>>[2004striker] Chico,
But to be a real winner in club soccer, you cannot allow choices and decisions to be made by mere players/parents. This sport of soccer is not a democracy. As the good Nazari has said-
"We have a lot of volunteers with good hearts," Nazari says. "But soccer people have to make soccer decisions. It is a huge mistake some clubs make that because the parents pay the money, they know the game.Standing around watching your son or daughter play the game does not make a parent a soccer person, just as standing in an operating room doesn't make someone a surgeon. I don't go to our parents and tell them how to run their businesses," he says. "The decisions have to be soccer decisions, not politically correct decisions."<<
Thank you, thank you, thank you -- a post about clubs!
I actually agree with what he's saying...within the context of club play. In other words, I absolutely want my kid to play at a club where soccer decisions for the club and for the teams of the club are made by soccer professionals and not by parents.
At the same time, there is high school, state select, region teams, national teams, etc.
Now -- do I support a club that says "You can't play high school soccer and play on one of our teams." Believe it or not -- yes -- as long as that isn't the only club around. That's why choice is so important; there needs to be other clubs available that offer other alternatives as well.
Getting to the bottom line of this, however -- from my limited observation, it is a rare, rare player who doesn't benefit from more time on the ball. If as a player you're going to give up two hours a day of practice with your high school, it seems to me that you better have some great training/practicing lined up a lot of days a week. Easier said than done -- at least in South Carolina.
