Top 10 Reasons Kids Drop Out of Soccer

Based on a study conducted by the Youth Sports Institute of Michigan State University and researched by Martha E. Ewing and Vern Seefeldt, over 10,000 people aged 10-18 participated to determine why young players drop out of soccer, so here are the results.

Boys

Girls
  1. I was no longer interested
  2. It was no longer fun
  3. I was tired of playing and practicing
  4. Soccer conflicted with other sports I wanted to play
  5. Practices and games were boring
  6. My coach was a poor teacher
  7. I wanted to participate in other non-sport activities
  8. Coach only played his / her favorites
  9. I did not like the coach
  10. Too much emphasis was placed on winning caused me too much worry.
    1. I was no longer interested
    2. It was no longer fun
    3. I wanted to participate in other non-sport activities
    4. Soccer conflicted with other sports I wanted to play
    5. I was tired of playing and practicing
    6. Soccer required too much time
    7. Practices and games were boring
    8. My coach was a poor teacher
    9. There was too much pressure (worry)
    10. I never felt I belonged to the team. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is why coaches must work to develop players; make it fun and don’t care too much about winning and losing! The greatest coaching achievement is to see players get better over the season. Fun is pivotal; if it’s not fun, young people won’t play soccer. Skill development is a crucial aspect of fun; it is more important that winning even among the best athletes. The most rewarding challenges of soccer are those that lead to self-knowledge. Intrinsic rewards (self-knowledge that grows out of self-competition) are more important in creating lifetime players than are extrinsic rewards (victory or attention from others).

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS: 10 most frequently listed reasons for participating in soccer:

Boys

Girls
  1. To have fun.
  2. For the excitement of competition.
  3. To improve my skills.
  4. To get exercise.
  5. For the challenge of competition.
  6. To stay in shape.
  7. To do something I’m good at.
  8. To play as part of a team.
  9. To win.
  10. To learn new skills.
    1. To stay in shape.
    2. To have fun.
    3. For the excitement of competition.
    4. To get exercise.
    5. To do something I’m good at.
    6. To go to a higher level of competition.
    7. To play as part of a team.
    8. To improve my skills.
    9. For the team spirit.
    10. To meet new friends. 
 © Copyright 2008 West Windsor - Plainsboro Soccer Association. All rights reserved.
 © Copyright 2008 Demosphere International, Inc. All rights reserved.