SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP How do parents help a young child pick the right club?

Now that my daughter has been playing rec soccer for a few years she wants to play club soccer. I would like her to play in a more competitive rec league, as opposed to the Y league or others, to get a better feel of what moving up to a different level feels like. In efforts to determine what club to try and get her involved with I have been looking at the clubs respective web sites. Though I am more familiar with NESCA coaches names, the CSC has team rosters with names of players that not only do I recognize but more importantly my daughter does too. Maybe it's a privacy issue with NESCA but if she had to make a choice right now she would lean towards the club where she is familiar with the players whose names she recognizes from local high school teams. It would be really nice for a parent to have information that is more objective in understanding the differences in these clubs other than their locations. I would think that the clubs competitive rec teams offer a more experienced and consistent level of coaching, is that a fair assumption? What are others opinions and suggestions for parent and developing player?

A few suggestions:
I would recommend a girls classic team that plays in the Pelham state league. Also:
1)If you want to check the rosters of NECSA girl teams you can go to the Pelham Masonic and State Challenge league websites (you can link to them thru Pelham and State Challenge Leagues www.hotstat.com )and look up the age group you are interested in. Then select that team and see their roster for this past spring season. Your daughter may see some names there.
2) Call the respective parents of players that your daughter knows and ask direct questions. Most times they are valid or you may hear some complaints about playing time, etc. Ask if the coach plays favorites or plays everyone or does he/she only want to win every game. Since coaches are paid they do have that pressure and desire to win as many as possible. Wins and success are very important in club ball, as they should be.
3) Without mentioning names, I believe you will find more experienced coaching at classic and up levels. There is not a whole lot of difference in quality in the lower tier or B classic teams. But the instruction is consistent and good in the girls divisions in both CSC and NECSA.
4) Travel will be the biggest difference when you move up to classic. Yet the travel is fun for the kids and sometimes a pain for the parents. But thats a part of the commitment to club ball.
(One other note: I referee a lot of U-11 to U-13 classic and challenge girls teams and they have great fun, even though the coaches do yell and scream more than necessary, so be prepared for that.
Good luck to you and your daughter.............

I would ask Necsa about the girls program. Where it is headed and what are they doing to get really good coaches and keep good players. I am not sure what there "vision" is for the future of the girls program. My daughter played for necsa around 10 years, 8 in classics. Her team was very good but when they needed a higher level of coaching and training.. we were promised so much and it never came through. The team kept growing at a higher level(skill wise) and the coaching did not keep up. Most of them were in ODP so that helped. The team broke up (some graduated) some went to play for CFC and some went to Greenville. I just did not think that Necsa did enough for the girls program. They may be on track now but I would ask a lot of questions. Good luck to your daughter.

I'd also have your daughter attend tryouts at a few clubs. She'll meet coaches, players and parents that way. Definitely talk to parents of players that you know. Talk to a few in your daughters age group and you should get a pretty good overall picture of the club and team.

There are a tremendous number of great answers here; so instead of reprising anything I'll just add one note. If you are looking for a club, and you are interested in the most competitive state-wide play, then one more datum might be looking at the number of teams from girls U11-U14 that each club sends to the last few rounds of the challenge tournament each year. I don't have the data for anything but this year, but for this year in this area NECSA is sending 2, CSC 1, and Lexington 1 (note: if I'm wrong, I know that someone will correct me -- I got this from the state challenge cup league site for the last two rounds).

But the truth is that the coach completely overwhelms the club, so better advice is to find out who the coach will be for your daughter at each club and select based on the coach's qualifications. If you want an objective view, look at the coach's win/loss record and tournament record. For a more subjective view, as noted earlier, talk to anyone who might know the coach (parents, other coaches, etc.) and try to understand if the coach's way of doing things match what your daughter wants and what you want for your daughter.