What's going on with FCBEscola NOVA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmm, when my son played Academy style soccer, the parents were very much like other travel parents. In fact, because the teams were constantly changing, the atmosphere was actually worse, instead of parents jostling to have their kid at the top of the heap at tryouts, it was continuous.

Were you at FCB last year? I keep hearing this same sentiment. I doubt any of the academy travel clubs remotely resemble what FCB is doing.

If you were at FCB, then we had drastically different experiences.

Again, how is this relevant to FCB if you have never been there or seen how they do it?

In fact, FCB inherited a ton of players from a 'academy style' travel program in NoVA. They apparently were just not sold on that particular Academy program and how it was run, not the Acadmey style in general.

I am not in Virginia. The program my son was in was very much like you describe FCB and all of the coaches had gone through Academy programs themselves in other countries. All programs have upsides and downsides, including Academy style programs. Not sure why anyone mentioning a downside is so vociferously attacked, but certainly seem to prove my observation that some of the Academy parents are just as, if not more, prone to bad behavior than those in more typical club programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is what I was wondering, whether they actually said No to anyone willing to pay. We went to one of their open tryouts, our kid is still a baby (in my eyes) so our internal debate is whether the time (distance for us) and money (definitely more expensive than our local club) is worth it at such a young age. But it also makes sense that if you buy into FCB philosophy then the younger the start maybe the easier it becomes to be ingrained in that method/style of play.

They don’t want to have the quality of training take a hit so they have a cap on the number of players in the program. That is why there is a waitlist to get in. The number reflects the player-coach ratio and the room. They also had a cap on the number of players in a tryout session when they first opened to get a decent look and avoid the cattle call tryout, I think 30 at a time, and they kept adding sessions to accommodate numbers. They also didn’t just scrimmage like every other tryout we’ve attended. However, from what I understand, they will not increase the size of the Academy in a single location. They invest in development so they don’t discard players. But, if somebody knows more, please correct me if I understood wrong. I do know a few players on the waitlist.

Thanks PP. when we attended one of the last tryouts i figured they just added additional tryouts because they hadn't gotten enough interest, so this insight is helpful
The fact the tryouts were so drastically different (drills vs just scrimmaging) was interesting to us as well. When we stood on the sideline of our U9 tryouts it was really hard to tell how the coaches were going to differentiate these players and whether they were actually looking for players to keep or players to cut.

What were the drills?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmm, when my son played Academy style soccer, the parents were very much like other travel parents. In fact, because the teams were constantly changing, the atmosphere was actually worse, instead of parents jostling to have their kid at the top of the heap at tryouts, it was continuous.

Were you at FCB last year? I keep hearing this same sentiment. I doubt any of the academy travel clubs remotely resemble what FCB is doing.

If you were at FCB, then we had drastically different experiences.

Again, how is this relevant to FCB if you have never been there or seen how they do it?

In fact, FCB inherited a ton of players from a 'academy style' travel program in NoVA. They apparently were just not sold on that particular Academy program and how it was run, not the Acadmey style in general.

I am not in Virginia. The program my son was in was very much like you describe FCB and all of the coaches had gone through Academy programs themselves in other countries. All programs have upsides and downsides, including Academy style programs. Not sure why anyone mentioning a downside is so vociferously attacked, but certainly seem to prove my observation that some of the Academy parents are just as, if not more, prone to bad behavior than those in more typical club programs.

The PP did not really demonstrate an actual downside to Academy Style training. What the poster commented on was the reaction to Academy Style training that parents had.

But if the big "Con" of Academy Style training is, well, some parents don't like it, well I kinda think that is on the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is what I was wondering, whether they actually said No to anyone willing to pay. We went to one of their open tryouts, our kid is still a baby (in my eyes) so our internal debate is whether the time (distance for us) and money (definitely more expensive than our local club) is worth it at such a young age. But it also makes sense that if you buy into FCB philosophy then the younger the start maybe the easier it becomes to be ingrained in that method/style of play.

They don’t want to have the quality of training take a hit so they have a cap on the number of players in the program. That is why there is a waitlist to get in. The number reflects the player-coach ratio and the room. They also had a cap on the number of players in a tryout session when they first opened to get a decent look and avoid the cattle call tryout, I think 30 at a time, and they kept adding sessions to accommodate numbers. They also didn’t just scrimmage like every other tryout we’ve attended. However, from what I understand, they will not increase the size of the Academy in a single location. They invest in development so they don’t discard players. But, if somebody knows more, please correct me if I understood wrong. I do know a few players on the waitlist.

Thanks PP. when we attended one of the last tryouts i figured they just added additional tryouts because they hadn't gotten enough interest, so this insight is helpful
The fact the tryouts were so drastically different (drills vs just scrimmaging) was interesting to us as well. When we stood on the sideline of our U9 tryouts it was really hard to tell how the coaches were going to differentiate these players and whether they were actually looking for players to keep or players to cut.

What were the drills?

From what I saw most new kids were simply put into regular training groups and they were simply participating in a regular practice that day. If there were specific tryout days it is possible but it is likely that they had some kids already in the program and they just ran a practice.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:Wow -- so much defensive hostility here! You'd think this was the GDA vs. ECNL smackdown! (No, MY program that charges $5,000/year is better -- YOU'RE wasting your money!)

I'm not talking about U9 here. I'm talking kids at older age groups.

And GotSoccer or not, these FCB kids were in the bracket in which they belonged. They were even with, not better than, some teams that can't string together passes to save their lives and don't have the athleticism of an Arlington Red team.

At U9, OK. Still plenty of time to develop. Even at U12, you don't want to give up on individuals.

But if you're playing at this level at U12, there are a handful of possibilities:

1. Your kid just started soccer of any kind this year.

2. The coaching isn't that great.

3. The player just doesn't have the coordination or the athleticism to do any better, no matter how great the coaching is. (Bear in mind -- this could be because of a growth spurt, and the player's coordination or athleticism could improve.)

If it's 2 or 3, you may have a tough time justifying the cost.

That's certainly not just an FCB thing. Rec leagues at U14 and higher are full of kids who have come back from travel. They may be pretty good, but they may be better at something else, so training to play soccer isn't as high a priority any more.

And let's make no mistake -- there are a lot of coaches out there who will swear to you that their methods will help your kid catch up eventually. Oh, you might be NCSL Division 9 *now*, at U12, but by the time he's U16, he'll be Division 3. (Yeah. Because NCSL has fewer divisions at that age.)

*Some* of them are right. Some kids really might make a giant leap when they settle into their bodies. But then some coaches have a lot of rea$on$ not to tell you the truth about your kid's aptitude and ceiling.

I'm not telling you to quit FCB or any other program. Barcelona is one of my two favorite clubs in the world. (The other is Liverpool.) I hope this works. But I know Barcelona isn't above milking cash cows.https://catalog.library.loudoun.gov/#section=home

My goal in my work is just to help parents get information, at least to figure out the questions they should be asking.

If you've seen dozens of clubs training, and you have good reason to think FCB is doing something the other clubs aren't, great. I'd love to hear what they're doing, but I'd understand if it's proprietary.

And it's a new program. If we see U14s and U16s playing beautiful, effective soccer, well, there's your proof. If they're the same kids who are currently battling big, mediocre clubs' D teams with little success, then they're the best coaches in the world.

Well, you have people telling you that the older groups are playing quality soccer.

I find this interesting though, "My goal in my work is just to help parents get information, at least to figure out the questions they should be asking."

How is it your job? And if people are happy with a product who are you to tell them that they are wrong? And why would anyone listen to a person who's sole method of evaluation is based on a price tag and tournament scores?

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:Wow -- so much defensive hostility here! You'd think this was the GDA vs. ECNL smackdown! (No, MY program that charges $5,000/year is better -- YOU'RE wasting your money!)

I'm not talking about U9 here. I'm talking kids at older age groups.

And GotSoccer or not, these FCB kids were in the bracket in which they belonged. They were even with, not better than, some teams that can't string together passes to save their lives and don't have the athleticism of an Arlington Red team.

At U9, OK. Still plenty of time to develop. Even at U12, you don't want to give up on individuals.

But if you're playing at this level at U12, there are a handful of possibilities:

1. Your kid just started soccer of any kind this year.

2. The coaching isn't that great.

3. The player just doesn't have the coordination or the athleticism to do any better, no matter how great the coaching is. (Bear in mind -- this could be because of a growth spurt, and the player's coordination or athleticism could improve.)

If it's 2 or 3, you may have a tough time justifying the cost.

That's certainly not just an FCB thing. Rec leagues at U14 and higher are full of kids who have come back from travel. They may be pretty good, but they may be better at something else, so training to play soccer isn't as high a priority any more.

And let's make no mistake -- there are a lot of coaches out there who will swear to you that their methods will help your kid catch up eventually. Oh, you might be NCSL Division 9 *now*, at U12, but by the time he's U16, he'll be Division 3. (Yeah. Because NCSL has fewer divisions at that age.)

*Some* of them are right. Some kids really might make a giant leap when they settle into their bodies. But then some coaches have a lot of rea$on$ not to tell you the truth about your kid's aptitude and ceiling.

I'm not telling you to quit FCB or any other program. Barcelona is one of my two favorite clubs in the world. (The other is Liverpool.) I hope this works. But I know Barcelona isn't above milking cash cows.https://catalog.library.loudoun.gov/#section=home

My goal in my work is just to help parents get information, at least to figure out the questions they should be asking.

If you've seen dozens of clubs training, and you have good reason to think FCB is doing something the other clubs aren't, great. I'd love to hear what they're doing, but I'd understand if it's proprietary.

And it's a new program. If we see U14s and U16s playing beautiful, effective soccer, well, there's your proof. If they're the same kids who are currently battling big, mediocre clubs' D teams with little success, then they're the best coaches in the world.

Well, you have people telling you that the older groups are playing quality soccer.

I find this interesting though, "My goal in my work is just to help parents get information, at least to figure out the questions they should be asking."

How is it your job? And if people are happy with a product who are you to tell them that they are wrong? And why would anyone listen to a person who's sole method of evaluation is based on a price tag and tournament scores?

Those aren't the only metrics, and my work goes far beyond any one youth club.

All I'm saying is that if you pay a lot of money for meager results above U10, it's worth asking questions. If those questions are answered to your satisfaction, great. I haven't seen people provide the answers in this forum yet.

Well you asked and people answered. The problem arises when you project your value as authority. Value is subjective. The other problem is claiming authority about a program that you have not been a part of or witnessed first hand. I may not value $200 a plate at the Inn At Little Washington either but that does not mean the food isn't good.

[Anonymous]

Looking at these young teams performance in tournaments is not a good indicator. Not just because it’s too soon, but because FCB does not enter teams with the primary goal to win. That was a difficult concept for me to grasp at the beginning but I get it now. These tournament teams are mixed ages based on development at that moment of the season. So the best players in an age group are typically playing up in tournaments because developmentally it is a better challenge for them. If the goal was just to win they could put all the top players in their correct age groups. It’s nice to see this commitment to developing the players. The TD and coaches have said on many occasions, to parents and players, they would much rather lose playing the “right” way that is taught at practices, than win any game. Players are advanced when they grasp and execute concepts, not by scoring by kick and run or dribbling through the crowd 1 v 3. I see many players in practice groups who would typically be the best on their teams because they are bigger and faster, playing with the less advanced groups, only to be advanced later when they follow the concepts

[Anonymous]

Don't want to quote the detailed posts but parents definitely shouldn't make any rash judgments about a 12-year-old kid's potential or eventual ceiling as a soccer player. The process has barely started until the growth spurt has gotten under way. I realize that this is not the DMV travel soccer model, which dictates year-round soccer specialization from kindergarten and burns out 75 percent of the player pool by age 15.

[Anonymous]

My BS meter goes completely through the roof when I see these threads on FCBEscola. Post after post of how completely wonderful it is. It is the best at developing kids while parents all sing Kumbaya together in perfect harmony. Several people would join in a heartbeat if they lived closer. I don't know how you can say that unless you have seen them several times at practices and games. If you don't live close by, why are you watching so many of their games and practices??? They don't play against other clubs in league play and do very few tournaments (most teams have only done one), so people aren't seeing them that way. I think I have seen only one honest post in all these threads that gave both pros and cons. All the rest I'm guessing are either someone on the payroll or parents that burned their bridges at their old club and/or want to justify putting their kid in one of the most expensive programs in the area.

I don't understand why you would play a kid up an age group in a tournament if they are playing against other clubs C or D teams. I would rather my kid play their age group against A teams, then play up against C and D teams. Doesn't make sense. The tournaments they have won are low brackets and/or rec tournaments (Va beach). They really should be having their players play with their age group until they are versing other A teams. Then if a player is that great, have him play up an age group against other A teams.

[Anonymous]

If you can't afford it or think it's too much, don't join. It's not a must. If you find value and would like to try it, not a permanent set up. I'm not sure why folks bitch about things here that only pertain to you! None of us care. But I'd put my money on a proven club philosophy as opposed to some british guy that's a TD to train my kid. I bet FCB will join DA in a few years like their sister franchise.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, RantingSoccerDad. Or should I say, Mr. Cordeiro?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My BS meter goes completely through the roof when I see these threads on FCBEscola. Post after post of how completely wonderful it is. It is the best at developing kids while parents all sing Kumbaya together in perfect harmony. Several people would join in a heartbeat if they lived closer. I don't know how you can say that unless you have seen them several times at practices and games. If you don't live close by, why are you watching so many of their games and practices??? They don't play against other clubs in league play and do very few tournaments (most teams have only done one), so people aren't seeing them that way. I think I have seen only one honest post in all these threads that gave both pros and cons. All the rest I'm guessing are either someone on the payroll or parents that burned their bridges at their old club and/or want to justify putting their kid in one of the most expensive programs in the area.

I don't understand why you would play a kid up an age group in a tournament if they are playing against other clubs C or D teams. I would rather my kid play their age group against A teams, then play up against C and D teams. Doesn't make sense. The tournaments they have won are low brackets and/or rec tournaments (Va beach). They really should be having their players play with their age group until they are versing other A teams. Then if a player is that great, have him play up an age group against other A teams.

And that works for you. Nobody is trying to convince you to come. I know I don't care. Stay where you are happy.

There are only two ways people react to threads about clubs on forums:

People praise the club
Immediate reaction: Posted by coaches at the club.

People bash the club:
Immediate reaction: Posted by bitter ex coaches or parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, RantingSoccerDad. Or should I say, Mr. Cordeiro?

I still would love to know his credentials that make him THE authority to advise parents. LMAOF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, RantingSoccerDad. Or should I say, Mr. Cordeiro?

I still would love to know his credentials that make him THE authority to advise parents. LMAOF.

Geez, go to his site, https://rantingsoccerdad.com/

[Anonymous]

The NY Barca Academy seems to be doing well enough in NPL for their first year:
http://www.nyclubsoccerleague.com/html/npl/current/standing-list.asp