Any Soccer Moms?

ss40

My kids are playing team sports for the first time (under 8 soccer). Any tips about the best shoes and equipment, ideal snacks, practices, games, what types of parents to watch out for, etc?

sarah42

My kids are going to start soccer this fall for the first time, so I don't have any good advice yet. I hope it'll be more recreational and not too competitive or dominated by overbearing parents. At their ages (4 and 5), it should be about having fun and getting physical activity.

ss40

I'm noticing that the coaches tend to have their own children on their team. I know that's typical but I hope it doesn't lead to favoritism. I know its more recreational at this point but I hope it stays fair. My coaches in team sports were high school & college students until I was in middle school. Then they were parents with older children. So parent coaches with kids on their team is new to me personally.

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DarkAngel

The kids here love oranges at snack time. I have switched it up and taken other things and they seem to be displeased with me.

ss40

DarkAngel wrote: »

The kids here love oranges at snack time. I have switched it up and taken other things and they seem to be displeased with me.

I thought clementines would be ideal. I also thought of Kashi snacks since there's only nine kids.


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mad scientist

We did U6 soccer two years ago. DS didn't enjoy it so we didn't continue. We play Sept to Mar so it was often cold and rainy. If your weather is similar then a base layer and gloves and a hat are essentials. You will need the same for yourself as spectator lol.

Our team did a group snack of orange slices. Different parent brought them every week.

I've never had a issue with coaches favoring their own kids. In fact most coaches seem to be stricter with their own kids. Be prepared to help out on the field during practices and games. It makes things run smoother.

I wish my kid had enjoyed soccer more but he asked to try basketball this year and that's indoors! Have fun!



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ss40

Thanks. I have to assign the snack schedule & so far fruit works for everyone.

Thats a long season. I didn't think it would last that long. I think the weather is similar. I will layer us all up lol. I was thinking this would be done by November. We are planning on trying bball next. Good luck.

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spiderlashes5000

I bring Gatorade or Powerade.

A lot of junk food is made availabe for snacks so I just feed my two beforehand and afterward and try to discourage the snacking.

I find the parents at soccer, tennis and swimming to be much better adjusted and tolerable than the parents at dance. OMG.

My exhusband was the asst coach last year; and our kids were on the team. No favoritism that I saw. The goal is to win the games, so no room for favoritism.

ss40

You'll are making me feel better about this whole favoritism thing. I didn't think about gatorade. I will probably go with that. I hope parents don't bring junk. I will try to suggest healthy options.

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sarah42

Spiderlashes, how old were your kid(s) when they started tennis? I think my older son would be good at tennis and might find his "niche" there, but I wonder if I should wait until he's a bit older--he's 5.

My husband's dad coached him for high school basketball, and was always stricter and harder on him than the other players. That's one reason DH has tried to avoid coaching our kids--you have to be strict with your own kids to avoid the appearance of favoritism.

Amneris

ss40 wrote: »

My kids are playing team sports for the first time (under 8 soccer). Any tips about the best shoes and equipment, ideal snacks, practices, games, what types of parents to watch out for, etc?

I can't bring myself to say I'm a "soccer mom", but my older son does play soccer. He played the past two springs. I don't think we're going to do soccer again until the spring because it's indoor soccer and it's so different from playing on grass, I feel like any athletic activity could substitute and he wants to try karate. He also played baseball last spring and will probably do that next year too.

In terms of shoes, I bought cleats, but I didn't spend big bucks on them because his feet grow so fast. I just got them at Payless or somewhere like that. Our team requires shin pads as well and I also got some inexpensive ones at one of the sport stores. For little kids, there really isn't any need for expensive equipment. Just make sure things fit and they can move well in their clothing.

Our team doesn't do team snacks (hallelujah!) so they can devote time to playing. They bring their own water and snacks for when they are on the sidelines. I just made sure snacks were relatively nutritious and gave energy but were easy and quick to eat and not too messy - fruit, almonds, veggies, yogurt tubes, cheese, whole grain crackers, etc.

Every team is probably different, but his practises are 1 hour. The first 20 minutes or so were warm-ups and drill and then they played a game for the rest of the practise against different teams in the league. 5 kids played at a time and rotated every few minutes. They didn't use goalies last year but started to this year. The games and practise were on the same day, twice a week.

The focus was non-competitive and more on skills development, having fun and learning to be a team. But some of the kids get pretty competitive anyway. My son is very athletic, and so he was one of the competitive ones who cared about scoring goals and stopping his team from being scored on. Other kids were way more laid back. I don't think you can or should worry about it either way - they are who they are. The coaches were good about making sure everyone played and keeping things controlled. There were no real problems with other parents or with coaches favouring their own kids - I agree that if anything, they were more strict with their kids.

spiderlashes5000

sarah42 wrote: »

Spiderlashes, how old were your kid(s) when they started tennis? I think my older son would be good at tennis and might find his "niche" there, but I wonder if I should wait until he's a bit older--he's 5.

My husband's dad coached him for high school basketball, and was always stricter and harder on him than the other players. That's one reason DH has tried to avoid coaching our kids--you have to be strict with your own kids to avoid the appearance of favoritism.

My daughter just started tennis this past pring and she is/was 7. She did OK at it; she is very athletic but not very disciplined. My little guy hasn't played tennis yet and he is/was 4.

I took (private) tennis lessons as a kid an I didn't start until I was 11...and I hated it. With my personality, I think I do better at team or group activities.

inheritedcurls

My son plays t-ball....in the fall the season is non-competitve and they work hard on the fundamentals of the game. In the spring it's competitive...which brings out the worse in some coaches and parents.

Here Coaches can pre-keep 4 kids on their team...then they pick from the group...we have tryouts to "show" where each kid stands so that the teams get divided evenly. Last spring there were 5 good teams...5 bad teams...

What I get frusterated with is that the really good kids get worked with more than the average or less than average kids... (Chas is average...he can hit...now throw good...but still can't catch). Our new coach this fall doesn't seem that way...he's going to rotate players in all different positions. Chas didn't get any close focus on his skills till the end of last season...at the end he got tired of practice and the games...which I don't blame him. Who wants to run bases the whole time for the kids in the in-field getting to practice?

Hoping for a better season...if not...we might be finding another sport...that is less competitive.

As for team snacks...we only do those at gametime...so each kid usually provides snack for 1 game. We bought Chas cleats at Academy...I think they were $15.00...we bought them big...so they still fit this fall. Yeah!

Watch out for your toes around those cleats...even kid ones hurt.

nynaeve77

Danae played soccer this spring (she was five at the time). We got all of her gear at Academy Sports. I got her ball, cleats, and shin guards for around $25. They had a decent selection in various price points.

We did snacks after the games. Each parent was responsible for one week in the season. The kids brought their own water bottles for use during the game. We had a rule that no one brought junk food, and everyone stuck to it. Just be sure to do an allergy check (I was lucky...not one kid had allergies on her team. It was a minor miracle!).

The coach's daughter was on the team, but she didn't play favorites. We played Upward (a Christian league) and I was actually really impressed. There were no over-competitive parents in my daughter's age group and the coaches were very fair about making sure the kids all had equal time to play. I was nervous about crazy parents or mean coaches, but everyone seemed to be on the same page about games being about exercise and fun. It was a very positive experience.

inheritedcurls

nynaeve77 wrote: »

The coach's daughter was on the team, but she didn't play favorites. We played Upward (a Christian league) and I was actually really impressed. There were no over-competitive parents in my daughter's age group and the coaches were very fair about making sure the kids all had equal time to play. I was nervous about crazy parents or mean coaches, but everyone seemed to be on the same page about games being about exercise and fun. It was a very positive experience.

Somebody just mentioned Upward to me...I think I may look into that...Chas might enjoy and learn better from it that kind of league.

ss40

I've heard good things about upward basketball.


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inheritedcurls

I don't see t-ball on their list...maybe this is a spring sport for them?

ss40

The first practice was not great. I expected drills. These coaches are substandard. Then again the kids are 5 & 6. Lol. But I put out $200. I expected more that's all. Guess I can do drills at home.

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spiderlashes5000

ss40 wrote: »

The first practice was not great. I expected drills. These coaches are substandard. Then again the kids are 5 & 6. Lol. But I put out $200. I expected more that's all. Guess I can do drills at home.

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What did they do?

ss40

The first thirty minutes they kicked the ball to one another but only two of the kids were paying attention & they kicked the ball into the net instead of to each other. The coaches didn't know how to get or keep their attention. The second half hour was scrimmaging. Which showed us that the other team learned a lot more in that first 30 minutes. Lol.

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