Where the elite kids SHOULDN't meet.

This article by Tim Keown is from August of 2011.  It is a tremendous read on a subject we have devoted some time to here on this blog.  Keown does a tremendous job. While the focus is on baseball and basketball, soccer is certainly applicable as well.  It is a tad long, but well worth the time.

Click on this link for the full original story: Where the Elite Kids Shouldn't Meet.

Your kid is good, right? Really good? You don't want to brag, but he can do some things on the field that other kids his age won't even try. You played a little ball yourself, and you know the difference.

Make no mistake: There's someone out there for you. He's putting together a team, and he's got a pipeline to the best tournaments. He knows people. He'll have tryouts and he'll tell you what you want to hear. It's expensive, sure, but who can put a price on your kid's future? If he's got a chance to be the best, he needs to play with and against the best, right?

Judging by the direction we're taking preteen youth sports, it appears we have completely lost our minds. Gone crazy -- collectively and individually. It's become something of a hobby for me to read the local sports coverage of the three or four sub-20,000 circulation papers in my area, and I am here to report that the center cannot hold.