It is the time of year when some of you will be approached by or you will be approaching various area select soccer organizations, to see if you child can play select soccer. You will be told various things to entice you, some of which are simply not true. You may be told things like, “it’s the only way to develop the player so that they can get into the high school team and get a scholarship”. Or “if you don’t get on a team now, you’ll never be able to get on one later”. Both of these are simply not true.

 

Apart from the significantly higher fees charged for competitive “select” teams, there are many other things you, as a parent need to consider for your child’s soccer development and well being. To give your child’s development the best possible guidance, please educate yourself with as much information as possible.

 

Consider that 73% of kids that start competitive soccer at age 8, which is where many teams in Ohio start, are not playing any longer by the time they reach high school age. Eight years old is simply far too young to put a child into a competitive situation. Player development takes a back seat due to the pressure on the coach to win. Ohio is one of only a handful of states to even contemplate select soccer at such an age. Most experts on child development in soccer and other sports settle on the ages of 12-13 years old before such competition should be introduced. Kids learn best when playing a game not playing to win.

 

Players talents cannot be properly evaluated at 8, 9, 10 or eleven years old, consider all the can’t miss number one picks in the NFL draft that flop, these are 21, 22 year olds.

 

Gary R. Allen, Director of Coaching at Virginia Youth Soccer Association and National A Licensed coach says “Forming "all-star" teams when players are too young or developing a whole system of "select" or "travel" teams before the teenage years is detrimental to the long-term development of players. In "select team" environments, where we place our kids beginning often at age 8, the players are chosen because of certain "perceived" strengths. If they want to play, then they are required to use the strengths for which they were selected, so that their team can win. Conversely, in the "pickup" game, players are constantly experimenting with different ways to solve problems with and against different players, and though a failed experiment might cost a goal on a particular day, tomorrow is a whole new game. There is no season record (or disappointed adults) hanging over them. Furthermore, when we use more "competitive" teams as our primary development tool, we never allow players to experience the joy and passion of the game, because all of our efforts are towards winning, promotion, State Cup and ODP.”

 

He finishes the point very well by stating “After all, we need U12 National Champions, otherwise how will we be able to identify the players of the future -- winning is everything. Yet, in the 30-plus years that we have had organized youth soccer on a mass scale, we have not yet produced even one truly world class player!