Travel teams. Worth it? College Soccer?

[Chelley00]

DS16 was recruited to play on a travel soccer team. His high school coach recommended him to the league, saying that DS has an excellent shot at playing in college and that playing travel would help increase his chances of a scout seeing him and also give him more competitive practice/game experience to prep him for the high school seasons. Our high school is a very large school well known for its soccer program.

It would just be winter indoor training and then spring practices and games. There would be 2 out of state tournaments (but they are adjacent states so not bad as far as travel time) Summer and fall are high school season, then he would be back to the travel team. He plays rec leagues winter and spring now anyhow, so we're used to year round soccer. We had thought about having him play travel, but this opportunity was unexpected and they have offered us a scholarship to offset some of the club fees (we're not sure we'll take the scholarship)

For those who have had high school students play on travel teams, was it worth the time and money? Any college soccer experience?

 

[RunningGirl]

DS16 was recruited to play on a travel soccer team. His high school coach recommended him to the league, saying that DS has an excellent shot at playing in college and that playing travel would help increase his chances of a scout seeing him and also give him more competitive practice/game experience to prep him for the high school seasons. Our high school is a very large school well known for its soccer program.

It would just be winter indoor training and then spring practices and games. There would be 2 out of state tournaments (but they are adjacent states so not bad as far as travel time) Summer and fall are high school season, then he would be back to the travel team. He plays rec leagues winter and spring now anyhow, so we're used to year round soccer. We had thought about having him play travel, but this opportunity was unexpected and they have offered us a scholarship to offset some of the club fees (we're not sure we'll take the scholarship)

For those who have had high school students play on travel teams, was it worth the time and money? Any college soccer experience?

It depends on what tournament they go to. There are "college showcase" tournaments where many college scouts come out and you have the opportunity to sign up ahead of time if you're interested in their school. The scout then will come and watch your child play. DS played in one this winter that had over 100 universities/colleges represented. However, there are lots of tournaments without any college scouts. If you can find out what tournaments this team goes to it would be more helpful in knowing. Also, know that there are VERY few full rides in soccer and that most scholarships are partials and come from small universities or colleges. If you're doing it for financial gain it's likely not worth it. We do it because it is truly DS's passion and he just loves it.

 

[debster812]

DS is U15 Club player, and played on his HS varsity team this past fall. he is just starting back up winter training with his club. So far they have 3 tournaments scheduled for the spring/summer (all local, in our state) and there will be more to come.

We have no expectations that DS will get any scholarship money, or if he's even good enough to play in college. He is on this team because he loves it, and has been playing with some of these boys since they were 9.

IMHO this club has been worth it to DS. We live in a very small town, where everyone knows everyone. This team gets him into an environment with boys from all over SE Massachusetts. He has been to Canada and England with them. They go to an overnight team camp 2x a year (April and August), and he is learning how to play with these kids, even if they may not be the best of friends off the field.

I can't offer you any advice on the college part, as they don't start the recruitment assistance process until next year, but if DS decides he wants to play in college, they will help him find a good fit academically as well as athletically.

 

[mom2mikel]

It really depends. My 14yo DD has been on travel teams since U8. One local club that can almost guarantee scholarships if you are on their teams costs well over 15K per year. IMO, you are paying in advance for those scholarships! This past fall season her team did 4 out of state tournaments, including one that required airfare. I can tell you that she was one of two freshmen to participate in a college showcase last week and she has a college recruiting her already (division III -- rules are much more strict for division I and division II programs -- they can't really start to recuit until junior year).

She loves to play and has made her best friends from the team. She knows she wants to play in college. If she can get some scholarship money and it's not killing us financially now, I'm all for it. You never know if they will decide not to play someday or suffer a career ending injury. You have to be comfortable knowing they are doing what they love at a cost/time commitment you can afford with no guarantees for the future.

HTH!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Debster!!!!!

I agree with the above. Travel soccer can be expensive and the opportunities for scholarships are few. You need to do it with no expectations for the future, but because NOW it's offering the opportunities that you and your child want...opportunities to travel, meet other players, be part of a team, etc, and most importantly, for the love of the game.

 

[sduck]

The sign of a real good travel coach - they will tell you that out of all of the teams they have coached, they can count on one hand the number of players who received a scholarship that "paid" for college, even at the elite travel level.

Both my son and daughter played for high school and travel. Out of all of their friends/teammates only one young lady received a scholarship. It was to a local university and yes it paid a good majority of her tuition. Problem is, she was placed in classes that did not conflict with soccer, starts school weeks before all her friends, can only dorm with the team, her social life is dictated by the soccer team. DON'T get me wrong, she loved it, the TWO years she received the scholarship. Then she was injured enough to miss the end of her second season, with plans for physical therapy over the summer for the next year. The school did not renew her contract. No scholarship money was offered. She is still in school, found new scholarship money to cover some of the costs, is in the dorms with the general population and still loves school.

The only other player that was recruited was a player at DS's school. Problem is he was outright recruited with a team out of the country.

It is rare to get a full scholarship, but if your son is good and extremely dedicated, he may get a partial scholarship and may even play with a team in college. It comes with a "cost" as stated above, but for some players that is exactly what they want.

I would go into it with the mindset that if your son wants to commit and play it is a great way to keep them busy year round with an extra-curricular activity that you will pay for. It is a commitment you need to sit down and make sure the whole family is ready to say yes to. We enjoyed it for quite a few years, but in the end both of my children burned out.

Take time to make your decision and I recommend if he chooses not to play travel that he continues to play in school and rec leagues. Soccer is a great sport.

 

[packofjedis]

Hello fellow Hoosier! My son also plays for a travel team here in Indiana. He's a U15 right now. He's wanting desperately to get onto a college team so we'll continue with what we're doing and hope for the best. I can tell you a little that I know about it....

I agree with all PP - the full scholarships are very few and far between.

I think getting onto a college team is an achievement in itself. The head of my son's club put together a presentation about college soccer. If there are approx 6200 spots available to incoming freshman on a yearly basis between Division I, II, and III for MEN, there are 5200 U18 men total from the top 5 teams in each state (nevermind all those other teams below the top 5). So there are alot more kids than there are spots.

As far as college recruiting, I know one of the men's soccer coaches at a private university in Indy. He told me that they only go to watch games and see players at travel games. Their soccer schedule is the same season as high school, so they make it to none of those games. They do use college showcases but also go to local games as well.

I would imagine your 2 out of state tournaments are college showcase tournaments. Make sure of that. But even without that, you can always have your son start contacting coaches and giving them his stats and videos of his playing.

A friend's daughter is pushing herself on private colleges around Indiana. She has gotten invited to train with several teams and is trying out for a couple as well. She was not "found" at a college showcase but is instead selling herself to these colleges.

Good luck with your decision. If your son really loves soccer, he's going to have a great experience playing travel with harder practices etc than rec.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

My kids played travel soccer, lacrosse, basketball, and swimming. We spent tens of thousands of dollars. It was worth every penny as high school was a wonderful experience for them and they loved winning state and national titles. DH and I met lots of nice parents, many of whom we are still friends with now even though our kids are all in college. It also kept our kids out of trouble. If you can afford, it really is fun.

Soccer scholarships are few and far between, so don't spend his college money to play on this team. My boys elected not to swim in college as they wanted to be students and were burned out on 20 plus practices a week year round. That happens to a lot of kids. My daughter elected to pay lacrosse at a DIII school that is a decent team where she could start. Low pressure and she has fun. She received lots of scholarship money, but it is all academic and she has to keep her grades up to keep it. That is true at a lot of DIII schools.

If your son really wants to play in college he needs to get in contact with coaches and let them know where they can come watch him play. It is ok to go for some reach schools, but also look at schools where he knows he can contribute right away.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

[caitlinsmom]

DD12 plays club softball. Her town travel team at U10 won state, regional and national titles. Because of some unforseen circumstances the town program changed and the level of competition just isn't there anymore so we moved to a club organization where she will be playing with girls with the same passion and ability she has.
She'd love to play in college but who knows if that will happen. That's the last of the reasons she's playing club.

 

[islangrl]

Travel teams can be so much fun, the hotels and going out to eat, etc. are what make the great memories. But I agree with the others, that if you're in it to pay for college, the big cost of Travel teams will most likely be more than you can expect to get as an athletic scholarship. If his grades are good you could probably make up some in academic scholarship.

I read a VERY eye opening article from the NYT, take a look and please read all the articles in the left sidebar. It's very informative.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html?pagewanted=all

Good luck to you and your son!