Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss Part II

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when BRYC and Mclean decide to go DA....where do they go....hmmmmmm

Spirit VA would be the more logistical option for McLean and BRYC kids.

Exactly. Give it time.

Girls inside the beltway in VA are choosing ECNL over DA because the coaches are better, the practice sites are much more convenient and they're getting the same exposure for college recruiting. As long as those things don't change then they're not going to switch to DA.

You're only talking about Mclean so get a grip

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when BRYC and Mclean decide to go DA....where do they go....hmmmmmm

Spirit VA would be the more logistical option for McLean and BRYC kids.

Exactly. Give it time.

Girls inside the beltway in VA are choosing ECNL over DA because the coaches are better, the practice sites are much more convenient and they're getting the same exposure for college recruiting. As long as those things don't change then they're not going to switch to DA.

Every Spirit practice location is within five minutes of the Toll Road. Certainly, anyone who lives inside the beltway can afford the Toll Road.

4 times a week? Come on, not every person in travel soccer is pulling down $200k/yr

If you live inside the beltway around McLean you are.

[Anonymous]

Spirit DA practices better than Mclean ECNL practices

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may not be in the Academy setting. If any scenario were on the table, I'd ship my 06B overseas in a heartbeat. But my job is here and I'm not going to uproot my other kids to chase football glory in England or Portugal. We like our life here in the States even though it blows from a football perspective. So we'll take our chances with the DA system and see where it gets him.

The notion that things are so much better in "Europe" is incredibly overblown. The streets of every European city are littered with people brought in from Africa and elsewhere into an academy system in which only a handful of people actually make it.

It's simple math. A professional club may have 25-30 players on its first team. Its academy graduates maybe 20 players each year.

The really good academies will manage to sell most of those players to other professional clubs, usually farther down the ladder. You can spend six years at Chelsea and end up playing for MK Dons making less than you'd make in MLS. If you're in the MK Dons academy and don't make the first team (because all those Chelsea washouts took all the spots), you're hosed.

And actually, a considerable number of Euro academy grads see the writing on the wall and come over here ... to play college soccer!

Some countries are better than others at making sure academy players also go to school. Germany is traditionally very good. England is not. So if you wash out of your local pro club, you've got limited options going forward.

I wouldn't send an 06 kid to Europe unless he was going to Ajax or a similar academy with (A) a good track record of placing its players elsewhere if they don't make the senior roster AND (B) a good partnership with a local school. (Which, incidentally, a few MLS clubs are developing. See Philadelphia.)

At U9, unless the coach is abusive I would just ride it out. Unless you have had other kids go through the process your expectations might be a tad on the naive side. I'm not saying there isn't a problem but a mid season change without knowing how you really hope to improve the situation is more disruptive. Instead, use the spring season to explore other clubs and contact coaches directly and have your son join practices. See how he likes the kids and coach. See if you like the coaching as well. This is also a better way to view a program before tryouts. Tryouts are about the worst way to evaluate a potential team as you don't really know what the team makeup actually is or how the coach actually coaches.

Agreed. We rode it out until end of year, but did attend some practices at other potential clubs to get a feel for coaches and environment..as well as commute. It also helps that the coaches will remember your child come tryout time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when BRYC and Mclean decide to go DA....where do they go....hmmmmmm

Spirit VA would be the more logistical option for McLean and BRYC kids.

Exactly. Give it time.

Girls inside the beltway in VA are choosing ECNL over DA because the coaches are better, the practice sites are much more convenient and they're getting the same exposure for college recruiting. As long as those things don't change then they're not going to switch to DA.

Every Spirit practice location is within five minutes of the Toll Road. Certainly, anyone who lives inside the beltway can afford the Toll Road.

This family won't be switching to Spirit VA. we live one mile from the BRYC fields and we like the coaches. We can afford the toll road but it would add hours and hours of time in the car every week that is just not happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when BRYC and Mclean decide to go DA....where do they go....hmmmmmm

Spirit VA would be the more logistical option for McLean and BRYC kids.

Exactly. Give it time.

Girls inside the beltway in VA are choosing ECNL over DA because the coaches are better, the practice sites are much more convenient and they're getting the same exposure for college recruiting. As long as those things don't change then they're not going to switch to DA.

Every Spirit practice location is within five minutes of the Toll Road. Certainly, anyone who lives inside the beltway can afford the Toll Road.

This family won't be switching to Spirit VA. we live one mile from the BRYC fields and we like the coaches. We can afford the toll road but it would add hours and hours of time in the car every week that is just not happening.

That isn’t unreasonable but that isn’t exactly a knock on Spirit either. Based on logistics you weren’t leaving BRYC under any but the most extreme situation. It’s not like you were going to go to McLean for ECNL either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when BRYC and Mclean decide to go DA....where do they go....hmmmmmm

Spirit VA would be the more logistical option for McLean and BRYC kids.

Exactly. Give it time.

Girls inside the beltway in VA are choosing ECNL over DA because the coaches are better, the practice sites are much more convenient and they're getting the same exposure for college recruiting. As long as those things don't change then they're not going to switch to DA.

Every Spirit practice location is within five minutes of the Toll Road. Certainly, anyone who lives inside the beltway can afford the Toll Road.

This family won't be switching to Spirit VA. we live one mile from the BRYC fields and we like the coaches. We can afford the toll road but it would add hours and hours of time in the car every week that is just not happening.

That isn’t unreasonable but that isn’t exactly a knock on Spirit either. Based on logistics you weren’t leaving BRYC under any but the most extreme situation. It’s not like you were going to go to McLean for ECNL either.

not a dig at all but more of a general response that people are not always willing to drive all over northern Virginia for soccer when they have a great team across the street or more local to their lives. Time will win over cost every time in our house. I will still choose BRYC even if it was double the cost of the other programs because of the convenience (and luckily we like the coaches and other families).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when BRYC and Mclean decide to go DA....where do they go....hmmmmmm

Spirit VA would be the more logistical option for McLean and BRYC kids.

Exactly. Give it time.

Girls inside the beltway in VA are choosing ECNL over DA because the coaches are better, the practice sites are much more convenient and they're getting the same exposure for college recruiting. As long as those things don't change then they're not going to switch to DA.

Every Spirit practice location is within five minutes of the Toll Road. Certainly, anyone who lives inside the beltway can afford the Toll Road.

This family won't be switching to Spirit VA. we live one mile from the BRYC fields and we like the coaches. We can afford the toll road but it would add hours and hours of time in the car every week that is just not happening.

That isn’t unreasonable but that isn’t exactly a knock on Spirit either. Based on logistics you weren’t leaving BRYC under any but the most extreme situation. It’s not like you were going to go to McLean for ECNL either.

not a dig at all but more of a general response that people are not always willing to drive all over northern Virginia for soccer when they have a great team across the street or more local to their lives. Time will win over cost every time in our house. I will still choose BRYC even if it was double the cost of the other programs because of the convenience (and luckily we like the coaches and other families).

I hear ya, Didn't take it as a dig but your situation is not really typical either. But most people do generally choose geographically convenient options first. As kids get older circumstances change among them are carpools. While not a perfect solution I only drive once a week. While that is certainly my convenience and my kid has to ride obviously to every practice the fun the kids have and the bonding in the carpool have many social benefits that living next to the field cannot provide.

[Anonymous]

My kid plays in the CCL league. The CCL website does not update or provide much information on younger year wins or scores. And for older groups, it does not provide scores and is not updated very frequently. Is there another way to find out some of the scores / wins in the CCL leagues? And no, I don't think my kid is messi, or CCL is the greatest, etc.. I just like stats and find it funny that our Rec team has better statistics than a travel league.

[Anonymous]

Also changes when your kids get older and wants to try out at multiple clubs for the chance to play on the best team possible.

[Anonymous]

PP discussing switching clubs. A few things are causing me to rethink our decision - 1) the coach that was supposed to work with the kids is no longer coaching the age group, 2) my son misses playing games (program is mostly training), 3) not a super well-organized program.

Would I just email the other coaches and ask if my son could come practice? Is Fall too early to do this or should I wait until the Spring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP discussing switching clubs. A few things are causing me to rethink our decision - 1) the coach that was supposed to work with the kids is no longer coaching the age group, 2) my son misses playing games (program is mostly training), 3) not a super well-organized program.

Would I just email the other coaches and ask if my son could come practice? Is Fall too early to do this or should I wait until the Spring?

Yup, it is as simple as that. Just email the coaches and go from there. If the promised coach is not really coaching that is a different issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid plays in the CCL league. The CCL website does not update or provide much information on younger year wins or scores. And for older groups, it does not provide scores and is not updated very frequently. Is there another way to find out some of the scores / wins in the CCL leagues? And no, I don't think my kid is messi, or CCL is the greatest, etc.. I just like stats and find it funny that our Rec team has better statistics than a travel league.

LOL how stupid. Comparing Rec statistics to travel statistics. It is all relative. Virginia Tech beat East Carolina 64-17 last week. VT must be as good as the New England Patriots!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid plays in the CCL league. The CCL website does not update or provide much information on younger year wins or scores. And for older groups, it does not provide scores and is not updated very frequently. Is there another way to find out some of the scores / wins in the CCL leagues? And no, I don't think my kid is messi, or CCL is the greatest, etc.. I just like stats and find it funny that our Rec team has better statistics than a travel league.

LOL how stupid. Comparing Rec statistics to travel statistics. It is all relative. Virginia Tech beat East Carolina 64-17 last week. VT must be as good as the New England Patriots!

What the hell are you talking about? Just want to know if a travel team we will be playing beat or lost to another travel team we played. Not looking to compare Rec teams to Travel teams, just would like to have the basic information from our travel league that our Rec league provides on wins and losses and scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid plays in the CCL league. The CCL website does not update or provide much information on younger year wins or scores. And for older groups, it does not provide scores and is not updated very frequently. Is there another way to find out some of the scores / wins in the CCL leagues? And no, I don't think my kid is messi, or CCL is the greatest, etc.. I just like stats and find it funny that our Rec team has better statistics than a travel league.

LOL how stupid. Comparing Rec statistics to travel statistics. It is all relative. Virginia Tech beat East Carolina 64-17 last week. VT must be as good as the New England Patriots!

Reread the post. Sound it out next time and take your time.