Bethesda Soccer On Way Down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^and no Virginia, simply too far and traffic, so sticking w MoCo.

There is another option now. DCSC just got ECRL on girls side and plays games only within 30ish minutes drive (all in NoVa).

Could be a good option to try to get seen for college recruiting for girls living in south MoCo.

Practice locations can be closer than having to drive all the way out to the plex and the Rockville and Gaithersburg area. Also going into DC tends to be against traffic and almost all locations have parking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^and no Virginia, simply too far and traffic, so sticking w MoCo.

There is another option now. DCSC just got ECRL on girls side and plays games only within 30ish minutes drive (all in NoVa).

Could be a good option to try to get seen for college recruiting for girls living in south MoCo.

Practice locations can be closer than having to drive all the way out to the plex and the Rockville and Gaithersburg area. Also going into DC tends to be against traffic and almost all locations have parking.

I wouldn't make this move in search of quality. Save a couple teams DCSC is still advanced rec with more letters next to their name. PPA 09 team is decent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^and no Virginia, simply too far and traffic, so sticking w MoCo.

There is another option now. DCSC just got ECRL on girls side and plays games only within 30ish minutes drive (all in NoVa).

Could be a good option to try to get seen for college recruiting for girls living in south MoCo.

Practice locations can be closer than having to drive all the way out to the plex and the Rockville and Gaithersburg area. Also going into DC tends to be against traffic and almost all locations have parking.

I wouldn't make this move in search of quality. Save a couple teams DCSC is still advanced rec with more letters next to their name. PPA 09 team is decent.

Give the club a chance to succeed. There's no doubt that DCSC has a million kids in their pipeline at the younger ages

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^and no Virginia, simply too far and traffic, so sticking w MoCo.

There is another option now. DCSC just got ECRL on girls side and plays games only within 30ish minutes drive (all in NoVa).

Could be a good option to try to get seen for college recruiting for girls living in south MoCo.

Practice locations can be closer than having to drive all the way out to the plex and the Rockville and Gaithersburg area. Also going into DC tends to be against traffic and almost all locations have parking.

I wouldn't make this move in search of quality. Save a couple teams DCSC is still advanced rec with more letters next to their name. PPA 09 team is decent.

Save a couple teams PPA is still advanced rec "without" more letters next to their name. True of so many programs which seems the point of the question, finding an option beyond a monopoly. And advanced rec is good soccer, so why disrespect it? You do you, PPA and DCSC are options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So let’s say your kid is female and U14. They live in MoCo and play RL. Where else could you go besides BSC?

2011 is a very weak year at other local options; that is a tougher one though Potomac has rebounded that year while struggling many others.

Most years Bethesda RL is quite a bit ahead of the other locals, if you don’t mind traveling all over the place for RL games. I know many girls who could make (and have) Bethesda RL playing at places like MSI and FCGB who are happy. Just depends what you want out of it. For you specifically, those are not realistic 2011 options unfortunately.

Third team at u13 and above, and all the lower teams at YDP ages, that’s where people especially need to be realistic at what you’re getting. If you’re fine with it, ok, but it’s not ECNL and you’re just padding the coffers. Many people are fine with that but there are other options. People do it for the name and because others they know do it.

At the top, and that includes second teams/RL with some exceptions, you really do have to go to VA or Columbia/Baltimore.

Hopefully that changes in the near future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The name is part of the draw, but it's also the other players and the coaching. Bethesda's second and third teams routinely beat the top teams from some of the other clubs mentioned here. Even if a kid has accepted that they probably won't make an ECNL team, they still need to determine whether they are better off on a first team at a club without ECNL or on a lower team at Bethesda.

Agree with this 100%. Many people will be fine with that and it’s ok. And, while not the big name ECNL coaches, most of the lower ones are competent, nice, and not abusive.

I also think it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy that BSC second, even more so third, teams can often beat other local clubs. It’s because those people are choosing BSC over them as BSC became a behemoth in recent years and grew while others shrank. A few leave for the other club’s first team, and the tables turn very quickly especially when you look at third teams, for example.

[Anonymous]

As a Bethesda parent, I have always been impressed that move to Bethesda from FCGB. They are doing something right over there for young ages. If players didn’t move, pretty sure they would be just as good if not better than Bethesda teams.

As for chasing and not enough choices in the area, I am fine with it. It dilutes the talent. Oh, and it’s not the Bethesda name that draws people in, it is the ECNL and MLS Next name and the hope of being on that level.

The only club in the area that has any hopes of getting an ECNL badge on the girls side is Baltimore Armour. There isn’t any other club that is close in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

BA will never go ECNL because they have MLSN . Bethesda is lucky to have ECNL for girls and MLSN for boys. PDA does this and I'm sure a few others buts its rare and won't be replicated again barring another Alphabet soup league coming into the market

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let’s say your kid is female and U14. They live in MoCo and play RL. Where else could you go besides BSC?

2011 is a very weak year at other local options; that is a tougher one though Potomac has rebounded that year while struggling many others.

Most years Bethesda RL is quite a bit ahead of the other locals, if you don’t mind traveling all over the place for RL games. I know many girls who could make (and have) Bethesda RL playing at places like MSI and FCGB who are happy. Just depends what you want out of it. For you specifically, those are not realistic 2011 options unfortunately.

Third team at u13 and above, and all the lower teams at YDP ages, that’s where people especially need to be realistic at what you’re getting. If you’re fine with it, ok, but it’s not ECNL and you’re just padding the coffers. Many people are fine with that but there are other options. People do it for the name and because others they know do it.

At the top, and that includes second teams/RL with some exceptions, you really do have to go to VA or Columbia/Baltimore.

Hopefully that changes in the near future.

I get the feeling of padding the coffers but other than I think MSI, all of the programs are within a few hundred dollars of each other. Something to be said for the stability of the Goliath also. Seems a handful of the newer programs (based on DCUM comments) are not so stable. A solid competitor in MoCo would be welcomed by so many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I get the feeling of padding the coffers but other than I think MSI, all of the programs are within a few hundred dollars of each other. Something to be said for the stability of the Goliath also. Seems a handful of the newer programs (based on DCUM comments) are not so stable. A solid competitor in MoCo would be welcomed by so many.

What makes a solid competitor and how do they succeed? What if the problem is that there are too many options in MoCo diluting any real competition? Brit Am, FCGB, MSI, Potomac, Juventus, Liverpool, OBGC, just to name a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I get the feeling of padding the coffers but other than I think MSI, all of the programs are within a few hundred dollars of each other. Something to be said for the stability of the Goliath also. Seems a handful of the newer programs (based on DCUM comments) are not so stable. A solid competitor in MoCo would be welcomed by so many.

What makes a solid competitor and how do they succeed? What if the problem is that there are too many options in MoCo diluting any real competition? Brit Am, FCGB, MSI, Potomac, Juventus, Liverpool, OBGC, just to name a few.

Yes i would agree, but 99 percent of those girls are playing at the level they should be playing and that's not ECNL. The worst part is they pay the same amount as the larger clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exit Bethesda before it disappears. Such a toxic place with abusive coaches can only go down, sooner or later

word

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exit Bethesda before it disappears. Such a toxic place with abusive coaches can only go down, sooner or later

word

Um, I’d go with later, lol. With 3-4 teams deep per age, Bethesda is not going anywhere any time soon. The brand is very much alive and kicking no matter how hard you try to peddle this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exit Bethesda before it disappears. Such a toxic place with abusive coaches can only go down, sooner or later

word

Um, I’d go with later, lol. With 3-4 teams deep per age, Bethesda is not going anywhere any time soon. The brand is very much alive and kicking no matter how hard you try to peddle this thread.

People paying doesn't mean the quality is good. Relying on a handful of teams to prop up a toxic program is destined to fail out at least get a big shake up. Loudoun Soccer is in the same boat. Both programs have floated off really talented kids from little competition in the area. Both are starting to bleed talent and slip in rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exit Bethesda before it disappears. Such a toxic place with abusive coaches can only go down, sooner or later

word

Um, I’d go with later, lol. With 3-4 teams deep per age, Bethesda is not going anywhere any time soon. The brand is very much alive and kicking no matter how hard you try to peddle this thread.

Come back and revisit this post in the very near future. It won’t age well.