Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not as black and white. After child spends heck of a lot more time with family at home. Sportsmanship, attitude, etc. Is born at home and cultivated by coach. But a coach is not the only one where this belongs, its all over the society.

I agree with this, and would add that it's a lot easier to find programs that focus on fair play and good sportsmanship and coaches who are traditional role models than it is to find truly gifted coaches who have a sophisticated understanding of soccer and the ability to teach kids to play it at the very highest levels. Ideally you can get the complete package. Failing that, for kids who have a passion for the game and serious potential, I'd happily accept a genius coach who is dedicated to getting the best out of kids, even if he has an abrasive attitude or other less than ideal inter-personal qualities, so long as he's not actually abusing the kids, of course.

You can always spend extra time at home emphasizing good values and the right way to behave, but teaching soccer is not so easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only fifty-year-old British guys who talk in that funny British way can expect to be treated with common courtesy and occasional deference in the world of NoVa travel soccer.

then it's a good thing VYS just hired almost that very person as new technical director

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share info about BRYC Elite Academy for the younger ages?

And why does BRYC achieve such mind-boggling results as a travel program overall? What's the secret?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share info about BRYC Elite Academy for the younger ages?

And why does BRYC achieve such mind-boggling results as a travel program overall? What's the secret?

Good coaches. Solid development curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only fifty-year-old British guys who talk in that funny British way can expect to be treated with common courtesy and occasional deference in the world of NoVa travel soccer.

then it's a good thing VYS just hired almost that very person as new technical director

On paper, the new technical director looks very impressive, as does the new executive director VYS hired. Coupled with securing Hank Leung, and you must say VYS has taken a major step up. It will probably take a few years for the results to be clear, but personnel-wise, the club is moving in the right direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only fifty-year-old British guys who talk in that funny British way can expect to be treated with common courtesy and occasional deference in the world of NoVa travel soccer.

then it's a good thing VYS just hired almost that very person as new technical director

On paper, the new technical director looks very impressive, as does the new executive director VYS hired. Coupled with securing Hank Leung, and you must say VYS has taken a major step up. It will probably take a few years for the results to be clear, but personnel-wise, the club is moving in the right direction.

I do applaud VYS for making a change, things were not completely broken but not working that well either (at least on boys side). Hope these are steps in a better direction, but we will have to see.

I don't think the new TD's resume says much about how well (or not well) he will do. Eddie Lima, if anything IMO, came in with a stronger resume for the job since he had more youth soccer experience. Experience with the Wales national team does not necessarily translate to working with 9 - 12 year olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only fifty-year-old British guys who talk in that funny British way can expect to be treated with common courtesy and occasional deference in the world of NoVa travel soccer.

then it's a good thing VYS just hired almost that very person as new technical director

On paper, the new technical director looks very impressive, as does the new executive director VYS hired. Coupled with securing Hank Leung, and you must say VYS has taken a major step up. It will probably take a few years for the results to be clear, but personnel-wise, the club is moving in the right direction.

I do applaud VYS for making a change, things were not completely broken but not working that well either (at least on boys side). Hope these are steps in a better direction, but we will have to see.

I don't think the new TD's resume says much about how well (or not well) he will do. Eddie Lima, if anything IMO, came in with a stronger resume for the job since he had more youth soccer experience. Experience with the Wales national team does not necessarily translate to working with 9 - 12 year olds.

Things weren't working well on either side, boys or girls, at least at the academy level.

And regarding youth experience, did you even read this part of the press release:
Gunney was the Technical Director for Barclays English Premier League club Fulham FC’s Girls Centre of Excellence from 2007 to 2010. As the Technical Director for the Centre of Excellence, Gunney was responsible for managing and developing technical direction to the Fulham FC youth academies under his supervision. Under Gunney’s technical direction, the Centre of Excellence produced seven international players for the England Women’s National Team.

That's more women placed on a NATIONAL team than Eddie/VYS got onto the Region 1 ODP teams in his time. Andwas Eddie a TD somewhere else for four years before he joined VYS?

[Anonymous]

Hey man, I hope the new TD does great. Just saying it is not that easy to predict. Probably shouldn't have compared to the new guy. But the basic point is the same IMO, Eddie Lima had solid qualifications for the job and many people were positive about his hire. But it ended up with people like you and me feeling lukewarm about Eddie's performance as TD.

Even being Fulham Girls TD is a different gig than VYS TD. Sometimes guys come from a different level and are not that into or good at working with the kids, parents, youth soccer org issues etc.. Sure the hiring committee considered all that and hope it goes great.

[Anonymous]

Good for VYS. That's three smart hires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share info about BRYC Elite Academy for the younger ages?

And why does BRYC achieve such mind-boggling results as a travel program overall? What's the secret?

Some of the things BRYC does well as a club include (1) applying a specific player development model consistently across all teams/ages (see the club website for details) (2) focusing relentlessly on a possession style of play throughout the club regardless of the results at the younger ages, (3) coaches specializing in a 2-3 year player age range, rather than coaching the same players/teams year after year after year, (4) leveraging positive experiences at USYS National Championship, Region 1, etc.

A few other clubs do the same things well and also consistently produce great teams, so I don't think BRYC's success is due to anything "secret".

I also think BRYC benefits significantly in building strong teams at say U12 and higher from being centrally located in Northern Virgina. BRYC's home fields are likely within a reasonable (e.g. 30 minute) drive for most NoVA families looking for a competitive club for their motivated child. The same can't be said for some big club teams on the North, South or West edges of NoVA where many families could be looking at a 60 minutes drive for practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share info about BRYC Elite Academy for the younger ages?

And why does BRYC achieve such mind-boggling results as a travel program overall? What's the secret?

Some of the things BRYC does well as a club include (1) applying a specific player development model consistently across all teams/ages (see the club website for details) (2) focusing relentlessly on a possession style of play throughout the club regardless of the results at the younger ages, (3) coaches specializing in a 2-3 year player age range, rather than coaching the same players/teams year after year after year, (4) leveraging positive experiences at USYS National Championship, Region 1, etc.

A few other clubs do the same things well and also consistently produce great teams, so I don't think BRYC's success is due to anything "secret".

I also think BRYC benefits significantly in building strong teams at say U12 and higher from being centrally located in Northern Virgina. BRYC's home fields are likely within a reasonable (e.g. 30 minute) drive for most NoVA families looking for a competitive club for their motivated child. The same can't be said for some big club teams on the North, South or West edges of NoVA where many families could be looking at a 60 minutes drive for practice.

I think this is a great summary of BRYC's strentghs. I hadn't thought about the location advantage the club has but it's an interesting point. I would add two other points. First, all of the coaches I've seen are very good teachers of the game, including helping with details of play. Second, I (and my child) really like how multiple age groups practice at the same location - coaches from different age groups will step into drills to help out and give pointers, which introduces the coaches to younger players earlier and increases the individual instruction given to players. It also allows younger players to interact with the older players more, enhancing the "club" experience but also showing younger players where they need to be as they grow. The downside is the fields can get a little crowded.

[Anonymous]

Are BRYC's ODSL teams considered "rec" (not part of the travel academy) rather than "elite"? Just wondering if the ODSL players receive the same level of training as others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are BRYC's ODSL teams considered "rec" (not part of the travel academy) rather than "elite"? Just wondering if the ODSL players receive the same level of training as others.

They're separate. The ODSL teams are coached by a volunteer coach. They are part of the rec organization, but they are different in that they are selective and play in an outside league (obviously).

[Anonymous]

That makes sense considering how awkward some other organizations find it to have every travel player across every skill level in the same academy structure, even though it makes parents feel good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That makes sense considering how awkward some other organizations find it to have every travel player across every skill level in the same academy structure, even though it makes parents feel good.

Well, interestingly, a lot of the top rec kids from BRYC choose to play ODSL rather than try out for the Elite Academy -- at least this is true at the U9 level this year. I don't know where all the Elite Academy kids come from, but the vast majority didn't come up through BRYC rec.