Welcome to ‘the silly season’ folks! For those of you that attended our parent’s meeting a couple of weeks back we discussed why this description is entirely appropriate for this time of year. Honestly, as the tryout window gets pushed earlier and we descend into a youth soccer environment where players are treated more like professional athletes than children, it might be better to call it ‘the insanity season’! Pressure. Anxiety. Confusion. An endless pursuit of ‘more’ and ‘better’. This is sadly what this game has become in recent years and it seems it is throttling up. More leagues, platforms, money, time, commitment, travel, and all based on the hope and promise of top level performance, college scholarships and prosperity.
At Windsor Athletic FC, we want to be a resource for our families and offer some reassurance along with a different perspective…..especially now. First of all, just breathe - it’ll be OK and will be over soon! It's not supposed to be so complicated and tryouts are meant to be a necessary process to sort players into the best team scenario based on age/ability/fit rather than completely stressing EVERYONE out! Remember that it's our job as adults to build supportive sports environments where our kids can PLAY and be challenged in an age appropriate manner. It is the responsibility of coaches and parents to help alleviate our player’s insecurities and clubs shouldn't exacerbate this through a tryout process that pushes aggressive commitment deadlines and a FUD sales strategy (fear, uncertainty and doubt).
Our best advice to parents at this time of year is to try to remember that you are customers and you have more options and agency than you’re led to believe. You should have one goal RIGHT NOW: choose the best environment for your child’s holistic development, growth and, most importantly, their enjoyment. The future is always uncertain and unpredictable, trends are cyclical, but the fundamentals of nurturing a child remain the same. Align with people who genuinely have a duty of care for your player. Focus on progress and process. Try to see past the badge on the jersey, the team level and even look beyond the win and loss records. Rest assured, the match results will not matter when they’re older but the life lessons and fond memories will! And the longer you can keep your player engaged in sports the better because by all measures, active kids do better!
Whilst most clubs are aligning with platforms that offer the potential of college scholarships and competing against the ‘best players in the country’, the reality is that there is a significant financial, physical and mental toll to be paid for this. The collegiate landscape is shifting and is likely to look very different in the next 3-5 years as the world changes and stark economic realities sink in. Factually, the vast majority of youth players will not receive scholarships and currently, many college roster spots are being taken by international players and portal transfers while school’s budgets are being strained. Most kids/parents do not understand the demands of being a student-athlete in this day and age. Rates of serious injuries in young athletes are on the rise due to overuse and overspecialization (especially for females) and burnout is real; this ‘game’ has become so serious and the joy is no longer there for most older players.
We are different by design here in Windsor. We were founded out of a desire to bridge the gap between recreational and elite level soccer (a gap that appears to be widening each year despite actual levels of play not improving dramatically). We want our kids to take breaks from soccer, participate in other sports and activities whilst also learning the value of rest, recovery and family time. Our firm belief is that we can help nurture talented competitive players while maintaining a more balanced approach. And we are actually helping players/teams find success on the pitch; most people don’t realize that we have almost 30 teams currently in our club, with several playing at the Premier or Elite division levels, teams winning tournaments each season and a group of our players even made Colorado Select (ODP) rosters this last year!
When it comes to travel and extra expenses we are intentional and thoughtful; affordability, in general, is at the forefront of our vision and planning. The vast majority of our teams will only compete in Colorado based tournaments and will do a maximum of 1-2 per season subject to team interest and commitment level. Our higher ranked more competitive teams have participated in Colorado based and ‘Out of State’ showcase tournaments but that is evaluated on an individual basis. If our club members do want to engage in significant travel for soccer, we’d prefer for them to join enriching global soccer adventures like our recent England Trip or a Levante Academy training in Valencia, Spain. We believe that the value for money and amazing experience offered to our players, families and coaches on these international trips far exceeds that which can be gained from multiple expensive showcase tournament weekends in neighboring US states. We plan to continue to offer these annually with our next focus being a trip to Mainland Europe (Germany/Belgium/Holland) for our U14/U15 players during Spring Break 2027 and a June of 2027 stay at the Levante Academy for our more serious female High School age players!
Our path remains clear folks: WAFC will be a positive, encouraging, development centered soccer club that prioritizes engagement, progress and enjoyment. As parents, we must remember that youth sport is supposed to be an avenue for our kids to become healthier and happier; we should leave the professional game to the adults. We love soccer, we love watching the relationships being built in our community but, most of all, we love to watch your kids play, learn and grow…..‘Experience over Outcomes’..... it’s that simple!
As always, don’t ever hesitate to contact myself or any of our other Directors if you have any questions - we are here to serve.
Regards,
James Walters
Executive Director
