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    Help Navigating HS (Club, HS, both??)

    Have an '06 boy who has been playing Premier. 8th grade now. I'm pretty inexperienced at the soccer journey so could use some crowd opinions.

    One coach and a couple parents tell me they think he's varsity as a Freshman next year at his 6A HS. He and I went and watched a game and I came away thinking he might get more development at a club. Then I heard many kids do both.

    So would love to hear from parents of older boys (and girls) who have been "premier" level starters. Did your kid do HS or club or both during HS? Also, love to hear specifics on the logistics of how that worked for your kid.

    thanks

    #2
    If you think he's going to be a professional soccer player and get a D1 scholarship ask for a sit down with his club coach, DOC and see what they think. Maybe pay for professional assessment.

    Consider "development" for what?

    What do you want to accomplish, what are his, your goals?

    For 99.99% the high school experience is the end of the line and soccer was an enjoyable time of your their with friends and family.

    If he doesn't make varsity then I'd suggest (in addition to JV or JV2) playing TTL U15 in the fall. If he's on varsity and a big contributor he's coach probably isn't going to want him playing TTL at the same time.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      Have an '06 boy who has been playing Premier. 8th grade now. I'm pretty inexperienced at the soccer journey so could use some crowd opinions.

      One coach and a couple parents tell me they think he's varsity as a Freshman next year at his 6A HS. He and I went and watched a game and I came away thinking he might get more development at a club. Then I heard many kids do both.

      So would love to hear from parents of older boys (and girls) who have been "premier" level starters. Did your kid do HS or club or both during HS? Also, love to hear specifics on the logistics of how that worked for your kid.

      thanks
      Hi. You are pretty lucky your 06 player is an 8th grader. Let him play High School. It is great from the social high school aspect. It will help him meet other boys and make friends in other grades who can help him navigate through his first semester of high school. He will get to experience his classmates actually coming to his soccer games and being acknowledged at school assemblies. High school soccer is fun.

      His 06 Club teammates that are current 7th graders will have a harder time. Half of the team will be off to play high school. What is left in the Fall league will be very disjointed. Some teams will combine with other age groups. Some teams will try playing up to get better competition. It is a strange season for the older 8th graders for sure, not worth giving up high school soccer for. Some kids will try to play with their club team also, since club games are on the weekends and high school is during the week. However, that is a lot for a body to take without adequate rest time. Injury prevention needs to be a priority, if that is what you choose to do.

      I hope this helps.

      Comment


        #4
        reasonable expectations. :-)

        Thanks. No, definitely not going to be a pro (or I suppose I should say I get that only the 1% of the 1% get there.) I don't honestly know his ceiling because every time I think he has made it where he can go he just keeps rising up and setting a new ceiling

        So I guess I just want to leave doors open for him to get wherever he's going to get. As a 13 year old he's practicing on his own outside of practice, going running, etc. Very driven. And his skills are clear (I try not to have "dad goggles" so I'm careful there but truly he has impressed me).

        Anyway, what is TTL? I'm truly a noob here. I didn't go the soccer route as a kid. I was basketball and running. :-)

        Thanks

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          Hi. You are pretty lucky your 06 player is an 8th grader. Let him play High School. It is great from the social high school aspect. It will help him meet other boys and make friends in other grades who can help him navigate through his first semester of high school. He will get to experience his classmates actually coming to his soccer games and being acknowledged at school assemblies. High school soccer is fun.

          His 06 Club teammates that are current 7th graders will have a harder time. Half of the team will be off to play high school. What is left in the Fall league will be very disjointed. Some teams will combine with other age groups. Some teams will try playing up to get better competition. It is a strange season for the older 8th graders for sure, not worth giving up high school soccer for. Some kids will try to play with their club team also, since club games are on the weekends and high school is during the week. However, that is a lot for a body to take without adequate rest time. Injury prevention needs to be a priority, if that is what you choose to do.

          I hope this helps.
          Excellent point re: injury prevention

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Thanks. No, definitely not going to be a pro (or I suppose I should say I get that only the 1% of the 1% get there.) I don't honestly know his ceiling because every time I think he has made it where he can go he just keeps rising up and setting a new ceiling

            So I guess I just want to leave doors open for him to get wherever he's going to get. As a 13 year old he's practicing on his own outside of practice, going running, etc. Very driven. And his skills are clear (I try not to have "dad goggles" so I'm careful there but truly he has impressed me).

            Anyway, what is TTL? I'm truly a noob here. I didn't go the soccer route as a kid. I was basketball and running. :-)

            Thanks
            Nevermind - realized TTL is just an abbreviation. That's what he's in now I guess (what I meant by premier). OYSA/TTL league. Guess I want to know if someone looks like a possible college player (continually becomes best player on every team he's on - even at premier) then what is the best path to allow him to reach his potential (and no I don't mean pro - I get if he were a future pro he'd probably be crazy dominant and playing up like two years). Thanks

            Comment


              #7
              I don't think any freshman is going to be put on the varsity team. Would you want your 13/14 yr old training with high school seniors? I don't think most coaches or schools would want to take that liability on physically and most parents I know wouldn't want their kid to play HS for the social aspect and this would be an isolating experience for the kid and expose him perhaps too quickly to the typical banter of 18 yr old athletes.

              On the other side, my son is a 2006 and is playing up with the 05s this year. Half the team just went off to HS and the rest are playing TTL in a hodge podge group that didn't play together all summer. Your son will not be missing anything by taking 2 months off to play HS next year. He will play club in SUmmer and Spring. It's not worth stressing over one season.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                I don't think any freshman is going to be put on the varsity team. Would you want your 13/14 yr old training with high school seniors? I don't think most coaches or schools would want to take that liability on physically and most parents I know wouldn't want their kid to play HS for the social aspect and this would be an isolating experience for the kid and expose him perhaps too quickly to the typical banter of 18 yr old athletes.

                On the other side, my son is a 2006 and is playing up with the 05s this year. Half the team just went off to HS and the rest are playing TTL in a hodge podge group that didn't play together all summer. Your son will not be missing anything by taking 2 months off to play HS next year. He will play club in SUmmer and Spring. It's not worth stressing over one season.
                Silly question - can you share more specifics on what it's like playing Spring/Summer for your club while being in HS? Curious how our club team will (or won't) stay together. All new to me. Get your points on social and physical differences of a 14 y.o. vs 18. One of my concerns too. But then again, he's unusually large yet has the soft feet skills of a small player so he's just a unique combination to begin with.Thanks

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  and most parents I know wouldn't want their kid to play HS for the social aspect
                  I meant "WOULD" want the social aspect..

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Note that many HS coaches will not put freshman on varsity, no matter how talented--or only will do so if the kid is physically advanced for his age (in addition to being skilled). If your son is a scrawny 100-lb boy who hasn't started shaving, he probably does not belong on the varsity team no matter how good he is--he'll be going up against seniors who are essentially grown men (including a few who are 18 and thus are legally men) and nearly twice his size. Even if he avoids getting hurt, the speed and strength difference will probably render him ineffective, even if he's more skilled than most of the kids he will be facing.

                    And that is OK! Kids might not like it, and glory-seeking parents might not either (I'm hoping you're not one of those), but not playing varsity as a frosh is NOT a sign of poor skill or talent. It's simply not developmentally appropriate for most kids. We all hear about the Freddy Adus of the world, signing pro contracts at age 14, but the kids who do this are all very physically advanced, and able to hold their own (athletically) against men in their 20s. The basketball great Michael Jordan is infamous for a tale in which he was "cut by from his high school team", but the truth is actually simpler--his high school coach made him play JV as a freshman, because that was the school rule, even though the coach knew right away that MJ was better than anyone else on his squad.

                    (Note: mixed-age pickup games are great; as these are generally played at a lower level of intensity and rough challenges are discouraged in pick-up play. But in organized competition, being slide-tackled by an 180-lb senior at full speed is a highly dangerous prospect for a 100-lb freshman).

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Consider this.

                      A 6A school might have 75 people tryout and they'll put 20+ on the varsity squad. Their will be a "starting 11" plus a couple more consistent contributors. The rest are their for practice and blow-outs. Often those last few roster spots go to those seniors who have been with the program for 4 years. Sometimes for spots 19,20,21,22 there are better players on JV. Sometimes spots 16,17,18 swing JV, where they play a 1/2 with the JV squad then sit with varsity.

                      Many, many 6A schools have Freshman on Varsity. Usually they are physically mature and great players. And keep in mind, most school the players are club also.

                      I have 3 kids that play. They play HS in the fall and "Winter League" because TTL does Winter league instead of Spring above U16. Then their teams play a few tournaments for the summer.

                      Most teams get shook up a lot at this point. Kids have different interests, they have jobs, they are just tired of it all. The participation drops and teams get combined. Soon you'll have a 15 year old and the team is playing U19 over the summer because your scrounging to get 12-13 people to put a team together...

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Consider this.

                        A 6A school might have 75 people tryout and they'll put 20+ on the varsity squad. Their will be a "starting 11" plus a couple more consistent contributors. The rest are their for practice and blow-outs. Often those last few roster spots go to those seniors who have been with the program for 4 years. Sometimes for spots 19,20,21,22 there are better players on JV. Sometimes spots 16,17,18 swing JV, where they play a 1/2 with the JV squad then sit with varsity.

                        Many, many 6A schools have Freshman on Varsity. Usually they are physically mature and great players. And keep in mind, most school the players are club also.

                        I have 3 kids that play. They play HS in the fall and "Winter League" because TTL does Winter league instead of Spring above U16. Then their teams play a few tournaments for the summer.

                        Most teams get shook up a lot at this point. Kids have different interests, they have jobs, they are just tired of it all. The participation drops and teams get combined. Soon you'll have a 15 year old and the team is playing U19 over the summer because your scrounging to get 12-13 people to put a team together...
                        Making V as a frosh is an emotional win but not necessarily a good one for the player. On the plus side they'll be practicing with the V squad and the V coach can guide him more. But unless he's a real stud he probably won't play much. Socially it can be tough for a frosh to integrate with an older team too. Most times after multiple injuries JV kids are brought up to fill in during the season.

                        Doing HS and club definitely have burnout and injury risks. Some areas of the country are lucky in that club basically shuts down or greatly slows down during the HS season, but not here. Question for the thread OP is where does his son want to take it? Does he want to play in college? If so then, yes, get an assessment done first to see if it's even realistic. If it's positive then playing club will be a necessity. If he doesn't see it for himself then just do HS and get involved with other sports or activities. Now is the time to figure out what drives you. Above post is right that a lot of kids drop out of club at HS time

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          Making V as a frosh is an emotional win but not necessarily a good one for the player. On the plus side they'll be practicing with the V squad and the V coach can guide him more. But unless he's a real stud he probably won't play much. Socially it can be tough for a frosh to integrate with an older team too. Most times after multiple injuries JV kids are brought up to fill in during the season.

                          Doing HS and club definitely have burnout and injury risks. Some areas of the country are lucky in that club basically shuts down or greatly slows down during the HS season, but not here. Question for the thread OP is where does his son want to take it? Does he want to play in college? If so then, yes, get an assessment done first to see if it's even realistic. If it's positive then playing club will be a necessity. If he doesn't see it for himself then just do HS and get involved with other sports or activities. Now is the time to figure out what drives you. Above post is right that a lot of kids drop out of club at HS time
                          At U16-U19, club soccer does shut down in the fall. U15 still plays because there are 8th graders who don't have access to school soccer, and would have no league to play in otherwise. Many clubs don't bother entering teams into U15 fall league, or enter combined A/B teams made up only of 8th graders.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            Note that many HS coaches will not put freshman on varsity, no matter how talented--or only will do so if the kid is physically advanced for his age (in addition to being skilled). If your son is a scrawny 100-lb boy who hasn't started shaving, he probably does not belong on the varsity team no matter how good he is--he'll be going up against seniors who are essentially grown men (including a few who are 18 and thus are legally men) and nearly twice his size. Even if he avoids getting hurt, the speed and strength difference will probably render him ineffective, even if he's more skilled than most of the kids he will be facing.

                            And that is OK! Kids might not like it, and glory-seeking parents might not either (I'm hoping you're not one of those), but not playing varsity as a frosh is NOT a sign of poor skill or talent. It's simply not developmentally appropriate for most kids. We all hear about the Freddy Adus of the world, signing pro contracts at age 14, but the kids who do this are all very physically advanced, and able to hold their own (athletically) against men in their 20s. The basketball great Michael Jordan is infamous for a tale in which he was "cut by from his high school team", but the truth is actually simpler--his high school coach made him play JV as a freshman, because that was the school rule, even though the coach knew right away that MJ was better than anyone else on his squad.

                            (Note: mixed-age pickup games are great; as these are generally played at a lower level of intensity and rough challenges are discouraged in pick-up play. But in organized competition, being slide-tackled by an 180-lb senior at full speed is a highly dangerous prospect for a 100-lb freshman).
                            Good points. He's just one of those outliers. 13 but nearly 5'11" 143lbs and has the soft feet of a tiny kid. I'm not a "glory" dad so I have no illusions of him going pro but certainly shows he could go past HS (I think???) So my main question isn't whether to play varsity. It's how clubs work for HS age boys in case that's a better option (or how many HS boys are playing club in spring/summer - is that a viable route?). Would love advice. Thanks

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              At U16-U19, club soccer does shut down in the fall. U15 still plays because there are 8th graders who don't have access to school soccer, and would have no league to play in otherwise. Many clubs don't bother entering teams into U15 fall league, or enter combined A/B teams made up only of 8th graders.
                              helpful hints. thanks

                              Comment

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