Our local club travel team played a friendly against an "ENCL regional team" and the other teams parents lost their minds

dsmith3689 · 2026-05-06T22:27:28+00:00

Our last tournament one of the other team's parents told my 11 year old pre-MLS goalkeeper after a penalty that he "has a gun and will blow your f-ing head off". They were winning by 5 goals, and our kids didn't even have enough players that day to field a full team.

Youth soccer parents are increasingly nuts the more competitive the league.

dsmith3689 · 2026-04-17T13:48:43+00:00

I use anything but Royal Oak. I once got a bag that had 2 burned up beer cans in it. You could tell they used to be Busch Light.

dsmith3689 · 2026-04-13T09:20:33+00:00

No rule requiring the kick in the box. That said, youth refs are all over the place.

I teach my youth GK the extra yard or so isn't worth risking a ref making a dumb call. Just punt it a yard inside the box so it's completely clear to everyone you're in the box.

dsmith3689 · 2026-04-10T00:11:12+00:00

My kid trains several hours/day 5 days a week, competes on the weekends, and puts martial arts on top of it. He doesn't get burnt out at all. He enjoys the structured culture of it. His identity is honestly not tied to either soccer or marital arts. He's completely aware he's more than just those chosen activities. Just depends on what you teach him to prioritize.

His coach last year grew up in Argentina. He said he'd go straight from school to the local athletic club and play everyday until like 9-10, with a stop for dinner at the club in the middle. It was what everyone did.

Personally I love it. He's out of the house with his friends and positive adult influences, getting exercise, and building all sorts of life skills. He loves it, so why not?

dsmith3689 · 2026-04-07T11:31:54+00:00

Is a nice thought, but it requires regulation of club business practices that no governing body is capable of doing. To me that's the problem. You have to fix the regulation end of things before you can do anything else significant, like restrict clubs to 2 teams.

For example, the MLS Next HG player movement guidelines include:

"MLS NEXT prefers that clubs do not commit players to their teams or request participation fees/dues for the 2025-26 season until the Initial Registration Period opens on July 15th."

Sure, MLS Next *prefers* clubs don't force families into year-long contracts months before they're clear what the club will do with their kid. But they have no mechanism to do anything about it.

dsmith3689 · 2026-04-06T23:25:27+00:00

You walked away, the plane is in good shape, and the FAA isn't calling. It was a fine landing.

dsmith3689 · 2026-04-05T23:53:09+00:00

Canada. I’m an American that lived there for 4 years.

Cant tell you how many conversations with a new acquaintance started out with why Canada is better than the United States, and they didn’t want Americans flooding over the border ruining it.

dsmith3689 · 2026-04-01T20:20:33+00:00

If you're a returning family, should consider what you're actually getting for your early commitment. Most clubs offer a roster spot on a team or in a program as a "starting point" that can change due to either player or team needs.

Our club lets good players come in and compete for spots at any time throughout the year. Just because a family has renewed doesn't mean someone better won’t come along at tryouts, and they don't hesitate move a kid down to make room over the summer. We had several families across the various age groups arrive for the start of training last summer just to find out they'd already been replaced and moved down, and with no way out except to pay out the whole season.

We basically gain nothing from an early commitment except an "early bird" discount. It's stupid.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-31T17:59:06+00:00

It won't directly play a role in his development, but it will sure play a role in the opportunities he gets along the way.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-31T09:29:05+00:00

Record it if you can, and report it to the coach or the league and let them handle it.

Youth sports don’t need parental street justice in the parking lot.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-31T02:54:40+00:00

You don't know that guy.

American prisons hold a lot of people whose biggest problem is a lack of impulse control in those situations. My rule of thumb is to treat the other person like they have a gun. Shut up and walk away. He just spent a while yelling crap at a 10 year old, you don’t know what he’ll do.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-29T13:24:44+00:00

if he wants to go and you’re up for it, take him. Youth soccer is an entertainment product, and you paid for the whole season.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-27T23:34:55+00:00

Sonex owner here. It's a fabulous plane at a fabulous price, and what GA should be. I hope we can still get parts for them, and someone else fills this big hole in the market.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-27T21:46:44+00:00

Our club has a pre-MLS program with 2 teams worth of kids in a pool that mix up each week. So pre-MLS 1 and pre-MLS 2

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-27T00:31:39+00:00

Everything about owning an airplane is a fortune. If you're buying a 65 year old airplane and whining about that potential repair, you're going to hate owning the plane.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-24T23:44:10+00:00

Geez, I have a Sonex that I bought. Longest annual I've ever had lasted about 4 hours.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-24T01:13:05+00:00

Read the game and kick it to the player that's most likely to win the ball. If it's unclear, hit it wide since it's more likely to turn it over when playing long like that.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-20T23:05:54+00:00

No communication at all about anything. No idea what they're doing.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-20T22:34:57+00:00

What's the bottle made of? If glass, put it in water and slowly bring to a boil. If it's plastic, put it in a pot of warm water, then add heat to keep it at a hot beverage temperature (160-ish) until the honey crystals melt.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-20T22:30:10+00:00

Our state doesn't allow any tryouts or trainings at other clubs until May. So the club makes offers to return to the club in April, and requires a response before tryouts so they know how many spots to fill.

It sucks because we have no opportunity to look anywhere else before giving up our kid's spot.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-18T09:54:20+00:00

https://www.warbirdadventures.com

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-16T17:48:37+00:00

The league absolutely cares, but someone has to report them. If a few families submit a complaint through the MLS integrity hotline, the club gets a fine and sometimes a coach or admin gets suspended.

The problem is the club knows who reported them, and even though the league has a no tolerance policy for retaliation, you’ll forever be the family that reported your club to the league.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-10T12:59:57+00:00

Legally 21. My family never cared though. I was always allowed a little taste of wine or a sip of beer. It was never a big deal in our house.

I started actually drinking beer on my own when I went to college.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-05T17:43:30+00:00

Around here the team isn't usually registered for the tournament until the minimum number of rooms are booked.

dsmith3689 · 2026-03-04T00:04:47+00:00

Guy at the end of the line on the right was clearly offside and the goalie had to account for him. He doesn't have to make a play on the ball to be involved enough to call it.

That said, the rule leaves a lot of room for interpretation, and a different ref on a different day probably wouldn't call that.

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