Agree completely. I would say avoid the ultra-competitive leagues, even throughout HS. They demand year-round commitment, which robs them of other sports and activities. And, yes, there is a high probability they will burn out. None of this is an absolute, of course. My daughter played competitive soccer as early as it was an option. She was burned out before her senior year of HS, didn't even want to play for her HS team. The other part of all this, I don't even want to try to calculate how much money we spent over the years on leagues, camps, training, and most of all travel.