Madness?

I have been reading this forum for a couple of years now, on and off, never feeling the need to comment until now. I cannot believe what can only be described as the absolute madness (feel free to insert another word you think suitable!) of parents in a panic to find the 'right' team for their BB. Why this rush? Why at 10? And why is it SUCH a last minute panic? How can it be that the coach you've been with for 1,2, 3 or 4 years suddenly be the wrong one? How can you decide that the group of kids your child has played with are suddenly no longer suitable? And to those parents who get mad at other parents for taking their child elsewhere, why is it your problem? People are going to do what they are going to do. Don't take it personally. It's only a game. (Though in most cases, a very expensive game).

In my opinion, the majority of these kids will be burnt out before they reach high school. How about keeping it fun, people? I blame the 'authority' for this. Why the heck do we need 10 year olds to be under contract? Why can't they just play with who they want to play with?

I found this interesting article and I wanted to share it. Just trying to remind those who need reminding.......

"Always remember, they are not your players... you are their coach."
Enrique L (Rick) Meana, director of coaching, New Jersey Youth Soccer

That quote reminded me that a youth football coach never actually has a team - we only borrow our players for a few months or a few years.

During that time your job is to teach them a few football skills and, more importantly, help them cope with winning/losing, understand the power of working as a team and teach them the importance of always trying your best, no matter what the circumstances.

At the end of that time, you hand them back to another coach, to another club or to their family as a better football player and a better person.

Your players and the team are never "yours".

But that is how it should be.

Just be grateful that you have such a unique opportunity to make a massive difference to some young lives.

Finding the right team....hmmm...Well, in our case, the team blew up a month before signing.  So we had to scramble.  Team had been together for years.  Coach moved clubs, team fell apart.  Speaking as someone who found a lot of teams that were not right for my kid, let me tell you.  Some kids get along, some parents play nice, some coaches are in it for the love of the game and teaching soccer.  Others are not.  When you see kids pouring out other kids' water on the field, or parents emailing other select parents on a team talking about other parents or kids, or a coach who recommends private lessons, seemingly because it's another source of income for them, it's not the "right" team.  It's always a case of finding the "right" team, for now.   In business school, I learned that the average person changes jobs five times in their career.  Same with teams.  You're just signing for a year, not a career.  And, like you, I think the whole contract thing is unnecessary.