re: Is playing the same sport all year around too much for a child?

100 hours per month.

3+ hours per day?

12 years old.

Alrighty then.

I just got the email that 'tryouts' are set for mid-may, and we're already booked every weekend through that. Not sure if that starts another season, or ends this one. We'll see.

quote:

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The wife and I are done-ish. Houma this weekend, Oxford next, Clinton, Hattiesburg, Destin...these are our upcoming weekend locations, seriously and it's been going on and on like this. The other parents seem gung-ho, but I have shite I need to get done.

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And he's 9? Give it a break. Get him into scouting.

I don't have any kids, so I'm probably not qualified here, but some of ya'll sound fricking insane in my humble opinion. I'm not sure I would drive across the city much less the state, out of state for a freaking soccer tournament.

Your kid is not Pele. If he was, he'll be that good without you wasting your life watching freaking 9 year olds kick a ball. Nine year olds dude. That sounds like a freaking miserable life. Never any time to relax on weekends? Seriously, always on the road to watch some boring arse soccer or baseball that won't mean a damn thing later on in some dipshit city with hyper competitive loser parents? frick that.

I could never live that way. What's the upside? A soccer scholarship? Is that really worth it? Not in my mind. But to each their own. I would have been miserable as a kid having to practice that much, but even if I loved it, my parents would have laughed their asses off if I requested they haul me all over to do that.

Serious question: Who coaches this shite and why? They can't be getting paid much and if they were that good they would be coaching college, pro, etc. I can totally get behind coaching rec leagues, I've even done it. But damn if I'd waste every damn weekend traveling all over for that shite year round. I don't get it.

Nothing harmful about training for CS:GO or MOBA of choice all year around if the kid truely wants to become a professional.

CS:GO are starting to pick up bigger prize pools, I would go for that over a MOBA since Koreans dominate the field ATM.

I know a few college football coaches that recommend kids play multiple sports. There are a bunch of links to articles about playing multiple sports mixed in these tweets.

Play multiple sports

I played football and ran track in college. Played football, basketball and ran track in high school (with one season and summer of club lacrosse because it wasn't a varsity sport so I could do it and track at the same time).

I guess if soccer is the only thing your kid likes doing, good for him. But playing a different sport or doing a different semi-athletic activity isn't going to hurt his "soccer career" at all...

He plays striker in select and sweeper in rec/allstars, but I think his true spot on the field is as an attacking midfielder, at least through his developmental years. He's just has to develop it in his head, figure it all out.

Every coach who sees him play comments on his 'first step'. That comes from within. He's the fast player with the strongest, most accurate foot, but it's that initial step or reaction that sets him apart. He's not really an exceptional ball handler right now, but his growth with that over the year has been astonishing. His positioning on the field, his ability to open up other players...its been fun to watch.

I let the coaches do their thing, but it's field time that I think really is making the difference. Hard to believe it hurts him to run around and play soccer. People who don't see it think it's kick ball like they did growing up, but it's far from that. He's absolutely ready to compete at select U11, and that doesn't just happen by playing twice a week.

That's a pretty detailed scouting report for a 9 year old.

Again, I admit, I guess maybe this shite is commonplace. I just can't see taking anything a 9 year old does that seriously.

Why don't you let him decide instead of making decisions for him.