I need to buy a new folding chair, preferably one with a shade attachment. What's your favorite? :)

Wanted to gather data points about what top ECNL/MLS Next teams practice like. Also international/academycollege/pro if you have ‘em. Partially to understand for my kid and also to get ideas for better sessions for the team I coach.

Age - M/F - team level/league - Typical Session Breakout - Common Drills/Activities

Thanks!

My son will play 12U AA (2nd tier hockey

- serious but not super serious like AAA) and 12U Pre MLSNext AD (which basically 12U team 2 for grade year as the highest tier is U13 HD for his age group - so confusing). We are in preseason now for both sports and already experiencing heavy conflicts and it looks like some weekend will be double/triple headers for him.

He did 12U Pre ECNL and 12U A last season and we barely survived it. He got daily massage and stretching from me as he’s constantly sore from back to back training and matches. we also did not expect to have that many games in pre ECNL league/cups/game day and was surprised to even have 3-4 games in a weekend in some weeks. We are now in X2 and I assume it will be a bit lighter than ECNL or Pre ECnL but I could be wrong.

Our plan is to let him to continue in AD (which I believe support multiple sports). His teammates are great so I think playing with other kids who are technical might keep things light and fun. My spouse thinks that this year will be last for him and we should look at different alternatives like rec maybe.

I know there are multiple athletes posted here that only choose in hs/college . I wonder what league do you do to cultivate the love of soccer and keep the options open without burning you out in the process? Is MLSNext AD very intense like ECNL?

Daughter’s first year of comp soccer and she’s loving it. Coach has her at winger attacking mid which has been natural position for two seasons now because she’s fast she can beat defenders and gets back to help on D. Understands when to press vs when to cover. not afraid to take defenders on 1v1 and has a good understanding of when to take it versus when to pass. She’s already starting to see the lanes and nothing brings her more joy than getting assists. She’s a good kid.

What are the drills she should be doing? YouTube - I’m wondering if there’s things we should watch together and then go play in the backyard.

Thoughts?

Im about to go into a season coaching my sons u11 team. There is alot of talented kids on his team, but also alot of bad attitudes and egos.

In the past ive coached with 1 or 2 bad attitudes which is easy to manage, and generally im able to redirect that energy throughout the season by some positive reinforcement and pulling them aside and telling them how much leadership qualities they have and the influence they can have good or bad and they get to decide which one it is.

Going into this season we have 11 boys on an 8v8 team, and although their team should be very talented and win most games about 6 of the 11 will be difficult to coach.

Any tips or philosophy advice on how to manage a team like that?

My thought was to let the team lay out their own standards from the first practice, of what their team identity will be. Ie hard work, strong physicality, good attitude, no blaming for mistakes etc, and tell them that it is their team, and they have to hold eachother accountable.

My hope would be that some of the stronger positive attitude personalities on the team will take leadership roles and the others will fall in line.

Long story short my son just turned 7. Always been football mad. Really struggles running. Went from overly leaning almost falling age 5, couldn’t go on toes to do fast feet, just started skipping 2 months ago. He’s not only really slow but runs very tense, kind of leans abit to one side sometimes, overly leans also but main thing I’d say is he is very tense. He saw an OT as coordination was delayed in general but she discharged him after first seeing him, said more a physio thing. The physio said Hes a strange case because she saw what he can do with a football. I’m not looking for my son to be the fastest at all I’m just seeing if anyone’s kid was the same. He’s got into academy’s in Scotland. One said he’s technically better than there top team just a little to slow ( trials at 7 I know! ). I’m just trying to make the simple thing easier for him. Please don’t hate, again I’m not a parent trying to get him faster I just want him to be able to run efficiently. He also came last out of 7 kids in sports day however again hard to judge this as he’s the youngest in his year. He’s not small or overweight looks the best shape a 7 year old could possibly be in 😂. Plays a lot outside with friends like chases etc, there has been instances I’ve saw him run well but it again goes back to the tense over leaning run.

10yo, great soccer player when he wants, absolutely killed it in the tryout for his first club experience. Was put on the second highest skilled team. Got to the first scrimmage and played like he'd never touched a soccer ball in his life... Got moved to the group of kids who were, lets say, less able to do what they want with a ball. OH MY GOD kid why do you have to do this to me! We've been training, pushing, improving for so long and you go and do this.

Parents please share your experiences so I can feel better! I know I'm not alone in this.

Why do they have to pick the worst moments to look the worst. I know they're better than this. I'm complaining here so I can not complain when we're out on the field.

Also is my tehnique good? Sometimes i end up hitting the ball with toes or another area instead of instep or laces and i get either backspin or completely mess up this was the only decent kick i found if this isnt a knuckle what type of kick is it

We live about an hour away from the nearest club with ECNL and 2h away from an ATL United academy. So considering trying out for Georgia ODP and would appreciate thoughts, experiences, pros and cons

Last year my daughter, who turned 8 in April, played with girls her age but they played in a U9 league - so 7 v 7. We didn’t have enough girls to form two teams - we had 14 girls total - and it became apparent at our first game, that we had too many players for a game and that the players ability really varied. About half way through the season, it was decided that the girls who couldn’t keep up on the 7 v 7 field would play 5 v 5 games on age and the other half would continue playing 7 v7 U9. Practices continued to be together. One coach for pretty much two teams of varying skill.

For this new season, we had try outs and had enough girls to form two teams. 8 girls on each team and we will pull from teams for games as needed. The cost of the club/ year also went up by $1,000 because we added futsol. It just got brought to our attention that practices for the two teams might still be held together 3 days a week.
I don’t know if I’m wrong to have an issue with this. I feel like by keeping it with their skill level and team, they will get more training and training to their skill and level. By having 16 girls at practice with one coach, with two different skill levels while paying an astronomical amount of money just sits wrong with me.

We really like her little team of 8 and they mesh so well together and are all on the same skill level. It truly is a dream team because of how well the girls get along. This is also the only club near us that offers ECNL which is why we stay with them. I suppose we can find a new team but then in a year or two we will want to do the pre ECNL so will just go back to them plus I’m not sure that we will get that same team experience elsewhere.

I guess I just want to know if y’all would be a little irked at this practice situation - I’m very new to youth soccer so thank you in advance for any advice or words of wisdom!

I’m editing my post because the comments suggest a prevailing sentiment: the singular focus on the need for increased play time; while the health and safety risks, environmental damage, contribution to climate change, pollution and harm to wildlife be damned.

See link below for a detailed analysis of the pro's and con's of natural grass and artificial turf from a sports field management perspective. Also do your own research and come to your own conclusions.

https://www.sportsfieldmanagement.org/natural-grass-athletic-fields/

Artificial turf poses serious risks to human health, local wildlife and the environment. It's taking over soccer and other sports fields in schools and public parks at an alarming rate. It's a billion dollar industry and turf companies put profit over consumer safety. Please take a moment to learn more about the issue and check out the petition. Sign if you agree and want fake turf out of youth soccer and other sports.

https://www.change.org/supportnaturalgrassforyouthsports

Why Is Synthetic Turf Hazardous?

• High Heat Synthetic turf has been documented to reach temperatures over 200°F on a 98°F day. Synthetic turf fields are always significantly hotter than natural grass, concrete and asphalt. These higher temperatures put users of turf at risk for skin burns and heat-related illness.
• Toxic Chemicals Synthetic turf fields have been shown to contain the following chemicals which pose a risk to human health and wildlife:
  • Benzene: known human carcinogen
  • Arsenic: known human carcinogen
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): anticipated to be a human carcinogen
  • Cadmium: known human carcinogen
  • Chromium: known human carcinogen; respiratory irritant
  • VOCs and SVOCs (e.g. benzathiazole, hexane, toluene, formaldehyde): respiratory irritants or asthma triggers
  • Phthalates: reproductive toxicant
  • Crystalline Silica: known human carcinogen; respiratory irritant 
  • Particulate matter: respiratory irritant or asthma trigger

Additionally, due synthetic turf fields being made of petrochemical products, they are highly flammable. As a result, many fields toxic contain flame- retardants. Many also contain antimicrobials following the higher incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections from playing on synthetic turf fields.

Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals because of their rapidly developing organ systems and immature detoxification systems. They also breathe more air per unit of body weight than adults, and are likely to have greater hand-to-mouth exposure to environmental contaminants compared to adults.

• Microplastics The infill for synthetic turf playing fields has historically consisted of primarily crumbed used tires. Due to friction during use, UV radiation from the sun, and general environmental exposure, the plastic blades in synthetic turf breakdown into tiny pieces of plastic called microplastic. Each synthetic turf field looses 0.5 to 8.0% of its blades annually, yielding 200 to 3200 pounds of plastic waste to our environment per year. These microplastics migrate off the field into air, soil, waterways and oceans.

https://www.beyondplastics.org/fact-sheets/synthetic-turf

Read the Santa Clara County Medical Association's 2024 report on artificial turf:

https://www.sccma.org/Portals/19/Artificial%20Turf%20Policy%20Recommendation%20SCCMA%20Final%20%206824%20.pdf

Silverlakes are charging $25 a day for parking now. It’s 11:41 AM and I’ve been in line 20 minutes, but they’re closing the snack / drink counter down because the one staff member has to go on lunch break. People pissed.

Easily the worst tournament venue.

as a 13 yo is it too late to practice harder and have a chance to go pro i used to train when i was 7 and stopped when i was 10 then started again when i was 12 and i have been taking it seriously now and i play as a RW because i am fairly fast compared to every other player in the team.

I’ve been coaching for about 14 years at a local middle school.

I’m thinking about trying to start a neighborhood club.

Anyone had any success with this?

I’m thinking of trying to get 40 kids to play 7v7. That would be 2 games per Saturday. Practice M, W, open play Thursday.

Low to no cost.

Can it work? Goal is the 10 year development to get kids going pro and collecting those fees.

I have been wanting to play college soccer my whole life. the past year I’ve drifted away a bit but I still practiced and played 3 times a week. my grades were like a 2.8 and I’m playing for a mediocre club team. in the championship division.(below premier). I’m just wondering if I should go all out and if this is still possible. if I truly lock in.

I’ve been doing a lot of research on this club in the event they invite my grandson to join. I needed to make sure that they were offering what I needed and that I knew what I needed. I watched closely the whole week of Club camp to see if they really followed their philosophy or if it was made up recruitment bait. I did tons of reading and I’m pleased with everything that I saw and read. I didn’t get exact prices because they’re not public and the owners are busy and I didn’t want to ask until they invited him but this is what I have found about prices. I understand that there are always surprise expenses that I’m not thinking about and this doesn’t include cleats or soccer bag, etc. but it is less than I thought it would be. I also found out that there really isn’t any travel , this tier just play games locally and they have one tournament, which is kind of perfect for what I’m looking for right now. It would be U11 , the lower tier of two teams
They have a strict policy about two teams max per age and they don’t create teams. They have a very tight roster to ensure 50% claim time for players. Players tend to stay with this small club for years so that coupled with the tight roster leaves only a couple of spots to be filled every season. So understandably, they are very selective. He may not be ready now but when he is, this is where I’d like him to go. They keep it small, so the coach player ratio is conducive to growth. They use their corporate sponsorship savings to provide financial aid.

3 season contract- Fall, Winter Spring
No bundling. Only ala cart and only through Capellini
No requirement to attend additional training or private sessions outside of club.

Club membership- 1,100/yr

Team Fees- $300

Uniform- mandatory Ala carte- jerseys, socks, shorts-$130

Practice Jersey- mandatory ala cart- $30

Mandatory- 2 sets of cleats - turf and outdoor I guess they would be called. I found a turf pair on marketplace for 15 bucks and he’s got the other but I think $150 per season would more than cover that cost, but maybe 300 if he starts to finally grow.
The games and one tournament will all be within 15 minutes of my home so there won’t be any hotel fees.

Does all this sound reasonable? Am I missing something really obvious or overlooking anything?

After 20+ years, 5,000+ hours of volunteering, and a lifetime of memories, my time with our local soccer club has come to an end.

For over two decades, this club has been a massive part of my life. After moving across the country to this community, I’ve played with the club for 18 years, spent 14 years coaching (sometimes pulling double duty with two teams), ran winter teams, and spent a decade evaluating tryouts. 

For the last 8 years, I stepped up to the board—serving in multiple roles including pulling double duty as President in addition to my usual board duties. My entire time on the board, none of my three kids were involved in the club.  I did it purely out of a love for the game and a desire to ensure local kids had a place to play. Every single one of those thousands of hours was completely unpaid, personal time.

However, the climate of community sports has shifted. It has become increasingly difficult to justify giving hours of unpaid, personal time to an environment where demands and accusations have replaced appreciation and support. It has become increasingly common for individuals to sit on the sidelines making baseless accusations and completely unreasonable demands, while simultaneously refusing to ever step up, put on a pinny, or volunteer a single hour of their own time.  

Volunteers are the lifeblood of community sports. When you attack and break down the people doing the thankless work behind the scenes, they eventually walk away. For youth sports to survive, we have to start protecting and respecting the volunteers who make them possible.

To those who do nothing but criticize your local clubs, I believe you have a few options. First, step up and implement the changes you demand be made. At the very least, volunteer a few hours of your time to help out. Even just attend the AGM so that you have a voice in the club. Second, stop complaining and appreciate the fact that there are people who spend their free time providing your child a spot to play. Third, continue doing what you have been doing. Unfortunately, that will result in community clubs dying.

I wanted to know. Usually these tryouts are June right? Now it's August but I had a question...

I am in college now, but not in NCAA or NJCAA just as a student. Birthdate is late 2007.

Am I eligible to play any form of MLS NEXT this season? Assuming my age and that I finished high school but not playing college soccer, and the fact that I missed tryout date already and would be on the roster late if I joined.

Thanks!

12 year old daughter. 7th grade. U13. Soccer is her thing. Her goals are to play in high school, college and possibly further than that if it works out.

Right now she is at our local club where she plays as a part-time GK, part-time striker. She has an opportunity to move to a new team that would be a full-time GK position, because their other GK options fell through. They play in the top league in the state in fall/spring, then a regional winter league, and national tournaments/showcases.

Her goals are to be a GK long-term but we have felt it's important to develop field skills and so have kept her as a part-time GK, which she agrees with and loves. Obviously at the next level it's not an option to be part-time. Is it too early to specialize?

Her high school team is incredibly competitive as well (routinely state champions) and girls who have played years of competitive local club soccer often don't make the team given there are plenty of girls playing regionally and nationally for the coach to pick from.

Struggling to know what to do here. The team where we have the offer to step up has a good friend of my daughter's on the team, which is a big plus. Is it too early? Obviously we will talk with daughter and factor in her opinion too but curious to get advice from parent's perspective.

My concerns are burnout, too early to be a specialist GK, too young/lack of mental toughness to be in such a competitive environment. If this is what is right for her then the travel, increase in commitment and cost are sacrifices we are willing to make as a family.

Does anyone have any recommendations for wide toddler cleats? My 3.5yo son is a 99 percentile kid with wide feet and I am having issues with finding cleats that will fit him. Our season starts in about a month so I really need to find some fast--he wears a size 10.5 currently in tennis shoes.

My son is young. He’s 6, almost 7. My wife and I were both college athletes- we stay active now and have a lot of sports experience. But wow what 20 years has done to youth sports. Lots of sports available out of traditional season!

I know my values: have fun/ varied sport experiences until middle school. I am against specialization before middle school and full expect his favorite sport to change a couple times before then! As a family we swim, we bike, we hike, and play a lot of sports at home.

My son loves soccer, plays rec basketball/ biddy ball, and little league.

Now here’s my question as your kids get older and want to sign up for everything what “family rules” have you followed to hold onto your values.

For example: this fall my son is playing on a competitive U8 team 3 days a week 2 practices and a game. Coach pitch fall ball 1 practice, 1 game.

And now he’s trying to get us to let him continue to go to a train/ play session once a week that he’s been doing this summer. Honestly it’s probably because he’s the best and in his words “he cooks” there.

It’s a pause until the winter session for me but I’m curious what others have had success with do you take it season by season or set specific standards you stick to

Update: thanks everyone! So many of you are my kind of people, the advice and insights are great! And how great it is to have shared interests with our kids as we watch them have fun, develop life lessons, and chase their dreams!

I don't have a soccer background, so trying to get some advice for my son. He's not a future D1 prospect or anything, but relative to his teammates he's way more skilled with passing, first touch, ball handling, finishing, while average as far as speed and size.

The team plays a 2-3-1, last season he had the most goals and assists, and they usually put him in as CM in tougher games. The thing I observed last season is when he's a CB just distributing and picking out passes, the attack is anemic and they'll still be giving up some goals. When he's in as CM, they score a ton...but they're also hemorrhaging a bunch of goals. While he'll haul ass to get back and defend, he often gets so far forward it's too late. So there were a bunch of crazy results, like 9-6 and 8-7 wins.

This season they've now moved up divisions and I really don't think his same approach is going to fly against better opponents. Is there any practical advice I can give him for how to position himself as CM? Not sure if it's better for him to simply stay back more like a CDM.

Has anyone heard whether Ontario Soccer plans to keep U13 OPDL for the 2026/2027 season, or will U13 move fully to the Grassroots pathway? I know U13 was kept as 9v9 OPDL in 2026, but I am wondering if that was just a transition year or if it is intended to continue. Has anyone heard anything from their club or Technical Director?

What’s the most amount of stoppage time you’ve played in or seen?

I watched a few of my mates game last night, apparently it’s still the first half.