Loudoun County Girls Soccer Manifesto - Soccer Club

[Anonymous]

Calling all Virginia Soccer Enthusiasts! After decades of Loudoun Soccer dominance in the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia we are starting to see a world of change for girls soccer programs.

Some years back, a person attached to Loudoun Soccer participated in the County's process of field allocation. A committee formed by the county determined the best method for allocation field space would be to generate a statistic for the recreational programs the organization provides and allocate the space based on that number. The largest recreational programs would be given the largest allocation of space.

The program that directly benefited the most from this policy was Loudoun Soccer. Immediately, they became the County's biggest single provider of programming. Bigger than any other sport. There were higher numbers of boys programs via a vis girls programs because girls were not as interested in sports. Additionally, the girls programs received a second tier status to the boys programs. This led to boys programming getting higher allocations of field space over the girls. Loudoun Soccer became a monopoly and girls programming was further damaged.

The allocation of space became something below 60-40 across the county for boys programming vs girls programming. Demand for quality girls programming continued to grow, particularly for high quality programming.

Enter Terry Foley who organized the next phase in the County's Soccer for Girls programming. Although his participation in youth sports was limited, his initiative began a new process and opportunity for girls in Loudoun County. Enter Christian Cziommer and Eric Davey. They partnered with Terry Foley to start the new Ashburn FC which we know now as FCV or FC Virginia. This is where Emily Fox went to develop her game among many other girl athletes.

FC Virginia became a proving grounds for girls soccer and once they got into the DA (Development Academy), they became the go-to club for Girls Soccer. Over the years they developed into the number one recruiting organization for providing top level girls soccer. In this same time frame, during the recession, this organization partnered with The St. James for the financial backing and administrative support. It was no secret that CC and ED didn't have strong skills in this area.

The TSJFCV program for girls continued to grow and when the DA folded, they quickly evolved to the new Girls Academy League. A league many considered second tier to ECNL but still a good showcase organization for National Talent to college coaches. In this process they added another high level coach in Bobby Puppione. The combination of Bobby Puppione and Christian Cziommer took girls soccer in the area to an even higher level. The two orchestrated a program where girls could be showcases and get direct access to Division I college coaches. Every year for the past five years or so, this club turned out dozens of Division 1 athletes.

A new period began when Hal and Bernie Hansen Park opened. This park nearly doubled the County's capacity in field space. County field space cost less than leasing a private field. This put increased pressure on Evergreen Sports Plex and as a result the facility was sold to a new growing club called Revolution. The actual money behind the club was a parent of a player (Jim Miller) at Revolution who Niko Elkhart convinced would be a good investment. TSJFCV looked into buying this facility but they were not competitive on pricing and lost our to Revolution and Jim Miller.

TSJFCV and FC Barcelona, largely a boys program used Evergreen as their primary training facility. When Revolution took ownership, they gradually reduced the field rental to TSJFCV to one field. TSJFCV used multiple fields on weekends but usage was severely limited. At about the same time, FC Barcelona's field space at Evergreen was reduced to nothing. Revolution believed they would be able to acquire the FC Barcelona core teams in this action. Instead, most of the players moved over to TSJFCV which immediately provided them with some substance on the boys side. Revolution scaled back TSJFCV's access to permanent field space down to one field. This meant training sessions were crowded and limited. TSJFCV were able to offset this reduction with the usage of the artificial turf at Hansen Park, but it was still insufficient.

In the process though, TSJFCV learned that in order to get more county field space, they needed to grow a Loudoun base for a recreational soccer program. In recent years, TSJFCV began a new recreational program that was "free" and funded by sponsors. A pretty shrewd action on their part. Following the Loudoun Soccer debacle during the Pandemic, the entire county and particularly the girls side was aching for more opportunities. The opening of Hal and Bernie Hansen and the vast expansion of field space combined with the new offerings of TSJFCV and their recreational programming, opened up a new world of soccer for Loudoun County.

The leadership in the soccer wing of TSJFCV continued to seek a permanent home because space was still limited. After many years of requesting a permanent location with artificial turf to practice year round, TSJFCV executives failed to fulfill this need. They kept promising it and talking about it, but it never materialized. The last remaining leader from Terry Foley's creation said enough is enough and announced he would be leaving to Revolution. Immediately, shockwaves were felt throughout the region.

We know that Loudoun Soccer had already moved to NVA as an ECNL club, but nobody was fooled. This is still Loudoun Soccer at the wheel. When Christian Cziommer announced he was moving to Revolution, it led to an announcement of Bobby Puppione leaving as well. Shortly there after each and every coach from the high level TSJFCV program announced they would also be leaving. This would decimate the girls program at TSJFCV. It didn't help that the Girls Academy League almost immediately announced they were adding Revolution to their league.

The new developments led to a scism in the high level Girls Academy program for Loudoun County but also doubled it's capacity in a matter of months. At the same time ECNL announced the merger of several clubs who were struggling to compete and develop players, Virginia Union and Braddock Road. Braddock Road had become notorious as a sub par ECNL club. Even NVA has struggled to properly develop players. The expansion of higher level programing for girls soccer is at an inflexion point for Loudoun County. The development of players requires access to higher level of play and good coaching. Both are in short supply here in the county.

TSJFCV is transitioning to a new marketing direction whereby the FCV part is no longer in their plan. It's now The Saint James FC. While the future is bright for TSJ, they've alienated many of their top players and are moving forward with a second tier of players in the Girls Academy League. This provides a new opportunity for girls to access a bigger challenge that was not present before these changes. Revolution will be challenged to fill their teams with competitive players. Core groups moved from FCV to Revolution but most teams didn't receive enough talent to field a full team. The key for both clubs will be to attract the right players to fill out their GA teams. TSJ has the resources but not the required artificial turf space to support a large program. Revolution has the turf fields, but also has a growing program which will all compete for those fields. Currently, they have not met full capacity yet so there is still room to grow.

This whole process has caused a shift of players coaches and soccer clubs that will be felt to Loudoun County for decades to come. The expansion of Bernie Hansen Park and Revolution's acquisition of the Sportsplex The movement of coaches from TSJ to Revolution and from Brave and Loudoun Soccer to TSJ. Quality programming in Loudoun County, particularly for girls, remains a big challenge. The forces that be continued to create headwinds. The challenges remain large. Theirs no denying that this uprising in the soccer sphere of Loudoun County will forever change the course moving forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Calling all Virginia Soccer Enthusiasts! After decades of Loudoun Soccer dominance in the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia we are starting to see a world of change for girls soccer programs.

Some years back, a person attached to Loudoun Soccer participated in the County's process of field allocation. A committee formed by the county determined the best method for allocation field space would be to generate a statistic for the recreational programs the organization provides and allocate the space based on that number. The largest recreational programs would be given the largest allocation of space.

The program that directly benefited the most from this policy was Loudoun Soccer. Immediately, they became the County's biggest single provider of programming. Bigger than any other sport. There were higher numbers of boys programs via a vis girls programs because girls were not as interested in sports. Additionally, the girls programs received a second tier status to the boys programs. This led to boys programming getting higher allocations of field space over the girls. Loudoun Soccer became a monopoly and girls programming was further damaged.

The allocation of space became something below 60-40 across the county for boys programming vs girls programming. Demand for quality girls programming continued to grow, particularly for high quality programming.

Enter Terry Foley who organized the next phase in the County's Soccer for Girls programming. Although his participation in youth sports was limited, his initiative began a new process and opportunity for girls in Loudoun County. Enter Christian Cziommer and Eric Davey. They partnered with Terry Foley to start the new Ashburn FC which we know now as FCV or FC Virginia. This is where Emily Fox went to develop her game among many other girl athletes.

FC Virginia became a proving grounds for girls soccer and once they got into the DA (Development Academy), they became the go-to club for Girls Soccer. Over the years they developed into the number one recruiting organization for providing top level girls soccer. In this same time frame, during the recession, this organization partnered with The St. James for the financial backing and administrative support. It was no secret that CC and ED didn't have strong skills in this area.

The TSJFCV program for girls continued to grow and when the DA folded, they quickly evolved to the new Girls Academy League. A league many considered second tier to ECNL but still a good showcase organization for National Talent to college coaches. In this process they added another high level coach in Bobby Puppione. The combination of Bobby Puppione and Christian Cziommer took girls soccer in the area to an even higher level. The two orchestrated a program where girls could be showcases and get direct access to Division I college coaches. Every year for the past five years or so, this club turned out dozens of Division 1 athletes.

A new period began when Hal and Bernie Hansen Park opened. This park nearly doubled the County's capacity in field space. County field space cost less than leasing a private field. This put increased pressure on Evergreen Sports Plex and as a result the facility was sold to a new growing club called Revolution. The actual money behind the club was a parent of a player (Jim Miller) at Revolution who Niko Elkhart convinced would be a good investment. TSJFCV looked into buying this facility but they were not competitive on pricing and lost our to Revolution and Jim Miller.

TSJFCV and FC Barcelona, largely a boys program used Evergreen as their primary training facility. When Revolution took ownership, they gradually reduced the field rental to TSJFCV to one field. TSJFCV used multiple fields on weekends but usage was severely limited. At about the same time, FC Barcelona's field space at Evergreen was reduced to nothing. Revolution believed they would be able to acquire the FC Barcelona core teams in this action. Instead, most of the players moved over to TSJFCV which immediately provided them with some substance on the boys side. Revolution scaled back TSJFCV's access to permanent field space down to one field. This meant training sessions were crowded and limited. TSJFCV were able to offset this reduction with the usage of the artificial turf at Hansen Park, but it was still insufficient.

In the process though, TSJFCV learned that in order to get more county field space, they needed to grow a Loudoun base for a recreational soccer program. In recent years, TSJFCV began a new recreational program that was "free" and funded by sponsors. A pretty shrewd action on their part. Following the Loudoun Soccer debacle during the Pandemic, the entire county and particularly the girls side was aching for more opportunities. The opening of Hal and Bernie Hansen and the vast expansion of field space combined with the new offerings of TSJFCV and their recreational programming, opened up a new world of soccer for Loudoun County.

The leadership in the soccer wing of TSJFCV continued to seek a permanent home because space was still limited. After many years of requesting a permanent location with artificial turf to practice year round, TSJFCV executives failed to fulfill this need. They kept promising it and talking about it, but it never materialized. The last remaining leader from Terry Foley's creation said enough is enough and announced he would be leaving to Revolution. Immediately, shockwaves were felt throughout the region.

We know that Loudoun Soccer had already moved to NVA as an ECNL club, but nobody was fooled. This is still Loudoun Soccer at the wheel. When Christian Cziommer announced he was moving to Revolution, it led to an announcement of Bobby Puppione leaving as well. Shortly there after each and every coach from the high level TSJFCV program announced they would also be leaving. This would decimate the girls program at TSJFCV. It didn't help that the Girls Academy League almost immediately announced they were adding Revolution to their league.

The new developments led to a scism in the high level Girls Academy program for Loudoun County but also doubled it's capacity in a matter of months. At the same time ECNL announced the merger of several clubs who were struggling to compete and develop players, Virginia Union and Braddock Road. Braddock Road had become notorious as a sub par ECNL club. Even NVA has struggled to properly develop players. The expansion of higher level programing for girls soccer is at an inflexion point for Loudoun County. The development of players requires access to higher level of play and good coaching. Both are in short supply here in the county.

TSJFCV is transitioning to a new marketing direction whereby the FCV part is no longer in their plan. It's now The Saint James FC. While the future is bright for TSJ, they've alienated many of their top players and are moving forward with a second tier of players in the Girls Academy League. This provides a new opportunity for girls to access a bigger challenge that was not present before these changes. Revolution will be challenged to fill their teams with competitive players. Core groups moved from FCV to Revolution but most teams didn't receive enough talent to field a full team. The key for both clubs will be to attract the right players to fill out their GA teams. TSJ has the resources but not the required artificial turf space to support a large program. Revolution has the turf fields, but also has a growing program which will all compete for those fields. Currently, they have not met full capacity yet so there is still room to grow.

This whole process has caused a shift of players coaches and soccer clubs that will be felt to Loudoun County for decades to come. The expansion of Bernie Hansen Park and Revolution's acquisition of the Sportsplex The movement of coaches from TSJ to Revolution and from Brave and Loudoun Soccer to TSJ. Quality programming in Loudoun County, particularly for girls, remains a big challenge. The forces that be continued to create headwinds. The challenges remain large. Theirs no denying that this uprising in the soccer sphere of Loudoun County will forever change the course moving forward.

Cool story, but among the many errors is your suggestion that the PRCS considers boys vs. girls progams when calculating field allocations. Field allocations are determined based on club size as a whole (yes, weighted toward rec) and player gender is given zero consideration.

How each club uses that allocation among it's programs is up to them and separate from the county's allocation process.

[Anonymous]

Why even bother this is forum not a book club

[Anonymous]

Microcosm for every other part of the capitalist pay to play model we have in youth soccer across this country.

Clearly a disgruntled FCV parent. You had lots of winning and celebrating the battles, so don’t cry now that you’ve lost the war!

[Anonymous]

TL DR

[Anonymous]

Why would space for girls and boys be allocated 50/50 as you seem to implying should be the case when every single rec league and travel club has many, many, many more boys playing? That's not logical

[Anonymous]

Ok, I read your history lesson. The county allocates space by total numbers and cares about in and out of county numbers as well. That said, I’m not even sure what you want to see happen here.

[Anonymous]

Drama queen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TL DR

FCV was renamed and has no fields. Revolution has fields but not enough talent. Hanson Park added some fields to the mix.

[Anonymous]

Cry me a river. I hope the St James fcv folds.

How many times have they had their elite girls teams play up in U14 and below tournaments and blow out the competition of standard level travel teams that are just looking for local competition.

When you make everyone hate you, eventually you get what you deserve.

[Anonymous]

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all wanna change the world