Question about club youth soccer

oxat622

oxat622

Well-known member
Is it standard practice for clubs to expect families to commit to fall and spring? I ask because my seven year old son did a supplemental tryout for a club program's U8 team and was offered a spot. So we're doing that this spring and are new to this world. In June he has the option to try out for the club again, but this would be for fall AND spring. He loves playing sports... in addition to soccer he has played well in instructional basketball and baseball and has shown me that he could excel in swimming and golf. My gut is that his best potential is in baseball and golf since he is under 40th percentile for his age in height and weight and I don't anticipate that changing. The finer mechanics of body control and swinging a tool might serve him better in those areas. Even yesterday we were throwing the baseball around and he asked if we had signed him up for spring baseball. I reminded him that he had tried out for soccer and decided he wanted to play that this spring. "Oh yeaahhhh" he replied. I do not want him to be multiple sports in the same season.

It seems that youth soccer is different from other sports in a number of ways, specifically here in that the select programs seem to want kids to specialize. And that's a shame, I think, for his age. Baseball and basketball are a bit different in that they mostly stick to dedicated seasons. I'm aware that fall baseball and year-round basketball exists, but our community has well-run baseball and basketball programs with rigorous select options on top of rec options in the spring and winter respectively. Not so much the case in soccer. Every club's website suggests that their tryouts and payments are for fall and spring. I'm aware SAY is a flexible option, but we have a family friend whose daughter has played on a club team for a while and they have told us SAY is not even in the same galaxy.

Ideally he could play select soccer in the fall for a club and select baseball in the spring for our community program, but the soccer option wants to be year-round. Am I wrong?

Another observation, my goodness are there a ton of distinctions in the different levels of soccer. I'm so lost on how many different leagues exist (Cardinal, Buckeye, etc). Every program has their "elite", "academy", and "premier" programs. Do these distinctions actually mean anything or are they just buzz words?
 
 
Yes, for the most part, soccer clubs are a fall/spring commitment (at least up through HS). Actually, on a couple clubs my younger son played on, winter was part of the commitment too (either indoor soccer and/or futsal).

When my son was younger (U8 to U10), he was able to manage both soccer and a second sport like basketball in the winter or baseball in the spring/summer, but just at the rec level. We usually tried to work out practice times that worked for both teams, but the second sport took a backseat to soccer whenever there were conflicts. Most of his soccer coaches were generally understanding of kids playing multiple sports, but as he got older, the coaches were upfront about playing time going to those kids who were there every practice and fully committed.

As far as the different labels go, yeah, soccer has gotten a little out of hand with that as of late. At the higher levels, there is usually some distinction between the leagues. For example, the GLA club league usually has a "Premier" and an "NPL" level, along with a pre-ECNL and at the top, ECNL. ECNL is a league you generally have to win your way up into. "pre-ECNL" is all over the map in terms of team quality. Premier and NPL also somewhat uses a promotion/relegation format, meaning if you win the Premier league one season, you'll be up in NPL the next (and vice versa for the bottom NPL teams getting moved down). And that's just the US Club Soccer leagues. There's also US Youth Soccer, as well as one or two other somewhat made up leagues (Elite Academy League and others).

In one season, my son's U17 team was in something like three different leagues in the spring. Their roster was 23 or 24 players - basically everyone that didn't get selected for the club's 'A' team (which competed for a national championship every year). It was a little ridiculous, to be honest. Every week, the games would be a completely different team, depending on who they chose to play those games. The year before, they had a regular 18 man roster, played in one dedicated league and really became a cohesive unit - then other club's teams disintegrated and our club absorbed some of those players. The best of those boys went to the 'A' team, which also bumped some of those former 'A' team players down (causing some resentment as well).

Sorry, that was a long rant - as far as your son goes, if he likes soccer and the kids he's playing with, sign him up, but also talk to the coach about the fact that you want him to also play other sports. At the U8 level, the coach should be flexible. If not, maybe it's not the right club.
 
It can be a lot of trial and error. Prices, competition and coaching can widely vary. I imagine given a do ever a lot of parents would have done things differently.

Some things I would look for:

Does the club have one coach trying to do it all or different coaches at each level?

What are their qualifications?

Do they pass a background check? This is not as insane as it sounds.

How is the communication?

See if they have a trial period. Go to training. Are they actually training or are they just scrimmaging for an hour?

Talk to other parents in the area. Maybe your child has a peer who's parents also have an older kid that's been through it. Especially parents that might have older kids that have been through it. They will probably have some insight into different clubs and which ones might be a good fit for you.

Keep in mind these coaches are looking to build the best teams possible. Asking for a commitment is only fair. So is playing the soccer only kids over the multisport kids. In the case of my experience with my sons the kids that did the best long term eventually dropped the other sports after about 5th or 6th grade. If in a few years it looks like soccer really is their thing and they wanna go the academy route and/or play at a top end high school program specializing really is a must. No club coach or high end HS coach is gonna want to hear about basketball and baseball practice 6 months out of the year.
 
My kid has been playing club soccer the last 3 years while also playing travel baseball and lacrosse.

His club is year round and futsal in the winter.

He enjoys playing everything although this is our last year of baseball.

the kids who are soccer only are better players and play more but that’s to be expected.
 
oxat622 said:
Is it standard practice for clubs to expect families to commit to fall and spring? I ask because my seven year old son did a supplemental tryout for a club program's U8 team and was offered a spot. So we're doing that this spring and are new to this world. In June he has the option to try out for the club again, but this would be for fall AND spring. He loves playing sports... in addition to soccer he has played well in instructional basketball and baseball and has shown me that he could excel in swimming and golf. My gut is that his best potential is in baseball and golf since he is under 40th percentile for his age in height and weight and I don't anticipate that changing. The finer mechanics of body control and swinging a tool might serve him better in those areas. Even yesterday we were throwing the baseball around and he asked if we had signed him up for spring baseball. I reminded him that he had tried out for soccer and decided he wanted to play that this spring. "Oh yeaahhhh" he replied. I do not want him to be multiple sports in the same season.

It seems that youth soccer is different from other sports in a number of ways, specifically here in that the select programs seem to want kids to specialize. And that's a shame, I think, for his age. Baseball and basketball are a bit different in that they mostly stick to dedicated seasons. I'm aware that fall baseball and year-round basketball exists, but our community has well-run baseball and basketball programs with rigorous select options on top of rec options in the spring and winter respectively. Not so much the case in soccer. Every club's website suggests that their tryouts and payments are for fall and spring. I'm aware SAY is a flexible option, but we have a family friend whose daughter has played on a club team for a while and they have told us SAY is not even in the same galaxy.

Ideally he could play select soccer in the fall for a club and select baseball in the spring for our community program, but the soccer option wants to be year-round. Am I wrong?

Another observation, my goodness are there a ton of distinctions in the different levels of soccer. I'm so lost on how many different leagues exist (Cardinal, Buckeye, etc). Every program has their "elite", "academy", and "premier" programs. Do these distinctions actually mean anything or are they just buzz words?
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They will attempt to milk every single dime out of your pursuit for soccer greatness for your kid and yes, that indeed does mean they want you to commit to spring, fall, and any other thing they think of to try and pry that hard earned money from your bank account.

If they make you do both, tell them to kick rocks.


When you show interest in these club/travel programs, no matter the sport, they smell blood in the water with another unsuspecting soul.

I have said long ago and will continue to do so, the best ability a kid can have to make these teams....is the ability of the parents to write that check.
 
So I see swimming, golf, basketball, baseball, and golf. He likes sports and seems to be athletic. That's awesome. Involve him with as much as he can to see what he likes. He is 7. Let him just have fun.

You have him signed up for spring club soccer. That will give you a taste for that life. Yes, there are two seasons. Most clubs will expect you to play both seasons as others have pointed out. Other options for you if he likes soccer but also baseball for example. Rec or SAY soccer in the fall augmented with some personal training in the sport. Give it a few years....if soccer is his sport then you can find a club team. There are tryouts every year and yes, to a certain extent, teams carry forward from year to year. Keep in mind, that as the age goes up, the number of players go up. Small sided soccer until you get to 11 v 11....so teams will always be looking for players. And there is always some player movement. Also, when you get to high school age, ohsaa rules also cause teams to change. I have had 3 kids now go thru he club soccer thing with the last one graduating HS this year. Every year there were a few roster changes. Point being....you can find a team later too.

It can be fun for your family.... especially if you have other good families on the team. Travel, hanging out, meals, pools at hotels, etc. If the other families are crazy....it can be rough.

As with anything....enjoy the time. It goes fast. Understand that in most cases, your kid probably won't play post high school. So just watch and have fun.
 
Why do you care so much? said:
Baseball and soccer might be the worst sports combo. Make sure your kid is playing because they really like it, and not to pursue a college team.
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I just want him to have ample exposure to all of his interests while keeping a balance to our home life and avoiding activity burnout. That family friend I referenced above is having their daughter do AAU basketball on top of club soccer this spring. They've told us they've had Saturdays where they've had two basketball and two soccer games on the schedule. That sounds absurd to me.
 
oxat622 said:
I just want him to have ample exposure to all of his interests while keeping a balance to our home life and avoiding activity burnout. That family friend I referenced above is having their daughter do AAU basketball on top of club soccer this spring. They've told us they've had Saturdays where they've had two basketball and two soccer games on the schedule. That sounds absurd to me.
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I understand. Son played both sports thru high school (and played hoops in elementary). Loves soccer, likes baseball but really loves playing with his buddies.

I don't think he - or I - wanted to play in college, but he also didn't have a "real" opportunity. He couldn't play on the best soccer clubs because those coaches want a year round commitment. He couldn't play on good travel baseball teams because it interfered with the start of soccer season. He was a late bloomer in both sports and I believe he could play in college. But the lack of year round specialization affected his playing time in high school because the school coaches initially went with the kids who played only one sport.

But the biggest thing I didn't foresee was the transfer portal and rise of international players in ALL college soccer divisions.

Unless your kid is a physical freak, it's hard to play multiple sports even in high school. The key is trying to find good coaches who understand this and realize 90+% of their players aren't going to a D1 or D2 team.

Good luck.
 
Why do you care so much? said:
I understand. Son played both sports thru high school (and played hoops in elementary). Loves soccer, likes baseball but really loves playing with his buddies.

I don't think he - or I - wanted to play in college, but he also didn't have a "real" opportunity. He couldn't play on the best soccer clubs because those coaches want a year round commitment. He couldn't play on good travel baseball teams because it interfered with the start of soccer season. He was a late bloomer in both sports and I believe he could play in college. But the lack of year round specialization affected his playing time in high school because the school coaches initially went with the kids who played only one sport.

But the biggest thing I didn't foresee was the transfer portal and rise of international players in ALL college soccer divisions.

Unless your kid is a physical freak, it's hard to play multiple sports even in high school. The key is trying to find good coaches who understand this and realize 90+% of their players aren't going to a D1 or D2 team.

Good luck.
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The international thing has been around for more than 10 years. It's really hard for a 17-18 year old American kid to compete with a 20 year old academy trained foreigner. So many American kids go to a school to play for a year, look at the competition and then transfer out.

Also a lot of these college coaches get bonuses for roster sizes. Every kid past a certain number gets them a bonus. So you see some of the smallest schools have 50+ players on the team.
 
Salad76 said:
The international thing has been around for more than 10 years. It's really hard for a 17-18 year old American kid to compete with a 20 year old academy trained foreigner. So many American kids go to a school to play for a year, look at the competition and then transfer out.

Also a lot of these college coaches get bonuses for roster sizes. Every kid past a certain number gets them a bonus. So you see some of the smallest schools have 50+ players on the team.
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No they don't. Some possibly get a little extra funding for the program, but hardly anything goes back to the coach as a "bonus."

It's an expectation that soccer is helping drive bodies to the school. Like many other lower tier sports are in schools. At all levels. You don't meet your roster quota, you are gone. You exceed your roster quota? You may get a good job out of it. It's the expectation to meet X-roster number.
 
From my experience, yes, this is very standard. Although spring may involve a slightly more relaxed approach and your share of cancellations due to weather. But all medium to large soccer clubs will want a player to play both fall and spring. As my kids have gotten older, I've begun to realize it doesn't matter what your child's involved in, there is an extreme time commitment. Baseball teams can play upwards of 60 games in a summer and many want players to play in the fall as well. Competitive cheer will have lengthy practices and year round commitment. AAU basketball will be a spring and potentially summer commitment. Volleyball is a spring sport for clubs. The list goes on and on. It's definitely not something that's specific to only soccer, you'll find almost any sport will start to have a season outside of it's "normal" season. It's up to you to decide what you want to prioritize for your child.

I will say, soccer is one of the few sports that does prioritize training for player development over games played. Most clubs will play around 14-17 games a season with a ration of 3 training nights to 1 game. Many of those other sports listed are very game based and less on player development.

It sounds like you may be in Southwest Ohio as well. The Cardinal Premier League is more for younger ages and teams that may be a little lower in competition level. The Buckeye Premier League is a more competitive league as kids get older. Believe it or not, there will be divisions within each league giving further distinction. The goal is to find a level of play that best fits each team's level of competition. In my experience, soccer does a good job of balancing the leagues and divisions to make them competitive with each passing season.

Within each club you'll have distinctions between teams if there are multiple teams per age group. Depending on the size of the club you could have an Elite team and a Premier team. Larger clubs like Cincinnati United and Kings Hammer could have many, many teams within an age group.
 
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Salad76 said:
The international thing has been around for more than 10 years. It's really hard for a 17-18 year old American kid to compete with a 20 year old academy trained foreigner. So many American kids go to a school to play for a year, look at the competition and then transfer out.

Also a lot of these college coaches get bonuses for roster sizes. Every kid past a certain number gets them a bonus. So you see some of the smallest schools have 50+ players on the team.
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For you to say this you obviously have some first hand knowledge/proof that this happens?

I dont know.

However, what I DO know is at the college baseball level, mostly those smaller colleges that do not offer schollies and such, that some of the assistants are expected to 'recruit' in a few players each year that are included on the team.

They look at them as adding paying students into the small college as a way to increase revenue for the college and essentially help pay their own salary.

I knew a few coaches well enough to ask because some of the kids they were bringing in were just not very good at the HS level, and teh reasoning they gave was essentially what I explained above. Bring a player in, he enrolls and is a paying student and if/when they stay and graduate it is a end sum positive for the school
 
oxat622 said:
Another observation, my goodness are there a ton of distinctions in the different levels of soccer. I'm so lost on how many different leagues exist (Cardinal, Buckeye, etc). Every program has their "elite", "academy", and "premier" programs. Do these distinctions actually mean anything or are they just buzz words?
Click to expand...
Now imagine this from an official's prospective trying to figure out different rules (and more importantly how much money should I demand for this nonsense 🤣)
 
Thavoice said:
For you to say this you obviously have some first hand knowledge/proof that this happens?

I dont know.

However, what I DO know is at the college baseball level, mostly those smaller colleges that do not offer schollies and such, that some of the assistants are expected to 'recruit' in a few players each year that are included on the team.

They look at them as adding paying students into the small college as a way to increase revenue for the college and essentially help pay their own salary.

I knew a few coaches well enough to ask because some of the kids they were bringing in were just not very good at the HS level, and teh reasoning they gave was essentially what I explained above. Bring a player in, he enrolls and is a paying student and if/when they stay and graduate it is a end sum positive for the school
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Yup.

I get it. the more kids you bring in the more the school makes so why not be compensated?

I just don't think it's helping the local kid or US soccer in general.
 
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