Only the formerly called DA teams are at $2400. The other team tiers are $2100 and lower. The academy teams are also training 4 times a week, so that actually makes it look like a great deal. Alexandria is too expensive for what it offers. It primary goal is to get kids on their HS team. The club should be charging in the $1800-1900 range. |
My answer on this is simple and does not even consider whether the price difference is fair and reasonable - because I don't want to drive someplace else. But if you do, and can find a cheaper club, by all means feel free to have your kid take a spot there. |
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I don’t get why so many posters here seem obsessed with cost! Essentially everyone posting here has a child that is playing primarily for the enjoyment and learning that comes from it. A percentage will play in college, and unlikely anyone posting here has a daughter that will make the USWNT.
Why do you feel so aggrieved about the difference between $2100 and $2400? If your child did dance, or art or theatre or fencing or swimming or making her own furniture, your costs for those extracurricular activities are likely to run several thousand a year as well. And yet, I’d assume most of you don’t think twice at spending $200 for a dinner out with drinks. How about your ski trip? Did you go to Colorado for less than $2k? Or maybe you did a family trip so Disneyland. Heck, that was probably more than a year of travel soccer! The whole point of having your child play soccer is to learn new things, challenge themselves, experience loss, success, pain and hopefully be well prepared to be fulfilled in some measure for the next 80 years of their lives. Find a club that meets your kid where they are, helps them grow while pushing them to be a little better. If the fees are too high, ask the clubs you are interested in about a scholarship. |
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They have had coaches leave because they don't pay as well as other clubs in the area. Kind of hard to justify that as an ED getting paid like an MD.
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Only top teams run at higher end of range. Alexandria charges from 1600-2450 depending on leagues and tourneys for your team. Are those rates for SYC and PWSI the same for all teams? SYC top teams play in a gazillion tourneys, so if the price is the same, other people at the club are subsidizing them. In any event, top teams for Alexandria play in two or three leagues (U12s play Acela/EDP/CCL, other older boys playing MLS Next and CCL or EDP and CCL) and are playing scrimmages throughout the year. The club also subsidizes many kids whose parents cannot afford it - I am sure other clubs do too, but I am not sure it is the same extent. We've been at different clubs and this is worth it for us. |
Virginian, Bethesda Cup, Jeff Cup |
Here's the link. https://alexandria-soccer.org/programs/academy/academy-tryouts/ (scroll to bottom) The range is between 1495 and 2495. High end of scale is for teams playing in multiple leagues (including MLS Next/EDP/CCL/Acela) I don't know what you are talking about. The former DA teams are doing the same thing as Alexandria top teams, maybe a little less in terms of league play. Most other kids are paying a lot less at Alexandria than the high end of the range. |
Arlington’s top teams are not doing the same thing as Alexandria’s top teams. Arlington’s second teams and lower are doing the same as Alexandria’s. |
Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about. Leagues? Tourneys? Practices? Their second teams are in CCL after U11. Their top teams are in ECNL (or EDP when U12) Alexandria top teams may be playing in MLS and CCL, or EDP and CCL. So true, Arlington's top teams are playing teams they used to play in the CCL (the ECNL) and are not playing in MLS Next. But I don't think Arlington's second teams are playing MLS Next, or Acela, or EDP, unless I am missing something. |
No it was not. VDA charged $2800 or something like that, and Arlington was $2400 + a team fee - so about the same. Loudoun was fully 70% more. On top of that they had much larger rosters so that multiple kids were inactive on game days. I'm not a Loudoun hater - but there's no doubt they charged a lot more than the other DA clubs. |
I didn't even know that was a thing- it seems insane to pay to not even go to games |
We live in Alexandria. I have had multiple children go through travel soccer in both clubs. Alexandria is a very good club for boys and is fine for girls. Arlington as a club is better than Alexandria for coaching, for college placement, and for overall professionalism once the kids are in middle school. My children who wanted to play in college went to Arlington. My children who wanted to play in HS stayed at Alexandria. Both achieved their goals. |
Sure. And LMVSC and BRYC were the top clubs in this area when I grew up here in the 80s. Things have changed a lot in the past few years and things will continue to change. |
LMVSC also adds on team fees in addition to the base fee and then there are tournament fees which can be separate for most older teams. |
I honestly am not familiar with club or team fees. We had to pay additional money on my son’s first team for tourneys. I have never seen that at the two other clubs where he played, though the club fee at each was higher. It all worked out to about the same. The one thing parents notice is whether clubs are making efforts to reschedule practices or games that are missed due to weather. Some clubs and some coaches are a lot more committed on this than others. So you may not complain about fees, but you may be a little miffed if coaches are a little too inclined to cancel practice and not reschedule it. |