To Jump, or not to Jump? Jump now? Jump how high?

bwgophers wrote:Here's a very similar discussion from the '01's last Spring going into select. Covers you questions A-C quite a bit. Not so much on D, but would agree with TS... the sooner you can settle on a good home for U11, the better and less stressful for all...

http://www.txsoccer.net/t5858-key-contributor-or-role-player

bwgophers wrote:Perhaps a slightly different perspective from my side (perhaps not)...

As we look at having to invest significant money & time in the coming years, our decision is driven first and foremost by what is best for our DD's development as a person. Her development as a soccer player is a distant second.

1) Is she having fun?
2) Is she having fun? (yes, I repeated myself on purpose)
3) Is the environment surrounding this team the type of environment where we want our DD to spend a significant amount of time over the coming years?
3a) Are the kids on the team the type of kids we want our DD to hang out with?
3b) By default, the coach is going to be a role-model in her life. Is he/she the type of person we want teaching our DD, having our DD look up to, and having our DD emulate their behavior?
3c) Are the other parents the type of people that we want to spend significant time with, and want our DD to be around, looking up to, emulating their behavior?
4) Being associated with this team, will she learn the proper positive values of teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship that will help her grow and mature as a young lady and grow her self-confidence?
5) Is this going to provide lasting positive memories for her about her childhood?

Then comes the soccer stuff:

6) Is she having fun? (that may or may not be directly tied to playing time, depends on the DD)
7) Does she enjoy the practices as well as the games?
8 ) Is she being challenged in practices and games?
9) Do we see steady improvement/development in her skills and game play?
10) When she does play, is she contributing on the field? If she is absolutely dominating or getting dominated, then I would naturally want to look for a different situation, but the other factors I mentioned above would still carry far more weight in the decision.

11) Is she playing? I have to be honest and admit that there's a small part of me that says if I'm going to start paying $3k a year and driving her all over the place to practice/games, etc... I'm going to want her on the field. But again, it's farther down the list if the other factors are being met.

As long as all of the above are being met, I could care less whether she's playing in LH D1, LH D3, PPL, Rec, whatever. I could care less whether her team is 100-0, 50-50, or 0-100 (o.k. maybe not 0-100 , but the point is that winning isn't what it's all about).

The elusive college scholarship is not the end all for us. If she's got the ability, and more importantly, the drive, to be considered for something like that, it will show in the coming years and we will address it accordingly.

To be cliche, for us, it's much more about the journey than the destination.

deepthoughts wrote:After thinking about the discussion in the 11-25 FBR post and the invaluable contribution of bwgophers (See Post) regarding what happened in the 01 group, I believe the following:

1) The teams already in the top 30 are odds-on-favorites to make Lake Highlands Girls Classic League come summer qualifying tournament - the number of teams ranked below 30 that made it was only one last year

2) Playing in LHGCL gives a DD an improved chance of playing soccer for her high school varsity team over Plano PPL or Arlington - the higher the LH division, the better

3) If a team missed in qualifying, very few teams from Plano or Arlington ever get to LHGCL D3, fewer yet rise to D2, and virtually none make it to LHGCL D1

4) If a team misses in first year qualifying, it get progressively harder in the future as LH reduces the number of teams in the league in older brackets

5) If you have a star kid that dominates in LHGCL D3, Plano, or Arlington -- you need to move up to another team the following year -- your odds are much better moving your DD than your team moving up a league.

6) Even now, the same dynamic holds true -- Parents of "star" kids and "very good" kids on teams below #25 are best served by trying out for teams ranked 1 - 20 -- being in the top 20 seems to virtually guarantee the all-important Lake Highlands qualification, barring a total team meltdown. Few teams will displace top 20 teams in this final spring season before going select.

So far, I think the top points are pretty much set in stone. If anyone disagrees, please comment.

Here are the questions that I do have:

A) Is it better to be a bench sub getting a bit less than 50% play time on a top 10 team, or a starter on a 10 - 25 team?

B) Is it better to be a star player on the #19 team, or just one of the cogs (not standing out) on the #9 team?

C) How much does harmony with the parents and the kids really matter? Should you stay on Team Harmony that is ranked #27 or #28, or move to a more difficult situation with crazy competitive parents on team #8. It seems that the higher ranked the team, the more crazy competitive the parents are. Is it simply the price you must pay to be on a top team?

D) Is it easier to move now, before spring starts, or should a person try to play his or her DD on as many teams / guest roles as possible throughout the spring before committing to a team? I have seen a number of parents that have a DD on three teams - does this work out better or worse?

My gut feel is that simply being on a team in the top 20 is what's most important. Being in the top 20 looks like it means you are very likely to not miss out on LH D3, even if the team has a nightmare QTourney. In year one of select, the top 20 teams all compete in the expanded 20 team LH D1 bracket. It does not feel like you must get to a top 10 or top 5 team right now. What are your thoughts?