Jan 24, 2024 10:36:09 GMT -5
Other than the advices that were already given, I would search for futsal training, there he will be able to practice a lot of passing, dribbling and 1v1, against more skilled teammates. That is essential at that age.
Also, at this age, it is more important his development as soccer player than winning. I tell my daughter that I do not care about score sheets, winning or losing, the only thing that I care about is her giving her 100% at every game.
It is great that you and your wife invest time with him, probably that is another reason he loves soccer =]
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Post by missionimpossible on Jan 24, 2024 12:12:59 GMT -5
I would just add that we’ve all been there. LSA is a very good club with good coaches and history of developing players, especially in the younger age groups and a good choice.
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Post by kalicut on Jan 24, 2024 13:17:40 GMT -5
Other than the advices that were already given, I would search for futsal training, there he will be able to practice a lot of passing, dribbling and 1v1, against more skilled teammates. That is essential at that age. Also, at this age, it is more important his development as soccer player than winning. I tell my daughter that I do not care about score sheets, winning or losing, the only thing that I care about is her giving her 100% at every game. It is great that you and your wife invest time with him, probably that is another reason he loves soccer =] Thank you, and unfortunately being ignorant to all of this I missed signing him up for winter Futsal… |
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Post by kalicut on Jan 24, 2024 13:18:12 GMT -5
I would just add that we’ve all been there. LSA is a very good club with good coaches and history of developing players, especially in the younger age groups and a good choice. Most have said LSA is great for young age but once you get to the competitive level it’s time to move on? |
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Post by lajolla39 on Jan 24, 2024 13:34:44 GMT -5
My recommendation to new parents is always the same.
1. Play for a club that's as close as possible to your house. (The drive to practice will get old quickly if it's 45min each way in traffic)
2. Don't chase leagues. (It's better to be a big fish in a small bowl than the other way around)
3. Coach, Doc, Club Owners. (In descending importance to your kid)
4. Good parents make a huge difference. (Don't join a team with crazy parents)
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Post by kalicut on Jan 24, 2024 13:41:26 GMT -5
My recommendation to new parents is always the same. 1. Play for a club that's as close as possible to your house. (The drive to practice will get old quickly if it's 45min each way in traffic) 2. Don't chase leagues. (It's better to be a big fish in a small bowl than the other way around) 3. Coach, Doc, Club Owners. (In descending importance to your kid) 4. Good parents make a huge difference. (Don't join a team with crazy parents) My wife and her family have always done travel ball (basketball for my wife and softball for my sister in law) my sister in law actually got a scholarship to Truitt and is currently playing for them, she’s been a lot of help with finding and place and what to look for. My wife and I have our values in place and they will come before anything else, but I don’t want to wonder in blindly to a bad situation I could have avoided with advice. |
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Post by rpsoccer on Jan 24, 2024 14:06:55 GMT -5
Other than the advices that were already given, I would search for futsal training, there he will be able to practice a lot of passing, dribbling and 1v1, against more skilled teammates. That is essential at that age. Also, at this age, it is more important his development as soccer player than winning. I tell my daughter that I do not care about score sheets, winning or losing, the only thing that I care about is her giving her 100% at every game. It is great that you and your wife invest time with him, probably that is another reason he loves soccer =] Thank you, and unfortunately being ignorant to all of this I missed signing him up for winter Futsal… No worries, your kid is very young and futsal training is supplemental to club training, so there is futsal training thru the year (even when Clubs are on a break), and since it is indoor in very rare occasions trannings get cancelled. |
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Post by mamadona on Jan 24, 2024 14:25:35 GMT -5
I would just add that we’ve all been there. LSA is a very good club with good coaches and history of developing players, especially in the younger age groups and a good choice. Most have said LSA is great for young age but once you get to the competitive level it’s time to move on? Before U12 there are no real leagues, it's all friendly games during the season except for tournaments. U12 can play in SCCL. U13 and up can play ECNL, ECRL, MLS Next, SCCL, NPL, etc. Your son is only 5 so there's no rush to leave LSA for many years I would say. I agree that you do not want to drive too far too early. It will be a lot of driving. |
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Post by rudy on Jan 24, 2024 15:20:44 GMT -5
Most have said LSA is great for young age but once you get to the competitive level it’s time to move on? Before U12 there are no real leagues, it's all friendly games during the season except for tournaments. U12 can play in SCCL. U13 and up can play ECNL, ECRL, MLS Next, SCCL, NPL, etc. Your son is only 5 so there's no rush to leave LSA for many years I would say. I agree that you do not want to drive too far too early. It will be a lot of driving. Agree, a local club like LSA is a good option until u11/u12. If the interest is still there and he needs and wants more competition, go visit some of the big clubs. NASA is up that way. GSA Dacula may work as well. Currently on the boys side, ECNL is top league unless AU youth academy. |
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Post by missionimpossible on Jan 24, 2024 15:25:32 GMT -5
I would just add that we’ve all been there. LSA is a very good club with good coaches and history of developing players, especially in the younger age groups and a good choice. Most have said LSA is great for young age but once you get to the competitive level it’s time to move on? On the boys side, historically they develop players about as well as any other club. Heavy on the hispanic player side. I always found their players to be very technical and teams would play a beautiful possession style of play. …. as far as changing when he’s older from a competitiveness standpoint, I wouldn’t worry about that too much. You have a lot of time to figure it out. The soccer leagues had about 3 or 4 major changes during our journey and things could frankly change again. |
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Post by kalicut on Jan 24, 2024 15:38:34 GMT -5
Thank you all for giving advice as honestly we are completely ignorant to the sport. I do want to say we all three have enjoyed practicing and playing together! Thanks for the inside on LSA and the leagues! We’re going to look into futsal and different outside training along with continuing practicing at home! We do have him signed up for AU summer camp in May, vacation then camp!
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Post by slickdaddy96 on Jan 24, 2024 15:51:17 GMT -5
I would just add that we’ve all been there. LSA is a very good club with good coaches and history of developing players, especially in the younger age groups and a good choice. Most have said LSA is great for young age but once you get to the competitive level it’s time to move on? I would agree with that statement. If he is a really really good player to have the opportunities to play on high level, higher league teams you would most likely have to look at one of the bigger clubs in the metro area such as Concorde, SSA, UFA, AFU, GSA, NASA/TH, or if he is luckily gets picked by Atlanta United's Academy. |
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Post by kalicut on Jan 24, 2024 16:15:24 GMT -5
Most have said LSA is great for young age but once you get to the competitive level it’s time to move on? I would agree with that statement. If he is a really really good player to have the opportunities to play on high level, higher league teams you would most likely have to look at one of the bigger clubs in the metro area such as Concorde, SSA, UFA, AFU, GSA, NASA/TH, or if he is luckily gets picked by Atlanta United's Academy. Like stated earlier, it’s not really important at the moment. But two questions out of curiosity. 1. How do you know it’s time to take the next step and move on? And 2. Starting at his age, what’s the best way to get there? I do know these are vague questions. |
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Post by slickdaddy96 on Jan 24, 2024 17:32:30 GMT -5
I would agree with that statement. If he is a really really good player to have the opportunities to play on high level, higher league teams you would most likely have to look at one of the bigger clubs in the metro area such as Concorde, SSA, UFA, AFU, GSA, NASA/TH, or if he is luckily gets picked by Atlanta United's Academy. Like stated earlier, it’s not really important at the moment. But two questions out of curiosity. 1. How do you know it’s time to take the next step and move on? And 2. Starting at his age, what’s the best way to get there? I do know these are vague questions. In a perfect world a Coach would be honest and tell you that he has progressed beyond the team. That doesn't happen very often because Coaches want to win, and thus if your son is "the stud" player they may be reluctant to let him go and tell you this. I was Team Manager for my son's team from U9 on. I made many friends with parents and still am friends with many of them still. If I ever saw a player head over heels better than the rest of the team, I always in passing told the parent to seek higher skill level teams for them to play on even at the detriment of my son's team. Same thing when I referee, if I ever saw in a recreation game a kid that was just head over heels better than everyone else, I would always make it a point to tell the kid, coach, or parents if I could find them after the game that they should consider competitive soccer versus recreation. All that being said, the only thing I can say is that if you are being attentive to his skill and being honest about his skill level (no rose colored glasses) you will know when/if it is time to take the next step toward a higher level team. If he is consistently the best player on that team, you should look for him to go to ID camps and tryouts for higher level teams to see where he stands amongst the best. If he is just average then he should stay where he is if he likes his team. If you want him at the highest level once he gets into the Academy age I would look for outside 1on1 training with a coach (or even a good HS or College player). He needs to be training and practicing skills at home as well not just with the team he is on. Being on higher teams isn't always as fun as dominating other players though, and that is something that your son as he gets older will need to understand, and if he doesn't want to put forth the effort to play meaningful minutes on a higher level team, then he just needs to stay where he is happy and having fun. I would also say if he is good at some point you might need to make a decision on whether being on the 1st team for a club and seeing maybe 10-15 minutes a game playing time, when he could be playing almost full games on the 2nd team where he could continue to work on his skills in game time situations is worth it. For boys you have to be the elite of the elite to get a scholarship in college or get on with an USL or MLS club as a pro, so I would never go in with that being the goal. If he was a girl instead, then I would say the avenues are a little more open for that even for girls on 2nd/3rd teams. So assume all this money you will be pouring into all of this is not going to equate to a scholarship. Statistically it will not. |
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Post by triffling on Jan 24, 2024 18:00:00 GMT -5
My advice is have him evaluated (tryout) for Lanier or whatever club you choose Pre-Academy or PDA (whichever they call it) program. If a coach thinks he is good enough to be in that, that is still relatively fun but also more competitive than "rec" ball. Keep gauging his interest, and his skill and interest will gauge where you go from there. If he continues to enjoy and get better skill wise then the next step is Academy (U9-U12 ages), then ultimately Select (U13-U19). If he becomes the best on the team type player as he progresses look for higher level teams (which will probably require travel to get him to) so that he still faces challenges and better players to get better. Being a dominate player on a lower level team is not advantageous to him in the long run if he gets to that point. As always though let his attitude/desire and skill level dictate how you proceed as he gets older. If you push him when he is losing interest you will just eventually burn him out. Either he is into it or not into it. I will caveat that early success at this age doesn't mean as much as looking dominate in Academy and Select as he gets older. I've seen a lot of kids look great at 5 years old only for everyone else to catch up with them by early to mid academy ages. Remember that "new ball" doesn't exist as any type of rule once they normally get into Pre-Academy and if they still do it there then definitely not in Academy ages. He will have to learn skills of keeping the ball in play, 1v1 tactics, defending, and attacking not just kicking the ball out so a new ball can come out. I’ll check into the pre academy. The exact reason we went looking for somewhere else is the lack of competition, he was bored at our county’s rec program and we should have played him up to 6U. If he’s the best, he’s getting nothing out of it. I do understand what you mean by catching up, and luckily he is wanting and willing to practice a lot. We normally start by just passing back and forth, then increase to walking passing to a full run. Line up 4 balls to take about 24 shots total, working on executing and following through with a shot. Dribbling drills going through cones, slowly increasing difficulty by adding curves and taking shots at the end, but always stepping back when we’re losing control Lots of 1v1 or 2v1 (to help force passing) Dribbling with the ball keeping head up and moving instead of looking down by having him call out the color cone me or his mom has held up. We’ve added juggling in before bed, he just wants to juggle so bad because “it’s cool” If you haven’t already, google Coerver technique and work on mastering those skills. Kids who can master the footwork become really strong players as they grow older because they are very confident with the ball on their feet and can play in tight spaces and under pressure. |
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dc
Jr. Academy
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Post by dc on Jan 24, 2024 20:33:45 GMT -5
Hope everyone is doing well, have a 5 year old son already super active, adventurous and loves competition! From the Northeast Ga area. We started “rec” sports last at 3 with T Ball and Soccer, he enjoyed both but let’s be honest he was 3 year old! This past fall rec soccer his love for soccer peaked, and he fell in love! His first game he was able to score 10 goals in the first 10mins, then had the parents of the other team want us to get his birth certificate (I’m just bragging) He quickly caught onto “new ball” and the other rules and took advantage of them, if he couldn’t steal the ball he would get close enough to kick it out so he could get a new ball in play. After his last game of this amazing season, he came up to me head down with tears in his eyes and said “Daddy, I wish soccer wasn’t over… I want to play more…” We live in a county that knows nothing about the sports. Heck our high school team hasn’t won a game in years, let alone scored more than 5 goals in a season… so I’ve had little to no guidance to steer him in the right direction. I’ve been researching, found a few clubs with in a 30 mile radius. Ended up picking Lanier Soccer Association. YouTube has been my best friend as far as at home practice, we live 1m from our rec fields. We’ve been working a lot on passing, dribbling, shooting and 1v1s. (I can break these down better if need be) He’s had us out daily practicing, in 30° weather sometimes… December we found Atlanta United’s clinics and signed him up, he absolutely loves it! Unfortunately had to miss this past one due to him being under the weather, he was highly disappointed. We went ahead and signed him up for their half day camp this summer. Looking for general advice and recommendations to keep it fun, enjoyable and competitive while always trying to improve. We love him, don’t want to see him burn out or feel we’re pushing him to hard, but man to watch your child love something and do so well is something else! The best piece of advice I can give you is to remember he is 5 years old. |
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Post by rifle on Jan 25, 2024 13:47:23 GMT -5
Sign him up for basketball in the winter.
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Post by oraclesfriend on Jan 27, 2024 13:49:47 GMT -5
Most have said LSA is great for young age but once you get to the competitive level it’s time to move on? On the boys side, historically they develop players about as well as any other club. Heavy on the hispanic player side. I always found their players to be very technical and teams would play a beautiful possession style of play. …. as far as changing when he’s older from a competitiveness standpoint, I wouldn’t worry about that too much. You have a lot of time to figure it out. The soccer leagues had about 3 or 4 major changes during our journey and things could frankly change again. Totally agree with this statement. LSA is very good on the boys side for developing kids. Stay there if you are happy, he is enjoying it and most importantly the COACH is a good person to him and the team. |
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Post by kalicut on Mar 11, 2024 13:48:04 GMT -5
Just want to give an update,
Start LSA Feb 19th, we’ve only had 2 practices… and first game was rained out. Honestly we’ve been pretty let down for the lack of practices, what seems like never ending cancelations if there is even the thought of rain in the forecast, and coaches showing up 15min late to practice.
To make up for this we asked if about adding in local rec soccer (we explained in detail that if he added this he was going to be a LOT of soccer.)
Well… he wanted to. And I missed sign ups… so… the rec said “we will let him sign up if you will coach!” As the laughed…
Me and my wife went to studying, documenting every thing he did at AU, watched YouTube and went for it. We practice twice a week here (3 practices a week including LSA) we show up 30 min early, set up all goals, cones, drills and anything in between. High energy, fun games, difficult competition! Always ending on high notes with a 4v4 scrimmage at the end so they understand how to play!
My son has realized he’s not the fastest, but he has realized he’s practiced so much he can control the ball. So he’s realizing and teaching himself to control the ball to make up for the lack of speed.
I ask him daily, is it still fun, is it to much? I’ve told him plenty of times if you need a break take a break, but come back faster and stronger.
To top it off, my dad (his grandfather) won him a soccer ball at a charity auction this past weekend. He now has a signed Leo Messi Ball to show off in his room, he is one proud kids but a little upset he can’t use it at practice!
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