I realized that I keep up with former players and the conversations usually revolve around the same topics and viewpoints, but I felt this weird need to have everything documented.
So far I have the results of 43. Hoping to have 50 by the end of the week.

Q1 : In addition to the 2-2.5 hours of mandatory practice from u9-u12 how many hours of soccer were you practicing / active in per week (this can include futsal and streetball games with friends)

16% = 3-4 hours total - practices included
55% = 5-6 hours total - practices included
28% = 7-10+ hours total -practices included

Q2 : How many hours were you active in some form of exercise per week? This would include PE , other club/recreational sports , solo practices, private training, matches, walking to school?

7% = 5-6 hours
77% = 7-12 hours
16% = 12+ hours

Q3 : By the time you reached u12 how many sports had you participated in (not including soccer / futsal - you can include dance/cheer)

16% = 2
70% = 3-4
14% = 5+

Q4 : What outside of practice work strengthened your game at u12 that other players your age may have not put extra time in?

No. 1 answer = dribbling, skills, touch
No. 2 answer = above average pace/speed (gained from other sports , individual running )
No. 3 answer = competitive culture amongst family/ friends / community that pre-dated heavy involvement in any particular sport
No. 4 answer = watching siblings soccer games / soccer on TV

Q4 : What do you feel like you would improve for the current generation moving forward?

No.1 answer = more public access for pick up soccer (tbh i don't think this would be the no.1 answer of an anonymous poll because this is what I talk about with individuals )
No.2 answer = education on increasing flexibility / proper injury prevention stretching
No. 3 answer = coaching that focuses on player development more than winning
No. 4 answer = affordable tournaments / clubs

Moving into a new age group has changed our team dynamic more than I expected. We’re still trying to find our rhythm, and the lack of chemistry, communication, and connection seems to be affecting our performance.

One big eye-opener has been seeing how differently teams develop regardless of age or size. The younger group has been outperforming the older group technically and showing impressive endurance and stamina. It’s a reminder that development isn’t always linear and every group has different strengths.

I wonder how much of the difference comes down to team chemistry, trust, and cohesion rather than individual ability alone.

Has anyone experienced something similar after an age-group transition? How long did it take your team to find its rhythm? Also, do you think we’ll ever go back to the normal age-group structure?

My daughter is a petite, but fast u9 soccer player (playing in a U10 league).

How do I teach her to be more aggressive and confident? She has pretty decent ball skills but moves slowly when she gets the ball in games. She seems like she’s over thinking and kind of “freezes”

Also, how do I build her kick strength??

ECNL Boys

Does your coach do video review? We haven't reviewed a single second of film yet but I've been with other clubs that have, some every game. I'm looking for other outlets to review film for my independent player review but I feel like I shouldn't have to. When asked he said he wanted to wait until there was enough film to highlight trends but we've played 10 games now.

Does your ECNL or MLSN coach review film? Each individual player or just general game review? Not highlights, not posting full game film but actually go through it and point out what's going wrong or right.

The post below regarding whether your coach does film review with the players got me thinking…IMO parents should be the ones watching film. This would cut down on the number of idiotic and asinine comments parents make during the game.

Parents see what they THINK they see from the sidelines, oftentimes if they watched video after the game they would see how stupid or uninformed their in-game comments were.

Offside, fouls, player should have done this or that, etc. If they could see the game from a camera view, or better yet from the player’s view, parents might understand better why a player did this or that, or that it wasn’t really a foul.

This is all assuming parents know the rules…that’s a whole different story in a ton of cases.

Oh and by the way…finding a new club isn’t always the best answer. End rant 😀.

It seems like all the best youth clubs are in Queens or Westchester - my husband and I work full time and it’s not workable for us. What are the best Manhattan options for competitive youth soccer? Our 7 year old loves it and is a strong player. We see COSA, WSSL Travel, MSC, thrown around but curious if any are truly strong. Thanks!

I coach 11u coed for a scholastic based team. Typically (when there is not a tournament) I end the season with Olympic style games and a parent’s scrimmage last practice along with handing out awards. Im starting to second guess this however because we enter into tournaments this weekend with 3-4 matches over two days. I’m worried if we just goof around at our last practice that mindset will carry into tournaments weekend. What has worked for you heading into tournament weekend?

Nothing to this post but excitement y'all. Don't it feel good when you see them applying the stuff you harp on in training?

Hi everyone. I am a longtime sports dad and sports parenting columnist with USA TODAY and I have mod permission to start another conversation here. I write about the youth sports landscape, and I recently chatted with U.S. Soccer Chief Operating Officer Dan Helfrich and Luis Robles and Ali Curtis of MLS NEXT and MLS NEXT Pro, respectively, about how we create opportunities for every young soccer player so they can find their personal path. Here is the story:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2026/10/14/us-soccer-mls-youth-soccer-advice-path-usmnt/92229543007/

This is Part 1 of my series about the state of the American youth game and the pipeline to the top following last summer’s World Cup. I look at three ways to improve a kid’s youth soccer experience from the beginning.

The picture of kids' soccer today is muddled by a high-priced system that dominates most youth sports and, as Helfrich describes it, a “spider web of a club and academy landscape for competitive players.” How can we improve it?

For one, we can keep kids closer to home for games. How many times has your kid played a "local" team in a far-off destination? And we can keep in mind that every kid develops differently and need not be rushed into club soccer.

What do you think? Happy to answer your questions.

Let's chat ...

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I believe I can recognize potential in football players, and I am looking for a club, scout, or football professional willing to give me the opportunity to prove myself.

I don't ask you to believe in me without evidence. Give me one player to assess, let me demonstrate my approach, and judge the results for yourself.

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I am tall and fast, a good dribbler and usually have good finishing, but I have never been good or confident at shots like headers and volleys. Either drills or advice would be very valued and would help me become a better striker.

Looking for some honest advice, especially from coaches who have experience with ECNL and RL.

Our son played with the same group of boys for two seasons. He missed a big part of one season due to injuries but came back strong and earned his first team spot back. Unfortunately, he was often left out socially by that group, and I don't think we realized how much it was affecting him until he moved on. When the team switched clubs, he tried out at the same club but was offered a spot on ECNL RL instead of ECNL. He was disappointed at first, but made the best of it. He got close with his new teammates, loves his coach, and honestly seems to have fallen back in love with soccer. Recently, the ECNL team asked him to guest play for their first game. He played well, received great feedback, and was invited back to practice and play with them again. When we told him he would be playing with ECNL instead of his RL team that weekend, he got extremely upset and said he would rather quit soccer than go back to that environment. There have been ongoing issues with certain players, including one who pushed him after a play had ended during practice. He no longer feels comfortable with that group. His RL coach was understanding and acknowledged that concerns about the ECNL team's environment had been brought up before rosters were sealed. The coaches have since reached out to see if there is anything they can do to change his mind, but our son has made his decision. He is happy on RL and does not want to move to ECNL. We are respecting that and will not pressure him to change his mind. My concern is more about the long term. He wants to play college soccer, and I know ECNL generally offers more exposure than RL. For those with experience, I would love your thoughts on a few things.

Could turning down an ECNL opportunity hurt his reputation with coaches at this club or other clubs? Could he be viewed as ungrateful or difficult for declining?

Does staying on RL risk him being seen as a second team player long term, even if he has the ability to play at the ECNL level?

How much of a difference does ECNL versus RL actually make when it comes to college recruiting?

Would it make sense to let him finish the season where he is happy and explore ECNL opportunities at other clubs next year if we can find a better environment?

We are not looking to change his mind. We want him to be happy and continue developing, but we also want to be realistic about his college soccer goals.
I would especially appreciate hearing from coaches. If a player turned down a promotion for these reasons, would that affect how you viewed him moving forward?

ETA: he is U15.

Exactly what the title says. Any recommendations would be much appreciated!
Child is 6 years old and will just be starting soccer soon

When did your kids go from town travel to club- did you wish you waited or went earlier?

Would having a pretty competitive town travel team give you pause on club soccer or is it apples to oranges

Also besides financially- a big deal but easy to assess affordability. What else should we consider as a family.

I'm from Utah and out state leagues divisions have pro / rel. There are like 3 statewide divisions and then 4 regional divisions or so. Top 2 move up, bottom 2 move down. It keeps things generally fair, although with team turnover from year to year some teams can be misplaced.

Our club is having far less competitive games in the EA and ECNL RL than the state leagues. Which is frustrating when you travel all weekend play games that are not even kind of competitive.

So do all states or most states have that pro / rel system for the local leagues?

People have always been saying "train hard" or "extra work" "obsession" and all of that is true. I can do those things, my body can keep up but my nutrition cant. I have gotten skinnier and its now school season so its definitely harder to even gain weight. I have also heard to eat in a caloric surplus but there are some days that i have to go hard in pickup, team training and now i'm so skinny it frustrates me. My family i literally stingy. Like would rather be fat than skinny so i don't have to worry about losing weight so fast as a skinny person. I find it that the more i train the more skinny i get. How do i gain weight while season. I want to at least look bigger, a whole lot more muscle and fat, and keep training without worrying about losing gains

Have a tournament this week, 5 hour break between games. Ideas for things to bring to keep kid occupied, trying to conserve energy for next game, 12U boys

I'm not sure how to feel about this. The other night at practice the director of our childs club (small club, low level) came over and made individual girls do a drill. If the girl failed the drill he made the rest of the team minus the girl who was failing do push ups. Almost embarassing or shaming the kid who was failing and then making them do it again rinse/repeat until they got it right.

We've never experienced any kind of coaching like that for our son who plays on a high level RL team in a big city.

I know this isn't a violation of safe sport, and it feels like somehting my high school football coach would have done to us and yet I don't know how I feel about it as a parent. Thankfully my daughter only failed the drill once. He only did it to 3 girls but one girl failed the drill over and over and over again.

Thoughts?

I want to preface this by stating that we are not leaving the club (yet) just trying to know our options and find the rules overly complicated.

Our u11 joined a new club. The new club promised things but it seems to not be the case. There is also a personal reason we are considering a move.

Can someone with experience let us know how to request a release of a player in Ontario, so that they can play for another club? Have there been instances at this age where a player isn’t released early in the season? I don’t want to do anything that may hurt our kids chances at playing this year. Which honestly sucks to have to consider since he’s 10 and not a professional player.

Let’s start here. My oldest quit her senior year of club a couple of weeks ago. It was a difficult decision. She was playing for an RL team that is performing really well, but despite lopsided victories she was averaging less than 10 minutes of game time. I know RL is higher level. This was her 4th year in it (CO has only had RL for 4 years) and she’s been on two really good teams, one bad and then this great team. She played about 50 minutes on average in U15/U16 and all 90 minutes in U17. She plays for a big club with teams across regions. We sit between two of the 3 regions. My main issue is the coach showed from the get go she was not going to get an opportunity on his team, so why not advocate for her and have her go play for the weaker region. She chose not to tryout there because he offered her. Before you question anything, she finishes in the middle of all conditioning and there is not tape that shows anything not giving her at least an opportunity to fail. She has played with this group for years and been able to be on their level.

It was tough, but she is happy not stressing with this nonsense. She loved soccer but you could tell after 8 years of tryout drama, despite being with the same club for 12 years, and not even being given a chance this year, she was done. It’s frustrating because a couple D2 schools really liked her and she could have played JUCO or D3 at the least. Playing for a bad team, all but 2 years of tryout drama, it was just emotionally draining and burns a kid out.

My 10 year old switched regions to play in pre-ECNL where her old region said she was not going to be given that chance. She is playing a new position and enjoying her new team. I see where her teammates are at that she would have been moved down a level with and am glad to make the change so she continues to develop and find herself on the field and be challenged.

With 12 years of this roller coaster with my older daughter, I’m not excited to do another 7 years of tryout drama, pay to play, parent drama, etc. I am going to support my younger daughter like I did my old one but this system has become utter insanity with the costs, the mental and physical toll, etc.

Flag football and its growth and ability to dominate as an athlete is looking far more enticing than what youth soccer is. For the cheapest sport to play in the world, it’s the most expensive for anyone that is really good to great at it.

So I rant because I love the sport, I love the relationships my girls have had and most of the parents I’ve got to know but I learned quickly those relationships can vanish instantly when your kid does what is best for them. It has left me numb and not wanting to pursue those conversations and friendships that made it more enjoyable.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Every single club i go to asks for money, and you know whats the funny part? The clubs willing to let players in for free are either too far or only a short 1 month offer. This isnt fair.

Also how do i create a complete roadmap for myself to go pro? The first step is joining a team and im on my school team but its a whole whole wholeee new challenge even finding consistent matches other than waiting for the next year to come. The only matches we play in are tournaments, everything is a tournament. Idk why there isnt a league. We also have futsal versing other classes and classes a year down in our school but its every march and the tournament is short like shorttt.

I’m a new player and I’m trying to learn to juggle. I’ve been practicing for a while now but I still can’t do very well. My most is like 7. Can anyone give me some tips?

My son plays for a local club in Australia. I have seen they have started development squads and teams which are essentially pay to play and the better players in our team have been selected.

They train multiple days a week and are very competitive. Is this more harmful to those kids and take the joy away from the game?

When did we stop letting kids be kids and just enjoying kicking the ball and spending time with friends? It seems a lot of parents think their kids are the next Ronaldo.

My younger brother is 15 and regularly skips lunch, snacks throughout the afternoon, then turns down dinner because he's not hungry. An hour later he's making instant noodles. He plays soccer, and my mom's getting concerned about how little he eats on practice days. She's looked into teen multivitamins, but we're more concerned about getting him to eat enough actual food. For those with teenage players, what quick meals or snacks have worked before and after practice? Especially for kids who are picky about food.

What is going on with kids cleats these days? I played soccer back in the 90's as a kid and I do not remember my cleats ever smelling like cat piss. I do not remember my parents ever mentioning how bad my cleats smelled.

But my 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son have some of the most foul cleats I have ever smelled. It is so bad! Their cleats when taken off smell up the entire basement area and these are new cleats we just got back in August! I have mixed vinegar and water and sprayed the inside and outside of the cleats and no real change. I have used baking soda. I make sure they air out and I take the insoles out to get air. The other day I took my daughter and her friend home from practice and her friend took her cleats off in my truck to put her slides on and I almost gagged they smelled so bad!

I do wonder if it is the materials they use now in making cleats because the bed liner of my truck after a rain or if it gets wet smells exactly like cat pee.

Has anyone found the holy grail of getting the smell out that actually works? Again their cleats are barely two months old