These kids are 11. So much change will happen - kids that are good now will plateau, burn out because of pressure of parents, kids will start working outside of practice and some won’t. The difference between 5th-9th is astronomical. Making assumptions on where these kids will be in 4 years or what type of player they will be is insane. Parents should be asking 1) is my kid getting better 2) is my kid having FUN (not one mention of that above and they are in elementary school) 3) is the grass greener or am I the fool 4) why am I, an adult, ripping on 11 year olds
This. The idea of creating a Top 15 list of clubs for 5th graders is ridiculous and serves no purpose other than to feed egos and line the pockets of club owners. There are no...NO..'great' players in this age group. There are only POTENTIALLY great players. The kids you think are amazing now.... it's meaningless unless they continue to develop. And most clubs don't put in the effort toward your kid that you expect. Other teams that aren't on this ridiculous list (and I've seen a lot of them play), there are some kids that could very well be stars on your team, and there are kids that can't seem to hang. There are teams with coaches that are active and involved and teams where the coaches seem unengaged and disinterested. While all of these can affect how well any team plays any week, long-term is going to come down to a matter of the consistent effort, energy, and attitude any particular kid develops. Being on a supposed 'top 15' 5th grade team is NOT how that happens. I don't care if the kid is playing elite, AAA, or on a B team. Attitude, effort, and energy they bring on a consistent basis is where it's at and the teams parading around like they've done something important in 5th grade that think that's going to carry them into and through high school.... sorry... no.
Point is... lighten the heck up. Chill the f out. Try to go to games and just enjoy the moments where things are working, accept the situations where things aren't clicking, and be supportive of kids that aren't quite succeeding but want to be better. I seriously wish I could watch more youth lax where parents could calm down and cheer on good plays that happen on the other side of the field. A reckoning will likely come one day where your 'top 15' team gets blown out by one that isn't on your radar. You should be thankful for the opportunity to learn something from it.
