Bethesda Soccer On Way Down

[Anonymous]

The girls really like BM. Must be hard to lose after winning so much last year. 1 tough season. They will be ok.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting blown out game after game doesn't do anything for development. Obviously they couldn't compete at that level which means they couldn't do anything on the field to get better. They should have just played in a lower EDP division.

The decision to play up a division ultimately took a devastating emotional toll on the players, overshadowing BM’s well-meaning intentions to accelerate their growth. While the team started the season with strong morale and fought hard in early, competitive losses, the relentless pressure of facing elite opponents systematically broke their spirit. Several heavy defeats stripped the players of their natural swagger and honestly it was hard to watch. They just had another scrimmage vs the 2015 top team again and their remaining confidence completely collapsed into capitulation as the goals mounted. Though BM’s experiment came from a place of deep care, it resulted in a painful lesson. Their spark has been extinguished. With Super Copa on the horizon, I pray they can reignite it and turn it around with a great showing. Next year I hope they will return to their actual age group. I believe this is a vital step to heal their morale, rebuild their broken confidence, and get their swag back.

I'm the op. I would also like to add that I am not saying these girls aren't talented. It's just hard to play against bigger/faster kids who have been playing 9v9 already. There's only so much you can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh how I wish I could change this title. 201 pages from misguided hate.

There has been both misguided hate and richly deserved hate on here. What would you nominate as the new title?

[Anonymous]

For the OP that posted about the 2016 team issue, can you give any hints about what clubs families are leaving BSC for? For lower team BSC defectors there are options in MoCo, but this is the 2016’s top team being discussed. Is an Aspire team adequate at this point or are you willing to commute further for “pre” ECNL clubs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh how I wish I could change this title. 201 pages from misguided hate.

There has been both misguided hate and richly deserved hate on here. What would you nominate as the new title?

Bethesda Soccer Club On the way to Postseason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh how I wish I could change this title. 201 pages from misguided hate.

There has been both misguided hate and richly deserved hate on here. What would you nominate as the new title?

Bethesda Soccer Club On the way to Postseason

Self-Emptying Bed Side Commode

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The “other” team in that division is also having a bit of a bloodletting of players for the exact same reason.

Just a colossally dumb move by these clubs with otherwise talented teams, and they are rightfully paying for the hubris of ignoring parent input thinking they know best.

Yea what are they thinking. Obviously parents know better than them…

Ummmm wow so you are saying that BSC shouldn’t listen to parent concerns and as parents you should just let coaches do what they want with your kids development. That stupid a$$ club works for us moron. You must be a dumba$$ BSC coach or admin, or just a dumba$$ parent. I feel sorry for your child; hopefully you have just the one. Poor kid. Hopefully in the divorce your spouse gets them cause clearly you are a douche and that is gonna catch up to you.

For every good coach in this area, there are 5 behind them who are basically gym teachers with no clue what they’re doing with young people except to come on DCUM and make you feel dumb for not bowing to their combined excellence in soccer and development psychology.

Yeah, most of us parents are clueless about whether kids should be playing not just kids who are bigger and faster, but in divisions where they are far and away more technically sound. We’re all idiots for not telling our 10yos to just toughen up.

Or we just tell them, listen adults are idiots too sometimes, have as much fun as you can and we’ll get you the hell away from these morons at the end of the season. Glad to see MANY folks have done so across “good” clubs.

In this specific case, re a team playing in a wrong division/year, are you all saying that these parents on both/either team went up to the coach or the coach solicited their feedback, the parents voiced their concern, told him not to do it, and the coach did not listen.

Is that what happened here?

Or did the coach make a decision, parents questioned their decision silently or amongst themselves, and took a "well let's see" mentality - and now are upset at the results of the coach's decision.

Seriously, just trying to find out when is the "right" time to voice a concern like this. Should they have pulled out midway during the season?

My DS has never been on a team, where the coach formally asks parents what league or division they should play in.

Speaking generally, it’s not unusual for clubs to have a season roadmap, we’re thinking of playing X and Y in the fall, A and B in the Spring and L,M,N,O,P tourneys.

On the BSC front sounds like the concerns were expressed directly and waved off when there was time to do something. As a result, families left. As for the other club that did the same, similar situation, concerns voiced directly when there was time to change course and waved off, and as a result families left.

It’s pretty simple, there are very very few teams who legitimately should be “playing up” let alone at the highest level of a year above. The remaining 95% would be wise to perhaps listen to parents of generally very good players when they say, ahead of time, chill out, no one is asking for this.

Actually, I have seen a number of teams in this age group play up, just not in the highest division. BSC's 2nd team played up but in a lower division and did very well!!!!

So there’s the rub of playing up at all. This isn’t absolute but did 2nd team players need to play up or is it just the usual we want the first team has because we think our kid should be on that team and now we’re missing out?

Because, great they did well, but would those players have benefitted from more of what 7v7 has to offer for a year or 9v9 (instead of 11v11). So, cool, they won some games, is it actually helping them become better players? Obviously will vary team by team, but generally, as in not always, it appears to be done with an eye towards ego/status (either the club or the parents) rather than with an actual thought out developmental plan. As an example, would it be strange to play up to 9v9 and not practice fielding punts for an entire season? Now that may not apply to this BSC team, but if you’re not prepared to coach some of those things, then you shouldn’t be putting a team in the top division a year up where you are expected to have a team that CAN do those things. And as a PP said, the team started getting housed and went into “just don’t get housed” mode. That’s a waste of a season all for an accolade no one cares about when it would have been just as ok going a division or two down, playing against big and fast without necessarily as much skill and actually getting the benefits of what was being done.

Will be curious to see how those two teams do next week at Supercopa. They spent a season getting whacked on a vanity project designed to prepare them for it so the proof will be in the pudding.

[Anonymous]

That 2016 BSC team is 2nd in the state. Interesting.🤔

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The “other” team in that division is also having a bit of a bloodletting of players for the exact same reason.

Just a colossally dumb move by these clubs with otherwise talented teams, and they are rightfully paying for the hubris of ignoring parent input thinking they know best.

Yea what are they thinking. Obviously parents know better than them…

Ummmm wow so you are saying that BSC shouldn’t listen to parent concerns and as parents you should just let coaches do what they want with your kids development. That stupid a$$ club works for us moron. You must be a dumba$$ BSC coach or admin, or just a dumba$$ parent. I feel sorry for your child; hopefully you have just the one. Poor kid. Hopefully in the divorce your spouse gets them cause clearly you are a douche and that is gonna catch up to you.

For every good coach in this area, there are 5 behind them who are basically gym teachers with no clue what they’re doing with young people except to come on DCUM and make you feel dumb for not bowing to their combined excellence in soccer and development psychology.

Yeah, most of us parents are clueless about whether kids should be playing not just kids who are bigger and faster, but in divisions where they are far and away more technically sound. We’re all idiots for not telling our 10yos to just toughen up.

Or we just tell them, listen adults are idiots too sometimes, have as much fun as you can and we’ll get you the hell away from these morons at the end of the season. Glad to see MANY folks have done so across “good” clubs.

In this specific case, re a team playing in a wrong division/year, are you all saying that these parents on both/either team went up to the coach or the coach solicited their feedback, the parents voiced their concern, told him not to do it, and the coach did not listen.

Is that what happened here?

Or did the coach make a decision, parents questioned their decision silently or amongst themselves, and took a "well let's see" mentality - and now are upset at the results of the coach's decision.

Seriously, just trying to find out when is the "right" time to voice a concern like this. Should they have pulled out midway during the season?

My DS has never been on a team, where the coach formally asks parents what league or division they should play in.

Speaking generally, it’s not unusual for clubs to have a season roadmap, we’re thinking of playing X and Y in the fall, A and B in the Spring and L,M,N,O,P tourneys.

On the BSC front sounds like the concerns were expressed directly and waved off when there was time to do something. As a result, families left. As for the other club that did the same, similar situation, concerns voiced directly when there was time to change course and waved off, and as a result families left.

It’s pretty simple, there are very very few teams who legitimately should be “playing up” let alone at the highest level of a year above. The remaining 95% would be wise to perhaps listen to parents of generally very good players when they say, ahead of time, chill out, no one is asking for this.

Actually, I have seen a number of teams in this age group play up, just not in the highest division. BSC's 2nd team played up but in a lower division and did very well!!!!

So there’s the rub of playing up at all. This isn’t absolute but did 2nd team players need to play up or is it just the usual we want the first team has because we think our kid should be on that team and now we’re missing out?

Because, great they did well, but would those players have benefitted from more of what 7v7 has to offer for a year or 9v9 (instead of 11v11). So, cool, they won some games, is it actually helping them become better players? Obviously will vary team by team, but generally, as in not always, it appears to be done with an eye towards ego/status (either the club or the parents) rather than with an actual thought out developmental plan. As an example, would it be strange to play up to 9v9 and not practice fielding punts for an entire season? Now that may not apply to this BSC team, but if you’re not prepared to coach some of those things, then you shouldn’t be putting a team in the top division a year up where you are expected to have a team that CAN do those things. And as a PP said, the team started getting housed and went into “just don’t get housed” mode. That’s a waste of a season all for an accolade no one cares about when it would have been just as ok going a division or two down, playing against big and fast without necessarily as much skill and actually getting the benefits of what was being done.

Will be curious to see how those two teams do next week at Supercopa. They spent a season getting whacked on a vanity project designed to prepare them for it so the proof will be in the pudding.

Totally agree with you re the division. The top 9v9 division would NOT be my decision (for a variety of reasons but more so, they should not have competed in a division with the top 2015 team, just as a matter of respect IMO). They should have played in a lower division. However in this area, as someone mentioned, there is a trend to playing 9v9 in the spring (some teams start out the entire soccer season 9v9), which leaves lesser competitive teams playing 7v7. And I am sure you may know, there is an entire EDP division dedicated to 2016 teams playing 9v9, where many of the 2016 competitive teams played. Jefferson cup even has a 9v9 division for the 2016 teams, which BSC won (maybe that is why he put them in that division, who knows?). Just as it is not good to get "creamed", not good to overwhelmingly win with lesser competition either, I would think. Maybe there are in-game ways to manage that, for it to still be effective?!? Balance is needed, and it is just a lesson learned.

At the end of the day, I think/hope everyone will be just fine. I believe most kids are resilient, and are already on to the next thing. Mine are looking forward to all of the summer shenanigans   (We as parents (myself included), tend to absorb and amplify our kid's feelings (whether justified or not), so here we are!)

[Anonymous]

The 2016 girls should have played in the 2nd division of boys EDP futures and stayed in 7v7 if they were too dominant to play 7v7 against their own age group. Girls have the easiest fixes and it should not be this hard. Parent also need to understand that rankings and winning are silly pre-puberty.

Not one high-level coach in the area would recommend a kid play a larger format this early and get less touches so it is only one of three reasons poor decisions like this happen:

1) Coach/club does really know what they are doing planning-wise. The coach may know the technical details in the training but may not be aware of the landscape and what the best options for competition are.

2) They prefer a larger roster financially and sold families on the idea that playing up is more beneficial developmentally.

3) The parental influence is too strong for the club to make decisions in the best of the kids and the parents are seriously misinformed on the best direction so the club is stuck making poor decisions to remain financially viable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 2016 girls should have played in the 2nd division of boys EDP futures and stayed in 7v7 if they were too dominant to play 7v7 against their own age group. Girls have the easiest fixes and it should not be this hard. Parent also need to understand that rankings and winning are silly pre-puberty.

Not one high-level coach in the area would recommend a kid play a larger format this early and get less touches so it is only one of three reasons poor decisions like this happen:

1) Coach/club does really know what they are doing planning-wise. The coach may know the technical details in the training but may not be aware of the landscape and what the best options for competition are.

2) They prefer a larger roster financially and sold families on the idea that playing up is more beneficial developmentally.

3) The parental influence is too strong for the club to make decisions in the best of the kids and the parents are seriously misinformed on the best direction so the club is stuck making poor decisions to remain financially viable.

Totally agree. Playing up a format may help a team transition and "win" more the next year when other teams go 9v9/11v11. But that advantage is short-lived and comes at the cost of individual development in those years when building a strong technical foundation is most important.

If there are more players on the field, on average each player will have less time on the ball in game situations. In addition, playing up from 9v9 to 11v11 on a full field (not the 2016g team situation, i know) also means fewer opportunities to get experience with touches in tight quarters in game situations and develop confidence handling the ball under pressure. There is a reason why Europe and South American players don't play full-sided games until much later than we do in the States.

I agree that neither winning 10-0 or losing 0-10 are great, developmentally. But if all the "top" teams stopped trying to play up to get early experience in larger formats, there could be ample competition in NCSL Division 1 or EDP, wherever they decided to congregate, in the same age group and better format.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That 2016 BSC team is 2nd in the state. Interesting.🤔

stay tuned!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That 2016 BSC team is 2nd in the state. Interesting.🤔

stay tuned!!!

Tune in to this channel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkwzbBdgs_I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That 2016 BSC team is 2nd in the state. Interesting.🤔

stay tuned!!!

Tune in to this channel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkwzbBdgs_I

🤣🤣🤣
I sense BM is stirring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That 2016 BSC team is 2nd in the state. Interesting.🤔

stay tuned!!!

Tune in to this channel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkwzbBdgs_I

🤣🤣🤣
I sense BM is stirring

Someone is mad DD got cut or didn’t get called back. Go get a hug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The “other” team in that division is also having a bit of a bloodletting of players for the exact same reason.

Just a colossally dumb move by these clubs with otherwise talented teams, and they are rightfully paying for the hubris of ignoring parent input thinking they know best.

Yea what are they thinking. Obviously parents know better than them…

Ummmm wow so you are saying that BSC shouldn’t listen to parent concerns and as parents you should just let coaches do what they want with your kids development. That stupid a$$ club works for us moron. You must be a dumba$$ BSC coach or admin, or just a dumba$$ parent. I feel sorry for your child; hopefully you have just the one. Poor kid. Hopefully in the divorce your spouse gets them cause clearly you are a douche and that is gonna catch up to you.

For every good coach in this area, there are 5 behind them who are basically gym teachers with no clue what they’re doing with young people except to come on DCUM and make you feel dumb for not bowing to their combined excellence in soccer and development psychology.

Yeah, most of us parents are clueless about whether kids should be playing not just kids who are bigger and faster, but in divisions where they are far and away more technically sound. We’re all idiots for not telling our 10yos to just toughen up.

Or we just tell them, listen adults are idiots too sometimes, have as much fun as you can and we’ll get you the hell away from these morons at the end of the season. Glad to see MANY folks have done so across “good” clubs.

In this specific case, re a team playing in a wrong division/year, are you all saying that these parents on both/either team went up to the coach or the coach solicited their feedback, the parents voiced their concern, told him not to do it, and the coach did not listen.

Is that what happened here?

Or did the coach make a decision, parents questioned their decision silently or amongst themselves, and took a "well let's see" mentality - and now are upset at the results of the coach's decision.

Seriously, just trying to find out when is the "right" time to voice a concern like this. Should they have pulled out midway during the season?

My DS has never been on a team, where the coach formally asks parents what league or division they should play in.

Speaking generally, it’s not unusual for clubs to have a season roadmap, we’re thinking of playing X and Y in the fall, A and B in the Spring and L,M,N,O,P tourneys.

On the BSC front sounds like the concerns were expressed directly and waved off when there was time to do something. As a result, families left. As for the other club that did the same, similar situation, concerns voiced directly when there was time to change course and waved off, and as a result families left.

It’s pretty simple, there are very very few teams who legitimately should be “playing up” let alone at the highest level of a year above. The remaining 95% would be wise to perhaps listen to parents of generally very good players when they say, ahead of time, chill out, no one is asking for this.

Actually, I have seen a number of teams in this age group play up, just not in the highest division. BSC's 2nd team played up but in a lower division and did very well!!!!

So there’s the rub of playing up at all. This isn’t absolute but did 2nd team players need to play up or is it just the usual we want the first team has because we think our kid should be on that team and now we’re missing out?

Because, great they did well, but would those players have benefitted from more of what 7v7 has to offer for a year or 9v9 (instead of 11v11). So, cool, they won some games, is it actually helping them become better players? Obviously will vary team by team, but generally, as in not always, it appears to be done with an eye towards ego/status (either the club or the parents) rather than with an actual thought out developmental plan. As an example, would it be strange to play up to 9v9 and not practice fielding punts for an entire season? Now that may not apply to this BSC team, but if you’re not prepared to coach some of those things, then you shouldn’t be putting a team in the top division a year up where you are expected to have a team that CAN do those things. And as a PP said, the team started getting housed and went into “just don’t get housed” mode. That’s a waste of a season all for an accolade no one cares about when it would have been just as ok going a division or two down, playing against big and fast without necessarily as much skill and actually getting the benefits of what was being done.

Will be curious to see how those two teams do next week at Supercopa. They spent a season getting whacked on a vanity project designed to prepare them for it so the proof will be in the pudding.

Totally agree with you re the division. The top 9v9 division would NOT be my decision (for a variety of reasons but more so, they should not have competed in a division with the top 2015 team, just as a matter of respect IMO). They should have played in a lower division. However in this area, as someone mentioned, there is a trend to playing 9v9 in the spring (some teams start out the entire soccer season 9v9), which leaves lesser competitive teams playing 7v7. And I am sure you may know, there is an entire EDP division dedicated to 2016 teams playing 9v9, where many of the 2016 competitive teams played. Jefferson cup even has a 9v9 division for the 2016 teams, which BSC won (maybe that is why he put them in that division, who knows?). Just as it is not good to get "creamed", not good to overwhelmingly win with lesser competition either, I would think. Maybe there are in-game ways to manage that, for it to still be effective?!? Balance is needed, and it is just a lesson learned.

At the end of the day, I think/hope everyone will be just fine. I believe most kids are resilient, and are already on to the next thing. Mine are looking forward to all of the summer shenanigans   (We as parents (myself included), tend to absorb and amplify our kid's feelings (whether justified or not), so here we are!)

The 2016 EDP 9v9 division is simply not enough of a flex for certain clubs despite having lost to some of those exact teams previously. It’s really a great example of how little the “adults” have any control. EDP should have simply said no, it’s not appropriate and we’re going to hear it from the other 9 clubs who are interested in competitive games, not your crazy parents/coaches. But, a broken system will keep chasing its own tail.