How Far Should I Drive For Club Soccer?
In a world where parents want the best for their kids, many are opting to drive hours to be on a soccer team.
In my opinion, the distance you travel for practices and home games should be a family decision.
For us, anything over an hour wouldn’t work unless (maybe) it’s an opportunity with a MLS Academy. Then I think we would consider anything under an hour and a half.
Some families have fewer obligations or can split the time with another parent and are willing to drive two hours to practices.
On the other hand, some families may have multiple siblings or a single-parent situation where they can only make it if the club is 20 minutes away.
Regardless of the situation, it’s a sacrifice.
Sometimes the player needs to sacrifice their desires for the greater good of the family. Otherwise, it could cause constant stress for everyone.
What Should I Consider?
Now that we are nearing decision time for choosing clubs for next year, it is important to weigh out your options.
Some families are lucky enough to live in an area where there are many clubs to choose from. None of them are perfect but you have options.
I’m in New Hampshire and, as you can imagine, we don’t have a lot of competitive clubs near us.
We live 20 minutes from my son’s soccer club and, luckily, they play in the MLS NEXT league so it works for us.
But, if we had to consider another club, here’s what I would ask myself:
- What leagues is the club affiliated with? You want to make sure you are in a league that is competitive for your player.
- Do they have multiple locations? Sometimes you’ll have to travel even further without realizing it.
- Are there other players in my town that I can carpool with? This makes it much easier if you are in a pinch or you have conflicts with the practice schedule.
- What teams do they play? In addition to your home games, you’ll also want to consider away games. For us, 2-4 hours is the norm for away games.
- Does my son or daughter need and want to play club soccer? Sometimes we are so bent on our child playing club soccer that we don’t take a step back to understand what they want.
- Is it worth the money and time? If you don’t feel like you’re getting value from club soccer, you will most likely resent the entire situation. This is a bad place to be in.
Again, this should be a family decision.
Try not to compare yourselves to other families. It will only make you make unsound decisions.
Do what’s best for your family and enjoy the season wherever it may be!
