Herndon club

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In general these types of tourist trips are around 2k per person Plus the cost of a spring break season flight to Spain. So around $2800 at least per person is my guess AS WELL as their share of the coach's travel costs. So thats quite a lot for one parent and one kid per family

DC has been invited to play in this a couple of times and each time we balked at the cost. It’s like an hour or so from Barcelona and there isn’t really time to explore beyond the area where the tournament is unless you extend your trip which means even more time and money. Maybe the Herndon team is finding cheaper lodging than where we would’ve been required to stay. It seemed like there was a big markup on lodging compared to what someone could book on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general these types of tourist trips are around 2k per person Plus the cost of a spring break season flight to Spain. So around $2800 at least per person is my guess AS WELL as their share of the coach's travel costs. So thats quite a lot for one parent and one kid per family

DC has been invited to play in this a couple of times and each time we balked at the cost. It’s like an hour or so from Barcelona and there isn’t really time to explore beyond the area where the tournament is unless you extend your trip which means even more time and money. Maybe the Herndon team is finding cheaper lodging than where we would’ve been required to stay. It seemed like there was a big markup on lodging compared to what someone could book on their own.

Of course! Its a money making scheme by the area that holds this, so everything is marked up to milk the gullible Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People can do what they want with their own cash for their own kids. But its really cringey to beg for money from the rest of the club parents for a completely frivolous and ridiculous trip for a group of completely average 9 year olds. "Boo Hoo! Everyone on our team can't afford to chip in for our coach's travel expenses to SPAIN. Please give us some of your hard earned money so we can live it up on spring break."

Clearly everyone agrees because no donations were made after the Beggar email was sent out to all. (Alot of families feel Herndon has jacked up the cost of playing while providing a lot less.)

I don’t think this is a “group of completely average 9 year olds”. It’s actually a pretty good group and it has some really talented players. Anyhow, that not the point. It’s awesome that the team decided to do this and that they are trying to help those who can’t afford cover those expenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People can do what they want with their own cash for their own kids. But its really cringey to beg for money from the rest of the club parents for a completely frivolous and ridiculous trip for a group of completely average 9 year olds. "Boo Hoo! Everyone on our team can't afford to chip in for our coach's travel expenses to SPAIN. Please give us some of your hard earned money so we can live it up on spring break."

Clearly everyone agrees because no donations were made after the Beggar email was sent out to all. (Alot of families feel Herndon has jacked up the cost of playing while providing a lot less.)

I don’t think this is a “group of completely average 9 year olds”. It’s actually a pretty good group and it has some really talented players. Anyhow, that not the point. It’s awesome that the team decided to do this and that they are trying to help those who can’t afford cover those expenses.

I don't think its awesome. I think its obnoxious. Given the lack of response from the entire HYS community, I guess most agree with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People can do what they want with their own cash for their own kids. But its really cringey to beg for money from the rest of the club parents for a completely frivolous and ridiculous trip for a group of completely average 9 year olds. "Boo Hoo! Everyone on our team can't afford to chip in for our coach's travel expenses to SPAIN. Please give us some of your hard earned money so we can live it up on spring break."

Clearly everyone agrees because no donations were made after the Beggar email was sent out to all. (Alot of families feel Herndon has jacked up the cost of playing while providing a lot less.)

I don’t think this is a “group of completely average 9 year olds”. It’s actually a pretty good group and it has some really talented players. Anyhow, that not the point. It’s awesome that the team decided to do this and that they are trying to help those who can’t afford cover those expenses.

Found the proud mama bear. Who is paying for the coach's travel costs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People can do what they want with their own cash for their own kids. But its really cringey to beg for money from the rest of the club parents for a completely frivolous and ridiculous trip for a group of completely average 9 year olds. "Boo Hoo! Everyone on our team can't afford to chip in for our coach's travel expenses to SPAIN. Please give us some of your hard earned money so we can live it up on spring break."

Clearly everyone agrees because no donations were made after the Beggar email was sent out to all. (Alot of families feel Herndon has jacked up the cost of playing while providing a lot less.)

I don’t think this is a “group of completely average 9 year olds”. It’s actually a pretty good group and it has some really talented players. Anyhow, that not the point. It’s awesome that the team decided to do this and that they are trying to help those who can’t afford cover those expenses.

I don't think its awesome. I think its obnoxious. Given the lack of response from the entire HYS community, I guess most agree with me.

Yea I think it’s fine if the team that’s going wants to send something like that out to family and friends, but weird to send it to the entire club. Or they could even do a fundraiser like some teams do a car wash… maybe they could shovel snow lol. But why would I give a straight up donation to send a bunch of kids over never met on a completely optional fun trip?

It’s kind of an abuse of one’s position to use an entire list of club contacts for this particular purpose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People can do what they want with their own cash for their own kids. But its really cringey to beg for money from the rest of the club parents for a completely frivolous and ridiculous trip for a group of completely average 9 year olds. "Boo Hoo! Everyone on our team can't afford to chip in for our coach's travel expenses to SPAIN. Please give us some of your hard earned money so we can live it up on spring break."

Clearly everyone agrees because no donations were made after the Beggar email was sent out to all. (Alot of families feel Herndon has jacked up the cost of playing while providing a lot less.)

I don’t think this is a “group of completely average 9 year olds”. It’s actually a pretty good group and it has some really talented players. Anyhow, that not the point. It’s awesome that the team decided to do this and that they are trying to help those who can’t afford cover those expenses.

Found the proud mama bear. Who is paying for the coach's travel costs?

The coach is the TD. He probably got HYS to cover his expenses.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the team manager who keeps posting willl come back and explain how this trip is being financed for all the scholarship players and whether Herndon club donated anything towards the costs or the coach travel fees.

[Anonymous]

We are new to Herndon this year. Last year, when it snowed and the fields were covered for a long time, did they rent indoor field space for training? Our previous club did but only once per week. Its looking like the fields won't be usable until end of Feb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the team manager who keeps posting willl come back and explain how this trip is being financed for all the scholarship players and whether Herndon club donated anything towards the costs or the coach travel fees.

Remember, Herndon’s money is really your money. Kinda like the government, spending other people’s money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are new to Herndon this year. Last year, when it snowed and the fields were covered for a long time, did they rent indoor field space for training? Our previous club did but only once per week. Its looking like the fields won't be usable until end of Feb.

we were there last year. for older players they did nothing indoors last winter when fields were closed. can't speak to the younger ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the team manager who keeps posting willl come back and explain how this trip is being financed for all the scholarship players and whether Herndon club donated anything towards the costs or the coach travel fees.

Remember, Herndon’s money is really your money. Kinda like the government, spending other people’s money

He kept posting over and over yesterday and as soon as someone asked if Herndon club was paying any part of the cost, he disappeared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the team manager who keeps posting willl come back and explain how this trip is being financed for all the scholarship players and whether Herndon club donated anything towards the costs or the coach travel fees.

Remember, Herndon’s money is really your money. Kinda like the government, spending other people’s money

He kept posting over and over yesterday and as soon as someone asked if Herndon club was paying any part of the cost, he disappeared.

draw your own conclusions on that i guess

[Anonymous]

The obsession in American youth soccer with "exposure." We’ve convinced ourselves that if a U-11 team isn't flying across the country for a showcase or heading to Spain for an international tournament, they aren’t truly "competing."

But if we look at the gold standards of player development—think La Masia (Barcelona), Ajax, or Benfica—the blueprint is the exact opposite of the American travel-heavy model.

They prioritize high coach-to-player ratios. The focus is on constant, technical feedback during training. Games are often just local scrimmages or "inter-club" matches—playing against kids from their own academy just to see how they handle specific tactical situations. We prioritize the "event." We value national leagues, 6-hour drives, and trophy presentations. We trade coaching hours for travel hours.

I spent years working with Akanji Soccer. Our Real Madrid camps and Spanish tours were our best money-makers, but they often sold a dream that didn't match the reality. We would schedule the top-tier professional academies first. On the final day, we’d match our American kids against a local "recreational" Spanish side. When the American kids won that final game, the atmosphere changed instantly. They walked off the pitch convinced they were "making it" and being scouted, simply because they won on Spanish soil.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are new to Herndon this year. Last year, when it snowed and the fields were covered for a long time, did they rent indoor field space for training? Our previous club did but only once per week. Its looking like the fields won't be usable until end of Feb.

we were there last year. for older players they did nothing indoors last winter when fields were closed. can't speak to the younger ages.

We were also there last year and our older players had indoor practice.