Many parents wonder, “Is my child on the right team?” They wonder what exactly the “best” level is to play at. They might think that if they can get their son or daughter into playing MLS Next or ECNL, their progress and development will skyrocket. They wonder if their lack of minutes is a circumstantial event or a sign of something deeper. They wonder if scoring seven goals a game is truly beneficial for their kid.
So what exactly is the best level to play at?
First, we need to know what the best level is not. The best level for your child is not GCF, EDP, or even MLS Next. It’s not about prestige. The best level is the one that pushes your child outside of their comfort zone without crushing them. I
In this article, I will talk about what exactly the wrong level looks like, what the right level looks like, and what you can do to get your player to that level.
Signs The Team Might Be Too Easy
If your child is consistently scoring 4, 5, or 6 goals a game, it might be time to make a switch. Being able to score at will and winning almost every 1v1 battle will do nothing to help your child progress. Alternatively, it will only do the opposite. Your child should not be winning every challenge or scoring every time he touches the ball. Having little competition or resistance will only instill slower movements, bad playing habits, and a lack of drive to improve consistently.
Another key sign is boredom and consistently being disengaged. Your child’s soccer coach should constantly be working to build, expand, and develop your child’s knowledge of the game. If the coach’s lessons are redundant, fail to expand or build upon each other, and do not stretch your child’s mind, it might be time for a switch. This could be a sign that the level of play your child is playing at is far too rudimentary for them, and they are not learning anything. In this case, you would want to move to a team that challenges them more, both physically and mentally.
Signs The Team Might Be Too Hard
Alternatively to scoring seventeen hat tricks per game, never scoring or never touching the ball can both have detrimental effects on your soccer star’s progress. If your child struggles to keep up with the other kids, is constantly losing to other players, or seems to be getting discouraged, it could be a sign to switch to a lower team.
While teaching hard work is an important aspect of playing sports, getting play time and being able to compete are key factors in your child’s personal growth. Game time is critical in helping teach how to play at game speed, how to apply skills in game-like situations, and teaching on-field confidence.
Sitting on the bench for a higher-level team/league and consistently getting zero or minimal minutes in games is nowhere near as important as getting more playing time and being able to play in games for your child’s development and confidence. Seeing no play time will diminish the motivation and confidence your child has worked hard to develop. If your child can’t keep up with the other athletes, it might be time to make a switch.
Another clear indicator is if there is a noticeable speed and strength gap. This does not mean that if your child gets bodied or knocked down once or twice, that it’s too high a level for them. Physicality and losing foot races are part of the nature of the sport. Soccer is a physical activity. However, if the gap is too large, the player will struggle to learn how to use their body correctly on tackles and how to use their speed as an asset when executing skill moves or playing properly.
Pay attention to their confidence. If it is slowly dropping, they are slowly losing hope, or they rarely look forward to games on the weekend, these are all key indicators of a potential reassessment.
Remember, development comes from touches and minutes, not the name on the front of the jersey.
Signs They're In The Right Place
Evaluating the success rate of your child is key to assessing if they’re on the right team. There should be a healthy balance of winning and losing on challenges. The successes will motivate and give them the confidence to keep pushing forward and applying the skills they have learned during practices. The losses will motivate them to keep working hard to learn and improve.
Losses are an excellent opportunity for teaching a child to try to evaluate and fix what they did wrong. If the level is too high, they will not be able to go through the evaluation and correction process properly. If the level is too low, they will never have to evaluate. The balance of winning and losing helps them engage in that process and develop their self-development ability. The losses will force them to learn new skills.
Practice quality is another key factor to consider. Practices should have concepts that consistently build upon each other, allowing your son or daughter to continually learn. They should leave your child tired but encouraged and motivated to get better. A consistent physical and mental learning improvement should be seen through each practice.
Other Factors To Consider for Your Child
The value of a good coach should not be overlooked. A coach can make all the difference in a player’s development. A good coach on a lower-level team is infinitely more valuable to the development of your child than a bad coach on a higher-level team. A good coach who knows how to develop players will bring your child to the place they need to be, so when they finally get the opportunity to play or try out for a high-level team, they will have success at those levels.
The environment and culture of a team are incredibly crucial to development as well. Your child, especially at the youth level, needs to be confident and comfortable failing. Growth can only come from failure, and if a team’s culture is extremely toxic and negative, the likelihood of your child trying new skills and pushing their comfort levels will be extremely low. The toxicity can come from the other kids, the parents, or even the coaches themselves. Please always be careful when considering if you should join a team or not. If your kid is currently on the B team but the A team has a highly negative culture, a value assessment of the switch may be in order. Confidence to fail is crucial to development.
Another factor is whether your kid is having fun. While being socially popular shouldn’t be the number one goal, it is important for your child to make new friends. Allowing them to be in an environment that encourages social skills will help them learn how to communicate with others and teach them skills they can carry through life.
Practical Steps For Parents To Take
Remember, the most important opinion is that of the player themself. Ask your player how they feel about practices and games. Ask them if they are having fun, learning, or if they feel bored or lagging behind.
Be sure to evaluate where your child stands continually. This should be done every 6-12 months. Development is not static; what might have been extreme growth one year may turn into static growth the next. What might have been just the right level at the beginning of the season may have turned into too easy a team by the end of the year. Growth is not linear and is not equal for all.
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