Your soccer club’s site is so upbeat, talking up the programs it offers to help kids play in college. Maybe even beyond!
So you spend a couple thousand a year for your child to play travel soccer, starting in third grade. You congratulate and console your child through all the wins, losses and long trips as you watch him or her grow.
Before you know it, your child is in high school. And if you’re not in the Development Academy, your child tries out for the high school team.
And might not make it.
Not talking here about the Michael Jordan mythology in which he was “cut” from his high school basketball team his sophomore year. He was on the JV. (He also grew quite a bit after that.) We’re talking about not making any team — varsity, JV, anything.
In some cases, maybe parents already knew the deal. In others, maybe not.
The point of Ranting Soccer Dad is to help parents get information. Ideally, we won’t see any families paying thousands of dollars in the expectation of college soccer careers, only to see their kids not even play in high school.
That’s why I’m rolling out two surveys — one for parents, one for coaches. Share your experiences. Can every travel player make a team at your high school? Would a rec player stand a chance?
Parents survey …
Coaches survey …
Ranting Soccer Dad 