Just need to rant a little (for a change!): Son has been trying out for the District soccer team - initially we were told they'd hold two trials, three if absolutely necessary, to select the final 14 players. Son tried out for the position of goalie, and the first week there were about five kids trying out for that role. At the end of the second trials, they cut the numbers down to 22 - and son made it through that cut, along with only one other goalie.
Now, turns out this other goalie is already in the state team (state under 12s I guess as all the kids have to be primary school age) but hasn't actually turned up to all the trials, and in fact has broken his arm, so last night, the fourth trial, he's there with his arm in plaster, playing in goal (for the first time at trials) but unable to actually use his arm - quite a disadvantage in a goalie! The tournament is due to be played in two weeks.
At the end of the trials yesterday they announced the final 14, and lo and behold, this other guy gets the nod, and son gets rejected - with the proviso that if the other guy doesn't get medical clearance before the tournament, he'll be the emergency reserve. Now call me biased but surely if this other kid hasn't had medical clearance yet, he shouldn't be at the trials, and if his parents had any sort of common sense they'd have told him "well, son, as you're injured give the District team a miss this year and let some other kid have a go!" - or even "well, son, it's pretty foolish playing soccer with your arm in plaster - what if you fall on it, or the ball gets kicked at it, and the injury is made worse"! But no...... Surely there is some sort of duty of care - both on the part of this kids' parents and on the part of the coach?
What is he doing out on a soccer field with an arm in plaster, prior to receiving medical clearance, which he obviously hasn't had yet? What is the coach doing picking him when (a) he isn't fit to trial, and (b) he hasn't attended all the trial sessions, and certainly yesterday was the first time he'd been put in goal, and rarely got a touch on the ball (with his feet or his head, NOT with his arm obviously!) It does make me wonder -being the suspicious type - if maybe there is some sort of favouritism going on here. Son has been left totally bitter, feeling it's not about skill and dedication and the selection process was purely arbitrary!
If they do end up calling on my son to fill in at the last minute I'd really like to tell them where to stick their district team, but son was so keen to play, so I guess we'd have to say yes, and in the meantime, just stick small pins in a little soccer goalie doll and hope this other poor kid doesn't get medical clearance to play!
Keep telling myself it's only a game, but hey, it's a tough life lesson to learn for a 12 year old that the system sometimes, in his words "just sucks"!
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I have been coaching semi pro football and profession football since I was 18 years old, now being 40 years old and my son is a professional footballer as well, which hopefully once we have emigrated to Adelaide he can then sign up for a professional soccer club and I would like to continue coaching youths soccer.
ReplyDeleteWhat it is for a lot of youth football/soccer managers and coaches is that they want the kids to win, so they tend to pick the well known kids who have a good reputation for having good soccer skills and attributes, but most importantly is that their parents are in the click, in other words they have money and contribute in some way to the clubs finances, i.e. they sponsor the soccer team, make donations or the family are generally well known to people.
Depending on how old the children are when they are playing soccer, depends on how you choose the players to play for you. When they are under 13 years old I have always played the lads who turn up week after week and those ones who always pay their subs and on time. But it is a natural progression that lads who play football want to win and at 13 years old and above thats the only thing they care about. Hence picking those lads with a good reputation for being a good footballer/soccer player.
As a soccer youth manager/coach you pick those lads who turn up for training, never miss games or paying their subs and their parents come and support team week in week out regardless of the weather conditions and then you start to lose games, because you have picked the good lads and not those lads who have the soccer skills/abilities. The best players lose heart and end up leaving to another club because that team/club always win. The good lads end up playing and getting beat week in week out and end up being laughing stocks to their soccer counterparts/friends. This situation is horrible to be in as a Youth soccer manager/coach especially when you know full well that the lad in question is a really really nice kid, you have gained great support from their family and he plays with all his might in every game. But there is a cocky young lad with all the soccer skills and attributes, who can win games just on his own performances. Depending on how old the team is you just cannot turn him down, because if the team keeps losing games the current players get disheartened and end up leaving.
The best thing you lad can do is keep trying for other teams and show that original team how stupid they were to miss out on him. But must warn you later down the line if that team comes for him, your lad will forget about how he has been treated by them and just wants to play for that team, especially if they have a good soccer team reputation and his mates play for them.
Sorry if this has has made you feel that I am having a go at your lad please do not think that of me. I am just trying to explain from my experiences. When your lad plays semi pro and/or professional soccer, its even worse, one bad games and it's nightmare, your lad gets dropped and it takes a lot of effort from him to get back in the team, so hard as a parent to watch your lad get treated like this and you have pick up after every disappointment.
Tony from Newcastle upon Tyne (Emigrating to adelaide as soon as my home is sold)
Hi Tony
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments and I do see exactly what you mean. This is a primary school competition over here so all the kids should be under 13, most nearer to 11/12. I can quite understand them picking only the best players, as the coach in this case didn't know most of the kids, or their parents, so really it should have just come down to skills. However, in this particular case the other goalie had his arm in plaster at the trials, and my son must have been the next best goalie there, as three other kids trying out for goalie had already been let go. Kids at this age can be amongst the best one week, and then get overtaken by others better within a very short space of time, so after maybe 6 weeks in plaster (the soccer season here is only into about its 7th week) how would he know the other kid's skills wouldn't be rusty and not up to scratch if he hadn't been able to trial properly? Anyway, it was only a one-off thing, this team, not a team for a whole season, so best thing is to move on I guess and forget about it! Their loss!