Nervous about team come July 1st- need advice

My DD has been practicing with Solar Blue 03G for the past 6 months and I keep noticing quite a bit of turnover in girls. We have also been falling in the rankings as this season's results have not been impressive. I don't want any trash talk. I just want advice from experienced parents about what I need to look out for. With the July 1st signing coming up, I just want to make the right decision for my DD.

What are her other options at this point?

If none, then time to get to work to make sure she has a backup plan.

I want her to have fun and still be on a competitive team. I want her to experience friendships that will last and take her into high school. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is how much stock to put into the rankings and the fact that week after week, we keep falling and girls keep leaving. Is this a sign of bad things to come or is it normal and will everything calm down in a few months?

Why are they leaving? If you do not know, then ask those that left. Why have you been staying? Is it for the right reasons? It will settle down in July, because girls will be stuck with a year contract. Honestly, I think you may be looking at the wrong things, if you are concerned about rankings, although that is a very North Texas thing to do. Because of the various leagues and divisions, the team should be competitive at some level. And if your DD is typical, she's likely to have friends on any team. The question that you should be asking is whether your girl is enjoying soccer while being developed at a level that you expect for $2,500. If you have doubts now, then get options, because you are likely to be miserable in December if you are struggling with it now.

PB&J, let me share a few thoughts and opinions, for what it's worth.

1. Rankings: Mostly unimportant. Do they give us an indication of the few best teams? SRSA, DTX South, Sting G, LP RASE...sure. However there are a handful of teams in the mix now that share rosters across teams. When select comes they can no longer do that. Also, when it comes to LHGCL they don't factor in these rankings or any tournaments in May/June for that matter. Even if these rankings did matter, and this is my opinion...who cares, these girls are 10. No one's gonna remember when they are 18...wow, we were #1 our first year of Select. Parents want their kids on top teams for all sorts of reasons. However even if your team lands in PPL or Arlington it’s not the end of the world. It really only starts to matter when they turn 13-14.

2. I do know a little bit about the Solar Blue coach and he is a very good coach. They style of soccer he teaches (Possession) is harder to learn than kicking the ball down the field to your fastest athlete. It takes longer to learn and teams who do this usually lose a few games until it starts to sink in. I think it's the best style of soccer, but that's my opinion. Others may differ. You know, you could have a top coach who yells at the kids and humiliates them? There are those out there like that.

3. I guess the most important thing to consider are this:
- Is your DD learning from this coach? Sometimes the best teachers are not right for ALL types of kids...happens in school too
- Is your DD enjoying and building friendships on the team?
- Is your DD progressing in her skills and begin pushed to get better?
- Is she having fun....pretty darn important...afterall they're still kids..."girls just wanna have fun".
- Have you asked your DD what she thinks about the team/coach? I’m willing to bet she hasn’t noticed the teams slide in the rankings ;-)

If some a number of the answers to the above questions are no, then maybe it is time to guest play elsewhere.

To our family, it's Faith first, Family second, Friends third and soccer somewhere down the line. Our family loves this soccer journey, but if our DD ever washes out of soccer, it's not the end of the world. I think we parents sometimes over analyze things and get a little crazy. It's easy to do. Yes, we are going to pay a good amount of money come July, so it's OK to make sure you find the best fit. Definitely do that. But, I'd not factor in the rankings into the equation very much. And, as far as the girls leaving goes...as long as you can field a roster of 13-16 I think you will be fine.

I wish you all the best with your decisions.

While coach is a good guy and well intentioned he has a minimal track record in being able to put and hold together a team heading through QT.

Seeems to be a good first option if your dd enjoys and likes playing for him. I would also make sure I have a backup option in place.

Wow! The comments from PB&J are hard to believe. I honestly cannot comprehend them. I really never expected that out of PB&J…so everyone knows, I happen to be a parent of an 03 Solar Blue Lamas player and haven’t noticed anything that PB&J has mentioned in his blog. We’ve been playing with Solar for at least 3 years…in fact, PB&J was the previous coach and built the core of our current team and then passed it off to Lamas to build what is now Solar 03 Blue. (Yes, PB&J we know who you are) I’m guessing that’s where the frustration lies. All we have seen is our child developing and everyone around her developing as well. Coach Jesse is fantastic. Sure, he has to make tough decisions but they are decisions that are for the benefit of the team and the girls, as well as their parents. I’ve been reading this site for quite some time and I have never posted because I haven’t felt the need. However, having read the post about our coach, I felt I needed to create an account and respond. Unbelievable to me the fake thread that was created by PB&J…just to create issues. As if we don’t deal with enough of those already. Really?
I wonder what PB&J would do if someone blogged about his livelihood in the same fashion that he blogged about the Coach of Solar 03 Blue – Lamas. Not fair at all.

Whats with all the back up plans and side angles? It's just soccer, it's not that complex.

My older boy went thru qualifying. His club decided on their own that they were going to keep the academy team intact even though the top team had already taken several players from our team promising that once select came they would make a top team. I was not happy with the players on the team or the quality but they at least gave us a great coach. I believed in the coach and what he was teaching. They qualified D1 in the second weekend so bottom of D1. They took a beating all year and ended bottom of D1 which mean a trip to D3. BB has since ended up playing up in age and on the number 2 D1 team doing well. What he learned that first year was invaluable and lead to great success. While I have seen many top team D1 kids flounder. Find a coach you believe in. A place you think you kid will learn and improve. Nothing else matters at this point. If you think the coach is doing a good job of teaching then stay if not then move now, simple.

Wow! The comments from PB&J are hard to believe. I honestly cannot comprehend them. I really never expected that out of PB&J…so everyone knows, I happen to be a parent of an 03 Solar Blue Lamas player and haven’t noticed anything that PB&J has mentioned in his blog. We’ve been playing with Solar for at least 3 years…in fact, PB&J was the previous coach and built the core of our current team and then passed it off to Lamas to build what is now Solar 03 Blue. (Yes, PB&J we know who you are) I’m guessing that’s where the frustration lies. All we have seen is our child developing and everyone around her developing as well. Coach Jesse is fantastic. Sure, he has to make tough decisions but they are decisions that are for the benefit of the team and the girls, as well as their parents. I’ve been reading this site for quite some time and I have never posted because I haven’t felt the need. However, having read the post about our coach, I felt I needed to create an account and respond. Unbelievable to me the fake thread that was created by PB&J…just to create issues. As if we don’t deal with enough of those already. Really?
I wonder what PB&J would do if someone blogged about his livelihood in the same fashion that he blogged about the Coach of Solar 03 Blue – Lamas. Not fair at all.

The OP brings up 2 points:
1. Solar Blue's ranking is going down. They were upper teens and are now lower 30s. Whether or not you care about rankings, the numbers show the team is dropping according to these rankings.

2. Solar Blue has lost some players. I am pretty sure this is true because the majority of teams are experiencing some movement.

While you may be mad at PB&J for starting a thread about your team, I don't really think you can say she/he is attacking the coach. Maybe she/he could have handled this better, but there are a lot of concerned parents that are wondering what will happen now that the league season has ended and parents that have been "finishing the season" feel more free to make a switch or at least be open about looking.

Even teams that you think are "stable" are not. Every parent out there knows that commitment is coming. Time commitment, financial commitment, emotional commitment. Fear of commitment is a natural thing. No one wants to feel "trapped" or that they made the wrong decision.

No matter what team you are on next year you will:
Play at least one game per week.
Practice at least two times per week.

Be realistic and do what is best for your daughter no matter where the team stands in the "rankings". Surround her with support, friendship, a positive atmosphere and a team where she will get ample playing time and quality coaching and she will excel to the best of her ability.

It really is that simple.

Speaking from prior experience, I waited to long to switch teams even though I knew that the team might fall apart. It did and we had to switch to another team. My mistake is we joined the first team we practiced with and did not take my dd around to see some other teams. Needless to say, she went from starter to bench player and could never crack the starting line up and so we had to switch teams yet again. Not a fun process. So my advice is if you know or suspect that your team is not going to make it, start practicing with everyone and try to get in on some of the upcoming tournaments as a guest. Give your dd as many options and make the best decision for your family. I would suggest looking at the coaches resume as it relates to select. IMO... If they have minimal experience, I'd stay away.