Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread suggests that NoVa Travel Soccer is an exceptionally peaceful, collegial kind of world except that VYS is at war with itself; big clubs hate small clubs; small clubs hate big clubs; leagues with weird acronyms despise each other; ASA is all about flaming Joga SC; Kephern Fuller is angry with DC United; the people on the board stabbed Eddie Lima in the back (figuratively); Maryland is at Virginia's throat; people who want kids to dribble are livid with people who want kids to pass; VYS is a house divided against itself; SoccerWire is irritated with DC Urban Moms; and soccer people who don't speak accented English are furious with soccer people who do. Can't we all just get along?!?

OK, I laughed when I read this, but I'm not sure where you got the bolded bits from. Don't recall seeing any statements like that in this thread...

[Anonymous]

Fine. Corrections:

"Virginia is paranoid and touchy about Maryland in this thread."

"An ASA coach is all about flaming Joga SC on Twitter."

"Kephern Fuller is angry with DC United on Twitter."

All of this just scratches the surface . . .

[Anonymous]

I too didn't see anything in this thread about the twitter fight between Arlington and Joga but I did come across it last night. Best I can tell, a Joga coach posted a picture criticizing a team for having a space heater on the sidelines at a game this past weekend, and also responded to complaints about how the Joga parents shout "ole" every time one of their 9 yos beat a player on the field. To me, ASA came out looking much better in the exchanges. Joga supporters like to claim they're being discriminated against and disrespected but it's their own actions that cause most if not all of their problems.

[Anonymous]

The Joga parents are intense for sure, but so are parents of lots of teams. And all the feelings were a little colored by the fact that these were top teams from big clubs getting trounced.

There also seemed to be a kerfuffle on Twitter wherein an ASA coach accused the Joga coaches of poaching kids from other clubs and thus riding on the development efforts of others. A Joga coach asked the ASA coach to name an example, which he didn't. Indeed, the vast majority of the Joga kids come from FPYC and have been trained by Joga from a young age. They have been playing together for years, even the U9 kids, and they practice A LOT. That's why they're so good. But will it all hold up when they get to U13 and beyond? Who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I too didn't see anything in this thread about the twitter fight between Arlington and Joga but I did come across it last night. Best I can tell, a Joga coach posted a picture criticizing a team for having a space heater on the sidelines at a game this past weekend, and also responded to complaints about how the Joga parents shout "ole" every time one of their 9 yos beat a player on the field. To me, ASA came out looking much better in the exchanges. Joga supporters like to claim they're being discriminated against and disrespected but it's their own actions that cause most if not all of their problems.

That takes things too far. You don't want to tease young players by posting their pictures someplace.

The "Ole" thing sounds fine unless the score was really lopsided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I too didn't see anything in this thread about the twitter fight between Arlington and Joga but I did come across it last night. Best I can tell, a Joga coach posted a picture criticizing a team for having a space heater on the sidelines at a game this past weekend, and also responded to complaints about how the Joga parents shout "ole" every time one of their 9 yos beat a player on the field. To me, ASA came out looking much better in the exchanges. Joga supporters like to claim they're being discriminated against and disrespected but it's their own actions that cause most if not all of their problems.

I also read through the various tweets, and ended up feeling like I had a headache. I don't have an issue with some of the things Joga is trying to accomplish, and I really enjoyed reading the 3four3 blog back in the day (the Joga founder is the number 1 fan/disciple of the guy who writes that blog), but all the posturing gets very tedious.

I've posted elsewhere that I don't embrace the notion that parents need to be silent during a game or that they ought to limit themselves to inane comments of the "I enjoyed watching you play" variety afterward (blech). But yelling Olé at the top of your lungs for every good move when your U10 team is up 5-0 or so at the start of the second half --or so I assume, because the final score was 10-0--just makes you look like a self-involved jerk. It's easy to do fancy moves when your overmatched opponent is just trying to get through the game, so I'm not sure why anyone would think that level of celebration is helpful for anyone's development.

Can anyone from a culture where it's common to yell "Olé" during professional matches weigh in on whether it would be considered appropriate for parents in their culture to scream it on the sidelines of a youth match involving a bunch of 9 year olds when the opponent is getting creamed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too didn't see anything in this thread about the twitter fight between Arlington and Joga but I did come across it last night. Best I can tell, a Joga coach posted a picture criticizing a team for having a space heater on the sidelines at a game this past weekend, and also responded to complaints about how the Joga parents shout "ole" every time one of their 9 yos beat a player on the field. To me, ASA came out looking much better in the exchanges. Joga supporters like to claim they're being discriminated against and disrespected but it's their own actions that cause most if not all of their problems.

That takes things too far. You don't want to tease young players by posting their pictures someplace.

The "Ole" thing sounds fine unless the score was really lopsided.

He was making a point about the parents, not the kids -- that they are helicoptering and coddling -- but I agree that it was not right to post the picture.

[Anonymous]

I seriously, seriously doubt he was making a point about parenting styles. But in the end it doesn't matter what he intended to do, because he did insult the little boys on the opposing team. That's what he did. Even a 10-0 victory isn't enough when grown men live and die by their kids' exploits. I'm not without sin . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Even a 10-0 victory isn't enough when grown men live and die by their kids' exploits.

Agree with you there. That's what I hate about all this. So much is about the parents -- including many of the parent coaches.

[Anonymous]

So Joga SC really is as gangsta as they say. They stole ASA's players, mocked them on the Internet and beat them 10-0 while screeching "ole, ole" in their faces. Does this club have the time and energy to do this to every rival team LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Joga parents are intense for sure, but so are parents of lots of teams. And all the feelings were a little colored by the fact that these were top teams from big clubs getting trounced.

There also seemed to be a kerfuffle on Twitter wherein an ASA coach accused the Joga coaches of poaching kids from other clubs and thus riding on the development efforts of others. A Joga coach asked the ASA coach to name an example, which he didn't. Indeed, the vast majority of the Joga kids come from FPYC and have been trained by Joga from a young age. They have been playing together for years, even the U9 kids, and they practice A LOT. That's why they're so good. But will it all hold up when they get to U13 and beyond? Who knows.

Do you mean that the Joga parents who were so loud felt justified in being over-the top with the celebrating because they were beating a top team from a big club? That doesn't make a lot of sense, at least with respect to the 10-0 game. Judging from gotsoccer, the Joga team appears to have an extensive record of success (very, very extensive for a team that age), and nothing in the Annandale team's record suggests that they would have gone into the game expecting to dominate. All-star teams from small clubs often are able to trounce teams from big clubs, especially at young age groups where anything can happen.

Interestingly enough, the team we always found most obnoxious in my older son's age group was from FPYC. Those parents yelled and screamed in support when their players committed completely thuggish fouls, and screamed at the referee any time he made a call for the other team. Most of their goals were classic long-ball. I will give the annoying Joga parents credit for supporting a very nice style of soccer, if nothing else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So Joga SC really is as gangsta as they say. They stole ASA's players, mocked them on the Internet and beat them 10-0 while screeching "ole, ole" in their faces. Does this club have the time and energy to do this to every rival team LOL

Let's be fair there are some very strong ASA teams that did not happen to be in that bracket.

Some 10-0, 8-0 wins themselves--but the parents didn't act like a bunch of a-holes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Joga parents are intense for sure, but so are parents of lots of teams. And all the feelings were a little colored by the fact that these were top teams from big clubs getting trounced.

There also seemed to be a kerfuffle on Twitter wherein an ASA coach accused the Joga coaches of poaching kids from other clubs and thus riding on the development efforts of others. A Joga coach asked the ASA coach to name an example, which he didn't. Indeed, the vast majority of the Joga kids come from FPYC and have been trained by Joga from a young age. They have been playing together for years, even the U9 kids, and they practice A LOT. That's why they're so good. But will it all hold up when they get to U13 and beyond? Who knows.

Do you mean that the Joga parents who were so loud felt justified in being over-the top with the celebrating because they were beating a top team from a big club? That doesn't make a lot of sense, at least with respect to the 10-0 game. Judging from gotsoccer, the Joga team appears to have an extensive record of success (very, very extensive for a team that age), and nothing in the Annandale team's record suggests that they would have gone into the game expecting to dominate. All-star teams from small clubs often are able to trounce teams from big clubs, especially at young age groups where anything can happen.

Interestingly enough, the team we always found most obnoxious in my older son's age group was from FPYC. Those parents yelled and screamed in support when their players committed completely thuggish fouls, and screamed at the referee any time he made a call for the other team. Most of their goals were classic long-ball. I will give the annoying Joga parents credit for supporting a very nice style of soccer, if nothing else.

No, I meant that the parents from "A" teams at big-name clubs are accustomed to their kids doing well and are likely to react badly to their kids being beaten soundly and are likely to make a bigger deal of behavior by the other team than is warranted. But I do agree with you that I would think Joga expects to beat teams like ABGC or Arlington easily and it is, or should be, beneath Joga to do anything that would be perceived as gloating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Joga parents are intense for sure, but so are parents of lots of teams. And all the feelings were a little colored by the fact that these were top teams from big clubs getting trounced.

There also seemed to be a kerfuffle on Twitter wherein an ASA coach accused the Joga coaches of poaching kids from other clubs and thus riding on the development efforts of others. A Joga coach asked the ASA coach to name an example, which he didn't. Indeed, the vast majority of the Joga kids come from FPYC and have been trained by Joga from a young age. They have been playing together for years, even the U9 kids, and they practice A LOT. That's why they're so good. But will it all hold up when they get to U13 and beyond? Who knows.

Do you mean that the Joga parents who were so loud felt justified in being over-the top with the celebrating because they were beating a top team from a big club? That doesn't make a lot of sense, at least with respect to the 10-0 game. Judging from gotsoccer, the Joga team appears to have an extensive record of success (very, very extensive for a team that age), and nothing in the Annandale team's record suggests that they would have gone into the game expecting to dominate. All-star teams from small clubs often are able to trounce teams from big clubs, especially at young age groups where anything can happen.

Interestingly enough, the team we always found most obnoxious in my older son's age group was from FPYC. Those parents yelled and screamed in support when their players committed completely thuggish fouls, and screamed at the referee any time he made a call for the other team. Most of their goals were classic long-ball. I will give the annoying Joga parents credit for supporting a very nice style of soccer, if nothing else.

No, I meant that the parents from "A" teams at big-name clubs are accustomed to their kids doing well and are likely to react badly to their kids being beaten soundly and are likely to make a bigger deal of behavior by the other team than is warranted. But I do agree with you that I would think Joga expects to beat teams like ABGC or Arlington easily and it is, or should be, beneath Joga to do anything that would be perceived as gloating.

At U-9 all of it is ridiculous. Let's be fair and realistic. Most of these kids will not be the same players in 3-5 years once things shake out (correct initial placement errors) and growth spurts happen, etc. Right now practicing and development is what matters not tournaments at 8 and 9 years old. That said- some big clubs need to really watch how they label kids so young and rank at that age and then never re-visit that ranking over the next few years. It should be a lot more fluid. Too many clubs wrongly label a kid as a C or D team player and that's stuck in their mind forever even when it's so clearly undeserved. Parents new to this need to understand just because your kid was labeled 'A' at age 8 for god sake has no meaning going forward (at least it shouldn't). Constant evaluations and movement should be happening. There are also practice players who can look good in that environment, but don't in a real-game situation under pressure. It doesnt matter how good somebody is in practice if they can never replicate it in a game in tight, pressure-filled situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Joga parents are intense for sure, but so are parents of lots of teams. And all the feelings were a little colored by the fact that these were top teams from big clubs getting trounced.

There also seemed to be a kerfuffle on Twitter wherein an ASA coach accused the Joga coaches of poaching kids from other clubs and thus riding on the development efforts of others. A Joga coach asked the ASA coach to name an example, which he didn't. Indeed, the vast majority of the Joga kids come from FPYC and have been trained by Joga from a young age. They have been playing together for years, even the U9 kids, and they practice A LOT. That's why they're so good. But will it all hold up when they get to U13 and beyond? Who knows.

Do you mean that the Joga parents who were so loud felt justified in being over-the top with the celebrating because they were beating a top team from a big club? That doesn't make a lot of sense, at least with respect to the 10-0 game. Judging from gotsoccer, the Joga team appears to have an extensive record of success (very, very extensive for a team that age), and nothing in the Annandale team's record suggests that they would have gone into the game expecting to dominate. All-star teams from small clubs often are able to trounce teams from big clubs, especially at young age groups where anything can happen.

Interestingly enough, the team we always found most obnoxious in my older son's age group was from FPYC. Those parents yelled and screamed in support when their players committed completely thuggish fouls, and screamed at the referee any time he made a call for the other team. Most of their goals were classic long-ball. I will give the annoying Joga parents credit for supporting a very nice style of soccer, if nothing else.

No, I meant that the parents from "A" teams at big-name clubs are accustomed to their kids doing well and are likely to react badly to their kids being beaten soundly and are likely to make a bigger deal of behavior by the other team than is warranted. But I do agree with you that I would think Joga expects to beat teams like ABGC or Arlington easily and it is, or should be, beneath Joga to do anything that would be perceived as gloating.

At U-9 all of it is ridiculous. Let's be fair and realistic. Most of these kids will not be the same players in 3-5 years once things shake out (correct initial placement errors) and growth spurts happen, etc. Right now practicing and development is what matters not tournaments at 8 and 9 years old. That said- some big clubs need to really watch how they label kids so young and rank at that age and then never re-visit that ranking over the next few years. It should be a lot more fluid. Too many clubs wrongly label a kid as a C or D team player and that's stuck in their mind forever even when it's so clearly undeserved. Parents new to this need to understand just because your kid was labeled 'A' at age 8 for god sake has no meaning going forward (at least it shouldn't). Constant evaluations and movement should be happening. There are also practice players who can look good in that environment, but don't in a real-game situation under pressure. It doesnt matter how good somebody is in practice if they can never replicate it in a game in tight, pressure-filled situations.

+100

A game is to show if what they are doing in practice is working. If a team is getting crushed--either what they are doing at practice is not working and they need to revisit or they don't have the right players on the team.