Too hot for soccer? (Mesa, Gilbert: neighborhood, shop, to move) - Phoenix area - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

el1zabeth · 03-01-2012, 06:12 AM

Our family moved to San Tan Valley in January. I have two kids who love soccer,so I enrolled them in a local soccer league. They won't start until April,and then will go through May. I noticed today on the news that it will reach the 80's this weekend. I am guessing it's going to be pretty hot by May. I have been looking for indoor soccer, but am having trouble finding anything nearby that isn't crazy expensive. Anyone know of any indoor soccer facilities in this area,or even Queen Creek or Gilbert. Is it a bad idea to have kids playing outdoor soccer games in April and May? Thanks for any help with this.

ReadyFreddy · 03-01-2012, 06:34 AM

My daughter played for AYSO in east Mesa for many years. It started in Sept. and ran through early Dec. It was HOT in Sept., for sure. The kids just don't move so quickly when it's hot, though. I think it bothers the adults much more.

I don't think April/May is unhealthy or anything and I don't know of indoor fields. The big soccer complex in Mesa (Red Mountain) is so much grass, it's actually a lot cooler on it than off it.

Red Mtn. AYSO is a huge league if you're willing to drive them a ways for soccer. After the regular season, there is a competitive league so some kids play like all fall and winter. I can't imagine making the drive from STV three times a week, though, so it's probably not really an option. But here's the site anyway.

AYSO 1079

observer53 · 03-01-2012, 06:36 AM

Just because it is going to be in the 80s this weekend does not mean it's going to keep getting hotter each day forward. That said, it's warm in April and May, and at times can be unseasonably hot, but kids have been playing in soccer leagues outdoors in those months for decades. Sometimes they start earlier as time goes on, there's always lots of water and the ever present orange wedges... they will be fine.

jimj · 03-01-2012, 06:44 AM

I can tell you that the soccer fields next to loop 101/Mcdowell across from Costco are very busy well into summer. Hydration is the key.

PoppySead · 03-01-2012, 07:15 AM

Depends on your kid, most I know play all kinds of sports well through the summer. Just do things early, before 12pm and late, after 7pm. Take a siesta during the afternoon.

Around May I start doing my grocery shopping around 8 am, any chores I have outside I do early. It's just a different lifestyle in the summer. I really love the summer nights and enjoy most activities after 7pm.

Ponderosa · 03-01-2012, 07:34 AM

If the kids are otherwise healthy, don't be concerned. It will be you roasting on the sidelines while they run around like crazy on the field. It does get uncomfortable for parents. Kids adjust very well to these temps (and it is more likely to be in the 60s for games in the morning in April - the 90s won't happen until mid afternoon). Mine were outside in the heat all the time until they turned into texting, you-tubing, shut-in teens.

Ponderosa · 03-01-2012, 07:49 AM

Another thing. I would advise against enrolling them in an indoor league even if you can find such a thing. Keep them in leagues where their friends play if at all possible. They like that best, and you get the chance to make new friends and connections in your neighborhood. Opportunities to do that are limited and youth leagues are good. Those connections will be an invaluable source of "intel" as your kids are growing up. And, like us, you may end up with life long close friends that you met through your kids.

el1zabeth · 03-01-2012, 09:17 AM

Thanks for the help!I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy for letting them play during those months. When we were planning to move so many people we talked to said everything "shut down" here for the summer because of the heat. However, the scheduling is not seeming that different than from where we are from.

azriverfan. · 03-01-2012, 02:45 PM

I take it most people here didn't play sports growing up? I find some of the comments to be truly funny because that's because I remember what it was like to play in a tennis tournament in February with ice on the courts or playing soccer with bone chilling wind and frozen ice wearing sweats and gloves. We are so concerned when it's a little hotter than usual but those conditions are 10 times better than what many people experience across the nation with regards to soccer conditions. In Florida, a lot of times they will play on mud with drenched fields while it is down pouring. The parents are a little too paranoid; trust me your kids are fine, they aren't going to melt. They are conditioned and in much better shape than you ever were.

LOL

theyreinphx · 03-01-2012, 02:48 PM

I think it's all relative. Kids who are from here have absolutely no problem as long as they stay hydrated. I notice that most of the parents who complain about outside recces in August and September are not from here. I grew up here and we spent a lot of time outside in the summer, especially April and May. It doesn't start to get ugly hot until middle of June and stays that way until early September. However, if AZ kids had to spend a winter in the snow it would probably take them a couple of seasons to get used to it. I remember going to NY in April and I was FREEZING while others were walking around in shorts and t-shirts.