Soccer Clubs in Mass – Worthy of the Hype?
If you’ve spent any time on the sidelines of a competitive kids’ sports game, you may have witnessed one of the uglier sides of parental love. Competition can bring out the best and the worst in people, and parents are, after all, people. Parents with kids on club soccer teams in Massachusetts are no exception. In fact, they may be worse. There are entire internet forums devoted to the rantings of club soccer parents. To the uninitiated, this may seem ridiculous. It may even seem ridiculous to some in the know. So what is it about club soccer teams that’s getting these parents so riled up?
The Stakes
Many of these kids started out playing recreational soccer in their home towns. They quickly grew to love the sport, even became passionate about it. And they were good. Their parents recognized the level of interest and ability, and decided to help their prodigy navigate the path through development. So they looked around at club soccer teams, picked one, and started driving all over the state and beyond to practices, games, and tournaments. As their player got better and better, the stakes got higher and higher.
In order to reach their full potential, kids have to be well-coached and they need to practice on their own! They have to be provided with the highest level of competition. They have to have the best gear. All of this costs money, and lots of it. Before long, between the club fees, the in-state and out-of-state travel, and the clothes and equipment, these families are spending several thousand dollars each year. Are you beginning to see how the parents can get so invested in their kids’ club soccer teams?
The Payoff
To justify this arguably outrageous expenditure, many parents and kids dream of college scholarship money. In fact, some of these dreams are fueled by club coaches trying to entice the best players to play for their teams. This is where it can get really intense. The reality is that college scholarship money, especially big money, is extremely hard to come by, but that’s the goal of a lot of these kids and parents when they’re playing with club soccer teams.
So the next time you run into one of those soccer moms in the line at the grocery store or waiting to pick the kids up from school, and she starts going on about some coach, or some ref, or some opposing team, or the price of some hotel, or the 2 hour drive to practice, or the weather, cut her a little slack. She’s got a lot on her plate. She and her family made a choice. Of all the models available with Massachusetts Youth Soccer, they chose club soccer.
SEE MORE: 90 Reasons To Play Club Soccer
The Upshot
They chose to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on their child’s soccer game. There’s little doubt they get the best coaching, the best competition, and the best exposure in the state and quite possibly the country. But is it worth it? That’s a very personal question that every family needs to answer for themselves. If the goal is a college scholarship or professional career, the answer might very well turn out to be no.
The parents, like the lady at the store, might find themselves resenting the whole process and many of the little annoyances along the way. If the goal is having a child doing what they love and thriving in an environment of commitment and excellence, the answer may be a resounding “yes”.
fantastic article!
This is fantastic. I’ve seen the many parents push their kids to play town, club, academies, ODP, etc. Some kids are playing 6-7 days per week. That’s too much. In our home town, an elite 14 year old player that my daughter really looked up to just tore her ACL from playing too much. It has been a real eye-opener.
Thanks!
I don’t understand the argument that the kids are doing to much. When I was a kid 1982 when I was 12 we would go to practice for an hour or two and then we would go play ball with our friends until we could not see the ball anymore. In the summer we went from 8 in the morning until 8 at night every day, running, jumping, riding, walking and sliding. Why was all this activity fine for us but for our kids it is not, are we the ones that are really causing these injuries to increase because we limit them now a days. My daughter plays soccer 5 days a week between practice and games in total she is doing something soccer related 6.5 hours a week that is 2 1 hour games, and 3 1.5 hour practices. Do we really think that 6.5 hours is too much, also I did not even account for the 20 to 30 minutes she will be off the field due to subs during games. When you break the time down like this it is really a silly argument whne people say the kids are doing too much. If my daughter plays soccer and makes her HS team I will be good with that, everything after that is a bonus. My daughter gets straight A’s and she has some great friends that she has made while playing for her club. She would never have met these kids if it was not for club soccer and I look forward to watching them grow up together as a team.
Easy. Kids at club level are playing a different game than their parents did in their day…you know it, I know it. The intense play that kids are seeing nowadays leads to overuse injuries that used to only present at a pro or college level. It’s just too much for the young body to take and it can ruin their changes for playing at higher levels in life. It is very important not to overtrain in ONE sport — cross training appropriate for the age of the child and time off — not year round, extensive play is best for kids!!! Besides! They need some time to just be kids!!
I know PLENTY of kids that have come up through year round competitive play that say they “wish they had more control, and that they truly missed out on being kids. Especially with the addition of tournaments. Kids under 15 should have multiple sport choices and less pressure. ACL tears at age 14??? Not acceptable!! Its an injury that will follow them through life and cause, sadly, the end of a potential career in the sport for the future.