Arlington Red team vs Arlington DA

[Anonymous]

Not an Arlington parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the question is the 2004 Arlington red team, then comparing u15s to u15s is immaterial. The question is how does their current schedule (50+) games compare to what they would face in the DA, which is 30 games, 6 of which are showcase games. So at most, you have 12 regular season away games, half of which will still be in the greater DC area.

You don't have the three or four tournaments with 2 games a day and you don't have whole weekends tied up with a state or regional game on Saturday and a CCL game on Sunday. You have one game except on the odd weekend when you might double up due to a longer drive.

Don't get me wrong, having a chance to go to USYSA nationals is an amazing opportunity for any player and it reflects an amazing amount of dedication and sacrifice on behalf of the players and their families. I just think that those who say DA is heavy on travel and 4 days of training a week is too much, don't really understand the total time commitments and the grind that is ECNL and USYSA elite travel soccer.

What exactly are you sacrificing more?... SMH

USYSA elite travel soccer is only for those who have the discretionary income and extraordinary control of their own schedule that they can dedicate the resources needed for the "elite" matches. Not sure those teams participating in all of these competitions are so much better than the teams that participate only in NCSL. Of course, many parents and soon their own children don't care care if they are facing the best competition, they are just interested in saying how far and the kinds of teams they are competing against. They live in a bubble all themselves; very much like the "All-American" designation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the question is the 2004 Arlington red team, then comparing u15s to u15s is immaterial. The question is how does their current schedule (50+) games compare to what they would face in the DA, which is 30 games, 6 of which are showcase games. So at most, you have 12 regular season away games, half of which will still be in the greater DC area.

You don't have the three or four tournaments with 2 games a day and you don't have whole weekends tied up with a state or regional game on Saturday and a CCL game on Sunday. You have one game except on the odd weekend when you might double up due to a longer drive.

Don't get me wrong, having a chance to go to USYSA nationals is an amazing opportunity for any player and it reflects an amazing amount of dedication and sacrifice on behalf of the players and their families. I just think that those who say DA is heavy on travel and 4 days of training a week is too much, don't really understand the total time commitments and the grind that is ECNL and USYSA elite travel soccer.

What exactly are you sacrificing more?... SMH

USYSA elite travel soccer is only for those who have the discretionary income and extraordinary control of their own schedule that they can dedicate the resources needed for the "elite" matches. Not sure those teams participating in all of these competitions are so much better than the teams that participate only in NCSL. Of course, many parents and soon their own children don't care care if they are facing the best competition, they are just interested in saying how far and the kinds of teams they are competing against. They live in a bubble all themselves; very much like the "All-American" designation.

Here is the thing, any team competing in NCSL can chose to enter state cup and see how they match up.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the question is the 2004 Arlington red team, then comparing u15s to u15s is immaterial. The question is how does their current schedule (50+) games compare to what they would face in the DA, which is 30 games, 6 of which are showcase games. So at most, you have 12 regular season away games, half of which will still be in the greater DC area.

You don't have the three or four tournaments with 2 games a day and you don't have whole weekends tied up with a state or regional game on Saturday and a CCL game on Sunday. You have one game except on the odd weekend when you might double up due to a longer drive.

Don't get me wrong, having a chance to go to USYSA nationals is an amazing opportunity for any player and it reflects an amazing amount of dedication and sacrifice on behalf of the players and their families. I just think that those who say DA is heavy on travel and 4 days of training a week is too much, don't really understand the total time commitments and the grind that is ECNL and USYSA elite travel soccer.

I'm merely projecting what the 2004s might face as U15s.

That said, a lot is changing. CCL is expanding -- maybe to the point at which the longer trips are less frequent? DA membership is also changing. And we'll have to see what happens with the U.S. Youth Soccer conferences -- I've yet to figure out whether these will transform the regional league play from a couple of showcase events to a weekly league with travel roughly comparable to CCL or Virginia NPL. We'll simply have to see more announcements of who qualifies for these leagues.

Still, I take your general point that a non-DA team is certainly capable of loading up its schedule. I remember seeing the travel itinerary for one of Braddock Road's national title-contending girls teams a couple of years ago -- they really racked up the air miles.

But I wonder what will happen if parents dig in their heels and say, "Look, we have enough big tournaments in the D.C. metro and Virginia. The only trips we'll do outside the DMV and Richmond are Nationals and anything that directly leads to Nationals." That'd be interesting.

That would be interesting, I agree. But it can't happen because the demand and average income is so high in this area. When you bring DC to tryouts and then accept an offer, you're buying the product, travel requirements and all. FOMO keeps all the top players and families in, and there are tons of families that can afford it. The only way this gets fixed is either by the soccer government (USSF) to really take control and set up a much broader league hierarchy than just DA. I'm not sure that would work out real well nor do I think that USSF wants to do this. Alternately over a long period of time change could come by virtue of parents simply saying they're not going to fund it and putting their kids into more local leagues. As a collective parent group, we're far too disorganized for that to happen. It's almost like you need a youth players union to gain enough leverage.

Every other poster on this board says the reason travel has gotten so onerous is because of the money factor. I struggle with this... travel costs do not go through clubs or coaches. There is some leverage for tournament organization to make them bigger, but for a given number of league games, I don't see that it is better for a club to be in an elite league vs something like NCSL. I think the reason for the travel has more to do with elitism and egotism run rampant. Everyone just thinks they are better than the locals and is seeking exposure.

[Anonymous]

Organize and resist! Low level agitation on our team (not tea at Arlington) has allowed us to resist some far flung soccer but it is difficult. A lot depends on the parent group and the team manger.

I want a very competitive localized league with lots of good local talent and teams. Seems virtually impossible to find without a drop in the level of play. Possible to find it for a while by playing up but that peters out too by a certain age. We all end up taken our strong player to the uber travel leagues if we can afford ti because they love to compete. Frustrating. I see how useless the travel time and energy expenditure is but dont see a good solution once the teen years hit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Organize and resist! Low level agitation on our team (not tea at Arlington) has allowed us to resist some far flung soccer but it is difficult. A lot depends on the parent group and the team manger.

I want a very competitive localized league with lots of good local talent and teams. Seems virtually impossible to find without a drop in the level of play. Possible to find it for a while by playing up but that peters out too by a certain age. We all end up taken our strong player to the uber travel leagues if we can afford ti because they love to compete. Frustrating. I see how useless the travel time and energy expenditure is but dont see a good solution once the teen years hit.

The issue is that if you resist, there are 2X players in line to take a spot and pay the freight and do the travel. CCL, ODSL, WAG etc. etc. need to merge and created tiers by region (like the ODP areas for VA state - South, Central etc.) and have relegation. For now - those not in DA or ECNL, top teams are forced to play in Jeff Cup, CASL, DELCO and Disney to get noticed. If you dont want to get noticed, then drop to a lower level team and reduce the travel. The whole thing is a mess.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Organize and resist! Low level agitation on our team (not tea at Arlington) has allowed us to resist some far flung soccer but it is difficult. A lot depends on the parent group and the team manger.

I want a very competitive localized league with lots of good local talent and teams. Seems virtually impossible to find without a drop in the level of play. Possible to find it for a while by playing up but that peters out too by a certain age. We all end up taken our strong player to the uber travel leagues if we can afford ti because they love to compete. Frustrating. I see how useless the travel time and energy expenditure is but dont see a good solution once the teen years hit.

The issue is that if you resist, there are 2X players in line to take a spot and pay the freight and do the travel. CCL, ODSL, WAG etc. etc. need to merge and created tiers by region (like the ODP areas for VA state - South, Central etc.) and have relegation. For now - those not in DA or ECNL, top teams are forced to play in Jeff Cup, CASL, DELCO and Disney to get noticed. If you dont want to get noticed, then drop to a lower level team and reduce the travel. The whole thing is a mess.....

I still blame the parents. The parents that have thought their snowflakes are so elite that they just have to do all of this travel. They will bend over backwards for their Clubs. They will take anything the Club TD throws at them because to do otherwise casts them as the 'bad apple' and then they will just take one of the many waiting in the wings that will bite their lip and bend over and take anything.

They also pit parents against one another---just like you see on this Board. Oh--that's a trouble maker family--blah, blah. Anything that might shed light on the scam they have running.

I don't know what's happening. Did any of these people play "elite" soccer in their youth? I'm guessing not. Those that did are the strongest advocates AGAINST this ridiculous travel and 'pay-to-play" that excludes a huge swath of really talented kids across the Nation.

If parents looked at the big picture and Clubs actually rewarded talent over lemmings with big checkbooks, it would be a completely different landscape.

There is ZERO accountability for these Clubs. None. They know it. This is why they keep dreaming up more ridiculous schemes and refuse to play some of the best talent in the local area by putting themselves in separate leagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Organize and resist! Low level agitation on our team (not tea at Arlington) has allowed us to resist some far flung soccer but it is difficult. A lot depends on the parent group and the team manger.

I want a very competitive localized league with lots of good local talent and teams. Seems virtually impossible to find without a drop in the level of play. Possible to find it for a while by playing up but that peters out too by a certain age. We all end up taken our strong player to the uber travel leagues if we can afford ti because they love to compete. Frustrating. I see how useless the travel time and energy expenditure is but dont see a good solution once the teen years hit.

The issue is that if you resist, there are 2X players in line to take a spot and pay the freight and do the travel. CCL, ODSL, WAG etc. etc. need to merge and created tiers by region (like the ODP areas for VA state - South, Central etc.) and have relegation. For now - those not in DA or ECNL, top teams are forced to play in Jeff Cup, CASL, DELCO and Disney to get noticed. If you dont want to get noticed, then drop to a lower level team and reduce the travel. The whole thing is a mess.....

I still blame the parents. The parents that have thought their snowflakes are so elite that they just have to do all of this travel. They will bend over backwards for their Clubs. They will take anything the Club TD throws at them because to do otherwise casts them as the 'bad apple' and then they will just take one of the many waiting in the wings that will bite their lip and bend over and take anything.

They also pit parents against one another---just like you see on this Board. Oh--that's a trouble maker family--blah, blah. Anything that might shed light on the scam they have running.

I don't know what's happening. Did any of these people play "elite" soccer in their youth? I'm guessing not. Those that did are the strongest advocates AGAINST this ridiculous travel and 'pay-to-play" that excludes a huge swath of really talented kids across the Nation.

If parents looked at the big picture and Clubs actually rewarded talent over lemmings with big checkbooks, it would be a completely different landscape.

There is ZERO accountability for these Clubs. None. They know it. This is why they keep dreaming up more ridiculous schemes and refuse to play some of the best talent in the local area by putting themselves in separate leagues.

I sense some bitterness in your post. The accountability yardstick for elite clubs is player placement in college. If your local NCSL club could do that, nobody would want DA or ECNL.

[Anonymous]

^^ Just in this post? This whole thread is riddled with bitterness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Organize and resist! Low level agitation on our team (not tea at Arlington) has allowed us to resist some far flung soccer but it is difficult. A lot depends on the parent group and the team manger.

I want a very competitive localized league with lots of good local talent and teams. Seems virtually impossible to find without a drop in the level of play. Possible to find it for a while by playing up but that peters out too by a certain age. We all end up taken our strong player to the uber travel leagues if we can afford ti because they love to compete. Frustrating. I see how useless the travel time and energy expenditure is but dont see a good solution once the teen years hit.

The issue is that if you resist, there are 2X players in line to take a spot and pay the freight and do the travel. CCL, ODSL, WAG etc. etc. need to merge and created tiers by region (like the ODP areas for VA state - South, Central etc.) and have relegation. For now - those not in DA or ECNL, top teams are forced to play in Jeff Cup, CASL, DELCO and Disney to get noticed. If you dont want to get noticed, then drop to a lower level team and reduce the travel. The whole thing is a mess.....

I still blame the parents. The parents that have thought their snowflakes are so elite that they just have to do all of this travel. They will bend over backwards for their Clubs. They will take anything the Club TD throws at them because to do otherwise casts them as the 'bad apple' and then they will just take one of the many waiting in the wings that will bite their lip and bend over and take anything.

They also pit parents against one another---just like you see on this Board. Oh--that's a trouble maker family--blah, blah. Anything that might shed light on the scam they have running.

I don't know what's happening. Did any of these people play "elite" soccer in their youth? I'm guessing not. Those that did are the strongest advocates AGAINST this ridiculous travel and 'pay-to-play" that excludes a huge swath of really talented kids across the Nation.

If parents looked at the big picture and Clubs actually rewarded talent over lemmings with big checkbooks, it would be a completely different landscape.

There is ZERO accountability for these Clubs. None. They know it. This is why they keep dreaming up more ridiculous schemes and refuse to play some of the best talent in the local area by putting themselves in separate leagues.

Dude. 1) Find another sport if you hate it so much. 2) Stop posting on this board if you hate it so much.

[Anonymous]

Wrong and wrong. Soccer is a great game. Good to hear from its champions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wrong and wrong. Soccer is a great game. Good to hear from its champions.

He should just yell get off my lawn for all that the rants are worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong and wrong. Soccer is a great game. Good to hear from its champions.

He should just yell get off my lawn for all that the rants are worth.

Poster makes some valid points. Youth soccer as status sumbol is a significant driver of this stupidity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Organize and resist! Low level agitation on our team (not tea at Arlington) has allowed us to resist some far flung soccer but it is difficult. A lot depends on the parent group and the team manger.

I want a very competitive localized league with lots of good local talent and teams. Seems virtually impossible to find without a drop in the level of play. Possible to find it for a while by playing up but that peters out too by a certain age. We all end up taken our strong player to the uber travel leagues if we can afford ti because they love to compete. Frustrating. I see how useless the travel time and energy expenditure is but dont see a good solution once the teen years hit.

The issue is that if you resist, there are 2X players in line to take a spot and pay the freight and do the travel. CCL, ODSL, WAG etc. etc. need to merge and created tiers by region (like the ODP areas for VA state - South, Central etc.) and have relegation. For now - those not in DA or ECNL, top teams are forced to play in Jeff Cup, CASL, DELCO and Disney to get noticed. If you dont want to get noticed, then drop to a lower level team and reduce the travel. The whole thing is a mess.....

I still blame the parents. The parents that have thought their snowflakes are so elite that they just have to do all of this travel. They will bend over backwards for their Clubs. They will take anything the Club TD throws at them because to do otherwise casts them as the 'bad apple' and then they will just take one of the many waiting in the wings that will bite their lip and bend over and take anything.

They also pit parents against one another---just like you see on this Board. Oh--that's a trouble maker family--blah, blah. Anything that might shed light on the scam they have running.

I don't know what's happening. Did any of these people play "elite" soccer in their youth? I'm guessing not. Those that did are the strongest advocates AGAINST this ridiculous travel and 'pay-to-play" that excludes a huge swath of really talented kids across the Nation.

If parents looked at the big picture and Clubs actually rewarded talent over lemmings with big checkbooks, it would be a completely different landscape.

There is ZERO accountability for these Clubs. None. They know it. This is why they keep dreaming up more ridiculous schemes and refuse to play some of the best talent in the local area by putting themselves in separate leagues.

Great post and describes some of these parents well. On our club it is lemmings who have never played the game thinking their DD will get great at soccer if they sign up as asked and kiss the ass of every coach and influential parent at the club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong and wrong. Soccer is a great game. Good to hear from its champions.

He should just yell get off my lawn for all that the rants are worth.

Poster makes some valid points. Youth soccer as status sumbol is a significant driver of this stupidity.

And yet not one single parent needs to sign up for any of it.