Kiddie Sports in the US Questions (basketball, soccer, girls' leagues)

Kitty Pryde said:

OK, I have questions I've been saving up for multiple WIPs: 2 have girls' basketball, 1 has high school soccer. All set in California:

Basketball


2. What league could elementary/middle school girls compete in that would have city and state championships? Would there be a national championship? Or would that only be a select travel team that costs a lot of money to play in?

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Boys and Girls Clubs.

Fee is cheap, usually around $25. They have traveling basketball, baseball, softball, football, etc. teams. The Club's baseball team in our area actually went to the Little League World Series in Puerto Rico a couple years ago.

In basketball... I do know that there are regional champions and that they do travel to tournaments. I'm not sure if there is a national championship. Check with a Boys and Girls Club in your area. They would be able to give you any info you'd need.

3. By middle school do the kids play the same position most of the time, or do they rotate through and play all positions?

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Once we were in a position, and were good at it, we stayed in that spot. Any changes would be due to a player not working out in a particular spot.

4. How often would a middle school bball team practice? How long are practices? I know it varies, but in general!

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For our middle school sports teams we practiced every day. Practices would usually last from 3-5pm. That may have changed. Call up one of your local middle schools and they can get you that info.

Soccer

5. In AYSO or similar youth soccer, and in high school soccer: does anyone ever have the jersey #0? Do kids get to pick their jersey numbers?

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Don't know about #0 but in the youth/high school sports I played in it was pretty much split on if we got to pick our numbers or not. It depended on the coach.

6. What would a high school coach of a competitive team do with a significantly overweight player who was good enough/fast enough to keep up with the rest of the team? He's good enough to help the team to victory, but he stands out on the field, and he would be basically unstoppable if he could drop the weight. Extra training? Extra nagging? Threats to kick him off the team? Pressure from the other players? I have him playing striker, which I know is improbable, but not impossible.

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Probably wouldn't be a lot help answering this one for you. Back when I was in high school the coach probably would have rode the kid's ass, insulted them, forced them to run extra sprints, etc. Nowadays, with all the PC stuff... No idea.

7. How many people attend a typical high school soccer game for a good team in a competitive league? I'm sure it varies a lot, but like, family and close friends only? A few hundred in the bleachers? The whole school?

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This would definitely depend on the school and the area. I mean, a school that doesn't have a football team, a lot of times the soccer team takes the popularity spot. There are also some areas where soccer is just more popular. In the Chicago area, 20yrs ago, we had usually just parents and a friend or two of each of the players. Course, there was a school in our conference, with a high income bracket, that actually had 50-100 people show up for matches. So check with the area your story takes place... Check with local teams... Ask what their attendance numbers usually are.

My husband coached high school soccer last year. I asked him to read this...

What league could elementary/middle school girls compete in that would have city and state championships? Would there be a national championship? Or would that only be a select travel team that costs a lot of money to play in?

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It's not necessarily the team that you join, but the tournaments that you enter. A coach could enter just about any team, even a regular school team, but there's usually an entry fee, so schools don't usually do it. It's not that it couldn't happen.

How often would a middle school bball team practice? How long are practices? know it varies, but in general!

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Around here, they'll usually get a little practice in their athletics class, and then about an hour a day after school.

In AYSO or similar youth soccer, and in high school soccer: does anyone ever have the jersey #0? Do kids get to pick their jersey numbers?

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Jersey numbers don't mean a lot in soccer, so it's possible for the kids to choose. Some coaches don't let them because it can cause arguments and stupid disputes between the kids.

What would a high school coach of a competitive team do with a significantly overweight player who was good enough/fast enough to keep up with the rest of the team? He's good enough to help the team to victory, but he stands out on the field, and he would be basically unstoppable if he could drop the weight. Extra training? Extra nagging? Threats to kick him off the team? Pressure from the other players? I have him playing striker, which I know is improbable, but not impossible.

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Soccer is actually a very physical game, and 200 pounds coming toward an opposing player at high speed IS virtually unstoppable. The coach might simply encourage the guy to work out; if he loses fat, fine. If he gains muscle (and therefore weight), also fine. One of my husband's co-workers describes a boy built as you describe as one of his best players ever. He had a serious intimidation factor.

How many people attend a typical high school soccer game for a good team in a competitive league? I'm sure it varies a lot, but like, family and close friends only? A few hundred in the bleachers? The whole school?

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During a seasonal game, around here (South Texas), you're looking at 50-100 people. During a playoff game, you start filling up the bleachers.

The intimidation is very real, and not just a head game. Soccer can be bone-crunchingly physical, and refs will often forgo making a call on action that happens backfield, especially if doing so would alter the momentum of the game in the favor of the aggressor's team--if there even IS an aggressor. As a result, some very nasty, and sometimes purposeful, physical contact can happen in soccer.

Also, anytime you and another guy are kicking at the same tiny, moving ball, there's a chance of shin-to-shin impact, which is incredibly painful, not to mention can actually break bones. It's very hard for a soccer player--who's future in the game depends on him having shins, and who likes to do things like, say, run, and isn't, in general, an utter masochist--to kick full force at a ball that a 6'5" monster is also kicking at. They tend to hedge, to pull back just a fraction--and that can give the big guy an even bigger advantage.

So as long as your guy is fast, then yes, I think his size would generally be seen as a plus. And being 6'5" does help a guy be fast. My husband, who coached soccer because he enjoys playing it so much, is 6'8".

At 6'5" he would win everything near him in the air which would make him very valuable (presuming that he can head the ball)