Last winter, Joseph was approached by another coach in Tanner's rec soccer league. He had seen Tanner play over the last two years and wanted Tanner to play on his club soccer team. I immediately said no when Joseph told me. I don't like competitive sports at such a young age and I don't want to pay that kind of money. Even the rec league is a little pricey for me. But then Joseph explained it to me. The coach finds business sponsors to offset fees. So there was no expense to play on the team. We decided to try it out.
The coach enters the team in little 3v3 or 5v5 tournaments. Some are local and easy to commit to. Others are farther away and require hotels/travel. We also made it clear we wouldn't play on Sundays, which wasn't an issue for the coach. Tanner enjoyed playing with the boys and liked that he was finally on a team of players who understood soccer. The coach is definitely stricter and more focused on skill development.
The team qualified for a regional competition in Austin. Since it was on our way back from Arkansas and a Saturday-only tournament, we went. Tanner's team took 3rd place in the tournament, which made them eligible for nationals. It was crazy! Tanner was playing against teams that pay over $1000 a month for the coach/equipment and Tanner's team was beating them! His team has committed to going to Nationals in Alabama so that is our Thanksgiving plan.
After that, the team will go back to local tournaments. It's been a good balance for our family- nothing too expensive or high commitments but higher level soccer for Tanner. He loves it too.
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