My daughter loved her club soccer experiences and building new relationships. Most of her best friends played on her club teams. My daughter is very athletic and competitive - and club soccer was EXACTLY what she needed.

My daughter initially played on the local mid-sized soccer club from age 6-14. This club's league had them playing all of their matches throughout NC (vs teams from Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Charlotte, Wilmington...) and may be a tournament or two in VA or South Carolina. She was the most athletic and skilled player on her team. She loved it - and most of her closest friendships she built were teammates on her club team. One of the best parts about playing on this local club team was that her coaches NEVER scheduled Sunday league matches because they new she wouldn't play on Sundays. They knew that they needed her to play in their games.

We had opposing coaches approach us after some of her U14 games and tell us her skills and speed were too advanced for this level and that she needed to move up to a national level. We were naïve and thought she was playing high level soccer because she was on a "club" team. We looked further into it and found the closest ECNL National or Girl's Academy team was almost 2 hours away from our home. The cost was 3 times the cost of our local club. My wife and I were not sure how we could make it work financially or logistically. To be perfectly honest, if she hadn't been our youngest child, I am not sure we could have even considered it.

I talked to some college coaches and they explained that she would never get seen/looked at by playing at our local club and playing HS. They explained that almost all of their recruited players played at on national club level teams. Chasing the scholarship was never the purpose for my daughter or us as parents. My daughter just wanted to see how far she could go and loved playing the most competitive soccer she could.

So we had her try out, she made the team and then started every match for the next four years as a forward. She played on this club team for all of her high school years. We drove 2 hours each way for a 90 minute practice three times a week. In addition, her "home soccer matches" were also 2 hours away. Luckily there was another player my daughter's age from a neighboring town that also made the team, so we were able to carpool. My daughter had to take her last period of her high school classes online so we could leave our city at 3:00 to be ready for her 5:00 practice.

The hardest part of my daughter's soccer experience was not the commitment to practice and play for this ECNL team 2 hours away, it was she had to give up her other sports she loved playing. This was a difficult decision we let her make. She was an outstanding athlete in middle school, leading her teams in every sport she played. She was REALLY GOOD at basketball and volleyball, but had to give them up to be on this soccer team. She did play soccer in HS her 9-11 grades, but her team was just OK, not great. She was the only one of her HS team who played high-level club - and was named to the NC 3A All-State team her Soph and Junior years. 70% of her HS teammates played on the local soccer club team. A team in their league won the NC 3A state championship this year (4A is highest) and has 15 players playing ECNL club soccer.

Over the past 2 years playing club, my daughter was recruited by a lot of great D1 schools and received many soccer scholarship offers. She graduated HS in January her senior year and enrolled in college early - so she could practice and play in the scheduled exhibition games with her college team. Her team also traveled to England over spring break to play 3 exhibition games verses clubs there. She loved it and told us several times that graduating a semester early was the best soccer decision she ever made. By graduating early, my daughter didn't get to play her senior year of HS soccer (in NC, her HS soccer season is in the spring and her ECNL club soccer season is in the Fall). She was OK with that and had made the decision her junior year to make her junior soccer season her last.

Is Club Soccer for Everyone? Absolutely not - but for some, they need/want that experience to reach the highest level. My daughter THRIVED playing club soccer. she became a better player and a better person. She also learned early how not to be that soccer diva (like a few of her teammates were) and she built great friendships with many different girls from our region of the state.

Do I Personally Miss Club Soccer Now? I do NOT miss the many hours driving or the cost - but I totally miss watching the competitive games and watching the joy my daughter had by playing on her club team during those teenage years. I miss the relationships I built with some of the parents I'd see at matches and tournaments. There was an ECNL National Showcase in Greensboro NC a couple weekends ago - I drove two and half hours just to watch her old team play and to just soak in the atmosphere and excitement - and also to see the hundreds of college coaches watching and recruiting. I miss watching my daughter play as a teenager and seeing her play so well - but also cant wait to see how she does playing the next four years in college.

Was Club Soccer Worth It? - Yes - especially for my daughter. As I said earlier, she grew as a player and as a person. My wife, daughter and I loved our club experience - and it brought us closer over the four years. Financially worth it? - no doubt it was worth it for us. Obviously I do know my daughter's club and recruiting experiences were a big exceptions and we were not expecting her to earn the scholarship she received. But we did know that 90% of those who played on her club's national team and wanted the opportunity to play soccer in college, received partial or full scholarships.