Middle School Soccer

[Philos_Finest]

Curious to see how other SEO schools handle their middle school soccer programs.

I assume most are clubs but would like to know if there are any school sponsored teams? I would like to start a list if possible, so post what you know!


MVL -

Philo - Boys & Girls Club teams
John Glenn - Boys & Girls Club teams
Tri-Valley - Boys & Girls Club teams
Morgan - Boys & Girls Club teams
West M. - Boys & Girls Club teams
Maysville - Boys & Girls Club teams
Coshocton - Boys & Girls Club teams
River View - Boys & Girls Club teams

Others -

Noble County - Co-Ed Club team

[Tri-StateYouthSports]

OVC

Chesapeake -- Co-ed School team
Fairland -- Co-ed School team
Gallia Academy -- Co-ed School team
Portsmouth -- Co-ed School team
Rock Hill -- Co-ed School team

[rxburgfan]

SOC

Minford
New Boston
Waverly
Northwest
West

Best I can come up with

[OutsideIn]

Saint Joe has a club team due to a lack of numbers. They typically bring up a few fifth and sixth graders to fill out the roster. Typically a pretty solid team.

[Redball]

Minford and Waverly has a separate girls and boys team.

[OSH]

Has anyone considered trying to add middle school in the spring?

Several Kentucky schools have done that, mainly in the Lexington area. It offers a cheaper alternative to club. To me, it's also a bigger benefit because now those 8th graders will be a little sharper for fall HS when they've spent a few months playing. Then, they jump straight into HS summer activities.

[wellstonsoccer]

Wellston plays soccer in the spring and we are always looking for teams to play. Our middle school team plays 6th-8th

[Falcon01]

Has anyone considered trying to add middle school in the spring?

Several Kentucky schools have done that, mainly in the Lexington area. It offers a cheaper alternative to club. To me, it's also a bigger benefit because now those 8th graders will be a little sharper for fall HS when they've spent a few months playing. Then, they jump straight into HS summer activities.

the cheaper part is good, but if I had a daughter at that age, id want her getting the coaching and better level of competition, she could get from the club level. I coached MS soccer at FU for one year, and that was after 9 years of coaching HS soccer, and I would definitely encourage kids to play club over MS soccer if they are able.

[ndc soccer]

Middle School definitely has some benefits that club doesn't and vice versa. Training 4-5 Days a week compared to club which usually trains 2-3. That's huge in my opinion. The biggest issue is once they play middle school they are bound by the OHSAA (If they are a sanction school team). 5, player rule, Coaching restrictions, etc. The other issue is possibly getting into a spring league and then playing in Tournaments which is $$ and you could play a very good team when your team has a mix of new & experienced kids. Tournaments & competition are always a toss up in games.

[OSH]

the cheaper part is good, but if I had a daughter at that age, id want her getting the coaching and better level of competition, she could get from the club level. I coached MS soccer at FU for one year, and that was after 9 years of coaching HS soccer, and I would definitely encourage kids to play club over MS soccer if they are able.

Obviously, the "club is better than middle (or high) school coaching" is a massive over-generalization. I got my coaching start in high school and middle school, then went on to coach college, and had the opportunity to train professionals. There are a lot of club coaches who do not know what they are doing.

But, the reason I addressed the middle school in spring topic here (SEOP) is because a lot of this area isn't in a place where club is truly that much better OR that accessible. The region this board covers isn't necessarily Columbus, Cincinnati, or Cleveland where club is more prevalent. A lot of these kids in middle school don't have a sport to participate in during the spring -- sometimes track is the only middle school sport. So, why not give the kids another one? Facilities are already there. Maybe the HS coach can come help at times, that way there's involvement from the top down.

Or, as some areas do it, the "middle school team" is sponsored by the local youth league. Then, the team isn't bound by any restrictions and it is semi-operated like a club.

[Falcon01]

Problem is, this area also still has many many ADs who still dont want soccer at all, so getting them to add soccer as a spring sport for JH would be tough.

Most SE schools don't do softball and baseball for JH though??

I guess I can get behind the fact the SE doesnt have great club options, but still in MOST cases, club coaching is going to be better than a MS coach who's likely going to be a volunteer or parent, though not always. I suppose you'd have to look at each situation separately. If I lived anywhere near chilli at least, I'd try to get my kid to Columbus or dayton area for club, since like you said they're only gonna practice twice a week. You'll have to travel for tourneys anyway.

In the end... I'm all for kids having a ball at their feet as much as possible!! But I've always loved the idea of kids playing other sports too.

[OSH]

Problem is, this area also still has many many ADs who still dont want soccer at all, so getting them to add soccer as a spring sport for JH would be tough.

If there's enough movement for it, it's possible. It's starting to gain more traction in northern Kentucky right now (it already exists in Lexington-area). Kansas also has started operating middle school in the spring, as co-ed. I would figure there are more that do the same.

Additionally, this is why a "youth league" could sponsor the sport instead of the school. They avoid the ADs that way.

Most SE schools don't do softball and baseball for JH though??

I can't speak for all, but to my knowledge softball and baseball is largely a privatized sport until high school. Where I grew up in southeastern Ohio there are no true middle school softball or baseball teams. I played baseball from kindergarten through high school.

I guess I can get behind the fact the SE doesnt have great club options, but still in MOST cases, club coaching is going to be better than a MS coach who's likely going to be a volunteer or parent, though not always. I suppose you'd have to look at each situation separately. If I lived anywhere near chilli at least, I'd try to get my kid to Columbus or dayton area for club, since like you said they're only gonna practice twice a week. You'll have to travel for tourneys anyway.

You'll do that. But, most can't afford to travel. I'd also venture to say that many HS coaches also are involved in club in some capacity these days anyway. Many club coaches are very similar to what HS offers anyway, a parent or someone interested in coaching that is thrown into those positions because the clubs need to fill coaching vacancies (I know, I work with many clubs).

It's funny that there is so much complaining about middle school or high school "not being good enough." Yet, every high school game involves tons of club kids playing with and against their teammates, while being coached by former or current club coaches. Yet, "it's not good enough."

In the end... I'm all for kids having a ball at their feet as much as possible!! But I've always loved the idea of kids playing other sports too.

If there are few/no other sports offered for middle schoolers, they can't really play other sports unless it's offered on the private market -- which could add more fees. I work in a lot of different areas and study sport for a living.

Numbers are declining in youth soccer. We've lost nearly 500,000 youth soccer players in the last 5 years. High school sports (overall) have seen their first decline in participation numbers in 30 years. These aren't good trends. I don't know or care how other sports operate, I care about soccer because it's what I do. Opening the door for maybe 20 players to play middle school soccer in the spring is 20 kids who potentially wouldn't play anything in the spring. If kids want to play club, they still could. No one is being forced into it.

Why is it that when someone brings up something to fix a problem the first response is always "no this" or "no that"? It's never typically thinking outside the box of the positives it brings?

[rxburgfan]

Problem is, this area also still has many many ADs who still dont want soccer at all, so getting them to add soccer as a spring sport for JH would be tough.

If there's enough movement for it, it's possible. It's starting to gain more traction in northern Kentucky right now (it already exists in Lexington-area). Kansas also has started operating middle school in the spring, as co-ed. I would figure there are more that do the same.

Additionally, this is why a "youth league" could sponsor the sport instead of the school. They avoid the ADs that way.

Most SE schools don't do softball and baseball for JH though??

I can't speak for all, but to my knowledge softball and baseball is largely a privatized sport until high school. Where I grew up in southeastern Ohio there are no true middle school softball or baseball teams. I played baseball from kindergarten through high school.

I guess I can get behind the fact the SE doesnt have great club options, but still in MOST cases, club coaching is going to be better than a MS coach who's likely going to be a volunteer or parent, though not always. I suppose you'd have to look at each situation separately. If I lived anywhere near chilli at least, I'd try to get my kid to Columbus or dayton area for club, since like you said they're only gonna practice twice a week. You'll have to travel for tourneys anyway.

You'll do that. But, most can't afford to travel. I'd also venture to say that many HS coaches also are involved in club in some capacity these days anyway. Many club coaches are very similar to what HS offers anyway, a parent or someone interested in coaching that is thrown into those positions because the clubs need to fill coaching vacancies (I know, I work with many clubs).

It's funny that there is so much complaining about middle school or high school "not being good enough." Yet, every high school game involves tons of club kids playing with and against their teammates, while being coached by former or current club coaches. Yet, "it's not good enough."

In the end... I'm all for kids having a ball at their feet as much as possible!! But I've always loved the idea of kids playing other sports too.

If there are few/no other sports offered for middle schoolers, they can't really play other sports unless it's offered on the private market -- which could add more fees. I work in a lot of different areas and study sport for a living.

Numbers are declining in youth soccer. We've lost nearly 500,000 youth soccer players in the last 5 years. High school sports (overall) have seen their first decline in participation numbers in 30 years. These aren't good trends. I don't know or care how other sports operate, I care about soccer because it's what I do. Opening the door for maybe 20 players to play middle school soccer in the spring is 20 kids who potentially wouldn't play anything in the spring. If kids want to play club, they still could. No one is being forced into it.

Why is it that when someone brings up something to fix a problem the first response is always "no this" or "no that"? It's never typically thinking outside the box of the positives it brings?

Getting kids to play is the key. The idea of playing club vs MS is arguable. Sure you get better coaching but what’s wrong with playing for your school and having pride in the community.

[goUK]

Coal Grove and South point have school affiliated baseball and softball in the spring.