Competition
As your child gets older he or she may become interested in competitive soccer. Perhaps you have college scouts knocking on your door. Perhaps your child declares their unshakeable interest in becoming a professional soccer player. Here are a few opinionated notes on competition.
What is Competition?
Perhaps the largest controversy within youth soccer is competitive vs. recreational play. It’s a debate that’s been going on for years and is not likely to be resolved soon. The reason it won’t be resolved is that neither side is really right or wrong. Kids vary in their personalities and abilities and thrive in different environments. Too many people feel that competition and recreation are mutually exclusive. They aren’t and the problem is the extreme views of both sides.
One extreme is dedicated to total recreation and fun, and the other is dedicated to professional soccer. Competition and recreation however, are not black and white issues. Instead of thinking in terms of one or the other, we should be thinking about degrees of competition. All competition is actually recreational. Why? Because most kids play for fun regardless of their level or competitive attitudes. Kids on the highest or lowest skilled teams still play because they enjoy it.
Competitive soccer is about playing at the right level, not necessarily the highest. The right level is a combination of skills, physical abilities and attitude.
The goals of competitive or recreational soccer shouldn’t be any different. The job of all coaches, recreational or competitive is to ensure that their players become the best they can be. This goal must be accomplished by ensuring that everyone, the coach included, enjoy the process.
If the players’ don’t enjoy themselves at any level they will quit. We need to work on making more options for kids and not more extreme ones. We need to change our notion of recreation vs. competition and replace it with kids playing at the right level. Learning how to identify what the right level is and providing those options is the soccer community’s biggest challenge.
Competition and Kids
Kids play soccer for fun. What is fun? There are a tremendous number of kids playing soccer now, and many reasons for participating. Some enjoy the social aspects, while others enjoy the physical challenge. The physical aspect comes from the balance of ones personal skills against challenge. Kids like to improve themselves. (Unfortunately it seems to apply more to sports and video games than math and history) If there is no challenge, kids get bored and quit. If their skills don’t match the level of play it can lead to stress and anxiety which again causes kids to drop out.
Part of your job as a parent is to make sure your child is playing at the right level. You need to listen, and keep track of your child’s attitudes to make sure he or she is in the right place. You can do this by watching their behavior on days when there are games or practices. It’s important to provide an open environment and encourage them to talk about how they feel. For example, you could ask before a game
“Are you feeling nervous?”
“Are you worried about making a mistake?”
Anxiety is perfectly normal and can be healthy in the right amount. If it’s creeping into other parts of your child’s life then it could be an indication that there is something wrong.
Some indications of a player playing at the wrong level include:
- Boredom
- Extreme self criticism
- Lack of concentration
- Decrease in performance
- Avoiding participation
- Mood changes around games and practices.
