Kid's sports go on and on. Time out, please
There once were three scholastic seasons: football, basketball and baseball. Each happily owned a three-month segment of the school year. And it was good - for the kids. Sports were under the umbrella and protection of the educational system. There were rules about a schedule cap. Professionally trained educators ran the programs. Then there came soccer.
Soccer is an import. Here was a game that relied on the feet. Minimal contact made it appealing to moms. But four sports in three seasons made it impossible to play them all. At first, few schools incorporated it into their sports program. There were few qualified coaches and football schools weren't going to let soccer get on the field in the fall. Then someone somewhere had the idea to play in the spring, like they do in Europe. Then someone somewhere wondered why kid's couldn't play baseball well into the fall. All hell broke loose and a kid's nightmare began.
Because schools were slow to embrace soccer as part of the scholastic program, parents decided to organize, coach, and manage soccer teams for their kids. There were a few foreign-born parents around who had played soccer before coming to the states. Soccer is an international sport and American football is not. Football is a rough sport where size matters. Helmets, shoulder pads, and all that other equipment required to be worn by a football player is expensive. In comparison, soccer is dirt cheap. And parents, not school administrators, are running the whole show.
Even as schools began to add soccer to their athletic programs it was initially treated at most places as a second-class, minor sport. Football coaches were reluctant to allow soccer on their fields, even in the spring. Passionate soccer parents quickly labeled football as the enemy. And soccer in the US quickly became a cult rather than a sport.
We now have basically four levels of soccer: scholastic, recreational, travel, and premier. The latter three are now playing year round and the leaders strongly encourage kids to specialize in soccer. Travel and premier teams play in tournaments all around the country. They are not restricted to a schedule cap as are school teams. Club teams - the non-scolastic teams - now have parents funding coaches and travel. The birth of the ODP, Olympic Development Program, has become the center stage of American soccer.
Travel teams require kids as early as nine years old (and their parents) to visit other towns, often hours away, to play against regional teams from other places.
"We have no weekends," complains Jack R., a Connecticut father whose son plays on a travel team in the fall. The family shuttles from playing field to playing field, carrying a complicated assortment of Gatorade, Dunkin Munchkins and changes of clothing. Jack wonders what happened to the simple pleasures of leisurely Sundays and fallow seasons. It's not as if his generation did not play ball year-round. But their games consisted of stickball or whiffle-ball or even pickup baseball without the pressure of teams, leagues and coaches. Instead of being in Sunday school and church on Sundays, parents and kids are on a soccer field miles and miles from home. Soccer is the religion. Families suffer. Kids are abused. Parent egos runs the show.
But let's don't just blame the soccer fanatics. There are kids as young as nine years old who play 60+ baseball or softball games in the summer. There are now personal trainers - pitching coaches and hitting coaches who charge big bucks to give kids personal instruction between games.
While baseball tries to accommodate soccer's schedule in the fall and soccer tries to accommodate baseball's in the spring, conflicts inevitably arise that prevent kids from playing both sports at the same time. And while nothing prevents a child from trying out for a travel soccer team in one season after playing baseball in the other, his skills probably won't keep pace with his peers who are in soccer year-round. The cult is not prone to share with anyone.
High school soccer teams suffer as well. Travel and premier leagues can draw kids who otherwise might be on their school varsity squad. This obviously draws ire from school coaches and peers who play for the school team. As the prestige of travel teams run by parents and not educators grows, scholastic sports become trivial with the best athletes opting out of the school program. Soccer is a cult, not a sport. Kids lose another one. Defeated my adult egos. For what?
Comments from a reader:
High school soccer and college soccer are a farce. Club soccer adheres to the established rules of the game around the world. The NCAA and NFHS alter the rules of the game willy nilly in order to 'Americanize' the game. Scholastic soccer limits the amount of games players can play during the years in which it is most crucial for developing players to play as much as possible. Specifically in Kansas, the Kansas High School Activities Association limits high school boys players from participating in club soccer with its 'six player rule' which bans more than six members of the same high school team from playing on the same club team. The result is that high school teams in small towns in rural areas are severely limited in their ability to compete with schools from the large urban and suburban areas since those players simply cannot form club teams without running afoul of the six player rule. Therefore the overall development of the gam e is stifled in areas where most people are very protective of the 'traditional sports', especially football. Curiously, the Kansas association has no six player rule for girls...who don't threaten football's popularity. Scholastic/collegiate associations place these restrictions on soccer NOT to keep the games in the "proper educational perspective" but rather to prevent soccer from receiving equivalent exposure to that of the 'revenue' or 'traditional' sports of Football/Basketball/Baseball. If that's not the case, explain the continued expansion of the Bowl Championship Series and the NCAA Basketball tournaments in addition to more regular season games in both football and basketball. The NCAA has actually used Title IX to decrease the number of men's college soccer programs available, while the USSF, which is not legally bound by Title IX has greatly expanded the opportunities for women and girls to play soccer without decreasing opportunitie s for men and boys. If scholastic/collegiate athletic associations don't want the USSF to encourage its players not to play scholastic/collegiate soccer, maybe those associations should think about cooperating with soccer's true governing body instead of trying to undermine it. Soccer is a superior activity to american football and anyone who can't understand why is proof of why.
JAMES COMPTON
jamesc96485@earthlink.net
EarthLink Revolves Around You.
Charlie's reply:
Hello, James. Well you are talking to the wrong guy here.
Any child psychologist will tell you that specializing in a sport in middle school/high school is not good for the physical or emotional development of the child.
Club soccer is all about the individual and not the team concept.
Club soccer has no academic rules for participation. In fact the ODP manual states that missing an ODP practice because of a school event is an unexcused absense.
High school athletic associations have a desire to protect young athletes from exploitation by folks who drain kids physically and emotionally by playing far too many soccer matches or baseball and softball games a year. Frankly, club soccer is all about the adults, not the kids.
Club coaches lie like Hell to parents. "If Johnny plays for me year-round, he will get a college scholarship". Bull Shit! ODP is a lying joke...reel those parents in and make some money.
And club soccer "develops" players for who / what?? An advanced CLUB travel team, where parents have to spent $5,000 instead of $3,000 for their kid to get abused. I've never wittnessed as much verbal abuse anywhere else in sports than at a Club soccer match.
What is the mission of the USSF? ...
Why have a USSF? Why isn't school participation enough? ... because there are folks out there making money through USSF by preying on the hopes of parents.
When college soccer programs start putting 80,000 folks in the stands for a match, then I'm sure soccer will take its proper place in AMERICAN sports. Nobody needs to "protect" football.
At least schools don't play any sport year round.
Sorry, James. You ranted to the wrong guy on this subject. See Youth Sports
From Brentwood, Tennessee parent
Any child psychologist will tell you that specializing in a sport in middle
school/high school is not good for the physical or emotional development of
the child.
Any of them? Probably one or two wouldn't say that. Anyway, is it just
sports or do they think any sort of specialization in the teen years too
limiting, like the child who plays cello all the time or who spends his/her
entire free time building robots? Don't sports, especially if it's many
sports -- limit a child from experiencing the arts? The thing is, life is
limiting. There is not enough time to do everything, even in childhood.
Club soccer is all about the individual and not the team concept.
My child has learned a lot about sportsmanship and team playing in his
soccer club league. It has carried over into his school league according to
comments from his school coach.
Club soccer has no academic rules for participation. In fact the ODP manual
states that missing an ODP practice because of a school event is an
unexcused absense.
There are no academic rules for going to the movies either, but my child
isn't going if he hasn't done his homework. That's a parental issue.
High school athletic associations have a desire to protect young athletes
from exploitation by folks who drain kids physically and emotionally by
playing far too many soccer matches or baseball and softball games a year.
Frankly, club soccer is all about the adults, not the kids.
Why do you feel high school athletic associations want to protect young
athletes and club athletic associations want to exploit young athletes? Is
there some study or research showing this? Do the high school athletic
associations realize they are "protecting young athletes" from their own
parents? That's the way it appears in your presentation.
Club coaches lie like Hell to parents. "If Johnny plays for me year-round,
he will get a college scholarship". Bull Shit! ODP is a lying joke...reel
those parents in and make some money.
I have never been told by any coach that my middle school child would get a
college scholarship and would be highly suspicious of any who did. As
should any parent with any sense.
And club soccer "develops" players for who / what?? An advanced CLUB travel
team, where parents have to spent $5,000 instead of $3,000 for their kid to
get abused. I've never wittnessed as much verbal abuse anywhere else in
sports than at a Club soccer match.
The "development" of my middle school soccer player has included increased
stamina, increased soccer skills, better sportsmanship in both winning and
losing, development of self control in the face of unfair referee calls.
This "development" is for my son, not for anyone else. If my child was ever
verbally abused by a coach, I'd ask him if he wanted to stay on the team and
yank him out if he didn't. I suspect that most parents are protective of
their children in the same way. Verbally abusive coaches, in any sport,
won't last long where the parents are involved.
What is the mission of the USSF? ...
To play soccer games. Just as the mission of the NFL is to play football.
Why have a USSF? Why isn't school participation enough? ... because there
are folks out there making money through USSF by preying on the hopes of
parents.
Boy, parents sure are stupid. Thank goodness the government is here to
protect our children for/from us. At least, that seems to be your view.
When college soccer programs start putting 80,000 folks in the stands for a
match, then I'm sure soccer will take its proper place in AMERICAN sports.
Nobody needs to "protect" football.
My child is 13. I don't have any experience with college soccer. My
experience with soccer has been that the schools wouldn't pick it up as a
sport, so a local recreational league was developed by parents for their
children who love soccer. We play on a field without bleachers, with a
port-a-potty, with no concessions stand. For some reason, only parents show
up to watch, to hike a 1/4 mile from the gravel parking lot, carrying a
cooler and a chair. There's greater attendance at the football games,
BECAUSE they are school sponsered and have a decent place to play. Yet,
more local kids here play soccer than any other single sport, except
baseball (which, by the way, is club baseball). It's not soccer players and
their families who are "cultish." It's the school system that won't accept
a new sport for fear that they'd have to cut back on a traditional sport.
At least schools don't play any sport year round.
My 13 year old can pick whatever sport he wants to play. My requirement is
that he have some regularly scheduled athletic activity, to keep him
healthy. He picks soccer, year round. He's tried baseball, track and
basketball. He loves soccer more than any other sport, although he'll play
a pick-up game with neighborhood kids on any sport at any time. My friend's
football playing boys played football in the fall and they extended the
season into the winter. Then they added summer "conditioning." Then they
added spring "conditioning." The games aren't year round, but the practices
sure are. OMG, they're probably a cult of crazy parents who don't care
about their children. I'll alert the media.
Sorry, James. You ranted to the wrong guy on this subject.
Rant is right. Your primary assumptions seem to be 1. Parents are stupid.
2. Parents don't have a thought about their children's development, just
scholarships and winning games. 3. Middle and high school age children have
no say in what sport they play -- the parents decide. 4. The more
organized, school-sponsered sports a kid plays, the better. 5. Soccer clubs
are parent-focused, not player-focused. However, baseball, football and
basketball clubs are player-focused. 6. Soccer clubs want to rule the
world. Baseball, football, and basketball clubs just wanna have fun.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Thank you, Anne Holland, for your thoughtful,well-written comments!
