Personal Consumer Issues • Travel Soccer Worth the Money & Time?

My 8 y.o son is doing well with his club soccer teams. He loves the sport....he enjoys playing it year round in spring/fall/winter leagues. Also asks me to play with him every night and watches soccer games on TV (English Premiere league and Spanish La Ligua) when he is not playing. Loves to come to practice early and stay late to kick some more.

Other parents and coach recommend we look into travel soccer for him so we are weighing the PROs and CONs below:

PROs:
-structured year round soccer activities (practice, games, etc.) with same coach/teammates...currently, I sign him up in different leagues
-better coaching (paid) vs. volunteer coaches
-higher competition peer group

CONs:
-large time (go-away for tournaments) and money commitment ($3k)...we can afford this but wonder if it's worth it
-possible burn out from sport
-no longer big fish in small pond (he is currently best player on his teams)

Overall, our family values academics and view sports just for social/exercise/fun benefits. We are not looking for our son to earn a college scholarship or go professional.

For families that have or had their kids in travel sports....was it worth it? why or why not?

Thank you in advance!

Statistics: Posted by capitalhockey — Tue Dec 10, 2024 9:59 am — Replies 3 — Views 144

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