Alexandria Futsal ID

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

*bar isn't very high.

Unlike outdoor soccer which has 100s of programs.

DC Hyperfutsal is still the elite of DMV futsal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

*bar isn't very high.

Unlike outdoor soccer which has 100s of programs.

DC Hyperfutsal is still the elite of DMV futsal

Yes. There are really only 2 programs in the dmv. The rest just form randomly each year.

[Anonymous]

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

Yeah, it is tough. Futsal is my son's favorite sport and he pretty much only wants to play travel soccer to support his futsal. He didn't make Alexandria Futsal ID this year, and is really sad. Unfortunately, I just don't have the capacity to transport him to play futsal elsewhere farther away. I am sure there are other decent clubs, but it isn't in the cards for us right now. We are doing an outdoor rec futsal team this year, and I am sure he will have fun. But I know it will be limited in ability to help him improve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

Yeah, it is tough. Futsal is my son's favorite sport and he pretty much only wants to play travel soccer to support his futsal. He didn't make Alexandria Futsal ID this year, and is really sad. Unfortunately, I just don't have the capacity to transport him to play futsal elsewhere farther away. I am sure there are other decent clubs, but it isn't in the cards for us right now. We are doing an outdoor rec futsal team this year, and I am sure he will have fun. But I know it will be limited in ability to help him improve.

Where did you find 'outdoor rec futsal'? I haven't seen any programs like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

Yeah, it is tough. Futsal is my son's favorite sport and he pretty much only wants to play travel soccer to support his futsal. He didn't make Alexandria Futsal ID this year, and is really sad. Unfortunately, I just don't have the capacity to transport him to play futsal elsewhere farther away. I am sure there are other decent clubs, but it isn't in the cards for us right now. We are doing an outdoor rec futsal team this year, and I am sure he will have fun. But I know it will be limited in ability to help him improve.

Where did you find 'outdoor rec futsal'? I haven't seen any programs like that.

I think NPC runs something like that in Springfield/Burke

[Anonymous]

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.


Yeah, it is tough. Futsal is my son's favorite sport and he pretty much only wants to play travel soccer to support his futsal. He didn't make Alexandria Futsal ID this year, and is really sad. Unfortunately, I just don't have the capacity to transport him to play futsal elsewhere farther away. I am sure there are other decent clubs, but it isn't in the cards for us right now. We are doing an outdoor rec futsal team this year, and I am sure he will have fun. But I know it will be limited in ability to help him improve.


Where did you find 'outdoor rec futsal'? I haven't seen any programs like that.

Through Alexandria. A parent on our travel team is helping to organize it. This is the info: https://alexandria-soccer.org/programs/futsal/futsal-league/

[Anonymous]

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.


Yeah, it is tough. Futsal is my son's favorite sport and he pretty much only wants to play travel soccer to support his futsal. He didn't make Alexandria Futsal ID this year, and is really sad. Unfortunately, I just don't have the capacity to transport him to play futsal elsewhere farther away. I am sure there are other decent clubs, but it isn't in the cards for us right now. We are doing an outdoor rec futsal team this year, and I am sure he will have fun. But I know it will be limited in ability to help him improve.


Where did you find 'outdoor rec futsal'? I haven't seen any programs like that.


I think NPC runs something like that in Springfield/Burke

My child plays with NPC indoors at the Fairfax Sportsplex. I haven't heard of them offering outdoor futsal, but maybe they do and I'm just unaware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

*bar isn't very high.

Unlike outdoor soccer which has 100s of programs.

DC Hyperfutsal is still the elite of DMV futsal

DC HYper has what, 3 or 4 boys teams total across all age groups in a good year, and zero girls teams. Do they even have any teams this year ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

*bar isn't very high.

Unlike outdoor soccer which has 100s of programs.

DC Hyperfutsal is still the elite of DMV futsal

True on the boys side, but more broadly, the previous posters are simply wrong. The elite teams in DMV and Richmond do very well nationally, and Hyper has done well internationally. It is not huge in this area (though much bigger than most and other areas of the country outside of the northeast) but some of the DMV/RVA teams are very accomplished regionally and nationally. Most of the players at elite futsal clubs in the northeast also play in boys DA (and now MLS Next). So the ignorance of other clubs who choose not to play remains abundantly evident.

[Anonymous]

^ so Richmond (not even in the DMV), Hyper and Alexandria? You don’t see how teeny tiny this is in comparison to outdoor soccer? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see it grow, but with so few committed to it year round- the bar to be elite is much lower. Again, if you are playing most teams that are t dedicated futsal teams (just a group coming together for fun that don’t even hold practices together and/or even play together outdoor) it’s pretty easy to be dominant. So then you have only the handful (count on one hand) if teams in the region that could pose any kind of challenge for titles.

[Anonymous]

Your perspective is only narrowly looking at the immediate area. Have you attended the Northeast Regionals for Futsal (USFF). The caliber of play is very high. Teams from Long Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia and more put forth talented teams that are not just playing for fun. They train futsal not just some outdoor players that show up and try to play futsal but cant keep the ball inbounds. Granted the local competition anywhere is limited simply by the size and awareness of the sport but it is significantly bigger and more meaningful now than it was 5 years ago when i got involved. In 2018 it debuted in the Summer Youth Olympics and will like see Olympic play in the not so distant future.

Travel to Regionals and you'll be impressed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

*bar isn't very high.

Unlike outdoor soccer which has 100s of programs.

DC Hyperfutsal is still the elite of DMV futsal

DC HYper has what, 3 or 4 boys teams total across all age groups in a good year, and zero girls teams. Do they even have any teams this year ?

And I remember reading on this forum about what a psycho and bad example that coach was (and the players were) at last year's Alexandria tournament. Hopefully, they Alexandria bans them this year. They can go have fun in NJ or Spain or where ever they want to go.

[Anonymous]

Those dc hyper teams are really good. Brazilian coach I think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ so Richmond (not even in the DMV), Hyper and Alexandria? You don’t see how teeny tiny this is in comparison to outdoor soccer? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see it grow, but with so few committed to it year round- the bar to be elite is much lower. Again, if you are playing most teams that are t dedicated futsal teams (just a group coming together for fun that don’t even hold practices together and/or even play together outdoor) it’s pretty easy to be dominant. So then you have only the handful (count on one hand) if teams in the region that could pose any kind of challenge for titles.

Futsal-only academies take DA/MLS Next players from throughout a metropolitan area (as does Hyper) and puts them on a single 8- or 9-person team. These teams train year-round in addition to outdoor soccer obligations. The talent level is sky-high - you simply don't know what you are talking about here. Stop before you embarrass yourself and your club further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ so Richmond (not even in the DMV), Hyper and Alexandria? You don’t see how teeny tiny this is in comparison to outdoor soccer? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see it grow, but with so few committed to it year round- the bar to be elite is much lower. Again, if you are playing most teams that are t dedicated futsal teams (just a group coming together for fun that don’t even hold practices together and/or even play together outdoor) it’s pretty easy to be dominant. So then you have only the handful (count on one hand) if teams in the region that could pose any kind of challenge for titles.

Futsal-only academies take DA/MLS Next players from throughout a metropolitan area (as does Hyper) and puts them on a single 8- or 9-person team. These teams train year-round in addition to outdoor soccer obligations. The talent level is sky-high - you simply don't know what you are talking about here. Stop before you embarrass yourself and your club further.

It’s easy to be a big fish in a small pond. If there was any meaningful endgame in futsal, real talent would show up. As it stands, it’s a hobby for some kids and that’s fine. For some it’s a distraction from playing soccer and that’s fine. What it is not is some mythical sky-high talent pool. Don’t embarrass yourself by trying to put that notion in peoples heads, that’s just a sales pitch.