Back in the day before soccer clubs were big business, Kansas City had a plethora of independent teams. When I think back on when I played soccer here in the 1990s, there were one or two “clubs” (mostly just for boys teams), and the rest of us played for independent teams. Neighborhood teams. Some of us got lucky and landed a great coach; my team was one of them, winning multiple state championships with Coach Gags Pritchard at the helm. Others didn’t have the coaching prowess we did, but nonetheless, players still played – because it was fun. Because playing soccer made them feel good. Because they were able to play without pressure of making too many mistakes and getting cut from the team at age 10.

Fast forward to today, players are quitting at alarming rates. A study of young athletes found that from 2008-2013, 600,000 soccer players flat out quit soccer; 2.3 million youth overall stopped playing sports. Go ahead, read that again. Let that sink in. As parents, we need to find a way to cut through the advertising clutter and selling of the dream to play on a top team or prominent club, and shift our mindsets to getting our daughter on a team where she will flourish, not flounder.

I encourage you to find a situation that will allow your daughter to play at the highest level *she wants* that supports her to grow and have fun. Clubs across the city will tell you what you want to hear. Bottom line, soccer should be fun. If it’s not, I can almost guarantee your daughter will want to quit. Let’s put her in the best position to have fun and be in a team environment that she will want to stay engaged in and reap the long-term benefits of being a participant in youth sports.