Deciding whether or not your child should play recreational soccer or competitive ("select") soccer is often a daunting task for parents not familiar with the world of competitive sports.  The primary deciding factor that you should consider when making the select vs. rec decision is whether or not you wish to accelerate your child's soccer development in a professionally guided training environment.

What Is Select/Competitive Soccer?
In recreational soccer, the focus is most often on social interaction, "having fun" with friends, which often comes at the expense of instruction.  In select soccer, the focus in on teaching in an enjoyable manner that is appropriate for the child's age level.  Individual skills and team tactics are taught by high-level, professional coaches in order to more fully develop the child's level of play.  The end result - young athletes that know how to play soccer at a much higher level than their corresponding recreational players.

Coaches
Select soccer differs from recreational soccer in several ways but the primary difference is in the level of coaching provided.  Coaching is like teaching - it requires extensive knowledge of the subject and the ability to communicate that knowledge to young athletes.  In recreational soccer, the coach is typically a noble parent with little or no competitive or high level soccer experience.  Select soccer differs from recreational soccer in that coaches are experts in their field, have the demonstrated ability to share that knowledge with their team, and are paid a professional salary.  

Competitive soccer coaches have extensive playing experience - most at the professional level.  Select coaches are licensed at a national level, most at Grade D or higher, and many have college degrees in education or sports related degrees.  Their training will have included proper individual player and team techniques, how to conduct efficient practices, and how to motivate a young athlete.

Recreational coaches are volunteers and are restricted from accepting money by NTSSA rules.  Select coaches are interviewed and go through an extensive selection process before they are hired by the club.  They are paid from dues collected from the team and for many, coaching is their full-time job.

Clubs
In recreational soccer, the entity that encompasses a team is their "association" - for instance, Fort Worth Youth Association.  In select soccer, the encompassing entity is the team's "club", such as the Fort Worth United Soccer Club.  The "club" will contain many teams at various age and skill levels.  As the name implies, a "club" type atmosphere is promoted with clubs often hosting non-soccer related activities such as parties or extracurricular trips to promote bonding.  The club will also recognize many cost efficiencies, such as corporate sponsorships (e.g. Adidas, Pepsi-Cola) and increased buying power (clubs receive sharp discounts on things such as uniforms, equipment, and supplies).  These savings are passed on to the club members in the form of lower dues.

Games
Recreational and select soccer are the same in that the soccer year consists of 2 seasons (Spring and Fall) with each season containing a schedule of 10 games.  Select soccer teams usually play from 2-5 tournaments per season whereas most recreational teams do not play any tournaments at all.  Recreational soccer and select soccer are also the same in that many teams choose to play indoor during off seasons (although it's usually optional for both recreational and select teams).

Tryouts/Team Selection
In recreational soccer, teams are formed based on random selections from the player pool regardless of their level of ability or knowledge of the game.  In select soccer, teams are formed based on player "grading" during the club's annual tryouts (which take place during the first week of July).  In many medium to large clubs (such as Fort Worth United), multiple teams exist in a single age group with players placed on a team appropriate for their level of skill.  In recreational soccer, children are placed on a team based on location (i.e. which neighborhood they live in) whereas in select soccer, placement depends upon the level of skill.

Costs
Costs differ widely depending upon the club you decide to play for.  In recreational soccer, costs cover league fees and uniforms.  Some recreational teams collect additional money for tournaments, indoor play, and special training camps and clinics.  In select soccer, the club forms a budget for the year and the monies due are split amongst the members of the team.  A down payment is typically required and the remaining payments are stretched out on a monthly basis with a period of 5-10 months.  

Select clubs are often a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization (Fort Worth United is a non-profit organization).  All monies collected go towards team costs.  Costs in select soccer will include things such as regular season fees, referee fees, tournament fees, indoor fees, camps and clinics. All of these costs, after being discounted as mentioned above,  are included in the member's monthly dues.

Time Commitment
Recreational practices are typically held once a week with games played once a week on Saturday.  In select soccer, teams typically practice twice a week and sometimes three times a week before critical tournaments or games.  Select teams also typically play one game a week on Saturday.  The seasons in both consist of 10 regular season games.

Recreational games are usually held in the immediate community where the team is based.  In select soccer, where games are played depends upon which league you are playing in.  In the Arlington league, teams typically play half their games in their home organization's community (which is usually Fort Worth or Arlington) and the other half are "away" games.  In the Metroplex, away games could be in Dallas or Fort Worth.  In the highest level leagues, games are played in Dallas.

Final Word on Scholarships
Soccer differs from other sports in Texas in the way that college scholarships are awarded.  In most sports, college recruiters attend the games of the top Texas high school teams and make selections from that pool of players.  In soccer, college recruiters attend select soccer games or competitive "showcase" tournaments to scout - they make little use of high school level games.  North Texas is considered to be one of the "hotbeds" of select soccer in the United States and the top competitive leagues in North Texas are considered the best in the country.  College recruiters from around the United States attend competitive soccer events in North Texas to make their selections for scholarship awards.  The Dallas Morning News recently reported that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys that play competitive soccer in North Texas earn college scholarships.  For a player that wishes to play at a collegiate level or higher, competitive soccer is the only route to success.