Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any suggestions on clubs in the area to go to for boys U9/U10 other than BRYC? What about SYC at the younger age groups? South County is pretty disorganized and too new of a club.

We've been very happy at U9 with FPYC. Nice, small club with two incredibly competitive teams, an A and B.

That's the way to do it! A team and development B team. Players can bounce between the 2 as they age and have different spurts. Thus is how most clubs used to run until everything hot so big.

Yes, that's how it works. The two teams train together and move around a bit (except tournaments). The professional trainers are great. The price is far lower than other clubs and we train just as often, if not more, than other clubs. Coaches and trainers know each and every individual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any suggestions on clubs in the area to go to for boys U9/U10 other than BRYC? What about SYC at the younger age groups? South County is pretty disorganized and too new of a club.

We've been very happy at U9 with FPYC. Nice, small club with two incredibly competitive teams, an A and B.

Probably a little *too* competitive. Very physical, sometimes with refs that let them get away with anything. And when the other team basically says "whatever" and mails it in for the rest of the game, they try to run up as many goals as possible.

On the plus side, they have good skills programs at U8 and under.

[Anonymous]

The individual technical training being provided at U9 is very good as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: Do you think BRYC will get involved with the DA stuff now that many of the other local clubs are?

As far as I know, BRYC has no intention of getting involved with any DA mergers.

If your kid wants to play in college, they've got an excellent track record of both boys & girls getting into great schools. Just depends on what fits your needs... Eye on NT or playing D1/D2 college soccer.

And National team and pro spots.

I played girls in the 80s. Go BRYC!!

DA is a bag of crap.

BRYC is still excellent for girls (as it seems pp experience was in the 80s!)... Boys is a mixed bag. The U9/U10 boys coach is awful. He's arrogant, disrespectful and gets in fights with refs at nearly every game. So, not an example for young and impressionable youth. He's currently got most parents ready to ditch BRYC. The coaches at older age groups are great. They came in with the DOC, Welsh, and are a completely different experience than U9/10.

I suggest waiting til at least U11 before considering BRYC.

Ok this has me a bit worried now. We planned to try out for BRYC for U9 Boys. FCV or SCAA (local club) or whatever they plan to call it now is upside down so wasnt interested in investing into this club. BRYC was my next choice due to distance. I met with the coach and chatting up some parents and all was positive. Is this the head coach? BRYC seemed to always get positive feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: Do you think BRYC will get involved with the DA stuff now that many of the other local clubs are?

As far as I know, BRYC has no intention of getting involved with any DA mergers.

If your kid wants to play in college, they've got an excellent track record of both boys & girls getting into great schools. Just depends on what fits your needs... Eye on NT or playing D1/D2 college soccer.

And National team and pro spots.

I played girls in the 80s. Go BRYC!!

DA is a bag of crap.

BRYC is still excellent for girls (as it seems pp experience was in the 80s!)... Boys is a mixed bag. The U9/U10 boys coach is awful. He's arrogant, disrespectful and gets in fights with refs at nearly every game. So, not an example for young and impressionable youth. He's currently got most parents ready to ditch BRYC. The coaches at older age groups are great. They came in with the DOC, Welsh, and are a completely different experience than U9/10.

I suggest waiting til at least U11 before considering BRYC.

Ok this has me a bit worried now. We planned to try out for BRYC for U9 Boys. FCV or SCAA (local club) or whatever they plan to call it now is upside down so wasnt interested in investing into this club. BRYC was my next choice due to distance. I met with the coach and chatting up some parents and all was positive. Is this the head coach? BRYC seemed to always get positive feedback.

I would say don't rely totally on other parent's impressions. Everyone has differing opinions. I find this with teachers too! My son plays for a coach (different club) that many people label as intense/demanding, etc. My sensitive son loves him the best of all the coaches, but I know some parents feel he's too gruff. We also live in a neighborhood where everyone wants a specific 'best' teacher every year. I never go by these recommendations. We've had some great years (some of the best) in which other parents told us Teacher X was mean or the worst, etc. I have learned to make my own judgements. Now--if it was a case where every.single.person was saying somebody was bad or didn't know they were doing I'd be more leery and want to see more of person in action...but otherwise go with your gut. This could be one disgruntled person or a player that didn't have good chemistry where he was.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. I would still have my son try out for BRYC. I am not going to change my impression of a club based on some anonymous poster. SCAA is not impressive this year. We have loved our experience with BRYC through the Micro program and plan to continue if it works out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question: Do you think BRYC will get involved with the DA stuff now that many of the other local clubs are?

As far as I know, BRYC has no intention of getting involved with any DA mergers.

If your kid wants to play in college, they've got an excellent track record of both boys & girls getting into great schools. Just depends on what fits your needs... Eye on NT or playing D1/D2 college soccer.

And National team and pro spots.

I played girls in the 80s. Go BRYC!!

DA is a bag of crap.

BRYC is still excellent for girls (as it seems pp experience was in the 80s!)... Boys is a mixed bag. The U9/U10 boys coach is awful. He's arrogant, disrespectful and gets in fights with refs at nearly every game. So, not an example for young and impressionable youth. He's currently got most parents ready to ditch BRYC. The coaches at older age groups are great. They came in with the DOC, Welsh, and are a completely different experience than U9/10.

I suggest waiting til at least U11 before considering BRYC.

Ok this has me a bit worried now. We planned to try out for BRYC for U9 Boys. FCV or SCAA (local club) or whatever they plan to call it now is upside down so wasnt interested in investing into this club. BRYC was my next choice due to distance. I met with the coach and chatting up some parents and all was positive. Is this the head coach? BRYC seemed to always get positive feedback.

98% of the parents in those age groups think he's fantastic ... this is clearly a disgruntled parent attempting to set the fields on fire on their way out ... you should form your own opinion

[Anonymous]

How do you form an opinion of a coach really if you are new to the club? It's not like I can interview the coach and have my son get to know him first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you form an opinion of a coach really if you are new to the club? It's not like I can interview the coach and have my son get to know him first.

Certainly you will have some conversations with the coach at some point during the tryout process. Make a point to introduce yourself and ask a few questions. What kind of vibe do you get? What do you think of the sessions your player is joining in? What does your player say about the coach?

If all your interactions with other parents on the sideline were positive then I would think that is a good sign.

[Anonymous]

BRYC micro academy is not run by the same coach as U9/U10. Micro academy is loved by a lot of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you form an opinion of a coach really if you are new to the club? It's not like I can interview the coach and have my son get to know him first.

I think it's hard at U9 but if you are thinking of moving to a team that already exists. Go to a game and sit on the sidelines with the parents. How is the coach? And don't forget...how are the parents? But try to strike up a conversation with a parent or two.

[Anonymous]

This year, BRYC U9/U10 did indeed have a single coach for 6 teams. This is true. One coach who sends out an email at the start of the season and that's about it. Communication doesn't exist.

Add to this the fact that ODSL kids and U11 sometimes are wrapped into practices with U9/U10 and it's a coach-player ratio you won't find at other clubs (and paying over $1600 a year).... In other words, not worth the high cost.

Like most CCL clubs, it's intense... At U9/U10 there shouldn't be a focus on winning and the coach will "talk the talk" but doesn't "walk the walk" because he was just once again thrown out by the ref at the last game for fighting with the opposing teams' coach.

Not a complainer. Just telling the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you form an opinion of a coach really if you are new to the club? It's not like I can interview the coach and have my son get to know him first.

I think it's hard at U9 but if you are thinking of moving to a team that already exists. Go to a game and sit on the sidelines with the parents. How is the coach? And don't forget...how are the parents? But try to strike up a conversation with a parent or two.

Agree with this. Simply talking to a coach, you will get told exactly what you want to hear. Definitely go to a game, sit near the parents and see how they act/talk, and see how the coach behaves. Probably most accurate assessment you can get.

[Anonymous]

Folks new to travel should know that once you sign the contract and pay, you can neither get your money back nor switch to another club (CCL rules prohibit to prevent poaching players).

Be aware of this because you are locked in, so if it turns out to be a 'bad fit', that's an expensive lesson to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year, BRYC U9/U10 did indeed have a single coach for 6 teams. This is true. One coach who sends out an email at the start of the season and that's about it. Communication doesn't exist.

Add to this the fact that ODSL kids and U11 sometimes are wrapped into practices with U9/U10 and it's a coach-player ratio you won't find at other clubs (and paying over $1600 a year).... In other words, not worth the high cost.

Like most CCL clubs, it's intense... At U9/U10 there shouldn't be a focus on winning and the coach will "talk the talk" but doesn't "walk the walk" because he was just once again thrown out by the ref at the last game for fighting with the opposing teams' coach.

Not a complainer. Just telling the truth.

Thanks. Your story isn't totally out of line with what I had witnessed at BRYC and also heard just this past week from a friend who was on the other team.