SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Spring Season for U13/14 Players

I will be faced with this battle very soon and would like to find out what is the take on this issue do you believe that players should play JV over Club ball especially since the Spring season is when they will have state cup?

I believe they should play both.

Play both! The kids have too much fun in JV with their friends. Yes it is a hardship but the enjoyment and confidence my son gained can not be measured.

Play both if they (and you) can handle it, choose club if you can't.

Play both, but it's important to understand club obligations take priority over JV when conflicts arise for the player committed to his/her personal and team development.

Be sure to have the discussion up front with your JV and Club coaches. Success during the spring season is vital to the health of a club team, so it's always been obvious to me that the first obligation a club player has during the spring is to his/her club team.

Playing for your school is a huge rush for a kid and for that alone it is worth consideration.

The physical stress can be very difficult for the average player. Practice from 4-6 and then 7-8:30 for club. Keeping grades up is critical during this period.

Having said that, there are some players who can pull it off without much difficulty. However, some will break in the sense that they may not be 100% during club practice. If they don't hydrate and eat properly before and after training sessions the stress will show pretty quickly.

It can be done, but think carefully about what you're taking on.

I appears I may be in the minority.

I have preached all along that IF you are playing club ball in a challenge level team, you will be better off to play club for the 7th and 8th grade.

1- coaching - enough said on that one
2- Competition - enough said on that one as well
3- development- players around you of equal caliber will help/push you to develop better skills, you cannot say that on the majority of JV programs.
4 -The comments about playing for your school are misleading as your school is the middle school not the HS.
5- as a 7th or 8th grader you cannot play varsity because of the contact. Then why play JV when you will be playing against varsity rejects who may be 17 and may not enjoy made to look stupid on the field of play by a 7th grader.
6- most important - you need to keep your grades, JV practice every day plus 2-3 club sessions and travel on weekends (never mind the conflict with a JV tourney/games). IMO is too much. Grades are the single most important tool to be able to play in college... you do not have them you will not play regardles of talent.

I agree with Manchester if we're talking about JV. Middle School is a different kettle of fish. I'm not aware of any Middle School soccer that is worth playing for an elite level player. That's not to say that there is anything wrong with MS soccer. If your child is a serious player though, I would never recommend letting MS soccer interfere with Club.

"Varsity rejects"? I know of several programs in the state where kids play JV at top notch programs where if they played at lesser programs would be varsity starters and pretty much stars of the team. Its wrong to generalize players based on year and program they play for.

Coach C... I will take the fire and brimstone but there is more truth in it than you may think having witness many an instance.

Jamal Geather's knee comes to mind after a game with Airport (albeit not JV) in which a lesser skilled player tired of looking bad and being handled all game long went into a tackle (for certain did not look to be intentional) awkwardly and cost Jamal most of the season and could have cost him more.

The concern is especially for boys, a talented 7th or 8th grader who weighs 100lbs wet needs to go into or defend balls from a 165 lb player whose skill level does not allow him to be in control of his body.

I will agree that for girls is a bit different in that the size differntial may be smaller, but you have to admit in the heat of competition you are more likely to be very physical to at least slow the opponent.

Poor choice of words... I accept the lashing.

The statement I made was to bring out the issue of younger player in JV.

I was not insulting athletes, I was stating a fact applicable to any contact sport.

It has been my experience that soccer players be them classsic or higher are not the problem...

It is the other athletes that do not have the skill for the game. Just like I do not pretend to be able to play basketball or football it does not mean I am not athletic, but it does mean that due to my lack of skill I can be more dangerous to both myself and opponent.. something as simply as getting to a tackle late and not recognizing it. Many schools have teams that include such players.

The SCHSL has determined that you must be in 9th grade to play varsity, yet 7 and 8 th graders play against 11th graders at JV games...or worse SCISA has no such rule and are allowed to play SCHSL schools varsity WITH 7 and 8th graders. Why was the rule introduced? I would guess insurance.

If my kid is a talented soccer player he will play club ball until 9th grade at which time he will try out for Varsity.

Soccer63... there many more HS teams lacking the core base of players than there are with the right base...all the big names for sure have quality and my guess is that very few 7 or 8th graders make the JV. But many schools do not have this base which is one of the reasons I have been told 7 and 8th graders play "otherwise they would not be able to field a team"

I haven't posted in a while, but since I was in this position back at 12/13/14, I thought I'd contribute my five cents.

In 7th grade (at 12), I played both club soccer and varsity soccer for a SCISA school. It required an immense time commitment for both myself and my parents as well as both of my coaches at the time. Typically, I'd go straight to varsity practice after school (luckily, I could catch rides with juniors/seniors to the fields on Johns Island from downtown), get picked up a half hour early by my parents and driven all the way to Patriots Point to attend my full club practice (two or three times a week). Sometimes I would miss club practices on Thursdays or Mondays if I had a varsity game and, of course, my club games--and we usually played two games every Saturday or so back then--were on the weekends.

On top of that, I carried a full schedule in school including some advanced classes.

As such, it's obvious that it is perfectly possible to play for both a club and school team, but it takes an especially dedicated player to be able to juggle a competitive club schedule, a JV (or varsity) schedule, AND keep up your grades at the same time. The parents have to be fully invested in the child's play and in ensuring that they have time to and do complete their schoolwork in a timely manner. Again, it requires, for some, extensive driving (and gas).

It also requires the full understanding of both coaches. We established as a unit that club practices took precedence over the school practices, but school games trumped club practices, and club games trumped all of the above. If I missed a club practice, even for a game, I understood that I would not start the first game following the practice. Even so, my club coach ended up disliking the arrangement by the end of the season and some of my playing time suffered as a result.

Even with all the sacrifices though, I would not have given up the chance to play with a varsity team for anything. Between the rigorous training I received in club practices and the experience I got in playing with and against older, more experienced girls--several of whom had played for the Fury in Mt. Pleasant, a few years above me--I was in the best shape I had ever been in and my skills improved a great deal due to the added pressures and more exposure to skill levels. I was able to take pride not only in being on a club team and starting or playing for them, but in being an integral part of my school's team and knowing that I had an impact when I was on the field as I started or played most of the games for the team. Especially memorable was my 8th grade year when we made the playoffs for the first time in several years. I had a sense of membership and inclusion in something other than just my club team that I could relate to school and my friends there.

(In 8th grade I played up two age groups and didn't have a spring season in club...and 9th I returned to my old team under the condition that I forgo high school soccer in order to play the U14 spring season with the club)

So the rewards can be just as great as the sacrifices involved. I believe though, that it takes special consideration by the player, parents, and coaches in order to make the decision that is best for all involved. Do the parents have time to drive around? Can the student handle the work load? Can they match up against the older players in school without the risk of severe injury (whether it's skill, size, ability, etc.)? Will the club coach allow it? Will the school coach allow it? And most importantly, is it something the player wants to do?

If the die all roll out favourably, I don't see why anyone shouldn't be able to play both because the benefit can definitely be worth it. However, if there is disagreement or unsurety, it's probably best to stick with club ball as it has the highest return on investment.

Futbol,

You do make good points that are worthy of consideration. As you noted, it was the choice of words that I took issue with, and thank you for understanding that. I think when working with young people it's important to make an effort to say what needs to be said while at the same time not demeaning anyone in the process. Again, thanks for a very graceful response, and forgive me for being a little aggressive in my defense of those players.

As for the JV/Club question, I don't think there is any one universal "right" answer; there are a lot of situational variables that can affect the results of either choice. Players and parents have to analyze the situation and make the choice that will best suit their personal goals. Most JV teams I've been in contact with aren't just a dumping ground for "varsity rejects," but rather a development stage for those who have a good chance of making varsity in future seasons. Personally, I'd rather use our JV teams to play 7th, 8th and 9th graders who have potential to advance, rather than giving that PT to older players who probably won't be able to advance their skills to varsity level. Still, what you're talking about does happen, and it is a consideration; you have to be able to analyze the composition of your particular athlete's JV squad and that of the competition to make an informed decision. I also agree that, especially with boys, players tend to compensate for differences in skill with pure physical aggression, which can unnecessarily end a good player's season. Again, you have to determine if that really is the JV environment your player's team faces.

All JV coaches aren't created equal, nor are all club trainers or all players. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, so I'd once again say you have to determine situation-by-situation which team, club or JV, would best suit your goals, and go with that.

Everyone has made great points both for and against.

However, we are all missing the most important question...

What does your kid want to do?

After all isn't that what it is all about?

She would definately choose club first.

I appreciate all the input I am not sure if i am any closer to an answer now than I was when i first posted but there is certainly some good stuff to take a look at and I still have a little time before we look seriously at the situation.