VA Union
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Anonymous
| SYC is going for GA |
Anonymous
This would benefit the GA greatly. Lots of talent in SYC, if merger is ending it will impact the girls side of this partnership. SYC basically was meant to replace the old Arlington pipeline to McLean for ECNL. Never understood boys side of this partnership, SYC has MLS Next they dont need McLean's boys |
Anonymous
The boys partnership felt like it was more to bolster Union's boys with kids that did not make it for MLS Next. But with NAL coming into play now, I can see some clubs seeing ECNL partnerships as unnecessary, especially programs that have MLS Next as the top of their boys programs. |
Anonymous
what is GA? |
Anonymous
Girls Academy League. When the USSF Development Academy closed its doors, most of the clubs from the fallout came together and formed the GA and on the boys side went to MLS Next. |
Anonymous
| For the girls side of SYC this would be amazing to offer GA. |
Anonymous
This would be amazing for the Springfield girls. They saved McLean by giving them all the players and McLean takes all the credit. |
Anonymous
FCV would fight it tooth an nail. |
Anonymous
But FCV wants MLS Next on the boys side, so probably doesn’t want to make an enemy of SYC, unless they think SYC is going to cut into their program substantially. Despite The St James being in Springfield, it seems FCV is aggressively looking to continue to grow its footprint in Loudoun and Western Fairfax - Herndon/Chantilly. |
Anonymous
Their GA programming is primarily based out of Loudoun County though. Their GA teams rarely train in Springfield so it might not be a bad thing for another program to pop up on the eastern side of the area. |
Anonymous
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SYC getting GA would bemefit both SYC and GA. GA needs a team that is closer in to DC Metro.
They ditched Alexandria (which didn't really make any sense) and SYC is really the only other option. SYC would probably get players from Alexandria who want the top level experience. SYC has added to the girls coaching roster this year and I was curious what the carrot was and it seems like this may be it. McLean will be fine without SYC. |
Anonymous
Right - I agree. From FCV’s perspective, they had Metro basically next door for years, Metro moved to Alex., and now is gone. Would a program in Springfield worry them that much? I wouldn’t think so. Not to mention, in Loudoun, the smaller clubs seem to be fading; FCV seems to be growing. FCV absorbed Barca, and some of the smaller clubs - like Leesburg FC and VA Revolution - seem to have fewer new teams vs a few years ago and generally, to my eyes, seem to be heading in the wrong direction. |
Anonymous
This is correct. And if you'll notice, FCV has a lot more teams on the boys side at the youngest ages than ever. It's in anticipation. |
Anonymous
FCV, at least what they are saying, is trying to expand outside of just Loudon. The St James is heavily pushing training, indoor leagues, and camps towards the whole of NOVA and they are using FCV as a hook for their marketing. We're in Alexandria and have seen two families buy it. They seem like they spend more time at the actual St James than they do at team practices in Loudon. |
Anonymous
I have a boy that plays at a high level, but not at either SYC or Union. We just know many talented boys that were asked to join Union from SYC at a few age groups several years ago when the merger first occurred. They were told they would hold practices in Mclean and Springfield each week, but that didn't last that long. At most age groups, very few boys are left at Union that came over from SYC, especially at the older age groups and no one has come over from SYC in years. Many have moved to teams that were closer to where they lived, for instance Alexandria MLSNext or VDA. I heard that boys from SYC left because they didn't see a reason to travel across town for limited playing time. Many were not happy with the playing time and the politics that were involved at Union. Basically, the SYC boys were getting less playing time even though they were superior players. It seemed like the reason for the merger was so talented SYC girls had a pathway to a higher level of play, which wasn't available with SYC, and made total sense. Plus, the McLean boys could get talented excess kids from SYC that weren't capable of playing on MLSNext to help make them more competitive against the Arlington, VDA and Loudoun teams in Northern Virginia and ECNL as a whole. This may have worked if the best players received the playing time they deserved. Unions loss of SYC boys was other teams gains. And NAL is not a realistic selling point to boys and parents. It's the same inferior second team that SYC has fielded for years. All of SYC efforts go towards the MLSNext team and the recruitment of boys from other teams. |