FCGB and Juventus Academy

[Anonymous]

We are contemplating offers from both FCGB and Juventus Academy for our U12 daughter. Can anyone provide any feedback? We are fairly new to the Montgomery County area.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend FCGB over Juventus based on coaching - team quality is equivalent.

I would also suggest trying Liverpool DC Metro (Gaithersburg area) or OBGC (Olney) depending on your location.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, it depends what you’re looking for. Both are fine but not very competitive. FCGB is SAM Select and will be bottom EDP next year. Juventus is in a lower division EDP but not bottom.

If you want a little more competitive try MSI or Potomac top teams. Their second teams are closer to the two you mentioned. Just my two cents.

Consider where teams practice and where you live. Don’t discount convenience.

[Anonymous]

As their opponents, we have liked Juventus’ current U11 pre-travel (not sure what they actually call the level, but they play in MSI Classic; not sure if she also coaches the U11 academy team) coach and U12 academy coach (we did not like their prior U11 pre-travel coach, but she has moved onto a bigger club). Impressed that they manage to have female coaches for a lot of their girls teams.

[Anonymous]

Seems FCGB is in SAM select and Juventus Academy is in EDP? Does that matter?

Which leagues do Liverpool DC Metro (Gaithersburg area) and OBGC (Olney) belong to?

[Anonymous]

Both Liverpool and OBGC are in EDP. But I would recommend reaching out to the clubs/coaches and attend a training rather than worry about levels at u12/u13.

[Anonymous]

FCGB is glorified pay to play rec level at most ages before high school. I wouldn’t touch them at u12 unless you don’t mind paying travel rates for SAM Select and bottom bracket of a few small tourneys.

Nice people who take anyone with a pulse willing to pay and they only have enough girls for one team until they get older.

[Anonymous]

My son played for Juventus. To clarify, Juventus has both MSI classic (select level) and EDP teams (travel level) so it’s important to know what team you are comparing to another club. The club is basically run by Renzo and Ali and I like both a lot. Unlike bigger clubs, I was able to speak to Renzo directly whenever I had a question or concern. He’s a really nice guy. He cares a lot about the kids as people and not just players. My son’s teammates felt they could play more than one sport and it was ok if there was an important school or family event to miss practice or a game. This has not been the case at any other club my son played. As for coaching, it was good. The only downside is they don’t always get the best fields for practice. We were sometimes at Laytonia which is terrific but other times at neighborhood fields which were not good. As you make a decision, ask yourself what your daughter’s long-term goals are. If it’s to play for fun and improve, in a very positive environment, Juventus is perfect. But if it’s to play college, it’s probably not going to work long-term. These are not high level teams (think EDP 3 or lower) so the strongest kids will often eventually move on. But if there are no college goals, it’s really a very nice environment to play soccer.