Yep, it’s tryout time again! If you need some tips, please read the post Club Soccer Tryout Tips.
How early is too early to have Club Soccer tryouts?? In case you aren’t familiar with the Southern California Club Soccer season it goes something like this for the younger teams (U8-U13)…
Season Begins
February/March- New teams form U8-U11
April(ish)- New Teams form U12/U13
May/June- Tournaments/Friendlies
July/August- Summer Tournament Season
September/October/November- Fall League
December- Tournaments and Club Breaks
January/February/March- Tournaments and State or National Cup
Season Ends
Common sense would say that clubs would hold tryouts after State or National Cup and begin to build the new teams after that, but that’s not so common anymore. Clubs are now having tryouts starting in December and teams can completely change composition before State or National Cup. On one hand if you are an early commit, it can be very comforting to know where your kid is going to be the following season, but if you are on a team that is going to go its separate ways (or worse- your kid has been cut) it can be very disconcerting. This can definitely affect the team’s performance in State/National Cup and the relationships between the kids and families. Not fun. I completely understand why clubs do what they do- they are trying to make the best teams possible- just as parents are trying to choose the best team possible for their child.
If they find that better team early, many people also choose to change teams after Thanksgiving when the transfer window opens. Some kids seem like they’re going for the Guinness Book of World Records for most number of clubs in the least amount of time. These are the same kids who are practicing with all different teams even throughout the season. I often wonder how the kid feels in all this!
I guess it’s all how you look at this club soccer journey. Even though I’m laser focused on my girls becoming Professional Athletes with full ride D1 College Scholarships and National Team Members (ha-ha- I hope you know I’m totally kidding) I think the notion of a team, teamwork and commitment is very important for my kids to honor and respect. This will help them succeed in any workplace and in life.
What do you think about early tryouts? Have you ever felt pressure to commit quickly? It’s the silly season again…
We’ve been on both sides of this, sort of. Daughter’s team last year folded. We had heard rumblings that some families weren’t happy at the end of the season but it was with families who’d been with the team since the beginning so most thought it was just that–rumblings to get the club to do what they wanted. Before State Cup we had a girl leave for another team and then at the first State Cup game we were told that at least 3 more were semi-committed to other teams.
The girls really held it together on the field and ended up just missing the quarter-finals partly because of having no subs at the end with two kids injured on the bench (including my own who had broken her wrist in one game and her dad had the “bright idea” to bubblewrap it for another game a few weeks later which resulted in a broken foot).
The truly sucky part of the situtation for us was it was then tryout season, her team did not exist having splintered to one local Gold team, one local Flight 3 team, and two non-local teams. We were set to have her play on one of the local teams, but they had some coaching issues that resulted in us desparately looking for an appropriate level team that could offer her a decent amount of playing time weeks before the season was to start!
Now we’re on the other side of the coin. We are not happy with the team dd currently plays with and have begun to consider what our options are for next season. Dd is the same age as your BSG (I think they may have even played against one another back when your team was with SCDSL) so we have the added issue of tryouts not being until after high school season is over and some teams are “dark.” I’m all about honoring our commitments to her current team through National Cup, but am a little worried about waiting until possibly May when a lot of this age group have tryouts to find a new team after what we went through last year.
Hi Shannon- Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Wow- that sounds like one crazy situation last year. I’m so sorry- that really sucks! As for this year, yes, most teams are dark because of high school, but most of the eighth graders are still practicing so there should be a chance to check out some other teams. Coaches are still working and I’m sure open for looking at girls. If I was you, I would be looking around now for possible teams. You can always make a commitment to the new team/club for next season, but honor your commitment to your current team through National Cup. You need to do what’s best for your dd! Hope it works out well and maybe we will see each other on the field sometime!