DC United Academy - aa strong academy or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what league does DCUA play anyway? I don't see them anywhere in MLSN Academy standings or schedules. All other MLS Academy teams are participating in there.

They are in U16, U17, and U19

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what league does DCUA play anyway? I don't see them anywhere in MLSN Academy standings or schedules. All other MLS Academy teams are participating in there.

ECNL.

They are in MLSN. You just have to search for them by team name and use "D.C. United" in the club name field using the periods after D and C. You will find their scores and schedules from U16 and up. The younger ages don't have the scores posted. Purposefully.

[Anonymous]

And when you look up the schedule and results you will see very easily that the DCU teams are average at best. They don't dominate local teams and in the case of Alexandria and Bethesda, DCU lost more games than they won against these two local teams across three age groups. Meaning local teams fielded stronger teams than DCU did. DCU will say they played younger kids to develop them but that is bullsh#t. Younger kids may have been used to play the local clubs but end of day, they should still be dominating them. And when they don't, it is squarely on the club because with the talent they have assembled, they should be able to easily beat these local teams who train less, have less and have lower talent levels overall across their teams.

Against the MLS Academies it is pretty much the same. Philly Union blanked DCU across the three age groups and DCU didn't score one goal against them across three age groups. Toronto dominated them. As did St Louis and Chicago. DCU may win a game here and there in the younger ages but as they get older DCU is absolutely terrible...They are outclassed in every way. Mentality, technically, tactically, physically, structurally...everything. DCU can only produce results against average or weak teams. Against good teams that move the ball and actually play football, DCU has absolutely no chance. It is that bad.

DCU is really no better than your local club. Just has the MLS logo and MLS academy backing. Which is proving, in DCUs case, to be worth almost nothing.

[Anonymous]

New England Revolution also dominated DCU last weekend. Only the u19s won for DCU and that is mainly because most of the Revs talent at that age has moved up to MLS next pro. While DCUs talent is still playing youth soccer waiting to go to college because they don't have a second team for them to play on. DCUs u16s and u17 were outclassed at every single phase of the game. Same story every week...parents will still sign up for DCU because they chase perceived status. But if you are really serious about your son becoming a pro footballer, DCU cannot be your option. At least not for an extended period of time. Use them as a spring board to something better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New England Revolution also dominated DCU last weekend. Only the u19s won for DCU and that is mainly because most of the Revs talent at that age has moved up to MLS next pro. While DCUs talent is still playing youth soccer waiting to go to college because they don't have a second team for them to play on. DCUs u16s and u17 were outclassed at every single phase of the game. Same story every week...parents will still sign up for DCU because they chase perceived status. But if you are really serious about your son becoming a pro footballer, DCU cannot be your option. At least not for an extended period of time. Use them as a spring board to something better.

DCU has played 8 MLS academies this fall season across three age groups. U16, U17 and U19. That is 24 total games against MLS academies across the entire program in the fall. DCU has won 6 of those 24 games with half of those wins coming from their U19s which are competing against younger kids at the other MLS academies because their most talented players at that age are playing for those clubs second teams, which DCU does not have so they park all their oldest kids in u19 as they prepare for college. Whereas the other MLS academies have moved their top talents on to the next stage of the pro pathway at u19. The U17 2009 age group has won one game all season against MLS Academies and the u16 age group 2010 has won only two games. And in three matchups this season against MLS academies DCU could not produce a win across all three age groups (against Union, Toronto and Montreal ) These are the facts.

I could accept these statistics and losses IF the kids were developing and what you saw on the field was DCU trying to play football and teaching the kids how to be better at their craft. But this is not happening. Why losing is so much worse. They are losing AND not learning which is the worst of everything.

"But the younger teams are winning some games". This is what you'll hear repeatedly from the parents of DCU kids at those ages. To that I will say this...1. no one cares about u14 or u15 football. This is still kiddie football and you're not even close to understanding what real competition looks like yet. Not everyone has hit puberty, serious injuries are less common because most of the kids aren't powerful enough yet to really cause physical damage and 2. DCU always does well at the younger ages because they mostly (not always) take physically dominant kids at initial intake to the program. This physical advantage wears off fast at DCU because the kids don't learn anything and just rely on physicality and speed to get by. Why you see the results you see when the games start to matter more at the older ages.

This state of play will not change. Their bulls#t RDS money grab program which is literally only to make money, let's be clear about that. You have pretty much no chance of going through RDS and making DCU. The fact that they have no real u14 team but a 40+ player pool of kids that they work with sometimes and play some games. Great! The feelings that will be hurt when that player pool gets cut in half will be epic. Couple all of this with the state of play in the academy, which you have seen above, and you just have a really sad state of affairs.

When all the rich, elitist, snobs start realizing that DCU is not actually elite and it gives no real edges to their son, THEN and only then will DCU start to really crumble. From the outside in. Right now, rich people still believe DCU gives their son an edge in college entrance. But the reality is that you can achieve the same result and have a better player and better academic experience without DCU. When this notion becomes more accepted DCUs academy as we know it will literally collapse.

[Anonymous]

And against local teams, DCU has played 15 games across three age groups so far this fall. They have produced just 9 wins in those games. The majority of their wins (7) came against weaker programs like Beadling, Achilles and Sporting Athletic from Delaware. And all of those games they won were struggles or close by one goal. They were dominated by Bethesda and Alexandria. DCU produced 2 wins across 6 games against Bethesda and Alexandria. Whether those teams had older kids playing or not is really irrelevant. With the top talent in our area, DCU should be absolutely dominating local clubs. Less talent, less training, less emphasis on pro football at these clubs. But DCU can't dominate.

What all this means is that DCU is not giving your kid any edge when it comes to his development as a player. It is just that simple...

Pay close attention to the SYC and Armour games these next two weeks. None of the teams really play football but I can almost guarantee DCU will struggle with both clubs. At all ages groups. Maybe a win here a win there but no quality anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Against MLS academies this season DCU is:

U16 : 2-8
U17 : 1-8
U19 : 3-8

No way, you can call DCU a quality academy. MLS peers are just better at doing what they are doing. To lose like that AND not learn anything is really sad for the players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Against MLS academies this season DCU is:

U16 : 2-8
U17 : 1-8
U19 : 3-8

No way, you can call DCU a quality academy. MLS peers are just better at doing what they are doing. To lose like that AND not learn anything is really sad for the players.

Sorry the 16s and 19s did actually tie one on the matchups...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New England Revolution also dominated DCU last weekend. Only the u19s won for DCU and that is mainly because most of the Revs talent at that age has moved up to MLS next pro. While DCUs talent is still playing youth soccer waiting to go to college because they don't have a second team for them to play on. DCUs u16s and u17 were outclassed at every single phase of the game. Same story every week...parents will still sign up for DCU because they chase perceived status. But if you are really serious about your son becoming a pro footballer, DCU cannot be your option. At least not for an extended period of time. Use them as a spring board to something better.

DCU has played 8 MLS academies this fall season across three age groups. U16, U17 and U19. That is 24 total games against MLS academies across the entire program in the fall. DCU has won 6 of those 24 games with half of those wins coming from their U19s which are competing against younger kids at the other MLS academies because their most talented players at that age are playing for those clubs second teams, which DCU does not have so they park all their oldest kids in u19 as they prepare for college. Whereas the other MLS academies have moved their top talents on to the next stage of the pro pathway at u19. The U17 2009 age group has won one game all season against MLS Academies and the u16 age group 2010 has won only two games. And in three matchups this season against MLS academies DCU could not produce a win across all three age groups (against Union, Toronto and Montreal ) These are the facts.

I could accept these statistics and losses IF the kids were developing and what you saw on the field was DCU trying to play football and teaching the kids how to be better at their craft. But this is not happening. Why losing is so much worse. They are losing AND not learning which is the worst of everything.

"But the younger teams are winning some games". This is what you'll hear repeatedly from the parents of DCU kids at those ages. To that I will say this...1. no one cares about u14 or u15 football. This is still kiddie football and you're not even close to understanding what real competition looks like yet. Not everyone has hit puberty, serious injuries are less common because most of the kids aren't powerful enough yet to really cause physical damage and 2. DCU always does well at the younger ages because they mostly (not always) take physically dominant kids at initial intake to the program. This physical advantage wears off fast at DCU because the kids don't learn anything and just rely on physicality and speed to get by. Why you see the results you see when the games start to matter more at the older ages.

This state of play will not change. Their bulls#t RDS money grab program which is literally only to make money, let's be clear about that. You have pretty much no chance of going through RDS and making DCU. The fact that they have no real u14 team but a 40+ player pool of kids that they work with sometimes and play some games. Great! The feelings that will be hurt when that player pool gets cut in half will be epic. Couple all of this with the state of play in the academy, which you have seen above, and you just have a really sad state of affairs.

When all the rich, elitist, snobs start realizing that DCU is not actually elite and it gives no real edges to their son, THEN and only then will DCU start to really crumble. From the outside in. Right now, rich people still believe DCU gives their son an edge in college entrance. But the reality is that you can achieve the same result and have a better player and better academic experience without DCU. When this notion becomes more accepted DCUs academy as we know it will literally collapse.

These DCUMers really believe they need to be with a MLS Next badge club at age 8. I don't think you are going to win the war with them declining the DCU badge. Just like Pavlov's dogs, DCU rings and DCUMers will salivate and kiss the ring. People are simply too uneducated in this space or they don't really want to send their kids to the 3rd division of Germany, learn a new language, make more than in the MLS and have an invaluable life experience with the opportunity to earn their way to one of the top 5 leagues. That is too much risk and too foreign to them. I was recently told by an American with a German passport whose kid trialed in Germany that our kids are just too soft. We want Johnny to get into Princeton have a great college career, take over the family business or go to law school. They not interested in becoming footballers and the grind that entails.

Stay tuned though. There are some projects coming down the pipeline that are going to shake up our entire DMV club establishment and the stakeholders are connected to Philly Union. Get your popcorn ready because it is going to be fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And against local teams, DCU has played 15 games across three age groups so far this fall. They have produced just 9 wins in those games. The majority of their wins (7) came against weaker programs like Beadling, Achilles and Sporting Athletic from Delaware. And all of those games they won were struggles or close by one goal. They were dominated by Bethesda and Alexandria. DCU produced 2 wins across 6 games against Bethesda and Alexandria. Whether those teams had older kids playing or not is really irrelevant. With the top talent in our area, DCU should be absolutely dominating local clubs. Less talent, less training, less emphasis on pro football at these clubs. But DCU can't dominate.

What all this means is that DCU is not giving your kid any edge when it comes to his development as a player. It is just that simple...

Pay close attention to the SYC and Armour games these next two weeks. None of the teams really play football but I can almost guarantee DCU will struggle with both clubs. At all ages groups. Maybe a win here a win there but no quality anywhere.

for sure we armour cooking dcu this weekend. 5-1 final

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New England Revolution also dominated DCU last weekend. Only the u19s won for DCU and that is mainly because most of the Revs talent at that age has moved up to MLS next pro. While DCUs talent is still playing youth soccer waiting to go to college because they don't have a second team for them to play on. DCUs u16s and u17 were outclassed at every single phase of the game. Same story every week...parents will still sign up for DCU because they chase perceived status. But if you are really serious about your son becoming a pro footballer, DCU cannot be your option. At least not for an extended period of time. Use them as a spring board to something better.

DCU has played 8 MLS academies this fall season across three age groups. U16, U17 and U19. That is 24 total games against MLS academies across the entire program in the fall. DCU has won 6 of those 24 games with half of those wins coming from their U19s which are competing against younger kids at the other MLS academies because their most talented players at that age are playing for those clubs second teams, which DCU does not have so they park all their oldest kids in u19 as they prepare for college. Whereas the other MLS academies have moved their top talents on to the next stage of the pro pathway at u19. The U17 2009 age group has won one game all season against MLS Academies and the u16 age group 2010 has won only two games. And in three matchups this season against MLS academies DCU could not produce a win across all three age groups (against Union, Toronto and Montreal ) These are the facts.

I could accept these statistics and losses IF the kids were developing and what you saw on the field was DCU trying to play football and teaching the kids how to be better at their craft. But this is not happening. Why losing is so much worse. They are losing AND not learning which is the worst of everything.

"But the younger teams are winning some games". This is what you'll hear repeatedly from the parents of DCU kids at those ages. To that I will say this...1. no one cares about u14 or u15 football. This is still kiddie football and you're not even close to understanding what real competition looks like yet. Not everyone has hit puberty, serious injuries are less common because most of the kids aren't powerful enough yet to really cause physical damage and 2. DCU always does well at the younger ages because they mostly (not always) take physically dominant kids at initial intake to the program. This physical advantage wears off fast at DCU because the kids don't learn anything and just rely on physicality and speed to get by. Why you see the results you see when the games start to matter more at the older ages.

This state of play will not change. Their bulls#t RDS money grab program which is literally only to make money, let's be clear about that. You have pretty much no chance of going through RDS and making DCU. The fact that they have no real u14 team but a 40+ player pool of kids that they work with sometimes and play some games. Great! The feelings that will be hurt when that player pool gets cut in half will be epic. Couple all of this with the state of play in the academy, which you have seen above, and you just have a really sad state of affairs.

When all the rich, elitist, snobs start realizing that DCU is not actually elite and it gives no real edges to their son, THEN and only then will DCU start to really crumble. From the outside in. Right now, rich people still believe DCU gives their son an edge in college entrance. But the reality is that you can achieve the same result and have a better player and better academic experience without DCU. When this notion becomes more accepted DCUs academy as we know it will literally collapse.

These DCUMers really believe they need to be with a MLS Next badge club at age 8. I don't think you are going to win the war with them declining the DCU badge. Just like Pavlov's dogs, DCU rings and DCUMers will salivate and kiss the ring. People are simply too uneducated in this space or they don't really want to send their kids to the 3rd division of Germany, learn a new language, make more than in the MLS and have an invaluable life experience with the opportunity to earn their way to one of the top 5 leagues. That is too much risk and too foreign to them. I was recently told by an American with a German passport whose kid trialed in Germany that our kids are just too soft. We want Johnny to get into Princeton have a great college career, take over the family business or go to law school. They not interested in becoming footballers and the grind that entails.

Stay tuned though. There are some projects coming down the pipeline that are going to shake up our entire DMV club establishment and the stakeholders are connected to Philly Union. Get your popcorn ready because it is going to be fun.

I agree 1000 percent. The kids in this area are definitely super soft because they come from mostly comfy and spoiled backgrounds. And you're right most parents dont have the guts to take real risks in the pursuit of greatness. They are content to be just like everyone else and fit in. If you want to be elite it's just the wrong mindset and most parents in the DMV don't have this mindset and because of that can't pass it on to their kids in sport. Another reason why DCU is garbage. Recruits from alot of wealthy areas with soft talent pools. Football is grinding. They go hand in hand. DCU is by default not grinding. They don't grind at anything.

Not sure what you're talking about with respect to the shake up but no matter what, a shake up is absolutely needed in the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And against local teams, DCU has played 15 games across three age groups so far this fall. They have produced just 9 wins in those games. The majority of their wins (7) came against weaker programs like Beadling, Achilles and Sporting Athletic from Delaware. And all of those games they won were struggles or close by one goal. They were dominated by Bethesda and Alexandria. DCU produced 2 wins across 6 games against Bethesda and Alexandria. Whether those teams had older kids playing or not is really irrelevant. With the top talent in our area, DCU should be absolutely dominating local clubs. Less talent, less training, less emphasis on pro football at these clubs. But DCU can't dominate.

What all this means is that DCU is not giving your kid any edge when it comes to his development as a player. It is just that simple...

Pay close attention to the SYC and Armour games these next two weeks. None of the teams really play football but I can almost guarantee DCU will struggle with both clubs. At all ages groups. Maybe a win here a win there but no quality anywhere.

for sure we armour cooking dcu this weekend. 5-1 final

Not likely. Will probably be a 1 goal difference either way. All age groups. If I had to predict I would say u16s of DCU lose to armour 1-0. U17s also lose 2-1 and u19s win 3-2.

Scores will be about the same with syc but maybe slightly more goals overall because syc doesn't defend as well as armour.

[Anonymous]

Someone should definitely seek the help of a therapist to understand why the thought of successful parents with kids going to elite colleges gives them nightmares

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone should definitely seek the help of a therapist to understand why the thought of successful parents with kids going to elite colleges gives them nightmares

The incessant, repetitive, obsessed poster is making me wonder. How many of the professional players on the current USMNT are from uneducated lower-income families and backgrounds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone should definitely seek the help of a therapist to understand why the thought of successful parents with kids going to elite colleges gives them nightmares

No one has any issues with parents wanting their kids to go to elite schools. Do what is best for you. The issue is saturating our player pool in the professional pathway with kids that have no intention of becoming pros. Just stay in pay to play. You'll get the same result. Another reason why DCU sucks. Soft kids that don't really want it. But have entitled parents that think it gives them an edge.