The Norwalk Boys Soccer Team has won four state championships since 2007, and the Norwalk Girls Soccer Team team has finished above .500 for almost 10 years. The key to Norwalk’s success may just lie in something beyond the team’s control: club soccer.
Dustin Kralik, head coach of the boys team, has coached at Norwalk for 25 years and has experience in coaching clubs as well. Kralik said club soccer was important for team success.
“Our high school season is barely 3 months long, and with current contact rules we can’t really do much else to help our players develop in soccer-specific ways,” he said. “So to compete for state tournament berths and state titles, it really is essential that we have players who are playing outside of our high school season.”
Kralik said that club team involvement and team success usually go hand in hand.
“There are teams that don’t have as many club players that can compete at some level, but to compete against the other bigger metro schools and to truly have a chance to compete for state titles, you’ve got to have players who are playing at a high level,” he said.
Kralik said that being involved in club soccer is important, but not a deal breaker.
“It is important, but definitely not a requirement. We’ve had a number of important contributors who didn’t play club soccer in high school,” he said. “Most of them probably did when they were younger. But if you aren’t playing club soccer, you probably need to be an elite athlete and competitor to bring something else to the table.”
Kralik said while there are many pros to a club, there are some things he wants to change.
“If I could change anything about club soccer, club sports in general, it would be to limit the influence of money,” Kralik said. “There are a lot of decisions made with the financial bottom line in mind, instead of what is in the best interest of the athletes and their development,” he said. “There are a lot of great clubs and club coaches, but there are also a lot of situations that get taken advantage of for the sake of profit.”
Andrew Messer, coach of the girls team, has been coaching soccer for 12 years and said he agrees with Kralik about the benefits of club soccer.
“[Club soccer] helps players understand the game of soccer, stay in soccer shape, and improve soccer skills,” Messer said. “I think club sports – not just soccer – can lead players to think that they have to focus on one sport. This can lead to burnout and injury.”
Messer said that while there are benefits, one of club’s soccer problems lies deeper.
“I don’t think there is a club problem, I think there is a youth sports problem,” Messer said. “Young athletes are being raised to think that they will only be successful if they make it to college athletics. They are much more worried about statistics, goals, wins, and losses than we are about developing humans.”
Messer said that being a coach goes well beyond just soccer.
“I would rather have a losing season and develop strong relationships with my players than have a state championship and not have a connection with my players. Winning games, playing college ball, and making a living from soccer is great, but if I see my athletes 10 years from now and they aren’t successful humans, then I didn’t do my job correctly.”
Messer said club experience is common on the girls team.
“Looking at the statistics, all of our varsity members have experience playing club soccer,” he said. “But again, most of our players have played club soccer. This includes our non-varsity members.”
Junior Paige Nichols is a member of the Norwalk Girls Soccer Team and has played soccer for 12 years. Nichols said clubs get you ready for high school soccer.
“Club soccer is where a player develops and then high school is showing what you can do,” she said.
Nichols said there are some differences between club and high school soccer.
“I love my club team, we’ve played together for a while but it changes every year,” she said. “You get better every year and we try different things and different styles. High school is about winning, like getting to state.”
Nichols said club soccer has given her many benefits.
“I think club has just made me a better person in general because I’ve played it since I was little and I’ve had coaches that pushed me,” she said. “When I was younger I didn’t see myself as good, so one of my coaches put me on a lower team and when I worked my way up he was like, ‘You see why I did that?’ and that helped my work ethic.”
Nichols said she would choose club over high school soccer.
“[I prefer] club because I really really love my team, [I’m also] the captain,” she said. “I love my coach. If I don’t have them next year for my last year. I’m gonna cry.”
Junior Teegan Kralik is a varsity member of the boys soccer team. Kralik said there is a difference in the relationship between club and high school soccer.
“First off, there’s a lot more traveling and you don’t really know each other as well. You still have a bunch of practices with them, but you don’t go to school with them,” he said. “It’s more playing with your teammates than playing with your friends.”
Kralik said he prefers playing high school soccer compared to clubs because he has only one high school and there are lots of clubs out there.
“Well I just care about high school soccer a lot more because it’s more fun to play for my school when there’s like a billion generations of club soccer,” he said. “High school is more playing with your friends as opposed to playing with your teammates.”
