The Leap from Small Club to Big Time Soccer

therightpass18 wrote:
Our daughter's first goal is to play high school soccer so that is the first improvement arc we are helping with.

therightpass18 wrote:
Then its those 3-4 years of high school to make it to the best college fit we can find.

bwgophers wrote:

therightpass18 wrote:
Our daughter's first goal is to play high school soccer so that is the first improvement arc we are helping with.

This is less about the club and more about the level she is playing at.  If your daughter will be attending a 6A or 5A HS in Dallas/Collin/Denton/Tarrant/Rockwall county, then she will likely need to be playing at the LH D2 level or higher, just to make the Varsity team at most of those schools.  At many 6A, and several of the better 5A programs, she will likely need to be playing at an LH D1 level or above to be a starter/significant contributor.  There are many "small club" teams playing at that level that will get her there, and there is no inherent advantage of a small club vs a large club here.  It's all about the level of competition she is capable of playing at, and the quality of her coach.

If she's 4A or below, in most cases, if she's playing competitive soccer somewhere (LH, PPL, APL), she will likely make the Varsity team.

therightpass18 wrote:
Then its those 3-4 years of high school to make it to the best college fit we can find.

If her goal is to play soccer in college, it will depend on the level you are talking about, whether or not there will be advantage to playing for a "big" club.  If NCAA DI is her goal, in NTX, the majority of those girls will be playing DA/ECNL, which means "big" club. If that's her goal, and she has the talent, the sooner, the better, but by her Freshman year of HS if you want to give her the best exposure opportunity.  If not DA/ECNL, then for NCAA DI, it better be a team at the top of LH D1 that is also playing in a regional league (USYSA PL, TCL, etc.).  Those can be from a "smaller" club (see Dallas Kicks '00/'01), but they are fewer and farther between.

If you are talking about NCAA DII, DIII, NAIA, JUCO, then, again, it's a more a matter of where you are playing, and whether or not your COACH has a track record of placing players in college programs.  The higher up the competitive food chain you are playing, the better (it's about the level of competition that your daughter is able to compete at).  Not a lot of kids playing below LH D1 that are going on to play in college.  The "bigger" clubs will have some name recognition advantage when it comes to showcases, etc., but there are many "small" club coaches who have very good track records and many college coaching contacts who can get your daughter where she wants to go.

These statements are all generalities, and there are always exceptions, but I think over the next few years, you will find them to be reasonable accurate.[/quot

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

Seven wrote:BW gives solid advice......listen to him

bwgophers wrote:

therightpass18 wrote:
Our daughter's first goal is to play high school soccer so that is the first improvement arc we are helping with.

This is less about the club and more about the level she is playing at.  If your daughter will be attending a 6A or 5A HS in Dallas/Collin/Denton/Tarrant/Rockwall county, then she will likely need to be playing at the LH D2 level or higher, just to make the Varsity team at most of those schools.  At many 6A, and several of the better 5A programs, she will likely need to be playing at an LH D1 level or above to be a starter/significant contributor.  There are many "small club" teams playing at that level that will get her there, and there is no inherent advantage of a small club vs a large club here.  It's all about the level of competition she is capable of playing at, and the quality of her coach.

If she's 4A or below, in most cases, if she's playing competitive soccer somewhere (LH, PPL, APL), she will likely make the Varsity team.

therightpass18 wrote:
Then its those 3-4 years of high school to make it to the best college fit we can find.

If her goal is to play soccer in college, it will depend on the level you are talking about, whether or not there will be advantage to playing for a "big" club.  If NCAA DI is her goal, in NTX, the majority of those girls will be playing DA/ECNL, which means "big" club. If that's her goal, and she has the talent, the sooner, the better, but by her Freshman year of HS if you want to give her the best exposure opportunity.  If not DA/ECNL, then for NCAA DI, it better be a team at the top of LH D1 that is also playing in a regional league (USYSA PL, TCL, etc.).  Those can be from a "smaller" club (see Dallas Kicks '00/'01), but they are fewer and farther between.

If you are talking about NCAA DII, DIII, NAIA, JUCO, then, again, it's a more a matter of where you are playing, and whether or not your COACH has a track record of placing players in college programs.  The higher up the competitive food chain you are playing, the better (it's about the level of competition that your daughter is able to compete at).  Not a lot of kids playing below LH D1 that are going on to play in college.  The "bigger" clubs will have some name recognition advantage when it comes to showcases, etc., but there are many "small" club coaches who have very good track records and many college coaching contacts who can get your daughter where she wants to go.

These statements are all generalities, and there are always exceptions, but I think over the next few years, you will find them to be reasonable accurate.

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

Sho'Nuff wrote:tl; dnr

bwgophers wrote:

Sho'Nuff wrote:tl; dnr

Wouldn't expect you to comprehend it if you did...

bwgophers wrote:

Sho'Nuff wrote:tl; dnr

Wouldn't expect you to comprehend it if you did...

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

Mcgreggor wrote:

bwgophers wrote:

Sho'Nuff wrote:tl; dnr

Wouldn't expect you to comprehend it if you did...

Covfefe

Seven wrote:Its hard to swim unless the water is deep

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

Zizou wrote:

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

Yes, risk is always a factor, but a true evaluation of your young player comes with risk.

KeeperCommander wrote:

Zizou wrote:

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

Yes, risk is always a factor, but a true evaluation of your young player comes with risk.

Ok who hacked Z's account and wrote a grammatically correct post with everything spelled correctly. BW?

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

CBTeamworks wrote:

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

I think waiting for a kid to dominate the league is waiting too long.

I would recommend getting on a better team if a player is in the top third of their current team. Give them a new challenge, higher level players to play with and the ability to play together at a higher speed.

If a player is in the bottom third of their team for more than one year then I'd recommend that they find a lesser competitive team where they'll get more playing time and greater enjoyment from the game.

Small clubs have good coaches but they operate at a disadvantage. Less teams per age group for your player to play into. Less club player pass options for small clubs. Less options like JDL, ECNL and DA.

It's all about finding the right fit. If you go out for a tryout and the coach doesn't show you any love then they're either too full (meaning she'll get little playing time if she makes it) or she's borderline to make it and the coach is waiting for the possibility of a better player to come along. It's getting late in the process with teams filling up already so options are fewer than 2-4 weeks ago but there are still good options out there at various levels. Need to look around and attend several practices/scrimmages with numerous teams. Try to guest play as much as you can because it's the best way for a coach to see what your player has.

KeeperCommander wrote:

CBTeamworks wrote:

taborskulner wrote:the elitism on this board in general is humorous.
if your kid is good your coach will tell you
until your kid is dominating your league and far superior to anyone on your team stay put
otherwise youre risking putting your kid in over their heads

I think waiting for a kid to dominate the league is waiting too long.

I would recommend getting on a better team if a player is in the top third of their current team. Give them a new challenge, higher level players to play with and the ability to play together at a higher speed.

If a player is in the bottom third of their team for more than one year then I'd recommend that they find a lesser competitive team where they'll get more playing time and greater enjoyment from the game.

Small clubs have good coaches but they operate at a disadvantage. Less teams per age group for your player to play into. Less club player pass options for small clubs. Less options like JDL, ECNL and DA.

It's all about finding the right fit. If you go out for a tryout and the coach doesn't show you any love then they're either too full (meaning she'll get little playing time if she makes it) or she's borderline to make it and the coach is waiting for the possibility of a better player to come along. It's getting late in the process with teams filling up already so options are fewer than 2-4 weeks ago but there are still good options out there at various levels. Need to look around and attend several practices/scrimmages with numerous teams. Try to guest play as much as you can because it's the best way for a coach to see what your player has.

It's funny the new article about Pulisic says to keep your kid where they can handle the ball the most and that doesn't always mean go to a big club or to a club with a high level of play.