Soccer calendars vary by state, primarily due to the local climate. Yet many soccer parents chuckle at the concept of 'Spring' soccer, because the weather can get pretty wild (and cold) some years. Still, the idea of 'Spring' soccer generally meant the bulk of the season was played in... the Spring.

Soccer calendars vary by state, primarily due to the local climate. Yet many soccer parents chuckle at the concept of 'Spring' soccer, because the weather can get pretty wild (and cold) some years. Still, the idea of 'Spring' soccer generally meant the bulk of the season was played in... the Spring.

ESPN has a radio show dedicated to youth sports called 'Hey Coach Tony', and all the shows are up on YouTube which is very cool. Word is the show will soon be simulcast on many cable systems. Podcasts would also be a great thing to have for those with iPods. It's an entertaining show that tends to focus on the extremes and controversial situations, but overall Tony covers a number of hot button issues that are worthwhile to debate.

Our recreational league has been coed since it's inception. We formed coed divisions simply because of numbers. When our league formed in 2002, we had ~350 players or so from U6 up through U12 just enough to form small two year divisions of coed teams (U6/U8/U10/U12). A few years later players were split by gender only if they made our new travel teams (U10 and above).

A running joke among soccer league officers and volunteers is 'Offseason? What offseason?' Here in NC, we've already held tryouts (two weeks surrounding Memorial Day), formed teams, and are currently registering players and submitting Intent To Play forms for the Fall.

But beyond that, summer is a chance to improve things and try to make things better for the Fall.

I hate tryouts. I've always hated tryouts. Kids are stressed. Parents are stressed. Coaches are stressed. Some of it reasonable, some of it not. In some areas with large programs, it amazes me the intrigue and drama that goes on with the 'B' teams and the accusations (sometimes valid, sometimes not) of clubs considering things other than skill in their evaluations.