Vienna A or McLean B for U9 Girls?

[Anonymous]

I have several kids in travel soccer. At that age, you should prioritize convenience, fun factor/whatever keeps your kid engaged, and the coach. I would not think about the "eliteness" factor at all.

Besides practice fields, you should think about which leagues the teams play in. I believe McLean's B team is in CCLII, which in my experience is very inconsistent. I think Vienna is in NCSL, which I think does a better job of grouping skill levels while keeping travel to a minimum at U9.

There was a recent thread about the McLean girls U9-U10 coach. You might look at that and see if the personality is a decent match for your child.

For some reason this forum is pretty down on Vienna and pretty high on McLean, but the truth is, they are not all that different, especially at the younger ages. McLean has their top team in ECNL and therefore attracts strong players later on--but doesn't necessarily have the reputation for developing their own players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have several kids in travel soccer. At that age, you should prioritize convenience, fun factor/whatever keeps your kid engaged, and the coach. I would not think about the "eliteness" factor at all.

Besides practice fields, you should think about which leagues the teams play in. I believe McLean's B team is in CCLII, which in my experience is very inconsistent. I think Vienna is in NCSL, which I think does a better job of grouping skill levels while keeping travel to a minimum at U9.

There was a recent thread about the McLean girls U9-U10 coach. You might look at that and see if the personality is a decent match for your child.

For some reason this forum is pretty down on Vienna and pretty high on McLean, but the truth is, they are not all that different, especially at the younger ages. McLean has their top team in ECNL and therefore attracts strong players later on--but doesn't necessarily have the reputation for developing their own players.

In case I wasn't clear: ECNL doesn't start until much later. I was just trying to say that sometimes I find people on this forum exaggerate McLean's strength because they have a team in ECNL. But the younger teams don't necessarily reflect this strength.

[Anonymous]

I posted on the other page and wanted to add to PP about convenience. You won’t know which fields you will be assigned to for a while. In the fall we had to be at the Oakmarr Rec center by 5. It was tough for me to get out of work, pick up DD and battle traffic down 123 for an 8 year olds soccer practice. Look at the field possibilities carefully, especially since you have other children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have several kids in travel soccer. At that age, you should prioritize convenience, fun factor/whatever keeps your kid engaged, and the coach. I would not think about the "eliteness" factor at all.

Besides practice fields, you should think about which leagues the teams play in. I believe McLean's B team is in CCLII, which in my experience is very inconsistent. I think Vienna is in NCSL, which I think does a better job of grouping skill levels while keeping travel to a minimum at U9.

There was a recent thread about the McLean girls U9-U10 coach. You might look at that and see if the personality is a decent match for your child.

For some reason this forum is pretty down on Vienna and pretty high on McLean, but the truth is, they are not all that different, especially at the younger ages. McLean has their top team in ECNL and therefore attracts strong players later on--but doesn't necessarily have the reputation for developing their own players.

for most younger players the two factors bolded above will determine future love of the game
never minimize the importance of a coach that knows how to interact with kids

[Anonymous]

this is an important choice - it will follow your DD around on her permanent record as she applies for jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this is an important choice - it will follow your DD around on her permanent record as she applies for jobs.

Awesome response. Useful and positive.

[Anonymous]

Look at the coaching, practices per week, McLean has better development overall, but it is coach dependent.

She won't know the difference really and will make friends in either place.