Bethesda Soccer On Way Down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did you learn?

1) Don't listen to what anybody has to say. Experience all clubs and trainers for yourself.
2) No club is perfect and everyone of them is flawed. Figure out which flaws you will live win.
3) Coaching>Club. BSC believes in the opposite philosophy which is why it is not the right place for us. This is my major flaw I can't deal with.
4) The closer the technical director is to my team's coach, the better. The more international experience the technical director has, the less the technical foundation is based on the USSF licensing courses (BS) and more on elements of ball mastery, first-touch, quick decision-making, etc. that will take my kid to the next level. BSC does not have a handle on what the actual coaches are implementing on a week to week basis so they just rely on the results on the pitch and the year-end survey to determine what is happening. It is simply really hard for any club to control quality beyond 2 teams per age group IMHO. We all played the telephone game as kids. ALL of the large clubs are playing the telephone game with their technical director and coaching staffs. You just don't know what is going to filter down to the coach you have under that banner.

None of these issues seem unique to BSC. Which club has all these things right?

To follow up on your statement, I was going to actually ask.....what other clubs have people had success with, and why?

[Anonymous]

None of these issues seem unique to BSC. Which club has all these things right?

To follow up on your statement, I was going to actually ask.....what other clubs have people had success with, and why?



Dont need all the things right just 80% of it

[Anonymous]

I think the issue with BSC is that more than any other Club, they had the potential to get it right.
They attract the best talent and nurturing it and growing it truly from the inside would’ve engendered a love and loyalty and success rate that no other Club could match.

Achilles definitely outdoes them on every front regarding this except that the owners and coaches are not everybody’s cup of tea and they have a style that is very abrasive. But they engendered true love and loyalty and really develop talent from the inside out. The track record is unmatched.

Bethesda is owned by great people and has some really good coaches and attracts the top-tier talent by a mile, but they allow mid range coaches that pretend they’re hot stuff to throw their kids in the garbage and allow those coaches to choose kids from the outside and throw kids in the trash like they’re nothing. I have three kids, one is a BSC second team player that has been on track, the other one a top player at Armour who has been scouted to play for the youth national team for our home country and he didn’t get a second look from
BSC, and a third who has seen what his brother has gone through at Bethesda and would never play for them. With all the resources and talent BSC has access to and all the soccer IQ and intelligence they possess, they should see that throwing kids in the trash is a regrettable move and will sink them in the long run. As for me, if my Middle son didn’t love his team and teammates so much and love the club we would move him, but I also can’t handle the long commute for other clubs so we are kind of stuck. It’s a sad statement when we should be at BSC because they are excellent but instead, we are there because they are close by.
I wish someone in management would understand what they are doing and try to make changes, but until then we can only hope. And once other teams on our side get MLS next, which is inevitable, BSC will be sunk.

[Anonymous]

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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!!!!

Yup, saw BSC 2nd team beat Potomac's U11 2nd team and beat them pretty soundly.

#winning means nothing at u10/u11. are the players developing individually? are they learning to play the right way? are they given enough space that they feel comfortable experimenting and making mistakes, even if a mistake could cost the team a goal or a game?

or are they playing kickball/longball? relying on a couple bigger/athletic kids to get them goals? using a dedicated goalkeeper at these ages even though that's to the kid's detriment?

IDK but the focus on #winning at these ages is part of the problem with American youth soccer and why we lag behind other countries in development.

Of course it is not about winning at these ages, but it was how they won was what struck me. I was at that game too. It was the U11 2nd team that was booting the ball up the field and trying to use athleticism to get by players. The younger team seemed calm and composed. It was clear that they were trying to play the right way and any mistakes were merely brushed off with very little static from the sideline. They did have a dedicated GK but not sure if it was to the kid's detriment, they played back to her often and she would play it to the next open player. I will definitely agree that it is not about winning at this stage, but if they are all developing, there will be some wins and obviously some loses. It was a good game for players who are not the most athletic to see. They clearly couldn't out run or out kick them, but they certainly outplayed them.

Curious - Which BSC team and game are you referring to?

The 2016 E2's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the issue with BSC is that more than any other Club, they had the potential to get it right.
They attract the best talent and nurturing it and growing it truly from the inside would’ve engendered a love and loyalty and success rate that no other Club could match.

Achilles definitely outdoes them on every front regarding this except that the owners and coaches are not everybody’s cup of tea and they have a style that is very abrasive. But they engendered true love and loyalty and really develop talent from the inside out. The track record is unmatched.

Bethesda is owned by great people and has some really good coaches and attracts the top-tier talent by a mile, but they allow mid range coaches that pretend they’re hot stuff to throw their kids in the garbage and allow those coaches to choose kids from the outside and throw kids in the trash like they’re nothing. I have three kids, one is a BSC second team player that has been on track, the other one a top player at Armour who has been scouted to play for the youth national team for our home country and he didn’t get a second look from
BSC, and a third who has seen what his brother has gone through at Bethesda and would never play for them. With all the resources and talent BSC has access to and all the soccer IQ and intelligence they possess, they should see that throwing kids in the trash is a regrettable move and will sink them in the long run. As for me, if my Middle son didn’t love his team and teammates so much and love the club we would move him, but I also can’t handle the long commute for other clubs so we are kind of stuck. It’s a sad statement when we should be at BSC because they are excellent but instead, we are there because they are close by.
I wish someone in management would understand what they are doing and try to make changes, but until then we can only hope. And once other teams on our side get MLS next, which is inevitable, BSC will be sunk.

We have a split household as well although we are BSC/Achilles. My only comment is that the Achilles coaches are little lovable Napoleon's. They are abrasive from a distance but they love those kids and the parents way more than the "pseudo" love of my other kids BSC coaches. People judge too often what a reputation is without seeing it. They are no worse than my kids little grandma who will give it to you straight. As you said, we have to cater to our kids preferences but if BSC coaches simply went to a few Achilles trainings and implemented what they are doing there with the talent BSC is able to recruit, there would be no hope for anyone in the Mid-Atlantic. One of my kids love his mates at BSC so I have to play the coaching roulette annually until that feeling changes.

[Anonymous]

YES!!!! This is exactly why I brought it up. I know the coaches are viewed as abrasive but they love the kids. BSC coaches are either mean and dismissive or they are blank, neutral nothings with no care and no investment. They will not fight or go to bat for your kid. There is no passion and no fire. The best coach there coaches the littles now, if I could have him for my kid I would have done it!!!! The rest are all blank nothings or entitled blowhards. Club could have been unstoppable with some great coaches in the mix who care about the kids!!!!