DC Soccer Club

[Anonymous]

As a parent who is leaving and taking three kids out of the club, we love Greg’s email about how successful the merger with BSC was and how 90% of the coaches are returning😂

They do not even have 70% of the Northwest Coaches returning. Dc Soccer Soccer Club is a scam who continues to be desperately dishonest. Own your screw ups, be honest and move on. What they are doing to all of the families East of the Park is pathetic. They want your money and that is about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the parent putting together the lawsuit against DC Soccer Club? Is it a Brookland Family? This is getting crazier by the minute!

Really regretting my clueless choice to make the jump from rec to travel with them for next year!

Don’t regret it. I was not even aware there was a travel option outside of DCSC I was so clueless when my child wanted more than DCSC rec. If you really want out, look around at different clubs. PPA, DC XI, DCYFC, WCU and DC Way are all DC based and most have smaller rosters.

Regardless of the drama, I recommend PPA, DC XI and WCU above DCSC on the travel side for development of the individual player.

[Anonymous]

As a Rec parent at DCSC, I’ve been disappointed with the club’s direction. It feels like the focus is more on generating revenue by adding travel teams, forming partnerships like with BSC, and filling rosters.

Even in the Rec program, coaching lacks consistency and kids aren’t really being developed and the programs are not great; just babysitting. It often seems like Rec is just a feeder or fundraiser for the rest of the club.

On the travel side, almost any player who pays gets placed, whether they’re ready or not. It’s frustrating to see a club with so much potential lose sight of what really matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a Rec parent at DCSC, I’ve been disappointed with the club’s direction. It feels like the focus is more on generating revenue by adding travel teams, forming partnerships like with BSC, and filling rosters.

Even in the Rec program, coaching lacks consistency and kids aren’t really being developed and the programs are not great; just babysitting. It often seems like Rec is just a feeder or fundraiser for the rest of the club.

On the travel side, almost any player who pays gets placed, whether they’re ready or not. It’s frustrating to see a club with so much potential lose sight of what really matters.

Don’t even get me started on the Rec program. Travel already has its own share of issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the parent putting together the lawsuit against DC Soccer Club? Is it a Brookland Family? This is getting crazier by the minute!

Really regretting my clueless choice to make the jump from rec to travel with them for next year!

Don’t regret it. I was not even aware there was a travel option outside of DCSC I was so clueless when my child wanted more than DCSC rec. If you really want out, look around at different clubs. PPA, DC XI, DCYFC, WCU and DC Way are all DC based and most have smaller rosters.

Regardless of the drama, I recommend PPA, DC XI and WCU above DCSC on the travel side for development of the individual player.

We are on a top PPA team and most of their rosters really are small and could handle adding a few good players if anyone from DCSC is looking to switch. The level should be comparable, our team actually won against the DCSC top team last season, and there is no drama. The field situation is not perfect but sounds better than what DCSC is dealing with. All our practices were in DC and on turf last season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the parent putting together the lawsuit against DC Soccer Club? Is it a Brookland Family? This is getting crazier by the minute!

Really regretting my clueless choice to make the jump from rec to travel with them for next year!

Don’t regret it. I was not even aware there was a travel option outside of DCSC I was so clueless when my child wanted more than DCSC rec. If you really want out, look around at different clubs. PPA, DC XI, DCYFC, WCU and DC Way are all DC based and most have smaller rosters.

Regardless of the drama, I recommend PPA, DC XI and WCU above DCSC on the travel side for development of the individual player.

We are on a top PPA team and most of their rosters really are small and could handle adding a few good players if anyone from DCSC is looking to switch. The level should be comparable, our team actually won against the DCSC top team last season, and there is no drama. The field situation is not perfect but sounds better than what DCSC is dealing with. All our practices were in DC and on turf last season.

Interesting…4 kids left PPA and played at my kid’s travel age group last season. They reportedly while at PPA had very little consistency in practice participation from team members, field availability issues, practice schedules were floating and inconsistent and at times they could not field teams for games.

I get it, the grass is greener, but it seems like most if not all clubs struggle to deliver to every family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent who is leaving and taking three kids out of the club, we love Greg’s email about how successful the merger with BSC was and how 90% of the coaches are returning😂

They do not even have 70% of the Northwest Coaches returning. Dc Soccer Soccer Club is a scam who continues to be desperately dishonest. Own your screw ups, be honest and move on. What they are doing to all of the families East of the Park is pathetic. They want your money and that is about it.

DCSC merged with Bethesda? So this whole horrible drama filled rollercoaster is coming to Bethesda? The coaches, the drama, more? Say it ain’t so and that i read that wrong.

[Anonymous]

I would love if more of this discussion were about people relating specific things they have experienced, good or bad, with DCSC. There are a couple of people posting over and over about this particular DCSC staff member but the fact is what I care about is how the soccer is for my kid.

Personally our experience with DCSC is that it was well organized (except for things Tom was running, which were disorganized). But others may have had different experiences and that's fine. I've also heard things about other clubs being disorganized.

There's a lot of moralizing about how an organization ought to handle a crisis and how it should be communicating and that's all well and good, but also it sure sounds like most of the posts about the CXO are written by the same person because they use the same language and sentence structure, and most of all I really care about how my kid is or isn't being served.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't encourage people to decide that doing DCSC is a mistake just because you hear the same person writing the same stuff on what amounts to a bathroom wall and just as anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent who is leaving and taking three kids out of the club, we love Greg’s email about how successful the merger with BSC was and how 90% of the coaches are returning😂

They do not even have 70% of the Northwest Coaches returning. Dc Soccer Soccer Club is a scam who continues to be desperately dishonest. Own your screw ups, be honest and move on. What they are doing to all of the families East of the Park is pathetic. They want your money and that is about it.

DCSC merged with Bethesda? So this whole horrible drama filled rollercoaster is coming to Bethesda? The coaches, the drama, more? Say it ain’t so and that i read that wrong.

NO! Incorrect. DC-based Bethesda Soccer Club parent. The BSC here references Brookland Soccer Club.

I want changes at DCSC because DC families should not have to go to Bethesda for competence and quality soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love if more of this discussion were about people relating specific things they have experienced, good or bad, with DCSC. There are a couple of people posting over and over about this particular DCSC staff member but the fact is what I care about is how the soccer is for my kid.

Personally our experience with DCSC is that it was well organized (except for things Tom was running, which were disorganized). But others may have had different experiences and that's fine. I've also heard things about other clubs being disorganized.

There's a lot of moralizing about how an organization ought to handle a crisis and how it should be communicating and that's all well and good, but also it sure sounds like most of the posts about the CXO are written by the same person because they use the same language and sentence structure, and most of all I really care about how my kid is or isn't being served.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't encourage people to decide that doing DCSC is a mistake just because you hear the same person writing the same stuff on what amounts to a bathroom wall and just as anonymous.

You’re not a parent. That is definitely a current-admin friendly post as parents would not be privy to what Tom runs.

I will answer the question though. When we were in rec, it was good. We had a great parent coach, fields, etc.

Travel is where is gets rough for them and they aren’t listening. I know of at least 4 DC kids who are on 1st teams of MLS Next clubs outside of the city and DCSC just does not care they are losing this talent. Their travel program is not even close. As a DC resident, I would like more kids to have the option of playing high level and not have to hit 395, 66 or 270 to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the parent putting together the lawsuit against DC Soccer Club? Is it a Brookland Family? This is getting crazier by the minute!

Really regretting my clueless choice to make the jump from rec to travel with them for next year!

Don’t regret it. I was not even aware there was a travel option outside of DCSC I was so clueless when my child wanted more than DCSC rec. If you really want out, look around at different clubs. PPA, DC XI, DCYFC, WCU and DC Way are all DC based and most have smaller rosters.

Regardless of the drama, I recommend PPA, DC XI and WCU above DCSC on the travel side for development of the individual player.

We are on a top PPA team and most of their rosters really are small and could handle adding a few good players if anyone from DCSC is looking to switch. The level should be comparable, our team actually won against the DCSC top team last season, and there is no drama. The field situation is not perfect but sounds better than what DCSC is dealing with. All our practices were in DC and on turf last season.

Interesting…4 kids left PPA and played at my kid’s travel age group last season. They reportedly while at PPA had very little consistency in practice participation from team members, field availability issues, practice schedules were floating and inconsistent and at times they could not field teams for games.

I get it, the grass is greener, but it seems like most if not all clubs struggle to deliver to every family.

Obviously we don’t see every team and age group but our experience has been good. It is possible though that PPA makes more effort for their top tier and the other teams might not have the same experience. Our team has been very committed and did very well last season. Except of one kid who is in two other sports everyone comes to practices and we never had a player shortage for a game.

[Anonymous]

DCSC faces issue of player shortages during games, especially when parents are asked to travel further away. This becomes even more evident in bad weather. Lower tier teams also struggle with numbers due to the creation of additional team levels without the player quality with a Recreation level mentality when it comes to commitment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re not a parent. That is definitely a current-admin friendly post as parents would not be privy to what Tom runs.

Haha - I totally am a parent. We got numerous communications from Tom about the overseas trips he was running, the Winterfest he was coordinating, etc. We and all parents were invited to zooms that Tom was on. Our team's manager (who's a parent too) got even more of those communications than the rest of us and then told everyone else about what was happening with those programs when they affected our team.

Anyway I think some of these posts are now containing some helpful feedback which, if I were DCSC staff or board (which I'm not), I'd think were worthwhile to understand what is worth taking to heart to improve (as opposed to just personal attacks, which don't lead anywhere).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love if more of this discussion were about people relating specific things they have experienced, good or bad, with DCSC. There are a couple of people posting over and over about this particular DCSC staff member but the fact is what I care about is how the soccer is for my kid.

Personally our experience with DCSC is that it was well organized (except for things Tom was running, which were disorganized). But others may have had different experiences and that's fine. I've also heard things about other clubs being disorganized.

There's a lot of moralizing about how an organization ought to handle a crisis and how it should be communicating and that's all well and good, but also it sure sounds like most of the posts about the CXO are written by the same person because they use the same language and sentence structure, and most of all I really care about how my kid is or isn't being served.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't encourage people to decide that doing DCSC is a mistake just because you hear the same person writing the same stuff on what amounts to a bathroom wall and just as anonymous.

You say you’re looking for honest experiences, but your defense of DCSC, while targeting Tom Walsh makes it sound like you’re speaking on behalf of club given your pattern of redirecting conversations like this.

If you’re genuinely seeking transparency, consider sending a survey to all families and then share the results publicly. That would give you and the families a true picture of how people feel about the club.

[Anonymous]

Why did Tom go back to DCSC in the first place? He used to work there, why did he leave ? He went back to DCSC on his own terms when he had another deal on the table with DC Way, he took families with him to go to DCSC, why?

His program wasn’t that big before and he could have kept it small and local in Brookland. Instead, he chose to take his families to DC and actively helped shape the Brookland side of DCSC selecting fields, building staff, and recruiting players under the DCSC banner.

Families followed him because they trusted him. That was their choice, just like it’s their choice to leave if it’s not working for them anymore. Blaming DCSC now doesn’t really make sense when he was the one who willingly integrated his program into it. He was the technical director, he created the schedule, decided on the fields his teams used and was the leader of the Brookland program in DCSC.

At a certain point, this conversation becomes unproductive. If it’s not a good fit anymore, then make a change, but let’s stop rehashing the same complaints. Like others said, there are plenty of options in dc. Pick one and move on.