Improving DS's soccer skills and experience
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Anonymous
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My DS has been playing Rec League soccer from K-4th grade in Falls Church, which is part of Arlington Soccer. We are in Falls Church in Fairfax County though, and many of his classmates play on McLean Soccer travel or rec teams.
DS is a decent athlete, great runner, but his current rec team is not really the most challenging, and is all volunteer coaches. I love the vibe of the team (friendly, etc.) but I'm afraid DS isn't getting the skills he needs to grow as a player, if he ever did want to continue playing soccer in MS and HS. To compound the problem, DS is a Nov 2005 birthday, so he will be U12 in 2016-2017 in some leagues, but he is only a rising 5th grade and is only 10 years old right now--playing with 9-10 year olds. I'm so confused by everything I'm reading online. If I want to move him to MYS, which scares me because I've heard it's intense, how would we do that? I can't believe at age 10 that it already feels like he is shut out of some good soccer opportunities. Is the Mclean Developmental league even an option? I know we don't want to do Travel soccer but want something a little stronger in developing skills from what he is currently getting in AYS rec league. |
Anonymous
Just take him to a few club tryouts and relax. Normally you would want to contact a coach of the team in his current age group and have him drop in on some practices but with the age change happening this year it may not be easy to determine who will be the coach next season. |
Anonymous
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I can tell you from having kids who play at different levels in this area that McLean travel will be a huge step up from Falls Church Rec. It is definitely worth trying out--my kids enjoyed themselves and the process even on occasions when they didn't make a team.
McLean's U12 Development Academy is, I believe, for kids born in 04. Also, it will be for the very top kids of that age group. Not sure this is what you're looking for. A couple other options in the area are Vienna Youth Soccer, Arlington, and Premier Athletic Club in Falls Church. Arlington will be every bit as competitive as McLean but they do have a program, which is kind of in between travel and rec. Premier is not as hard to get on as the big clubs in the younger years, not sure about U12, but with the age change I am thinking there will be opportunities everywhere. |
Anonymous
| I am the PP and realized that I didn't really answer your main question. My oldest did rec through U9 and got really frustrated when he wanted to keep learning and progressing and found that teammates just didn't have the interest level or drive. After that experience, my younger kids started travel as early as possible. I thought doing travel would be a huge time commitment but it has been very doable for us. As long as you pick a club that practices close by, it's not bad at all. Our fields are 10-15 minutes away. As for games, this area is so dense that travel basically means heading a town or two over. Most away games are less than 45 minutes away, and often closer. |
Anonymous
| Arlington travel soccer tryouts are coming up, starting this weekend. Maybe he should try out? Some of the lower level teams don't travel much. I heard today that the developmental program may be ending, per one coach. |
Anonymous
Really? Is that why they have moved to 6 teams for all the lower age groups? The ADP (development program) is very well liked. I know many families thrilled with it. It costs less $--maybe that's why they want them all doing travel instead  .
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Anonymous
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Thanks all. I think I'm going to reach out to some of my son's classmates' parents and see which mclean rec coach or team they have and if they like it. Do not really want the intensity of travel soccer, (practices amount and distances seem like an issue), but we can probably find a better club or rec team).
If anyone has any tips on that plan, please let me know. Soccer teams seem so complex around here. |
Anonymous
| To be frank, if he wants to play high school soccer in this area, he's going to have to play travel soccer before then. Kids on rec teams just don't learn the skills, moves, strategies that they learn on travel teams. This year, with the change to birth year teams, would be a good year to break into a travel program. Also next year, when he's a U13 and they go to 11v11 games, travel teams expand because they need more players. |
Anonymous
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20:29 - I don't know many details. I had asked about travel soccer on FB and one of my friends posted that he had gotten a coaches email that ADP was ending, but I haven't asked him to clarify yet. I'm bummed because ADP was the way we were hoping to go - my daughter is dying to get a bit more soccer time than she's getting from Rec, but I'm not psyched to take on the financial sacrifices travel would require.
My guess is that it's a lot of work and expense to maintain three separate programs, one of which (rec) is extremely large and complex. I bet field space is tough to procure for all of those teams. |
Anonymous
| OP, you also might want to look at different leagues and levels of travel. In some leagues, there is pretty minimal travel. And some leagues, ODSL, for example, still have professional coaches and practices 2-3 times a week, but the level of play is not as competitive and the atmosphere is more relaxed. |
Anonymous
| Thanks pp. So I see that both McLean soccer and Arlington soccer are part of odsl. What levels of travel are there? How can I tell which levels of travel are less demanding, but still a step or two up from rec? |
Anonymous
There are various levels of leagues and larger soccer clubs can have teams in some or all of the leagues. The A team plays in the highest league that the club is a member in. The leagues in order of rank are: Girls: 1. ECNL 2a CCL 2b NPL 3a. CCL2 3b. WAGS 4. ODSL Boys: 1. DA 2a CCL 2b NPL 3a. NCSL 3b. CCL2 4. ODSL |
Anonymous
PP who suggested ODSL. I could be wrong but I don't think any of McLean/Arlington's current U10 teams play in ODSL. At least with McLean I think only some of their much older kids do. I believe the U10-U11 are all in CCL and NCSL. I would guess that third/fourth teams at PAC and Vienna play in ODSL, while their higher teams play in NCSL. |
Anonymous
To clarify Arlingtons C teams are in CCL2 and their D teams are in NCSL--at the U9 and U10 ages currently. The DA is only available to players born 2004 and up. |
Anonymous
To clarify, when a 2a or 2b is used it means that the leagues are somewhat interchangeable and are club dependent on how they rank. But in general, they are relatively equal. |