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Average kids, even those with the money to pay for the fees, will likely not pursue this path because of the tremendous amount of commitment and discipline it requires. Even if they persevere, they will likely get pruned once they get to the elite level of competitions/selection. More likely, they will stay within the boundaries of their high school and dabble in different activities.
I don't think this is a glorified summer camp or something like that. Average kids won't even be considered for this team.
As mongoose correctly points out it depends on the perspective. The sports academy has a different definiton of "best interests of the child". Assuming most everyone here is posting from a parent's perspective, whether or not you have children, we probably have a different definition. The sports academy has a responsibility to provide the best service regarding soccer instruction and opportunity, it's up to the parent to determine if the restrictions they impose is in the best interests of their child.
Again, a negative conotation. You don't have to say "it's bad" to be negative. They do have the "best interests" of the child... realtive to their specialty. That's what they're being paid to do. They are being paid to make the child better at a specific activity, how to avoid injury, train more effectively, rise above the current level of competition, etc. Is the soccer academy supposed to bolster their algebra skills, too? Besides, it's the parent's job to determine what's in the "best interest" of the child, not the school OR the private academy.
The OP's premise is that it's a "distrubing trend" and the families have "no choice." However, I don't feel the problem is the service providers, they are just filling a business niche and have the kid's best interests at heart just as much as any other professional trainer or educator. The "disturbing trend" is the insanely escalating costs of college, the money thrown at athletes (amateur's for college costs and pros to the moon and beyond) and the fierce competition that starts at the grade school level.
This isn't just sports, it's academics too.
You are trying to read between the lines for something that is not there. You make a good point about the relative perspective of the sports academy and the parent.
You are trying to read between the lines for something that is not there. You make a good point about the relative perspective of the sports academy and the parent.
Huh? I didn't read between anything. I read and responded to what was posted.
Sports on LI are out of control over all. Baseball, Lacrosse, soccer and basketball go year round non stop now. Gone are the days where a kid can play multiple sports and end up getting a scholarship based on one of the ones that didn't require year round training. The best thing to do is to put junior into sports without even thinking or hoping on a scholarship. Just let the kids have fun. The competitiveness is killing the average kids who just want to have fun.
Sports on LI are out of control over all. Baseball, Lacrosse, soccer and basketball go year round non stop now. Gone are the days where a kid can play multiple sports and end up getting a scholarship based on one of the ones that didn't require year round training. The best thing to do is to put junior into sports without even thinking or hoping on a scholarship. Just let the kids have fun. The competitiveness is killing the average kids who just want to have fun.
Anyone who has an interest or opinion on youth sports should make an effort to listen to the [LEFT]Sports Edge on WFAN Sundays at 8AM hosted by Rick Wolff. Over the years Rick has guested Yankees/Mets personnel from their respective farm systems and they have always pointed out, against common wisdom, that their most successful players have been multi-sport athletes.
[/LEFT]
[LEFT]I agree with your opinion about sports on LI. It seems at the high school level they spend almost as much time at practice/games than they do in the classroom. Why is mandatory practice on Saturdays accepted yet if the calc teacher called for classes on a Saturday the residents would be out with their pitchforks?[/LEFT]
Considering the fact that Americans are terrible at soccer I don't get why a top notch athlete would waste their time with a sport that offers them very slim chance at making a career out of it.
That's the point of the youth academy - to identify talent while they're young and develop these skills to an elite level so they can compete in the MLS and Euroleagues. It's the same process used to develop other greats like Messi, Van Basten, Ronaldhino and Kaka. The current system of going through high school, then college is not conducive to developing top soccer talent.
Again, a negative conotation. You don't have to say "it's bad" to be negative. They do have the "best interests" of the child... realtive to their specialty. That's what they're being paid to do. They are being paid to make the child better at a specific activity, how to avoid injury, train more effectively, rise above the current level of competition, etc. Is the soccer academy supposed to bolster their algebra skills, too? Besides, it's the parent's job to determine what's in the "best interest" of the child, not the school OR the private academy.
The OP's premise is that it's a "distrubing trend" and the families have "no choice." However, I don't feel the problem is the service providers, they are just filling a business niche and have the kid's best interests at heart just as much as any other professional trainer or educator. The "disturbing trend" is the insanely escalating costs of college, the money thrown at athletes (amateur's for college costs and pros to the moon and beyond) and the fierce competition that starts at the grade school level.
This isn't just sports, it's academics too.
They do provide a service, but I don't think forcing them to suddenly choose between HS and the soccer academy is in the best interests of the clubs not the players, they already play 10 months for the clubs and only 2 months for the HS. These programs don't come cheap, in addition to the club fees there are the college showcases usually out of town where there are additional fees, travel and overnight stays.
There are other AAU teams in basketball and other sports, those kids are not being asked to make a choice, soccer is different.
The girls on the club teams were not asked to make a decision. Albertsons reason for starting their program 2 months early in September, they claim that will "strengthen the US Soccer program, that is really a stretch. Soccer is not the big scholarship sport as is the case with basketball and football but I am sure that is part of the sales job of the soccer academies.
Thats also because there's no big pro league for the girls; hence, less urgency for them to commit. The girls probably also know that they won't likely be making a career out of soccer.
As for comparisons with basketball - soccer is different. Globally, it is a lot more competitive to get into the pros with foreign players having an edge in penetrating even the MLS (what more the Premier League) which is why these clubs demand higher commitment at an earlier age.
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