Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else surprised that Reston and Great Falls are fielding so many U9 boys teams this year? They typically have 2-3 teams per age group. This year, Reston has four and Great Falls has FIVE.

PAC struggled to fill out a second U9 team but managed to get that one plus a new second team at U10 and a couple of third teams in older groups.

Is this a growth in demand, or are some other clubs getting more selective? I know VYS did five teams one year but decided they couldn't do that for future age groups.

PAC managed to get a third U10 boys team and they may be getting a second U10 girls team. Quite a few of them were targeted recruits from McLean's Rec/All-Stars, with several former coaches' kids on the roster. The McLean Rec league may be hurting this Fall due to a lack of returning coaches. I think the rec coaches are tired of getting limited club support, last pick of fields, and team parents who don't help, with no option to quit coaching because the club pressures them to keep going. In McLean, the families can afford to be on a bad travel team but one that gets them more field priority and solid coaching even if they aren't playing in a top league.

Interesting re: potential McLean house league exodus. I wonder if VYS will be headed toward those same problems, what with some issues I've already heard about the new staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else surprised that Reston and Great Falls are fielding so many U9 boys teams this year? They typically have 2-3 teams per age group. This year, Reston has four and Great Falls has FIVE.

PAC struggled to fill out a second U9 team but managed to get that one plus a new second team at U10 and a couple of third teams in older groups.

Is this a growth in demand, or are some other clubs getting more selective? I know VYS did five teams one year but decided they couldn't do that for future age groups.

PAC managed to get a third U10 boys team and they may be getting a second U10 girls team. Quite a few of them were targeted recruits from McLean's Rec/All-Stars, with several former coaches' kids on the roster. The McLean Rec league may be hurting this Fall due to a lack of returning coaches. I think the rec coaches are tired of getting limited club support, last pick of fields, and team parents who don't help, with no option to quit coaching because the club pressures them to keep going. In McLean, the families can afford to be on a bad travel team but one that gets them more field priority and solid coaching even if they aren't playing in a top league.

Interesting re: potential McLean house league exodus. I wonder if VYS will be headed toward those same problems, what with some issues I've already heard about the new staff.

What have you heard about the new staff as it relates to House? What I'm noticing is that VYS is getting more players and fewer parents -- it's getting tough to find commissioners, coaches, etc. Everyone just wants to dump off their kids. That's not a staff issue -- that's on the parents. But I'm curious to see if new staff has any impact as well. All I know so far is that they're extending the "crossover" program up through U12, which is good.

I wish more clubs would have just a couple of travel teams and then a lot of "crossover." Don't take every kid who can kick a ball and listen to a coach all the way out of House league. Maybe combine ODSL and the crossover league and give plenty of people a "travel lite" experience so they're getting some decent training without being stuck on the sixth U9 travel team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else surprised that Reston and Great Falls are fielding so many U9 boys teams this year? They typically have 2-3 teams per age group. This year, Reston has four and Great Falls has FIVE.

PAC struggled to fill out a second U9 team but managed to get that one plus a new second team at U10 and a couple of third teams in older groups.

Is this a growth in demand, or are some other clubs getting more selective? I know VYS did five teams one year but decided they couldn't do that for future age groups.

Arlington has SIX teams at the U-9 level.

I think this is absolutely ridiculous and just about $.

Yep. Some clubs will take anyone willing to pay and just form as many teams as they can. Obviously in McLean/Great Falls/North Arlington there are many willing to pay, as a previous poster noted. Great Falls in particular has generally weak travel teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your travel soccer team train through the summer? If so, what's the age, how often do they train, and are their repercussions for missing the sessions because of vacations, conflicting with another sport, etc.?

Our son's U-13 CYA team just started with summer practice - once a week for 1.5 hours. Sometime in late August, they'll probably ramp things up going into the fall season. Last summer the same team had just a few scattered practices. About 1/2 the team is new, however, so (1) trying to integrate new players and get everyone working as a team & (2) going to U-13 with more kids on the field, bigger ball, field, goals, etc.

BTW, we have an AWESOME coach and manager. Low key team (not uber-competitive). Still looking to pick up a few more players for the Fall in case anyone is interested...

What team is looking for a few more players. I'd like to know, thinking about putting my 10 yr old in. Thanks.

Our team is U-13 (so 12 year olds/7th graders mostly). I think CYA travel may still have some slots for 10 year olds, but I'm not sure. Check cyasoccer.org. I think we're still looking for one or two kids to fill out the roster - so if anyone has a travel-level kid looking for a team, post your email and I'll let you know how to get in contact with the coach/manager to arrange a try out.

[Anonymous]

Or instead of posting your email on a public forum, just go here and contact the coach of your kids' age group:

http://www.cyasoccer.org/news_article/show/524060?referrer_id=759150

[Anonymous]

In boys programs with five or six teams, in what league do the fifth and sixth teams play in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In boys programs with five or six teams, in what league do the fifth and sixth teams play in?

Shitsville--ODSL. My kid was scoring double hatricks. We could have saved our $ and played Rec.

[Anonymous]

To the previous poster who described ODSL as "shitsville." I know anonymous forums make it easier to put down large groups of people but really, please try to remember that actual people read what you write. My child is playing in ODSL in the fall. We know exactly what ODSL is and it is a fine place for him to start. If he really excels, they can move him to NCSL later on. If it turns out to be where he belongs, that's fine too and we can make the decision whether to leave him there or put him back in Rec. Personally, I would love a situation where Rec remained more competitive - but travel takes out so many kids and all the good coaches leave with them. SO I'm sorry that ODSL was such a bad experience for your child but it serves a fine purpose for many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In boys programs with five or six teams, in what league do the fifth and sixth teams play in?

Shitsville--ODSL. My kid was scoring double hatricks. We could have saved our $ and played Rec.

It serves no purpose to describe or label ODSL in this way. My oldest DD made the lowest WAGs team in her age division her first year and I was told it was a waste to have A child on a travel team if they did not make one of the top two teams. Two years later she made her clubs top team. Same story with my DDs best friend, but started in ODSL and just started with the clubs top team. Both girls have loved soccer the past two years and clearly got a lot out of their experiences.

[Anonymous]

To the parent who disparaged ODSL, I agree and disagree with you. If your kid was dominating in ODSL, then either your club's coaches did a poor job selecting teams, or your club has so many high quality, good players are stuck on an ODSL team (unlikely). In either case, you should have recognized your kid was in the wrong place and done more about than whine on a message board - unless you're one of those parents you like to brag about your kid being the big fish in a very small pond.

That doesn't change the fact that ODSL is the home of mediocre soccer. That is even more true on the girls side as more and more top teams leave WAGS, and the "better" ODSL teams fill in those spots at WAGS. NPL and CCL have already taken most of the top girls teams and now with CCL II, even their B teams are moving away from WAGS. As a result, the level of play in WAGS keeps getting worse, and the level of play in ODSL is correspondingly decreased.

Does ODSL serve its function as a place for new, late-developing or just mediocre players to experience some of the rigors of travel soccer and for a few, move on to the next level (D4 WAGS, here we come!)? Yes. Does that change the fact that while you playing in ODSL, the soccer is poor? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the parent who disparaged ODSL, I agree and disagree with you. If your kid was dominating in ODSL, then either your club's coaches did a poor job selecting teams, or your club has so many high quality, good players are stuck on an ODSL team (unlikely). In either case, you should have recognized your kid was in the wrong place and done more about than whine on a message board - unless you're one of those parents you like to brag about your kid being the big fish in a very small pond.

That doesn't change the fact that ODSL is the home of mediocre soccer. That is even more true on the girls side as more and more top teams leave WAGS, and the "better" ODSL teams fill in those spots at WAGS. NPL and CCL have already taken most of the top girls teams and now with CCL II, even their B teams are moving away from WAGS. As a result, the level of play in WAGS keeps getting worse, and the level of play in ODSL is correspondingly decreased.

Does ODSL serve its function as a place for new, late-developing or just mediocre players to experience some of the rigors of travel soccer and for a few, move on to the next level (D4 WAGS, here we come!)? Yes. Does that change the fact that while you playing in ODSL, the soccer is poor? No.

Our County's Rec league is definitely more competitive than what we experienced in ODSL last year. Kids have played in both simultaneously. In addition--the Developmental league is much stronger than our Division was in ODSL. Granted, this could be because we were in a low division of ODSL as beginners--who knows.

There are a few strong teams--varies by age group and division--but are team was continually winning by 10-15 goals which isn't fun to watch, doesn't challenge the players and is embarrassing for the other teams.

I agree--it was a good entry level to travel for my child. It was a confidence booster, for sure, but that was about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the parent who disparaged ODSL, I agree and disagree with you. If your kid was dominating in ODSL, then either your club's coaches did a poor job selecting teams, or your club has so many high quality, good players are stuck on an ODSL team (unlikely). In either case, you should have recognized your kid was in the wrong place and done more about than whine on a message board - unless you're one of those parents you like to brag about your kid being the big fish in a very small pond.

That doesn't change the fact that ODSL is the home of mediocre soccer. That is even more true on the girls side as more and more top teams leave WAGS, and the "better" ODSL teams fill in those spots at WAGS. NPL and CCL have already taken most of the top girls teams and now with CCL II, even their B teams are moving away from WAGS. As a result, the level of play in WAGS keeps getting worse, and the level of play in ODSL is correspondingly decreased.

Does ODSL serve its function as a place for new, late-developing or just mediocre players to experience some of the rigors of travel soccer and for a few, move on to the next level (D4 WAGS, here we come!)? Yes. Does that change the fact that while you playing in ODSL, the soccer is poor? No.

I don't really know what the parent could have done in the middle of the year. You pay a 1-year contract. The teams are set. Numbers are set. They generally will not move kids up or down. The next spring they are free to tryout elsewhere though.

[Anonymous]

ODSL is what it is. I don't think anyone on this thread is claiming that is the home of super competitive soccer. It exists and people who want to pay for their child to play there have made a conscious choice that for their particular child it might be a good choice at that time. If it turns out to not be a good choice, they can go back to rec or maybe they will play their way onto a higher team the next year. But there is a way to say things without being nasty and superior and I think people should just be mindful of that.

[Anonymous]

And by nasty and superior I am referring to just the "shitsville" poster. All subsequent comments about ODSL were thoughtful and respectful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In boys programs with five or six teams, in what league do the fifth and sixth teams play in?

Shitsville--ODSL. My kid was scoring double hatricks. We could have saved our $ and played Rec.

It serves no purpose to describe or label ODSL in this way. My oldest DD made the lowest WAGs team in her age division her first year and I was told it was a waste to have A child on a travel team if they did not make one of the top two teams. Two years later she made her clubs top team. Same story with my DDs best friend, but started in ODSL and just started with the clubs top team. Both girls have loved soccer the past two years and clearly got a lot out of their experiences.

Agree with PP that disparaging ODSL is juvenile. My DS spent his first two years of travel soccer on a team playing in ODSL while he was learning the game (and more importantly learning to love the game). After two years he was moved up to the club's WAGS Division 3 team, and after a couple more years playing in the upper divisions of WAGS he tried out for, and now plays on, a top 5 ranked team in Virginia at a different club. So ODSL is not very good soccer in general but it is a place for some kids to get their start in soccer with a higher caliber of coaching and more competitive level of play than most rec teams can offer.