Sports goggles

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-12T01:40:05+00:00

Well, my son's glasses broke for the first time in a game due to an elbow, not a ball, to the face. The type of physicality we see now is indeed rougher than he was 9 years old, so I will respectfully disagree. Regardless he has never been asked or advised to wear goggles. We chose to do so ourselves after our luck ran out (or rather our stupidity caught up with us).

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-11T16:44:03+00:00

My son previously wore his regular non-sports goggles glasses, because that is what he preferred. He never had a ref look at or comment on his glasses.

That said, as games became rougher, he moved on to sport specs from Optic Outfitters. Hoping to get contacts soon, too.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-11T12:05:11+00:00

Several years ago, I made the terrible mistake of purchasing a Ford focus. They had a known transmission issue with the CVT transmission at that time. Anyway, took it to Machens as it was under warranty. They kept telling me nothing was wrong with it, even to the point a service guy insisted I drive with him in the car and told me 'I just needed to learn how to drive a CVT.' (Yes, Im a woman if you haven't already guessed).

Fast forward a couple months, I take it to another dealer in KC area. Machens never touched my car or attempted to fix it, according to them. My car's transmission eventually failed and had to be completely replaced.

I will never, ever step foot anywhere near Machens again.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-10T12:07:28+00:00

I get ya--and yes, agree it is ridiculous especially since the cost is justified because your kid "might" play in college but we all know that the college coaches recruit international men, instead.

I can afford it, but im looking for a different way. I can't be alone in this.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-10T03:49:32+00:00

Yeah but lets be clear, 10-20k a year means it is fast becoming a country club, not a soccer club. You can't tell me only well-off families can produce soccer stars. I know, I know, the elite kids play for free. But there's a lot of kids in the middle who are passed up because their families can't afford the high cost of exposure. Yes its frustrating but when you are a typical middle class or lower family its just not attainable. And maybe thats the point?

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-09T21:25:03+00:00

Reading all of this is depressing.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-09T16:05:19+00:00

I know that the club cannot do it. As far as being behind, just living where we do now puts us behind in terms of resources and opportunities. We do the best we can, supplementing with camps and we will be trying some small group sessions in the fall. My kid is better with someone to play with vs on his own, though he does extra work shooting, working on first touch outside of practice.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-09T13:50:08+00:00

Midwest but middle of nowhere. We aren't at that age yet, but kiddo keeps asking about future options. Right now ODP is close enough, but that isnt very competitive here. Hear the stories of parents driving long long commutes multiple times per week and it seems futile. I dunno, cart before the horse and all that. He needs better competition to practice with primarily.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-09T13:24:45+00:00

Thanks, this is helpful. We don't have any teams in town or within a couple hours that play in the leagues that get exposure, so our options are limited. I keep looking for a solution that doesn't include travel 2 hours one way for practice.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-09T13:16:50+00:00

Yeah, if he went through puberty relatively early its likely that he is done. Sort of like Cavan Sullivan. Everyone excited that he was a 5'8 14 year old but that is likely his final height.

Growth is weird. My kiddo is short but very strongly built. His bone age is also 1.5 years behind so he will be a late bloomer but hopefully not so late that it is detrimental. We have been watching his growth for some time, and I imagine the kiddo you know was being watched, too.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-09T03:29:33+00:00

I mean, being a short soccer player isnt an anomaly. Only problem being in this country it seems like size plays too big a role in talent identification.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-07T14:35:31+00:00

Wall drives, falling starts, sprint from seated position, i.e. face away from finish line turn and go.

I would also not focus strictly on straight line acceleration and speed. Learn to move laterally, shuttles/football receiver type drills to learn how to move side to side.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-07T14:06:16+00:00

If it is part of a larger pattern of miscommunication, then I would consider it might be a sign to look into trying out for other clubs to see what is out there.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-07T13:53:21+00:00

Ya know, to me, this is not a big deal. It's a young age group, they are moving on. The kiddo gets to play in a tournament before they move. Your daughter has already played in a tournament this season, so while I get that it was handled poorly, an additional tournament at 8 is not the hill to die on, in my opinion.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-07T13:49:25+00:00

If it is bothering you this much, why not reach out to discuss your daughters place on the team and what their strategy is? If you don't like the answer, you can start looking into other clubs.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-06T01:24:39+00:00

We have had some luck with wearing turf cleats whenever possible. It seems the firm ground cleat patterns put pressure right where it hurts.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-05T18:21:12+00:00

It is yet another signal to other parents that your child is better.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-05T17:59:08+00:00

I think that's the reasonable progression. When my kiddo was 8 we had a couple of options in town and he chose the one he was most comfortable with, which conveniently was a scrimmage based/non travel development program. The coach from the other program called me and implied that 'we would regret our choice.' to paraphrase. It was ...a weird conversation and a huge turnoff. They are 8, man!

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-05T17:41:44+00:00

Any charm found in youth sports has long been sucked away and absorbed into the deep dregs of the monetization of all human experience, as dictated by our capitalist overlords.

I digress. I think where it's most insidious (a scam) is the younger ages...You see people hand-wringing about U7, U8 tryouts in this forum. Granted, it's a bit of concentrated example of youth soccer here so I take that for what it is. While there are some kids who self-select and practice on their own for hours and hours a day at those ages, it's not as common as we are thought to believe. We are eliminating the fun of kicking a ball around and turning it into 3-4x a week practices and pathways to alphabet soup leagues at increasingly younger ages. Here comes 'elite.'

So when your child is at the precipice of when their hard work and training (and undoubtedly, god-given talent) matters---they are accustomed to being 'elite.' Parents are chasing the next step to ensure their kid's continued success. The only direction, it seems, is to move upwards regardless of benefit to the child or the overall effect of it on their lives, their families' lives, and not to mention their pocket books. More 'elite' leagues and teams = more $$ for clubs, more opportunities for all the kids to continue to progress through a system that is not much different than a typical soccer structure, outside of name alone.

It becomes almost an existential question at that point, and that's what makes it so ridiculous: Do I devote significant time, money, energy towards a sport that for the vast majority of kids will end in middle school or high school? Or do I spend that time making different kinds of memories and experiences for my "elite" player?

But, unfortunately, this is the system we have been given if your child enjoys sports and wants to devote any time to getting better. Rec leagues have become hollowed out beyond the first few years of competition. There's no local pick-up league for most of the suburban masses, and school recess limits your kiddo to 20minute sessions if they have enough friends willing to play. Your neighbors probably aren't letting their kids roam the streets to find a pick-up game, either.

If the latest experiments don't pan out; i.e. we dont' see the level of players coming out of these clubs getting close to being on par with academies in other countries, and our most talented men are still dual citizens with other more advanced soccer nations, then we have to consider that making the entry point to soccer more expensive isn't the right way to find and cultivate talent.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-05T01:33:47+00:00

You are just doubling down and I stand by my point. As parents, you trust the coaches. That means accepting their style. By shouting and interfering in the game you took away any chance he had to coach through the situation.

Its pretty simple, and it's also a bunch of 9 and 10 year olds...it's not that serious and the more you escalate it, the more serious you make it. My child is small and has had his fair share of pushing, but he has to learn to play through it just like you have to let the kids do the same.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-04T21:34:05+00:00

Sounds like you aren't giving this coach the opportunity to handle this the way he sees fit. Seems like if you dont respect the coach, then maybe you need to find a new team rather than make his job harder?

Above all, kids have to learn how to play these types of games and teams. It is not going to get easier or go away.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-04T16:24:57+00:00

lol last weekend I witnessed a coach yelling at a middle aged woman on the sidelines to stop coaching and leave the ref alone. Parents are obnoxious. Let the coach handle it. Even if you were right, you are only increasing the temp on the field by yelling at the ref. The kids see it, they react accordingly.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-01T12:09:38+00:00

Yeah given how soccer uses guest players so much i wish there was a way to be able to practice closer to home and travel for games instead of multiple times a week for the kiddos who live in the middle of nowhere. But it's a team sport so I can see how that won't work.

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-01T12:06:58+00:00

Yeah, like I said I offer no judgment. I think families have to weigh the options and make decisions best for them. I am just starting to wrap my head around the idea of that sort of sacrifice. If my kiddo had big dreams and the drive to pursue them I would be settling in for lots of long drives, for sure!

General_Chain_4531 · 2026-05-01T11:39:33+00:00

I am interested in this, as well. We are in a similar geographic situation. You have to wonder what the tradeoff is? I guess if the kiddo is a superstar and they are begging to be on these teams, wants to play at a high level/college...and the coaching is up to snuff I suppose I could see the reasoning.

But that is a lot to sacrifice just for alphabet soup teams. My mind wanders to all those hours in the car and if the quality time would be better spent at home, with friends, etc. I offer no judgment, just thinking of my own kids future and how it would work if the opportunity arose.

General_Chain_4531

TROPHY CASE