"Travel" teams.

[Big Cuddly Bear]

My daughter has expressed interest in playing soccer. To get in the league she wants to play in, she has to "strongly consider" joining a travel team in the following season. Basically the agreement says something along the lines of "if the league has more children who want to play than we have room for, preference will be given to those who are willing to join a travel team for the following year."

My daughter played indoor soccer once before and lost interest about halfway through the season. But her absolute best friend plays soccer and is on a travel team. So now she seems all gung - ho about playing soccer.

I am hesitant for a few reasons about letting her play, not the least of which is the time needed for practice and travel.

Above all else, except school of course, we have her staying in Tae Kwon Do until she gets her black belt, so soccer has to take a 2nd seat to TKD, as we have 2 years of time and money already invested in TKD.

So, I guess, I could have asked just this: How much time is required for kids who are on travel teams, soccer and otherwise?

 

[SpecialK]

When I saw the thread title, my first thought was "be prepared to give up your life." Once niece and two of our friends' sons played travel. Every weekend during the season was devoted to games/tournaments, and some of them were quite a distance away. That doesn't even take practices into account.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

During the Winter month's DS has 2 practices per week, and 2 game per week, so 4 days of the week is committed.

During travel season (early spring until fall) DS probably has 1 day off per week.

IT is a huge commitment and I would not recommend it unless your child is choosing this as their #1 sport.

Good luck with whatever you do choose.

 

[*BTMRR*]

I don't think that the last stages of working toward a black belt would be compatible with being on a travel team. At least not if you want to maintain your sanity and your daughter wants to maintain decent grades at school.
The children I know who are on travel teams (even at fairly young ages) basically devote their entire lives when not at school to the team. I can't imagine adding another sport on top of that. I'm sure some people do that successfully but I don't believe we could.

 

[Magic Mom]

My daughter has expressed interest in playing soccer. To get in the league she wants to play in, she has to "strongly consider" joining a travel team in the following season. Basically the agreement says something along the lines of "if the league has more children who want to play than we have room for, preference will be given to those who are willing to join a travel team for the following year."

My daughter played indoor soccer once before and lost interest about halfway through the season. But her absolute best friend plays soccer and is on a travel team. So now she seems all gung - ho about playing soccer.

I am hesitant for a few reasons about letting her play, not the least of which is the time needed for practice and travel.

Above all else, except school of course, we have her staying in Tae Kwon Do until she gets her black belt, so soccer has to take a 2nd seat to TKD, as we have 2 years of time and money already invested in TKD.

So, I guess, I could have asked just this: How much time is required for kids who are on travel teams, soccer and otherwise?

Does she still want to do TKD or are you just making her do it because of your invested time and money? DD runs cross country. They practiced every weekday and meets were all day Saturday 7AM- until return at 5PM. They traveledup to 2 hours away to meets. Really it wasn't that big of a deal. I guess I'm saying if it were my child, I'd let her try it.

 

[woodkins]

Don't know about soccer, but dd8 does competitive cheer. She practices 3x per week for 1.5 hours each. She also does a private lesson about 1x every other week. Competition season is Dec-May and we will travel to 10 competitions total. Most are 3-5 hours away and we stay overnight for about 3 of the competitions.

It is a big committment & also you should keep in mind that once the travel/tournament aspect comes into play the coaches generally take it up a notch, so if she is in it just for "fun" travel might not be the best choice.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Does she still want to do TKD or are you just making her do it because of your invested time and money? DD runs cross country. They practiced every weekday and meets were all day Saturday 7AM- until return at 5PM. They traveledup to 2 hours away to meets. Really it wasn't that big of a deal. I guess I'm saying if it were my child, I'd let her try it.

She still likes TKD. And she still wants to do it. BUT she quit once, and then came back and asked to start going again because she missed it. I let her start again, but she signed a contract with me that she would stay until she gets her black belt.

She has a history of starting stuff and quitting after 8 weeks or so.

 

[Magic Mom]

She still likes TKD. And she still wants to do it. BUT she quit once, and then came back and asked to start going again because she missed it. I let her start again, but she signed a contract with me that she would stay until she gets her black belt.

She has a history of starting stuff and quitting after 8 weeks or so.

Then I would just sign her up for the regular league and not commit to the travel team until she can prove that she just won't quit again.

 

[mdsoccermom]

My daughter has expressed interest in playing soccer. To get in the league she wants to play in, she has to "strongly consider" joining a travel team in the following season. Basically the agreement says something along the lines of "if the league has more children who want to play than we have room for, preference will be given to those who are willing to join a travel team for the following year."

My daughter played indoor soccer once before and lost interest about halfway through the season. But her absolute best friend plays soccer and is on a travel team. So now she seems all gung - ho about playing soccer.

I am hesitant for a few reasons about letting her play, not the least of which is the time needed for practice and travel.

Above all else, except school of course, we have her staying in Tae Kwon Do until she gets her black belt, so soccer has to take a 2nd seat to TKD, as we have 2 years of time and money already invested in TKD.

So, I guess, I could have asked just this: How much time is required for kids who are on travel teams, soccer and otherwise?

My daughter plays in an exceptionally competitive travel league (remember, there is a difference between league and club). During fall and spring, she has at least regular practice two nights a week, and foot skills one night. Then games are Saturdays and/or Sundays. We have had to travel up to 3 hours away from home for games. During the winter, they play both futsal and indoor, plus have occasional footskills clinics. Over break, she and some other girls may do a shooting and finishing clinic.

It all depends on the club and league, really. Some are more competitive than others. Also, does your daughter have to try out for the team? Around here, you don't get on a travel team without trying out; you don't just join one. If she has to try out, then she needs to truly understand the commitment.

 

[goofy!]

She still likes TKD. And she still wants to do it. BUT she quit once, and then came back and asked to start going again because she missed it. I let her start again, but she signed a contract with me that she would stay until she gets her black belt.

She has a history of starting stuff and quitting after 8 weeks or so.

If you want to do both, I would check out the rules very, very carefully of the travel team before committing.

DS has his black belt, so I know what kind of commitment that is.

I have 2 girls on competitive cheer teams that travel. Not exactly soccer, but the same mindset as competitive travel teams.

There is no way they could have done both sports at the same time. Travel teams and TKD have high commitment levels and both are usually considered primary sports.

Additionally, in our case, both sports had/have significant penalties, both monetary and physical for the athlete (think suicides) for absences at practices and competitions. And there just isn't enough days in the week to make all the practices of both sports and still maintain a semblance of sanity.

Missing practice to test for a belt would not be considered an excused absence on the girls' cheer teams. There would be penalties assessed if practices were missed to attend tkd practices or even an important testing.

Also, if your daughter has a tendency to like to try things out and then decide it is not for her, make sure you read the contract before you sign. For instance, our cheer gym charges a 4 figure monetary fee if you quit during the season. Several of DS's friends travel hockey teams have similar penalties for quitting midway through the season.

I would stick to rec soccer until that black belt is finished. One to really gauge your daughter's love for the sport (you really need to love the sport to endure the commitment of a travel team) and two, to be able to fully dedicate yourself to earning that black belt.

 

[debster812]

I am hesitant for a few reasons about letting her play, not the least of which is the time needed for practice and travel.

So, I guess, I could have asked just this: How much time is required for kids who are on travel teams, soccer and otherwise?

It really depends. DS plays soccer year round. On two different 'travel' teams. One is a competitive travel team, for our town's youth soccer league. Our little town does not have strong teams on the boy's side, and the time commitment for this is one practice a week, and one game on Saturday, for an 8 week season.

However, for our town league, no one above the U8 level gets placed on a travel team without attending a tryout. If we do not have the numbers, and/or coaches, we have to limit the number of teams, and unfortunately some kids don't get placed on a team.

His other team is is with a club here in MA. This is his more serious soccer, and they practice 3x a week, plus games on Sundays. We travel all over MA, NH, VT, with further travel for holiday weekend tournaments.

DS is 13 now, and the older they get, the further they'll travel. Depending on how old your DD is, the time commitment can vary, as it can depending on how high level the competition in her league is.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Well, she now read this thread and decided that she doesn't want to do it, so I am glad that I posted.

Thanks.