End of classic coming soon

With the season approaching the end, I wanted some insight. Does anyone see any teams folding, massive change, etc? Being a frequent watcher of all of the teams, I hear the nagging on all sidelines. Does soccer ever become a fun, no drama kind of sport to watch for my bb?

Competitive soccer? Um, no.

That is unfortunate. Very disturbing. Maybe my bb should have stuck with baseball

Lol I say that tongue in cheek! It's what you make it, sir. Don't buy into the hype, treat your boy well, and it can be fun. I was just ribbing you a little.

Been a rough season!! But my bb still loves the game and still works his tail off, what more could I ask!

If he's u11, then expect a world Of changes. Teams will disband. Ours did and we came in 2nd only to the mighty Gall in D-1. Good teams will get better . Middling teams will lose their talent to D-1 teams. It's a nuthouse. Find a team your kid likes with parents you can stand, as you spend lots o time together. Main thing Is your boy. I learned it the hard way. Still am, but get better each day.

jimulon6 wrote:If he's u11, then expect a world Of changes. Teams will disband. Ours did and we came in 2nd only to the mighty Gall in D-1. Good teams will get better . Middling teams will lose their talent to D-1 teams. It's a nuthouse. Find a team your kid likes with parents you can stand, as you spend lots o time together. Main thing Is your boy. I learned it the hard way. Still am, but get better each day.

@jimulon6, that is excellent advise.
@Soccer2001, the main thing IS the kid. Lots of parents lose perspective of that.
Let the child play where he's actually happy playing at.
As far as liking the parents, if you don't, just sit by yourself and root for the team and your child.
Not all parents are going to get along. It's sad, but true. Hell, I might not like most of the parents on my team (LOL!!!)
But don't lose sight of why you're really out there.
For your little guy (or gal).
Have a great season.

Agree with jim's advice. Can't totally agree with too's though, If you don't like the majority of the parents then the chances are it is because of differing values and traits. Those values and traits are passed to the players and will affect the team experience for your bb. Sports are about more than skills , wins and losses. Values and lessons they can take away from the sport need to be part of the experience. If that experience involves a whole group of adults you can not even stand to be around then that is not the place your bb is going to benefit from all sports have to offer.

$0.02 - I couldn't agree with your more on your statement. I have been trying to figure out how to word what you said and you hit it perfectly in my opinion.

and soccer2001, our U11 season, 1st of Classic was the hardest year of my sons' life, and to an extent my own. We both had growing up to do, but mostly it was me. I had to check my ego at the door, and let my son make the decisions. He is as happy as a pig in poop playing for a D3 team. With a good strong finish to season we will earn promotion. But all of that is really secondary to seeing him get to play the position he desires, have great success, and, ultimately, have some fun. Caring coach and good parents.

It is easy to get caught up in the mob mentality of "this is serious business!" of parents and coaches, however. I was one of the worst, specifically related to bb. I'm in rehab

My point is it gets better...

my2cents wrote:Agree with jim's advice. Can't totally agree with too's though, If you don't like the majority of the parents then the chances are it is because of differing values and traits. Those values and traits are passed to the players and will affect the team experience for your bb. Sports are about more than skills , wins and losses. Values and lessons they can take away from the sport need to be part of the experience. If that experience involves a whole group of adults you can not even stand to be around then that is not the place your bb is going to benefit from all sports have to offer.

You have your opinion and I have mine.
Sometimes you can have a great group of kids/players, and a bunch of (not all) loud, obnoxious parents on the sidelines.
Don't know you 2 dudes, therefore not arguing with you on this issue.

jimulon6, I hope you and your kid have a great season with a team that your child will like.

.

Jmulon6, the D3 team ( kids and parents ) are a family, its a unique situation, everyone is having fun.

just curious, if your team is in the say middle of d3 or lower or plano premier, do you feel that your money is well spent paying 3k for coaching and playing? not passing judgement it just seems like a lot to pay if that's where you are.

BOOKOO SAID:

"jimulon6, I hope you and your kid have a great season with a team that your child will like."

I'm afraid I wasn't clear. Our trials came last year at U11. This year we are U12, and my son has found the team he will (hopefully) finish his soccer career with, however far that goes. I owe it to our current coach, whom my son adores and I respect, to make sure I am clear.

Consequently, the issues we had last year were mostly induced by me. I still think highly of our former coach as well. It was I, and to a much lesser extent, my son, who were not prepared for what we got ourselves into.

Soccer 2001, don't lose sight of the point I was trying to make to you, specifically. I've talked to many year 1 competitive parents, and their stories are very similar to yours and mine. Things smooth out as you go along. My greatest example is to look through the threads on this website at U11 or U10 academy level. Its wild. Then check out the U14 threads. You'll see what I mean. Everybody chills with time. Well, almost everybody....

gguinn wrote:Jmulon6, the D3 team ( kids and parents ) are a family, its a unique situation, everyone is having fun.

and you quit piling on. you know what i meant.

soccerisgood123 wrote:just curious, if your team is in the say middle of d3 or lower or plano premier, do you feel that your money is well spent paying 3k for coaching and playing? not passing judgement it just seems like a lot to pay if that's where you are.

The same question can be asked for some of the D1 & D2 teams. It's all about the coaching you receive and as long as your boy learns the right things and is having fun, especially this age, it is money well spent. IMHO

i dunno, 3k for fun and d3 and ppl sounds pretty steep. lots of other ways to have fun that aren't so pricey.....

soccerisgood123 wrote:i dunno, 3k for fun and d3 and ppl sounds pretty steep. lots of other ways to have fun that aren't so pricey.....

$3000/Year comes out to $250/month. I agree that is expensive but I don’t think the division your BB plays in dictates the value you get in return for your dollars. Cost and value are related but they are different.

Is $250/month a good value for your BB to just get some exercise? No, I think that’s expensive if that is the only thing you gain in return.

Is $250/month a good value if your BB gets exercise, acquires a set of skills that can help shape his future, has fun in a relatively safe environment, gains friendships, stays out of trouble, and learns a series of important life-lessons? Yes, I think that’s a good value.

I do think though that each of us needs to decide if we’re getting the best possible value for our hard-earned $$$.

Could you instead just save the $3000 and just ignore the kid? Then have a strung out, overweight teenager that can’t drive past a McDonald’s without going into a seizure… Sure, you could have that too.

Could you instead just save the $3000 and just ignore the kid? Then have a strung out, overweight teenager that can’t drive past a McDonald’s without going into a seizure… Sure, you could have that too.

or he could play jh soccer or hs soccer or a rec league or indoor not either or. just saying that paying a lot of money for sports is sometimes not worth it.

soccerisgood123 wrote:Could you instead just save the $3000 and just ignore the kid? Then have a strung out, overweight teenager that can’t drive past a McDonald’s without going into a seizure… Sure, you could have that too.

or he could play jh soccer or hs soccer or a rec league or indoor not either or. just saying that paying a lot of money for sports is sometimes not worth it.

Could he? Sure but when he got to his HS field and saw 25 kids that are on select rosters standing in front of him... that might not work in his favor.

We all have choices and so does your BB. I'm going to rip off a quote from a friend of mine but he doesn't know about this board so I think I'm safe, "All kids run in gangs. Their parents though can help choose which gangs they run in."

Youth soccer isn't just a foot and a ball. Successful outcomes in youth soccer aren't measured exclusively by college scholarships. I count the money I spend in youth soccer as an investment... an investment in my kids. Kids are expensive investments but I get good value in return.

soccerisgood123 wrote:i dunno, 3k for fun and d3 and ppl sounds pretty steep. lots of other ways to have fun that aren't so pricey.....

You are making a huge assumption that all of the D1 and 2 coaches are better than the d3 and PPL coaches. I have had a boy in a D1 top-3 team and have had one in PPL. Not giving away names but I'm not so sure the D1 coach was better than the PPL D1 coach. Of course the PPL coach also had teams in Classic League as well but you get my point. The money, for me, is to make my son the best player he could be. If your son is improving, becoming technically very sound and developing/holding on to a passion for the game then IMO it is money well spent. Whether the boy is in D1, 2, 3, PPL or APL isn't really relevant.

"You are making a huge assumption that all of the D1 and 2 coaches are better than the d3 and PPL coaches. I have had a boy in a D1 top-3 team and have had one in PPL. Not giving away names but I'm not so sure the D1 coach was better than the PPL D1 coach. Of course the PPL coach also had teams in Classic League as well but you get my point. The money, for me, is to make my son the best player he could be. If your son is improving, becoming technically very sound and developing/holding on to a passion for the game then IMO it is money well spent. Whether the boy is in D1, 2, 3, PPL or APL isn't really relevant."

not really, the point of all this is competitive soccer not after school programs. I just disagree, if my son is way down on a mid level ppl team i think that money could be better spent somewhere else, maybe a different sport or playing for fun at a lesser cost. i think its similar to hockey. if my son doesnt skate very well, plays on a low tier team paying top dollar for that is kinda wasteful. why not a rec team, or school team or play with friends? is it possible that the parents are now pushing that more than the kid?

soccerisgood123 wrote:"You are making a huge assumption that all of the D1 and 2 coaches are better than the d3 and PPL coaches. I have had a boy in a D1 top-3 team and have had one in PPL. Not giving away names but I'm not so sure the D1 coach was better than the PPL D1 coach. Of course the PPL coach also had teams in Classic League as well but you get my point. The money, for me, is to make my son the best player he could be. If your son is improving, becoming technically very sound and developing/holding on to a passion for the game then IMO it is money well spent. Whether the boy is in D1, 2, 3, PPL or APL isn't really relevant."

not really, the point of all this is competitive soccer not after school programs. I just disagree, if my son is way down on a mid level ppl team i think that money could be better spent somewhere else, maybe a different sport or playing for fun at a lesser cost. i think its similar to hockey. if my son doesnt skate very well, plays on a low tier team paying top dollar for that is kinda wasteful. why not a rec team, or school team or play with friends? is it possible that the parents are now pushing that more than the kid?

If the kid is getting good instruction and improving it isn't really relevant what league it is. The teams in Arlington for instance aren't there because they aren't trying hard and they are just there for fun. They aren't running through soccer tunnels chasing butterflies. They are competing as hard as they can. Those teams just aren't as good as the teams in Classic. But to them it IS competitive. So for me having boys play in D1 and PPL I can tell you I never, even once thought the money I was spending was to have a son in D1. It was always to get the best coaching possible to make him the best player possible. I feel the same way about my younger son in PPL. (who happens to be a technically better player than my D1 son) And I can tell you my son in PPL comes home just as tired, dirty and bruised as my D1 Classic son ever did, and he practices just as hard and just as often. He is just as pissed off after a loss and just as happy after a win as my older son was. It's all about the coaching. Again, to me, if your son is becoming as good as possible technically it is worth it. If he is not than playing in D1 or 2 is fools gold.

I think what is lost here is what you are seeking from the sport? Are you seeking a DI college scholarship? Go academy & change schools & drop all AP courses & be ready for travel expenses …Are you seeking D2/D3/NAIA? Go Classic DI & play HS ball & keep your honors classes & be ready for travel expenses …Are you playing for fun and self improvement only? Any lower (D2/D3/PPL/APL) division is adequate-as you get older you will not be traveling every couple of months to National showcases for exposure…Are you a weekend warrior that likes to play other sports? Again a lower division, but Rec is a great choice…..AND …If your child is blessed to be a PRO, then he just needs to be seen by the right people….