Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Honestly, none of our kids are that good. OK, maybe one of us has a kid with a future, but only maybe. As for the rest of us...

This is really about fun and sportsmanship. This is about a hobby. We probably all need to lighten up.

VYS sounds like they've found a way to meet the needs of many families. Good for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What a bunch of baloney.

Look, let's explain the background here: VYS had, by its standards, a relatively contentious board election this time around. The two presidential candidates weren't the issue -- they were pretty much alike. But for lower positions on the board, a couple of people who had basically fossilized in place were nudged out. They really didn't care for the new-school thinking Eddie was bringing to the table. It wasn't even that they could argue against it -- it was that they literally didn't know what was going on.

The new board members are wonderful. They're committed, enthusiastic and welcoming. They include people with some impressive soccer resumes (probably a lot better than that mega-coach for whom you're paying through the nose to teach your precious future stars at a big-name club to run up the score against fellow U9s, development be damned).

I can only guess that the people who come on DCUM to complain about VYS are either those former board members or people close to them. Because they make complaints about VYS that I hear from no one else.

The pickup program is one example of how VYS is following some good model club behaviors that U.S. Soccer wants to see in other clubs and isn't. If you have a bad experience, that's unlucky. Try again. Talk to other people. If you're paranoid about talking to Eddie, talk to other coaches. Move your kid to another field.

And quit lying about the club on DCUM.

Thanks.

It's quite impressive how pompous you are while being totally clueless. Contrary to your assertion, those fossilized relics on the Board were Eddie's biggest supporters, who not only hired him but also allowed him to institute a pay-to-play program in the younger age groups, where if you didn't pay up for the cross-over program, your kids were effectively excluded from the travel program. It was only because a large group of VYS parents complained about Eddie and his programs that there was a big turnover of the board. The reason why the elections were contentious is that Eddie and the technical staff, who work for his company as well as VYS, personnally recruited parents to run against the slate selected to counter Eddie's dictatorship. Fortunately, only a few of Eddie's cronies were elected and even they seem to realize the conflict of interest caused by his getting a cut of the trainers' fees.

[Anonymous]

We got caught up in the travel soccer stuff with our DD. It was a big mistake. Lots of money and lots of time and she ended up with bum knees from Osgood Schlatters.

Watch out for this when your DC starts growth spurts in 10 to 12.

Just never realized the damage it could do. We went to ortho doctor and he keep saying it would go away. We should have stopped her from playing, not given her a choice. She still has a big lump and it is still painful.

Some of these travel teams do practices 3 times a week plus games for 9 and 10 year olds.

http://www.momsteam.com/severs-disease/three-common-youth-soccer-injuries-treatment-prevention

[Anonymous]

VYS has a well-intended philosophy of developing players and teaching confidence with the ball, but in practice we're seeing a lost generation of boys travel players who barely know what it's like to win a game. Maybe a technical and tactical approach that takes years and years and years to bear fruit is fine for a high-flying club like Pateadores that has continuity and large player pools but not for our little local club where players come and go. Someone needs to ask if our approach to player development is ever going to work. It's tough out there for these VYS teams that concede 6 or 7 goals in one game. You feel sorry for the players and wonder if their fun is being sacrificed for a seemingly good idea (that player development is more important than winning) that has been taken too far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VYS has a well-intended philosophy of developing players and teaching confidence with the ball, but in practice we're seeing a lost generation of boys travel players who barely know what it's like to win a game. Maybe a technical and tactical approach that takes years and years and years to bear fruit is fine for a high-flying club like Pateadores that has continuity and large player pools but not for our little local club where players come and go. Someone needs to ask if our approach to player development is ever going to work. It's tough out there for these VYS teams that concede 6 or 7 goals in one game. You feel sorry for the players and wonder if their fun is being sacrificed for a seemingly good idea (that player development is more important than winning) that has been taken too far.

I have seen the boys team for the past 10+ years. Vienna is no "little local club", it is larger than most clubs in northern Virginia, including their immediate neighbor McLean. I will agree that the philosophy in use is a problem, and that there have been many lost generations of travel players from vienna. I do not agree that they are teaching confidence with the ball or really developing players. If that was their philosophy and they were any good at it you would see solid technical players that could beat a defender on the dribble and create space with their feet. That's not what you see when you watch them play - you see very direct play (long passes forward, players looking to get the ball away) and very few players with any ability on the ball.

So either VYS is not doing a good job of implementing their philosophy, or the trainer/patent coach dynamic is creating the wrong environment (trainers teaching skills, parents telling them to play direct in games), but you can't put the blame on the player pool. They have one of the bigger and more athletic player pools in nova. They just don't do anything with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What a bunch of baloney.

Look, let's explain the background here: VYS had, by its standards, a relatively contentious board election this time around. The two presidential candidates weren't the issue -- they were pretty much alike. But for lower positions on the board, a couple of people who had basically fossilized in place were nudged out. They really didn't care for the new-school thinking Eddie was bringing to the table. It wasn't even that they could argue against it -- it was that they literally didn't know what was going on.

The new board members are wonderful. They're committed, enthusiastic and welcoming. They include people with some impressive soccer resumes (probably a lot better than that mega-coach for whom you're paying through the nose to teach your precious future stars at a big-name club to run up the score against fellow U9s, development be damned).

I can only guess that the people who come on DCUM to complain about VYS are either those former board members or people close to them. Because they make complaints about VYS that I hear from no one else.

The pickup program is one example of how VYS is following some good model club behaviors that U.S. Soccer wants to see in other clubs and isn't. If you have a bad experience, that's unlucky. Try again. Talk to other people. If you're paranoid about talking to Eddie, talk to other coaches. Move your kid to another field.

And quit lying about the club on DCUM.

Thanks.

It's quite impressive how pompous you are while being totally clueless. Contrary to your assertion, those fossilized relics on the Board were Eddie's biggest supporters, who not only hired him but also allowed him to institute a pay-to-play program in the younger age groups, where if you didn't pay up for the cross-over program, your kids were effectively excluded from the travel program. It was only because a large group of VYS parents complained about Eddie and his programs that there was a big turnover of the board. The reason why the elections were contentious is that Eddie and the technical staff, who work for his company as well as VYS, personnally recruited parents to run against the slate selected to counter Eddie's dictatorship. Fortunately, only a few of Eddie's cronies were elected and even they seem to realize the conflict of interest caused by his getting a cut of the trainers' fees.

Utterly false. In the end, only four elections were contested.

And no, crossover is not a sure ticket to travel. I'm coaching plenty of kids who did crossover and didn't make travel (or didn't try out). And I've coached kids who didn't do crossover and still made travel.

There's an anti-Eddie grapevine that's simply insane. All the guy wants to do is run a community club that addresses the needs of 99 percent of the players in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYS has a well-intended philosophy of developing players and teaching confidence with the ball, but in practice we're seeing a lost generation of boys travel players who barely know what it's like to win a game. Maybe a technical and tactical approach that takes years and years and years to bear fruit is fine for a high-flying club like Pateadores that has continuity and large player pools but not for our little local club where players come and go. Someone needs to ask if our approach to player development is ever going to work. It's tough out there for these VYS teams that concede 6 or 7 goals in one game. You feel sorry for the players and wonder if their fun is being sacrificed for a seemingly good idea (that player development is more important than winning) that has been taken too far.

I have seen the boys team for the past 10+ years. Vienna is no "little local club", it is larger than most clubs in northern Virginia, including their immediate neighbor McLean. I will agree that the philosophy in use is a problem, and that there have been many lost generations of travel players from vienna. I do not agree that they are teaching confidence with the ball or really developing players. If that was their philosophy and they were any good at it you would see solid technical players that could beat a defender on the dribble and create space with their feet. That's not what you see when you watch them play - you see very direct play (long passes forward, players looking to get the ball away) and very few players with any ability on the ball.

So either VYS is not doing a good job of implementing their philosophy, or the trainer/patent coach dynamic is creating the wrong environment (trainers teaching skills, parents telling them to play direct in games), but you can't put the blame on the player pool. They have one of the bigger and more athletic player pools in nova. They just don't do anything with them.

Hard to say. To some extent, they're playing catch-up, at least on the boys side. Eddie's programs are new, and they start with the youngest kids.

They sometimes put teams in a position where they're going to be at a competitive disadvantage. Crossover is a perfect example -- while some clubs have tryouts and take only one team of All-Stars that trains together all season, they take anyone who signs up and then splits up that pool randomly. They get crushed in the fall season and catch up a bit in the spring.

I can tell you the U9 boys are quite good. Even after taking five travel teams, we still have solid players in the House league.

VYS is pretty deep -- their #3 or #4 teams often do really well in ODSL. But on the boys side, they often don't have that elite team. A big reason for that: Eddie is loathe to recruit outside Vienna. And most people are OK with that. It's a community club that produces some good teams and the occasional really good (Colonial League level) team.

[Anonymous]

Meant to ask in last post -- at which age do you see direct play from VYS teams? At U11 on up, the parent coaches are out of the picture, and it's just "pro" coaches. I don't usually picture U9s playing what you'd really call "direct," and this year's parent coaches are smarter than that, anyway. (No, I'm not one of them!) Maybe last year's U10s?

[Anonymous]

IMHO, I don't think direct play is the issue, really. It's more that the players developed in the Crossover system seem to dribble too much. The thought process is to take on two or three defenders with the dribble rather than to play the ball into space. Anyway, I thought the excessive dribbling was part of the player development plan -- the more experience players have using the dribble under pressure, the better they'll be in five years. I just wonder when all of this is going to add up to something impressive and effective.

Glad to hear the U9 travel teams are good.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe how many parents push their kids to do travel soccer to the detriment of their health, free time and family free time. So crazy to me.

[Anonymous]

You should start seeing something one way or the other next year. The first VYS travel teams under Eddie's academy system will be freshman in 2015. Look to the Madison, Marshall and Oakton teams -- if the coaches there see an influx of VYS talent that will tell you something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should start seeing something one way or the other next year. The first VYS travel teams under Eddie's academy system will be freshman in 2015. Look to the Madison, Marshall and Oakton teams -- if the coaches there see an influx of VYS talent that will tell you something.

I'm not sure have having VYS players on the team of a Vienna high school shows if Eddie's system is working, as VYS has players on those teams now, which is what you would expect. A better question is how are the academy teams doing vs. the non-academy teams. Right now, the two best teams in the club are the U-15 and U16 girls, both of which avoided coming under Eddie's control. Just one year younger, the first Academy teams are only fair - boys are D3; girls are D2 and falling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe how many parents push their kids to do travel soccer to the detriment of their health, free time and family free time. So crazy to me.

I know it's hard to believe, but some kids actually are self-motivated to play sports at the highest possible level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should start seeing something one way or the other next year. The first VYS travel teams under Eddie's academy system will be freshman in 2015. Look to the Madison, Marshall and Oakton teams -- if the coaches there see an influx of VYS talent that will tell you something.

I'm not sure have having VYS players on the team of a Vienna high school shows if Eddie's system is working, as VYS has players on those teams now, which is what you would expect. A better question is how are the academy teams doing vs. the non-academy teams. Right now, the two best teams in the club are the U-15 and U16 girls, both of which avoided coming under Eddie's control. Just one year younger, the first Academy teams are only fair - boys are D3; girls are D2 and falling.

PP, I hear what you're saying. But it's hard to compare a team that has been together for years (non-academy) and one where they sort them up every year (academy). The U-16 girls team also has players from outside Vienna, so not apples to apples.

I used the high school standard because that's the minimum I think most people would expect after years travel soccer. Male players from better clubs like Bethesda, BRYC, Annadale, SYC, and even DC United Academy players have been on these same high school teams. And yes, I know DCU doesn't let them play high school, but many kids rotate off their academy team so that they can play high school. Ask the GCM girls how it felt to have everyone in the stands rush the field when they won the conference last Spring and you'll get why even the elite kids want to be part of that.

The biggest challenge for the VYS Academy, frankly, is retaining their standout talent. I know in U14 boys, most of the kids with real promise have moved to other, more prestigious clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYS has a well-intended philosophy of developing players and teaching confidence with the ball, but in practice we're seeing a lost generation of boys travel players who barely know what it's like to win a game. Maybe a technical and tactical approach that takes years and years and years to bear fruit is fine for a high-flying club like Pateadores that has continuity and large player pools but not for our little local club where players come and go. Someone needs to ask if our approach to player development is ever going to work. It's tough out there for these VYS teams that concede 6 or 7 goals in one game. You feel sorry for the players and wonder if their fun is being sacrificed for a seemingly good idea (that player development is more important than winning) that has been taken too far.

I have seen the boys team for the past 10+ years. Vienna is no "little local club", it is larger than most clubs in northern Virginia, including their immediate neighbor McLean. I will agree that the philosophy in use is a problem, and that there have been many lost generations of travel players from vienna. I do not agree that they are teaching confidence with the ball or really developing players. If that was their philosophy and they were any good at it you would see solid technical players that could beat a defender on the dribble and create space with their feet. That's not what you see when you watch them play - you see very direct play (long passes forward, players looking to get the ball away) and very few players with any ability on the ball.

So either VYS is not doing a good job of implementing their philosophy, or the trainer/patent coach dynamic is creating the wrong environment (trainers teaching skills, parents telling them to play direct in games), but you can't put the blame on the player pool. They have one of the bigger and more athletic player pools in nova. They just don't do anything with them.

Hard to say. To some extent, they're playing catch-up, at least on the boys side. Eddie's programs are new, and they start with the youngest kids.

They sometimes put teams in a position where they're going to be at a competitive disadvantage. Crossover is a perfect example -- while some clubs have tryouts and take only one team of All-Stars that trains together all season, they take anyone who signs up and then splits up that pool randomly. They get crushed in the fall season and catch up a bit in the spring.

I can tell you the U9 boys are quite good. Even after taking five travel teams, we still have solid players in the House league.

VYS is pretty deep -- their #3 or #4 teams often do really well in ODSL. But on the boys side, they often don't have that elite team. A big reason for that: Eddie is loathe to recruit outside Vienna. And most people are OK with that. It's a community club that produces some good teams and the occasional really good (Colonial League level) team.

1. U9 boys may be good, but part of the reason you still have good kids in travel is that many parents resist travel, at least initially. When you're taking 5 teams of kids (what is that, 60 kids need to play at a higher level?) you're getting a lot of chaff with that wheat. Sorry, but I've seen the teams and it's true. You could probably scoop the top 24 off and have the really good athletes. Expect re-sorting as more of the kids who didn't tryout at first join and become quickly better than the current C,D and E teams. I have seen all-star house teams beat VYS travel teams.

2. Which means absolutely nothing as ODSL is a glorified house league, or as one of our high soccer players put it, a league for kids who are mediocre at soccer. Sorry if that bursts some bubbles, but it true. Most of the decent ODSL teams are getting moved up to NCSL anyway, as leagues like CCL continue to gut NCSL.