DC United Regional Development School

[Anonymous]

Is the DC United Regional Development School worth it for top players or a huge money grab? And why would a girl do it? Thoughts?

https://www.dcunited.com/youth/rds

[Anonymous]

Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

I will add that redbull and Philadelphia have the same program and there are some threads in other groups (eg, FB) that gripe about the cost and that it’s not worth it and that very rarely are any players recruited from the RDS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the DC United Regional Development School worth it for top players or a huge money grab? And why would a girl do it? Thoughts?

https://www.dcunited.com/youth/rds

If you click on the registration and start the process you will find it is essentially supplemental training for 8 Saturday evenings for $350, assuming your kid passes the open tryout for the program. Trainings will divided by age group (8-11 group & 12-14 year old group, depending on numbers).

Without going to that 1st tryout, it will be hard to know if they are really cutting kids at the tryouts or not. You can assume this is not for rec level players. Most of the high performance training groups, like to gate-keep a little by saying kids have to be assessed before they are allowed to join our super select group. So, this can just be a normative disclaimer or maybe if they really get too many kids, they won't let everyone in. Hard to say. Or that could change by location (There is a high demand in Alexandria, but a low demand in Fredericksburg; would the demand change the skill level that is accepted?)

For the price, it would be a good deal $45 for 90 min of training on nice fields for 8 sessions by DC United Coaching Staff (But is it really? At what level is the coaching staff for little kids?)

You would have to figure there will be more attendance of boys than girls as obviously girls are not being recruited into MLS. So, with only 40 slots, divided into 2 groups, 20 per group, how many girls would there be per group, on average? Hard to say, but 'Id expect about 4-6 girls per group in the training. But again there is no way to really know. My DD has been to mostly all boys perforce training groups and those sessions have been hit or miss.

Looking at the model, I would guess they will run this training again in the Spring time as long as it pays for itself.

DC United has run camps and clinics in the past and those were fairly low-level camps for any kid that signed up. This should be a higher level and players can be recommended to join the DC United Academy if the Coach recommends them at the end of training.

-Remains to be seen if it is a money grab or not. It does not appear to be. It appears to be great supplemental training, offered for a limited period in multiple locations.
-Girls would do it for higher quality training, there are a few girls that are training with MLS Next teams on a very limited basis and would be interested in this as well. But, truly very few girls could train/ play at that level. So, it is hard to say if they would cut most girls at the 1st tryout or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

I will add that redbull and Philadelphia have the same program and there are some threads in other groups (eg, FB) that gripe about the cost and that it’s not worth it and that very rarely are any players recruited from the RDS.

+1

I heard the same thing from Philly people about the Union program and that is the best academy in the country.

Our local DMV soccer parent are waaaay thirstier than Philly parents so DCUA has tapped another profit funnel.

[Anonymous]

I voted for money grab mostly because DC United required credit card at registration that would be automatically charged if your player was offered a spot - not something I'd want to agree to without knowing about player pool or coaches - may turn out to be decent supplemental training, however. Hoping folks who actually do it weigh in.

[Anonymous]

Price isn't too bad. Extra sessions for your kid with a chance of being looked at. I know some of you still do ODP, why not RDS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

I will add that redbull and Philadelphia have the same program and there are some threads in other groups (eg, FB) that gripe about the cost and that it’s not worth it and that very rarely are any players recruited from the RDS.

I've seen kids get picked up through their RDS system. If a player doesn't make it, maybe they're not on that level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

I will add that redbull and Philadelphia have the same program and there are some threads in other groups (eg, FB) that gripe about the cost and that it’s not worth it and that very rarely are any players recruited from the RDS.

I've seen kids get picked up through their RDS system. If a player doesn't make it, maybe they're not on that level.

Most of the kids whose parents are interested are label-thirsty. They are open for business from any high-level label that wants them: DCUA, MLS Next, ECNL, ODP, etc.

I hope this helps well-meaning but naive parents. Do any of these parents know the development model for DCUA? Who is coaching? What is the benefit of the training? Do they correct bad technique?

DCUA is guilty on focusing on pace when internationally, the focus up to age 14 is technical development and ball mastery. As someone else mentioned, my child has open invites to all of the invite-only training that I am aware of which focuses on technical ball mastery with the top kids in the area so why would I need DCUA to develop? Is DCUA going to sprinkle magic black and red pixie dust on your kids feet to teach them how to use their weak foot or how to take a ball out of the air? That is accomplished by boring wall passing and receiving and unopposed ball mastery drills which can be done for $FREE.99. Become a standout by doing double the number of reps on your weak foot as your strong foot until they don’t know whether you are left footed or right footed at the next tryout.

99% of kids are not proficient with both feet and can’t take a sloth 1v1 but want to be scouted by DCU 😂.

Learn the 🇺🇸 soccer game and play it. Don’t let these fancy acronym organizations play you.

If you have never:

-Had an opposing team ask you to guest play for them
-Been offered a free club sponsorship to play for a club
-Been invited to invite only training where your technique is called out and you are pushed
-Been invited to guest on a top tournament team
-Had local clubs trying to poach you from your current club

You are just not good enough YET. Have your kid get to work to become that player that experiences those things.

100% honest truth and feel free to spend your money as you feel fit with this info.

IF they someone grab some of the top technique coaches in the area, I will easily change my tune.

[Anonymous]

Are the clubs promoting the RDS? We have not heard a peep about it from clubs or coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

I will add that redbull and Philadelphia have the same program and there are some threads in other groups (eg, FB) that gripe about the cost and that it’s not worth it and that very rarely are any players recruited from the RDS.

I've seen kids get picked up through their RDS system. If a player doesn't make it, maybe they're not on that level.

Most of the kids whose parents are interested are label-thirsty. They are open for business from any high-level label that wants them: DCUA, MLS Next, ECNL, ODP, etc.

I hope this helps well-meaning but naive parents. Do any of these parents know the development model for DCUA? Who is coaching? What is the benefit of the training? Do they correct bad technique?

DCUA is guilty on focusing on pace when internationally, the focus up to age 14 is technical development and ball mastery. As someone else mentioned, my child has open invites to all of the invite-only training that I am aware of which focuses on technical ball mastery with the top kids in the area so why would I need DCUA to develop? Is DCUA going to sprinkle magic black and red pixie dust on your kids feet to teach them how to use their weak foot or how to take a ball out of the air? That is accomplished by boring wall passing and receiving and unopposed ball mastery drills which can be done for $FREE.99. Become a standout by doing double the number of reps on your weak foot as your strong foot until they don’t know whether you are left footed or right footed at the next tryout.

99% of kids are not proficient with both feet and can’t take a sloth 1v1 but want to be scouted by DCU 😂.

Learn the 🇺🇸 soccer game and play it. Don’t let these fancy acronym organizations play you.

If you have never:

-Had an opposing team ask you to guest play for them
-Been offered a free club sponsorship to play for a club
-Been invited to invite only training where your technique is called out and you are pushed
-Been invited to guest on a top tournament team
-Had local clubs trying to poach you from your current club

You are just not good enough YET. Have your kid get to work to become that player that experiences those things.

100% honest truth and feel free to spend your money as you feel fit with this info.

IF they someone grab some of the top technique coaches in the area, I will easily change my tune.

"DCUA is guilty on focusing on pace when internationally, the focus up to age 14 is technical development and ball mastery"

So Barcelona Academy, Real Madrid Academy, Arsenal Academy at 14 years of age doesn't focus on speed of play aka: pace?

DCUA starts at U14, so where did you get their pre-U14 individual development plan for U-littles?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

I will add that redbull and Philadelphia have the same program and there are some threads in other groups (eg, FB) that gripe about the cost and that it’s not worth it and that very rarely are any players recruited from the RDS.

I've seen kids get picked up through their RDS system. If a player doesn't make it, maybe they're not on that level.

Most of the kids whose parents are interested are label-thirsty. They are open for business from any high-level label that wants them: DCUA, MLS Next, ECNL, ODP, etc.

I hope this helps well-meaning but naive parents. Do any of these parents know the development model for DCUA? Who is coaching? What is the benefit of the training? Do they correct bad technique?

DCUA is guilty on focusing on pace when internationally, the focus up to age 14 is technical development and ball mastery. As someone else mentioned, my child has open invites to all of the invite-only training that I am aware of which focuses on technical ball mastery with the top kids in the area so why would I need DCUA to develop? Is DCUA going to sprinkle magic black and red pixie dust on your kids feet to teach them how to use their weak foot or how to take a ball out of the air? That is accomplished by boring wall passing and receiving and unopposed ball mastery drills which can be done for $FREE.99. Become a standout by doing double the number of reps on your weak foot as your strong foot until they don’t know whether you are left footed or right footed at the next tryout.

99% of kids are not proficient with both feet and can’t take a sloth 1v1 but want to be scouted by DCU 😂.

Learn the 🇺🇸 soccer game and play it. Don’t let these fancy acronym organizations play you.

If you have never:

-Had an opposing team ask you to guest play for them
-Been offered a free club sponsorship to play for a club
-Been invited to invite only training where your technique is called out and you are pushed
-Been invited to guest on a top tournament team
-Had local clubs trying to poach you from your current club

You are just not good enough YET. Have your kid get to work to become that player that experiences those things.

100% honest truth and feel free to spend your money as you feel fit with this info.

IF they someone grab some of the top technique coaches in the area, I will easily change my tune.

"DCUA is guilty on focusing on pace when internationally, the focus up to age 14 is technical development and ball mastery"

So Barcelona Academy, Real Madrid Academy, Arsenal Academy at 14 years of age doesn't focus on speed of play aka: pace?

DCUA starts at U14, so where did you get their pre-U14 individual development plan for U-littles?

You compared pace at DCUA with pace at La Masia which clearly indicates you don’t know anything. This was a classic official DCUA PR response so they can’t even get anonymous trolling right? 😂🤣😂🤣

Hey, the owners are brilliant. They are raking in millions and these details for parents are buried in an anonymous blog so most won’t find it. Those that do will still believe in the DCUA foot ferry who will make their average EDP III player an academy baller in just 8 sessions for $395. 🤣😂🤣😂

No wonder private equity is entering youth sports. I need to start a club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to tell without knowing who the coaches are.

But I think if you are not on an MLSNext or ECNL team, it might be worth it based on the assumption that you’re training with a strong group of kids since it is tryout based.

I have no idea how much it is though so that will factor in. There are already a lot of small group training and great coaches around that are known good trainers.

I will add that redbull and Philadelphia have the same program and there are some threads in other groups (eg, FB) that gripe about the cost and that it’s not worth it and that very rarely are any players recruited from the RDS.

I've seen kids get picked up through their RDS system. If a player doesn't make it, maybe they're not on that level.

Most of the kids whose parents are interested are label-thirsty. They are open for business from any high-level label that wants them: DCUA, MLS Next, ECNL, ODP, etc.

I hope this helps well-meaning but naive parents. Do any of these parents know the development model for DCUA? Who is coaching? What is the benefit of the training? Do they correct bad technique?

DCUA is guilty on focusing on pace when internationally, the focus up to age 14 is technical development and ball mastery. As someone else mentioned, my child has open invites to all of the invite-only training that I am aware of which focuses on technical ball mastery with the top kids in the area so why would I need DCUA to develop? Is DCUA going to sprinkle magic black and red pixie dust on your kids feet to teach them how to use their weak foot or how to take a ball out of the air? That is accomplished by boring wall passing and receiving and unopposed ball mastery drills which can be done for $FREE.99. Become a standout by doing double the number of reps on your weak foot as your strong foot until they don’t know whether you are left footed or right footed at the next tryout.

99% of kids are not proficient with both feet and can’t take a sloth 1v1 but want to be scouted by DCU 😂.

Learn the 🇺🇸 soccer game and play it. Don’t let these fancy acronym organizations play you.

If you have never:

-Had an opposing team ask you to guest play for them
-Been offered a free club sponsorship to play for a club
-Been invited to invite only training where your technique is called out and you are pushed
-Been invited to guest on a top tournament team
-Had local clubs trying to poach you from your current club

You are just not good enough YET. Have your kid get to work to become that player that experiences those things.

100% honest truth and feel free to spend your money as you feel fit with this info.

IF they someone grab some of the top technique coaches in the area, I will easily change my tune.

"DCUA is guilty on focusing on pace when internationally, the focus up to age 14 is technical development and ball mastery"

So Barcelona Academy, Real Madrid Academy, Arsenal Academy at 14 years of age doesn't focus on speed of play aka: pace?

DCUA starts at U14, so where did you get their pre-U14 individual development plan for U-littles?

You compared pace at DCUA with pace at La Masia which clearly indicates you don’t know anything. This was a classic official DCUA PR response so they can’t even get anonymous trolling right? 😂🤣😂🤣

Hey, the owners are brilliant. They are raking in millions and these details for parents are buried in an anonymous blog so most won’t find it. Those that do will still believe in the DCUA foot ferry who will make their average EDP III player an academy baller in just 8 sessions for $395. 🤣😂🤣😂

No wonder private equity is entering youth sports. I need to start a club.

Actually, pace at DCUA wasn't compared to pace at European academies.

What was directly addressed was you saying DCUA focuses on pace at 14 but European academies do not.

So you either don't know what pace is in soccer or you don't know what's happening at European academies at 14 years old

[Anonymous]

The RDS at DCU, like all other things DCU does us totally garbage. It is a pure money grab plain and simple. Very few, if any, kids from the RDS are going to make it to the DCU squad. And to be honest, making the DCU squad is not what it may seem. It is a half a## academy system with no ambition, no money and even less of an idea in how to develop players for the modern game. Dont waste your time or money on DCU. They will disappoint you time and time again and the only one who will be missing out on real development opportunities is your son. DCU is a badge only academy. If you want the badge because that makes you feel good inside, do that. If you want to really progress at the sport to become a pro, DCU is not the place for that. It is that simple.

To the PP talking about pace...of course European academies look at pace of youth players when bringing them into their systems. The modern game is built on pace. But they don't take pace above all else. The best players have speed of thought/decisions/action and can couple that with pace and strong technique. But to say European academies don't focus on pace is wrong. In some positions it is all they focus on at youth ages because they believe they can teach the technical side but you can't teach someone with poor fast twitch muscles and poor genetics for speed how to be fast. You can't turn a Honda into a Ferrari...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The RDS at DCU, like all other things DCU does us totally garbage. It is a pure money grab plain and simple. Very few, if any, kids from the RDS are going to make it to the DCU squad. And to be honest, making the DCU squad is not what it may seem. It is a half a## academy system with no ambition, no money and even less of an idea in how to develop players for the modern game. Dont waste your time or money on DCU. They will disappoint you time and time again and the only one who will be missing out on real development opportunities is your son. DCU is a badge only academy. If you want the badge because that makes you feel good inside, do that. If you want to really progress at the sport to become a pro, DCU is not the place for that. It is that simple.

To the PP talking about pace...of course European academies look at pace of youth players when bringing them into their systems. The modern game is built on pace. But they don't take pace above all else. The best players have speed of thought/decisions/action and can couple that with pace and strong technique. But to say European academies don't focus on pace is wrong. In some positions it is all they focus on at youth ages because they believe they can teach the technical side but you can't teach someone with poor fast twitch muscles and poor genetics for speed how to be fast. You can't turn a Honda into a Ferrari...

So I don’t actually disagree with this but if you don’t have a dual passport (eu or South America for example), DCUA is still really your best bet or is still a really good option. Do keep that in perspective. Note too that to the extent that DCUA has had successes, it also helps to have a dual passport although DCUA isn’t totally great with maximizing that stuff but I think they are working on it?