My 5yo has been playing in a ‘little kids’ soccer division for a year. Loves it and in general loves to noodle around with a soccer ball. I picked this particular program because my husband is Spanish/Argentine and this is a Euro/S American-style football club, one of the leading developmental academy-style soccer programs where we live (NYC) focused on under-13s.
I suppose I should not have been surprised when my son was officially invited to join the youngest age division U6 of the club starting this fall. But I am surprise because it is a BIG shift. He will go from weekly 45 minute practice to 3x/week for 90 mins and will include some travel (within the city).
I think it is a go. My only hesitation is the time commitment. I knew the big kids had intense practice but I didn’t realize it ramped up at age 6. He has a 7yo brother who he’s best buds with and this will mean they will spend less time together which makes me sad. BUT the kid love the game and what we have seen has impressed us.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has been down the serious sports path with a child. I’m all ears.
I thought it was gong to be Women’s World Cup Ours did travel soccer at an older age -around 9. 5 just seems to me to be time to enjoy playing not serious practice time, but maybe some who have really elite atheltes can give a perpesctive. My husband (soccer coach, referee, and league commissioner) just chimed in though and reminds me that just because they practice and travel around the city for games does not mean it is an age inappropriate team. Find out the training of the coaches to make sure they are licensed for coaching and observe that they use age appropriate teaching, allow equal play time so each child plays at least half the game, and use small sided games. This could be a fun activity if managed in an age appropriate way.
That time commitment is far too much for a five or six year old, in my opinion. And travel at that age? Unheard of in our club, and we’re the largest club in North America. I can’t imagine making a child of that age commit to that. All 5 of my Ds played for years, a couple of them for rep/travelling teams, and were teammates of two girls who play for the Canadian national team (just to give you an indication of the level of play), so I’m familiar with competitive soccer and was a team manager for many years and a convenor for even longer. I would not recommend this for a child that young.
Essentially NONE of the sports standouts at that age go on to become anything. Most of them struggle to make varsity when they hit HS. That’s based on what we see in our communities over time.
Moreover, it’s likely that burnout or injuries prematurely weed out some of the ones who could have continued to be standouts.
Keep it fun and light for the kids. Allow them to do multiple sports and other things as long as possible. Make sure they get breaks in training and keep the pressure level down.
My D started soccer at 5 or 6.
I think that’s the age to play for fun. A couple of 45 min practices a week and a game on the weekend is enough.
You play more at a young age and you risk injury and burn out.
Play for fun now and become serious later. I know many players who later play for varsity high school or college also start out slow.
I’ll echo what others have said. Make it fun. The majority of standouts at that age no longer play. A couple times a week for 45 minutes or so is fine. 90 minutes at that age is overkill. Agree about making sure their is even playing time, small sided games, age appropriate play (no heading for example), focus on skills instead of winning. Make sure kids aren’t pigeon-holed into certain positions. That should be years away.
Agree with the others. And would add that some of these clubs, even those with good reputations, are primarily interested in increasing their revenue, not developing your child’s skills and ability. The potential for injury from games or over-use also increases.
My son has played on a high level travel team and for his HS; one of his teammates is going on to D1 soccer and others to D3. My friend’s son is now playing for an academy team at U14. All of these kids (and others going on to D1 and D3 college soccer) played in low level, fun games with popup goals until 3rd grade, when travel started. Be very very cautious before you spend a lot of money on U6 soccer. He will not be behind if you wait a few years to get serious.
I will echo the opinion of others and even more strongly - please don’t do it. If your son truly has exceptional talent, he will be recognized at a later age. One of my children was heavily involved in soccer, travel teams, varsity soccer, made a well-respected regional travel team but declined. In retrospect, the time commitment and pressure on the family was not worth it. He enjoys intramural and pick-up games at the college level and its all good.
Calculate the fees you will pay to the club over the years if in fact your kids stays in the sport. With those funds you
will likely find you could fund his college education instead.
Thanks for the feedback. We have a back-up plan which is his school’s soccer team (also three practices per week but one during school and all 45 mins).
I think this is way too much at that age. I have seen the same as others where the kids that were standouts at an early age faded back into the pack as they got older. At that age, kids are better because they have developed faster - they are a little more coordinated or a little stronger. The other kids will catch up.
My experience with super competitive sports comes mainly through my son’s involvement with AAU basketball but I can attest that burn out is a real problem for kids when you start having multiple practices per week. Its not fun anymore and they end up quitting.
You have plenty of time to get your kid into this type of program when he gets older.
Quite genuine. All students starting from 1st grade have a once-weekly soccer lesson. The kids in the club in addition have a second practice with the club (after school 1x wk). They also meet Sat mornings for 45 mins of practice. The club starts in 2nd grade but at our school anyway there are a few first graders in the club.
The school is Success Academy and you can read all about their new soccer program here. It is the opposite of the typical focus on games and winning - it is about developing skills and athleticism.
That sounds way better to me. The focus and time commitment seem more age appropriate. And yes, ours have played soccer since they were 5, my D even when 4 because she wanted to. But it was just some fun bunch ball on small fields with no goalies. She played on her college club team and still enjoys it when she gets a chance to play.
Ours did travel soccer at an older age -around 9. 5 just seems to me to be time to enjoy playing not serious practice time, but maybe some who have really elite atheltes can give a perpesctive. My husband (soccer coach, referee, and league commissioner) just chimed in though and reminds me that just because they practice and travel around the city for games does not mean it is an age inappropriate team. Find out the training of the coaches to make sure they are licensed for coaching and observe that they use age appropriate teaching, allow equal play time so each child plays at least half the game, and use small sided games. This could be a fun activity if managed in an age appropriate way.