Originally Posted by ratherbefishing
My son is 8th grade and is a soccer player who played some lacrosse but was never that serious. For some reason playing middle school lit a lax fire in him so I took him to tryouts this summer for 1st time. He tried out for 3 teams and made 2. My advice is to just bring him to as many tryouts as possible. Obviously don't register for all right away because he might make the 1st one so you don't want to waste your money. Eventually if he has any skills at all he will make a team. Seems to me like younger coaches look for kids with top skills now where older coaches who have been around youth sports for a while are willing to take a chance if they see a great athlete they can build into a player. As a parent preach confidence to the kid especially if they have a bad tryout at first or feel overmatched if they tryout for a team with a lot of really good players. At the end of the day all these programs need the money so there will be a team for him.


If you
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me! I don’t care what anyone says, at this age, every other behind Chan’s team is an after thought! You’ll be sold a bill of goods, put faith that they are being men of their word but nonetheless, they aren’t! Don’t be fooled! Chan cares aboutHIS one team, even then he’s adding/recruiting new kids weekly! He’ll take your money and tell you whatever you want hear! IMO

Bottom line, look for someone who is transparent, open and honest. Be comfortable with the coach and more importantly make sure your kid wants to be three! I don’t care what anyone here says, at this age(hs), if your kid is good, he’ll be seen, no matter where he plays! Let the kid have fun and if he he’s talented enough for the next level, he’ll make it! No one organization had the lock on recruiting and college coaches!


So which clubs do you think on LI get the most kids in the best showcases like Maverick and Black Card? You know the answer. I do agree about fun, but you are also spending a lot of money and it's not a simple decision. And, yes communication and being transparent is important.