VYS Soccer - better or worse?

[Anonymous]

VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

The being unhappy with the House program is what is the knee slapper or head scratcher. Who the F cares about the quality of the House program past 9 years old.

The whole point of house is to grow a player pool and instill enough soccer love and skills to eventually play in the travel program. And then after U9 it is simply a place for kids who did not make travel a place to keep playing fun and inexpensive soccer.

"Where in the area is a good rec soccer program for my 12 year old?" Asked no one ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

Hahaha, it is that time of year..you know...when the "ax grinder" dusts his/ her keyboard off and visits dcurbanmom to drop off trolling gifts to the VYS forum...
Happy trolling season to all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Then let's skip past the usual "former coaches or parents with an ax to grind" nonsense and talk about the House program.

What needs to be better?

Better training. Take a look at CYA as an example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

The being unhappy with the House program is what is the knee slapper or head scratcher. Who the F cares about the quality of the House program past 9 years old.

The whole point of house is to grow a player pool and instill enough soccer love and skills to eventually play in the travel program. And then after U9 it is simply a place for kids who did not make travel a place to keep playing fun and inexpensive soccer.

"Where in the area is a good rec soccer program for my 12 year old?" Asked no one ever.

There are several people that care about this. Some quit travel and want to stay in rec. Some want to have a hybrid rec/travel type program that is only per season. Some want a rec team that has decent coaching, many kids playing, and reasonably competitive games. Other sports like baseball are almost entirely run by parent coaches and are still very competitive at the rec level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

The being unhappy with the House program is what is the knee slapper or head scratcher. Who the F cares about the quality of the House program past 9 years old.

The whole point of house is to grow a player pool and instill enough soccer love and skills to eventually play in the travel program. And then after U9 it is simply a place for kids who did not make travel a place to keep playing fun and inexpensive soccer.

"Where in the area is a good rec soccer program for my 12 year old?" Asked no one ever.

There are several people that care about this. Some quit travel and want to stay in rec. Some want to have a hybrid rec/travel type program that is only per season. Some want a rec team that has decent coaching, many kids playing, and reasonably competitive games. Other sports like baseball are almost entirely run by parent coaches and are still very competitive at the rec level.

It is tough to compare baseball to soccer. Baseball has been an American expertise forever. There is an abundance of great baseball coaches and most parents can say they comprehend the game. This country still doesn't have a quality strong understanding of the soccer game. It is growing but to make that comparison, is like comparing a fine wine to unripe grapes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

The being unhappy with the House program is what is the knee slapper or head scratcher. Who the F cares about the quality of the House program past 9 years old.

The whole point of house is to grow a player pool and instill enough soccer love and skills to eventually play in the travel program. And then after U9 it is simply a place for kids who did not make travel a place to keep playing fun and inexpensive soccer.

"Where in the area is a good rec soccer program for my 12 year old?" Asked no one ever.

I get asked all the time.

Look -- there are some truly pathetic people on this board. A couple of people (and a lot of us who live in Vienna have some pretty good guesses as to who you are -- in at least two cases, we've verified) are upset about how they or someone close to them left VYS. And a few parents are convinced their DS or DD is the next Alex Morgan or Christian Pulisic, and if they can just get to Bethesda South or Braddock Road, they'll prove it.

And then there are people who are so bloody status-conscious that they have to pick on parents whose kids play House league. Or maybe they're "pro" coaches trying to convince parents to keep paying $2,500 for "travel" when, by U12 and U14, travel leagues have sorted themselves out so that a lot of them (NCSL lower divisions, much of ODSL, a lot of CCL2 -- hell, a good bit of VPL and CCL2) aren't appreciably better than the House teams.

If you coach or if your kids play U14 soccer, you've seen it 100 times by now. A kid who had been playing travel comes back to House. He thinks he's going to dominate. After a couple of games, he realizes that isn't the case. That's because there are a lot of other players in House league who used to play travel. And some in House league who never played travel for whatever reason -- generally the family's decision to prioritize its time and money elsewhere -- who could easily walk into a CCL2 or NCSL Div. 3 team and do just fine.

And frankly -- and I have to admit, this is a little scary -- there are some parents who build mini-empires in House league. Some in Vienna. Some in SFL.

So if you want to come onto this board and gossip about people in Vienna you don't even know because you left five years ago, when maybe 2-3 of the current board members were on the board and Eddie Lima and his company were running the technical side, you really have to ask yourself:

What has gone so horribly wrong in my life that I need to come here and talk smack about recreational soccer players? Do I need professional help? Or some sort of activity to occupy my time?
Why am I so hung up on making sure my kid is better than someone else's in soccer?

(Unless you're Rachel Moore's parents, in which case, good luck with the Spirit this season.)

So let's answer the question:

VYS rec seems to be OK at the moment. They've just hired a new staff member to oversee it -- an English guy with some impressive academic and licensing credentials who seems pretty responsive so far, though it's early as of yet. They have more training programs for prospective travel players now than they had even when Eddie Lima and Jane Dawber were winning an NSCAA award for their work. The U9 through U14 age groups have a lot of teams. They need to think about returning to SFL for U16 and U19, though.

And that's to be expected because Vienna is a damn nice place to live, full of people who have a good bit of civic pride. It's not just a bunch of people who think of everything from Arlington to Loudoun as one sprawling set of houses, where your self-worth is defined by the square footage of your house and your kid's placement in an "elite" soccer league.

So when you come back to House soccer because you start to realize your DS or DD either has other interests or isn't going to make the team at Madison or Marshall, you'll find a pretty good environment. And you'll save enough money to add some square footage to your home to make up for your apparent failure to yell at your kid enough to make him or her one of the top five percent of Northern Virginia soccer players.

So ... how are the travel teams shaping up for spring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then let's skip past the usual "former coaches or parents with an ax to grind" nonsense and talk about the House program.

What needs to be better?

Better training. Take a look at CYA as an example.

We miss you too, coach. You did a great job at VYS with my DS. But seriously -- get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

The being unhappy with the House program is what is the knee slapper or head scratcher. Who the F cares about the quality of the House program past 9 years old.

The whole point of house is to grow a player pool and instill enough soccer love and skills to eventually play in the travel program. And then after U9 it is simply a place for kids who did not make travel a place to keep playing fun and inexpensive soccer.

"Where in the area is a good rec soccer program for my 12 year old?" Asked no one ever.

I get asked all the time.

Look -- there are some truly pathetic people on this board. A couple of people (and a lot of us who live in Vienna have some pretty good guesses as to who you are -- in at least two cases, we've verified) are upset about how they or someone close to them left VYS. And a few parents are convinced their DS or DD is the next Alex Morgan or Christian Pulisic, and if they can just get to Bethesda South or Braddock Road, they'll prove it.

And then there are people who are so bloody status-conscious that they have to pick on parents whose kids play House league. Or maybe they're "pro" coaches trying to convince parents to keep paying $2,500 for "travel" when, by U12 and U14, travel leagues have sorted themselves out so that a lot of them (NCSL lower divisions, much of ODSL, a lot of CCL2 -- hell, a good bit of VPL and CCL2) aren't appreciably better than the House teams.

If you coach or if your kids play U14 soccer, you've seen it 100 times by now. A kid who had been playing travel comes back to House. He thinks he's going to dominate. After a couple of games, he realizes that isn't the case. That's because there are a lot of other players in House league who used to play travel. And some in House league who never played travel for whatever reason -- generally the family's decision to prioritize its time and money elsewhere -- who could easily walk into a CCL2 or NCSL Div. 3 team and do just fine.

And frankly -- and I have to admit, this is a little scary -- there are some parents who build mini-empires in House league. Some in Vienna. Some in SFL.

So if you want to come onto this board and gossip about people in Vienna you don't even know because you left five years ago, when maybe 2-3 of the current board members were on the board and Eddie Lima and his company were running the technical side, you really have to ask yourself:

What has gone so horribly wrong in my life that I need to come here and talk smack about recreational soccer players? Do I need professional help? Or some sort of activity to occupy my time?
Why am I so hung up on making sure my kid is better than someone else's in soccer?

(Unless you're Rachel Moore's parents, in which case, good luck with the Spirit this season.)

So let's answer the question:

VYS rec seems to be OK at the moment. They've just hired a new staff member to oversee it -- an English guy with some impressive academic and licensing credentials who seems pretty responsive so far, though it's early as of yet. They have more training programs for prospective travel players now than they had even when Eddie Lima and Jane Dawber were winning an NSCAA award for their work. The U9 through U14 age groups have a lot of teams. They need to think about returning to SFL for U16 and U19, though.

And that's to be expected because Vienna is a damn nice place to live, full of people who have a good bit of civic pride. It's not just a bunch of people who think of everything from Arlington to Loudoun as one sprawling set of houses, where your self-worth is defined by the square footage of your house and your kid's placement in an "elite" soccer league.

So when you come back to House soccer because you start to realize your DS or DD either has other interests or isn't going to make the team at Madison or Marshall, you'll find a pretty good environment. And you'll save enough money to add some square footage to your home to make up for your apparent failure to yell at your kid enough to make him or her one of the top five percent of Northern Virginia soccer players.

So ... how are the travel teams shaping up for spring?

This is a very good post. By the way, we have had three children play VYS House and Travel over many years, and we wouldn't trade the experience for anything. For us it's been the right club. One thing I would like to suggest is that VYS think a bit more about how to expand playing opportunities for high school aged boys on both the House and Travel sides. The U14 House program is really, really fun, then things become more limited. And, the older boys Travel teams have struggled for various reasons. Sometimes they lose all their games, and in other cases it's been difficult to find enough committed players. Focusing on boys' teams from U15 and up would be a way to address a major VYS weakness. That's my opinion, but we like the club overall.

[Anonymous]

What's the story with the rec all-star tournament VYS is hosting? Why are they taking that step? Do you think it's going to become a viable event? etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the story with the rec all-star tournament VYS is hosting? Why are they taking that step? Do you think it's going to become a viable event? etc.

It is a recreation soccer tourney. What exactly would make it viable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then let's skip past the usual "former coaches or parents with an ax to grind" nonsense and talk about the House program.

What needs to be better?

Better training. Take a look at CYA as an example.

We miss you too, coach. You did a great job at VYS with my DS. But seriously -- get over it.

Excuse me? Other than the development academy there is little in terms of training for kids in house. We're still in VYS and I'm not a coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then let's skip past the usual "former coaches or parents with an ax to grind" nonsense and talk about the House program.

What needs to be better?

Better training. Take a look at CYA as an example.

We miss you too, coach. You did a great job at VYS with my DS. But seriously -- get over it.

Excuse me? Other than the development academy there is little in terms of training for kids in house. We're still in VYS and I'm not a coach.

Development Center, you mean? The development academy is for the very best travel players (say, *maybe* 1-3 of the best VYS players per age group).

There's more training for U8 on down than there was a few years ago -- more than I see at most clubs. Pickup soccer is back. There's also goalkeeper training.

Jane Dawber used to run the training programs at Vienna. Looks like it's pretty similar at CYA, where she is now.

[Anonymous]

Many rec clubs having a training skills class that each rec player attends. Maybe that's why you don't see much. VYS has some classes for U5-U8, but then their training for rec players drops off. They strangely place goalkeeping at the same time as pickup soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYS Parents unhappy with the Board.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Directors.
VYS Parents unhappy with the Travel program.
VYS Parents unhappy with the House program.

So welcome to VYS where the drama never ends!

The being unhappy with the House program is what is the knee slapper or head scratcher. Who the F cares about the quality of the House program past 9 years old.

The whole point of house is to grow a player pool and instill enough soccer love and skills to eventually play in the travel program. And then after U9 it is simply a place for kids who did not make travel a place to keep playing fun and inexpensive soccer.

"Where in the area is a good rec soccer program for my 12 year old?" Asked no one ever.

I get asked all the time.

Look -- there are some truly pathetic people on this board. A couple of people (and a lot of us who live in Vienna have some pretty good guesses as to who you are -- in at least two cases, we've verified) are upset about how they or someone close to them left VYS. And a few parents are convinced their DS or DD is the next Alex Morgan or Christian Pulisic, and if they can just get to Bethesda South or Braddock Road, they'll prove it.

And then there are people who are so bloody status-conscious that they have to pick on parents whose kids play House league. Or maybe they're "pro" coaches trying to convince parents to keep paying $2,500 for "travel" when, by U12 and U14, travel leagues have sorted themselves out so that a lot of them (NCSL lower divisions, much of ODSL, a lot of CCL2 -- hell, a good bit of VPL and CCL2) aren't appreciably better than the House teams.

If you coach or if your kids play U14 soccer, you've seen it 100 times by now. A kid who had been playing travel comes back to House. He thinks he's going to dominate. After a couple of games, he realizes that isn't the case. That's because there are a lot of other players in House league who used to play travel. And some in House league who never played travel for whatever reason -- generally the family's decision to prioritize its time and money elsewhere -- who could easily walk into a CCL2 or NCSL Div. 3 team and do just fine.

And frankly -- and I have to admit, this is a little scary -- there are some parents who build mini-empires in House league. Some in Vienna. Some in SFL.

So if you want to come onto this board and gossip about people in Vienna you don't even know because you left five years ago, when maybe 2-3 of the current board members were on the board and Eddie Lima and his company were running the technical side, you really have to ask yourself:

What has gone so horribly wrong in my life that I need to come here and talk smack about recreational soccer players? Do I need professional help? Or some sort of activity to occupy my time?
Why am I so hung up on making sure my kid is better than someone else's in soccer?

(Unless you're Rachel Moore's parents, in which case, good luck with the Spirit this season.)

So let's answer the question:

VYS rec seems to be OK at the moment. They've just hired a new staff member to oversee it -- an English guy with some impressive academic and licensing credentials who seems pretty responsive so far, though it's early as of yet. They have more training programs for prospective travel players now than they had even when Eddie Lima and Jane Dawber were winning an NSCAA award for their work. The U9 through U14 age groups have a lot of teams. They need to think about returning to SFL for U16 and U19, though.

And that's to be expected because Vienna is a damn nice place to live, full of people who have a good bit of civic pride. It's not just a bunch of people who think of everything from Arlington to Loudoun as one sprawling set of houses, where your self-worth is defined by the square footage of your house and your kid's placement in an "elite" soccer league.

So when you come back to House soccer because you start to realize your DS or DD either has other interests or isn't going to make the team at Madison or Marshall, you'll find a pretty good environment. And you'll save enough money to add some square footage to your home to make up for your apparent failure to yell at your kid enough to make him or her one of the top five percent of Northern Virginia soccer players.

So ... how are the travel teams shaping up for spring?


It is not necessarily about the quantity of programs, as much as the quality. For example: from what I've heard, historically, the only issues the club had to worry about regarding the Friday night pick up games was not having enough parking space. Do we have anywhere near 150 kids attending our pick up games now? That being said, do we have any program with the substance to win national recognition again?

I am glad that our club is trying to move in the right direction and I hope for our children that this can eventually come to be. However, my first strong recommendation would be for the individual(s) that represent us to stop wasting their time on this forum, defending themselves, and using that energy to build stronger more quality programs for our kids. Again, it is not the quantity, but the quality of our programs that is going to rebuild our club.