An email from our local soccer club that went out to all under 8yr. and under 9yr. families: I’m writing today to discuss the U9 (birthyear 2009) playing options this winter and for this coming spring/summer league. Our Rec soccer program will only offer U9 soccer through July 2018. After that, Rec soccer will only encompass U5-U8 ages. Any player currently playing U9 in Rec will be allowed to play U9 through Rec this summer (2018) but we would also like to extend the option of jumping onto a competitive team before the summer. We are hoping to form 1-2 MORE U9 teams on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. I’ve put together a little Q&A for parents considering jumping into Competitive (aka “Traveling”)… Q. What are the expectations of competitive? A. Players will practice 2x/week (schedule set by parent-coach), with a game 1x/week (Girls T/Th game days, Boys M/W game days). Q. What is the cost for competitive? A. Spring/Summer fees run around $200 for 8-10 weeks of league play. There are no coaches fees. Teams will decide as a group, if they wish to play in any weekend tournaments. This would be an additional cost (approx. $30/ea. tournament). [We just paid over $280 for my son to play his first season of competitive, not including tournaments – not $200]. Q. What is the cost/info on uniforms? A. Good news! We are just now ordering for the next 2 year uniform cycle. Uniforms will be in this January. There will be 3 uniform try-on options next week… [Soccer club] staff will be recording sizes and/or entering your order online (I’m not sure if they’ll be ready to enter now or not. Either way, I do not think payment is due at this moment). The cost for the full uniform kit will be around $125-130. [So, after we order uniforms we will be paying over $400 in order for my son to play summer soccer – not including tournaments, travel expenses, or extra training]. Q. What are the winter dome training options? A. Winter dome training is an optional “add on”. [Our club] would like all of our players to play 1x/week during the winter. Winter dome training would be the perfect time for your kiddo to get acquainted with the other U9/10 players. Q. Why should I consider moving my U9 to competitive this summer? A. Playing competitive this summer will give your player a season “under their belt” before the U10 competitive tryout and season. Q. How far will I have to travel for games? A. Each team will have 8-10 league games. Half will be home games. Away game locations can vary; [most locations will be within a 1/2 hr. drive]. Q. What if I have a U8 (2010) that is ready for Competitive? A. Players that have already played Rec soccer and wish to move into Competitive “early”, will be accepted, as long as there are roster spots available (and they do not take the place of a true U9 wishing to play). U8 play-ups are “first come, first served.” Q. I see no reason not to play Competitive. A. That is not a question. 🙂 Crossroads Crossroads – this is where my family is at within our youth soccer lives. In October, we were notified by our city’s soccer club that they would be discontinuing recreational soccer for kids that are nine years of age and older starting in the summer of 2019. This summer will be my son’s first year of competitive soccer. My daughter, who is currently in first grade will be forced to try-out this coming summer if she wants to be placed on a team. From here, she will be placed on a team (one of the club leaders expressed his intentions of making sure every child who tries out gets placed on a team, as they don’t want to cut players if at all possible), and will start her competitive soccer career that following fall – at 7 yrs. old. Following the fall season, players are asked to pay for additional training throughout the winter. As mentioned above – the club would like all of their players to play at least once per week throughout the off-season (winter and early spring). As soon as the snow melts, club players are out practicing again in the spring to prepare for the summer soccer season – at 7 and 8-years old. Competitive soccer: a season without end and a price increase that is six times the amount we currently pay for both of our kids to play summer and fall recreational soccer (competitive will be roughly $1,800-$2,200 to have both of our children play whereas we currently pay $300 for both children to play recreational soccer in the summer and fall). These costs for traveling sports is actually below average. According to The Aspen Institute’s “Project Play”, the average traveling team spends $2,266.00 annually on a single child’s sport. Within the past few months, I have been contacted by several parents on my soccer team that are worried about the upcoming changes. So far I have three players that don’t plan on returning. Parents can’t afford the price to play competitive soccer, they want their children to be able to participate in multiple activities throughout the year, and feel that sport specialization at young ages is not appropriate. Most of these players are girls that have been with my team for several seasons now. They are players that have grown to love the game, and who want to play, but the club expectations are too much. Declining Participation in Youth Sports These problems are not only happening in the sport of soccer. The BBC recently published an article by Tom Farrey called “Have adults ruined children’s sport?“, where a disturbing infographic depicts the sharp decline in participation in youth sports: Another image on the post depicts perfectly manicured soccer fields at one of the largest youth soccer tournaments in the United States. More than 600 … Continue reading The Downfall of Youth Sports – Part 3: The Effects of Sport Specialization