Are you staying or going?

With the last true season upon us and looking forward to the upcoming qualifying - how many of you are staying and how many will stick your toe out and look around to see what else is out there before you commit to a team for a year? How many on your current team do you think will make a move?

Are you a first time poster or are yo using an alias?  

I'm going to the beer store? You need something?

Really!?! C'mon now, who do you think is going to come on here and say,''Yeah thats us, were looking for greener pastures''. I mean I could do it because y'all do not know who I am but I know who you are so don't even think about it.

Who isn't looking for another team...... (Except me of course)

Of course.

If you're interested in another team PM me :-) We can keep it on the dl

PS - I know I have a soccer problem when I type dl and my phone tries to correct it with sdl

That was just a joke....unless of course you're serious.

Liven things up a bit...

started watching this group and wondering because three teams approached my daughter this weekend looking to fill spots. we have been pretty happy but it makes me wonder if the other girls are all going to jump ship looking for greener pastures. what is your experience with that happening. we will probably be d3 (d2 depending on how you look at it) and I think half the kids on our team think they can play with the d1-ish type teams. maybe true, maybe not but losing them causes me to think about our future if they leave. just want an opinion - I think you seem to know a lot about the 04 atmosphere. ????

The closer we get to QT, im sure the more player movement. Sometimes jumping to greener pastures works out, most of the time not. Only you know what is in the best interest of your daughter,as each person here will more than likely have a different response as to what they would do in the same situation. Maybe have a talk with the coach. Maybe have a parent/coach meeting to evaluate where your team is headed and if players are likely to jump ship.  Best of luck to whatever comes your way

deepblack wrote:If you're interested in another team PM me :-) We can keep it on the dl

PS - I know I have a soccer problem when I type dl and my phone tries to correct it with sdl

I am officially adding this to the list of BEST POST EVER!

Bow-Chicka-Wow Wow wrote:I'm going to the beer store?   You need something?  

If you're really lucky, you'll get Moss Field for every game and save travel time.  Go Buckeyes!

We probably are developing a strong PPL D1 team, which most on our team are fine with for now.

Crazy thing is, a few players mumbling about looking for a better team - I don't think any of them are in the top 5 on our team.

04Soccer wrote:The closer we get to QT, im sure the more player movement. Sometimes jumping to greener pastures works out, most of the time not. Only you know what is in the best interest of your daughter,as each person here will more than likely have a different response as to what they would do in the same situation. Maybe have a talk with the coach. Maybe have a parent/coach meeting to evaluate where your team is headed and if players are likely to jump ship.  Best of luck to whatever comes your way

From what we witnessed last year with our '03, the movement really began in May.  There were a lot of families that wanted to honor their academy "commitment" through the spring season.  Once the season ended (the last week of April), families began looking around.  Of the 16 girls that signed with our team, 7 joined us after May 1st.  I am not sure how this compares with stronger and weaker teams, but it is what we experienced.

soccerisfun wrote:We probably are developing a strong PPL D1 team, which most on our team are fine with for now.  

Crazy thing is, a few players mumbling about looking for a better team - I don't think any of them are in the top 5 on our team.

There is nothing wrong with this, but I can imagine that some parents will be lured by the greater potential to make LH.  Do they want to write that check in July for a team destined for PPL?  If all 15-16 sets of parents are on board with that objective, then great.  If not, expect changes...

tigerdad wrote:

soccerisfun wrote:We probably are developing a strong PPL D1 team, which most on our team are fine with for now.  

Crazy thing is, a few players mumbling about looking for a better team - I don't think any of them are in the top 5 on our team.

There is nothing wrong with this, but I can imagine that some parents will be lured by the greater potential to make LH.  Do they want to write that check in July for a team destined for PPL?  If all 15-16 sets of parents are on board with that objective, then great.  If not, expect changes...

My amusement is with those - who are not a star or in the top 5 of a PPL D1 team, thinking they should be starting on a LH D2 or D3 team.

I guess the next few months give them the opportunity to get a little perspective.

soccerisfun wrote:We probably are developing a strong PPL D1 team, which most on our team are fine with for now.  

Crazy thing is, a few players mumbling about looking for a better team - I don't think any of them are in the top 5 on our team.

Time to have a sit down with the other parents and coaches. Discuss what's in front of you and try to get honest answers. Better to "know" now than to have people leave in May because they thought everyone else was.

Reasons for change:

1.  Cost - Face it, it gets expensive now.  Some families don't have the means, or do not have the budget.
2.  Desire - Some players do soccer only for the social aspect, and many have come into academy with their rec buddies.  For this next level, you must commit to being at every practice, every game, give up every 3-day weekend, etc.  Some decent, athletic players will fall to the wayside, simply due to the time commitment and lack of desire.
3.  Ability (a) - some players will come to grips with the harsh reality that although they are enjoying soccer, they just are not athletic enough to compete at the higher level.  Parents will wonder why they are considering spending thousands of dollars and oodles of time on an activity that doesn't show much promise to pay off in the future.  Note:  the child can over-rule the parent if they truly love the sport and continue to work at it in the backyard without coaching or prodding.
4.  Ability (b) - some players are the only reason an academy team is viable (see: the big girl/the sweeper/the keeper/the scorer etc.).  If a team loses every game that this player or two is not there, there is a good chance this player will move up to a bigger challenge - maybe the loyalty works for another year or two, but it will happen.  Every player needs to be challenged in order to develop...if the player is being charitable through their loyalty, its not fair to ask them to expect them to stay.
5.  Crazy Parent - Yes, there are parents that think their bench player is the next Mia Hamm - they will hop from team to team, desperately trying to find one that has true LHGCL potential that will pick her up - they will volunteer, sponsor, kiss-butt, sleep with the coach, whatever it takes so they can tell their friends and co-workers that their dd plays top level soccer...bad situation there.
6.  Recruiting/Scholarship players - a great player on a good team will be recruited by top teams that will take the gloves off when it comes to recruiting, even so far as to offer "scholarships" in the form of reduced fees to entice the player to move...some will take it.

Teams will adjust accordingly -
1.  Big clubs will disband many of the lower-level academy teams, and recruit heavily for their top teams.  As players on higher teams quit/move for any of the above reasons, they will "promote" players from the lower teams to the higher teams to fill roster spots they were not able to recruit for.  The lowest ranked team in a big club is always at risk of disbanding.
2.  Mid-level clubs will disband their 3rd team - count on it.  They will not have the recruiting firepower to overcome the inevitable losses they will sustain when ECNL is brought into the discussion, and they will have to reduce to two teams to fill out rosters.  If they currently have 2 teams, count on the second team being severely degraded through promotion of studs to the "A" team.  If the second team is top-50 or so, they will be able to pick up some of the cast-offs from the big club's top 70 team (that just recently disbanded) to fill out their roster.
3.  Privateer/one-team clubs will either stay together through extreme loyalty, or blow up.  nothing in between. One or two successful recruiting efforts from a big club destroys this team.

Loyalty is a wonderful thing - but most moves at this time are NOT made due to lack of loyalty - most are done with the best interest of the player in mind (except #5 above), and it hurts the feelings of the leaving player (and their parents) just as much as the team they are leaving.   Remember that when a teammate seeks out greener pastures.  It does no good at all to talk mean about another kid or family that you will continue to see on or off the field for the next 8 years.  In fact, odds are very good that your kids will play together again at some time or another.

10sDad wrote:Reasons for change:

1.  Cost - Face it, it gets expensive now.  Some families don't have the means, or do not have the budget.
2.  Desire - Some players do soccer only for the social aspect, and many have come into academy with their rec buddies.  For this next level, you must commit to being at every practice, every game, give up every 3-day weekend, etc.  Some decent, athletic players will fall to the wayside, simply due to the time commitment and lack of desire.
3.  Ability (a) - some players will come to grips with the harsh reality that although they are enjoying soccer, they just are not athletic enough to compete at the higher level.  Parents will wonder why they are considering spending thousands of dollars and oodles of time on an activity that doesn't show much promise to pay off in the future.  Note:  the child can over-rule the parent if they truly love the sport and continue to work at it in the backyard without coaching or prodding.
4.  Ability (b) - some players are the only reason an academy team is viable (see: the big girl/the sweeper/the keeper/the scorer etc.).  If a team loses every game that this player or two is not there, there is a good chance this player will move up to a bigger challenge - maybe the loyalty works for another year or two, but it will happen.  Every player needs to be challenged in order to develop...if the player is being charitable through their loyalty, its not fair to ask them to expect them to stay.
5.  Crazy Parent - Yes, there are parents that think their bench player is the next Mia Hamm - they will hop from team to team, desperately trying to find one that has true LHGCL potential that will pick her up - they will volunteer, sponsor, kiss-butt, sleep with the coach, whatever it takes so they can tell their friends and co-workers that their dd plays top level soccer...bad situation there.
6.  Recruiting/Scholarship players - a great player on a good team will be recruited by top teams that will take the gloves off when it comes to recruiting, even so far as to offer "scholarships" in the form of reduced fees to entice the player to move...some will take it.

Teams will adjust accordingly -
1.  Big clubs will disband many of the lower-level academy teams, and recruit heavily for their top teams.  As players on higher teams quit/move for any of the above reasons, they will "promote" players from the lower teams to the higher teams to fill roster spots they were not able to recruit for.  The lowest ranked team in a big club is always at risk of disbanding.
2.  Mid-level clubs will disband their 3rd team - count on it.  They will not have the recruiting firepower to overcome the inevitable losses they will sustain when ECNL is brought into the discussion, and they will have to reduce to two teams to fill out rosters.  If they currently have 2 teams, count on the second team being severely degraded through promotion of studs to the "A" team.  If the second team is top-50 or so, they will be able to pick up some of the cast-offs from the big club's top 70 team (that just recently disbanded) to fill out their roster.
3.  Privateer/one-team clubs will either stay together through extreme loyalty, or blow up.  nothing in between. One or two successful recruiting efforts from a big club destroys this team.

Loyalty is a wonderful thing - but most moves at this time are NOT made due to lack of loyalty - most are done with the best interest of the player in mind (except #5 above), and it hurts the feelings of the leaving player (and their parents) just as much as the team they are leaving.   Remember that when a teammate seeks out greener pastures.  It does no good at all to talk mean about another kid or family that you will continue to see on or off the field for the next 8 years.  In fact, odds are very good that your kids will play together again at some time or another.

I think you nailed it 10s. Having older kids that have been through this process, I can now objectively look back and relate to every scenario you mentioned and I think you're dead on. Some 1st time parents will unfortunately not understand a lot of this until they actually experience it themselves. I'll admit I was one of those parents several years ago.

10sDad wrote:  It does no good at all to talk mean about another kid or family that you will continue to see on or off the field for the next 8 years.  In fact, odds are very good that your kids will play together again at some time or another.

Dead on. Never understood the kid and/or club bashing. The players that stay in this thing will play with eachother somewhere down the line. And some of these parents would be shocked to know the color jersey their kid will be wearing in 5 years.

I never understand these gung-ho club or team defenders. Your kid will switch teams and burning bridges is stupid. It's just a shirt they wear...

I understand the club loyalty thing, I do.  It's not a bad thing to support your club and be proud (if you want to/can be).  But if you're smart, you're playing for the coach you think is best for your dd, regardless of the club.

All of the clubs have their strengths and weaknesses, some more than others.  But you shouldn't be surprised if your player is wearing a different jersey in a year or two.  Players change teams, teams change clubs, coaches change.

This bashing of other players, families, teams, and clubs is stupid, and will often end up with a healthy helping of crow at some point.  By my dd's senior year, we had almost as many close family friends on other teams and clubs as we did on her own.

These kids go to school together, play together, and then compete with each other in club soccer.  In most cases, the players are smart enough not to hold grudges against the other team's players.  

It usually takes a parent to truly understand how important it is to hate on the other teams, players, and clubs, etc.

wow, this is a very different tone than most posts on these forum....almost makes me want to sing kumbaya. after talking to many people with older kids me thinks that your observation is spot on. I appreciate all the insight from you all....very interesting to hear the die hards express this point of view!