Spring 2017 soccer club tryouts

[Anonymous]

It's not as big as deal as either you nor Joga make it out to be.

European coaches = Kephern or one of his friends will visit, and then they have a Joga SC camp in the summer.

Contacts with National Team coaches = we know the email address to send our recommendations for the NTCs to

Inter'l tour = If you pay the price, you can go on our trip to Holland and when we play some other teams travelling there, we'll call it a tournament

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daughter went to BRYC U15/16 tryouts last week. Is the coach the same guy that pulled his team off the field in the finals of the arlington tournament?

Why did he do that?

I heard the ref was blatantly favoring Arlington, as in, giving the head coach high fives when Arlington scored, as well as not calling numerous potentially dangerous fouls on the BRYC players. As it was described to me, I can't blame him for pulling his team. Supposedly there's video of the ref's behavior but it's doubtful that Arlington will do anything since it benefited their club.

Holy crap. I just keep hearing worse and worse things about that Club.

It's the parents. As clear in this thread of late, if DC doesn't make one of their top two U9 teams that play in CCL 1, the sky is falling. What other club has parents discussing what field their DC is on at tryouts and comparing their 7 or 8 year old DC to players in some U8 academy or who play Travel already. Just nuts.

No, it's the club. The parents' anxiety just reflects the awareness that they are dealing with one of the most corrupt clubs are the area.

Then choose another club and don't give them the money! Tryout somewhere else. Tryout season is just beginning.

But, by not doing so, then the problem is truly YOU, the parent. The club is there to take your money and WILL take your money and put your kid on some irrelevant team sharing a quarter of a field with another irrelevant team.

You folks act as if you have no choice in the matter.

We know a few kids that were offered top spots here and didn't accept. I used to wonder why until I came upon this thread. These people sound batshit crazy.

I'm guessing complaining is easier than having to commute somewhere else for some people. But at what point does all this craziness not filter to the kids?

It sure seems like a lot of stressing over what is supposed to be fun for the kids.

Most, not all, Arlington parents know little about soccer development before 13U. Very few are knowledgeable, have played the game, or have coached young children for any measure, and just throw their child into these massive organized carpools and don't come watch the trainings or various coaches. So they substitute team color, jersey#, and other team placement factors, like what tryout field a child is on, for their inability to gauge what they are getting for their money, particularly on the boys side where you see their ugly side come out in forums and they compare players in their quest to move up in the system, whether it be at tryouts now, or next year on a team. This continues as parents overly dwell on moving up to a higher color team and lobby coaches and TDs against other players and never question the organization. Making one of the top two teams of course doesn't mean their player is better, but it does confer some sort of social status that you see relfected even in the kids at school with their ASA patched Travel jackets. If these parents ever stepped back and studied what makes a player better come 13U, they would stop worrying about this bullshit, stop brown-nosing the TDs, and start doing some of the hard work outside the club on their own that actually makes a child love the game and get better at soccer.

I think you've described one of the main factors that leads to parent unhappiness at a lot of clubs, not just Arlington. Add in the fact that a lot of the parents who don't know much about soccer are also highly successful in their careers, and are used to commanding respect and pulling strings to get their way if need be. This type of parent often has a lot of trouble with the notion that some un- or under-educated coach is (in their view) promoting other kids above their own. They see a conspiracy where none exists because they don't have the knowledge or experience needed to accurately assess their child's abilities. At more than one club, I've seen parents join the board just so they can be sure their child is placed on a top team.

On the flip side, I've seen knowledgeable parents pull their kid from a club's top team to play for a lower level one because they think the lower level coach is a better fit or shares their values on how the game should be taught and played. This behavior causes a lot of consternation among parents who think the end goal of all their striving is making the top team.

I've also seen players leave or not accept top/higher spots here and take a lower offer at another Club that they think does a better job at U9-U12 development. Not everyone that leaves is shopping for a higher placement, that assumption is highly arrogant but consistent with the views of the staff and parents that everyone that leaves is some disgruntled low team player and their parents know nothing about soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daughter went to BRYC U15/16 tryouts last week. Is the coach the same guy that pulled his team off the field in the finals of the arlington tournament?

Why did he do that?

I heard the ref was blatantly favoring Arlington, as in, giving the head coach high fives when Arlington scored, as well as not calling numerous potentially dangerous fouls on the BRYC players. As it was described to me, I can't blame him for pulling his team. Supposedly there's video of the ref's behavior but it's doubtful that Arlington will do anything since it benefited their club.

Holy crap. I just keep hearing worse and worse things about that Club.

It's the parents. As clear in this thread of late, if DC doesn't make one of their top two U9 teams that play in CCL 1, the sky is falling. What other club has parents discussing what field their DC is on at tryouts and comparing their 7 or 8 year old DC to players in some U8 academy or who play Travel already. Just nuts.

No, it's the club. The parents' anxiety just reflects the awareness that they are dealing with one of the most corrupt clubs are the area.

Then choose another club and don't give them the money! Tryout somewhere else. Tryout season is just beginning.

But, by not doing so, then the problem is truly YOU, the parent. The club is there to take your money and WILL take your money and put your kid on some irrelevant team sharing a quarter of a field with another irrelevant team.

You folks act as if you have no choice in the matter.

We know a few kids that were offered top spots here and didn't accept. I used to wonder why until I came upon this thread. These people sound batshit crazy.

I'm guessing complaining is easier than having to commute somewhere else for some people. But at what point does all this craziness not filter to the kids?

It sure seems like a lot of stressing over what is supposed to be fun for the kids.

Most, not all, Arlington parents know little about soccer development before 13U. Very few are knowledgeable, have played the game, or have coached young children for any measure, and just throw their child into these massive organized carpools and don't come watch the trainings or various coaches. So they substitute team color, jersey#, and other team placement factors, like what tryout field a child is on, for their inability to gauge what they are getting for their money, particularly on the boys side where you see their ugly side come out in forums and they compare players in their quest to move up in the system, whether it be at tryouts now, or next year on a team. This continues as parents overly dwell on moving up to a higher color team and lobby coaches and TDs against other players and never question the organization. Making one of the top two teams of course doesn't mean their player is better, but it does confer some sort of social status that you see relfected even in the kids at school with their ASA patched Travel jackets. If these parents ever stepped back and studied what makes a player better come 13U, they would stop worrying about this bullshit, stop brown-nosing the TDs, and start doing some of the hard work outside the club on their own that actually makes a child love the game and get better at soccer.

This person nailed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. We're with Arlington and we love it - I haven't seen anything like what's being discussed here. The parents on our team and the parents that I meet at pooled practices and tournaments have been great, and I feel like the coaches, at least at our level, are more low-key than many we've played against. They seem to teach the younger kids the fundamentals without focusing on scoring. (which resulted in us getting absolutely crushed during our first 4 games our first season, but we're doing better now.)

I did find it kind of interesting that they started this Academy thing this year, identifying rec kids who played winter soccer for travel potential. The two Academy kids from our rec team are 2 of our best and the only ones trying out for travel this year, so the selection methodology seems appropriate.

I think the only downside is that they field so many teams at the lower level, that if you're on one of the 5th or 6th lowest teams, you are coming up against teams from BRYC and VYSA and VSA etc. who are probably just better teams. You can start to feel like cannon fodder. Plus you're seen as feeder material for the upper teams when they lose girls or need subs, so you end up playing tournaments and games with less than a full roster. It's hard to play for an hour with only 2 subs.

Just to clarify, Academy has been around for years in Arlington - the Advanced Academy concept is new. I believe the Arlington coaches from the normal Academy identified some kids to be invited to the Advanced Academy (no tryouts, but the coaches worked with the kids through Pre-Academy and Academy so could easily identify some talent without a tryout). The Advanced Academy then practiced over the Winter and this Spring (Winter soccer is through Arlington County, not ASA, and no ASA coaches attended the Arlington County Winter Games). Arlington Advanced Academy is definitely not as advanced as U8 Academy programs in McLean and Alexandria since it is only 1 practice a week with no games - so whatever insults you throw at Arlington parents, you can also apply to Alexandria and McLean parents about trying to advance their U8s.

There is a little craziness around the U9 tryouts everywhere since it is new to most of the kids and parents, and since half of their U9 boys in Arlington will get cut (unlike other programs that don't have the same numbers and 4/5ths will make the team) - and it was worse before the age change. But after U9 tryout, in the following years, much less stress and craziness. The parents I've met through ASA Travel have been great - not at all acting like this anonymous board reflects.

And yes, some of the lower teams for Arlington are cannon-fodder for other local leagues, but that is also true for others in the CCL league. Whereas Arlington's Elite players (Red and White) play in the CCL and CCLII leagues, their 2nd tier & 3rd tier teams (Blue/ Black and Gold/Silver) play in NCSL and ODSL. Many of the region's clubs who are not in CCL or CCLII play their top players in NCSL, whereas Arlington plays NCSL with its 22nd+ best players, so it is much tougher for Arlington, McLean, BRYC, LMVSC, etc.. to be competitive in those leagues. Yes, they divide NCSL and ODSL into different divisions - but it is hard for Arlington teams (and other CCL teams) to consistently be in the top NCSL / ODSL divisions. So if you are an Arlington Blue team in NCSL, you are playing against some of the best players in the area (just not the CCL leagues best players which are a small percent of the local leagues).

oh get over yourself. Really---you are using the term 'elite' players for U9 red and white players? My kid was on one of those teams and I never would use that term to describe a kid. Until a player is 17 ---nobody knows.

I shudder every single time I hear 'elite player', 'elite league', 'elite tournament'. Just wait to see where your little elite Messi ends up in the teen years. Mine don't think of themselves that way because we don't allow that kind of boastfulness and arrogance in our children--especially in elementary school. They know they need to work hard on their own for many years to ever earn that title---and that they may never and that's okay to.

Telling your kids they are 'elite' or 'special' at this age is a sure fire way to insure they never develop grit or a work ethic. At some point, my mom and dad are going to hit a wall. This is my problem with most of these big CCL clubs--their parent body talks like this and thinks this and many of the Clubs also treat the young players this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. We're with Arlington and we love it - I haven't seen anything like what's being discussed here. The parents on our team and the parents that I meet at pooled practices and tournaments have been great, and I feel like the coaches, at least at our level, are more low-key than many we've played against. They seem to teach the younger kids the fundamentals without focusing on scoring. (which resulted in us getting absolutely crushed during our first 4 games our first season, but we're doing better now.)

I did find it kind of interesting that they started this Academy thing this year, identifying rec kids who played winter soccer for travel potential. The two Academy kids from our rec team are 2 of our best and the only ones trying out for travel this year, so the selection methodology seems appropriate.

I think the only downside is that they field so many teams at the lower level, that if you're on one of the 5th or 6th lowest teams, you are coming up against teams from BRYC and VYSA and VSA etc. who are probably just better teams. You can start to feel like cannon fodder. Plus you're seen as feeder material for the upper teams when they lose girls or need subs, so you end up playing tournaments and games with less than a full roster. It's hard to play for an hour with only 2 subs.

Just to clarify, Academy has been around for years in Arlington - the Advanced Academy concept is new. I believe the Arlington coaches from the normal Academy identified some kids to be invited to the Advanced Academy (no tryouts, but the coaches worked with the kids through Pre-Academy and Academy so could easily identify some talent without a tryout). The Advanced Academy then practiced over the Winter and this Spring (Winter soccer is through Arlington County, not ASA, and no ASA coaches attended the Arlington County Winter Games). Arlington Advanced Academy is definitely not as advanced as U8 Academy programs in McLean and Alexandria since it is only 1 practice a week with no games - so whatever insults you throw at Arlington parents, you can also apply to Alexandria and McLean parents about trying to advance their U8s.

There is a little craziness around the U9 tryouts everywhere since it is new to most of the kids and parents, and since half of their U9 boys in Arlington will get cut (unlike other programs that don't have the same numbers and 4/5ths will make the team) - and it was worse before the age change. But after U9 tryout, in the following years, much less stress and craziness. The parents I've met through ASA Travel have been great - not at all acting like this anonymous board reflects.

And yes, some of the lower teams for Arlington are cannon-fodder for other local leagues, but that is also true for others in the CCL league. Whereas Arlington's Elite players (Red and White) play in the CCL and CCLII leagues, their 2nd tier & 3rd tier teams (Blue/ Black and Gold/Silver) play in NCSL and ODSL. Many of the region's clubs who are not in CCL or CCLII play their top players in NCSL, whereas Arlington plays NCSL with its 22nd+ best players, so it is much tougher for Arlington, McLean, BRYC, LMVSC, etc.. to be competitive in those leagues. Yes, they divide NCSL and ODSL into different divisions - but it is hard for Arlington teams (and other CCL teams) to consistently be in the top NCSL / ODSL divisions. So if you are an Arlington Blue team in NCSL, you are playing against some of the best players in the area (just not the CCL leagues best players which are a small percent of the local leagues).

At U9 and U10, the Red and White teams play CCL I so that the lead age group coach can attend both team's matches back to back. Not much difference there.

Blue plays CCL II however.

Black then plays NCSL.

I have no idea what Silver and Gold play. They are more like a development pool at U9 and U10, but probably something like ODSL for both.

Of course, it all changes at U11, which sounds like what you are describing above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. We're with Arlington and we love it - I haven't seen anything like what's being discussed here. The parents on our team and the parents that I meet at pooled practices and tournaments have been great, and I feel like the coaches, at least at our level, are more low-key than many we've played against. They seem to teach the younger kids the fundamentals without focusing on scoring. (which resulted in us getting absolutely crushed during our first 4 games our first season, but we're doing better now.)

I did find it kind of interesting that they started this Academy thing this year, identifying rec kids who played winter soccer for travel potential. The two Academy kids from our rec team are 2 of our best and the only ones trying out for travel this year, so the selection methodology seems appropriate.

I think the only downside is that they field so many teams at the lower level, that if you're on one of the 5th or 6th lowest teams, you are coming up against teams from BRYC and VYSA and VSA etc. who are probably just better teams. You can start to feel like cannon fodder. Plus you're seen as feeder material for the upper teams when they lose girls or need subs, so you end up playing tournaments and games with less than a full roster. It's hard to play for an hour with only 2 subs.

Just to clarify, Academy has been around for years in Arlington - the Advanced Academy concept is new. I believe the Arlington coaches from the normal Academy identified some kids to be invited to the Advanced Academy (no tryouts, but the coaches worked with the kids through Pre-Academy and Academy so could easily identify some talent without a tryout). The Advanced Academy then practiced over the Winter and this Spring (Winter soccer is through Arlington County, not ASA, and no ASA coaches attended the Arlington County Winter Games). Arlington Advanced Academy is definitely not as advanced as U8 Academy programs in McLean and Alexandria since it is only 1 practice a week with no games - so whatever insults you throw at Arlington parents, you can also apply to Alexandria and McLean parents about trying to advance their U8s.

There is a little craziness around the U9 tryouts everywhere since it is new to most of the kids and parents, and since half of their U9 boys in Arlington will get cut (unlike other programs that don't have the same numbers and 4/5ths will make the team) - and it was worse before the age change. But after U9 tryout, in the following years, much less stress and craziness. The parents I've met through ASA Travel have been great - not at all acting like this anonymous board reflects.

And yes, some of the lower teams for Arlington are cannon-fodder for other local leagues, but that is also true for others in the CCL league. Whereas Arlington's Elite players (Red and White) play in the CCL and CCLII leagues, their 2nd tier & 3rd tier teams (Blue/ Black and Gold/Silver) play in NCSL and ODSL. Many of the region's clubs who are not in CCL or CCLII play their top players in NCSL, whereas Arlington plays NCSL with its 22nd+ best players, so it is much tougher for Arlington, McLean, BRYC, LMVSC, etc.. to be competitive in those leagues. Yes, they divide NCSL and ODSL into different divisions - but it is hard for Arlington teams (and other CCL teams) to consistently be in the top NCSL / ODSL divisions. So if you are an Arlington Blue team in NCSL, you are playing against some of the best players in the area (just not the CCL leagues best players which are a small percent of the local leagues).

oh get over yourself. Really---you are using the term 'elite' players for U9 red and white players? My kid was on one of those teams and I never would use that term to describe a kid. Until a player is 17 ---nobody knows.

I shudder every single time I hear 'elite player', 'elite league', 'elite tournament'. Just wait to see where your little elite Messi ends up in the teen years. Mine don't think of themselves that way because we don't allow that kind of boastfulness and arrogance in our children--especially in elementary school. They know they need to work hard on their own for many years to ever earn that title---and that they may never and that's okay to.

Telling your kids they are 'elite' or 'special' at this age is a sure fire way to insure they never develop grit or a work ethic. At some point, my mom and dad are going to hit a wall. This is my problem with most of these big CCL clubs--their parent body talks like this and thinks this and many of the Clubs also treat the young players this way.

do they wear their ASA patched Travel jackets at school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. We're with Arlington and we love it - I haven't seen anything like what's being discussed here. The parents on our team and the parents that I meet at pooled practices and tournaments have been great, and I feel like the coaches, at least at our level, are more low-key than many we've played against. They seem to teach the younger kids the fundamentals without focusing on scoring. (which resulted in us getting absolutely crushed during our first 4 games our first season, but we're doing better now.)

I did find it kind of interesting that they started this Academy thing this year, identifying rec kids who played winter soccer for travel potential. The two Academy kids from our rec team are 2 of our best and the only ones trying out for travel this year, so the selection methodology seems appropriate.

I think the only downside is that they field so many teams at the lower level, that if you're on one of the 5th or 6th lowest teams, you are coming up against teams from BRYC and VYSA and VSA etc. who are probably just better teams. You can start to feel like cannon fodder. Plus you're seen as feeder material for the upper teams when they lose girls or need subs, so you end up playing tournaments and games with less than a full roster. It's hard to play for an hour with only 2 subs.

Just to clarify, Academy has been around for years in Arlington - the Advanced Academy concept is new. I believe the Arlington coaches from the normal Academy identified some kids to be invited to the Advanced Academy (no tryouts, but the coaches worked with the kids through Pre-Academy and Academy so could easily identify some talent without a tryout). The Advanced Academy then practiced over the Winter and this Spring (Winter soccer is through Arlington County, not ASA, and no ASA coaches attended the Arlington County Winter Games). Arlington Advanced Academy is definitely not as advanced as U8 Academy programs in McLean and Alexandria since it is only 1 practice a week with no games - so whatever insults you throw at Arlington parents, you can also apply to Alexandria and McLean parents about trying to advance their U8s.

There is a little craziness around the U9 tryouts everywhere since it is new to most of the kids and parents, and since half of their U9 boys in Arlington will get cut (unlike other programs that don't have the same numbers and 4/5ths will make the team) - and it was worse before the age change. But after U9 tryout, in the following years, much less stress and craziness. The parents I've met through ASA Travel have been great - not at all acting like this anonymous board reflects.

And yes, some of the lower teams for Arlington are cannon-fodder for other local leagues, but that is also true for others in the CCL league. Whereas Arlington's Elite players (Red and White) play in the CCL and CCLII leagues, their 2nd tier & 3rd tier teams (Blue/ Black and Gold/Silver) play in NCSL and ODSL. Many of the region's clubs who are not in CCL or CCLII play their top players in NCSL, whereas Arlington plays NCSL with its 22nd+ best players, so it is much tougher for Arlington, McLean, BRYC, LMVSC, etc.. to be competitive in those leagues. Yes, they divide NCSL and ODSL into different divisions - but it is hard for Arlington teams (and other CCL teams) to consistently be in the top NCSL / ODSL divisions. So if you are an Arlington Blue team in NCSL, you are playing against some of the best players in the area (just not the CCL leagues best players which are a small percent of the local leagues).

oh get over yourself. Really---you are using the term 'elite' players for U9 red and white players? My kid was on one of those teams and I never would use that term to describe a kid. Until a player is 17 ---nobody knows.

I shudder every single time I hear 'elite player', 'elite league', 'elite tournament'. Just wait to see where your little elite Messi ends up in the teen years. Mine don't think of themselves that way because we don't allow that kind of boastfulness and arrogance in our children--especially in elementary school. They know they need to work hard on their own for many years to ever earn that title---and that they may never and that's okay to.

Telling your kids they are 'elite' or 'special' at this age is a sure fire way to insure they never develop grit or a work ethic. At some point, my mom and dad are going to hit a wall. This is my problem with most of these big CCL clubs--their parent body talks like this and thinks this and many of the Clubs also treat the young players this way.

do they wear their ASA patched Travel jackets at school?

Out of all the information provided in that post, you attacked him since he said elite to distinguish some arlington teams from other arlington teams who all wear the same uniforms/patches. Elite is a common phrase when talking about top teams. you really have a sad chip on your shoulder. Feel sorry for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. We're with Arlington and we love it - I haven't seen anything like what's being discussed here. The parents on our team and the parents that I meet at pooled practices and tournaments have been great, and I feel like the coaches, at least at our level, are more low-key than many we've played against. They seem to teach the younger kids the fundamentals without focusing on scoring. (which resulted in us getting absolutely crushed during our first 4 games our first season, but we're doing better now.)

I did find it kind of interesting that they started this Academy thing this year, identifying rec kids who played winter soccer for travel potential. The two Academy kids from our rec team are 2 of our best and the only ones trying out for travel this year, so the selection methodology seems appropriate.

I think the only downside is that they field so many teams at the lower level, that if you're on one of the 5th or 6th lowest teams, you are coming up against teams from BRYC and VYSA and VSA etc. who are probably just better teams. You can start to feel like cannon fodder. Plus you're seen as feeder material for the upper teams when they lose girls or need subs, so you end up playing tournaments and games with less than a full roster. It's hard to play for an hour with only 2 subs.

Just to clarify, Academy has been around for years in Arlington - the Advanced Academy concept is new. I believe the Arlington coaches from the normal Academy identified some kids to be invited to the Advanced Academy (no tryouts, but the coaches worked with the kids through Pre-Academy and Academy so could easily identify some talent without a tryout). The Advanced Academy then practiced over the Winter and this Spring (Winter soccer is through Arlington County, not ASA, and no ASA coaches attended the Arlington County Winter Games). Arlington Advanced Academy is definitely not as advanced as U8 Academy programs in McLean and Alexandria since it is only 1 practice a week with no games - so whatever insults you throw at Arlington parents, you can also apply to Alexandria and McLean parents about trying to advance their U8s.

There is a little craziness around the U9 tryouts everywhere since it is new to most of the kids and parents, and since half of their U9 boys in Arlington will get cut (unlike other programs that don't have the same numbers and 4/5ths will make the team) - and it was worse before the age change. But after U9 tryout, in the following years, much less stress and craziness. The parents I've met through ASA Travel have been great - not at all acting like this anonymous board reflects.

And yes, some of the lower teams for Arlington are cannon-fodder for other local leagues, but that is also true for others in the CCL league. Whereas Arlington's Elite players (Red and White) play in the CCL and CCLII leagues, their 2nd tier & 3rd tier teams (Blue/ Black and Gold/Silver) play in NCSL and ODSL. Many of the region's clubs who are not in CCL or CCLII play their top players in NCSL, whereas Arlington plays NCSL with its 22nd+ best players, so it is much tougher for Arlington, McLean, BRYC, LMVSC, etc.. to be competitive in those leagues. Yes, they divide NCSL and ODSL into different divisions - but it is hard for Arlington teams (and other CCL teams) to consistently be in the top NCSL / ODSL divisions. So if you are an Arlington Blue team in NCSL, you are playing against some of the best players in the area (just not the CCL leagues best players which are a small percent of the local leagues).

oh get over yourself. Really---you are using the term 'elite' players for U9 red and white players? My kid was on one of those teams and I never would use that term to describe a kid. Until a player is 17 ---nobody knows.

I shudder every single time I hear 'elite player', 'elite league', 'elite tournament'. Just wait to see where your little elite Messi ends up in the teen years. Mine don't think of themselves that way because we don't allow that kind of boastfulness and arrogance in our children--especially in elementary school. They know they need to work hard on their own for many years to ever earn that title---and that they may never and that's okay to.

Telling your kids they are 'elite' or 'special' at this age is a sure fire way to insure they never develop grit or a work ethic. At some point, my mom and dad are going to hit a wall. This is my problem with most of these big CCL clubs--their parent body talks like this and thinks this and many of the Clubs also treat the young players this way.

do they wear their ASA patched Travel jackets at school?

Yes. With a single digit number so everyone knows their elite status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. We're with Arlington and we love it - I haven't seen anything like what's being discussed here. The parents on our team and the parents that I meet at pooled practices and tournaments have been great, and I feel like the coaches, at least at our level, are more low-key than many we've played against. They seem to teach the younger kids the fundamentals without focusing on scoring. (which resulted in us getting absolutely crushed during our first 4 games our first season, but we're doing better now.)

I did find it kind of interesting that they started this Academy thing this year, identifying rec kids who played winter soccer for travel potential. The two Academy kids from our rec team are 2 of our best and the only ones trying out for travel this year, so the selection methodology seems appropriate.

I think the only downside is that they field so many teams at the lower level, that if you're on one of the 5th or 6th lowest teams, you are coming up against teams from BRYC and VYSA and VSA etc. who are probably just better teams. You can start to feel like cannon fodder. Plus you're seen as feeder material for the upper teams when they lose girls or need subs, so you end up playing tournaments and games with less than a full roster. It's hard to play for an hour with only 2 subs.

Just to clarify, Academy has been around for years in Arlington - the Advanced Academy concept is new. I believe the Arlington coaches from the normal Academy identified some kids to be invited to the Advanced Academy (no tryouts, but the coaches worked with the kids through Pre-Academy and Academy so could easily identify some talent without a tryout). The Advanced Academy then practiced over the Winter and this Spring (Winter soccer is through Arlington County, not ASA, and no ASA coaches attended the Arlington County Winter Games). Arlington Advanced Academy is definitely not as advanced as U8 Academy programs in McLean and Alexandria since it is only 1 practice a week with no games - so whatever insults you throw at Arlington parents, you can also apply to Alexandria and McLean parents about trying to advance their U8s.

There is a little craziness around the U9 tryouts everywhere since it is new to most of the kids and parents, and since half of their U9 boys in Arlington will get cut (unlike other programs that don't have the same numbers and 4/5ths will make the team) - and it was worse before the age change. But after U9 tryout, in the following years, much less stress and craziness. The parents I've met through ASA Travel have been great - not at all acting like this anonymous board reflects.

And yes, some of the lower teams for Arlington are cannon-fodder for other local leagues, but that is also true for others in the CCL league. Whereas Arlington's Elite players (Red and White) play in the CCL and CCLII leagues, their 2nd tier & 3rd tier teams (Blue/ Black and Gold/Silver) play in NCSL and ODSL. Many of the region's clubs who are not in CCL or CCLII play their top players in NCSL, whereas Arlington plays NCSL with its 22nd+ best players, so it is much tougher for Arlington, McLean, BRYC, LMVSC, etc.. to be competitive in those leagues. Yes, they divide NCSL and ODSL into different divisions - but it is hard for Arlington teams (and other CCL teams) to consistently be in the top NCSL / ODSL divisions. So if you are an Arlington Blue team in NCSL, you are playing against some of the best players in the area (just not the CCL leagues best players which are a small percent of the local leagues).

oh get over yourself. Really---you are using the term 'elite' players for U9 red and white players? My kid was on one of those teams and I never would use that term to describe a kid. Until a player is 17 ---nobody knows.

I shudder every single time I hear 'elite player', 'elite league', 'elite tournament'. Just wait to see where your little elite Messi ends up in the teen years. Mine don't think of themselves that way because we don't allow that kind of boastfulness and arrogance in our children--especially in elementary school. They know they need to work hard on their own for many years to ever earn that title---and that they may never and that's okay to.

Telling your kids they are 'elite' or 'special' at this age is a sure fire way to insure they never develop grit or a work ethic. At some point, my mom and dad are going to hit a wall. This is my problem with most of these big CCL clubs--their parent body talks like this and thinks this and many of the Clubs also treat the young players this way.

do they wear their ASA patched Travel jackets at school?

Out of all the information provided in that post, you attacked him since he said elite to distinguish some arlington teams from other arlington teams who all wear the same uniforms/patches. Elite is a common phrase when talking about top teams. you really have a sad chip on your shoulder. Feel sorry for your kids.

Actually, not. At many clubs, they train more like an academy and don't single out a portion of their kids as "elite" and the Lower team kids as what "amateur", "novice"? I think part of the discord is coming from the fact that this caste system of players is happening at 7/8. This does not promote age group/club unity when you have a group of kids/parents at the youngest ages with many, many years of physical and technical development that think they are special, superior and better than the rest. Now I get why so many people are crazy if this is the way it works there. Poor kid that has to find out at age 13/14/15, he's not actually elite after all. No wonder parents are duking it out over there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. We're with Arlington and we love it - I haven't seen anything like what's being discussed here. The parents on our team and the parents that I meet at pooled practices and tournaments have been great, and I feel like the coaches, at least at our level, are more low-key than many we've played against. They seem to teach the younger kids the fundamentals without focusing on scoring. (which resulted in us getting absolutely crushed during our first 4 games our first season, but we're doing better now.)

I did find it kind of interesting that they started this Academy thing this year, identifying rec kids who played winter soccer for travel potential. The two Academy kids from our rec team are 2 of our best and the only ones trying out for travel this year, so the selection methodology seems appropriate.

I think the only downside is that they field so many teams at the lower level, that if you're on one of the 5th or 6th lowest teams, you are coming up against teams from BRYC and VYSA and VSA etc. who are probably just better teams. You can start to feel like cannon fodder. Plus you're seen as feeder material for the upper teams when they lose girls or need subs, so you end up playing tournaments and games with less than a full roster. It's hard to play for an hour with only 2 subs.

Just to clarify, Academy has been around for years in Arlington - the Advanced Academy concept is new. I believe the Arlington coaches from the normal Academy identified some kids to be invited to the Advanced Academy (no tryouts, but the coaches worked with the kids through Pre-Academy and Academy so could easily identify some talent without a tryout). The Advanced Academy then practiced over the Winter and this Spring (Winter soccer is through Arlington County, not ASA, and no ASA coaches attended the Arlington County Winter Games). Arlington Advanced Academy is definitely not as advanced as U8 Academy programs in McLean and Alexandria since it is only 1 practice a week with no games - so whatever insults you throw at Arlington parents, you can also apply to Alexandria and McLean parents about trying to advance their U8s.

There is a little craziness around the U9 tryouts everywhere since it is new to most of the kids and parents, and since half of their U9 boys in Arlington will get cut (unlike other programs that don't have the same numbers and 4/5ths will make the team) - and it was worse before the age change. But after U9 tryout, in the following years, much less stress and craziness. The parents I've met through ASA Travel have been great - not at all acting like this anonymous board reflects.

And yes, some of the lower teams for Arlington are cannon-fodder for other local leagues, but that is also true for others in the CCL league. Whereas Arlington's Elite players (Red and White) play in the CCL and CCLII leagues, their 2nd tier & 3rd tier teams (Blue/ Black and Gold/Silver) play in NCSL and ODSL. Many of the region's clubs who are not in CCL or CCLII play their top players in NCSL, whereas Arlington plays NCSL with its 22nd+ best players, so it is much tougher for Arlington, McLean, BRYC, LMVSC, etc.. to be competitive in those leagues. Yes, they divide NCSL and ODSL into different divisions - but it is hard for Arlington teams (and other CCL teams) to consistently be in the top NCSL / ODSL divisions. So if you are an Arlington Blue team in NCSL, you are playing against some of the best players in the area (just not the CCL leagues best players which are a small percent of the local leagues).

oh get over yourself. Really---you are using the term 'elite' players for U9 red and white players? My kid was on one of those teams and I never would use that term to describe a kid. Until a player is 17 ---nobody knows.

I shudder every single time I hear 'elite player', 'elite league', 'elite tournament'. Just wait to see where your little elite Messi ends up in the teen years. Mine don't think of themselves that way because we don't allow that kind of boastfulness and arrogance in our children--especially in elementary school. They know they need to work hard on their own for many years to ever earn that title---and that they may never and that's okay to.

Telling your kids they are 'elite' or 'special' at this age is a sure fire way to insure they never develop grit or a work ethic. At some point, my mom and dad are going to hit a wall. This is my problem with most of these big CCL clubs--their parent body talks like this and thinks this and many of the Clubs also treat the young players this way.

do they wear their ASA patched Travel jackets at school?

Out of all the information provided in that post, you attacked him since he said elite to distinguish some arlington teams from other arlington teams who all wear the same uniforms/patches. Elite is a common phrase when talking about top teams. you really have a sad chip on your shoulder. Feel sorry for your kids.

Actually, not. At many clubs, they train more like an academy and don't single out a portion of their kids as "elite" and the Lower team kids as what "amateur", "novice"? I think part of the discord is coming from the fact that this caste system of players is happening at 7/8. This does not promote age group/club unity when you have a group of kids/parents at the youngest ages with many, many years of physical and technical development that think they are special, superior and better than the rest. Now I get why so many people are crazy if this is the way it works there. Poor kid that has to find out at age 13/14/15, he's not actually elite after all. No wonder parents are duking it out over there.

Hey parents, it's simple.
Don't play travel soccer.
Don't accept your player's Big CCL club offer if you don't want to deal with the whole elite vs. bottom pool parents that may or may not be there.
No one is forcing you to do this.
Last thing needed are people taking these debates into the travel teams next year and crying about what uniform #s the club allotted to their team.
Just STFU please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Hey parents, it's simple.
Don't play travel soccer.
Don't accept your player's Big CCL club offer if you don't want to deal with the whole elite vs. bottom pool parents that may or may not be there.
No one is forcing you to do this.
Last thing needed are people taking these debates into the travel teams next year and crying about what uniform #s the club allotted to their team.
Just STFU please.

Geez, coach. Calm down. You'll still get your paycheck. Nothing wrong with parents trying to make informed decisions. Yeah, it means a lot of crap gets thrown around, too, but some of this discussion is valuable.

[Anonymous]

http://www.manassassoccerclub.com/traveteams
Friday May 12th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

asksoccernova wrote:There's a reason I didn't try to go play their sport... because it doesn't cross over. That's my point here - athleticism does not mean you are good at another sport. With all the athleticism that a soccer player has, you still can't dribble a basketball well or shoot accurately.

My point here is that the motor skills required to play soccer and other team sports do not cross over very well. The closest thing out there is NFL kickers.

This is why the American audience doesn't appreciate or understand the sport as much, the thought process behind it is different - it's a totally different game than the sports most people have grown up with.

If you don't think the skills required to play football, basketball, hockey, etc. Translate to soccer directly then I'm sorry to say that you simply are not a top level athlete and you have apparently never had the chance to spend time with one to discuss how sports work in their world. There's a reason Alexi Lalas was great at hockey, Steve Nash started as a serious soccer player, Rafael Nadal could have played pro soccer and Odell Beckham Junior could have played national team soccer. There's even a reason Tim Tebow is making a legit run at baseball. Great athletes are great athletes! They choose to train at a select sport because of interests, body types, family pressures, environment, opportunities and future aspirations. But apart from the bobby Hurley/Michael Bradley types who worked tirelessly and had a serious coach dad, I can almost guarantee that most world classs athletes at some point had to chose what they wanted to work toward dominating.

To put it another way. If Allen iverson or Dion Sanders grew with Bob Bradley as a dad, I'm 100% confident they would have been the best soccer players the US has ever produced- even while playing other sports.

The problem is you are still using a stopwatch, a ruler and a scale as your metrics. Would the US have spotted Messi or Cryuff? Because our sports require size and speed we tend to apply that to soccer when it doesn't. Until Jordan grew he was relegated to JV at his High School. That says all you need to know about how we select our athletes.

But, lets play along. Even if Dion Sanders picked up soccer at 13 today there is no chance that he becomes a world class talent. Even Dion Sanders would have had to start playing soccer at 5 like Messi did. Athleticism cannot overcome the thousands and thousands of touches required to have world class technical skill.

Do you think Messi is not fast and quick? Messi is one of the fastest and quickest players playing. Messi is an elite athlete. If Dion Sanders grow up in Argentina? The point is soccer in the US does not get the Messi. Anyways back to tryouts.

Who's Dion Sanders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

asksoccernova wrote:There's a reason I didn't try to go play their sport... because it doesn't cross over. That's my point here - athleticism does not mean you are good at another sport. With all the athleticism that a soccer player has, you still can't dribble a basketball well or shoot accurately.

My point here is that the motor skills required to play soccer and other team sports do not cross over very well. The closest thing out there is NFL kickers.

This is why the American audience doesn't appreciate or understand the sport as much, the thought process behind it is different - it's a totally different game than the sports most people have grown up with.

If you don't think the skills required to play football, basketball, hockey, etc. Translate to soccer directly then I'm sorry to say that you simply are not a top level athlete and you have apparently never had the chance to spend time with one to discuss how sports work in their world. There's a reason Alexi Lalas was great at hockey, Steve Nash started as a serious soccer player, Rafael Nadal could have played pro soccer and Odell Beckham Junior could have played national team soccer. There's even a reason Tim Tebow is making a legit run at baseball. Great athletes are great athletes! They choose to train at a select sport because of interests, body types, family pressures, environment, opportunities and future aspirations. But apart from the bobby Hurley/Michael Bradley types who worked tirelessly and had a serious coach dad, I can almost guarantee that most world classs athletes at some point had to chose what they wanted to work toward dominating.

To put it another way. If Allen iverson or Dion Sanders grew with Bob Bradley as a dad, I'm 100% confident they would have been the best soccer players the US has ever produced- even while playing other sports.

The problem is you are still using a stopwatch, a ruler and a scale as your metrics. Would the US have spotted Messi or Cryuff? Because our sports require size and speed we tend to apply that to soccer when it doesn't. Until Jordan grew he was relegated to JV at his High School. That says all you need to know about how we select our athletes.

But, lets play along. Even if Dion Sanders picked up soccer at 13 today there is no chance that he becomes a world class talent. Even Dion Sanders would have had to start playing soccer at 5 like Messi did. Athleticism cannot overcome the thousands and thousands of touches required to have world class technical skill.

Do you think Messi is not fast and quick? Messi is one of the fastest and quickest players playing. Messi is an elite athlete. If Dion Sanders grow up in Argentina? The point is soccer in the US does not get the Messi. Anyways back to tryouts.

Who's Dion Sanders?

Didn't he sing The Wanderer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Hey parents, it's simple.
Don't play travel soccer.
Don't accept your player's Big CCL club offer if you don't want to deal with the whole elite vs. bottom pool parents that may or may not be there.
No one is forcing you to do this.
Last thing needed are people taking these debates into the travel teams next year and crying about what uniform #s the club allotted to their team.
Just STFU please.

Geez, coach. Calm down. You'll still get your paycheck. Nothing wrong with parents trying to make informed decisions. Yeah, it means a lot of crap gets thrown around, too, but some of this discussion is valuable.

Sorry to disappoint you.
As PP said, you posters are batshit crazy.