I see parents removing their children from my gym club despite their enjoyment because other parents say, 'Oh, you must try this out.' Competitive parenting is alive and kicking. There is a rush to put children into clubs too young (before they can tie their own shoelaces or even toilet themselves) because parents don't want to 'miss out.'
My son has played for 3 football (soccer) clubs: the first was great for an introduction and the coach was ideal. Covid curtailed that.
The second was mixed: local with friends, but he had three different coaches, with three different philosophies in three years. The last year, my son was the captain and stand out player. We discussed his next step. He wanted to play at a higher level, with better players.
His third, and current, club has three coaches, all of whom have a decent playing experience and have run the team for a while. The league is competitive and there is competition for playing time. It is the right time and place for my son now (15 years old).
Interesting. I’m curious if this has gotten noticeably worse over the past 3-5 years. Also makes me wonder if club hopping becomes more prevalent as the college transfer portal becomes more normalized than it already is.
That said, I def think you should drop a team if the fit isn’t right like you said. I’ve done it without a single regret. I’ve made the mistake of “sticking it out” with a bad coach. Nope. Life is too short.
I don’t kids to play for me who play on multiple teams. I’ve had kids come to a game tired because they just played two games already. I also think the buy-in is different when you’re committed to one team. It’s also challenging to learn the various strategies coached by very different people.
I see parents removing their children from my gym club despite their enjoyment because other parents say, 'Oh, you must try this out.' Competitive parenting is alive and kicking. There is a rush to put children into clubs too young (before they can tie their own shoelaces or even toilet themselves) because parents don't want to 'miss out.'
My son has played for 3 football (soccer) clubs: the first was great for an introduction and the coach was ideal. Covid curtailed that.
The second was mixed: local with friends, but he had three different coaches, with three different philosophies in three years. The last year, my son was the captain and stand out player. We discussed his next step. He wanted to play at a higher level, with better players.
His third, and current, club has three coaches, all of whom have a decent playing experience and have run the team for a while. The league is competitive and there is competition for playing time. It is the right time and place for my son now (15 years old).
So, we have 'hopped' clubs, but with a rationale.
Interesting. I’m curious if this has gotten noticeably worse over the past 3-5 years. Also makes me wonder if club hopping becomes more prevalent as the college transfer portal becomes more normalized than it already is.
That said, I def think you should drop a team if the fit isn’t right like you said. I’ve done it without a single regret. I’ve made the mistake of “sticking it out” with a bad coach. Nope. Life is too short.
I don’t kids to play for me who play on multiple teams. I’ve had kids come to a game tired because they just played two games already. I also think the buy-in is different when you’re committed to one team. It’s also challenging to learn the various strategies coached by very different people.