Villarreal Virginia Academy: imploding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are not in ECNL at all except for the “regional” badge for all VPL teams.

They are ECNL teams...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not in ECNL at all except for the “regional” badge for all VPL teams.

They are ECNL teams...

Can I find the club on the ECNL site? Please respond with a link if so

[Anonymous]

They are not ECNL
Mclean and BRYC are your local ECNL teams as an example

viilareal was a VPL team. VPL acquired by ECNL so ECNL brought the league under their umbrella and called it ECNLR. In short they are all the former VPL clubs now with a different name. dont let the letters fool you.

Go ask Mclean or BRYC if Villareal is an ECNL club?
of better yet just look at the teams Villareal plays against, then you will have a very clear picture of where they stand. They play much lower level. much lower

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are not ECNL
Mclean and BRYC are your local ECNL teams as an example

viilareal was a VPL team. VPL acquired by ECNL so ECNL brought the league under their umbrella and called it ECNLR. In short they are all the former VPL clubs now with a different name. dont let the letters fool you.

Go ask Mclean or BRYC if Villareal is an ECNL club?
of better yet just look at the teams Villareal plays against, then you will have a very clear picture of where they stand. They play much lower level. much lower

This is sort of a distinction without a difference. Are clubs in CCL2 considered CCL clubs? They don't play the same schedule. Are they the same level? No, but they're still CCL teams.

If the girls are ECNL regional then they are ECNL. They may not at the top of the league. But they're still under the umbrella. Not sure why you wouldn't concede that. Nobody is saying Villarreal is equal to McLean or BRYC. But I guess it is easier to look down on others than acknowledge the facts.

[Anonymous]

Acknowledged they are ECNLR

[Anonymous]

Is Villareal and academy program of the pro team? Their name implies it yet we all know the truth behind that marketing ploy. Lets be honest they have no true connection to the club beyond a marketing arrangement yet the club presents it so the parents and players think they are part of something Professional and bigger than Annandale Boys Girls Club.

So now they are VPL playing against competition that is not at all highly ranked in the area. ECNL acquires VPL. Are we now to believe they are an ECNL caliber organization because they now have an ECNLR patch. Players and parents are being told and telling people they play for ECNL when we all know the club is just playing VPL with a new name.

So once again, acknowledged they play ECNLR. Please stop trying to make it look like they are an ECNL program.

[Anonymous]

They’ve always been pretty good about selling a subpar product, such as when they were “affiliated” with DCU, or when they first became VIVA. “ECNL” is just the new iteration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Villareal and academy program of the pro team? Their name implies it yet we all know the truth behind that marketing ploy. Lets be honest they have no true connection to the club beyond a marketing arrangement yet the club presents it so the parents and players think they are part of something Professional and bigger than Annandale Boys Girls Club.

So now they are VPL playing against competition that is not at all highly ranked in the area. ECNL acquires VPL. Are we now to believe they are an ECNL caliber organization because they now have an ECNLR patch. Players and parents are being told and telling people they play for ECNL when we all know the club is just playing VPL with a new name.

So once again, acknowledged they play ECNLR. Please stop trying to make it look like they are an ECNL program.

Who was arguing that they are a top-flight ECNL club? Get you look down on the club but you’re misinformed of its relationship with the club in Spain. There’s a lot of interaction with coaches and education. You can have your own value judgement on where it stands in the hierarchy of dc soccer. Not sure what the need is to denigrate. If they’re so small potatoes, let them do their thing. They’re no threat. And there’s little evidence the club or parents are bragging about how great they are.

[Anonymous]

Youth soccer match fixing for profit is big business in Virginia. You have a fairly large group of coaches spread throughout the state that are not really good coaches but parents don't really know that so they continue to pay these coaches....that's why U.S soccer sucks compared to the rest of the world.

[Anonymous]

Yes absolutely, the youth soccer match fixers are Lula, Bo, Grant, Gayle, Curtis, Matt and many more....boycott all VYSA sanctioned soccer and create a new state league that places ACTUAL player development as opposed to youth soccer match fixing for profit......in order to promote ACTUAL player development, that means the coaches have to be able to demonstrate the techniques of the game. For example, if you are unable to shoot a basketball, a youth basketball player would suffer from being under your instruction week after week after week......after several years, there would be a strong likelihood that the player would not know how to shoot a basketball properly because they have been under your instruction and you were unable to properly demonstrate the techniques of the game. Get these people out of youth soccer for the betterment of the children.

[Anonymous]

Strong accusations made above. What’s the basis for this on a thread that seemingly doesn’t warrant said attacks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strong accusations made above. What’s the basis for this on a thread that seemingly doesn’t warrant said attacks?

Anyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Strong accusations made above. What’s the basis for this on a thread that seemingly doesn’t warrant said attacks?

Anyone?

I assume many of us still have kids that play, likely under many of those listed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Strong accusations made above. What’s the basis for this on a thread that seemingly doesn’t warrant said attacks?

Anyone?

I assume many of us still have kids that play, likely under many of those listed.

I have never seen an actual "affiliation" with a foreign pro club work in any real way. The list of dead on arrival, broken promises, and piles of cashed checks is endless just in the DC region. Crystal Palace USA. Chelsea at CASL. West Ham on anything Mo publishes. Arsenal at Richmond and then FCV. Villarreal etc. Locally D.C. United and Washington Spirit have both had summer league teams and affiliations that lead people to believe there was a real connection to the pro teams.

It's ALL MARKETING.

The pro clubs do it to build their brand and are fooled by smooth talkers that claim to know the US youth talent market. The smooth talkers in the US do it because they need a brand to "sell" to parents because their actual organizational skills and ability to build a true player development system is completely missing. They jump from job to job or deal to deal always looking for an angle or an edge as if they're running a company (and most of them are simultaneously involved in selling some sort of coaching solution, player training system, management software on the side). They also have no problem selling players of "additional specialty training" who are already paying a fee to play in their club TO BE DEVELOPED.

Then look at a Pipeline. Started from scratch less than 10 years ago and already a powerhouse with real track record of development. Loudoun, Bethesda, McLean, Arlington.. those clubs aren't announcing a new deal every other year, they just produce or polish off player after player with above-board communication and real pathways.

The inferiority complexes run very very deep with some, and instead of just focusing on the player and delivering promised value of TEACHING and FITNESS and FUN, they are always pretending to be one deal away from finding the end of the rainbow. And the parents are all caught in the middle or feeding the frenzy with their own egos willing to believe the smooth talk.

The Big 10 clubs in the DC market are like the S&P 500. Not always a lot of sizzle, but a consistent performance that beats almost every day trader and fund manager every year. Then there are the mom and pops that know their place and serve the non-profit missions without all the marketing. The rest are all fighting to be seen as the Tesla of the day and win some imaginary race to glory. Some kids do great, but far more are churned through for the $ never reach their potential as a result.

[Anonymous]

That pretty much sums it up. DD was at ABGC before and after the transition, and the players didnt really get anything out of it, other than higher fees and being forced into low-rent kits and other gear. Yes, they took a group of kids to Spain every summer (pre-COVID) and did some coachng exchanges and the VA staff was briefed on the Villareal "system", but it was a marketing scheme by VFC to gain recognition in the US market.

That said, it wasnt the partnership that unlitmately decimated the club (at least on the girls side), It was bad coaching staff, compounded by the VIVA/ABGC fight, which created a ton of uncertainty and forced smart families to flee last summer for more stable situations.