Any info Netherlands soccer system

[Anonymous]

We will be closer to Maastricht. Yes, please post the details! I was told to shoot for at least a division 2 club, which Maastricht is.

[Anonymous]

Hello. Army family. Spent time in Germany. I believe you have to have US soccer ‘release’ your DC to play in Europe. Too many foreign kids signing crappy deals. You will be able to join the team without release letter but child won’t be able to play in a game. Happened to a friend of mine - really took the fun out of it. Please work while in US to get this letter - he had to wait more than a year to get it when overseas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some advice from my move to Europe (not Netherlands) a few years ago:

1) Unlike the US, where every club (and in some cases every coach) is an entrepreneur peddling their own brand of football education, expect to see a nation-wide style of both playing and coaching. Unless by sheer luck, that won't be the primary style your kid(s) have learned.

2) I would back off of the assumption that you need to find a club before you get there. Definitely send a few emails asking for trials (and the trial may simply be, "Okay, we have a control match (scrimmage) on such-and-such day, have your kid show up"). Sure, reach out to Hartog or Fuller, but the best they can do is help you get a trial.

3) Don't worry about the level. I'll say that again...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE LEVEL. Saying this for a couple of reasons. First, you have no way to compare levels. U13. ECNL. means. nothing. Probably any team in their competitive pyramid will have players better than your kid. They're almost all going to be more technical and, more importantly, they have lived and breathed the national style of football that I mentioned above since they were able to walk. Simply put, they know what to do, what the coach expects of them, etc, and your kid at the beginning will not. At the higher levels, the difference will be night and day--every kid will be vastly better technically and bigger/faster/stronger (unless you're Axel Kei's parent).

4) The good news: It's **not** like the United States where teams playing at lower levels have less field access, possibly lower-quality coaching, and little opportunity for advancement. No matter what club, you'll have quality facilities, quality coaches, and there's little of the petty bullsh!t league snobbery (ECNL! MLS-next!) that dominates youth soccer in the US. You win, you go up. You lose, you go down. If you start (and even continue) at a lower-level club, don't worry--the coaches will send your kid where he needs to be when he needs to be there. There's a kid who played U8-U16 at my younger son's lower-level club and could have probably moved to an "academy" at any time. But he waited until U17, when the club helped him move to a GREAT situation where he plays for a senior team as a U17 and immediately was put onto the U17 national team.

My bottom line advice: Try to find a team that is close to home (so your kid can make friends), where your kid can get ALL THE PLAYING TIME, especially in the first year while he's still learning the system, and **most importantly** where the coaches are comfortable with English (not applicable if your kid understands Dutch well, obviously).

All of this and they’ve won as many World Cups as the US men have. But yeah, have fun smoking dope in Amsterdam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some advice from my move to Europe (not Netherlands) a few years ago:

1) Unlike the US, where every club (and in some cases every coach) is an entrepreneur peddling their own brand of football education, expect to see a nation-wide style of both playing and coaching. Unless by sheer luck, that won't be the primary style your kid(s) have learned.

2) I would back off of the assumption that you need to find a club before you get there. Definitely send a few emails asking for trials (and the trial may simply be, "Okay, we have a control match (scrimmage) on such-and-such day, have your kid show up"). Sure, reach out to Hartog or Fuller, but the best they can do is help you get a trial.

3) Don't worry about the level. I'll say that again...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE LEVEL. Saying this for a couple of reasons. First, you have no way to compare levels. U13. ECNL. means. nothing. Probably any team in their competitive pyramid will have players better than your kid. They're almost all going to be more technical and, more importantly, they have lived and breathed the national style of football that I mentioned above since they were able to walk. Simply put, they know what to do, what the coach expects of them, etc, and your kid at the beginning will not. At the higher levels, the difference will be night and day--every kid will be vastly better technically and bigger/faster/stronger (unless you're Axel Kei's parent).

4) The good news: It's **not** like the United States where teams playing at lower levels have less field access, possibly lower-quality coaching, and little opportunity for advancement. No matter what club, you'll have quality facilities, quality coaches, and there's little of the petty bullsh!t league snobbery (ECNL! MLS-next!) that dominates youth soccer in the US. You win, you go up. You lose, you go down. If you start (and even continue) at a lower-level club, don't worry--the coaches will send your kid where he needs to be when he needs to be there. There's a kid who played U8-U16 at my younger son's lower-level club and could have probably moved to an "academy" at any time. But he waited until U17, when the club helped him move to a GREAT situation where he plays for a senior team as a U17 and immediately was put onto the U17 national team.

My bottom line advice: Try to find a team that is close to home (so your kid can make friends), where your kid can get ALL THE PLAYING TIME, especially in the first year while he's still learning the system, and **most importantly** where the coaches are comfortable with English (not applicable if your kid understands Dutch well, obviously).

All of this and they’ve won as many World Cups as the US men have. But yeah, have fun smoking dope in Amsterdam.

You sound like a thoughtful and sophisticated individual. Thank you for your input.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We will be closer to Maastricht. Yes, please post the details! I was told to shoot for at least a division 2 club, which Maastricht is.

Fantastic - I've asked her to get details. My son also did the Ajax camps one summer in The Netherlands when we lived overseas and he really enjoyed it. They are/were very good at emailing back from this email: [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Just before opening this thread, I was thinking that there was finally a useful thread exchanging helpful information.

Then, just like that...

Anonymous wrote:All of this and they’ve won as many World Cups as the US men have. But yeah, have fun smoking dope in Amsterdam.

[Anonymous]

I will look into the release letter. Thanks for the heads up, and thanks to the suggestions I have managed to arrange a trial at one club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some advice from my move to Europe (not Netherlands) a few years ago:

1) Unlike the US, where every club (and in some cases every coach) is an entrepreneur peddling their own brand of football education, expect to see a nation-wide style of both playing and coaching. Unless by sheer luck, that won't be the primary style your kid(s) have learned.

2) I would back off of the assumption that you need to find a club before you get there. Definitely send a few emails asking for trials (and the trial may simply be, "Okay, we have a control match (scrimmage) on such-and-such day, have your kid show up"). Sure, reach out to Hartog or Fuller, but the best they can do is help you get a trial.

3) Don't worry about the level. I'll say that again...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE LEVEL. Saying this for a couple of reasons. First, you have no way to compare levels. U13. ECNL. means. nothing. Probably any team in their competitive pyramid will have players better than your kid. They're almost all going to be more technical and, more importantly, they have lived and breathed the national style of football that I mentioned above since they were able to walk. Simply put, they know what to do, what the coach expects of them, etc, and your kid at the beginning will not. At the higher levels, the difference will be night and day--every kid will be vastly better technically and bigger/faster/stronger (unless you're Axel Kei's parent).

4) The good news: It's **not** like the United States where teams playing at lower levels have less field access, possibly lower-quality coaching, and little opportunity for advancement. No matter what club, you'll have quality facilities, quality coaches, and there's little of the petty bullsh!t league snobbery (ECNL! MLS-next!) that dominates youth soccer in the US. You win, you go up. You lose, you go down. If you start (and even continue) at a lower-level club, don't worry--the coaches will send your kid where he needs to be when he needs to be there. There's a kid who played U8-U16 at my younger son's lower-level club and could have probably moved to an "academy" at any time. But he waited until U17, when the club helped him move to a GREAT situation where he plays for a senior team as a U17 and immediately was put onto the U17 national team.

My bottom line advice: Try to find a team that is close to home (so your kid can make friends), where your kid can get ALL THE PLAYING TIME, especially in the first year while he's still learning the system, and **most importantly** where the coaches are comfortable with English (not applicable if your kid understands Dutch well, obviously).

All of this and they’ve won as many World Cups as the US men have. But yeah, have fun smoking dope in Amsterdam.

You sound like a thoughtful and sophisticated individual. Thank you for your input.

Perhaps you think to much and don’t pay attention to what matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some advice from my move to Europe (not Netherlands) a few years ago:

1) Unlike the US, where every club (and in some cases every coach) is an entrepreneur peddling their own brand of football education, expect to see a nation-wide style of both playing and coaching. Unless by sheer luck, that won't be the primary style your kid(s) have learned.

2) I would back off of the assumption that you need to find a club before you get there. Definitely send a few emails asking for trials (and the trial may simply be, "Okay, we have a control match (scrimmage) on such-and-such day, have your kid show up"). Sure, reach out to Hartog or Fuller, but the best they can do is help you get a trial.

3) Don't worry about the level. I'll say that again...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE LEVEL. Saying this for a couple of reasons. First, you have no way to compare levels. U13. ECNL. means. nothing. Probably any team in their competitive pyramid will have players better than your kid. They're almost all going to be more technical and, more importantly, they have lived and breathed the national style of football that I mentioned above since they were able to walk. Simply put, they know what to do, what the coach expects of them, etc, and your kid at the beginning will not. At the higher levels, the difference will be night and day--every kid will be vastly better technically and bigger/faster/stronger (unless you're Axel Kei's parent).

4) The good news: It's **not** like the United States where teams playing at lower levels have less field access, possibly lower-quality coaching, and little opportunity for advancement. No matter what club, you'll have quality facilities, quality coaches, and there's little of the petty bullsh!t league snobbery (ECNL! MLS-next!) that dominates youth soccer in the US. You win, you go up. You lose, you go down. If you start (and even continue) at a lower-level club, don't worry--the coaches will send your kid where he needs to be when he needs to be there. There's a kid who played U8-U16 at my younger son's lower-level club and could have probably moved to an "academy" at any time. But he waited until U17, when the club helped him move to a GREAT situation where he plays for a senior team as a U17 and immediately was put onto the U17 national team.

My bottom line advice: Try to find a team that is close to home (so your kid can make friends), where your kid can get ALL THE PLAYING TIME, especially in the first year while he's still learning the system, and **most importantly** where the coaches are comfortable with English (not applicable if your kid understands Dutch well, obviously).

All of this and they’ve won as many World Cups as the US men have. But yeah, have fun smoking dope in Amsterdam.

You sound like a thoughtful and sophisticated individual. Thank you for your input.

Perhaps you think to much and don’t pay attention to what matters.

Thought this post was useful for the most part

[Nova2Euro]

Anonymous wrote:Hello. Army family. Spent time in Germany. I believe you have to have US soccer ‘release’ your DC to play in Europe. Too many foreign kids signing crappy deals. You will be able to join the team without release letter but child won’t be able to play in a game. Happened to a friend of mine - really took the fun out of it. Please work while in US to get this letter - he had to wait more than a year to get it when overseas.

This is a thing, but I don't think it is because of foreign kids signing crappy deals. But yes, we had to wait about 3 months for our kids' "player passports" to get released and then get them registered here. And I believe that the club has to do that admin work through the national federation; it's not something you can jumpstart.

Edit: Which, by the way, is another reason to look at the 2nd- and 3rd-tier clubs. Not only will they provide a better opportunity for your kids to acclimate to the local football environment, they're also more likely to be willing to do the work to get your kid registered.

We had some local issues as well. In order to register the kids, we had to provide letters from my employer that I was legit working here, from the school that they were legit attending, and a copy of our housing lease. And even then each club was only allowed one non-EU player. In other words, lots of time when my kids were training but not playing, and yes, it got frustrating.

[Nova2Euro]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some advice from my move to Europe (not Netherlands) a few years ago:

1) Unlike the US, where every club (and in some cases every coach) is an entrepreneur peddling their own brand of football education, expect to see a nation-wide style of both playing and coaching. Unless by sheer luck, that won't be the primary style your kid(s) have learned.

2) I would back off of the assumption that you need to find a club before you get there. Definitely send a few emails asking for trials (and the trial may simply be, "Okay, we have a control match (scrimmage) on such-and-such day, have your kid show up"). Sure, reach out to Hartog or Fuller, but the best they can do is help you get a trial.

3) Don't worry about the level. I'll say that again...DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE LEVEL. Saying this for a couple of reasons. First, you have no way to compare levels. U13. ECNL. means. nothing. Probably any team in their competitive pyramid will have players better than your kid. They're almost all going to be more technical and, more importantly, they have lived and breathed the national style of football that I mentioned above since they were able to walk. Simply put, they know what to do, what the coach expects of them, etc, and your kid at the beginning will not. At the higher levels, the difference will be night and day--every kid will be vastly better technically and bigger/faster/stronger (unless you're Axel Kei's parent).

4) The good news: It's **not** like the United States where teams playing at lower levels have less field access, possibly lower-quality coaching, and little opportunity for advancement. No matter what club, you'll have quality facilities, quality coaches, and there's little of the petty bullsh!t league snobbery (ECNL! MLS-next!) that dominates youth soccer in the US. You win, you go up. You lose, you go down. If you start (and even continue) at a lower-level club, don't worry--the coaches will send your kid where he needs to be when he needs to be there. There's a kid who played U8-U16 at my younger son's lower-level club and could have probably moved to an "academy" at any time. But he waited until U17, when the club helped him move to a GREAT situation where he plays for a senior team as a U17 and immediately was put onto the U17 national team.

My bottom line advice: Try to find a team that is close to home (so your kid can make friends), where your kid can get ALL THE PLAYING TIME, especially in the first year while he's still learning the system, and **most importantly** where the coaches are comfortable with English (not applicable if your kid understands Dutch well, obviously).

All of this and they’ve won as many World Cups as the US men have. But yeah, have fun smoking dope in Amsterdam.

You sound like a thoughtful and sophisticated individual. Thank you for your input.

Perhaps you think to much and don’t pay attention to what matters.

Okay, sure. Thanks again for your input.