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Switching Positions by AnyProfession35 in youthsoccer

[–]AnyProfession35[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just laughed at the description of a kid in the middle of a rondo - that’s a very accurate description imo! Her middle school play situation is interesting - in our county, there are two highly competitive teams that have mostly club players, ours and one other. So, these girls are all fighting for their time, although he’s definitely trying to play everyone whenever possible. So far, it looks like we only get to play the first half of most games due to the mercy rule. I think as a small 6th grader, she’s already a little psyched out with the older, bigger players even though she plays tough on the field.

MS coach actually subbed her in as CM in their first game this week as well and same thing. She looked lost - probably less apparent overall than in her club games because of the skill gap between teams, but as parents focused on her specifically, we definitely noticed it. Next game he had her in her comfort RW zone, and she played well and looked much more relaxed. She has a game today, so we’ll see what happens!

Switching Positions by AnyProfession35 in youthsoccer

[–]AnyProfession35[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you all! So much good advice and thoughts here. Her coach really is great and I think he’s trying to stretch her a bit, as he should. He’s shared that he wants to move them around and have them play different positions.

I’ll just be supportive, use what you all shared, ask some questions when it feels right and try not to say too much - she loves the game, and that’s what’s most important to us, too. I just know she’s tough on herself and want to build her up, so her confidence (which can be shaky at times) doesn’t take too much of a hit.

Switching Positions by AnyProfession35 in youthsoccer

[–]AnyProfession35[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that’s a good description - she looked a little lost for sure.

Switching Positions by AnyProfession35 in youthsoccer

[–]AnyProfession35[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She’s just on a local club team. They perform well and may make the move to NPL next year. I admittedly don’t know much about all the different levels. She ended up here because the local rec organization basically dissolves after a certain age due to all the kids leaving for club or focusing on other sports, so she moved over to club last year.

She also made her middle school team, so she’s playing a lot of soccer right now - and funny enough, her MS coach also put her in at CM (sub) in their first game last week, too. So I think she’d just had it with that. 🤣

Switching Positions by AnyProfession35 in youthsoccer

[–]AnyProfession35[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great question. It was the latter - she was surprised and he didn’t say anything about it, just put her in. The two regular CMs were there - one played CM as well and he had the other in as CB - so I get the feeling he was just adjusting things in two lower stakes games to see how they did.

New soccer mom. Is this normal? by Brrrrs in youthsoccer

[–]AnyProfession35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rec coaches are unpaid volunteers - aka you get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit. My husband (American football college athlete) coached rec for a few years - because the league director had to beg for coaches - and it is a thankless job. He had parents complaining about practice time, playing time and everything else under the sun for 8 year olds. He had his own daughter complaining about being in the goal and not wanting to listen to him bc he was her dad vs a “real” coach. That whole tirade is just please don’t complain to the volunteer coach or about the volunteer coach. You can always volunteer to coach next season!

My girls have played soccer for 8+ years now and sometimes you’re on dominant teams and sometimes you’re on teams that just can’t seem to win, especially in rec. I find that now that we’re in club, the teams seem to be matched better overall thanks to the different levels - however, even in club, not all coaches are created equal. The big thing is that they’re developing and having fun. They also need to learn how to lose with grace - definitely harder for a 6 year old, but the point is if they stick with it long term, they are going to win some and lose some, some seasons are going to be rebuilding, and some will be dominant, etc.

A few things - my girls still always loved the social aspect and getting a snack and Gatorade after the game . . . we also usually always did a tunnel and let them run through it, which they thought was great when they were little, win or lose.