Coach - Moving to the area - looking for club

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I stumbled onto this forum looking for information about soccer in the VA/DC/MD area. I've been coaching since ~2009 and my work has me relocating to the east coast, McLean/Tysons area specifically and I would like to continue coaching. I've been coaching at the Travel/Select level for about 8 years now and have my D license, (RL makes going after higher a pain, but it's doable if it makes a big difference in this area.)

I generally coach on the girls side, ages u12-u16 is my comfort zone. I prefer to be in a large club that can support at least 3 teams in the age group as I prefer to coach teams in the middle that I can push to higher teams and draw top players from the teams below as I believe proper player placement is important.

I hear traffic is a nightmare there, but I'd be willing to travel ~30mins or maybe a little more if I had to for practices.

I know there is plenty of politics in youth sports. This is no different in my part of the country but would appreciate any insight folks may have.

I would prefer folks who have actual experience/knowledge with the clubs they speak about and don't intend for this to be a 'My club is better than your club' type post. Mainly looking for club structure, size, location, experiences.

Thanks to anyone who contributes.

[Anonymous]

If you are doing mclean Tysons area I'd start with McLean. They have a great girls program at u12 and then join for ECNL into Union

[Anonymous]

Definitely just stay local. McLean or VYS for where you're at.

Everybody needs coaches but you'll likely not get an RL team to start at any club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely just stay local. McLean or VYS for where you're at.

Everybody needs coaches but you'll likely not get an RL team to start at any club.

Yes, McLean or VYS. VYS likely needs the most help with coaches.

[Anonymous]

Coach, welcome to the area!

I've recently retired from coaching, but much of that was in the MD area. However my daughter played for McLean for a few of her latter years (u15 on up).

We both enjoyed our time with them. She was on the second team, and I believe they still have at least 3 teams across most of the age groups you covered. League wise you're probably looking for EDP or NCSL teams if you're looking at teams in the middle. McLean is an ECNL club though, so you may be able to work your way up if that is something you're ever interested in - you'd probably need to upgrade that license though if you want to go that route.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Braddock Road needs a lot of help

[Anonymous]

Is Loudon a feasible drive? They have a ton of fields listed on their site, so wasn't sure where they operate out of.

Is there anything towards DC or MD to consider?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Braddock Road needs a lot of help

I didn't see much on their website, is this the right one? https://www.brycsoccer.com/ about their teams etc. Do you have experience with them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Loudon a feasible drive? They have a ton of fields listed on their site, so wasn't sure where they operate out of.

Is there anything towards DC or MD to consider?

They're out in Leesburg. It's a slog of a drive from Tyson's area if you're not toll roading it, in which case it's a lot of money.

[Anonymous]

You can pretty much pick and choose if you have good references. Good coaches are very hard to find in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Loudon a feasible drive? They have a ton of fields listed on their site, so wasn't sure where they operate out of.

Is there anything towards DC or MD to consider?

They're out in Leesburg. It's a slog of a drive from Tyson's area if you're not toll roading it, in which case it's a lot of money.

Thanks for that. I hadn't considered tolls as those aren't much of a thing out here.

Also noticing a lot of "alliances" and mergers/partnerships at the top level. Is that a more common practice in the area due to the amount of clubs here?

Since VYS and McLean seem to be recommended, does anyone have experiences with either program they'd be willing to share?

[Anonymous]

Arlington is probably the largest club within a manageable driving distance. They are more likely to have depth at those age groups that you are targeting. That being said, my daughter has played with Vienna on the girls side and think that they have great program. It feeds into the BRAVE ECNL program which is a partnership between Braddock Road (BRYC) and Vienna. I would suggest reaching out directly to the director of coaching on the girls’s side to get more info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington is probably the largest club within a manageable driving distance. They are more likely to have depth at those age groups that you are targeting. That being said, my daughter has played with Vienna on the girls side and think that they have great program. It feeds into the BRAVE ECNL program which is a partnership between Braddock Road (BRYC) and Vienna. I would suggest reaching out directly to the director of coaching on the girls’s side to get more info.

MV, their Girl's Director, is a frequent DCUM poster so he will be expecting your message.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Loudon a feasible drive? They have a ton of fields listed on their site, so wasn't sure where they operate out of.

Is there anything towards DC or MD to consider?

They're out in Leesburg. It's a slog of a drive from Tyson's area if you're not toll roading it, in which case it's a lot of money.

Thanks for that. I hadn't considered tolls as those aren't much of a thing out here.

Also noticing a lot of "alliances" and mergers/partnerships at the top level. Is that a more common practice in the area due to the amount of clubs here?

Since VYS and McLean seem to be recommended, does anyone have experiences with either program they'd be willing to share?

Yes the alliances are because there are many competing clubs and they are competing for the same players. Players and coaches often change clubs, and new alliances/mergers happen every few years to shake things up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington is probably the largest club within a manageable driving distance. They are more likely to have depth at those age groups that you are targeting. That being said, my daughter has played with Vienna on the girls side and think that they have great program. It feeds into the BRAVE ECNL program which is a partnership between Braddock Road (BRYC) and Vienna. I would suggest reaching out directly to the director of coaching on the girls’s side to get more info.

MV, their Girl's Director, is a frequent DCUM poster so he will be expecting your message.

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