Why do we put our kids through this?

Should the south coast youth soccer season be from September to March?

  • Yes

    Votes: 1 9.1%
  • No

    Votes: 10 90.9%

  • Total voters
    11
  • Poll closed .

jmoulins

Member
Nov 7, 2015
55
Hi all. I'm new to this forum and while this is my 7th season coaching my kids teams, I've been pretty much insulated from the greater BC Soccer community. I'm sure the topic I'm about to raise has been discussed many times in many venues, including this one. If there's an existing thread that makes this one redundant, please point me to it. But can someone explain to me why we on the south coast make our kids play soccer through the only 4 months of the season that aren't suitable for soccer?
How can we make our 6 and 7 year olds come out and play on frozen gravel fields in November and December and then force them to choose between playing hockey or soccer?
After my U14 boys game today, the ref came by to tell us not to bother shaking hands with the other team because everyone was too wet and cold. From experience, I know that it's only going to get worse until the merciful Christmas break, and then in March at the end of this annual death march we'll all ask "Why doesn't the season start now"?

I've lots more to say about this, but can someone who's been around longer explain why our soccer season is in the winter?
 

PocoGuy

New Member
Sep 5, 2015
1
"why" .. I think because Europe has a winter season, BC was mostly European immigrants, change is difficult, especially with our governance structure ie 9 youth districts running leages
 

Admin

Administrator
Feb 23, 2015
392
Field / Pitch allocation from the Cities & Municipalities play a very large role as other sports who can ONLY play in the Spring/Summer months take precedence.
 

jmoulins

Member
Nov 7, 2015
55
Field / Pitch allocation from the Cities & Municipalities play a very large role as other sports who can ONLY play in the Spring/Summer months take precedence.
What sports? At least in Vancouver I don't see our soccer pitches being used much in the off-season.
 

Admin

Administrator
Feb 23, 2015
392
Baseball, softball, ultimate, etc

Many of the grass fields also need to time to 'regenerate' and the parks boards use the summer months to do this.

Budgets for maintaining grass fields have probably been cut WAY back because they have all bought into the turf field kool-aid.
 

jmoulins

Member
Nov 7, 2015
55
I can't think of a single field my son or daughter has played on the past few years that is also used for softball/baseball. The Little League clubs wouldn't stand for it. Not sure if ultimate has a set season or how many play the game. Surely not soccer numbers. Seems to go year-round, and we share trillium and van tech with ultimate players all winter.

Also, wouldn't it make more sense to let grass fields recover over the winter and play on them outside of our monsoon season?
 

LauraH

Member
Aug 28, 2015
77
In Richmond, artificial turf fields are shared with baseball, field hockey and lacrosse (although I'm not sure of the lacrosse season). Also, football. They're not just for soccer-although I agree, it would be better if our season were a little warmer and drier!
 

4_the_kids

Active Member
Oct 20, 2015
312
I think more and more we are seeing new parks or current parks renovated to one sport, at least i see that in Surrey, while some are shared use with baseball/;softball there seems to be less and less. We put ourselves at a disadvantage being that the lower mainland season is the only one in Canada that runs Sept to March, which is why BCSPL has adapted a hybrid season, Feb to June , Aug to Nov or something like that. I would like to see the rest of us follow that idea. With less conflict with hockey season we might even see more kids play along with the nicer weather would increase enrollment ... or at least commitment .
 

rich

Active Member
Aug 20, 2015
291
The grass fields cannot rest and have the appropriate maintenance done on them in winter - seeding, sanding, aerating, etc. Not if they are a boggy mess, or frozen over. Also (at least in South Delta) can't compete for (grass) field space with baseball.

Rain is rain. Does it suck? Yeah, I wrung enough water out of myself after Saturday's game to solve drought problems in a small African country. Then again, I've been doing this for 20 years...I'm just used to it, and thankful I'm not coaching on gravel pitches anymore :D
 

Admin

Administrator
Feb 23, 2015
392
I'm just used to it, and thankful I'm not coaching on gravel pitches anymore :D
Coaching? Try playing on it :)

I'm dating myself here but when I played youth, we trained twice a week on the stuff and probably 30% of our games were played on it. If there were such a thing as a retreat line back then, we'd have used the rivers running across the field as the marker :)
 

rich

Active Member
Aug 20, 2015
291
Ha, yeah I played my share of <something resembling soccer> on gravel. Probably still have some embedded in my knees...
 

easoccer

Established Member
Aug 27, 2015
862
I agree the current season isnt the most desirable.

We all need to remember that the season goes much further than March at the higher levels, and as we move from district, to regional, to provincial, to National. Nationals just finished recently. It all takes time.

And especially in Surrey, our fields are used year around for spring/summer soccer.


I think that there should be an onus on taking cancelled games and playing them during the weeknights to make them up. We have had rainouts for the past 2 weekends and more are sure to come. There isnt enough makeup days available. The standings look rediculous right now with teams ranging from 3-8 games.
 

LFC

Active Member
Aug 23, 2015
314
Hi all. I'm new to this forum and while this is my 7th season coaching my kids teams, I've been pretty much insulated from the greater BC Soccer community. I'm sure the topic I'm about to raise has been discussed many times in many venues, including this one. If there's an existing thread that makes this one redundant, please point me to it. But can someone explain to me why we on the south coast make our kids play soccer through the only 4 months of the season that aren't suitable for soccer?
How can we make our 6 and 7 year olds come out and play on frozen gravel fields in November and December and then force them to choose between playing hockey or soccer?
After my U14 boys game today, the ref came by to tell us not to bother shaking hands with the other team because everyone was too wet and cold. From experience, I know that it's only going to get worse until the merciful Christmas break, and then in March at the end of this annual death march we'll all ask "Why doesn't the season start now"?

I've lots more to say about this, but can someone who's been around longer explain why our soccer season is in the winter?

imoulins i salute u for a brilliant topic .The Lower Mainland has beautiful warm weather during the spring /summer and it makes sense to play soccer during that period. The rest of Canada mainly plays during the spring/summer due to extreme winters and though winters are not as bad in this area we should fall in line with the rest of the country. It would definitely help player development and games/training will not be cancelled as they often are during the winter season.
 

TKBC

Established Member
Aug 21, 2015
1,256
Season should be February-October. Have natural breaks at Spring maybe 2nd week July to 2nd week August, maybe 2 weeks for high school provincial exams and maybe 1-2 weeks during high school provincial soccer finals. As it is warmer and lighter can also play some make-up games on week nights during early July and late August as needed.

Trying to coach kids how to play soccer on a rainy Tuesday is exceptionally difficult - especially the younger they are.
 

LFC

Active Member
Aug 23, 2015
314
Season should be February-October. Have natural breaks at Spring maybe 2nd week July to 2nd week August, maybe 2 weeks for high school provincial exams and maybe 1-2 weeks during high school provincial soccer finals. As it is warmer and lighter can also play some make-up games on week nights during early July and late August as needed.

Trying to coach kids how to play soccer on a rainy Tuesday is exceptionally difficult - especially the younger they are.
TKBC - I would support playing from Feb to Oct withe breaks for school exams /summer break / provincials etc. The kids USSL leage in Surrey from April to July has been a big success with an increase in participants every season since it started . The summer tournaments for youth and adults like the Nations Cup & USFA Tournaments are also very successful with huge spectator turnouts etc.
 

4_the_kids

Active Member
Oct 20, 2015
312
TKBC - I would support playing from Feb to Oct withe breaks for school exams /summer break / provincials etc. The kids USSL leage in Surrey from April to July has been a big success with an increase in participants every season since it started . The summer tournaments for youth and adults like the Nations Cup & USFA Tournaments are also very successful with huge spectator turnouts etc.
I would debate if 'summer soccer' has been a success, its the route of all the problems with soccer in the Newton area, power, control . money. win at all cost mentality, poaching, kids playing on several teams, there is nothing i have seen that says it a positive experience. Certainly anti current LTPD models. Serves the needs of a few not the many. Plus the top team from winter don't usually participate ...
 

Admin

Administrator
Feb 23, 2015
392
@LFC

As a committee/executive member of the USSL, what has made that league such a success? Is it due to the seasons it is played in with no other competing 'set-ups' or something else?
 

jmoulins

Member
Nov 7, 2015
55
imoulins i salute u for a brilliant topic .The Lower Mainland has beautiful warm weather during the spring /summer and it makes sense to play soccer during that period. The rest of Canada mainly plays during the spring/summer due to extreme winters and though winters are not as bad in this area we should fall in line with the rest of the country. It would definitely help player development and games/training will not be cancelled as they often are during the winter season.
I would debate if 'summer soccer' has been a success, its the route of all the problems with soccer in the Newton area, power, control . money. win at all cost mentality, poaching, kids playing on several teams, there is nothing i have seen that says it a positive experience. Certainly anti current LTPD models. Serves the needs of a few not the many. Plus the top team from winter don't usually participate ...
It's always struck me as wrong that the main season, where most kids are introduced to soccer, is played from September to March, while the warmer months are given over to -for lack of a better word- secondary leagues and camps. We literally drive kids away before they have a chance to really decide whether they like the sport. In that way, soccer may be hockey's best recruiting tool.

NOW is when the hard-core kids should be playing in the secondary leagues. My 13 year old is now at the stage where he'd play through a blizzard if he could. He's a 10 month player. But he wasn't always that way. There were a lot of frozen toes and a lot of teammates who didn't come back for a second or third season.
By way of contrast, parents from all over Vancouver literally line up months in advance to register their kids to play Britannia Microfootie from April-June. We see incredibly talented young athletes there, many of whom don't play in the main season because they had to choose between hockey and soccer.
It helps that Microfootie enjoyed it's first rain-free season this year.
 
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