Are there any good clubs in the DMV?

[Anonymous]

I dont think anyone really expects much from rec programs. That goes for parents as well as clubs themselves.

[Anonymous]

FCV is the only true power house.

[Anonymous]

You question concerns me. The first thing you need to understand is...don't worry about the club. Worry about the team your kid is on. What is THAT team's coach like? What are the players like on THAT team? What are the parents like on THAT team? How does your kid fit in to THAT team? What is the competition like for THAT team? Does THAT team meet your requirements? Don't worry about the club. All the other stuff is just noise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You question concerns me. The first thing you need to understand is...don't worry about the club. Worry about the team your kid is on. What is THAT team's coach like? What are the players like on THAT team? What are the parents like on THAT team? How does your kid fit in to THAT team? What is the competition like for THAT team? Does THAT team meet your requirements? Don't worry about the club. All the other stuff is just noise.

This answer is foolish. Club matters, philosophies, structure, coaching staff from U7-U19, success stories from development. That all matters. Look at Richmond United, strong development and coaching. They have a program for not only on the field development but off the field development . They built a weekly plan to make sure they are players understood the mechanisms of the game by not only on the field training but weekly film studies and weightlifting/speed training. That’s the type of program that breeds success and attracts talent so that the “team” meets all requirements. If the club or program doesn’t have a structured diagram like Richmonds ECNL it’s waste of your money and time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dont think anyone really expects much from rec programs. That goes for parents as well as clubs themselves.

LOL!

[Anonymous]

We are very happy with Arlington. if your kids are uLittle, you should go where it’s convenient and let them decide if they want to go for higher-level soccer when they’re 12/13/14. If you happen to be at a club that has a higher-level pyramid (ECNL/GA for girls or MLSNext/ECNL for boys) great, you may not have to switch clubs. But switching isn’t a huge deal either, especially at that age, if it’s what your kid is happy doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You question concerns me. The first thing you need to understand is...don't worry about the club. Worry about the team your kid is on. What is THAT team's coach like? What are the players like on THAT team? What are the parents like on THAT team? How does your kid fit in to THAT team? What is the competition like for THAT team? Does THAT team meet your requirements? Don't worry about the club. All the other stuff is just noise.

This answer is foolish. Club matters, philosophies, structure, coaching staff from U7-U19, success stories from development. That all matters. Look at Richmond United, strong development and coaching. They have a program for not only on the field development but off the field development . They built a weekly plan to make sure they are players understood the mechanisms of the game by not only on the field training but weekly film studies and weightlifting/speed training. That’s the type of program that breeds success and attracts talent so that the “team” meets all requirements. If the club or program doesn’t have a structured diagram like Richmonds ECNL it’s waste of your money and time.

OP is talking about little kids, though. In which case PP is correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You question concerns me. The first thing you need to understand is...don't worry about the club. Worry about the team your kid is on. What is THAT team's coach like? What are the players like on THAT team? What are the parents like on THAT team? How does your kid fit in to THAT team? What is the competition like for THAT team? Does THAT team meet your requirements? Don't worry about the club. All the other stuff is just noise.

This answer is foolish. Club matters, philosophies, structure, coaching staff from U7-U19, success stories from development. That all matters. Look at Richmond United, strong development and coaching. They have a program for not only on the field development but off the field development . They built a weekly plan to make sure they are players understood the mechanisms of the game by not only on the field training but weekly film studies and weightlifting/speed training. That’s the type of program that breeds success and attracts talent so that the “team” meets all requirements. If the club or program doesn’t have a structured diagram like Richmonds ECNL it’s waste of your money and time.

Agree - it should matter - but I think a lot of people in this area have come to not expect much/anything from the club, like film study, ind. skill training, speed/fitness, position-specific training, because many clubs and coaches are providing that as supplemental or outside training and treating it as an additional revenue stream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You question concerns me. The first thing you need to understand is...don't worry about the club. Worry about the team your kid is on. What is THAT team's coach like? What are the players like on THAT team? What are the parents like on THAT team? How does your kid fit in to THAT team? What is the competition like for THAT team? Does THAT team meet your requirements? Don't worry about the club. All the other stuff is just noise.

This answer is foolish. Club matters, philosophies, structure, coaching staff from U7-U19, success stories from development. That all matters. Look at Richmond United, strong development and coaching. They have a program for not only on the field development but off the field development . They built a weekly plan to make sure they are players understood the mechanisms of the game by not only on the field training but weekly film studies and weightlifting/speed training. That’s the type of program that breeds success and attracts talent so that the “team” meets all requirements. If the club or program doesn’t have a structured diagram like Richmonds ECNL it’s waste of your money and time.

OP is talking about little kids, though. In which case PP is correct.

Pp said it starry at U7- I’m sure that film study is interesting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You question concerns me. The first thing you need to understand is...don't worry about the club. Worry about the team your kid is on. What is THAT team's coach like? What are the players like on THAT team? What are the parents like on THAT team? How does your kid fit in to THAT team? What is the competition like for THAT team? Does THAT team meet your requirements? Don't worry about the club. All the other stuff is just noise.

Coaches teams and parents change every year. This only matters for THAT year. Then an @sdhole shows up, team and sideline dynamics change @ss-kissing becomes unbearable.

Youth soccer is a shit show. It seems all innocent and fun when they start out. By the time they are in MS everyone is jaded.

[Anonymous]

Clubs matter less than teams in most (not all) cases. Regardless, here is a suggested decision tree:

1) pick a team/club that is close to home. Within 20 minutes drive to typical practice site. Not only will the drive be shorter, but your kid will likely end up playing with school friends and/or other friends that could be visited outside of soccer.

2) within this area, pick coaches that are interested in mentoring and developing good players. Not one that only talks about winning, losing, and recruiting the best players. This is not big time pro or college athletics. This is soccer and life school, so pick a good teacher. Btw, by finding a good teacher you’ll also likely find good students that are fun to play with.

3) Then finally within those coaches, look at the club. Do they have good field access, are they well organized, do they offer camps and specialized training, do they talk about how they train and raise their coaching quality, are their fees transparent and reasonable relative to other options?

So location, then coach, then club. As your kid gets older and if they show the aptitude and interest in trying to play at a higher level post HS years, then move them to a high profile and visible team that may require longer practice driving times to increase exposure, if the current coach / club is not well connected. If not interested / talented enough then stick with current team and relax.

[Anonymous]

I think there are plenty of good overall clubs in this area that fairly consistently do a better job than others. However, no club is perfect and it is impossible to have a good set-up on every single team within a good club. There will be coaches that aren't as good, team/parent dynamics that become toxic, etc. I see it within our club that would be considered a "top club" in the area. We have a great coach that we love and the parents are wonderful, but a year younger is a disaster. Most of the complaining on here is due to bitterness between local rival clubs so they spread rumors and try to make other clubs look bad. There are definitely some bad apple clubs in this area, but that is my opinion and people on those clubs may love it there so good for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clubs matter less than teams in most (not all) cases. Regardless, here is a suggested decision tree:

1) pick a team/club that is close to home. Within 20 minutes drive to typical practice site. Not only will the drive be shorter, but your kid will likely end up playing with school friends and/or other friends that could be visited outside of soccer.

2) within this area, pick coaches that are interested in mentoring and developing good players. Not one that only talks about winning, losing, and recruiting the best players. This is not big time pro or college athletics. This is soccer and life school, so pick a good teacher. Btw, by finding a good teacher you’ll also likely find good students that are fun to play with.

3) Then finally within those coaches, look at the club. Do they have good field access, are they well organized, do they offer camps and specialized training, do they talk about how they train and raise their coaching quality, are their fees transparent and reasonable relative to other options?

So location, then coach, then club. As your kid gets older and if they show the aptitude and interest in trying to play at a higher level post HS years, then move them to a high profile and visible team that may require longer practice driving times to increase exposure, if the current coach / club is not well connected. If not interested / talented enough then stick with current team and relax.

Fields are a really good point. You might not realize this either until your kid starts playing and you go to some away games, tournaments, or attend practices at a few different clubs, but there can be a wide range in the quality of fields. You will find beat up cow pastures to professional grade Bermuda grass fields, and everything in between. If everything else is similar I would chose the one with better fields every time.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the feedback. Will default to closest club for the littles. It is easiest and we're only 10 minutes away from practice. Makes life simpler. Also won't burn out the kids early on. If things change later on, will start looking around but for now we'll decrease stress where we can.

[Anonymous]

The issue isn't the clubs per se, it is youth soccer in the US. If you think back 20 years (assuming you are old enough), most kids played rec, stayed rec and then maybe played high school. Very few played travel soccer and less played multiple teams. Now, many kids go from a few years of rec to this super competitive travel club level soccer. Not every kid is geared for that but it is a business so they push the parents to believe that the kids are amazing. That also means that the clubs need to show results when you are shelling out 3k for team dues alone.
Having been wrapped up in this for a while and actually pulling my child out of travel this year because of this crap, I would agree with others that the best approach is to chill and enjoy it. Don't worry about college scholarships or playing on the best team. Your child is most likely not going to get there. If she or he shows some great potential, then spend the time and money but otherwise, treat it like a fun weekend activity.