Teams w/no Club players compared to those with.....

[mustcoach]

The Williamson County schools have very high percentages of club players with several likely approaching 100% (maybe a couple that don't). My daughter has played club soccer since she was 8 years old and if forced to choose she would probably pick club. But, High School is very, very important to her and there is something special about putting on your school colors and playing in front of fellow students and carrying that school banner. In the past in Williamson and Rutherford county there have been some club coaches that tried to force their players to not play in school and only club. Thankfully, they failed miserably in that attempt and gave it up to keep their players. There are many current instances of successful club coaches for older girls teams serving as assistant coaches on High School teams.

 

There is certainly room for both and I hope that the TSSAA will keep their noses out of it and allow both to peacefully coexist.

 

That in my opinion club coaches assisting should happen more then it does. I know further West across the Mississipi the larger clubs have their players sign contracts that if they are chosen to play for the TOP team in that club they will not play high school. It can work, but both parties are going to have to swallow some pride and come together for the good of the game and the players we both coach. THere are positives to both environments.

[soccerfan02]

The issue in Northeast Tennessee come down to two things one TSA does not govern the club level all the way through the state it tends to stop at knoxville for us. We have 5 different clubs in our area (which is the tri- cities)

HVFC, Scosa, Impact northeast, Johnson city, bristol soccer all these clubs tend to fight over players and one think they are better than the other instead of working together and forming one or two association to help the kids, They would rather steal player from each other by recruting them illegaly during tournament and other format but nothing is done by the state. I think if the state did there job you could have more kids able to play at the club level because it would become more affordable, there are things the state can do to help the smaller towns but that would take work and they would rather worry about which team there coaching this week instead of running a soccer association.

[NDSean]

I have a question or two for those of you in the know (which seems to be about everyone except me). For those who played club or have kids who play club, when did you know it was right for them? The reason I ask is simple. I have an 8 year old daughter who has played since she was 5 and is pretty decent when compared to most of the other girls in the rec league. At what skill level or maturation level do these girls need to be at to consider trying out for a select team? Or more specifically, where do they needto be to be accepted onto a club team? There are a few to choose from in Chattanooga, but I don't know much about any of them. If any of you have any advice for me and don't want to take up the message board space to do it, I will gladly give you my email address. Thanks.

 

Sorry, I know this was slightly off-topic, but this seemed like a natural place to insert the post.

[kickgrass]

I have a question or two for those of you in the know (which seems to be about everyone except me). For those who played club or have kids who play club, when did you know it was right for them? The reason I ask is simple. I have an 8 year old daughter who has played since she was 5 and is pretty decent when compared to most of the other girls in the rec league. At what skill level or maturation level do these girls need to be at to consider trying out for a select team? Or more specifically, where do they needto be to be accepted onto a club team? There are a few to choose from in Chattanooga, but I don't know much about any of them. If any of you have any advice for me and don't want to take up the message board space to do it, I will gladly give you my email address. Thanks.

 

Sorry, I know this was slightly off-topic, but this seemed like a natural place to insert the post.

 

 

My daughter started club/selct/travel when she was 8 (U-9), she's now a senior in High School. All of these years soccer has been a huge part of her life, and she still loves it. Now she intends to play in college. Having said that, it depends on the child. I've seen a lot of kids that she started with that have since dropped out of soccer, either to concentrate on other sports, due to "burn out", or just didn't want to make the committment any more. Because to play club soccer at the older age groups in Division 1 (which is the highest level) is a huge committment of time, money and effort. I talked with her prior to starting club soccer and explained that she would have to be willing to miss out on some things to do it. That when they had games and tournaments on a weekend that she may have to miss sleepovers, parties and some other social events. She was OK with that and always accepted that as a part of her committment. I always tried not to push her, support her, not be critical or overly insane on the sidelines to the point of being an embarrassment to her (if you get involved you'll see what I mean. The level of play, competition and hopefully coaching is at a higher level than what she sees at the Rec level. It's unlike rec in that she may have to try out and earn a spot on the team.

 

The other big issue is that you as parents have to be willing to make a big committment of your time and in many cases financially. It's not that expensive early on, but boy when they start traveling a lot, out of state and many weekends, paying coaches and trainers, etc. it can get very expensive.

 

Chattanooga has 3 good clubs that I'm aware of: ERSA (East Ridge Soccer Association, Signal Mountain, and Redoubt. They all field competitive teams.

 

It's been good for my daughter and she has learned everything that I hoped she would when she started playing, such as: teamwork, leadership, maturity, how to lose and win graciously, that hard work pays off and that a group that works hard together can achieve things that individuals can not. She has been blessed to be coached and trained by caring, educated, skilled people and to play with girls that are good kids and outstanding soccer players.

[easttnref]

The Williamson County schools have very high percentages of club players with several likely approaching 100% (maybe a couple that don't). My daughter has played club soccer since she was 8 years old and if forced to choose she would probably pick club. But, High School is very, very important to her and there is something special about putting on your school colors and playing in front of fellow students and carrying that school banner. In the past in Williamson and Rutherford county there have been some club coaches that tried to force their players to not play in school and only club. Thankfully, they failed miserably in that attempt and gave it up to keep their players. There are many current instances of successful club coaches for older girls teams serving as assistant coaches on High School teams.

 

There is certainly room for both and I hope that the TSSAA will keep their noses out of it and allow both to peacefully coexist.

 

 

My question is this if everyone knows kids are playing sports year around and only picking one sport instead of everything like us old folks did why is TSSAA regulating this don't they know they are hurting kids chances of getting scholarships and along with that they keep taking away practice time every year for the teams who don't have alot of club players don't you think this puts them at even more of a disadvantage

[laban]

My question is this if everyone knows kids are playing sports year around and only picking one sport instead of everything like us old folks did why is TSSAA regulating this don't they know they are hurting kids chances of getting scholarships and along with that they keep taking away practice time every year for the teams who don't have alot of club players don't you think this puts them at even more of a disadvantage

 

 

TSSAA should stay out of this one. I coach club and assist at High School. I support both. Both environments can mean a lot to a young persons growth and reaching there potential. Club coaches have to understand (and im a die hard club coach trust me), that high school soccer is simply a lot of FUN. Its a good thing. That has to mean something. Whats wrong with kids simply having some fun with there friends, representing there school and/or community for about 3 months. Sometimes the soccer isnt that great, but who cares. The opportunities to become leaders, set and reach goals, and learn about team values exist in high school sports. I would never discourage someone from playing high school sports or high school soccer.

 

Plus, I would actualy argue that touching the ball every day for 3 months is ultimatly a good thing. If during high school, a players will do fitness every day either as a team (per the coach) or individually, and work on their skills at practice and in games, then high school very well could make you a better player as well.

 

Many club coaches think that they have to "retrain" players after high school. In a lot cases that may be true, but it works both ways. IM amazed at how many kids come from travel teams that in the 9th grade still cant recieve a ball, have no left foot, cant head the ball, and look dazed and confused when you start talking about zonal defending. Not to mention the lack of work ethic and being completely out of shape. I wonder what these clubs get paid to do, since none of the above seemed to be accomplished. If you play club soccer, the above items should be no problem by the time you reach high school.

 

High School soccer can be a good thing and the players have fun. Club soccer can be a good thing and players should have fun competing agianst tough competition. The positives of both should be identified and ebraced and supported by everyone.

 

TSSAA should get a job or something.

[Morton]

My daughter has been a basketball player for years. She gave up soccer in 6th grade, so she could focus on AAU and play fall league ball with her school team. The TSSAA ruling about banning organized fall ball for basketball is exactly why she is back into soccer. Her team now has three players that would not have played soccer if the fall rules had not changed for basketball. At first I was angry about the rule, and now I am thrilled. She is getting to play two sports. Both help her with the other. Our soccer team is more 'athletic' than they have ever been due to the migrations of basketball players back to soccer. I know this is not everyone's experience, but I wanted to shed some positive light on the situation. Back on topic, I would say that less than half of our varsity team plays club soccer, and we are a pretty successful program. I think it comes down to athletic ability, commitment on the players to continue conditioning, and most importantly - coaching.

[Canesoverhere]

I concur with the post above 100%. We too are at our last year of prep and our daughter will be playing in college next year. It has been a tremendous expereince for her and has taught her (and I) many life lessons. It is a lot to ask of a teenager to separate her from her friends but it becomes a very large social circle unto it self once the years pass by. For example, she will be guest playing, say, in South Florida and run into people from other Clubs or ODP or College Camps she has met/played with and will hang out with them way into the evening. Funny, she will end up in college with at least one of these girls, maybe two!

 

Another frequently overlooked benefit of Club Soccer is the family time you gain with your entire family while traveling. We have done it for years and still look forward to that time together. I see others who are not part of this circle and their kids rarely spend an quality time with their folks. I realize that is a generalization, but I know that nearly all soccer players spend time with their family on these trips...mostly positive time.

 

Going back to the previous posts, regarding high school, our entire team, JV & V is club. It has been for three years now. Believe me, I don't think any of us when we were looking for our homes 15 years ago were thinking about where can I live to get my daughter in the right high school with the right soccer players...actually I think we more focused on getting her to 86 the pacifier. Nevertheless, all these girls ended up in the same place. The high school next town over is the same. The private schools closes by are nearly there too.

 

RE club....we have two players who travel about 90 minutes each way to practice, 5 days a week. That is a commitment on the player's part and the parent. They have been doing it for years.

 

I guess that covers it.

[soccertaxi]

I concur with the post above 100%. We too are at our last year of prep and our daughter will be playing in college next year. It has been a tremendous expereince for her and has taught her (and I) many life lessons. It is a lot to ask of a teenager to separate her from her friends but it becomes a very large social circle unto it self once the years pass by. For example, she will be guest playing, say, in South Florida and run into people from other Clubs or ODP or College Camps she has met/played with and will hang out with them way into the evening. Funny, she will end up in college with at least one of these girls, maybe two!

 

Another frequently overlooked benefit of Club Soccer is the family time you gain with your entire family while traveling. We have done it for years and still look forward to that time together. I see others who are not part of this circle and their kids rarely spend an quality time with their folks. I realize that is a generalization, but I know that nearly all soccer players spend time with their family on these trips...mostly positive time.

 

Going back to the previous posts, regarding high school, our entire team, JV & V is club. It has been for three years now. Believe me, I don't think any of us when we were looking for our homes 15 years ago were thinking about where can I live to get my daughter in the right high school with the right soccer players...actually I think we more focused on getting her to 86 the pacifier. Nevertheless, all these girls ended up in the same place. The high school next town over is the same. The private schools closes by are nearly there too.

 

RE club....we have two players who travel about 90 minutes each way to practice, 5 days a week. That is a commitment on the player's part and the parent. They have been doing it for years.

 

I guess that covers it.

 

what noone is talking about is the money that goes into playing club ball. If the top teams in the state have 80 to 100 percent club players that is telling me that there is little to no chance for a school from a less afluent area to ever be competitive in state soccer. I have two daughters who play select and I don't even want to add all the money that we have spent in the last years. I am glad Cainesoverhere has had a good experience, but I often wonder if my children have missed out on just playing in the yard. Select is not all good times and family fun. My children have witnessed the best and worst in adults. I've seen grown men cuss at my daughter, throw hissy fits and act like they are the ones who scored the goals. If I had known what club ball involved I would never had my children try out, but my daughter says that you can't play high school without playing select.

[laban]

what noone is talking about is the money that goes into playing club ball. If the top teams in the state have 80 to 100 percent club players that is telling me that there is little to no chance for a school from a less afluent area to ever be competitive in state soccer. I have two daughters who play select and I don't even want to add all the money that we have spent in the last years. I am glad Cainesoverhere has had a good experience, but I often wonder if my children have missed out on just playing in the yard. Select is not all good times and family fun. My children have witnessed the best and worst in adults. I've seen grown men cuss at my daughter, throw hissy fits and act like they are the ones who scored the goals. If I had known what club ball involved I would never had my children try out, but my daughter says that you can't play high school without playing select.

 

 

Club soccer doenst have to be expensive if organized that way. A team can certainly spend a lot of money if they chosed to travel a lot and play out of town games and/or tournaments. Even if they play local tournaments there is entry fee. However, if you get someone to organize a team, play in a lower division, practice twice a week (just play if nothing else), and schedule some local friendly games on a Saturday afternoon, then the cost can be almost nothing. That is how less affluent areas should go about it and there are a lot of less affluent areas that do just that. So there is a opportunity for high schools who do not have a big club program to play and get better at soccer during the offseason in an inexpensive manner. It just takes a little initiative on someones part to make it happen. Having adults throw hissy fits and act like kids is not just a club soccer issue. I see that in every sport and during the work place all the time. Unfortunate, but I see it everywhere. Here in Williamson County at swim meets, tennis tournaments, and at the work place. So that should not be an excuse for not playing club soccer. We cant shield our kids from the realities of society. Go play soccer and get over everyones attitude.

[Canesoverhere]

what noone is talking about is the money that goes into playing club ball. If the top teams in the state have 80 to 100 percent club players that is telling me that there is little to no chance for a school from a less afluent area to ever be competitive in state soccer. I have two daughters who play select and I don't even want to add all the money that we have spent in the last years. I am glad Cainesoverhere has had a good experience, but I often wonder if my children have missed out on just playing in the yard. Select is not all good times and family fun. My children have witnessed the best and worst in adults. I've seen grown men cuss at my daughter, throw hissy fits and act like they are the ones who scored the goals. If I had known what club ball involved I would never had my children try out, but my daughter says that you can't play high school without playing select.

 

We are straying a tad off the topic here but there is value ($) in this post.

 

Kroger has a program in which you purchase your groceries using a "Kroger" card. For every $100 you spend, $5 comes back to your "account". Several soccer clubs use this to help defray the costs. THis will significantly decrease your outlay. We have been doing this for years. Kroger now sells gas so you can imagine how much you can generate.

[stompNchomp]

You really can't be all that competitive in high school soccer without a solid base of club players. So club needs to stick around and more people need to get involved in it...