PARENT PERSPECTIVE
PARENTS EXPERIENCE
As the parents of a young budding soccer star during the first decade of the 21st century, our family went through the rigors of balancing school work, school events, other sports and High School soccer conflicts not to mention the numerous spring and fall tournaments.
As explained in the boxes on this page, the path to soccer glory is arduous. DCYFC discusses this because many parents are unfamiliar with the process and where it might lead. There is incredible competition in the Washington DC area, injuries are always a concern and the sheer physical demands are not for everyone.
Don't get me wrong -- it was a great experience. She was an All-ISL selection, state cup winner and Region 1 semi-finalist. My daughter learned what it was like to manage her time, balance school work and mange the demands of High School and elite "select" team soccer.
Having gone through it as a parent, I can offer a somewhat different perspective that you might get from a young coach or a club that needs the revenue to sustain its program. Fortunately, our coaches are experienced in improving player skills and game understanding. We have no alterior motive and we certainly don't do it for the money.
EXPECTATIONS
What are your goals and expectations for travel soccer? Play at a high level, enjoy the competition and camaraderie, preparing to play for your High School soccer team or taking it to the next level and thinking about playing in college?
The most realistic options are clearly the High School route. If you are seeking to play at the college level, then you are looking at a much more serious time commitment and willingness to train beyond the 90 minute 2-3 times per week team practices. Outside of team practices, juggling, kicking the ball against a wall, dribbling development, playing pickup with friends and shooting is a recommended regimen.
Even if you don't play in EDP or ECNL or in the MLS Next League, there are still plenty of opportunities to be seen by college coaches. Go attend a college ID camp or attend a summer camp hosted by a college coach at a University. There you will be evaluated and you can gauge your level by playing with and against the recruited players and hopefuls.
Our DCYFC coaches can provide some guidance and recommendations if you are interested in pursuing this path.
THE COLLEGE ROUTE
But we think you also need to be realistic. Let's do the numbers. With about 300 Division 1 colleges offering athletic scholarships, there are, on average, 3-4 roster spaces each year after seniors graduate.
This means there are approximately 900-1,200 full scholarships available. The math doesn't lie.
Attached are links to two articles. The first is a link to a fascinating college scholarship website. As it explains, "the math doesn't lie." Very few if any players receive a full scholarship and the typical athletic scholarship is probably $10,000. Also, don't forget playing an athletic sport in college is close to a full time job. Early morning practices, lots of weekend travel, off-season weight training and little playing time the first couple of years most likely.
In addition, to place things into perspective, the second link is to the June 13, 2015 Washington Post sports section on the elite local athletes receiving offers to play college soccer. As discussed below, these college recruits are the coveted athletes not to mention the honorable mention candidates, Olympic Development Program participants and the numerous MLS youth academies. Multiply the Washington area region by 1,000 to account for all the other cities, towns, counties and regions where coveted elite athletes play.
WWW.SCHOLARSHIPSTATS.COM
HTTP://WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM/WP-SRV/SPORTS/HIGHSCHOOLS/2015/SPRING-ALL-MET/BOYS-SOCCER/INDEX.HTML
HTTP://WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM/WP-SRV/SPORTS/HIGHSCHOOLS/2015/SPRING-ALL-MET/GIRLS-SOCCER/INDEX.HTML
We would strongly urge you to go and watch a college soccer game in the area -- Georgetown, Maryland and GMU. Do you think you will eventually compete at this level?
We urge you to look at the college soccer resumes of players at Division I, II and III schools. The resumes are as follows: all-county, all-state, all-metropolitan region, all-tournament, led team/league in goals scored, ODP Regional and National Pool player, defensive player of the year and/or most valuable player. These are the highly recruited and coveted kids. And they come from all over the country not to mention recruits from South America, Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
EPILOGUE
So, you might ask what happened to my daughter's youth soccer career. Well, I'll admit, she was groomed to play at the next level. She was talented, creative and had great skill -- I say this as both a parent and a coach!
But when it came down to decide where she wanted to go to college and what she wanted to do, soccer was an afterthought. Could she have played. Most certainly. Would she have received a college scholarship -- perhaps but it wasn't what she wanted to focus on.
She played because she loved the game. Playing soccer at the next level is another animal.
As I describe on the coach bio page, I had the opportunity to play at the collegiate level. It was rewarding and taught me about discipline, routine, camaraderie, team work and being super competitive. But I also realized it was a means to an end. My livelihood was dependent upon my academic successes and work in the classroom.
As the parents of a young budding soccer star during the first decade of the 21st century, our family went through the rigors of balancing school work, school events, other sports and High School soccer conflicts not to mention the numerous spring and fall tournaments.
As explained in the boxes on this page, the path to soccer glory is arduous. DCYFC discusses this because many parents are unfamiliar with the process and where it might lead. There is incredible competition in the Washington DC area, injuries are always a concern and the sheer physical demands are not for everyone.
Don't get me wrong -- it was a great experience. She was an All-ISL selection, state cup winner and Region 1 semi-finalist. My daughter learned what it was like to manage her time, balance school work and mange the demands of High School and elite "select" team soccer.
Having gone through it as a parent, I can offer a somewhat different perspective that you might get from a young coach or a club that needs the revenue to sustain its program. Fortunately, our coaches are experienced in improving player skills and game understanding. We have no alterior motive and we certainly don't do it for the money.
EXPECTATIONS
What are your goals and expectations for travel soccer? Play at a high level, enjoy the competition and camaraderie, preparing to play for your High School soccer team or taking it to the next level and thinking about playing in college?
The most realistic options are clearly the High School route. If you are seeking to play at the college level, then you are looking at a much more serious time commitment and willingness to train beyond the 90 minute 2-3 times per week team practices. Outside of team practices, juggling, kicking the ball against a wall, dribbling development, playing pickup with friends and shooting is a recommended regimen.
Even if you don't play in EDP or ECNL or in the MLS Next League, there are still plenty of opportunities to be seen by college coaches. Go attend a college ID camp or attend a summer camp hosted by a college coach at a University. There you will be evaluated and you can gauge your level by playing with and against the recruited players and hopefuls.
Our DCYFC coaches can provide some guidance and recommendations if you are interested in pursuing this path.
THE COLLEGE ROUTE
But we think you also need to be realistic. Let's do the numbers. With about 300 Division 1 colleges offering athletic scholarships, there are, on average, 3-4 roster spaces each year after seniors graduate.
This means there are approximately 900-1,200 full scholarships available. The math doesn't lie.
Attached are links to two articles. The first is a link to a fascinating college scholarship website. As it explains, "the math doesn't lie." Very few if any players receive a full scholarship and the typical athletic scholarship is probably $10,000. Also, don't forget playing an athletic sport in college is close to a full time job. Early morning practices, lots of weekend travel, off-season weight training and little playing time the first couple of years most likely.
In addition, to place things into perspective, the second link is to the June 13, 2015 Washington Post sports section on the elite local athletes receiving offers to play college soccer. As discussed below, these college recruits are the coveted athletes not to mention the honorable mention candidates, Olympic Development Program participants and the numerous MLS youth academies. Multiply the Washington area region by 1,000 to account for all the other cities, towns, counties and regions where coveted elite athletes play.
WWW.SCHOLARSHIPSTATS.COM
HTTP://WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM/WP-SRV/SPORTS/HIGHSCHOOLS/2015/SPRING-ALL-MET/BOYS-SOCCER/INDEX.HTML
HTTP://WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM/WP-SRV/SPORTS/HIGHSCHOOLS/2015/SPRING-ALL-MET/GIRLS-SOCCER/INDEX.HTML
We would strongly urge you to go and watch a college soccer game in the area -- Georgetown, Maryland and GMU. Do you think you will eventually compete at this level?
We urge you to look at the college soccer resumes of players at Division I, II and III schools. The resumes are as follows: all-county, all-state, all-metropolitan region, all-tournament, led team/league in goals scored, ODP Regional and National Pool player, defensive player of the year and/or most valuable player. These are the highly recruited and coveted kids. And they come from all over the country not to mention recruits from South America, Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
EPILOGUE
So, you might ask what happened to my daughter's youth soccer career. Well, I'll admit, she was groomed to play at the next level. She was talented, creative and had great skill -- I say this as both a parent and a coach!
But when it came down to decide where she wanted to go to college and what she wanted to do, soccer was an afterthought. Could she have played. Most certainly. Would she have received a college scholarship -- perhaps but it wasn't what she wanted to focus on.
She played because she loved the game. Playing soccer at the next level is another animal.
As I describe on the coach bio page, I had the opportunity to play at the collegiate level. It was rewarding and taught me about discipline, routine, camaraderie, team work and being super competitive. But I also realized it was a means to an end. My livelihood was dependent upon my academic successes and work in the classroom.