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Anyone finding that many public middle schools have strange, inconsistent ways of picking soccer (and other sports) players?
Seems like politics, height/physical build, and personal connections take precedence over talent.
Has it always been this way, and will high school be any different? I know one differnce will be real coaches in high school vs random teachers coaching on the side.
Do colleges even care what happens at the middle school sports level?
I'm not much of a sports player but honestly if your child has skill and is good at playing then even its common sense to pick them but they have to be better than lots of other people. I wouldn't worry about it too much, maybe look for a soccer league in charlotte for your kids age range?
No way do colleges care what happens in middle school. Just focus on standing out in High School for scouts etc and college.
Hey Chicago! We came here form Chicago and our kids played thru all the travel clubs, blah, blah. It was really quite different considering the coaching. An example...our son was a whiz at rec ball in Oak Park...7-8 goals a game, could dribble thru anything, etc. He tried out for a top club (at the 7-8 yr old level) and they just wanted the fastest kids. Their philospophy was "we can teach them the skills, we can't teach 'fast'". Played on that team for a few years then moved up to another level and tried out...it was all ball skills and field knowledge. Did he have the "field vision" to see working plays and could he learn strategy? Moved on to college and it was back to speed and crossing ability.... (an important side note...Megax nailed it. Your kid won't get seen playing school ball like football or basketball. You have to be at the right tournaments that the recruiters attend (Nike Cup, etc). You will only get to those tourneys with a top club playing regional ball).
Just saying that everyone is looking for different things. The Dutch kids play 3 v3 and 5 v 5 with kids, the English kids still play 11 v 11 and long balls...each has a different skill set needed.
Don't worry about school, coaches typically don't know what they are doing...find a good club (and most top clubs don't want the kids playing school ball).
Last edited by raithfan; 03-02-2015 at 06:23 AM..
Reason: spelling
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