Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Loudoun is the best Club in the area, and probably Virginia. They own CCL and have more nationaly ranked teams than other clubs. I don't really know why anyone would want to play for a BRYC or little SYA. I really just don't get it but Loudoun simply rocks.

I won't argue there What about Arlington and McLean? loudon too far to drive for u9 soccer for us. been told Arlingron rising and mclean falling, but no specifics

If you want the best you make the drive. And it is spelled L O U D O U N, Loudoun, not Loudon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Loudoun is the best Club in the area, and probably Virginia. They own CCL and have more nationaly ranked teams than other clubs. I don't really know why anyone would want to play for a BRYC or little SYA. I really just don't get it but Loudoun simply rocks.

So, is your plan to start a flame-war so you can come back and tell everyone how stupid they are for contributing to the posts that mention clubs by name? Don't you have anything better to do with your time than police this one thread on DCUM?

Don't hate. Sounds like you have an axe to grind against Loudoun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Loudoun is the best Club in the area, and probably Virginia. They own CCL and have more nationaly ranked teams than other clubs. I don't really know why anyone would want to play for a BRYC or little SYA. I really just don't get it but Loudoun simply rocks.

So, is your plan to start a flame-war so you can come back and tell everyone how stupid they are for contributing to the posts that mention clubs by name? Don't you have anything better to do with your time than police this one thread on DCUM?

Don't hate. Sounds like you have an axe to grind against Loudoun.

He is not hating, just calling you out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Loudoun is the best Club in the area, and probably Virginia. They own CCL and have more nationaly ranked teams than other clubs. I don't really know why anyone would want to play for a BRYC or little SYA. I really just don't get it but Loudoun simply rocks.

So, is your plan to start a flame-war so you can come back and tell everyone how stupid they are for contributing to the posts that mention clubs by name? Don't you have anything better to do with your time than police this one thread on DCUM?

Don't hate. Sounds like you have an axe to grind against Loudoun.

He is not hating, just calling you out.

I'm just telling people if they are looking for the best soccer club for their kid, where they can go. Great rec program, travel teams at all levels of play, they own their own complex, great talent pool to draw from. Their teams are recognized for being successful, they have a huge pool of licensed, quality coaches.

This is what people want to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be honest I am not surprised at what you describe. I have been a paid coach in this area for over a decade and that is what I usually see from Vienna players - they are the same players at 11 that they were at 9. The trainer + parent coach scenario usually does not work. 9-11 is a very important part of a player's development. To put a player with a disinterested trainer and then send him to matches with a well intentioned but inappropriate coach will not provide the player the development they need. These players should be playing with flair, taking players on, taking risks - it should be taught in training and reinforced/encouraged in the matches. Even if the trainer is teaching them foot skill at training, chances are the parent coach is discouraging it at the match, which makes it worthless.

Vienna is a place for decent coaches to grab an extra check - no real commitment, no real expectations, just show up, run a session, get paid. They have multiple coaching companies that provide coaches for different age groups, no real plan, vision, or cohesion.

Bethesda is the place to be right now - good coaches, best opportunities (until DCU at 12), largest player pool. Behind them, Loudoun, PWSI, and Arlington. All three have good coaches, a plan, stability, and good opportunities for players of every level. Arlington is really the only one from that group that may be doable for you.

The next step down would be McLean or BRYC (or Ashburn, but they are too far from you). Both have had a lot of turnover recently at the younger ages as far as coaches, so it is hard to see where they are headed. McLean has been a mess the past couple years politically, but the appointment of KK should bring a lot of positives into the situation.

If I were you I would take your son to Arlington, mclean, and BRYC for some training sessions (tell the coach you are unhappy with your current club, you would like to attend a training session to see if their club is a better fit prior to tryouts). Watch the session carefully - are they encouraging the boys to dribble and take chances? Are they constantly active and organized? Did your son learn anything in the session? Did he have fun? Watch the coach at a match - is it a screaming kickball fest or are the players creative with the ball? Is the coach telli.g the kids what decision to make on the field while they play or are the players making their own decisions and the coach provides feedback and guidance? Are the parents losing their minds giving instruction to the players?

Vienna has been a mess for a long time, it will not change any time soon. They are as big a club as McLean or BRYC and get similar, even better athletes, but the training and environment is such that those players either don't develop or they leave. The club has a ton of potential given the location and the players that start there, but there is no vision or leadership to bring about positive change - it's more about the parents, politics, and the money than the kids. There aren't enough parents that understand the game and youth development to know any better, so anyone with an accent can sell them a story.

As an aside - it's not about a college scholarship or making 50k in MLS. You want your kid to find a sport that they love and can keep for life. Sports build character and provide exercise, they teach you to manage time, push yourself, work with others, and deal with failure and feedback. Soccer can be that sport - but if the player isn't having fun and isn't getting the training to develop into a better player, they will stop having success, they will stop having fun, and they will stop playing.

VYS-bashing aside, anyone with knowledge of these clubs care to update this post from 2.5 years ago? Is Bethesda still the place to be? Is Loudoun indeed still among the best in Virginia?

[Anonymous]

That post might as well be about fifteenth-century archery, considering how much has changed. KK at McLean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That post might as well be about fifteenth-century archery, considering how much has changed. KK at McLean?

Yeah, that lasted a while, didn't it?

On the other posts -- I cannot imagine a scenario in which a U9 player in Arlington would go to play at Loudoun, and I say that as a Loudoun fan. There's absolutely no guarantee that your U9 coach at Loudoun is going to be sooooo much better than your coach at Arlington that you have to drive an hour for every practice for the rest of your kid's childhood.

I would venture to say most of the parents who would even consider doing that are deluding themselves about their kid's soccer future. You can't tell a heck of a lot at age 8. Wait until they hit that growth spurt and turn clumsy for a few months in early puberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That post might as well be about fifteenth-century archery, considering how much has changed. KK at McLean?

Yeah, that lasted a while, didn't it?

On the other posts -- I cannot imagine a scenario in which a U9 player in Arlington would go to play at Loudoun, and I say that as a Loudoun fan. There's absolutely no guarantee that your U9 coach at Loudoun is going to be sooooo much better than your coach at Arlington that you have to drive an hour for every practice for the rest of your kid's childhood.

I would venture to say most of the parents who would even consider doing that are deluding themselves about their kid's soccer future. You can't tell a heck of a lot at age 8. Wait until they hit that growth spurt and turn clumsy for a few months in early puberty.

Then you simply do not want the best for your kid and that is fine. That is what we want to know right? Who is the best? Loudoun simply checks all the boxes necessary to be the best. Not my fault if folks can't drive out there. It is a shame too, because Loudoun would be even better if more kids from other clubs did drive out to Loudoun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That post might as well be about fifteenth-century archery, considering how much has changed. KK at McLean?

Yeah, that lasted a while, didn't it?

On the other posts -- I cannot imagine a scenario in which a U9 player in Arlington would go to play at Loudoun, and I say that as a Loudoun fan. There's absolutely no guarantee that your U9 coach at Loudoun is going to be sooooo much better than your coach at Arlington that you have to drive an hour for every practice for the rest of your kid's childhood.

I would venture to say most of the parents who would even consider doing that are deluding themselves about their kid's soccer future. You can't tell a heck of a lot at age 8. Wait until they hit that growth spurt and turn clumsy for a few months in early puberty.

So what would you tell a parent of a talented U9-U12 kid who couldn't make it out and play for Loudoun, but is otherwise talented enough to play for their Red team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That post might as well be about fifteenth-century archery, considering how much has changed. KK at McLean?

Yeah, that lasted a while, didn't it?

On the other posts -- I cannot imagine a scenario in which a U9 player in Arlington would go to play at Loudoun, and I say that as a Loudoun fan. There's absolutely no guarantee that your U9 coach at Loudoun is going to be sooooo much better than your coach at Arlington that you have to drive an hour for every practice for the rest of your kid's childhood.

I would venture to say most of the parents who would even consider doing that are deluding themselves about their kid's soccer future. You can't tell a heck of a lot at age 8. Wait until they hit that growth spurt and turn clumsy for a few months in early puberty.

Then you simply do not want the best for your kid ...

Yes I do. And spending six weeknight hours per week in a car getting to and from practice in Loudoun when there are perfectly good programs in Arlington (or BRYC, or a few others) is not "the best."

So what would you tell a parent of a talented U9-U12 kid who couldn't make it out and play for Loudoun, but is otherwise talented enough to play for their Red team?

I'd say if your kid is still at that level at U14 and willing to make that sort of commitment, go for it. Though I'd wonder if that kid would be better off at D.C. United, which is at a higher level AND closer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That post might as well be about fifteenth-century archery, considering how much has changed. KK at McLean?

Yeah, that lasted a while, didn't it?

On the other posts -- I cannot imagine a scenario in which a U9 player in Arlington would go to play at Loudoun, and I say that as a Loudoun fan. There's absolutely no guarantee that your U9 coach at Loudoun is going to be sooooo much better than your coach at Arlington that you have to drive an hour for every practice for the rest of your kid's childhood.

I would venture to say most of the parents who would even consider doing that are deluding themselves about their kid's soccer future. You can't tell a heck of a lot at age 8. Wait until they hit that growth spurt and turn clumsy for a few months in early puberty.

So what would you tell a parent of a talented U9-U12 kid who couldn't make it out and play for Loudoun, but is otherwise talented enough to play for their Red team?

my original queston too about Loudon/ LoudoUn . . .

[Anonymous]

At those young ages who the heck would drive over an hour for soccer practice? That is insanity. You still have to squeeze in academics..perhaps that is a secondary priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At those young ages who the heck would drive over an hour for soccer practice? That is insanity. You still have to squeeze in academics..perhaps that is a secondary priority.

And other activities. It's the perfect age to learn music, dance, another sport, etc. You don't want to spend your entire childhood on nothing but school, soccer and NoVa traffic.

[Anonymous]

Please don't talk about dance and music here. This is a thread about travel soccer; if you want your kid to do competing activities, just have him play house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny stuff here:
https://twitter.com/BabbittCGroup/status/790365236939358209

Love his (Bad Hombre's) tagline ... fixing coaches mistakes since 2007