Soccer is a beautiful sport, no matter where you play. There are two main ways to join a team if you ever decide to play soccer as a teenager: you either choose to play club soccer or play soccer for your high school. While both high school soccer and club soccer play the same sport, they’re both very different in their own ways.
Club soccer is usually for players who want to play all year round. In Club soccer, you often travel to different cities to play in big tournaments. The coaches who are usually coaching a soccer club are professional or ex-players, and the players come from different high schools. There are benefits, such as more travel, new friends, and building relationships with your teammates. Players find out they have more in common than just soccer as they build chemistry all year round, both on and off the soccer field.
One negative of club soccer is the cost. Clubs cost a lot more than High School, as you have to pay for uniforms, hotel, and travel. But High school soccer is different; all you need are your soccer abilities, cleats, and shin pads.
Academic performance plays an important role in high school soccer. In club soccer, they only care about your soccer ability and skills, but in high school, you must pass all of your classes to be eligible to play.
Another difference with high school soccer is the season length, as High School soccer is usually during late fall to early spring. That means you have a shorter chance to play games, and every game is really important to make it to the playoffs.
A social benefit of high school soccer is that you play with people you see sometimes in the hallways or might even have as classmates. Once students are on the same team, they can build stronger relationships, other than just being classmates.
Beyond high school, more than 80% of NCAA D1 players played Club soccer. So if you were to play only club soccer, there is a higher percentage of you making it to play in college. College Sophomore Oliva Kisner even noted that, ” I play club soccer over high school because it gives me a better opportunity for college recruitment“.
Both club and high school soccer are fun and exciting. You can either pick one or try out both at the same time. Club helps you get better, and high school helps build memories and history for your School.
