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Hi ... we are thinking seriously of moving to Mamaroneck or Pelham or Hastings for my husband’s job and I’m trying to get to know the sports scene there. My son is 15, an avid Varsity soccer play and in all seriousness, soccer is his source of mental health and pure joy. Could someone who knows the high school, town or regional club scene share any insight into how it’s organized there, the quality of the teams and regularity of games over the full year? Is it part of NY soccer broadly? NJ?
We come from Montana - hardly the soccer capital in the world. But my son is desperate for more playing time, more competition ...
Hi ... we are thinking seriously of moving to Mamaroneck or Pelham or Hastings for my husband’s job and I’m trying to get to know the sports scene there. My son is 15, an avid Varsity soccer play and in all seriousness, soccer is his source of mental health and pure joy. Could someone who knows the high school, town or regional club scene share any insight into how it’s organized there, the quality of the teams and regularity of games over the full year? Is it part of NY soccer broadly? NJ?
We come from Montana - hardly the soccer capital in the world. But my son is desperate for more playing time, more competition ...
Soccer is big in lower Westchester. There are travel teams in each of those places, and some high schools have good varsity teams (e.g. the Mamaroneck high school soccer is often the top-rated team in NYS and rates high nationally also - the Mamaroneck SD covers both Mamaroneck & Larchmont) - https://usatodayhss.com/2016/mamaron...occer-rankings
In addition there is there Eastern New York Soccer Association. Overall I'd say in Southern Westchester soccer is bigger at his level than Football is. Get him to research it!
At 15 he is in HS. The three schools you are looking at vary in terms of enrollment, which affects their classification. Mamaroneck is AA, Pelham is A (and is a small A) and Hastings is tiny. Don't know what enrollment classification they are at. Mamaroneck and Pelham traditionally have strong teams. Don't know much about Hastings. The higher the enrollment, the higher the level of play (all other things being equal) but the harder it is to make the team/get on the field.
I have no idea your son's level of play, but if he is at an extremely high level, he could play for an Academy team. These teams are at the highest level of club soccer. However, if you play for an Academy team you can't play for your HS team (and vice versa). This has been a controversial issue for many. But your kid would have to be good enough to be on an Academy team for it to even be an issue. The only Academy team that I know of in Westchester is Westchester FC, although there may be another team as well (maybe NY Soccer Club or something like that). Not many clubs are approved to have Academy teams.
At lower levels of play, there will be more clubs, but some of these clubs will not have offerings for kids your age - meaning that their programing may stop at an age which corresponds to 8th grade. The best thing to do is to contact the varsity coach and/or athletic director at whatever HS you are going to - but rules concerning recruiting and whatnot may preclude or limit reciprocal communication.
Hi ... we are thinking seriously of moving to Mamaroneck or Pelham or Hastings for my husband’s job and I’m trying to get to know the sports scene there. My son is 15, an avid Varsity soccer play and in all seriousness, soccer is his source of mental health and pure joy. Could someone who knows the high school, town or regional club scene share any insight into how it’s organized there, the quality of the teams and regularity of games over the full year? Is it part of NY soccer broadly? NJ?
We come from Montana - hardly the soccer capital in the world. But my son is desperate for more playing time, more competition ...
It depends on what he is looking for. If he is looking for competitive soccer, but is not looking to make soccer his life's work, then the varsity team will be great for him at any of these schools. All three are competitive in their leagues and offer a great education.
If however he is looking to play at the professional level after college, then a development academy at a football club is the way to go. Westchester FC and New York FC both have development academies where the best kids work nearly every day and play on these elite level teams. There are other options in North Jersey, Rockland County and Connecticut you can explore for elite level play. New interstate leagues are forming right now, a new one just started this week. Teams travel up and down the east coast for elite level play.
Soccer scholarships to college can develop from either, as scouts and HS coaches still have a lot of contact. To be honest, most young men at the academy level are not really looking for college scholarships first, they want to be signed by professional clubs and dream of national youth teams and making money to play soccer as adults. Of course scholarships are there for this level of player. If your son is at their level, college scholarships will be an option.
He should reflect a little on what role he wants soccer to be in his life. I understand and share his love of the game. I played from when I could walk. I played youth travel club ball in the 70s and 80s when it was in its infancy. I played HS in the late 80s and went to a D-III college and played my four years of NCAA eligibility. When I graduated, I played in adult leagues until I was in my late 30s and my knees gave up on me. I still play in a "seniors" league. I coach both my kids and have been a ref for over 30 years now. The game will always be there for those that love it. He just needs to decide at what level he wants to be involved in the game at this stage in his life.
If he is looking for soccer to be a part of his life, but for a career where soccer is merely playtime fun and not his career, I would stick to high school. If he wants to make a run of it, then start calling the big clubs. Google will help you more than this website can. How far you are willing to drive is a big issue. My daughter has a close friend on one of the interstate teams. They drive 3 to 5 hours every Friday night after work, sleep in hotels every weekend, plays games and practice, then head home. The furthest north in in Maine and furthest south is in Georgia. Of course there are far more local travel, with teams going at most a 3 hour drive. This girl is just good enough to play professionally one day, she got called to try out for the U-16 national team and we all hope to see her at that level soon. But that is an extreme example. Local travel clubs with academy teams practice 4 nights a week during the school year at the HS age, with usually only friday off and usually a walk through light practice Saturday followed by a game or two each weekend. It is intense and requires a huge time and financial commitment. These clubs will have tryouts and interviews with both the players and parents before selecting a kid to play. Intense. My kids never wanted this and honestly, I was glad. But if they did, I would do what you are doing and support them all the way.
Anyway, I hope I helped. Westchester youth soccer league is a good source for information as well. They are nice and you can find them online and call them. Good luck and all the best to your son.
It depends on what he is looking for. If he is looking for competitive soccer, but is not looking to make soccer his life's work, then the varsity team will be great for him at any of these schools. All three are competitive in their leagues and offer a great education.
If however he is looking to play at the professional level after college, then a development academy at a football club is the way to go. Westchester FC and New York FC both have development academies where the best kids work nearly every day and play on these elite level teams. There are other options in North Jersey, Rockland County and Connecticut you can explore for elite level play. New interstate leagues are forming right now, a new one just started this week. Teams travel up and down the east coast for elite level play.
Soccer scholarships to college can develop from either, as scouts and HS coaches still have a lot of contact. To be honest, most young men at the academy level are not really looking for college scholarships first, they want to be signed by professional clubs and dream of national youth teams and making money to play soccer as adults. Of course scholarships are there for this level of player. If your son is at their level, college scholarships will be an option.
He should reflect a little on what role he wants soccer to be in his life. I understand and share his love of the game. I played from when I could walk. I played youth travel club ball in the 70s and 80s when it was in its infancy. I played HS in the late 80s and went to a D-III college and played my four years of NCAA eligibility. When I graduated, I played in adult leagues until I was in my late 30s and my knees gave up on me. I still play in a "seniors" league. I coach both my kids and have been a ref for over 30 years now. The game will always be there for those that love it. He just needs to decide at what level he wants to be involved in the game at this stage in his life.
If he is looking for soccer to be a part of his life, but for a career where soccer is merely playtime fun and not his career, I would stick to high school. If he wants to make a run of it, then start calling the big clubs. Google will help you more than this website can. How far you are willing to drive is a big issue. My daughter has a close friend on one of the interstate teams. They drive 3 to 5 hours every Friday night after work, sleep in hotels every weekend, plays games and practice, then head home. The furthest north in in Maine and furthest south is in Georgia. Of course there are far more local travel, with teams going at most a 3 hour drive. This girl is just good enough to play professionally one day, she got called to try out for the U-16 national team and we all hope to see her at that level soon. But that is an extreme example. Local travel clubs with academy teams practice 4 nights a week during the school year at the HS age, with usually only friday off and usually a walk through light practice Saturday followed by a game or two each weekend. It is intense and requires a huge time and financial commitment. These clubs will have tryouts and interviews with both the players and parents before selecting a kid to play. Intense. My kids never wanted this and honestly, I was glad. But if they did, I would do what you are doing and support them all the way.
Anyway, I hope I helped. Westchester youth soccer league is a good source for information as well. They are nice and you can find them online and call them. Good luck and all the best to your son.
Thank you to all! My son is currently doing as much playing as he can ... on his city team, Varsity HS and a Development Academy ... travel travel travel.
So all of this info is very helpful to orient us. While he grew up believing he’d be playing for Barcelona, the world is tempering those goals and he’s clear it’s unlikely he’d make pro and is clear that it will supplement college life - but be at the center. He cares a lot about academics.
Westchester County schools are in Section 1, along with those from Rockland, Putnam and some Dutchess Counties. This would help in terms of knowing who the top programs are: https://www.lohud.com/blog/thelohudboyssoccer/
By 15, he'd be already part of a feeder program if that was what he was about.
Varsity is probably OK but it's tougher to walk on as a newcomer. I think there are a variety of travel programs that will get him going through school.
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