Bethesda Soccer Club's Frostburg Camp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s interesting that two posters have completely different opinions/views about BSC Girls.

I don't have the best overall impression of the girls' side, but I completely agree that the Whitman boys' coach and Churchill girls' coaches are excellent, along with some others.

[Anonymous]

NP. So if I have a daughter wanting to do travel soccer in MoCo, where should I send her to try out in the spring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. So if I have a daughter wanting to do travel soccer in MoCo, where should I send her to try out in the spring?

Right now it is not try out season, regular try out normally happens in May (depends on Club of course). You can contact club's directer for individual evaluation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. So if I have a daughter wanting to do travel soccer in MoCo, where should I send her to try out in the spring?

These are the options in no order: Bethesda Soccer (Walter Johnson and surrounding area games/practice), Potomac Soccer (mostly practice at Bullis, home games at soccerplex), MSI Classic, Maryland Rush Montgomery (Germantown-ish practices/games), and Olney Boys and Girls Club. DC Stoddert is Chevy Chase/DC area. Just contact the club and I'm sure they can find you a place. I know Bethesda has winter ID camps (tryouts) and a winter futsal league. Both Potomac and Bethesda are big clubs and normally have 2-3 teams per age group. MSI Classic should be able to place her on a team for spring too...just contact them.

[Anonymous]

MSI Classic is not travel. It is Select Soccer.

MSI Academy is travel.

[Anonymous]

Other local options. FCB is not on the radar of many folks but the team is building a strong program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBIO5IUj8LA

[Anonymous]

Is FCB wanting to expand to having more teams for the 19-20 season? Looks like a promo video (?)

[Anonymous]

Anyone know which week BSC’s Frostburg camp will be this summer?

[Anonymous]

Who runs the FCGB camp and how long does it run?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try out, but hold your acceptance until you find out who the coach is going to be that year and what the practice schedule.

FWIW administratively this year has been a disaster with our three teams at Bethesda. Varying times and locations and days for practices that change every two weeks. Impossible to schedule any other activities during the week due to the dysfunctional scheduling at BSC.

I've heard this from many Bethesda parents this year--the club seems to be even more disorganized and dysfunctional than in previous years.

Did something change behind the scenes? Blaming the weather is convenient but there seems to be much more going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would try out, but hold your acceptance until you find out who the coach is going to be that year and what the practice schedule.

FWIW administratively this year has been a disaster with our three teams at Bethesda. Varying times and locations and days for practices that change every two weeks. Impossible to schedule any other activities during the week due to the dysfunctional scheduling at BSC.

I've heard this from many Bethesda parents this year--the club seems to be even more disorganized and dysfunctional than in previous years.

Did something change behind the scenes? Blaming the weather is convenient but there seems to be much more going on.

They lost their long time ops person - brought more than one person to replace her, but clearly they could not scale up. We were lucky our days were not changed, but times, locations often changed. But we couldn't get games rescheduled bc of incompetency - i.e, rescheduling games, than realizing it was a mistake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would try out, but hold your acceptance until you find out who the coach is going to be that year and what the practice schedule.

FWIW administratively this year has been a disaster with our three teams at Bethesda. Varying times and locations and days for practices that change every two weeks. Impossible to schedule any other activities during the week due to the dysfunctional scheduling at BSC.

I've heard this from many Bethesda parents this year--the club seems to be even more disorganized and dysfunctional than in previous years.

Did something change behind the scenes? Blaming the weather is convenient but there seems to be much more going on.

They lost their long time ops person - brought more than one person to replace her, but clearly they could not scale up. We were lucky our days were not changed, but times, locations often changed. But we couldn't get games rescheduled bc of incompetency - i.e, rescheduling games, than realizing it was a mistake.

We are at BSC on the girls side. In general, as other have noted, the top teams in each age group (both boys and girls) get better coaches, practice times, fields, etc., and the club seems to work better for the top teams. We have friends at Rush, Potomac, McLean, Arlington and Loudoun, and BSC sounds no different than those other clubs in that it prioritizes its top clubs, unfortunately at the expense of the "lower" teams, which basically subsidize the top teams. Of course, this is not to say that one cannot have a positive experience on the "lower" teams, or that everything is roses on the "top" teams at these various clubs. All have their own issues, as evidenced by the thousands of threads and posts complaining about this or that at these various clubs on this DCUrbanMom soccer blog.

As for coaches, we have had a very good experience with the BSC coaches on the girls side, and they have all been of a very high quality and have greatly improved our daughter over her 7 years with the club. We have also heard very good things about the coaches that have not yet coached our daughter, and look forward to having her coached by them as she continues to progress through the club. Of course, we have heard and seen drama with other coaches at the club who have not coached our daughter, but that was generally at the U-Little ages and tended not to happen on the Blue or White team at those ages. But again, there have been exceptions over our years at BSC, based on what age group you are discussing. Also, stepping back and comparing to other large clubs in the area, I think this is similar to the experiences our friends have had or seen at their respective clubs in the DMV area.

Overall, I think BSC is an extremely strong club on the girls side and has historically had double-digit college commitments in each age group (i.e., if your daughter makes the ECNL team, then your daughter will have colleges asking her to play for them). Some time ago on this site, someone posted about teams with the most college commitments, and I am too lazy to search it up and link to it, but I recall that BSC had the most college commitments of any of the area clubs, including McLean, FCV, Arlington, MD United, etc. Maybe that changes as the years go by, as a result of the general talent dilution caused by the new DA teams in the DMV area and the new teams recently given ECNL status (e.g., Loudoun). Regardless, if college soccer is the end game for your daughter, then BSC is certainly a good platform for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BSC is very strong on the both the girls and boys sides but they are not the best in the nation or even the best in the DMV. There are several DMV clubs that are stronger on the girls side. Pipeline, McLean and FCV are comparable to and in some cases better than BSC. I don't want to take away anything from BSC but there are several good options. McLean is just over the bridge and Clyde Watson is recognized as a strong coach.

With the usual caveats that there is no good way to rank area teams, I think most people agree that youthsoccerrankings.com does the best job. According to that site, here are the top MD and VA teams for the ECNL/DA age groups (by their ranking in Region 1, which includes VA, WV, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH and ME). Note that I only included teams in MD and VA that were in the top 40 in Region 1. If an area team is not listed in an age group, then it is not ranked in the top 40 in that age group.

2000

MD VA
2 BSC
13 FCV
16 Arlington
20 MD United
26 Pipeline
37 SAC


2001

1 McLean
4 BSC
9 Premier Navy
10 FCV
12 FC Frederick
13 BRYC
16 Richmond
18 Washington Spirit VA
23 Beach FC
32 SOCA


2002

2 McLean
5 MD United
17 Calvert
20 BRYC
30 Beach FC
37 Loudoun


2003

2 BRYC
6 MD United
10 McLean
15 BSC
25 Richmond
27 Arlington
28 Hurricanes
40 Seacoast United


2004

4 Richmond
6 FCV
9 MD United
17 Wa. Spirit MD
22 McLean
26 Arlington
27 Beach FC
31 VDA
34 Baltimore Union



2005

7 Pipeline
11 BSC
13 VDA
19 Rush
27 Baltimore Celtic
28 Wa Spirit MD
33 Richmond


2006

14 Rush
15 VDA
18 Loudoun
36 Baltimore Union
39 BSC



Lastly, to be fair to Loudoun, this was the first year that they had ECNL status. As a result, most of the girls who would have played ECNL or DA left for other clubs in the DMV area (usually FCV or McLean). As a result, their rankings are lower than they likely will be in future years beginning with the 2007s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would try out, but hold your acceptance until you find out who the coach is going to be that year and what the practice schedule.

FWIW administratively this year has been a disaster with our three teams at Bethesda. Varying times and locations and days for practices that change every two weeks. Impossible to schedule any other activities during the week due to the dysfunctional scheduling at BSC.

I've heard this from many Bethesda parents this year--the club seems to be even more disorganized and dysfunctional than in previous years.

Did something change behind the scenes? Blaming the weather is convenient but there seems to be much more going on.

They lost their long time ops person - brought more than one person to replace her, but clearly they could not scale up. We were lucky our days were not changed, but times, locations often changed. But we couldn't get games rescheduled bc of incompetency - i.e, rescheduling games, than realizing it was a mistake.

We are at BSC on the girls side. In general, as other have noted, the top teams in each age group (both boys and girls) get better coaches, practice times, fields, etc., and the club seems to work better for the top teams. We have friends at Rush, Potomac, McLean, Arlington and Loudoun, and BSC sounds no different than those other clubs in that it prioritizes its top clubs, unfortunately at the expense of the "lower" teams, which basically subsidize the top teams. Of course, this is not to say that one cannot have a positive experience on the "lower" teams, or that everything is roses on the "top" teams at these various clubs. All have their own issues, as evidenced by the thousands of threads and posts complaining about this or that at these various clubs on this DCUrbanMom soccer blog.

As for coaches, we have had a very good experience with the BSC coaches on the girls side, and they have all been of a very high quality and have greatly improved our daughter over her 7 years with the club. We have also heard very good things about the coaches that have not yet coached our daughter, and look forward to having her coached by them as she continues to progress through the club. Of course, we have heard and seen drama with other coaches at the club who have not coached our daughter, but that was generally at the U-Little ages and tended not to happen on the Blue or White team at those ages. But again, there have been exceptions over our years at BSC, based on what age group you are discussing. Also, stepping back and comparing to other large clubs in the area, I think this is similar to the experiences our friends have had or seen at their respective clubs in the DMV area.

Overall, I think BSC is an extremely strong club on the girls side and has historically had double-digit college commitments in each age group (i.e., if your daughter makes the ECNL team, then your daughter will have colleges asking her to play for them). Some time ago on this site, someone posted about teams with the most college commitments, and I am too lazy to search it up and link to it, but I recall that BSC had the most college commitments of any of the area clubs, including McLean, FCV, Arlington, MD United, etc. Maybe that changes as the years go by, as a result of the general talent dilution caused by the new DA teams in the DMV area and the new teams recently given ECNL status (e.g., Loudoun). Regardless, if college soccer is the end game for your daughter, then BSC is certainly a good platform for her.

How do the lower teams subsidize the top teams? At my club the difference between in club fees is minimal and the top teams pay a lot more in team fees because of more tournaments. Our club also participates in multiple leagues like the ones you mention including teams in NCSL and ODSL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would try out, but hold your acceptance until you find out who the coach is going to be that year and what the practice schedule.

FWIW administratively this year has been a disaster with our three teams at Bethesda. Varying times and locations and days for practices that change every two weeks. Impossible to schedule any other activities during the week due to the dysfunctional scheduling at BSC.

I've heard this from many Bethesda parents this year--the club seems to be even more disorganized and dysfunctional than in previous years.

Did something change behind the scenes? Blaming the weather is convenient but there seems to be much more going on.

They lost their long time ops person - brought more than one person to replace her, but clearly they could not scale up. We were lucky our days were not changed, but times, locations often changed. But we couldn't get games rescheduled bc of incompetency - i.e, rescheduling games, than realizing it was a mistake.

We are at BSC on the girls side. In general, as other have noted, the top teams in each age group (both boys and girls) get better coaches, practice times, fields, etc., and the club seems to work better for the top teams. We have friends at Rush, Potomac, McLean, Arlington and Loudoun, and BSC sounds no different than those other clubs in that it prioritizes its top clubs, unfortunately at the expense of the "lower" teams, which basically subsidize the top teams. Of course, this is not to say that one cannot have a positive experience on the "lower" teams, or that everything is roses on the "top" teams at these various clubs. All have their own issues, as evidenced by the thousands of threads and posts complaining about this or that at these various clubs on this DCUrbanMom soccer blog.

As for coaches, we have had a very good experience with the BSC coaches on the girls side, and they have all been of a very high quality and have greatly improved our daughter over her 7 years with the club. We have also heard very good things about the coaches that have not yet coached our daughter, and look forward to having her coached by them as she continues to progress through the club. Of course, we have heard and seen drama with other coaches at the club who have not coached our daughter, but that was generally at the U-Little ages and tended not to happen on the Blue or White team at those ages. But again, there have been exceptions over our years at BSC, based on what age group you are discussing. Also, stepping back and comparing to other large clubs in the area, I think this is similar to the experiences our friends have had or seen at their respective clubs in the DMV area.

Overall, I think BSC is an extremely strong club on the girls side and has historically had double-digit college commitments in each age group (i.e., if your daughter makes the ECNL team, then your daughter will have colleges asking her to play for them). Some time ago on this site, someone posted about teams with the most college commitments, and I am too lazy to search it up and link to it, but I recall that BSC had the most college commitments of any of the area clubs, including McLean, FCV, Arlington, MD United, etc. Maybe that changes as the years go by, as a result of the general talent dilution caused by the new DA teams in the DMV area and the new teams recently given ECNL status (e.g., Loudoun). Regardless, if college soccer is the end game for your daughter, then BSC is certainly a good platform for her.

How do the lower teams subsidize the top teams? At my club the difference between in club fees is minimal and the top teams pay a lot more in team fees because of more tournaments. Our club also participates in multiple leagues like the ones you mention including teams in NCSL and ODSL.

The top and lower teams pay the same fees, but the top team coaches are paid more than the lower teams. Sometimes, because the higher team coach has the ability to demand higher, sometimes because more experience (longer with the club). Some lower team coaches are new to coaching and are paid the minimum. So, if the top and lower team are paying basically the same fees instead of the lower team paying less because its coach is paid less, you can say the lower team fees are subsidizing the higher team. As Bethesda has gotten big and added teams to collect the $, they have done a very poor job and quality control, finding good coaches to coach all the teams, training new coaches (there's basically no training for new coach), etc.