Yeah I’ve been running hills a bit; there’s a local field with horrid grass which I try to practice on. The ball always changes direction when I dribble and I keep tripping smh. I don’t know about any local gyms…
I think I should be fine, because most of the varsity players are leaving, and our team will be very inexperienced. I’m just having doubts. It’s all good.
@squ1rrel I’d focus on alternating between traditional running and interval training. Why not use your high school field for your work with a ball at your feet?
@GKUnion I’m in Pennsylvania for the summer.
You can do push-ups, lunges, air squats, mountain climbers, bear crawls and burpees anywhere. I see kids get knocked off the ball all the time. You have to get those kids off your back, chest balls and jump for those headers. Also, helps with injury prevention. Cardio AND strength. ?
@sushiritto Lol ya I should stop being lazy. Our HS is the only one I know of in our state which does two sessions a day during tryouts—for varsity, that’s four hours of intense soccer a day. Everyone gets hurt.
I’m talking about right now, not during tryouts and the season. We have middle and HS students training right now, dancers, basketball, baseball and soccer players. Strength training reduces injuries.
I’m just making suggestions to help you, but I’ve made my point, so I’ll move along.
@sushiritto Lol I was trying to bolster your point; that I need to get ready for the tough preseason so I don’t end up like the majority, with injuries.
Just saying, every high school we know has 2 a days for Varsity tryouts – 2 hours in the am and 2 hours in the pm. Tryouts show who did the conditioning and training before tryouts/pre-season. My kid plays college soccer – the guys are expected to put in their own summer conditioning and soccer training before pre-season training so they come onto campus match fit. Every season, some guys don’t take it seriously and either don’t see the field because they can’t compete with other players who did the work or have nagging injuries because they push themselves too hard too quickly to make up for their lack of summer work. The successful players are the ones who put in the work on their own because they love the sport and want to compete.
First game vs. Charlie Adam’s team…I didn’t play because I missed practice the day before. He was very underwhelming, didn’t stand out. If I didn’t know about him, I would have never guessed he is the “best” player on their team, or what people make of him. 2-1 L, all he did was score a pen. Genuinely not sure how he is a Brown commit.
The points relevant to your topic are that you missed practice and you didn’t play.
As for CA, he probably is secure enough that he doesn’t want to/need to go all out on the first game. It was probably like a fun romp for him, no need risking injury for it.
It’s ok, in the games my son played against Jacob Shaffleburg I didn’t notice him either. . . . And he’s just gone pro from high school with Toronto and is getting first team minutes. So what do I know?! 
@MYOS1634 I was in a different state visiting my mother over the long weekend. Unfortunately I didn’t have much of a choice.
@squ1rrel I strongly suggest refraining from commenting or talking smack about any player, team, coach here. There’s no upside. Scenarios: 1 - he had a bad game. Whatever. 2 - YOU don’t know what you’re talking about. 3 - You’re correct and he really does suck and so does Brown.
None of those being “accurate” really furthers your personal cause. If you need to vent or discuss soccer, there are more suitable venues for that. Or create a blog. But doing so here, in this manner…I just want to say, “SHHHHH”. If you can’t think of something nice to write, then don’t.
Affirmed: scouts and coaches make all sorts of player evaluation errors. They vastly over- and under-rate players. College soccer is not for the purists. No need to get wrapped up in that noise.
@AmBuddha Thats facts. I really need to just focus on my own game and go off!
So my season has finished…my team was one of the top teams in the state but we got upset first round in playoffs.
I’m not sure how to feel about my season…being a sophomore and unfamiliar to my coach until preseason (there were summer sessions held weekly but I was in a diff state) meant that I really didn’t get that much of a chance to prove myself. I only played around 25 minutes a game, which isn’t that bad considering only around 15 guys would get to play in most games (he was very tough w/ rotation, playing the starting 11 most of the game). I think my coach realized some things too late, as I ended up playing the most all year in our first (and last) playoff game, where I played 50 minutes, and not because of injuries.
When I did play, I played stellar. I was not able to find the back of the net, albeit I had several nice shots. I only have film for half of my games but I will likely create highlights so people can see what level I’m talking about…
My play was characterized by my vision in the midfield, as well as my work ethic (or just endurance) on defense. Out of all the games, when I was on the field, our team only conceded one goal (shaky stat but still says something, I’d say I got over 400 minutes of play time, and we conceded over a dozen goals).
I don’t know where to go from here. I actually felt really confident playing this year, especially towards the end of the season, and it really showed on the field. I might still join our closest academy team (there are kids in my grade on the academy team which didn’t make my high school varsity team this year), and look to see where that takes me.
I still find joy in the sport, and I can still be competitive. The question is still in the air.
Oh and Charlie Adams was named the only All-American from New Hampshire. I honestly don’t think it’d be hard for me to match his level (maybe not his prolific goal-scoring, however). New Hampshire D1 high school soccer is actually extremely competitive (past coaches on forums say that the finals are more competitive than Massachusetts finals), and I know there are plenty of midfielders here just as good as he is.
@squ1rrel Your local academy 03/04 team has only lost one match this fall, qualified for the DA Winter Cup and has 2 midfielders that each have 100% starting percentages. You may find if difficult to make the squad.
@GKUnion That’s solely an 03 team. There’s only one 04 player on the team.
I’m talking about the all 04 squad which will be academy next year.
No way I would make the 03 team, at least for now.
@squ1rrel It’s actually an 03/04 team, but Seacoast decided to fill 95% of the roster spots with 03 players. There are no single age academy teams after U15, at least for now. Next year that U17 team will be an 04/05 team.
My mistake, I thought you were hoping to join the team now since they’re allowed to add players to the roster in the window between the end of the fall season and the beginning of the spring season.
@squ1rrel People here are so nice, helpful, and patient. Imho, too patient, like good parents that they are. But that’s their choice to respond, like it is mine.
You really need to talk with your parents about this because whatever you decide to do you will need their blessing on this. The amount of money, time, effort, and end goal need to be figured out, especially the END GOAL. You should have your parents read what you have been posting here to get an idea what you are trying to do, instead of benevolent strangers.
If you have a chance, I would recommend go seeing what a recruited soccer athlete looks like and their stats. Go with your dad and have a serious and honest discussion.
Good luck.
I’ve basically made up my decision, and I’ve decided to not try to get recruited (upcoming junior). I will, however, be the captain of my school’s varsity team senior year and starting mid next year. I have a really solid list of schools I’m going to apply to, and my top choice is MIT. Is it worth it to contact the coach there or fill out a recruitment form, even though I’m not playing for a club? I genuinely believe I could perform at that level.
Academically, I think I’m a competitive applicant. Took the ACT in February, got 36, have drastically improved my extracurriculars, started doing research for a quantum mechanics professor at the local state uni, and am likely to reach USACO Gold next winter. Being able to study at MIT and play for their soccer team would be a dream.