Affordable Leagues in the Ontario area

[FredJr]

Good evening everybody,
I moved my family out to Ontario, CA a year ago for work. I have three boys who all love to play soccer but I have really struggled finding a competent recreational league for them. They are currently playing at a nearby AYSO league and while we appreciate the volunteer coaches, it’s evident they never played the game.Can anyone recommend me to any rec leagues around the area ? Club soccer is not currently an option due to the pricing, the teams I contacted all told me I can expect to pay $4,500+ for my three boys. I appreciate the time.

 

[soccermax2]

Good evening everybody,
I moved my family out to Ontario, CA a year ago for work. I have three boys who all love to play soccer but I have really struggled finding a competent recreational league for them. They are currently playing at a nearby AYSO league and while we appreciate the volunteer coaches, it’s evident they never played the game.Can anyone recommend me to any rec leagues around the area ? Club soccer is not currently an option due to the pricing, the teams I contacted all told me I can expect to pay $4,500+ for my three boys. I appreciate the time.

I feel your pain. I too live in the IE & recreational programs have taken a hard hit after Covid. I moved her to club & now drive an hour to get quality coaching for my daughter. But it’s only one child.

May I ask how old your boys are? There are some newer small clubs that seem to be on the right track in building quality programs that are not carrying that kind of price tag. Might be worth looking into depending on their age & level.

 

[Grace T.]

Good evening everybody,
I moved my family out to Ontario, CA a year ago for work. I have three boys who all love to play soccer but I have really struggled finding a competent recreational league for them. They are currently playing at a nearby AYSO league and while we appreciate the volunteer coaches, it’s evident they never played the game.Can anyone recommend me to any rec leagues around the area ? Club soccer is not currently an option due to the pricing, the teams I contacted all told me I can expect to pay $4,500+ for my three boys. I appreciate the time.

Does your ayso have an extras/select or United program. Extras typically gets the better coaches that have some idea what they are doing ymmv. United is a club program but they go out of their way to keep the fees more manageable.

 

[SoccerMedic]

Good evening everybody,
I moved my family out to Ontario, CA a year ago for work. I have three boys who all love to play soccer but I have really struggled finding a competent recreational league for them. They are currently playing at a nearby AYSO league and while we appreciate the volunteer coaches, it’s evident they never played the game.Can anyone recommend me to any rec leagues around the area ? Club soccer is not currently an option due to the pricing, the teams I contacted all told me I can expect to pay $4,500+ for my three boys. I appreciate the time.

Look for the AYSO United team. Their fees are around 1/2 that. And there are A lot of fantastic coaches there. Ours is from England and is an incredible coach and developing the girls skills on the team. Seems United doesn’t get the quality players yet but they have some good coaching.

 

[Jamisfoes]

$4500 for 3 kids sounds like fees charged by small clubs. Big clubs are $2700-3000 for one kid.

 

[RandomSoccerFan]

$4500 for 3 kids sounds like fees charged by small clubs. Big clubs are $2700-3000 for one kid.

I was thinking he meant $4500 each. Some big clubs in norcal are about that if not a bit north from there (+ uniforms, + travel, + some tournaments). $1500/yr is on the very low end of comp soccer, and sounds more like rec or rec+.

 

[Footy30]

Good evening everybody,
I moved my family out to Ontario, CA a year ago for work. I have three boys who all love to play soccer but I have really struggled finding a competent recreational league for them. They are currently playing at a nearby AYSO league and while we appreciate the volunteer coaches, it’s evident they never played the game.Can anyone recommend me to any rec leagues around the area ? Club soccer is not currently an option due to the pricing, the teams I contacted all told me I can expect to pay $4,500+ for my three boys. I appreciate the time.

How old are your boys? There are some smaller clubs in the surrounding area that I can't imagine costing what letter leagues cost.

 

[FredJr]

How old are your boys? There are some smaller clubs in the surrounding area that I can't imagine costing what letter leagues cost.

$4500 for 3 kids sounds like fees charged by small clubs. Big clubs are $2700-3000 for one

I feel your pain. I too live in the IE & recreational programs have taken a hard hit after Covid. I moved her to club & now drive an hour to get quality coaching for my daughter. But it’s only one child.

May I ask how old your boys are? There are some newer small clubs that seem to be on the right track in building quality programs that are not carrying that kind of price tag. Might be worth looking into depending on their age & level.

My boys are 12, 9 and 8. We have put them in other sports but they are only interested in soccer. The oldest two are decent athletes, my youngest takes after his mother and is very athletic. I appreciate the help everyone.

 

[Jamisfoes]

AYSO doesn’t care where you live. You can live in Norco and go play AYSO in San Diego. My point is if the extra program in your city is no good or if it doesn’t have one, you can always go to a different AYSO. But Extra tryout is normally in Jan so that train might have passed.

 

[soccermax2]

My boys are 12, 9 and 8. We have put them in other sports but they are only interested in soccer. The oldest two are decent athletes, my youngest takes after his mother and is very athletic. I appreciate the help everyone.

Rancho Cucamonga typically has the strongest AYSO in this area. They also have an Extra/Select team. Not too far from the Ontario area. Good luck to you!

 

[FredJr]

Rancho Cucamonga typically has the strongest AYSO in this area. They also have an Extra/Select team. Not too far from the Ontario area. Good luck to you!

AYSO doesn’t care where you live. You can live in Norco and go play AYSO in San Diego. My point is if the extra program in your city is no good or if it doesn’t have one, you can always go to a different AYSO. But Extra tryout is normally in Jan so that train might have passed.

Thanks for the recommendations. Any recommendations for more affordable clubs in the Ontario/Pomona/Chino and surrounding areas ?

 

[FredJr]

I attended a club game yesterday evening and $1,500 per year is on the lower end for playing club soccer. After speaking to the wife we are seriously considering putting the boys in. I'd appreciate any club recommendations in the Ontario/Pomona/Chino and surrounding areas. I'd again like to add that my kids are decent players and by no means starts even at the AYSO level.

 

[Grace T.]

I attended a club game yesterday evening and $1,500 per year is on the lower end for playing club soccer. After speaking to the wife we are seriously considering putting the boys in. I'd appreciate any club recommendations in the Ontario/Pomona/Chino and surrounding areas. I'd again like to add that my kids are decent players and by no means starts even at the AYSO level.

If they don’t start at the ayso level you’ll want to look at flight 2 or 3 levels. You can go to the SoCal league website and search by those flights in your subarea for the prior year.

If your kids arent starting at the ayso level, however, you might want to consider putting the 12 year old in club but holding the other 2 in ayso for another year, then depending on their skill level improvement, making the extras trials as a first step.

If you are considering higher level club (flight 2 and higher) particularly for the Youngers they really shouldn’t be benchers in ayso. If you are concerned about the training level, you might want to hire a person coach to supplement their ayso skills which divided among 3 kids shouldn’t be that bad financially. It’s good that you are being realistic about their skill level (many parents aren’t) but even slots for the younger non disaster flight 3 teams can be competitive. When my kid was doing flight 3 around age 9-10 there were plenty of kids who got rejected coming straight from ayso….the jump even between ayso all stars and flight 3 can be big (I remember 1 game where my kids flight 3 beat up on the local all stars 10-1). Less of a concern for the 12 year old as rosters are larger and people are looking for slots to fill.

 

[FredJr]

If they don’t start at the ayso level you’ll want to look at flight 2 or 3 levels. You can go to the SoCal league website and search by those flights in your subarea for the prior year.

If your kids arent starting at the ayso level, however, you might want to consider putting the 12 year old in club but holding the other 2 in ayso for another year, then depending on their skill level improvement, making the extras trials as a first step.

If you are considering higher level club (flight 2 and higher) particularly for the Youngers they really shouldn’t be benchers in ayso. If you are concerned about the training level, you might want to hire a person coach to supplement their ayso skills which divided among 3 kids shouldn’t be that bad financially. It’s good that you are being realistic about their skill level (many parents aren’t) but even slots for the younger non disaster flight 3 teams can be competitive. When my kid was doing flight 3 around age 9-10 there were plenty of kids who got rejected coming straight from ayso….the jump even between ayso all stars and flight 3 can be big (I remember 1 game where my kids flight 3 beat up on the local all stars 10-1). Less of a concern for the 12 year old as rosters are larger and people are looking for slots to fill.

Thank you for the advice.

 

[Grace T.]

Thank you for the advice.

Ps the soccer announcement and recruitment boards on Facebook have ads from clubs looking for players. You find them here too in the recruitment section. You’ll find more for the 12 year old than the younger simply because the rosters are bigger and spots are opening up as the top players begin the moves to academies and letter league so unless it’s ayso United or unless the 8 year old is really gifted or close to the age line, you might struggle to put them all in the same club.

 

[nandeska306]

If your kids arent starting at the ayso level, however, you might want to consider putting the 12 year old in club but holding the other 2 in ayso for another year, then depending on their skill level improvement, making the extras trials as a first step.

I would agree with this and as he says later, add some on the side training in. My kid was top in goals and assists for his team, which placed 2nd at his AYSO division. He's now playing on a flight 2/3 team on a club with about 90% game time. If your kids aren't starting, especially for a competitive team, they're not going to have a good time in club.

 

[FredJr]

I would agree with this and as he says later, add some on the side training in. My kid was top in goals and assists for his team, which placed 2nd at his AYSO division. He's now playing on a flight 2/3 team on a club with about 90% game time. If your kids aren't starting, especially for a competitive team, they're not going to have a good time in club.

They all start, my oldest has been scoring every game this season. But I attribute that to the competition. How do you go about finding a club in your area with capable coaching.

 

[Grace T.]

They all start, my oldest has been scoring every game this season. But I attribute that to the competition. How do you go about finding a club in your area with capable coaching.

You basically have to go and check it out. Even if a club has a culture, the individual team coach might be great or might be a nightmare. There's no short cut unfortunately. Even then, you might be all signed up and ready to go for the fall season and suddenly the coach quits or gets moved (that happened to me once.....pay and sign on the dotted line as late as possible).

Again, you might consider if your oldest is particularly strong to move the older in club but hold the youngers in AYSO and get them a trainer to work with them.

 

[nandeska306]

How do you go about finding a club in your area with capable coaching.

Gotta figure out what you're looking for first, and you have to be honest with yourself. Do you want skill development, team play development, time playing with friends or making new friends, or wins (we all deny it, but it secretly matters for most).

From there, it's tough. I would try to find someone who's well connected to the local scene, like someone who runs a league and knows all the coaches. Maybe a personal trainer as they will have trainees from all over and knows who's being coached well.

Grace is right too. Coach might be great but the club could be terrible. Or even a semi-decent coach with an outstanding supportive club. Just have to take the time to research, talk with others, and learn to see through the BS.

 

[FredJr]

You basically have to go and check it out. Even if a club has a culture, the individual team coach might be great or might be a nightmare. There's no short cut unfortunately. Even then, you might be all signed up and ready to go for the fall season and suddenly the coach quits or gets moved (that happened to me once.....pay and sign on the dotted line as late as possible).

Again, you might consider if your oldest is particularly strong to move the older in club but hold the youngers in AYSO and get them a trainer to work with them.

Gotta figure out what you're looking for first, and you have to be honest with yourself. Do you want skill development, team play development, time playing with friends or making new friends, or wins (we all deny it, but it secretly matters for most).

From there, it's tough. I would try to find someone who's well connected to the local scene, like someone who runs a league and knows all the coaches. Maybe a personal trainer as they will have trainees from all over and knows who's being coached well.

Grace is right too. Coach might be great but the club could be terrible. Or even a semi-decent coach with an outstanding supportive club. Just have to take the time to research, talk with others, and learn to see through the BS.

Thank you for your advice/time. I appreciate it.