| RICHMOND, VA (Oct 26, 2005) USSoccerPlayers - Finding the right
environment for your child to play in isn't always the easiest thing
to do. Sometimes the closest club isn't what your child needs to
thrive. The right environment may not be playing with their friends.
The right environment is playing where your child is most comfortable
and can learn the game to the best of their abilities, where they
are challenged to learn and to get back up again when they do not
succeed. A place where they are encouraged to give it their all and
not called out when they are not up to giving it their all on one
particular day. The right club is where your child has fun playing
the beautiful game and is able to learn the correct life lessons
that youth sports should teach our children. There are three types
of clubs where your child can play soccer. All three may not be available
within your area. The first really isn't a club; it is your local Parks and Rec. Department and/or your local YMCA. Parks and Rec./YMCA basically give your child a chance to play and what your child gets out of it can vary from coach to coach. When I lived outside of Atlanta, my son played for the local Parks and Rec. Department and we had a great experience. His coach was great, a former player, who took the time to help teach me, the assistant coach, as well as teaching the kids. That being said, uniforms and trophies were dropped Saturday morning at the concession stand and there was no real contact with anyone in the department. Our main contact with the league was the coach. If he wasn't an organized or knowledgeable coach things might have been very different. The second is a travel only club. These are usually run by a former player, and that person usually runs most of the day to day activities and is chairman or president of the board. A travel or select only club would be a club for competitive level players only. In this club the environment would be competitive with professional coaches teaching your child the skills and mindset that are needed to advance to the next level, which for most would be the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and/or college. The former player teaches the coaches the new ideas or strategies and the direction that he wants to work on during that season. The coach passes that onto the players to help develop your child's skills. This can be a great environment for your child to develop if they have their heart set on going to the next level and they have the abilities to get there. The club usually has the connections to get your child seen by college coaches and is able to get their teams entered into the better tournaments. With that being said, some parents expect to see trophies for winning tournaments and leagues for the money they are shelling out. I have to remind you it is about development, not trophies. Steve Ralston, of the New England Revolution and the US National Team, didn't start as a high school senior and never made an ODP team. He did finally blossom and led the nation is scoring his senior year in college, but that was after transferring from a smaller community college. There are many paths. The third category of clubs is a Rec. and Travel/Select club, but there are two types of these clubs. The first is the club where neither dominates, Rec. and select players' needs are equally met and both leagues are considered to be number one. All players and coaches are given the necessary opportunities to learn and develop and enjoy the game. They are given the opportunity to move up into travel if they would like to and have the talent to do so. Rec. players are not looked down on if they want to play for the pure enjoyment of the game and play other sports as well. Opportunities for further coaching education are provided for both the Rec. and Select coaches. In this environment even the parent is given the opportunity to learn the game, thereby furthering their enjoyment of a weekend afternoon in the sun for the entire family. The second type would be the travel dominant club where Rec. is an afterthought. Rec. is used to pay the bills and hopefully recruit some travel players from the younger kids as they grow older. Almost everything from the board to the administration is geared towards select/travel Under-10 and older. The coaching education is spent on the select coaches and players. Certain club fields are set aside for travel games only. Rec. kids U-12 and older are looked down on as not talented enough to play select instead of being looked at as kids that just want to play for the enjoyment of the game. Late blooming kids are not given the opportunity to move up to travel/select and parents are considered to be a necessary evil. Both variations of the Rec./travel or select club can be an acceptable environment depending on your child's and family's needs. It is just a matter of personal choice and how you want your family to be treated. Hopefully this information will be helpful to you as you make the decisions necessary for your child to develop and follow their path through soccer. Whether it is just for fun, or it is for fun and competition, our kids are not all going to be as naturally gifted as Landon Donovan and Demarcus Beasley or Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm. That's not a stopping point for enjoying the game or even working towards a career playing soccer. Not every quality player is identified in the youth ranks, and there are players that go on to factor in college programs and the professional ranks that were never stars in their local leagues. Choosing the right environment for your child can be just as important as their talent and love of the game. Good Luck. Enjoy your kids and the beautiful game. Original Article on USSoccerPlayers.com |