Roster Numbers Going Select?

silentparent wrote:I think minutes are more important than starting especially at younger ages. On another note, there will be the kid that everyone assumes will be playing select who quits altogether. Thats what new players are there for to give the coach the ability to field the best team, which in the season will make everybody happier theoretically...

Very true, have heard about the team where the best players decided she wanted to do cheerleading or dance etc instead of select soccer. Also be sure your team is not centered around that great forward to be successfull so if that player leaves, the team will still be OK. Sometimes, the #1 player on a team leave to go to another team right before signing as well.

you never know what will happen.

So when should a player commit to a team? We have all of these families looking around. If you go to a couple of practices and like the team should you commit? Play in at least 1 tournament first? Or should you keep "playing the field (pun intended)" halfway through June?

That's the tricky part.....if you don't commit, the coach isn't committed to you. They will still be actively looking for someone who plays your dd's position. Come mid-June, you may be replaced and left scrambling. My advice from doing this three times before, find a team first and foremost that your dd loves. You as a parent come second. Even if your daughter has a shot on the top team but wants no part of it, she won't be happy and in the end, neither will you. Its a $3000 gamble. Trust me, come next year at this time, you will be going through this again, because there will be movement a year from now, no matter how well your team does its first year. This is an ever changing journey. It just starts here.

Keep in mind that just because a person had a great/bad experience with a coach, that may not be your experience. I have run into many keepers who won't go to my DD's keeper coach because "he's too mean". I've heard this several times. Our experience is he's demanding but he won't push a player unless he thinks they can go to the next level. Key is, high expectations, has soccer skills of his own, and is not a bully. He is probably better with older players even though DD has been with him since 2008. There are also some coaches out there we have had good to neutral experiences with that have been excoriated on this web site. If you hear a lot of comments about a coach, tuck that information away and use it as part of your assessment. If possible, try to watch a game situation and see how the coach treats players when not in wooing/recruitment mode or knows he/she is being observed. IMO, the best coach has soccer skills of their own and knows how to teach these skills, has high expectations for training/play/behavior, and IS FAIR.

want to see a coach in action? go to his/her game incognito. Watch carefully and you will see them in their natural habitat. take mental notes. going to a practice is a sales pitch.

silentparent wrote:want to see a coach in action? go to his/her game incognito. Watch carefully and you will see them in their natural habitat. take mental notes. going to a practice is a sales pitch.

Another thing to find out is how many teams does the coach have? In case of a scheduling conflict, which team gets the coach on the sideline and which team gets the team mgr?

Always remember you sign with the Club not an individual coach.

AbEnd wrote:

silentparent wrote:want to see a coach in action? go to his/her game incognito. Watch carefully and you will see them in their natural habitat. take mental notes. going to a practice is a sales pitch.

Another thing to find out is how many teams does the coach have? In case of a scheduling conflict, which team gets the coach on the sideline and which team gets the team mgr?

Always remember you sign with the Club not an individual coach.

When you go to the game to see the coach, don't watch the game. Watch how the coach interacts with the players on and off the field. Does the coach yell? If so, is it the kind of yelling your DD can handle? How does the coach balance substitutions? Is 1 girl sitting there with a helpless look on her face while anchored to the bench? How would your DD react, if she doesn't play as a starter, to this substituion pattern? And realize that subbing in a blowout will be different than subbing in a close game. What's the tone of the sideline? Is it fun or serious? Do the girls get along? Do they seem to like the coach?