Our soccer league has seen amazing growth over the past seven years, but we still have a sizable number of kids who drop out. I don’t know what the ‘norm” is at other leagues, but we have seen a steady 10% drop rate almost every year. We don’t require up front payment with registration, so that may have an impact. Registration is free – you pay at your first practice. So any child that is registered and doesn’t finish the season is considered a drop, even if their parent signs them up and they decide not to play a week later.
You hear a lot about the dreaded ‘73%’. A common statistic quoted by DOCs is that 73% of kids quit soccer by the time they reach age 13, which is then followed up by “usually because they aren’t having fun any more” but no data is provided to back that up. Some research has shown that the 73% statistic itself is misguided, but that’s another post.
I’ve always wanted to know exactly why kids were dropping from our league. As someone directly involved in the registration of our players (and thus the paperwork when they drop out), I got the feeling that for many kids, they just weren’t interested any more. Many drops seemed to happen before practices began – kids just seemed to change their mind. Sure we had kids who were unhappy – not every player and their parents will be happy with their coach or team, and try as we might – not all of our coaches are A+ either. So drops are expected.
Anyway – I decided to give the Google Doc Surveys a try and get some feedback from our parents as to why they dropped out this past season to see if there was anything we could do to improve our retention and better understand what might be driving some kids away. Here’s what we found…
We had drops at every level, but it was interesting to see the spike in responses from the U9-U10 division, though that is also our biggest division – a graph of percentage dropped would be more informative. May be chance, but may also be an indication of a problem.

Many responses came from the U9/U10 age group
The timing of the drops showed that many of the responses came from players who never practiced. We try to place kids on teams they request, but only if it doesn’t affect team parity. So a common reason for players dropping is not getting on a specific team with a specific coach or friend. It’s unfortunate, but we can only put so many kids on a given team.

Most players dropped before practice started
Nobody who responded dropped after matches began, and most dropped before practices began.
Now I should note that these two graphs really don’t tell us anything quantitative. We have records that can tell use which divisions drops came from and when they happened for all 68 players. We asked these questions mainly to give some context to the responses we received. Once we got these types of questions out of the way, the more informative questions could be asked.
We tried to come up with common reasons for dropping, but still managed to have 32% of the respondents pick ‘Other’ for why they left. Still, it was reassuring to see that many of the drops were simply due to kids not being interested or having too many activities. I was surprised (but happy) to see only one parent select ‘Issues with coach’. Even more telling was nobody selecting ‘Wasn’t having fun’. Imagine that…

Many players dropped because they weren't interested or had too many activities. A few things got cutoff and would read 'Interactions with teammates', 'Moved to another league', and 'Was never contact by a coach'
In an effort to figure out if the reasons for dropping were specific to a coach, division, or league, we asked them ‘What was the scope of the primary reason your child dropped out’. I really struggled with how to word this and still wasn’t happy with it, but wasn’t sure how to make it clearer. The answers were ‘The league as a whole’, ‘Their divisions’, and ‘Their specific team’. 68% chose Other, so clearly this wasn’t a good question and/or set of answers.
We asked if the parents had raised any concerns with the league before dropping, and only 9% said yes. Considering how many ‘parent concern’ emails our league deals with in a given season, I thought more would have contacted us beforehand, but I guess it makes sense given the high number of drops due to kids not being interested anymore or having too many activities. They would have no reason to raise concerns.
That was all we really asked from a quantitative point of view. We ended the survey asking parents if they wanted to share specifics about why they dropped out. Here are some anecdotal responses:
Can you share some specifics about why your child dropped out?
- My son was bounced around from team to team too much. His first season was on [Team X] but was bumped from that team to another team with no explanation. The experience he had with the other team was fine but not very instructional, so he lost interest. I asked for him to be put back on [Team X] and was told it was a possibility but when we received his assignment he was with yet another coach and team. We decided it was not worth it for him to adjust another time so we decided not to even start with the practices. This is a common problem. Parents know who the long time Rec coaches are and they often have dozens of kids asking to be on their team, so we invariably have to turn some away. We generally return kids to their old team year after year if we can, but not always. Sometimes kids register late, so they get bumped from their old team. Other times we simply don’t have enough spots for everyone on a specific team. When we announce rosters, we include a note as to why we can’t meet all requests, but parents still get upset when they don’t get the team they wanted. But most continue to have their child play anyway.
- My child decided he didn’t want to play this season but may be back for spring season. As a parent I was very unhappy with the head coach for [Team Y] who did not allow enough playing time for children that were not that good at the sport. Playing time is a very common reason for parents to be upset, even though we mandate 50% playing time (which most coaches adhere to, but not all). The interesting thing is how many people equate 50% playing time with equal time. They aren’t the same thing.
- There was not a choice as to joining a team with practice days/times that would fit into our pre-existing schedule, and we were not contacted in enough time to be able to adjust our schedule to accommodate this season with MYSA. This is a VERY common problem, though we try to work through it. We used to ask parents when they registered what nights their child couldn’t practice. However, we never could use the information because most teams didn’t set a practice schedule until AFTER they queried their parents. It was a chicken-egg situation. We couldn’t assign players to teams based on practice schedules because teams didn’t have practice schedules until after players were assigned. So we stopped asking. We try to tell parents if they can’t make a team’s practices to let us know and we’ll try to reassign them to a team with a better schedule, but a few just drop out instead.
- I registered my daughter for the first time playing soccer one day after the deadline on the Internet.(didn’t realize your registration was so early) Your deadlines are very early compared to other leagues. A previous experience with my son had me concerned that she would not get on a team due to our late registration. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the league via phone and email I decided to sign her up with a city Rec league as their deadline was approaching. I finally got a reply from your league, that she would be assigned to a team after she had already started practice with the other league. I would have preferred she played with your league. This is one area we need to work on a bit, though I’m not sure how to better address it. Our registration period is in line with most other USYSA affiliated leagues, but is definitely much earlier than local city Rec leagues. This tends to catch people by surprise, so we try to advertise in papers and put up signs around town noting registration is underway, though we probably could do a few other things to get the word out earlier. Once parents register online, we send a confirmation to them with a link to some welcome information online. The one thing we definitely need to add is ‘What to expect’ so parents better understand what will happen once they register – which is basically nothing. Parents register months ahead of time, but there is no reason to contact them until rosters are finished, so they wonder if they got forgotten or if their registration got lost. Letting them know they may not hear anything until Week X may help with this. You register, you wait, teams get assigned, and you get contacted by your coach a few weeks before practices begin.
- We did not drop out due to any specific problem with the league but I would like to mention that we were concerned that things seemed a bit disorganized. One of the coaches quit the day before practice started and when we showed up to practice the first day, the new coach (really great guy) had two teams. Practice was scheduled for 4 times per week and we did not stick around to find out if that would change. In consideration of our other commitments, we felt that this situation would be a bit unstable from a scheduling standpoint. This was really surprising. We have had coaches drop out right before the season started and we’ve had teams without coaches as we scramble to recruit them before the season starts. This always makes parents nervous. But we’ve never heard of, nor encouraged, a coach to practice four times a week. This shocked me when I read it and wonder if they had misread something. Teams often practice 2-3 times a week before matches begin and then drop to 1-2 practices once weekend matches start. Wish they had asked us about this because nobody (that we know of) practices four times a week. Strange.
Overall, I was very happy with the responses since they didn’t really indicate a widespread or systemic problem in the league and the specific feedback was either something we really couldn’t address or pointed to things we can easily do better. Now that we have some baseline data, it will make next year’s survey even more useful.
What do you think? Should we have asked other questions? Was it worth doing?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I think that there is a reason that kids leave that is hidden within all of this. Perhaps it is implied in this article. The simple reason is that coaches and trainers need to build strong relationships with every player. Players will remain with a program if they know they are cared about (not on an administrative level) on a deep personal level. The other point to make is that youth soccer is very easy to quit (or change teams) and this should be revisited.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
How would you make it harder to quit and would that help? Nobody wants a miserable player – you have to fix the root cause like you suggest.
It’s just like with recruiting. I totally get why recruiting is forbidden for players mid season, BUT you have to give kids an out to get out of a bad situation. ‘Tough it out’ only goes so far. My daughter went through that and toughed it out at her parents urging and she almost quit soccer because of it. Thankfully she got a new coach the next year and all wounds were healed.
April 1st, 2009 at 9:10 am
Hey Soccer Dad – I have instituted a policy that any player can leave my club at any time as long as I get an honest reason so I can avoid the problem in the future. I also call every coach after each weekend and discuss the performance of the players and how each of them are doing. Then I email or call some of the parents each week to capture their feedback. I walk the fields during training and catch a player or two on water break and ask them how they are doing and what would improve the experience. They are all very honest. Lastly, I serve as the skills trainer for every player in the club at least once per week to show I canre about their technical development and know their names and nicknames.
April 1st, 2009 at 10:24 am
It’s all about the communication! Good stuff!
July 14th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
I am a 19 year old – I’ve been playing soccer ever since I was 3 years old, and I am about to quit soccer from my college team. I stayed with soccer through out my entire high school career because I loved my team mates, and the coaches actually made it fun to play (not to mention I was good at it).
As soon as I entered the collegiate level, it began to SUCK. I no longer had any fun at all. Everyone takes soccer way too seriously, and I feel all the fun has been sucked out of it. I’m in it for fun – not for winning, stats, a career, or anything else. If my coach had been more relaxed and care-free, I would have loved to play for him, but when I realized he only cared about winning, I dreaded soccer.
So personally, soccer is about fun – nothing more. And when the fun is all gone, soccer is pointless.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
hey Brad you are not a soccer player, are you telling me that you dont want to win and your coach just want to win …its for that you want to quit, probably you are not a great player and you are not in the level of the rest…every sport in the world is about winning …if you dont care about winning go to play recreational with 4 and 5 years old kids …they dont keep scores loser…
December 31st, 2009 at 11:57 am
Well Jose. I only have one thing to say to you.
I was the captain of my H.S. team my junior and senior year. I made the All-Region team both of those years, I made the All-District team all four years of my High School career. And I made the All-State team my senior year.
http://mckinneynews.net/news.php?nid=8845&cat=1
That link just goes to show that I made All-State (my last name is Dobberfuhl).
I don’t like it when people assume things just because they have a different mindset. Yes, winning is awesome, but when that’s all anyone cares about, it is not fun any more. If you are in it just to win, that’s fine – I’m not. So please, next time, be a little less quick to ridicule.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
hey brad, ive been playing soccer for 7 years and it was my life. ive recently joined a new team and theyre all about becoming college/professional worthy. im undefeated with the team and were a pretty good team and all. but i 100% agree with you, im not having any fun whatsoever and i feel pressured to play and its just a big stress factor. i play my best when im having fun and goofing off sometimes. but when its strictly business, i have no enjoyment in it. a lot of my friends are on the team and they had a passion just as much as i did, but when it hit me that i have to be my best constantly i began to lose interest which is why i want to quit now.
April 8th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
The reson My son quit was because he wasn’t having fun. It was so competitve and he was new to the team. All the other boys didnt really make friends with him.
April 12th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Brad – While I agree soccer should remain fun, you have to know when you play collegiate soccer, your coaching staff is being paid by the school to win (within the appropriate rules). Their livelihood (while it may vary depending on the program) depends on performance and compliance. I want my employees to enjoy the work environment, but we still have to make and sell our products because it’s not fun to get laid off. I’m not sure the AD at your school is going to excuse consistently losing seasons as long as “everyone’s having fun.”
Again, there is a balance and the coaching staff has to realize they coach soccer players, not soccer (the game teaches soccer, the coaches put the players in the right environment with the right equipment and the proper guidance). So “fun” should be in there, but the balance tips more to winning the higher you go (which I would think you would have an appreciation for given your background).
If the balance at the collegiate level is not to your liking, you should do exactly what you did. Leave the team and find an adult men’s league with the right balance. Get your coaching license and volunteer in local youth leagues to ensure fun is a big part of the youth experience (especially at U-10 and below).
November 24th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Honestly I’m a 15 year old girl/soccer player, and I’m playing at a high level and recently I’ve been feeling so stressed out about my life. My priorities have always been soccer, but recently my friends and school have been more of a desire for me. I’m thinking about quitting or taking a break but I feel that in my mind I already know that I want to quit. I dont know how I’m going to tell my dad because he’s the one that always takes me to the practices and games and plus he’s already spent so much money for me and I feel like I would just be letting him down. But if I’m not enjoying it anymore why would I want to put myself throught that? And my sopt on the team could be an opening for a player more passionate than myself. And I have a good relationship with my coach, he’s dealt with the same things as me. And on my soccer team we have an amazing bond but I feel that I can still succeed without soccer to guide me.
March 17th, 2012 at 1:00 pm
i quit soccer because i felt pressured to make THE perfect pass and be THE best player which i wasnt.alot of my team mates get mad at me only during the game because i cant pass it to them.all the other people on the team play really well except me and my coach says i shouldnt qiut but should you really play a sport you dont like?when i played freely id have alot of fun and actually steal the ball while during the game, i get scared of the ball.i have low self esteem and no confidence which i believe is needed in soccer to be a good player. so i quit and now the team is winning.i think it was a very good choice for me and them.
April 16th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
This is quite funny, because i quit soccer when I was 13.