When did you Join Club?

I have a little, little girl age 3 that will be 4 in the Spring.  For the first time, I am signing her up with Blue Sky for the Little Kicks program or some such and was curious what most of you did with your little ones as they got older. 

I have two older boys and took them to a club atmosphere around age 7 or 8.  With the girl, I plan to coach her in rec, with another dad and keep her there as long as I can. I hope to put together a team of under dogs to challenge the big clubs when they are 9 or 10 and maybe go to LH as a little start up independent group. 

However, I do know that at the end of the day, we will probably fold to the will of the clubs and take her somewhere. 

How long did you hold off before joining a club and paying someone to coach your daughter. 

Looking forward to this with the little girl after going halfway through it already with the boys.

Both of my daughters started club at age 8. I wanted to make sure that they liked soccer and wanted to go that route. However, every girl is different. You have to do what you feel is best for you daughter, as I'm sure you know. Good luck.

sprint wrote:I have a little, little girl age 3 that will be 4 in the Spring.  For the first time, I am signing her up with Blue Sky for the Little Kicks program or some such and was curious what most of you did with your little ones as they got older. 

I have two older boys and took them to a club atmosphere around age 7 or 8.  With the girl, I plan to coach her in rec, with another dad and keep her there as long as I can. I hope to put together a team of under dogs to challenge the big clubs when they are 9 or 10 and maybe go to LH as a little start up independent group. 

However, I do know that at the end of the day, we will probably fold to the will of the clubs and take her somewhere. 

How long did you hold off before joining a club and paying someone to coach your daughter. 

Looking forward to this with the little girl after going halfway through it already with the boys.

It's all about who you believe would be the best coach for your daughter, not whether they are independent, club, a dad, or whatever.  There is no "one size fits all" here.  Mine played in a city sponsored rec league for a dad at first, then a smallish club coach for academy, then for a large club for her entire select career.  I was never the least bit concerned about who the coach worked for.  

Some dads would be horrible coaches (me) some would be great.  It's all about how your daughter feels about it and responds to their coaching style.

I started mine at age 7, because I didn't know that she was going to be an athlete. I didn't know that soccer was going to be her sport, and I didn't know about academy.

I'll start my son down the soccer path for sure, but I am going to be receptive to whatever talent(s) the good Lord blessed him with. I hope he's a gifted athlete, but if he's not, rec sports will suffice while we nurture his other talent(s).

Thanks, it is interesting to hear what others have done.  I will see if she likes it and take it from there.  Although, I am a little skeptical at age 3 or 4 as that is very young.  I will be happy if she runs around on the field and mixes it up near the ball every now and then. Pack soccer at its finest...

Also looking forward to seeing the 2011 FBR rankings next Spring.

Who cares what any of us did with our kids, and what any of us think about what you should do with yours. Every kid is different. Start them out in something you think is appropriate, make sure they are first and foremost having fun and not feeling any stress about it, then watch your kid for cues, and adjust your plan as necessary. Whatever you do, do NOT compare this kid's path to any of your other kids or someone else's kid.

i think most of us went down the same path. rec wasnt challenging enough for them and /or we coached and found out we had gone as far as we could go and needed someone who knew more( that's another can of worms for a different thread) and it just seemed the natural thing to do...

All good advice that people have shared.  My advice, take your time and coach your DD as long as she is responding to you.  I coached my daughter since age 4. She is now 13.  The reason I began coaching her was because I didn't trust too many NTX coaches with my daughter and I didn't want to pay someone for a job I could do.   In academy, our team was able to compete with all the top teams so there was no reason to fold the team.  Today, we are a top national ranked team so I continue coaching her and her teammates.  My original plan was to only coach team until U12 or U13 at the latest but plans change.   Best of luck to you and your future team.

That sounds interesting jm23jm.  That is good you could build it up and keep it together over the years.  Assuming she wants to play and has any aptitude for it, that would be cool to keep her together with local friends and playing at a high level. 

gophers, sure it doesn't matter what others think or what they did, but it is interesting to hear from those that have older kids. I like to think I know quite a bit about the boys side, but know nothing about the girls side of things.

sprint wrote:That sounds interesting jm23jm.  That is good you could build it up and keep it together over the years.  Assuming she wants to play and has any aptitude for it, that would be cool to keep her together with local friends and playing at a high level. 

gophers, sure it doesn't matter what others think or what they did, but it is interesting to hear from those that have older kids. I like to think I know quite a bit about the boys side, but know nothing about the girls side of things.

Keeping it together is the tough part. My daughter has played with several of her teammates from U5 - to now U14. This past year, winning LHGCL D1, State Cup and Regionals was great but the best part was she was able to share it with her childhood friends she began this journey with.

After going back and re-reading your original post a couple of times, I still come away with the impression that you aren't just looking for information about what others did, but that you really are seeking justification from us that your "plan" is a good one.

I'm saying, be confident in your ability to guide your kids naturally down their individual paths without pushing or pulling them down some pre-determined path based on what worked well for one of your other kids, or what any of us tell you worked well for our kids.

bwgophers... I like your thinking.

Gophers nailed it.  Dont look for what others did or do.  Do what you feel is best for her and what makes her happy.  

There will always be some idiot that thinks his way is better or their way is the only way.  The correct path is the one that builds that love for the game if this is the sport she loves to play.  

Keep in mind at all times this is a long long journey.  The true winners arent the ones lifting trophies at U whatever... its the ones that made it to the finish line and dont walk away hating the game because of some overzealous parent.

My 9yo daughter has been in academy soccer for about 2 years. Rec before that. She is towards the middle of the pack on her team and not getting better, playing time, or real coaching. She loves the game and wants to learn and grow. What's the best way to find the right coach that will bring out the best in her?

That takes time, patience, and letting her try out several coaches.

I was just anxiously waiting for jm23jm to post in the 06 age group for mine to begin academy.

Borussia wrote:Gophers nailed it.  Dont look for what others did or do.  Do what you feel is best for her and what makes her happy.  

There will always be some idiot that thinks his way is better or their way is the only way.  The correct path is the one that builds that love for the game if this is the sport she loves to play.  

Keep in mind at all times this is a long long journey.  The true winners arent the ones lifting trophies at U whatever... its the ones that made it to the finish line and dont walk away hating the game because of some overzealous parent.

There will always be some idiot that thinks they know best, but I'm here to tell you the "correct" path? Lol. Is that some wanna be sun tzu gone wrong?

I'm inclined to agree with ballhead. There is no correct path. And nothing wrong with soliciting experiences and opinions of others. No parent is going to guide their child's life based solely on message board posts, but discussion and input is part of this forum's value. Kinda feels like we're insulting OPs intelligence telling him don't listen to anyone else's choices.

I also don't think "winners" and "finish line" can be defined for anyone other than your own kid. And even that is debatable because eventually the child forms their own criteria independently of the parent. Some kids lift trophies at uLittle, are winners based on their goals, and move on to other interests. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's not a marathon journey for everyone, as it shouldn't be.

NwKellerdad wrote:My 9yo daughter has been in academy soccer for about 2 years. Rec before that. She is towards the middle of the pack on her team and not getting better, playing time, or real coaching. She loves the game and wants to learn and grow. What's the best way to find the right coach that will bring out the best in her?  

Hopefully your coach is doing the things in practice that will get the kids a ton of touches, but they are coaching the "team" more than the individual in the 3 hours they have them each week. Practices should look like they were planned out, transitioning from activity to activity with lots of movement in my opinion. If the coach looks like they are making it up as they go each practice, it might be time to look. Improvement mostly happens at a slow pace though, so don't expect miracles to happen with a move unless your current coach is really mailing it in. If your daughter loves the game and wants to get better, you can shorten the curve a bit by getting her some individual work with a skills coach.

Most teams have a roster made up of "middle-of-the-pack" players who play an important role on the team, but may not have the entire package. Such is the nature of sports. As long as they enjoy what they are doing, there is no need to panic.

haterinho wrote:

Borussia wrote:Gophers nailed it.  Dont look for what others did or do.  Do what you feel is best for her and what makes her happy.  

There will always be some idiot that thinks his way is better or their way is the only way.  The correct path is the one that builds that love for the game if this is the sport she loves to play.  

Keep in mind at all times this is a long long journey.  The true winners arent the ones lifting trophies at U whatever... its the ones that made it to the finish line and dont walk away hating the game because of some overzealous parent.

There will always be some idiot that thinks they know best, but I'm here to tell you the "correct" path? Lol. Is that some wanna be sun tzu gone wrong?  

I'm inclined to agree with ballhead. There is no correct path. And nothing wrong with soliciting experiences and opinions of others. No parent is going to guide their child's life based solely on message board posts, but discussion and input is part of this forum's value. Kinda feels like we're insulting OPs intelligence telling him don't listen to anyone else's choices.

I also don't  think "winners" and "finish line" can be defined for anyone other than your own kid. And even that is debatable because eventually the child forms their own criteria independently of the parent. Some kids lift trophies at uLittle, are winners based on their goals, and move on to other interests. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's not a marathon journey for everyone, as it shouldn't be.

Your right Haterino... it is a dead on sprint for most of them... hence the problem with NTX... but im not going to beat that dead horse...

You're missing the point Bo. Some kids may want to sprint and move on. Some kids care more about winning than others. I was one of those kids. I was pissed for days if I lost at anything....even atari...lol. You couldn't put me on a crap team where no one tried and tell me it's a marathon son, not a sprint, so don't worry about getting the crap beat out of you now...you'll be the real winner when those other boys get burned out and quit. I know some girls who are like that too. Mine isnt, but My point is we cant stand from the outside and claim our path is any more universally correct than any other. Not every kid needs to love the game...some of them want to LIKE it until they move on to something else.

Never said my kids path is better than anyone elses, its her path.

Never said there is an issue with the kid that sprints around from sport to sport, or just wants some trophies... my comment was on the parent attempting to sprint it for their kid, or with their kid, or thru their kid... the guy talking ECNL at U8... we all know one of those. haha I get a kick out of hearing those conversations.

We played my DDs rec team like it was an academy team. We had practice twice a week and played tournaments with them when they were younger. For our U10 season we took them Academy as an independant team. We eased the transitions so they could experience some success but also learn and grow. We are frequently surprised at how well they step up their game and how they are picking up on the fine details of plays and footwork. We have never let them rest on their laurels but pushed them to go one step further every time. Now these girls that have been playing together since they were 4 are going Select in the summer. That is the defintation of cool!!!

I thought I was late to the party, but 7 is the youngest age listed.

5 for mine, actually started Open Skills once a week just before turning 5. We played PSA in the U6 age group as a club team. Rec was little challenge and her play got minimized due to scoring 5+ goals a quarter. Sitting on sidelines in Rec..let alone Rec practices, wasn't going to help her develop. For her and her self drive, it was right thing to do and would do it over again. If my other dd's had played soccer, It probably would not have been the right thing to do as they didn't have the drive..they all different.

What's a DD? I'm new to this.