Rumors About
Competitive Youth Soccer

 
 
Depending on your viewpoint, these rumors are either true or false.
For a list of tongue-in-cheek urban legends about competitive youth soccer that are false, click here.
Rumor 1: Competitive club soccer is expensive.

Truth 1: Competitive club soccer costs more than recreational soccer, that's for sure. In recreational (e.g., AYSO) soccer, you pay $75-$125 once a year, and you receive a uniform, trophies, pictures, usually a yearbook, insurance, coaching, referees, and fields. The cost is kept low by using parents as volunteer coaches, parents as volunteer referees, free city fields, and uniform sets that generally cost less than $15 for a jersey, shorts, and socks combined. On the other hand, competitive soccer is one of the least expensive competitive sports for talented players, but that won't prevent you from forking over $200-$500 (or, more, depending on what your child's team does for activities) each spring and fall. The cost elements are significant. Here are the big ones: (a) Competitive teams wear quality name-brand uniforms. (b) Teams receive other equipment (balls, bags, chairs, training suits). (c) Competitive clubs always pay for referees. (d) Competitive soccer teams play in leagues that charge an entry fee. (e) Teams enter tournaments that charge entry fees. (f) Some teams have paid coaches and trainers. (g) Many clubs have to pay to rent city fields. $200-$500 is incredibly more expensive than $75-$125 for recreational soccer, but $200-$500 per season is an incredible youth sports bargain compared to figure skating, gymnastics, ice hockey, karate, and so on.
Rumor 2: You have to travel a lot.

Truth 2: You travel a lot more than you would in recreational soccer. Whereas each city may have 4-16 recreational teams in each age category, there are rarely more than 2 such competitive teams from any given city. Playing other competitive teams always means traveling to other cities. Some leagues cover small geographically areas (e.g., Burlingame down to Palo Alto); some cover larger areas (e.g., San Francisco to San Jose); and, others cover huge areas (e.g., the entirety of northern California). It depends on the team's level of play. For example, there may be fewer than 15 teams from the entire northern California region capable of playing in premier leagues. As a parent, you always have the final "say" or "word" about which league your child plays in. If you don't want to travel an more than 10 miles in either direction, then, you don't have to play in one of those mega-leagues.
Rumor 3: Soccer takes over your life.

Truth 3: For a child who stays in competitive soccer, the activity becomes part of that child's identity. The same thing becomes true for you and the rest of your family. It isn't that soccer takes over your life, but rather, for those families that stick with it, soccer rises in priority. Making soccer a priority is a decision that you have complete control over. No coach or soccer organization will do that. (SAYSO coaches and staff will be among the first to tell you that soccer comes someplace after God, family, health, and education.)
Rumor 4: Your child may sit on the bench the entire game.

Truth 4: Children very rarely sit on the bench for an entire game. Here comes a long explanation.

Legalistically, competitive soccer does not have any minimum playing time requirements. SAYSO operates in a competitive environment that includes putting its teams into CYSA and higher level leagues, and it does not impose any minimum playing times on the coaches. This is one of the major differences between AYSO and all other soccer (including, all CYSA leagues). AYSO implemented its 50% playing minimum rule to combat the tendency that coaches have to play only their strong players. But, most competitive teams are composed of players who, all, are strong players.

That (i.e., there is no mandated minimum) being said, you will find SAYSO is an extremely humane environment. You should expect, and indeed, demand, that your child be treated with respect, fairness, and compassion. In the terminology of youth sports, SAYSO does not condone a "win-at-all-costs" mentality.

That (i.e., SAYSO does not use inhumane coaches) being said, there are three rare instances when playing time will be grossly disproportional amongst the players. The first instance is when the team is playing for "all the marbles" in an important event, such as, State Cup. State Cup is the culmination of the entire year, and the tournament determines the best teams in the state. A team's back-up goalkeeper and several other players will not see the field during such a tournament unless there is an injury to their field counterpart. Most competitive teams never even get a chance to play in such events. For those that do, fewer than 5% of their games will be for "all the marbles".

Most games, leagues, and tournaments do not rise to the level of importance to keep a player of any age on the bench for a significant amount of time. However, disproportionate playing time can still occur in these unimportant games due to human nature and human error (i.e., when the coaches are new and don't know what is expected of them, when they think the event is more important than it really is, when they get carried away with the game and forget, or when they lose track of the rotation sequence or time, and so on.).

A third instance occurs when a player has received a red card (ejection) in a previous game (and, the league requires their non-participation in several upcoming games) or when a player is similarly experiencing the consequences of violating some team rule. Sneaking out of the hotel to party the evening before a tournament game in another city is an example on such a violation; fighting with or using profanity against another person is another; repeatedly missing practices and games may be another; goofing off at practices might be another. However, in situations where your child is being punished, your child (and, usually, you) will be in the loop beforehand.

Here are reasonable expectations for you and your child:

1. Playing time should always be apportioned to players in such a manner as not to be perceived as cruel, hurtful, or painful to the player. Making a child feel "worthless" is never acceptable. (This is considerably different than a mandate to make all parents happy. All parents love their children, and all wish they could play the entire game. However, many children are more resilient (and, realistic) than their parents!)

2. SAYSO recognizes that there are some situations where reduced playing time is useful as a consequence of previous infractions and as a motivational tool. However, since few of our coaches are trained behavioral psychologists, these situations should be discussed with the club administration before wholesale implementation.

3. All players are not equal in fitness, and it is always acceptable to switch tired players out of the game when they become tired or ineffective.

4. All players are not equal in contribution, and it is acceptable to vary playing time roughly in proportion to contribution. This is at the core of competitive soccer concept.

5. At the younger ages, almost all of the games that are played during the year are unimportant in the overall scheme of things.

6. In unimportant games, all players should see both playing time and bench time.

7. Players who are unable to contribute meaningfully may not be invited back in subsequent seasons. However, this future event does not change the "current" expectations of or requirements on a coach.

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