What's going on with FCBEscola NOVA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yea, likewise I’m just trying to have a reasonable conversation with you about styles of play and defensive mids. I hope you didn’t take what o said as hostility and I hope it helps you with the peace you’re releasing on a double pivot. It’s always great to see people like you who are willing to have a chat and share thoughts without getting defensive.

Take what I said*

Piece you’re releasing*

[Anonymous]

Since there is quite a bit of sensitivity here about “throwing shade” and any negative comments concerning the Escola, I think it would behoove the poster (or posters) here who are sensitive to it, and others who are trying to figure out the dysfunction of this board, to understand what may be happening.

We notice that the same type of poster, if not the same poster, who posts all of the glorious praise of this program, in this thread, also starts numerous attack threads with the “why US Soccer and any program in the US sucks” theme. By the way, it’s obvious--same opinions, same sentence construction, even the wording is the same. They even spin off individual posts within the attack threads to start new attack threads. They carefully craft numerous arguments to bolster whatever the specific opinion might be, for example US women’s soccer is in the tank (oh, please), then at some point in these attack threads a post is made to point out that, hey, the Escola isn’t like that at all, it’s SO much better.

In addition, anyone who has any opinion of the Escola that could be construed as slightly negative, including several posters in this and previous Escola threads who have said they have had DCs in the program, is rudely dismissed. Even posters who simply ask related questions or make comments on the dialogue are drawn through the mud.

The opinion of former/current Escola customers that don’t agree with yours are just as valid. Rather than starting wars over which training methods are “better” or making the absurd claim that, just because the programs you have had experience with haven’t been up to your standard/benefitted your DC, all programs in the US are awful, maybe you (whether you are a single individual or small group, whatever) could keep to posting just your positive opinions about the Escola in this thread. And if a thread comes up about a specific program that you actually had experience with, comment on the good and bad of that program. And to repeat, it’s absolutely absurd to think that you have deep knowledge of every program in the area and can definitively say that the Escola is better than all.

The main point is simple, no more flamethrower posts about the various local DA and ECNL programs, full of inaccurate/incomplete or out of context information, with constant begging the question of which exact group you were with (it’s obvious you weren’t to people who are with those groups). Fire begets fire on these anonymous boards, and if you don’t like “shade” thrown at you, don’t throw it. I’ll wager that if you keep to this thread with your Escola love and stop your battery of attacks on US soccer, things might get friendlier across the board.

[Anonymous]

Nobody is saying that it’s better than all, it just tries to do its own thing, and people scoff at it. You need to relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody is saying that it’s better than all, it just tries to do its own thing, and people scoff at it. You need to relax.

Agree. Sorry, I think the “shade” comment must have hit a nerve. Oops. I just found it weird people come on a club specific thread to atttack a program they know nothing about. And, keep coming back to put down kids in the program.

To RSD, just curious why you keep coming to this specific thread. I know you are against pay-to-play. Are you against the idea of any foreign Club training American kids? I know there are people that like to perpetuate the $ grab thing, but every travel club in the US is doing that. I’m not asking this to antagonize and I’m not referring to you when I mention putting children down. I’m truly curious of your motives. Maybe you are just curious. But, if so, why is it assumed people are lying if they give a response that they love it? And, why do you not answer the posts that go into detail about tactical differences, etc., but instead focus on the extraneous stuff?

The people are professionals and great with the kids. I have read many different posts that concur with my views and they certainly were not all written by me.

[Anonymous]

To the long-winded poster, I saw a topic thread blaming parents for US soccer’s failures. I think you are reading things with your own biases. There are many varied opinions and topic threads on this forum. I am sure there is more than one poster that thinks we’ve been headed in the wrong direction for some time now, as well as some that want to pin everything on the parents.

[Anonymous]

I think what brought people out of the woodwork a few pages back was the poster pretending to be a disgruntled former FCB parent that knew so little about the program and had so many details incorrect that it was quite obvious they never had a child in the program. You get that as well. Take everything you read on the Internet with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

I’m not able to see the exp brackets at all. Can someone cut and paste it? Maybe for just an age group or two? I’m just curious to see how it lines up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since there is quite a bit of sensitivity here about “throwing shade” and any negative comments concerning the Escola, I think it would behoove the poster (or posters) here who are sensitive to it, and others who are trying to figure out the dysfunction of this board, to understand what may be happening.

We notice that the same type of poster, if not the same poster, who posts all of the glorious praise of this program, in this thread, also starts numerous attack threads with the “why US Soccer and any program in the US sucks” theme. By the way, it’s obvious--same opinions, same sentence construction, even the wording is the same. They even spin off individual posts within the attack threads to start new attack threads. They carefully craft numerous arguments to bolster whatever the specific opinion might be, for example US women’s soccer is in the tank (oh, please), then at some point in these attack threads a post is made to point out that, hey, the Escola isn’t like that at all, it’s SO much better.

In addition, anyone who has any opinion of the Escola that could be construed as slightly negative, including several posters in this and previous Escola threads who have said they have had DCs in the program, is rudely dismissed. Even posters who simply ask related questions or make comments on the dialogue are drawn through the mud.

The opinion of former/current Escola customers that don’t agree with yours are just as valid. Rather than starting wars over which training methods are “better” or making the absurd claim that, just because the programs you have had experience with haven’t been up to your standard/benefitted your DC, all programs in the US are awful, maybe you (whether you are a single individual or small group, whatever) could keep to posting just your positive opinions about the Escola in this thread. And if a thread comes up about a specific program that you actually had experience with, comment on the good and bad of that program. And to repeat, it’s absolutely absurd to think that you have deep knowledge of every program in the area and can definitively say that the Escola is better than all.

The main point is simple, no more flamethrower posts about the various local DA and ECNL programs, full of inaccurate/incomplete or out of context information, with constant begging the question of which exact group you were with (it’s obvious you weren’t to people who are with those groups). Fire begets fire on these anonymous boards, and if you don’t like “shade” thrown at you, don’t throw it. I’ll wager that if you keep to this thread with your Escola love and stop your battery of attacks on US soccer, things might get friendlier across the board.

Nobody is sensitive about criticism from people who have been in the program. It is the criticism that is volleyed from people who are not a part of the program at all who feel a sense of entitlement to tell people who are in at Barca that they are wrong for being happy with the product and feel that it is different than clubs they have previously been at.

The things that people who left Barca and were unhappy about were often the same things that others were happy about. So there is a common truth about the program, just a difference in opinion regarding satisfaction with the methods. But, I've been at a few clubs and no club in the area runs things the way Barca does. That does not mean it works for everybody.

If you want a "team" and a social environment Barca is NOT the place for your kid.
If you want or need the A or B team label for your kid, Barca is NOT the place for you.
If you want your kid to have one coach and one coach only, Barca is NOT the place for you.
If you need to win now, Barca is not the place for you.

All of the above can be flipped and be a breath a fresh air for many people and that is why the people who love Barca so far love it and those who did not love and even disliked it really disliked it.

But I think people have been honest with their experiences and the sensitivity comes from simply telling them that they in fact did not have that experience.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read the email from Barca a couple of times. I think part of what they meant is players weren't put on a team for the year. To compare, in most clubs, if you make the DA, ECNL, or whatever team, that is your team for the year. Then if you aren't good enough, you have a year maybe to catch up. And if maybe you should have been on an elite team, but were only classic or DP, or whatever, there's not really much hope of moving up, except the occasional guest playing opportunity.

Barca doesn't appear to do it that way. If you are in an age group, you aren't part of a set team. You can be moved from team to team, as seems appropriate. And I have already seen a little of that with a couple of players.

Last year, players were moved between the teams and age groups both up and down. Another difference is that there is no drop off in terms of quality of coaching between the teams. The teams in the same age group are generally practicing side by side on the same field doing the same drills under the same methodology.

This all sounds a bit like PAC, which has all its U9 through U12 teams practicing at the same time with coaches switching and sharing duties. Not much movement on gamedays, though. (Which has its pros and cons -- parents like to be able to plan around a game schedule, so moving up and down can throw a wrinkle in things.)

Barca is absolutely nothing like PAC. I wish people that want to constantly throw shade would actually go out and watch in person---or find a set of parents that actually have kids in the program to talk to.

How is this "throwing shade"?

Conversely, how many PAC sessions have people attended? I guess you could watch from some Mosaic apartments.

It is like saying that Arlington or Loudon are similar to Burke Athletic Club. They are very different programs and play at different levels, but anyone could find one or two similarities (such as several teams practice on the same field).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read the email from Barca a couple of times. I think part of what they meant is players weren't put on a team for the year. To compare, in most clubs, if you make the DA, ECNL, or whatever team, that is your team for the year. Then if you aren't good enough, you have a year maybe to catch up. And if maybe you should have been on an elite team, but were only classic or DP, or whatever, there's not really much hope of moving up, except the occasional guest playing opportunity.

Barca doesn't appear to do it that way. If you are in an age group, you aren't part of a set team. You can be moved from team to team, as seems appropriate. And I have already seen a little of that with a couple of players.

Last year, players were moved between the teams and age groups both up and down. Another difference is that there is no drop off in terms of quality of coaching between the teams. The teams in the same age group are generally practicing side by side on the same field doing the same drills under the same methodology.

This all sounds a bit like PAC, which has all its U9 through U12 teams practicing at the same time with coaches switching and sharing duties. Not much movement on gamedays, though. (Which has its pros and cons -- parents like to be able to plan around a game schedule, so moving up and down can throw a wrinkle in things.)

Barca is absolutely nothing like PAC. I wish people that want to constantly throw shade would actually go out and watch in person---or find a set of parents that actually have kids in the program to talk to.

How is this "throwing shade"?

Conversely, how many PAC sessions have people attended? I guess you could watch from some Mosaic apartments.

It is like saying that Arlington or Loudon are similar to Burke Athletic Club. They are very different programs and play at different levels, but anyone could find one or two similarities (such as several teams practice on the same field).

Yea I found it a little weird that out of all the clubs whose style of play you could try to compare to Barcelona’s, he would choose PAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since there is quite a bit of sensitivity here about “throwing shade” and any negative comments concerning the Escola, I think it would behoove the poster (or posters) here who are sensitive to it, and others who are trying to figure out the dysfunction of this board, to understand what may be happening.

We notice that the same type of poster, if not the same poster, who posts all of the glorious praise of this program, in this thread, also starts numerous attack threads with the “why US Soccer and any program in the US sucks” theme. By the way, it’s obvious--same opinions, same sentence construction, even the wording is the same. They even spin off individual posts within the attack threads to start new attack threads. They carefully craft numerous arguments to bolster whatever the specific opinion might be, for example US women’s soccer is in the tank (oh, please), then at some point in these attack threads a post is made to point out that, hey, the Escola isn’t like that at all, it’s SO much better.

In addition, anyone who has any opinion of the Escola that could be construed as slightly negative, including several posters in this and previous Escola threads who have said they have had DCs in the program, is rudely dismissed. Even posters who simply ask related questions or make comments on the dialogue are drawn through the mud.

The opinion of former/current Escola customers that don’t agree with yours are just as valid. Rather than starting wars over which training methods are “better” or making the absurd claim that, just because the programs you have had experience with haven’t been up to your standard/benefitted your DC, all programs in the US are awful, maybe you (whether you are a single individual or small group, whatever) could keep to posting just your positive opinions about the Escola in this thread. And if a thread comes up about a specific program that you actually had experience with, comment on the good and bad of that program. And to repeat, it’s absolutely absurd to think that you have deep knowledge of every program in the area and can definitively say that the Escola is better than all.

The main point is simple, no more flamethrower posts about the various local DA and ECNL programs, full of inaccurate/incomplete or out of context information, with constant begging the question of which exact group you were with (it’s obvious you weren’t to people who are with those groups). Fire begets fire on these anonymous boards, and if you don’t like “shade” thrown at you, don’t throw it. I’ll wager that if you keep to this thread with your Escola love and stop your battery of attacks on US soccer, things might get friendlier across the board.

FCB parent here. This is probably the biggest thread on these soccer boards (many times bigger than a post for any other club in this area) so there is a huge interest in discussing this program. I think most people, who post here, are either interested to find out about the program (either those who are considering joining or who recently joined) or FCB parents, who were with the program last year and are happy to share information about it The third category of posters, which I think is a tiny minority (perhaps just 1 or 2 people), are the posters who make assertions about the program which are untrue. Those are the ones they may get a bit of a backlash here, where parents who are in the program set the record straight and correct their lies. Not sure what the agenda is to post things that are false (perhaps a troll or a disgruntled coach whose best players left for FCB), but you can't complain when you get a bit of push back if you spread lies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since there is quite a bit of sensitivity here about “throwing shade” and any negative comments concerning the Escola, I think it would behoove the poster (or posters) here who are sensitive to it, and others who are trying to figure out the dysfunction of this board, to understand what may be happening.

We notice that the same type of poster, if not the same poster, who posts all of the glorious praise of this program, in this thread, also starts numerous attack threads with the “why US Soccer and any program in the US sucks” theme. By the way, it’s obvious--same opinions, same sentence construction, even the wording is the same. They even spin off individual posts within the attack threads to start new attack threads. They carefully craft numerous arguments to bolster whatever the specific opinion might be, for example US women’s soccer is in the tank (oh, please), then at some point in these attack threads a post is made to point out that, hey, the Escola isn’t like that at all, it’s SO much better.

In addition, anyone who has any opinion of the Escola that could be construed as slightly negative, including several posters in this and previous Escola threads who have said they have had DCs in the program, is rudely dismissed. Even posters who simply ask related questions or make comments on the dialogue are drawn through the mud.

The opinion of former/current Escola customers that don’t agree with yours are just as valid. Rather than starting wars over which training methods are “better” or making the absurd claim that, just because the programs you have had experience with haven’t been up to your standard/benefitted your DC, all programs in the US are awful, maybe you (whether you are a single individual or small group, whatever) could keep to posting just your positive opinions about the Escola in this thread. And if a thread comes up about a specific program that you actually had experience with, comment on the good and bad of that program. And to repeat, it’s absolutely absurd to think that you have deep knowledge of every program in the area and can definitively say that the Escola is better than all.

The main point is simple, no more flamethrower posts about the various local DA and ECNL programs, full of inaccurate/incomplete or out of context information, with constant begging the question of which exact group you were with (it’s obvious you weren’t to people who are with those groups). Fire begets fire on these anonymous boards, and if you don’t like “shade” thrown at you, don’t throw it. I’ll wager that if you keep to this thread with your Escola love and stop your battery of attacks on US soccer, things might get friendlier across the board.

Nobody is sensitive about criticism from people who have been in the program. It is the criticism that is volleyed from people who are not a part of the program at all who feel a sense of entitlement to tell people who are in at Barca that they are wrong for being happy with the product and feel that it is different than clubs they have previously been at.

The things that people who left Barca and were unhappy about were often the same things that others were happy about. So there is a common truth about the program, just a difference in opinion regarding satisfaction with the methods. But, I've been at a few clubs and no club in the area runs things the way Barca does. That does not mean it works for everybody.

If you want a "team" and a social environment Barca is NOT the place for your kid.
If you want or need the A or B team label for your kid, Barca is NOT the place for you.
If you want your kid to have one coach and one coach only, Barca is NOT the place for you.
If you need to win now, Barca is not the place for you.

All of the above can be flipped and be a breath a fresh air for many people and that is why the people who love Barca so far love it and those who did not love and even disliked it really disliked it.

But I think people have been honest with their experiences and the sensitivity comes from simply telling them that they in fact did not have that experience.

I think the last sentence here sums it up in both directions. We were there last year and I've seen the reviews, both positive and negative, written here. Like you said, I didn't see any blatant misrepresentations on either side. What I think it comes to is perception. The people who like the environment and had good interactions with the staff see it very positively. The people who saw things that concerned them and didn't have the same experience as the first group shared a different opinion. It's really not much different than the feedback I've read here on any club. What is strikingly different about this group is that the person or people who are members of the first group react very strongly about the opinions of the second group, invalidating their opinions and points of view.

An example is the communication. Some people complained about not having all the information last year/not getting emails/etc. Which is an understandable and very plausible concern, as there is human error involved with making and maintaining e-mail lists, if that's the main form of communication. The response was that this isn't true and the communication was awesome and everyone is aware of everything. All the while, there are people in this thread who didn't get emails on the uniforms a few weeks ago, so it's obviously an issue. Those people were given a hard time on here too. And I can say there were a few cases where I or a fellow parent didn't receive a communication last year, for whatever reason, which confirms that this happens. Yet, the one/few defenders here insists that it's just not happening. Now, this concern is hardly a damning problem that anyone would use as a primary reason to join or leave a club, but the reaction to sharing it here it is extreme.

On the rest of the original post, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the defenders here were responsible for the anti-US Soccer postings. Many parents were moderate people, but there were a several who shared with others their awful experiences at other clubs and held views like this about US Soccer and the "system" in general. I also agree with the idea that if people just shared their experiences instead of attacking other methods or clubs that dialogue here would be much more civil.

[Anonymous]

I wish people actually wanted to talk about soccer on here. Such as tactics, trends in the game (sweeper GKs, overlapping FBs, CDM orchestrating game from deep) instead of talking about perceived slights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since there is quite a bit of sensitivity here about “throwing shade” and any negative comments concerning the Escola, I think it would behoove the poster (or posters) here who are sensitive to it, and others who are trying to figure out the dysfunction of this board, to understand what may be happening.

We notice that the same type of poster, if not the same poster, who posts all of the glorious praise of this program, in this thread, also starts numerous attack threads with the “why US Soccer and any program in the US sucks” theme. By the way, it’s obvious--same opinions, same sentence construction, even the wording is the same. They even spin off individual posts within the attack threads to start new attack threads. They carefully craft numerous arguments to bolster whatever the specific opinion might be, for example US women’s soccer is in the tank (oh, please), then at some point in these attack threads a post is made to point out that, hey, the Escola isn’t like that at all, it’s SO much better.

In addition, anyone who has any opinion of the Escola that could be construed as slightly negative, including several posters in this and previous Escola threads who have said they have had DCs in the program, is rudely dismissed. Even posters who simply ask related questions or make comments on the dialogue are drawn through the mud.

The opinion of former/current Escola customers that don’t agree with yours are just as valid. Rather than starting wars over which training methods are “better” or making the absurd claim that, just because the programs you have had experience with haven’t been up to your standard/benefitted your DC, all programs in the US are awful, maybe you (whether you are a single individual or small group, whatever) could keep to posting just your positive opinions about the Escola in this thread. And if a thread comes up about a specific program that you actually had experience with, comment on the good and bad of that program. And to repeat, it’s absolutely absurd to think that you have deep knowledge of every program in the area and can definitively say that the Escola is better than all.

The main point is simple, no more flamethrower posts about the various local DA and ECNL programs, full of inaccurate/incomplete or out of context information, with constant begging the question of which exact group you were with (it’s obvious you weren’t to people who are with those groups). Fire begets fire on these anonymous boards, and if you don’t like “shade” thrown at you, don’t throw it. I’ll wager that if you keep to this thread with your Escola love and stop your battery of attacks on US soccer, things might get friendlier across the board.

Nobody is sensitive about criticism from people who have been in the program. It is the criticism that is volleyed from people who are not a part of the program at all who feel a sense of entitlement to tell people who are in at Barca that they are wrong for being happy with the product and feel that it is different than clubs they have previously been at.

The things that people who left Barca and were unhappy about were often the same things that others were happy about. So there is a common truth about the program, just a difference in opinion regarding satisfaction with the methods. But, I've been at a few clubs and no club in the area runs things the way Barca does. That does not mean it works for everybody.

If you want a "team" and a social environment Barca is NOT the place for your kid.
If you want or need the A or B team label for your kid, Barca is NOT the place for you.
If you want your kid to have one coach and one coach only, Barca is NOT the place for you.
If you need to win now, Barca is not the place for you.

All of the above can be flipped and be a breath a fresh air for many people and that is why the people who love Barca so far love it and those who did not love and even disliked it really disliked it.

But I think people have been honest with their experiences and the sensitivity comes from simply telling them that they in fact did not have that experience.

I think the last sentence here sums it up in both directions. We were there last year and I've seen the reviews, both positive and negative, written here. Like you said, I didn't see any blatant misrepresentations on either side. What I think it comes to is perception. The people who like the environment and had good interactions with the staff see it very positively. The people who saw things that concerned them and didn't have the same experience as the first group shared a different opinion. It's really not much different than the feedback I've read here on any club. What is strikingly different about this group is that the person or people who are members of the first group react very strongly about the opinions of the second group, invalidating their opinions and points of view.

An example is the communication. Some people complained about not having all the information last year/not getting emails/etc. Which is an understandable and very plausible concern, as there is human error involved with making and maintaining e-mail lists, if that's the main form of communication. The response was that this isn't true and the communication was awesome and everyone is aware of everything. All the while, there are people in this thread who didn't get emails on the uniforms a few weeks ago, so it's obviously an issue. Those people were given a hard time on here too. And I can say there were a few cases where I or a fellow parent didn't receive a communication last year, for whatever reason, which confirms that this happens. Yet, the one/few defenders here insists that it's just not happening. Now, this concern is hardly a damning problem that anyone would use as a primary reason to join or leave a club, but the reaction to sharing it here it is extreme.

On the rest of the original post, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the defenders here were responsible for the anti-US Soccer postings. Many parents were moderate people, but there were a several who shared with others their awful experiences at other clubs and held views like this about US Soccer and the "system" in general. I also agree with the idea that if people just shared their experiences instead of attacking other methods or clubs that dialogue here would be much more civil.

Nobody is reacting to the opinions of the “second group”. They are reacting to the opinions of outside people who have never had any affiliation, experience or observations of the club but still seen speak with authority on the matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish people actually wanted to talk about soccer on here. Such as tactics, trends in the game (sweeper GKs, overlapping FBs, CDM orchestrating game from deep) instead of talking about perceived slights

Use this link and start a thread on what you wish to talk about.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/jforum.page?module=posts&action=insert&forum_id=76