Virginia Union FC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was the plan all along everyones wins. SYC girls have ECNL and Mclean boys will get MLS Next. What's all the fuss about? If you're not happy then leave and go to Arlington, but Currently Arlington boys have been coming over to try out at MLS Next so now there will be available spots for you.

The McLean boys are not being offered MLS Next slots. MLS Next is for straight SYC teams, not the Virginia Union. That means SYC's 'B' team players will be getting Virginia Union ECNL roster spots.

Surely the best kids who try out will end up on whatever team they are good enough for? In other words if a McLean player is good enough for the MLSNext roster, indicates their interest and tries out for it, then they will get an offer. No?

The problem is that this solidifies McLean's weakness on the boys side. Maybe some SYC B team players can make McLean ECNL rosters, but they're not going to be difference makers or they would have made the SYC first teams. So there's unlikely to be much improvement in McLean's ECNL teams which in turn makes them less attractive as a destination. the best McLean can hope for is that Arlington doesn't go MLS Next and it and VDA lose players to SYC and Alexandria as a result which would make McLean more competitive, but not really in a good way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we're gonna complain about 30-man rosters, have two top tier leagues (ECNL, MLS Next), and now we're going to complain about priority of top leagues? Well if there's a 30-man legit player pool, and two top leagues, wouldn't that lead to 2x 15-man rosters for top leagues?

You're joking, I think, but most people here don't understand how McLean uses large rosters for better or worse. On the girls side, there are at least 3 avenues for players to go who aren't getting time on their age group's ECNL team. They can play on the ECNL composite team, play on the EDP composite team, or play on the green team (CCL). There has been no indication from the club, but I expect generally larger rosters across the board, with even more use of composite teams to keep players playing. It's not clear how this might work exactly since only the ECNL part is shared. The boys side may be even more complicated depending on if SYC is going to share the MLSNext "franchise" with the alliance.

[Anonymous]

I think coaches don’t realize (or don’t care) how tiresome the “player pool” concept is for parents and players. It always sounds great at the beginning but then when your player is trying hard and still not getting time with the top team due to whatever reason (a lot can be political) it gets frustrating and tiring. Better to have a set team IMO even if it is the B team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was the plan all along everyones wins. SYC girls have ECNL and Mclean boys will get MLS Next. What's all the fuss about? If you're not happy then leave and go to Arlington, but Currently Arlington boys have been coming over to try out at MLS Next so now there will be available spots for you.

The McLean boys are not being offered MLS Next slots. MLS Next is for straight SYC teams, not the Virginia Union. That means SYC's 'B' team players will be getting Virginia Union ECNL roster spots.

Surely the best kids who try out will end up on whatever team they are good enough for? In other words if a McLean player is good enough for the MLSNext roster, indicates their interest and tries out for it, then they will get an offer. No?

The problem is that this solidifies McLean's weakness on the boys side. Maybe some SYC B team players can make McLean ECNL rosters, but they're not going to be difference makers or they would have made the SYC first teams. So there's unlikely to be much improvement in McLean's ECNL teams which in turn makes them less attractive as a destination. the best McLean can hope for is that Arlington doesn't go MLS Next and it and VDA lose players to SYC and Alexandria as a result which would make McLean more competitive, but not really in a good way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was the plan all along everyones wins. SYC girls have ECNL and Mclean boys will get MLS Next. What's all the fuss about? If you're not happy then leave and go to Arlington, but Currently Arlington boys have been coming over to try out at MLS Next so now there will be available spots for you.

The McLean boys are not being offered MLS Next slots. MLS Next is for straight SYC teams, not the Virginia Union. That means SYC's 'B' team players will be getting Virginia Union ECNL roster spots.

Surely the best kids who try out will end up on whatever team they are good enough for? In other words if a McLean player is good enough for the MLSNext roster, indicates their interest and tries out for it, then they will get an offer. No?

The problem is that this solidifies McLean's weakness on the boys side. Maybe some SYC B team players can make McLean ECNL rosters, but they're not going to be difference makers or they would have made the SYC first teams. So there's unlikely to be much improvement in McLean's ECNL teams which in turn makes them less attractive as a destination. the best McLean can hope for is that Arlington doesn't go MLS Next and it and VDA lose players to SYC and Alexandria as a result which would make McLean more competitive, but not really in a good way.

No, The SYC MLS Next tryouts will be separate from the Virginia Union tryouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was the plan all along everyones wins. SYC girls have ECNL and Mclean boys will get MLS Next. What's all the fuss about? If you're not happy then leave and go to Arlington, but Currently Arlington boys have been coming over to try out at MLS Next so now there will be available spots for you.

The McLean boys are not being offered MLS Next slots. MLS Next is for straight SYC teams, not the Virginia Union. That means SYC's 'B' team players will be getting Virginia Union ECNL roster spots.

Surely the best kids who try out will end up on whatever team they are good enough for? In other words if a McLean player is good enough for the MLSNext roster, indicates their interest and tries out for it, then they will get an offer. No?

The problem is that this solidifies McLean's weakness on the boys side. Maybe some SYC B team players can make McLean ECNL rosters, but they're not going to be difference makers or they would have made the SYC first teams. So there's unlikely to be much improvement in McLean's ECNL teams which in turn makes them less attractive as a destination. the best McLean can hope for is that Arlington doesn't go MLS Next and it and VDA lose players to SYC and Alexandria as a result which would make McLean more competitive, but not really in a good way.

No, The SYC MLS Next tryouts will be separate from the Virginia Union tryouts.

Can you be a full time rostered player on both teams?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was the plan all along everyones wins. SYC girls have ECNL and Mclean boys will get MLS Next. What's all the fuss about? If you're not happy then leave and go to Arlington, but Currently Arlington boys have been coming over to try out at MLS Next so now there will be available spots for you.

The McLean boys are not being offered MLS Next slots. MLS Next is for straight SYC teams, not the Virginia Union. That means SYC's 'B' team players will be getting Virginia Union ECNL roster spots.

Surely the best kids who try out will end up on whatever team they are good enough for? In other words if a McLean player is good enough for the MLSNext roster, indicates their interest and tries out for it, then they will get an offer. No?

The problem is that this solidifies McLean's weakness on the boys side. Maybe some SYC B team players can make McLean ECNL rosters, but they're not going to be difference makers or they would have made the SYC first teams. So there's unlikely to be much improvement in McLean's ECNL teams which in turn makes them less attractive as a destination. the best McLean can hope for is that Arlington doesn't go MLS Next and it and VDA lose players to SYC and Alexandria as a result which would make McLean more competitive, but not really in a good way.

No, The SYC MLS Next tryouts will be separate from the Virginia Union tryouts.

Can you be a full time rostered player on both teams?

Maybe for SYC players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was the plan all along everyones wins. SYC girls have ECNL and Mclean boys will get MLS Next. What's all the fuss about? If you're not happy then leave and go to Arlington, but Currently Arlington boys have been coming over to try out at MLS Next so now there will be available spots for you.

The McLean boys are not being offered MLS Next slots. MLS Next is for straight SYC teams, not the Virginia Union. That means SYC's 'B' team players will be getting Virginia Union ECNL roster spots.

Surely the best kids who try out will end up on whatever team they are good enough for? In other words if a McLean player is good enough for the MLSNext roster, indicates their interest and tries out for it, then they will get an offer. No?

The problem is that this solidifies McLean's weakness on the boys side. Maybe some SYC B team players can make McLean ECNL rosters, but they're not going to be difference makers or they would have made the SYC first teams. So there's unlikely to be much improvement in McLean's ECNL teams which in turn makes them less attractive as a destination. the best McLean can hope for is that Arlington doesn't go MLS Next and it and VDA lose players to SYC and Alexandria as a result which would make McLean more competitive, but not really in a good way.

No, The SYC MLS Next tryouts will be separate from the Virginia Union tryouts.

Can you be a full time rostered player on both teams?

Dual just means you'll occasionally "guest play" for the other team. You can't be a full time player in two leagues, so you get one offer at tryouts. If you kid is that good or they are short on player for a game, he might be asked to guest play in the other team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think coaches don’t realize (or don’t care) how tiresome the “player pool” concept is for parents and players. It always sounds great at the beginning but then when your player is trying hard and still not getting time with the top team due to whatever reason (a lot can be political) it gets frustrating and tiring. Better to have a set team IMO even if it is the B team.

And I think parents and players fail to accept that the kid simply might not be good enough (i.e. when it's not political), but that is the way in this area and these days: more and more issues get politicized when that's not the motivation. The pool concept and consistent curriculum definitely benefits the coaches. But on the flip side it doesn't benefit the coaches when the customers have so many options and can shop around.

Aren't you contradicting yourself a bit with the last sentence? Or are you saying, it would be better now to tell parents and players their kid is only ever going to be a B team player? If you say yse, then then aren't you more likely to go shop around and look for some place where the grass appears greener until you stop onto it? Is your kid enjoying their experience?

[Anonymous]

So for all, according to the MLS Next regulations, MLS Next players cannot play for another club during the MLS Next season and are not allowed to play for their high school unless a waiver is granted. Look on page 15.

https://bsbproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/portals/116/docs/mls%20next%20rules%20and%20regulations%202020-2021%20-%20final%20-%209.8.20.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for all, according to the MLS Next regulations, MLS Next players cannot play for another club during the MLS Next season and are not allowed to play for their high school unless a waiver is granted. Look on page 15.

https://bsbproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/portals/116/docs/mls%20next%20rules%20and%20regulations%202020-2021%20-%20final%20-%209.8.20.pdf

Looks like dual rostering was just a pipe dream. I think when they said "dual rostering" they meant between the ECNL team and the B Team not between SYC MLS Next teams and ECNL teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for all, according to the MLS Next regulations, MLS Next players cannot play for another club during the MLS Next season and are not allowed to play for their high school unless a waiver is granted. Look on page 15.

https://bsbproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/portals/116/docs/mls%20next%20rules%20and%20regulations%202020-2021%20-%20final%20-%209.8.20.pdf

Alliances kind of make it a grey area. But I guess the "C" in Virginia Union FC means it's black and white. Poor name selection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think coaches don’t realize (or don’t care) how tiresome the “player pool” concept is for parents and players. It always sounds great at the beginning but then when your player is trying hard and still not getting time with the top team due to whatever reason (a lot can be political) it gets frustrating and tiring. Better to have a set team IMO even if it is the B team.

And I think parents and players fail to accept that the kid simply might not be good enough (i.e. when it's not political), but that is the way in this area and these days: more and more issues get politicized when that's not the motivation. The pool concept and consistent curriculum definitely benefits the coaches. But on the flip side it doesn't benefit the coaches when the customers have so many options and can shop around.

Aren't you contradicting yourself a bit with the last sentence? Or are you saying, it would be better now to tell parents and players their kid is only ever going to be a B team player? If you say yse, then then aren't you more likely to go shop around and look for some place where the grass appears greener until you stop onto it? Is your kid enjoying their experience?

I've had a kid be part of a player pool that floated between B and A teams. They absolutely hated it and it almost made the quit soccer- they ended up just leaving the club. It makes practice stressful because they constantly have to preform and fear having off days even if they can see their peers who are more set in their roles relaxing. It makes game minutes even more stressful because any mistake can mean they don't play for the team next week, this gets compounded if they see players not preforming well, but still being on the A team. Socially (I know this board doesn't care about this aspect, but your kids probably do), they aren't part of either team so any of the outside of practice/game meetups likely don't include them. For parents, it makes scheduling weekends that much harder when you don't find out when your kid will be playing until Thursday. I think it's much better for everyone to give offers based on teams and then either permanently (for the rest of the year) move a kid up or down so that they can at least have some certainty about where they stand and what team they are on

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for all, according to the MLS Next regulations, MLS Next players cannot play for another club during the MLS Next season and are not allowed to play for their high school unless a waiver is granted. Look on page 15.

https://bsbproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/portals/116/docs/mls%20next%20rules%20and%20regulations%202020-2021%20-%20final%20-%209.8.20.pdf

Alliances kind of make it a grey area. But I guess the "C" in Virginia Union FC means it's black and white. Poor name selection.

There's no grey area in the MLS Next regulations. If you're on an MLS Next team you cannot play for another team during the season. I hear MLS Next will be enforcing the rule for the 21-22 season more for overuse and risk of injury outside of MLS Next activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think coaches don’t realize (or don’t care) how tiresome the “player pool” concept is for parents and players. It always sounds great at the beginning but then when your player is trying hard and still not getting time with the top team due to whatever reason (a lot can be political) it gets frustrating and tiring. Better to have a set team IMO even if it is the B team.

And I think parents and players fail to accept that the kid simply might not be good enough (i.e. when it's not political), but that is the way in this area and these days: more and more issues get politicized when that's not the motivation. The pool concept and consistent curriculum definitely benefits the coaches. But on the flip side it doesn't benefit the coaches when the customers have so many options and can shop around.

Aren't you contradicting yourself a bit with the last sentence? Or are you saying, it would be better now to tell parents and players their kid is only ever going to be a B team player? If you say yse, then then aren't you more likely to go shop around and look for some place where the grass appears greener until you stop onto it? Is your kid enjoying their experience?

I've had a kid be part of a player pool that floated between B and A teams. They absolutely hated it and it almost made the quit soccer- they ended up just leaving the club. It makes practice stressful because they constantly have to preform and fear having off days even if they can see their peers who are more set in their roles relaxing. It makes game minutes even more stressful because any mistake can mean they don't play for the team next week, this gets compounded if they see players not preforming well, but still being on the A team. Socially (I know this board doesn't care about this aspect, but your kids probably do), they aren't part of either team so any of the outside of practice/game meetups likely don't include them. For parents, it makes scheduling weekends that much harder when you don't find out when your kid will be playing until Thursday. I think it's much better for everyone to give offers based on teams and then either permanently (for the rest of the year) move a kid up or down so that they can at least have some certainty about where they stand and what team they are on

I could ge on board with that from season to season. Exceptions could be pulling a kid up once or twice or rotating all kids up for at least one match during a season (but not the reverse).