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[Sage]

For all of the "old timers".

As another season gets underway, my pocket book is lighter, and the cost of playing soccer for only 2K a year are distant memories. For girls in high school the "summer season" of 2 or so months is over, and we enter the next three a half months of "no club soccer" followed by Christmas break, followed by the New Years break, followed by snow, and then a 3 month season.  Despite the "breaks", the "team" is still costing me (on average) 600 per month (averaged over the year).  At 7K a year, what am I doing, what am I getting, lets' see

1.  A paid coach who works 1/2 time for a full years salary.
2.  90 minutes of practice, 2x week, except when the coach is gone, which is 1/2 the time.
3.  An assistant coach, who is allowed to watch, and can't instruct.
4.  A coach who is "above training", at this age our DK's should know, and we are told to "hire a personal trainer."
5.  A club promotes the few, but needs the others to pay the bill.
6.  Declining success, committment, but increasing costs.
7.  Coaches who complain about high school soccer, and yet that is where thier "kids" actually improve.

So what are we doing. Why are we still writing the checks. What value are we getting--little to what we got years ago.
An

[Squash]

For all of the "old timers".

As another season gets underway, my pocket book is lighter, and the cost of playing soccer for only 2K a year are distant memories. For girls in high school the "summer season" of 2 or so months is over, and we enter the next three a half months of "no club soccer" followed by Christmas break, followed by the New Years break, followed by snow, and then a 3 month season.  Despite the "breaks", the "team" is still costing me (on average) 600 per month (averaged over the year).  At 7K a year, what am I doing, what am I getting, lets' see

1.  A paid coach who works 1/2 time for a full years salary.
2.  90 minutes of practice, 2x week, except when the coach is gone, which is 1/2 the time.
3.  An assistant coach, who is allowed to watch, and can't instruct.
4.  A coach who is "above training", at this age our DK's should know, and we are told to "hire a personal trainer."
5.  A club promotes the few, but needs the others to pay the bill.
6.  Declining success, committment, but increasing costs.
7.  Coaches who complain about high school soccer, and yet that is where thier "kids" actually improve.

So what are we doing. Why are we still writing the checks. What value are we getting--little to what we got years ago.
An

Hahahahahahaahhahahahahahaha

Oh wait it's not funny at all but YES it is reality.

Sage I commend you for taking off the rose colored glasses and seeing that you are being stone cold ripped off!!!!

I have never understood why during the HS season the clubs are still charging full price considering most teams don't practice or play games. You do however get the occasional weekend walk thru which is 100% worth the cost because your club coach is an expert at what he or she does. I have to admit I always wanted an older team that I could get paid for and not do anything for a few months besides collect a check!!!!!  Yeah baby!!!!! 

[Driver]

So true...

[NKSoccerFan]

Here's a couple of options:
1) Status Quo.  Keep paying the money, be unhappy, and vent here.  
2) Keep paying the money - but get involved in the administration of your club.  I.e. try to affect change from within.
3) Go somewhere else and pay the same amount of money. I'm sure there are a lot of quality clubs which will happily take your cash.
4) Go somewhere else and pay less money.  Is it really necessary to spend 7K/yr on a sport?  

[EWDOC]

Keep paying the money - but get involved in the administration of your club.  I.e. try to affect change from within.

 

[bigb]

Big B volunteers as a coach for my little dd club and I wish more select and premier teams would do this.  If you love the sport you coach why charge?  

[poolboy]

dude, a premier coach gets paid for september october november? no service/lessons are given.  wtf? is goin on. stop drinkin the cool-aid dude. i can't believe that a coach or for that matter a premier program charges for off months. now that is a con job.  :'( :'(

[EWSoccer64]

Keep paying the money - but get involved in the administration of your club.  I.e. try to affect change from within.

 

There are lots of reasons why people get involved - and then walk away in disgust.   

Let's see.
The first time I got involved with the club administration, I quit in protest after the Assocaiation President and the "club director" changed the program to benefit their sons who were on the same team (coached by my old assistant coach) and broke every promise made to the teams, players and coaches in the embryonic league I had helped to create the year before.
The second time I got involved with the club administration, I left because the club director was pressuring me to have my son play on a team that was dysfunctional, that was poorly coached, that had parents dissing other people's kids, and who threatened my coaching position on a different team if I did not try to recruit a team from another association over to this association and club.
The third and last time I got involved in the club administration, I resigned after the club director (yet a different club director) had decided on his own fiat to alter the tryout results after the evaluators had signed off on them, pretend that his result was the official tryout result, and then this club director violated club rules and all sense of proper management by discussing tryout results with a parent.   When the club director refused to do what was right, I resigned in protest.  (and let it be known that if someone else filed a grevience, I would be willing to tell the truth).  The club director backed down a week later and went back to the original tryout results.

So getting involved in how a club is administered - either directly or by a board position - often just opens one up to all the pitfalls and does not yield any positive results.   It opens one up to all sorts pressures, can degrade your ability to look out after the best interests of your kids (both biological and those you coach) and leave you open to be being labled a malcontent and "not a team player" when you are trying to look out after the best interests of all the kids, not just a select few. 

EWDOC, if you have been around long enough, you will remember one of the people that I have referenced above.  She went onto the District Board and later married one her sons former teammates, despite being more than 30 years older. 

Getting involved in a dysfunctional situation is fraught with perils. 

[SaraBellum]

    I wrote my first check today for high school soccer. $20!

Practice- 5x a week for 90 minutes.
Coaching Staff- lots of experience-coach with a a great rep and a fairly high license- higher level than her premier coach has
Uniform- sure we don't 'own' it but it didn't cost me a dime.
15 games in the season- not including playoffs.

I kinda like the rules about grades having to be up and that the players have to have had 10 practices before they can play with the team.

 

[MichGoBlue]

For all of the "old timers".

As another season gets underway, my pocket book is lighter, and the cost of playing soccer for only 2K a year are distant memories. For girls in high school the "summer season" of 2 or so months is over, and we enter the next three a half months of "no club soccer" followed by Christmas break, followed by the New Years break, followed by snow, and then a 3 month season.  Despite the "breaks", the "team" is still costing me (on average) 600 per month (averaged over the year).  At 7K a year, what am I doing, what am I getting, lets' see

1.  A paid coach who works 1/2 time for a full years salary.
2.  90 minutes of practice, 2x week, except when the coach is gone, which is 1/2 the time.
3.  An assistant coach, who is allowed to watch, and can't instruct.
4.  A coach who is "above training", at this age our DK's should know, and we are told to "hire a personal trainer."
5.  A club promotes the few, but needs the others to pay the bill.
6.  Declining success, committment, but increasing costs.
7.  Coaches who complain about high school soccer, and yet that is where thier "kids" actually improve.

So what are we doing. Why are we still writing the checks. What value are we getting--little to what we got years ago.
An

I gotta say this looks pretty disheartening. Not an issue for us yet, but will be soon.  

[get serious]

My dd's coach does charge year round. We sign a contract and while I don't care for it, I understand. We have a choice where she wants to play and she has talked to other coaches. She feels this is the best learning situation for her. If a player wants training during the high school season or needs anything the coach is there for the player. Evaluations are provided on a regular basis in a positive manner so everyone knows how they are viewed. This is a top level team and the families are happy and keep coming back so everyone must feel some kind of value in what they pay. If a coach loves the sport why not try to make a living from coaching just as you or I would find a career doing something we love.
Bottom line, you need to research teams, your dd needs to be able to ask questions and share what she wants from her soccer experience with the coaches as well as the parents and everyone needs to decide what they are willing to spend as far as money and commitment.

[EWDOC]

Keep paying the money - but get involved in the administration of your club.  I.e. try to affect change from within.

 

There are lots of reasons why people get involved - and then walk away in disgust.   

Let's see.
The first time I got involved with the club administration, I quit in protest after the Assocaiation President and the "club director" changed the program to benefit their sons who were on the same team (coached by my old assistant coach) and broke every promise made to the teams, players and coaches in the embryonic league I had helped to create the year before.
The second time I got involved with the club administration, I left because the club director was pressuring me to have my son play on a team that was dysfunctional, that was poorly coached, that had parents dissing other people's kids, and who threatened my coaching position on a different team if I did not try to recruit a team from another association over to this association and club.
The third and last time I got involved in the club administration, I resigned after the club director (yet a different club director) had decided on his own fiat to alter the tryout results after the evaluators had signed off on them, pretend that his result was the official tryout result, and then this club director violated club rules and all sense of proper management by discussing tryout results with a parent.   When the club director refused to do what was right, I resigned in protest.  (and let it be known that if someone else filed a grevience, I would be willing to tell the truth).  The club director backed down a week later and went back to the original tryout results.

So getting involved in how a club is administered - either directly or by a board position - often just opens one up to all the pitfalls and does not yield any positive results.   It opens one up to all sorts pressures, can degrade your ability to look out after the best interests of your kids (both biological and those you coach) and leave you open to be being labled a malcontent and "not a team player" when you are trying to look out after the best interests of all the kids, not just a select few. 

EWDOC, if you have been around long enough, you will remember one of the people that I have referenced above.  She went onto the District Board and later married one her sons former teammates, despite being more than 30 years older. 

Getting involved in a dysfunctional situation is fraught with perils. 

Dang dude, what a bummer post...I hear what your saying, but it is always true that hiding your head in the sand doesn't make the storm on the surface go away.  Remember, I'm in Spokane, land of Soccer Chaos...it's never easy, but you need to keep chipping away and trying to fix things a little at a time.  You can't affect the score if you're not in the game, right???

[Driver]

Had this conversation today at a soccer tourni.  wish the state would resturcture the high school ages - as they don't play and practise all year maybe it would be better to do tryouts right after high school and then maybe have a summer tournament team with prep for high school focusing on injury prevention and stamina

[EWSoccer64]

Had this conversation today at a soccer tourni.  wish the state would resturcture the high school ages - as they don't play and practise all year maybe it would be better to do tryouts right after high school and then maybe have a summer tournament team with prep for high school focusing on injury prevention and stamina

Errr, the state did do so.   If your club is screwing that up, it is the club's fault, not that of the state.
(One can blame the "state" for many things, but not this.)

[EWSoccer64]

EWDOC, I know many people up in SpokaneLand.  One of the DoCs is a former player of mine, as a matter of fact.   With one family exception, I believe that all the parties in Spokane are fighting for what they believe is right - no matter how misguided they might or might not be.   Down here in the Tri-Cities, we seem to have to institutionalized screwing up for the sake of screwing up, and no matter how the cast of characters in charge may change, the miasma of paybacks against former political enemies, former and current HS rivals, "premier uber alles" mindset despite more than 2/3s of the players being select in the old monopoly club, make us more of a basketcase than Spokane is.  No matter how hard Spokane tires!!!
I am not Hercules, I cannot sweep out the stables.  The "club" has retaliated against my previous efforts with at least one of my older kids, and I have had a threat about my youngest.

Having taken a stance in the past for what is right and proper, some coaches and many parents have come to me with complaints, concerns, issues, tales of horror  ("why does it matter, it is only select, so what if the rules are not followed..."), so on and so forth.   Around here, it leads to blacklisting of players and coaches.  Maybe having an alternative club with make a difference.  We will see.

Keep paying the money - but get involved in the administration of your club.  I.e. try to affect change from within.

 

There are lots of reasons why people get involved - and then walk away in disgust.   

Let's see.
The first time I got involved with the club administration, I quit in protest after the Assocaiation President and the "club director" changed the program to benefit their sons who were on the same team (coached by my old assistant coach) and broke every promise made to the teams, players and coaches in the embryonic league I had helped to create the year before.
The second time I got involved with the club administration, I left because the club director was pressuring me to have my son play on a team that was dysfunctional, that was poorly coached, that had parents dissing other people's kids, and who threatened my coaching position on a different team if I did not try to recruit a team from another association over to this association and club.
The third and last time I got involved in the club administration, I resigned after the club director (yet a different club director) had decided on his own fiat to alter the tryout results after the evaluators had signed off on them, pretend that his result was the official tryout result, and then this club director violated club rules and all sense of proper management by discussing tryout results with a parent.   When the club director refused to do what was right, I resigned in protest.  (and let it be known that if someone else filed a grevience, I would be willing to tell the truth).  The club director backed down a week later and went back to the original tryout results.

So getting involved in how a club is administered - either directly or by a board position - often just opens one up to all the pitfalls and does not yield any positive results.   It opens one up to all sorts pressures, can degrade your ability to look out after the best interests of your kids (both biological and those you coach) and leave you open to be being labled a malcontent and "not a team player" when you are trying to look out after the best interests of all the kids, not just a select few. 

EWDOC, if you have been around long enough, you will remember one of the people that I have referenced above.  She went onto the District Board and later married one her sons former teammates, despite being more than 30 years older. 

Getting involved in a dysfunctional situation is fraught with perils. 

Dang dude, what a bummer post...I hear what your saying, but it is always true that hiding your head in the sand doesn't make the storm on the surface go away.  Remember, I'm in Spokane, land of Soccer Chaos...it's never easy, but you need to keep chipping away and trying to fix things a little at a time.  You can't affect the score if you're not in the game, right???

[RamaBama]

   I wrote my first check today for high school soccer. $20!

Practice- 5x a week for 90 minutes.
Coaching Staff- lots of experience-coach with a a great rep and a fairly high license- higher level than her premier coach has
Uniform- sure we don't 'own' it but it didn't cost me a dime.
15 games in the season- not including playoffs.

I kinda like the rules about grades having to be up and that the players have to have had 10 practices before they can play with the team.

 

Glad it's working for you.  However, it does not always work that way.  At some high schools the coaching is lousy and counterproductive.   Maybe one could say the same about sonme club coaches, too.   However   . . .  you have CHOICE with clubs  ...  you can move to another one.  Most really do NOT have such a choice with H.S.   (unless you want to move or place your kid in a private HS  ...  soccer's not worth that)

[Sage]

Each year I get less for my money. Less training. Less coaching. Less satisfaction. Less club support.

Lets me honest, each year we get less and less value, less bang for the buck. As our dks get older the resume of their coaches gets longer, but their teaching, instruction and coaching is less. "Don't bother me with this or that", they say, "hire a trainer", "I have 3 or is it 4 other teams to coach", "I can not be bothered with your lack of skills". "Get a trainer." "I can not help you with you on your lack of skills--I have a team to coach."  "Did I say get a trainer--well get a trainer--I have to help all the other kids who left our team."  I used to think that helping our kids with their skill sets helps them and the team. If John can reduce to mis kicks from 8 to 4 per game, and if susie can put 6 instead of 3 shots on frame, doesn't that help the team?. What do I know I am only a dump parent who writes the check.


As time marches on the skills learned years ago begin to wane, bad habits resume, and there is no time to work on individual weaknesses. We must "work on tactics." If it does not work, do it again, year after year. We can not change. There is no change. Our team is now set in its ways.  While we the dump parents all see the wisdom of change, it is something we can never discuss, because after all, we know nothing, which explains why we write the checks.     

As our DK's get older, their coaches enthusism continues to wane and they merely go through the motions. As our kids are get closer to aging out, the club and coaches see more benefit in getting the young ones and their parents all hyped up. Look, they say, your little darling is a star, and of course she/he will go far. We see the new parents all glassy eyed, they write the checks. They now think what we once thought: Whats 2k, 4k, 6k or even more for my little dk, she/he will, of course, "be a star and will go far."  They know this is true because they told them so.
     

[poolboy]

sage dude, you got it dude. finally you can take off the rose colored glasses and see the real sun setting. hope your able to have many laughs w/ the LD regarding all the soccer bs. cheers to you.