Soccer Coach in Northern VA - Ask me anything

[asksoccernova]

Does DC Stoddert have several teams in your daughter's age group?

If so, contact the coach of the lowest level team to begin with and start there. The next thing to do is ask the coach if there is a GK trainer that he/she recommends.

Every club has a GK trainer somewhere on the staff or who lives close by and gets referrals from the coaches. Karen Kelser knows everyone, she is a good person to ask

Don't be shy about asking - decent goalkeepers are hard to find and GK trainers are always looking for new pupils, so people should be very helpful.

There are likely a few things your daughter has to learn before she steps on the field with a more competitive team and should have someone guiding her, not just be left out on her own to figure out how to play as a more advanced GK. The position is all about confidence.

My recommendation is Billy Warren (I believe he is based in Olney), if he is too far from you, then ask him if he would recommend someone closer to where you are.
He can probably give you some good advice also, as he knows the programs in your area.
[phone] - Morningstar Soccer Services

Start with 4 sessions for someone to cover the basics. Then ask them for a progress report to see if she is a fit with the travel team, and if not yet, what she would need to improve on to get there. If she's ready, then great, and keep working with that trainer.

[Anonymous]

If you had a 2005 daughter that was highly competigive and was playing at a high level, which coaches or teams would you want your daughter to play for?

[asksoccernova]

I had a brief look through NCSL and CCL, and to be fair, there are probably a lot of good coaches out there that do a very good job, but I don't happen to know their name or how good they are.

The 3 coaches/programs that I'd recommend are (in no particular order)

Arlington (Mo Tayari - he is known to be an "intense guy")
DC Stoddert (Karen Kelser & Mandi Casares)
SYA (Mike Jorden)

I'm sure that other clubs with competitive teams year in year out have decent programs, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. This would be my starting point, though.

[Anonymous]

Wow!!! Thanks so much everyone, all of this information definitely straightens things out a bit

[Anonymous]

asksoccernova wrote:I had a brief look through NCSL and CCL, and to be fair, there are probably a lot of good coaches out there that do a very good job, but I don't happen to know their name or how good they are.

The 3 coaches/programs that I'd recommend are (in no particular order)

Arlington (Mo Tayari - he is known to be an "intense guy")
DC Stoddert (Karen Kelser & Mandi Casares)
SYA (Mike Jorden)

I'm sure that other clubs with competitive teams year in year out have decent programs, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. This would be my starting point, though.

same question but how abou for an 06 girl who lives nears Falls Church and is currently at a top CCL club/team but looking to make a change. Arlington, Vienna, BRYC, McLean, FPYC, DC Stoddert, Bethesda, etc? not sure what else to consider but driving to Leesburg or PWSI for U12 next year doesn't seem doable. top 3-4 choices? TIA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

asksoccernova wrote:I had a brief look through NCSL and CCL, and to be fair, there are probably a lot of good coaches out there that do a very good job, but I don't happen to know their name or how good they are.

The 3 coaches/programs that I'd recommend are (in no particular order)

Arlington (Mo Tayari - he is known to be an "intense guy")
DC Stoddert (Karen Kelser & Mandi Casares)
SYA (Mike Jorden)

I'm sure that other clubs with competitive teams year in year out have decent programs, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. This would be my starting point, though.

same question but how abou for an 06 girl who lives nears Falls Church and is currently at a top CCL club/team but looking to make a change. Arlington, Vienna, BRYC, McLean, FPYC, DC Stoddert, Bethesda, etc? not sure what else to consider but driving to Leesburg or PWSI for U12 next year doesn't seem doable. top 3-4 choices? TIA!

What change are you looking for? In Falls Church CCL you are likely with Arlington/McLean/BRYC (for now) which you list. Except for Vienna and Bethesda all of those clubs are already CCL so I'm not sure what other option you are looking for? Not DA age so are you just looking for confirmation that you are at the best place? You like your coach? Is your DD learning and having fun?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

asksoccernova wrote:I had a brief look through NCSL and CCL, and to be fair, there are probably a lot of good coaches out there that do a very good job, but I don't happen to know their name or how good they are.

The 3 coaches/programs that I'd recommend are (in no particular order)

Arlington (Mo Tayari - he is known to be an "intense guy")
DC Stoddert (Karen Kelser & Mandi Casares)
SYA (Mike Jorden)

I'm sure that other clubs with competitive teams year in year out have decent programs, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. This would be my starting point, though.

same question but how abou for an 06 girl who lives nears Falls Church and is currently at a top CCL club/team but looking to make a change. Arlington, Vienna, BRYC, McLean, FPYC, DC Stoddert, Bethesda, etc? not sure what else to consider but driving to Leesburg or PWSI for U12 next year doesn't seem doable. top 3-4 choices? TIA!

What change are you looking for? In Falls Church CCL you are likely with Arlington/McLean/BRYC (for now) which you list. Except for Vienna and Bethesda all of those clubs are already CCL so I'm not sure what other option you are looking for? Not DA age so are you just looking for confirmation that you are at the best place? You like your coach? Is your DD learning and having fun?

question is for the coach and the same as above: which 06 coaches or teams would you want your daughter to play for?

(clubs mentioned to only guide the general geographic area. probably left out Great Falls and several others; there may be a great 06 coach in Fredericksburg, but that is too far)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

asksoccernova wrote:I had a brief look through NCSL and CCL, and to be fair, there are probably a lot of good coaches out there that do a very good job, but I don't happen to know their name or how good they are.

The 3 coaches/programs that I'd recommend are (in no particular order)

Arlington (Mo Tayari - he is known to be an "intense guy")
DC Stoddert (Karen Kelser & Mandi Casares)
SYA (Mike Jorden)

I'm sure that other clubs with competitive teams year in year out have decent programs, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. This would be my starting point, though.

same question but how abou for an 06 girl who lives nears Falls Church and is currently at a top CCL club/team but looking to make a change. Arlington, Vienna, BRYC, McLean, FPYC, DC Stoddert, Bethesda, etc? not sure what else to consider but driving to Leesburg or PWSI for U12 next year doesn't seem doable. top 3-4 choices? TIA!

What change are you looking for? In Falls Church CCL you are likely with Arlington/McLean/BRYC (for now) which you list. Except for Vienna and Bethesda all of those clubs are already CCL so I'm not sure what other option you are looking for? Not DA age so are you just looking for confirmation that you are at the best place? You like your coach? Is your DD learning and having fun?

question is for the coach and the same as above: which 06 coaches or teams would you want your daughter to play for?

(clubs mentioned to only guide the general geographic area. probably left out Great Falls and several others; there may be a great 06 coach in Fredericksburg, but that is too far)

If you want a small club with good training and lots of one-on-one coaching attention, FPYC is in your neighborhood and you don't need to travel far like CCL for sames...FPYC 06 girls are NCSL. They play against Arlington, McLean, Stoddert, etc

[Anonymous]

^ thanks.

interested to also see what the coach thinks based on what he knows about who is coaching u11g this year at these clubs, fpyc, arlington, mclean, stoddert, or otherwise

[Anonymous]

How many players does the average U-13 squad carry?

My kid is making this jump 11v11 next year and wondering how teams will look. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many players does the average U-13 squad carry?

My kid is making this jump 11v11 next year and wondering how teams will look. Thanks.

15-18 in most cases.

[Anonymous]

Which one makes more sense for a U13 boy (who is decent but not super star), DA team with 40-45 minutes commute or local club's A team with ok training.

I guess what I really want to ask is how important it is to be in DA program at age of 12.

Thank you coach!

[asksoccernova]

For the U13 boy question, I would go DA and just deal with the commute. Being around other good players will really push him to improve, plus hopefully the training is good.

Being on the local club's A team will always be an option, and if he's in DA for a year and for some reason you don't like it, they will take him back with open arms. If the DA a fit, then stay with it. Not every kid as an opportunity to be in a DA program, so if your son has it, try it out for a year and see how it goes.


For the question about an '06 girl - which area teams / coaches would I like?

I believe Arlington Red & White are doing well in this age group. The coach must be doing something right.

I may have mentioned DC Stoddert before... Karen Kelser is working the U11/U12 age groups and she is a very good teacher of the game to both to players and other coaches. I have a lot of respect for her expertise.

Loudon looks good, this fellow Dan Raben (never heard his name before, but read his bio) seems to know what he's doing with Loudon Red, the top team. - http://www.loudounsoccer.com/techstaff/ (scroll to bottom).
The loudon coaches for 06G Red, 06G Black, 06G White, and 06G Silver look pretty good on paper at least.

Mclean - nobody at U11 who I can really say the same track record of any of the people mentioned by name above. Who knows though, I haven't even seen the team in action.


SYA - CAROLYN RICE....If I had a daughter, I'd want her to play for Carolyn.

Bethesda - I think Sam Roos the daughter of Brad Roos. I'm sure she's been around soccer since age 1 and knows what she's doing.

SYC has Harry Okopu coaching the U11 girls, he is the technical director there.



That's about all that stands out to me at the moment.

Let's pretend commute distance is not a factor here - these would be my choices

1. SYA - Carolyn Rice, my #1 choice here.
2. Arlington - Team seems to be doing very, very well
3. Loudon - Quality age group staff coaches across the board, mutiple teams
4. DC Stoddert - Karen Kelser
5. Bethesda - Sam Roos, Bethesda has good girls teams every year
6. Mclean - Just because its McLean which traditionally is decent on the girls side
7. SYC - Technical Director is coaching the U11 girls

[Anonymous]

You gave a lot of advice about which clubs are good for the kids. What about you? Without having to state your club....why do you coach for the club you coach for? What makes you stay?

[Anonymous]

Coach, does your DA recommendation hold for girls, too? My daughter is having a tough time deciding between a DA offer from one of the new U14 Girls DA teams and staying with her current (very successful) team that's not affiliated with DA or ECNL.