Darrell KSR
09-20-2012, 08:34 AM
I'd really like to see opinions different than my own here, but any will be welcome.
This relates to non-traditional sports. Not talking football or basketball, or baseball. Really talking about soccer and volleyball.
Friend of mine has a daughter who is an elite level volleyball player. She is a freshman, starting on the varsity on the # 4 ranked team in the state. She has played one year of "club" or travel volleyball, at my repeated insistence that they needed to do that, and his father has thanked me ten times, if he has thanked me once, for the encouragement. One day she'll play SEC or better.
Anyway, he told me about one of his daughter's teammates that quit the team Monday. She is a starter, and regularly played the entire rotation; pretty rare in days of specialization. She was in the newspaper often, leading the team in digs or hits. But apparently, her position, which had her as backup setter to her primary position, was not what she wanted to play. So she quit the team to work with a full-time volleyball coach that coaches her in club.
I was surprised by this, and abandoning classmates/teammates, and your school, and told my friend that. He has a good friend who is a major club coach and coaches at one of the other high schools. He told him that his team lost their best hitter this year for the same reason, and lost one the year before. He gave three other examples of players locally who had left their team to do the same thing.
In soccer, some players will have to choose between playing high school and playing year 'round travel ball. In the younger years, some players play year 'round travel ball, or "competitive" soccer. When they arrive in high school, they'll have a choice.
All that having been said--
If it's your daughter or son, do you pull them out of high school teams and have them do something independently?
For me, the answer is simple. I do not want to deprive them of high school memories. I played on a high school varsity team, and although we weren't great, I have fond memories of things that happened that will last me forever. Granted, I did not play in college, and maybe the college memories would have been even better, but I don't think so. I see them as different memories.
Unless you are going to play professionally, and unless you are 100% sure that leaving your high school team will enhance your chances of doing so, I think you are destroying precious memories your child would have forever by having them deny their classmates and teammates of playing with them, practicing with them, etc.
I may be on an island here, I don't know. Some of you may have elected to go the independent, non-school route. If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
This relates to non-traditional sports. Not talking football or basketball, or baseball. Really talking about soccer and volleyball.
Friend of mine has a daughter who is an elite level volleyball player. She is a freshman, starting on the varsity on the # 4 ranked team in the state. She has played one year of "club" or travel volleyball, at my repeated insistence that they needed to do that, and his father has thanked me ten times, if he has thanked me once, for the encouragement. One day she'll play SEC or better.
Anyway, he told me about one of his daughter's teammates that quit the team Monday. She is a starter, and regularly played the entire rotation; pretty rare in days of specialization. She was in the newspaper often, leading the team in digs or hits. But apparently, her position, which had her as backup setter to her primary position, was not what she wanted to play. So she quit the team to work with a full-time volleyball coach that coaches her in club.
I was surprised by this, and abandoning classmates/teammates, and your school, and told my friend that. He has a good friend who is a major club coach and coaches at one of the other high schools. He told him that his team lost their best hitter this year for the same reason, and lost one the year before. He gave three other examples of players locally who had left their team to do the same thing.
In soccer, some players will have to choose between playing high school and playing year 'round travel ball. In the younger years, some players play year 'round travel ball, or "competitive" soccer. When they arrive in high school, they'll have a choice.
All that having been said--
If it's your daughter or son, do you pull them out of high school teams and have them do something independently?
For me, the answer is simple. I do not want to deprive them of high school memories. I played on a high school varsity team, and although we weren't great, I have fond memories of things that happened that will last me forever. Granted, I did not play in college, and maybe the college memories would have been even better, but I don't think so. I see them as different memories.
Unless you are going to play professionally, and unless you are 100% sure that leaving your high school team will enhance your chances of doing so, I think you are destroying precious memories your child would have forever by having them deny their classmates and teammates of playing with them, practicing with them, etc.
I may be on an island here, I don't know. Some of you may have elected to go the independent, non-school route. If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.