A Question of Rank

Hello all. Just curious what your thoughts are on rankings? How important is ranking or perhaps how unimportant is it? I have been told it is important to be in the top 25 and I have also been told rank does not matter. I can see an argument for both sides of the fence. On one side your working up into the more competitive leagues, perhaps get more visibility, experience, etc. On the other side it not that important as long as you get great skills and develop as a player. Interested to hear your thoughts.

O.K.  Let's start with the facts...  

1)  Over the past 4 years, the final FBR published prior to the LHGCL QT in July has ~90% accuracy at predicting the teams that will qualify for the 20 D1 Supergroup at U11, and ~87% accuracy at predicting all qualifiers for LHGCL at U11.

2)  Your profile says that you live in Allen.  Go to the Allen HS Soccer Booster club website (http://www.alleneagles.com), go to the girls varsity roster, and read through the profiles for the girls on the team.  23 girls currently listed on the varsity roster... 21 list clearly which team they play for...  18 of those 21 (86%) play LHGCL or ECNL, 11 of those 21 (52%) play LHGCL D1 or ECNL.  I'm pretty sure that you will find a similar breakdown at the other schools currently in Allen's UIL district (Plano, Plano East, Plano West, Lewisville, Hebron, Flower Mound, Flower Mound Marcus, & McKinney Boyd).

3)  I don't have the exact data to back this up, but based on my observation, you will see similar statistics for the following:

a.  The % of teams that are currently in U15-U17 ECNL and LHGCL D1/D2, that were in LHGCL at U11.

b.  The % of players on U15-U17 ECNL and LHGCL D1/D2 rosters, that were on LHGCL teams at U11.

Now... does that mean that ranking at U10 matters, or that you need to have your DD on a top 25 ranked team at U10???  Those are matters of opinion and also based on what your DD's goals are for her soccer career.  

Does being on a top team at U11 guarantee she will be on a top team at U15 or starting on her varsity team in HS?  No.

If she's not playing for a top 25 team at U11, does that mean she won't be on a top team or playing on her varsity team in HS at U15?  No.

However, the numbers say that those are the most likely paths. Iron sharpens iron...

There are many paths to take, and only you and your DD can figure out what the best one is.  Most importantly, pick a path that keeps soccer fun for your DD.  If she's having fun, she'll continue to play the game in some manner as she gets older.  If she sacrifices the fun of the sport for the sake of achieving some pre-determined goal a few years out, the likelihood that she'll flat out quit the game goes way up.

Thanks for the reply. All good points and somewhat expected. I agree that fun is important. Now to figure out what a "fun" team experience is for my DD.

bwgophers wrote:O.K.  Let's start with the facts...  

1)  Over the past 4 years, the final FBR published prior to the LHGCL QT in July has ~90% accuracy at predicting the teams that will qualify for the 20 D1 Supergroup at U11, and ~87% accuracy at predicting all qualifiers for LHGCL at U11.

2)  Your profile says that you live in Allen.  Go to the Allen HS Soccer Booster club website (http://www.alleneagles.com), go to the girls varsity roster, and read through the profiles for the girls on the team.  23 girls currently listed on the varsity roster... 21 list clearly which team they play for...  18 of those 21 (86%) play LHGCL or ECNL, 11 of those 21 (52%) play LHGCL D1 or ECNL.  I'm pretty sure that you will find a similar breakdown at the other schools currently in Allen's UIL district (Plano, Plano East, Plano West, Lewisville, Hebron, Flower Mound, Flower Mound Marcus, & McKinney Boyd).

3)  I don't have the exact data to back this up, but based on my observation, you will see similar statistics for the following:

a.  The % of teams that are currently in U15-U17 ECNL and LHGCL D1/D2, that were in LHGCL at U11.

b.  The % of players on U15-U17 ECNL and LHGCL D1/D2 rosters, that were on LHGCL teams at U11.

Now... does that mean that ranking at U10 matters, or that you need to have your DD on a top 25 ranked team at U10???  Those are matters of opinion and also based on what your DD's goals are for her soccer career.  

Does being on a top team at U11 guarantee she will be on a top team at U15 or starting on her varsity team in HS?  No.

If she's not playing for a top 25 team at U11, does that mean she won't be on a top team or playing on her varsity team in HS at U15?  No.

However, the numbers say that those are the most likely paths.  Iron sharpens iron...

There are many paths to take, and only you and your DD can figure out what the best one is.  Most importantly, pick a path that keeps soccer fun for your DD.  If she's having fun, she'll continue to play the game in some manner as she gets older.  If she sacrifices the fun of the sport for the sake of achieving some pre-determined goal a few years out, the likelihood that she'll flat out quit the game goes way up.

This was pretty much spot on...

SpeedyOne wrote:Thanks for the reply.  All good points and somewhat expected.  I agree that fun is important.  Now to figure out what a "fun" team experience is for my DD.

This just one person's opinion, but I feel it has worked pretty well for my kids as it relates to competitive sports over the years...

1) Is she excited and motivated to go to practice? Not games... "We talkin' 'bout practice..."
2) Is the team environment (coach, teammates, parent sideline) a positive one for her?
3) Is she being challenged, and is she able to contribute to the team under that challenge? You have to be able to be honest and objective on this one. If she is dominating without being particularly challenged, then you should be seeking out a stronger team/competition for her (she'll likely get bored if you don't). If she is overwhelmed, struggling, or riding the pine a majority of the time, you should seek out a different team/competition level for her (she'll likely get frustrated if you don't).
4) Do you see steady development/improvement happening with her game?

If you can honestly answer "Yes" to those 4 questions, most likely, she's having fun with competitive soccer.

This might be a first. Someone quoting Iverson on a children's soccer forum.

Well played.....

I just pictured BWG typing up his post and then dropping a microphone after he hits enter and walking away.

GrandTXSoccer wrote:I just pictured BWG typing up his post and then dropping a microphone after he hits enter and walking away.

And stomping his feet and saying "sexual chocolate".