Training was awesome. The club had a team of trainers who worked with each team, developing skills, honing technique, and assessing the needs of each player. We played in 4-5 tournaments each year. 3-4 were out of state. We’d play in CA, AZ, NV, and sometimes one other state.
I enjoyed the soccer vacations. I enjoyed the other families of the kids on the team. We had very little turnover year to year. The biggest year for turnover was when the boys turned 14. 4-5 of the boys fell behind physically and were replaced by bigger, faster boys. After that, the team was pretty stable. We had kids from cache valley to Sandy on the team. They all showed up to practice 3 times each week. We had great times together. It was a big commitment for our whole family. It was worth every dime to all of us.
If your kid wants to play in college or beyond, playing for a serious club is a must. You can’t qualify for the big tournaments out of state on a team that can’t win in-state tournaments. A couple of tournaments each year were dedicated to the college recruiting process. Most of my son’s team got the exposure they needed to play in college because of these tournaments.
If your kid’s goal is to play in college, and you can make the commitment financially and time wise, a good club can’t be beat.