AC Milan Virginia

[Anonymous]

https://www.acmilanacademyvirginia.com/

Yet another European club attempting to cash in on the American youth soccer market.

[Anonymous]

LOL. There's another club opening a massive facilty in the Midwest. Possibly Leeds? I'm forgetting now but with the rise of American soccer and what it will bring in the coming years with World Cup, etc. Buckle your seatbelts.

[Anonymous]

That’s great. US soccer needs this expertise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s great. US soccer needs this expertise.

Lol

[Anonymous]

Ha in ordered to be considered to join their club next year, you MUST attend their pre-season clinic in December. Cost is ONLY $735 for one week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha in ordered to be considered to join their club next year, you MUST attend their pre-season clinic in December. Cost is ONLY $735 for one week.

and it's only 4 hours of activites per day from 5-9 pm..........I am speechless...

[Anonymous]

I seriously miss Barca.

We were with them when they opened and it was the best environment the first few years. Very unlike 'travel' clubs. The staff were all UEFA trained. The kids trained at the same time at Evergreen, academy style so there was a lot of mixing of training groups. There were 3-4 coaches watching the groups every night, taking notes. The staff was full-time. Parents did not have involvement with coaches. There was one central manager/admin. No parent managers. Parents weren't allowed on the field, or behind the fence--had to stay up in the stands. They had weekly inter-scrimmage league every weekend (unless regular season was happening).

It's funny--now so many of those boys U17-U19 are on the top MLSNext and ECNL teams; a few at MLS academies. The training/development was really good. But, with our 'win instantly' travel world--it didn't fit in the landscape. Many of their teams were really making significant process right before the fold.

It started to fall apart by year 4 when more people started to come and wanted to impose 'American travel' type logistics, politics, etc. Then, Covid wiped them out.

I had two kids there from 2016-2020 and it was the most relaxed and positive atmosphere. Fond memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha in ordered to be considered to join their club next year, you MUST attend their pre-season clinic in December. Cost is ONLY $735 for one week.

What's round trip from Dulles to Milan cost?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha in ordered to be considered to join their club next year, you MUST attend their pre-season clinic in December. Cost is ONLY $735 for one week.

That's the early bird discount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I seriously miss Barca.

We were with them when they opened and it was the best environment the first few years. Very unlike 'travel' clubs. The staff were all UEFA trained. The kids trained at the same time at Evergreen, academy style so there was a lot of mixing of training groups. There were 3-4 coaches watching the groups every night, taking notes. The staff was full-time. Parents did not have involvement with coaches. There was one central manager/admin. No parent managers. Parents weren't allowed on the field, or behind the fence--had to stay up in the stands. They had weekly inter-scrimmage league every weekend (unless regular season was happening).

It's funny--now so many of those boys U17-U19 are on the top MLSNext and ECNL teams; a few at MLS academies. The training/development was really good. But, with our 'win instantly' travel world--it didn't fit in the landscape. Many of their teams were really making significant process right before the fold.

It started to fall apart by year 4 when more people started to come and wanted to impose 'American travel' type logistics, politics, etc. Then, Covid wiped them out.

I had two kids there from 2016-2020 and it was the most relaxed and positive atmosphere. Fond memories.

Also had kids at Barca at the beginning and for several years. It started well and was especially good for the younger ages. After a couple of years it changed and the benefits diminished. As it got bigger, adding more teams, more players, more coaches, the quality of the coaching went down. They caved to the local demand to play in more leagues, tournaments, with emphasis on winning. The original vision and our expierience the first years was that it was all about long term development, but the parents and even the kids grew tired of the internal matches.

For many reasons, I just don't think the European model translates well to the US soccer market. And it probably never will. Just like the NFL academies that exist in Europe are not going to build a pipeline of NFL players. But it's good brand marketing and helps to grow their audience.

[Anonymous]

Outdoors in december from 5-9 pm on one of the most expensive rental fields in Northern Va?
That says to me they can't qualify for county field permits, so where is their Academy going to be permanently located? Mailing address in Vienna. We all know there is NO field space without building your own somewhere.

[Anonymous]

What parents are going to fall for this new club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I seriously miss Barca.

We were with them when they opened and it was the best environment the first few years. Very unlike 'travel' clubs. The staff were all UEFA trained. The kids trained at the same time at Evergreen, academy style so there was a lot of mixing of training groups. There were 3-4 coaches watching the groups every night, taking notes. The staff was full-time. Parents did not have involvement with coaches. There was one central manager/admin. No parent managers. Parents weren't allowed on the field, or behind the fence--had to stay up in the stands. They had weekly inter-scrimmage league every weekend (unless regular season was happening).

It's funny--now so many of those boys U17-U19 are on the top MLSNext and ECNL teams; a few at MLS academies. The training/development was really good. But, with our 'win instantly' travel world--it didn't fit in the landscape. Many of their teams were really making significant process right before the fold.

It started to fall apart by year 4 when more people started to come and wanted to impose 'American travel' type logistics, politics, etc. Then, Covid wiped them out.

I had two kids there from 2016-2020 and it was the most relaxed and positive atmosphere. Fond memories.

Why did they pull out of the area, and when?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I seriously miss Barca.

We were with them when they opened and it was the best environment the first few years. Very unlike 'travel' clubs. The staff were all UEFA trained. The kids trained at the same time at Evergreen, academy style so there was a lot of mixing of training groups. There were 3-4 coaches watching the groups every night, taking notes. The staff was full-time. Parents did not have involvement with coaches. There was one central manager/admin. No parent managers. Parents weren't allowed on the field, or behind the fence--had to stay up in the stands. They had weekly inter-scrimmage league every weekend (unless regular season was happening).

It's funny--now so many of those boys U17-U19 are on the top MLSNext and ECNL teams; a few at MLS academies. The training/development was really good. But, with our 'win instantly' travel world--it didn't fit in the landscape. Many of their teams were really making significant process right before the fold.

It started to fall apart by year 4 when more people started to come and wanted to impose 'American travel' type logistics, politics, etc. Then, Covid wiped them out.

I had two kids there from 2016-2020 and it was the most relaxed and positive atmosphere. Fond memories.

Why did they pull out of the area, and when?

I think it was 2021. Likely it came down to money and not being able to make a profit especially when the field they were renting got sold so finding another field was going to be a problem. Barca Virginia was run by Sporting Global who just licensed the Barca name. They dropped the Barca name and The St James FCV absorbed all the teams. Sporting Global and some of the coaches from Barca are still involved in some capacity with the TSJ boys teams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.acmilanacademyvirginia.com/

Yet another European club attempting to cash in on the American youth soccer market.

Capitalism, baby!