Confused on which club to seek out

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I will be moving to the area in late summer before school starts. My DS (9) plays travel soccer but as I've been researching everybody seems to complain about all of the clubs. Can someone give some guidance about which club has the most invested coaches and kids who care about soccer and not just because parents put them there for an activity? Which clubs to absolutely avoid?

Between Loudoun soccer, Virginia revolution, Valor, FCV/StJames, Herndon soccer, Reston Soccer. Are there others I should be considering?

Overwhelmingly all of the threads are negative and it makes it all the more confusing (and honestly a bit disheartening).

Thanks in advance for the help and insight!

[Anonymous]

since you're moving after the teams are already formed for the 2024-2025 season you should reach out to all of them to see who has space on a team you feel would be close to your son's skill. You have all the local club names so that's good - I would just cross off FCV/St James since they are not relevant for boys.

[Anonymous]

9 years old. start with the club that's most convenient to where you will be living.

[Anonymous]

Don't know about where you live now but this is the state of soccer around here. A lot of change happening the last few years and especially this year. Since your son is young I wouldn't worry too much. Just try to go where his new friends play, something close to where you live, and then form your own opinions about coaches and clubs. It could vary widely depending on the team, age group, players and parents on the team.

[Anonymous]

This is the worst site to get your intel. Once here, go to the nearest club where you will live and go from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the worst site to get your intel. Once here, go to the nearest club where you will live and go from there.

agreed and if anyone names a club on here, the next 10 posts will rip that club to shreds and it's a never ending cycle. Just join the club that is closest to you that will return your email.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

I will be moving to the area in late summer before school starts. My DS (9) plays travel soccer but as I've been researching everybody seems to complain about all of the clubs. Can someone give some guidance about which club has the most invested coaches and kids who care about soccer and not just because parents put them there for an activity? Which clubs to absolutely avoid?

Between Loudoun soccer, Virginia revolution, Valor, FCV/StJames, Herndon soccer, Reston Soccer. Are there others I should be considering?

Overwhelmingly all of the threads are negative and it makes it all the more confusing (and honestly a bit disheartening).

Thanks in advance for the help and insight!

Email all the clubs, say what level team you're looking for, and then you go ID if they have a spot. Every club has positives and negatives. Pick the one you and your player likes best that offers you a spot.

[Anonymous]

Yup, pick the one that is closest to where you live. Everyone has terrible stuff to say when they are anonymous keyboard warriors.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend loudoun soccer and Virginia revolution.

If your kid is serious about soccer i would recommend staying far far away from valor. They are probably the bottom of the barrel in the nova area for soccer development.

I would also not recomment FCV/St James. They are a sinking ship.

[Anonymous]

And as someone said, no matter what the club is someone will bash it. My son loves Valor. I have had absolutely nothing to complain about. He is a rising U10 (currently 9), and we are very happy at the club. It never even crossed our mind to leave. Do yourself a favor and reach out to the clubs, pick maybe two close to your new home, go see the coach and the team, and then choose the one you like best.

[Anonymous]

I have a son who is close to or same age and live within reasonable driving distance of most of the places you listed. Agree with others that you should ask to attend practice and see what you think. Afterwards, you can see if the coach will give you some honest input on where they think your son would fit in terms of team level. You will need to do this very soon because the spring season is almost over the only one I wouldn’t bother with is FCV/St James because they don’t have home fields that are specifically for them. It has caused some issues with game scheduling this spring and it means that different level teams practice at different locations, some of which are not going to be convenient to you at all.

You could also think about whether a small club or a large club would be a good fit. Out of the ones you listed I think Loudoun is the biggest and Herndon is the smallest.

[Anonymous]

Will you live here for a few years or until your son goes off to college? If it’s a few years, it doesn’t matter, just go to the club closest to you new home where your sons friends will likely play. If your into this marathon for the next 9 years, then consider a club with the endgame in mind.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would recommend loudoun soccer and Virginia revolution.

If your kid is serious about soccer i would recommend staying far far away from valor. They are probably the bottom of the barrel in the nova area for soccer development.

I would also not recomment FCV/St James. They are a sinking ship.

But but negative blah blah negative negative loudoun negative something something revolution something curse words bleep bleep the revolution blah blah coach negative nelly

But I luuuuuv FCV PP is sour grapes loser face i have 10 kids, 11 of whom are in travel so I’m an expert and f u

[Anonymous]

I suspect all of those clubs could be fine, including Valor and FCV.

I’d look first for fields, including quality and drive time from your house.

I’d then look at coaching. Ask to practice with the teams and observe how practices are run.

Lastly, I’d look at what kind of tournaments they play in, futsal, maybe Super Y, etc.

[Anonymous]

At this point in the tryout period, most top teams are rostered. You should focus on getting him rostered than the actual club. You only commit to one year and can change if you are not happy with them. You will never have consensus on which club is better.