Quote:
Originally Posted by looooob
I think there is room for both though, certainly by the time a kid is 10-12 years old
I can see the value in a more non-competitive league, and why some families and kids would want that. the first 3-4 years of my son playing soccer he was not competitive, never scored once in 3 years, wasn't that interested in the score and I never saw his future playing with the potential to take off and was certainly more than fine with that. I could have pictured him in a rec league forever
then one year he shows up for houseleagues and scores 100 goals (and no they didn't keep score, and yes he knew exactly how many he scored)
I asked him how he improved so much and it turns out (I kind of knew this but not to the degree) that he and his friends have played soccer twice a day every day at recess year round for the last 3 or 4 years
well now he has sort of moved past the non-competitive leagues, and although he still loves the fun that comes from pickup soccer at school he also appreciates the more structured/competitive environment of the soccer league he is in now, I would hope that they don't remove that nature of the competition
it is a bit like hockey for some kids and families grassroots hockey is the way to go, for others more of a competitive stream, I know some families who do both or whose kids bounce back and forth depending on their mindset
I don't think there is anything wrong with prolonging a child's enjoyment in a sport by having those types of leagues, but there are some kids (in my prediction) that are equally likely to drop out or move onto a different sport if the competitive element is not there
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Thats a good point. For me, I took a year off last year and joined my current team last fall. I finished off with 12 goals in 9 games and my team was in 3rd place (out of 6) and a losing record. We lost a key defenseman for the winter season, so I got moved into his spot and so far, my team is 9-0 but I don't have a single goal this season with 1 game left in the season. Why? Because I know what it takes to win, and its me playing simple, low percentage plays. In pickup, I score a bucket full of goals. Now, I'm not getting paid or anything in leagues, but to me, the bottom line is wins, not having fun. In pickup, its to have fun and I'll try to be Messi. I think kids should handle the ball as much as possible and work on their skills rather than be the me this season (and focus on wins), but thats not to say there shouldn't be scoreboards and standings... I just think there should be more "pickup" and "fun" games available as an alternative, and the alternative might actually overpopulate the competitive leagues.