DC Soccer Club

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCSC runs a reasonable rec program and should stick to that. Their travel program has never been good. I realize it is a cash cow, but if they just did rec they could have a dramatically smaller staff and just do what they do reasonably well and don't have much competition for. There is no reason a competent soccer player would not move to Achilles, Bethesda, Arlington, or Alexandria unless their family is really unwilling to drive to practices. Carpool! There are a ton of DC families in all those clubs and their teams are much better.

For me, while my child is playing up an age, I’m not worried about the scholarships, competitiveness or anything else and my son is a solid player. He loves the game and I support that over playing video games etc. Maybe some families are looking for their child to go pro and that’s few and far between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCSC runs a reasonable rec program and should stick to that. Their travel program has never been good. I realize it is a cash cow, but if they just did rec they could have a dramatically smaller staff and just do what they do reasonably well and don't have much competition for. There is no reason a competent soccer player would not move to Achilles, Bethesda, Arlington, or Alexandria unless their family is really unwilling to drive to practices. Carpool! There are a ton of DC families in all those clubs and their teams are much better.

For me, while my child is playing up an age, I’m not worried about the scholarships, competitiveness or anything else and my son is a solid player. He loves the game and I support that over playing video games etc. Maybe some families are looking for their child to go pro and that’s few and far between.

Your kid just plays for fun but you needed to tell us he plays up a year? Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The timeline as I understand it is:
MA sent those txts to TW
Months later, TW steals data and DCSC finds out
TW panicked and claimed SA

Harassment not assault but yes, that's correct. He stole the clubs data to set up a rival club while still employed by DCSC.

[Anonymous]

The incident where a female superior invited a married male subordinate to share a hotel room raises serious concerns, especially in a youth sports organization like DCSC, which is trusted with the care of children.

Regardless of legal definitions, the behavior is clearly inappropriate, crosses professional boundaries, and involves a clear power imbalance.

What’s more troubling is that DCSC leadership failed to follow SafeSport’s mandatory reporting protocols, a serious breach of duty in any child-centered environment.

By not addressing the situation, DCSC risks creating an unsafe and unprofessional culture. In youth sports, trust, safety, and accountability are non-negotiable. This failure demands immediate review and action.

[Anonymous]

I hope Tom's lawyer is billing him for all these posts. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope Tom's lawyer is billing him for all these posts. LOL

Well, at the very least, it will cost far less than what DCSC is spending on legal fees to cover the situation Michelle Alioto created, using DCSC families’ money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCSC runs a reasonable rec program and should stick to that. Their travel program has never been good. I realize it is a cash cow, but if they just did rec they could have a dramatically smaller staff and just do what they do reasonably well and don't have much competition for. There is no reason a competent soccer player would not move to Achilles, Bethesda, Arlington, or Alexandria unless their family is really unwilling to drive to practices. Carpool! There are a ton of DC families in all those clubs and their teams are much better.

For me, while my child is playing up an age, I’m not worried about the scholarships, competitiveness or anything else and my son is a solid player. He loves the game and I support that over playing video games etc. Maybe some families are looking for their child to go pro and that’s few and far between.

Your kid just plays for fun but you needed to tell us he plays up a year? Lol

He does and yes.

[Anonymous]

DC soccer has just settlements like candy. The leadership's skills are truly awe-inspiring. In the last twenty years, DC has been the undisputed champion, leaving GFRS in the dust. Their player development reputation is just as impeccable as their lawsuit settlement prowess. With an Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer, Soccer Director, Technical Director, Boys Director, Girls Director, surely, with all that brainpower, they'll easily dig themselves out of the mess they've created. How many other clubs can boast such a long list of issues and directors in the last 5 to 10 years like DCSC? Who's really in charge here? As long as they (executive director, chief entertainment officer or CXO, technical director, soccer director, boys director) are giving spots to Dave Wakerman's son on the top team, I'm sure everything will magically improves or stays the same!

[Anonymous]

What is really intriguing is it sounds like DC Soccer could have let Walsh leave and have his own club. Why bully the little guy with a few hundred players and allow this to explode.

DC Elite is a small club too and we, too, have our issues, but this is pure mayhem.

DC Soccer’s name is tarnished in this city for a while now for putting business before kids and for allowing supervisors to get away with being abusive to subordinates with no repercussions.

There are too many great options in this city with PPA, Bethesda, Achilles, Arlington, etc. to be allowing this bs to occur behind closed doors and now in the wide open.

PS, the rec program under Jane has been thriving and now she is leaving the club. Our youngest was going to do rec again until all of this unfolded. DC Elite has been a much better experience.

How many directors is this club going to go through?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is really intriguing is it sounds like DC Soccer could have let Walsh leave and have his own club. Why bully the little guy with a few hundred players and allow this to explode.

DC Elite is a small club too and we, too, have our issues, but this is pure mayhem.

DC Soccer’s name is tarnished in this city for a while now for putting business before kids and for allowing supervisors to get away with being abusive to subordinates with no repercussions.

There are too many great options in this city with PPA, Bethesda, Achilles, Arlington, etc. to be allowing this bs to occur behind closed doors and now in the wide open.

PS, the rec program under Jane has been thriving and now she is leaving the club. Our youngest was going to do rec again until all of this unfolded. DC Elite has been a much better experience.

How many directors is this club going to go through?

Accurate post. I just wanted to clean up the clubs. PPA teams will often practice in MoCo. Bethesda exclusively practices in MoCo and as far as Gaithersburg. Both clubs have a lot of DC families however and are great options but just be prepared as most clubs don’t have permits solidified to know where they will practice when they are asking for your signature after tryouts.

Other DC clubs families should consider include Washington Capital United,
DC Way, DC Armory, DC XI and City Sporting. Any kid starting out would be best served at one of these small clubs getting actual playing time and quality instruction versus a 3rd or lower team at a big club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The timeline as I understand it is:
MA sent those txts to TW
Months later, TW steals data and DCSC finds out
TW panicked and claimed SA

Harassment not assault but yes, that's correct. He stole the clubs data to set up a rival club while still employed by DCSC.

If this is the root of the whole saga, I care even less about it than I thought. (And I have two kids playing for DCSC.) Can we not all just move on? Who cares what he stole? It obviously didn’t work.

[Anonymous]

I have one kid who still plays rec with them to play with his school friends. All kids play travel for another club. I did not know Tom at all before but got his weird email with texts from his case which was strange at best. Seems like a mess all around. Club looks bad and can't seem to improve on or off the field, board seems disengaged, and Tom seems crazy for emailing everyone in the world instead of just resolving what may be a legitimate complaint in court. I think this will be our last season in this mess.

[Anonymous]

Are their travel teams doing any better this year?

[Anonymous]

The older ECNLR teams seem to be, but that might be a function of the new MLSN and MLSN2 expansion and extra GA badges. Kids who can play of both genders moved out of ECNLR to try to play one of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are their travel teams doing any better this year?

As noted above, dilution has hit every club in the DMV except SYC.

They attract IG-thirsty Moms and have a specific model for winning which hurts the kids development which those unsuspecting parents do not understand.

Focus on whether the kids are learning in every session and enjoying the game.