Looking for a Top Team for Winter Indoor and/or Futsal

I'm trying to honor my word to my girl that she wouldn't have to play weekend games simply because she would like to do occasional other weekend activities such as: camping, trips, etc; just a general off season break. Some teams schedule all of their games on weekends, like her current top team. She does, however, want to play indoor and futsal during the week because she loves playing. I understand that there are going to be a few weekend games in a schedule and if we can make those, we will. However, I know that GameOn and Apex (the facilities I have frequented in the past) have a lot of weekday games and some coaches use these in lieu of a normal practice. If there are any top teams that would be interested, please PM me.

Thanks!

(I'm sure I'm going to piss everyone off with this post so today should be an exciting day.)

Coach&Ref - You need to think really seriously about whether this idea is a good one. It appears, based on the request you've just described, that your '03 DD is on the cusp of burnout.

In your first sentence you wrote that you've promised to give her a break on weekends. I think what your DD may really be trying to tell you is that she doesn't just want a break on weekends, that instead she wants break. She's probably struggling with how to tell you that because she doesn't want you to be disappointed in her.

Your DD is being smart. It sounds like her timing for this request is excellent. The winter before the '03s sign their first contracts is their last chance to take a break for a long time. They definitely aren't going to be taking a break before QT this summer. That's the time when nobody should be taking a break.

The reasons why I suspect your DD is potentially burning out come from the wording of your request. Here are things I noted:
1. Your DD asked for a break. You found a loophole in her request by saying "weekends only" and now you're going to punish her for leaving that loophole.
2. You made it clear this needs to be a "top team". You didn't say anything about a "fun team" or "a relaxed atmosphere for a girl that needs to dial it back" or "a good group with a nice coach". It HAS TO BE a "top team".
3. You want your DD on a competitive team for the winter but you don't suggest there will be any investment by your family in this team. You noted that your DD should only be counted on occasionally. Soccer is a team sport and you're showing no interest in helping your DD become part of this new team. Girls this age are very social, they need to feel accepted, and you're immediately making her an outsider with this new group.
3.A. What '03 coach (for a top team) would want to give minutes to a minimal-commitment player when there are already other kids on their bench waiting for minutes?

For your DD's sake, just let her take the winter off to recharge her batteries. Let her take some time to miss soccer a little bit. That way she can come back to it in the Spring ready to go.

Winter indoor soccer isn't that important. It isn't so important that you should take this risk with your DD. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Burnout is real. A "girl that plays soccer" can quickly be transformed into a "girl that used to play soccer" by an overbearing parent.

bigtex75081 wrote:(I'm sure I'm going to piss everyone off with this post so today should be an exciting day.)

Coach&Ref - You need to think really seriously about whether this idea is a good one. It appears, based on the request you've just described, that your '03 DD is on the cusp of burnout.

In your first sentence you wrote that you've promised to give her a break on weekends. I think what your DD may really be trying to tell you that she doesn't just want a break on weekends, that instead she wants break. She's probably struggling with how to tell you that because she doesn't want you to be disappointed in her.

Your DD is being smart. It sounds like her timing for this request is excellent. The winter before the '03s sign their first contracts is their last chance to take a break for a long time. They definitely aren't going to be taking a break before QT this summer. That's the time when nobody should be taking a break.

The reasons why I suspect your DD is potentially burning out come from the wording of your request. Here are things I noted:
1. Your DD asked for a break. You found a loophole in her request by saying "weekends only" and now you're going to punish her for leaving that loophole.
2. You made it clear this needs to be a "top team". You didn't say anything about a "fun team" or "a relaxed atmosphere for a girl that needs to dial it back" or "a good group with a nice coach". It HAS TO BE a "top team".
3. You want your DD on a competitive team for the winter but you don't suggest there will be any investment by your family in this team. You noted that your DD should only be counted on occasionally. Soccer is a team sport and you're showing no interest in helping your DD become part of this new team. Girls this age are very social, they need to feel accepted, and you're immediately making her an outsider with this new group.
3.A. What '03 coach (for a top team) would want to give minutes to a minimal-commitment player when there are already other kids on their bench waiting for minutes?

For your DD's sake, just let her take the winter off to recharge her batteries. Let her take some time to miss soccer a little bit. That way she can come back to it in the Spring ready to go.

Winter indoor soccer isn't that important. It isn't so important that you should take this risk with your DD. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Burnout is real. A "girl that plays soccer" can quickly be transformed into a "girl that used to play soccer" by an overbearing parent.

I think your dead on BigTex. Renewed energy in January will pay off much more than extra playtime or touches in November and December. Tournaments, indoor and futsal can be just as much of a physical, mental and time demand as the regular season. Give her a break if she is hinting at it. My DD sure is...

Here's a slightly different angle. I think it's great that the OP is in tune with the fact that his daughter doesn't want her life to revolve around soccer on the weekends. True, I don't get the "top team" part. That is definitely something you would expect to see from a parent that is too caught up in all of this. But how is the OP's attempt to keep his daughter involved in soccer that much different than the rest of the kooks on here who schedule private skills, ODP, games with rec (PSA) teams, and anything else they can think of? Just about all of these kids need breaks, but most of the posters find loopholes.

bigtex....you are so right. Great post. I think all of us, particularly 03 parents, should read your message and learn from it. Too many times we hear these hints of burnout and try to push them aside or hope they go away, myself included

More messages like this .......and I'm going to change my vote for 'favorite 03 poster' to you my friend!

Agree with all the posts. Except for Solarpower. You can't change your vote, too late!!

Go camping, fishing, ride bikes or just whatever families do in the Winter. If you see the signs, read them. Don't ignore them. Happens to all of us. We just need to learn from our mistakes and make it right for our DD.

Xara and Bigtex are both right. Xara being a bit more. She does want to play, but do other things instead of soccer all the time during the off season weekends. Her previous indoor experiences have come mostly during the weekdays (3/4 of games) with just a few on the weekends. Now, some teams are wanting to keep their games solely on Saturdays and she doesn't want that.

I said "Top Team" for a couple of different reasons, but rest assured, it was for her own benefit. If she is the best on the team and is "carrying them" by scoring all of the goals, eventually it will start to wear on her. For example, if she is having a bad game, and as a result, the team loses, she blames herself. Also, if she can't make a game for some reason and the team loses, she blames herself. So, if she has 3-4 good players that she can "play off of" and the team won't be devastated because she can't make a couple of games, that is ideal. If she is on one of those aforementioned "rec type" teams, then that would only hurt her mentally rather than help preserve her game intelligence and happiness.

My definition of a "top team" is simply a team that has about 4-5 girls, who can play off of each other well and where one of them, if missing, is not the deciding factor if the team wins or loses. I hope that clarifies a bit more about what I was trying to say.

Does that make a bit more sense?

GAG.......EGO alert!!!! Poor little girl.