Are you folks referring to BSC 2008 U11 Girls Team? |
Yes. |
Interesting. I thought that BSC is all about winning and joining competive leagues. I’ve only met a few BSC parents, but they seem so proud to be part of BSC. Their 2008G A Team is playing in EDP, while their B & C Teams are playing in OBSL. Maybe the B & C parents think their kids should play in a higher league?? |
| To their credit, I think Bethesda tries to match the appropriate competitive level to the pool of players. |
It's just that a lot of Bethesda parents don't agree with the coaches' assessments of their daughters' skill levels. |
While I completely agree with you, that’s a big gap of talent between the A Team vs B and C Teams (A Team in EDP while B/C Teams in OBSL). But then again, I’ve never seen the BSC 2008G Blue Team (ie A Team) play. Hence, I don’t know if they truly belong in EDP talent wise. Parents of B/C Teams might not be as mad if their daughters were in the CCL or NCSL Leagues. But I’m sure they are not happy to be in OBSL. |
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They now have 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 teams. 2003-2008 will play in EDP and 2009 will start in SAM Select for now. |
Check out Potomac, or at least check out one of their training sessions. Keeping it fun is a major focus, and I've found that it suits my DD. |
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We considered joining Potomac after my daughter got accepted to the Blue Team but she joined another team to play with her friends instead.
Both Coach Jason and Diallo seems to be good & knowledgeable coaches. |
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A team beat top level SAC team last year; played well against competitive teams in tournaments, won easier tournaments, though NCSL league was not competitive at the U10 age group. Of course, every year is different and Bethesda's early development model of rotate positions, no designated goalie until later, is a challenge sometimes against EDP teams with early specialization, Most B team players left for various reasons; main drain was a to a parent led effort with letter that recruited them said to play in more competitive level at high school through university level. That team made up of mainly Bethesda B team is now playing up an age group at U12 rather than U11 this year in EDP. Lost a large chunk of talent in B team and created a gap not filled by new players so created the situation this year. |
Not in that age group but know the situation. It’s more like the A team parents put up with stuff because their kids are on the A team. It happens at a lot of clubs. Some Blue team players are actively looking for a new club and many were hoping for a coaching changing that did not come. The B team lost like 8 of 12 girls?(end of season) and the A lost 3 over the season. The practices for the 2008g are joyless, lack play(ie risk taking), lots of yelling, dumbed down terminology(not even soccer terminology) and in general not fun. It does not seem age appropriate when compared to other clubs. At that age how long do girls keep playing if it is not enjoyable? This is why BSC has a reputation of burning kids out. In general, the people who left were looking for a positive training environment, more team play(ie passing), communication vs individual play. It’s a bad cultural and it’s not going to change. If it’s the only thing you know, you stay. Over all the team does not have the athleticism and skill of the bigger clubs in the area from top to bottom. Objectively, there are 3-4 girls on the A team who could make the first team at the larger clubs in the area. The others would be second or third team depending on the club. They just do not have the player depth. The BSC 2008g went scoreless in Richmond...so we will see how they do in the EDP. Though they say they do not try to win at that age except for tournaments. BSC is a really big club on the boys side but the girls side is like a very small club and lacks the numbers. Maybe they will be able to recruit a few more players, but GDA is starting to pick up speed in the 2007’s and below. |
You seem to be pretty knowledgeable of BSC. Do you have insight into MSI Academy 2008 U11 Girls as to how the coaching, practices and style of play? |
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We have a BSC girl who does NOT find Bethesda "joyless"; she can't wait to go to practice, see her friends, try new things and she likes her coach; makes her laugh and encourages her to try new things..
There is a poster who constantly posts about "joyless" soccer on any thread that brings up Bethesda thread; Constantly states that those families that stay, who put up with stuff just to be on the A team. Personally, If my kids do not enjoy their out of school activity, we move them appropriately. So no, we don't "put up with stuff" as this poster keeps saying. We have experienced many different sports cultures - so we know how things vary. we know what happens when you get to high school, college; how sometimes kids want to try different things, how some kids stay focused on a sport. Understand that there are many parents and kids who have different experiences - different teams, different coaches, different families, different expectations of their kids. I understand something was not a fit for some families for many reasons, but there are happy kids there too. but I agree 100% with this poster, Kids should be where they are happy - particularly at a young age in soccer. But that maybe different for different kids. Would suggest if anyone is considering any club in the area, go to practices, watch the kids, watch the coaches, talk to parents there, particularly those with multiple experiences. the good news is that in this area there are lot of clubs - and new clubs forming (great!) , different styles of training, size of club, commitment levels, etc |