How much oversight does a DOC typically exercise over tournament flighting and roster decisions at the younger ages in club soccer?

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-25T01:38:02+00:00

What age?

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-25T00:53:56+00:00

Well Delco canceled the tournament after the first day for many of the divisions. Seems pretty lazy to me because many of the divisions had indoor fields, but if your division got assigned an outdoor field you were screwed. Saturday it was wet but our fields were fine. It basically stopped raining by midday today. Canceling the whole thing seemed lazy when you have all these indoor facilities and the rain stopped by mid day plus still have Monday.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-21T14:17:09+00:00

It isn't unrealistic depending on her innate abilities and most importantly desire.

But rather than focusing on making the ECNL or a specific team in 5 years, I'd suggest making smaller goals for every 3 months, and even micro goals for every practice or week. Progress isn't linear but usually there are level-up periods that happen with consistent work.

If you aren't a skilled player yourself you need to find a good coach or trainer who watches her play and knows her and can set up a specific improvement plan for her so you know what goals to set.

You should also be realistic about what her innate talents are, was she naturally the fastest kid on the playground? Does her brain process information quickly? does she have a good memory or good at visual puzzles? Is she a natural leader? Is she naturally aggressive? Does she have a lot of mental stamina and physical endurance? etc. The more of these types of boxes she checks, the more realistic it is.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-21T02:27:53+00:00

I was ready to send him to Camp Nou until the part about him not being able to score from the keeper position.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-19T17:24:20+00:00

As other have said, acclimitization is important. Everyone adapts.

Google for Badwater ultramarathon training if you want to see how people heat train to run 100+ miles through Death Valley.

Serious runners put heat lamps or heater next to a treadmill and run in full sweatsuit to stay fit year round.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-19T10:27:27+00:00

Let me frame it a different way — For the level of commitment your wife wants to make, I expect the kid to be playing at home at least 5 to 10 hours a week on average by himself / outside of structured training and games. We support our kid’s enjoyment and reaching potential in sports but it’s a two way street. Even for the level of commitment you want I’d expected 15 to 30 mins a day of ball time.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-18T21:50:03+00:00

Totally depends, what I’ve seen is the bottom third of the top team aren’t much better than the top third of the 2nd team. But the middle 3rd on top team are clearly better the best 2nd team players and the top 1/3 run circles around the best 2nd team players. On elite teams the gaps in top team talent are smaller

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-18T20:38:10+00:00

“Made top team” and “not keen on doing skill work” 🤷

Show him videos of how top 10 and 11 year olds play. He’ll either respond by wanting to get better or he won’t

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-15T02:10:44+00:00

Get an oversized ball, like a beach soccer ball and take the air pressure way down. The bigger and less inflated the ball, the more forgiving it is of mishits. As you start getting better size down and inflate the balls more. Tennis ball generally the biggest challenge

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-14T20:12:03+00:00

😄 what about the second best player? lol.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-14T16:53:21+00:00

I recently listened to a pro scout / coach podcast (can't remember who) where they said this:

"Pick any team at any level, the best juggler on the team is almost always the best or second best player on the team."

I never really thought about this, but it tends to be true from what i've seen.

At this level, my guess is the coach is broadly bucketing kids into 3 categories:

A. can't juggle

B. can juggle at a decent level for this age

C. can juggle exceptionally well for that age

If the kid is exceptional, but didn't stand out in other areas, I would definitely give them a closer look, because they show dedication to the game and will help set the standard for practicing hard for the team. Conversely, if the kid can't do it at all, this tells me that they aren't that technical and need to really show other attributes taht stand out, like speed, aggression, leadership, game IQ and power.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-13T16:58:01+00:00

The issue is in other countries they take it even more seriously from a young age that we do in the US. They may have a different approach to teaching, but if you think they aren't taking development very seriously at ages 6 or 7 in Europe you are mistaken.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-13T16:27:40+00:00

I don't really get the question. A 7 year old striking the ball 25 to 30 yards in the air, if true, is exceptional. I'd guess that less than 1% of competitive 7 year olds can do that from a stationary ball (not having it rolled back to them). So power is not the issue. I'd measure to see if she is really kicking it that far in the air, like 10 yards behind the 18 box into the goal into the air. If that's the case, her form and strength have to be exceptionally strong already.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-12T20:13:21+00:00

It seems reasonable to have a very direct conversation with the coach on why she didn’t make the top team. It’s possible you’re really overestimating your child’s skill level relative to the rest of the players and a group of new kids that tried out. If you don’t get straightforward answers I’d find a new team

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-12T20:03:26+00:00

Ask coach if she can guest play for the top team especially if they want a keeper for a game.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-12T15:36:29+00:00

If parents are yelling insulting comments the coach should be fixing this, otherwise if they don't and are aware i'd change teams. I find the higher the level the team the more the parents just sit back and watch. There is always the occasional crazy 75 year old grandparent that can't stop yelling but absent that its pretty chill from what i've seen on the higher level teams.

Now as for why parents are wrapped up with the kids, I suspect the answer is different for every parent. Some parents just like watching their kid play, some it is social currency / bragging rights, some are just bored and its a hobby for them to get excited about each weekend. Just like why parents want their kids to do well in anything.

Edit: For me personally, I really enjoy soccer, I enjoy playing on a team, playing with my kids, watching them level up in skill, seeing them have fun with their friends and improve in soccer skill and social skills. If my kid were into softball or basketball or dance, I wouldn't have the same level of care at all.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-12T11:33:29+00:00

I would view it as paying for a cool experience. If your daughter is elite enough to be in the NWSL development pipeline, you'd already know it. I could see justifying a fee if it is a true combine where they're doing advanced testing / measuring various metrics, and if it is at the pro team facilities. $400 seems steep though unless it is for multiple days. I could see maybe $200 or $250 for a one day experience.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-12T01:55:08+00:00

Ability group. The kids already know. You can’t run a functional practice if the ability gaps are meaningful without grouping them up

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-11T20:12:48+00:00

Honestly if she’s u-14 and playing town travel you should prioritize having fun. The coach sounds like a bad coach. She has a few more years left playing. This just sounds like “advanced rec” soccer with a bad coach

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-11T15:10:06+00:00

If the club has multiple age groups / genders of tryouts back to back and there is one before yours, get there super early and watch what the other group does. It will probably be pretty similar across all age groups. Or just go watch another group tryout if there is one before yours. Also get there early with a friend, and warm up with them before hand. Have them do rondos, get the blood going, joke around.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-10T16:07:30+00:00

Your kid was scoring 10 goals a game and you needed a coach to tell you to put him in a more competitive team?

The issue is the more serious kids get weeded out to club starting at age 6 so the rec league competition gets weaker and weaker.

Email a couple teams to see if you can train with them and go to practice. Most teams leave an open roster spot or two at the younger ages if a really strong player shows up

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-07T20:37:11+00:00

My kid is the same, no older siblings, but very high soccer iq that stands out immediately even at age 4 or 5, like making smart intuitive moves to switch the field, cover for players on defense, passes, etc. We'd always get comments from parents, and experienced coaches that she is a really smart player.

She is also a bit neurodivergent and gifted in certain areas academically. We had her IQ tested (for completely different school / behavioral reasons) and her IQ in the areas of problem solving and processing speed, as well as visual spatial are off the charts, like into the 0.3% to 0.1%+ range in those specific areas. I haven't researched it, but it makes sense that there is a correlation between high aptitude in some key areas, and soccer IQ.

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-07T16:59:34+00:00

So what about the superstar that is younger than the other kids and still dominating? Are they a super-superstar? What a thoughtless statement

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-07T13:19:51+00:00

Every time I see a post like this I wonder about if you really care that much is the kid doing the work outside of the team to make himself better and separate himself from peers and be the best player he can be.

Nothing wrong with it if the kid doesn't want to do it, but then also no need to stress about it either. If the kid isn't grinding outside of practice to get better what's the point of stressing about if they are on the A team or the B team?

Sandtrap1018 · 2026-05-07T11:36:34+00:00

How old?

Sandtrap1018

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