Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too am interested in where BRYC players are going. I have a rising U9 boy that is interested in travel soccer. I am not interested in traveling very far for games so BRYC actually seemed like a good club to look at.

I know a few from BRYC that went to Arlington and LMVSC last year. U9 boys do not travel far in CCL for games. I'd be more worried about how far practices are from where you live. A lot of U9 practices occur around 5 PM. Not a whole lot of time to get ready right after school but I think anywhere within 20 minutes is reasonable in this area.

With the changes to BRYC and joining ECNL I would recommend looking at all the options available. If I knew this going in this year and with some of the issues that we are experiencing this year I might have chosen differently. I was hoping to find a club we could stick with for the long haul. I will share my experience and will say this is only my opinion. Others might feel differently.

- Not sure why they even have tryouts. At the end of the tryouts they told us they take all kids regardless of skill level.
- During the tryouts we met with the coach and talked to the parents who talked about how good he was and I saw it with his interactions with the kids..During the summer he left to coach the girls and we got a new coach.
- No Communication (I feel this should be the head coaches responsibility) - From the fall until now the coach has spoken to the parents once, this is included with the recent changes and with other coaches being added/removed. Questions are asked on the sideline with no one knowing the answers. We were told we will be getting evaluations and have seen nothing. Coach doesnt address (email) the parents directly..they proxy everything through the team manager which makes no sense to me if its regarding players, coaching changes, roster moves etc. The coach should be fielding follow up questions.
- The fall schedule was a wreck. They moved field to field and after some parents complained we got a tiny space on the turf field.
- Coach to child ratio - We started with 3 coaches then lost one and were down to 2 and due to field issues they combined the U9/U10 training across 2 coaches, roughly 45 kids. Needless to say, that was a wreck. Spring has seemed to have gotten better. There are 4 coaches for both age groups and there is much more field space.
-Trainging - I feel there is very little to no emphasis on footskills. At this age I would place this near the top of what this age group should be learning. When a 9 year old asks you why they arent training footskills then you know there is a problem.

I am sure every club has its issues/challenges and the grass wont always been greened but was I expecting a better experience. We came from PWSI (pre-travel) that seemed to have everything organized from the beginning. Right after tryouts you had your roster placement, schedule on pdf with projected tournaments you would be attending, with all the information available on the website etc. Even we pre-travel we had more meetings than we have had at BRYC.

If a parent comes and talks to me around try out season I will be open about my feedback and wont be sugar coating anything. I would expect the same from other parents when tryout season starts. Hope this helps others. I sure would like to hear feedback with other parents at other clubs and if these are common issues to just get over.

This is incredibly useful information. I've been thinking about a new club for my kid and BRYC was on my list. This definitely gives me pause. My current club is better than this re communication and changes, etc.

[Anonymous]

I agree. Thank you for this feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is interesting you bring up field space. We participated in Micro last Fall. I remember one night, the younger boys were playing on the tiniest part of the field I have ever seen. The practice was pretty lame compared to what the Micro kids were doing. The girls appeared to have 1/2 the field.
That all stood out to me and made me question the U9/U10 program. I think we will look around at other teams esp. if the emphasis is not on the younger kids.

I agree with this and the previous poster. We participated in Micro Academy as well last year. My son loved it. But as he started participating in the U9 practices leading up to tryouts, I sensed the lack of individual skill development and all I saw was passing, passing, and more passing. My son would be grouped with all the younger kids, many of which who couldn't receive a proper ball or pass it right back. My son told me he was bored and we ended looking elsewhere. Many on this board advise scouting other teams' practices. I couldn't agree more. We landed in a spot where individual skills and small sided games are emphasized and have seen each player's confidence on the ball grow significantly. They work on the technical aspects of passing and I see the coach's emphasis on making the right decisions on the ball instead of tactics. I felt this was appropriate for U9s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is interesting you bring up field space. We participated in Micro last Fall. I remember one night, the younger boys were playing on the tiniest part of the field I have ever seen. The practice was pretty lame compared to what the Micro kids were doing. The girls appeared to have 1/2 the field.
That all stood out to me and made me question the U9/U10 program. I think we will look around at other teams esp. if the emphasis is not on the younger kids.

I agree with this and the previous poster. We participated in Micro Academy as well last year. My son loved it. But as he started participating in the U9 practices leading up to tryouts, I sensed the lack of individual skill development and all I saw was passing, passing, and more passing. My son would be grouped with all the younger kids, many of which who couldn't receive a proper ball or pass it right back. My son told me he was bored and we ended looking elsewhere. Many on this board advise scouting other teams' practices. I couldn't agree more. We landed in a spot where individual skills and small sided games are emphasized and have seen each player's confidence on the ball grow significantly. They work on the technical aspects of passing and I see the coach's emphasis on making the right decisions on the ball instead of tactics. I felt this was appropriate for U9s.

Thank you for your feedback. Can I ask where you ended up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is interesting you bring up field space. We participated in Micro last Fall. I remember one night, the younger boys were playing on the tiniest part of the field I have ever seen. The practice was pretty lame compared to what the Micro kids were doing. The girls appeared to have 1/2 the field.
That all stood out to me and made me question the U9/U10 program. I think we will look around at other teams esp. if the emphasis is not on the younger kids.

I agree with this and the previous poster. We participated in Micro Academy as well last year. My son loved it. But as he started participating in the U9 practices leading up to tryouts, I sensed the lack of individual skill development and all I saw was passing, passing, and more passing. My son would be grouped with all the younger kids, many of which who couldn't receive a proper ball or pass it right back. My son told me he was bored and we ended looking elsewhere. Many on this board advise scouting other teams' practices. I couldn't agree more. We landed in a spot where individual skills and small sided games are emphasized and have seen each player's confidence on the ball grow significantly. They work on the technical aspects of passing and I see the coach's emphasis on making the right decisions on the ball instead of tactics. I felt this was appropriate for U9s.

Funny you should mention this, this is what the current u9 practices look like..drowning in passing drills. I suspect because the coach came from coaching the older kids and has an older child which I believe he coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too am interested in where BRYC players are going. I have a rising U9 boy that is interested in travel soccer. I am not interested in traveling very far for games so BRYC actually seemed like a good club to look at.

I know a few from BRYC that went to Arlington and LMVSC last year. U9 boys do not travel far in CCL for games. I'd be more worried about how far practices are from where you live. A lot of U9 practices occur around 5 PM. Not a whole lot of time to get ready right after school but I think anywhere within 20 minutes is reasonable in this area.

4:45 pm at that age group. Going home would be a nightmare. Have you seen 395 south at 6pm? There is nothing special happening at practice to justify that drive at that age. But--to each his own. Maybe traffic is your thing.

arlington younger boys practice at 4:45 at fields near the 395 in south arlington, and you need to show at 4:35. it's rough to get there if you live in arlington. many other practices start at 5 pm with 4:45 show.

[Anonymous]

BRYC starts at 5:45pm currently at Woodson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is interesting you bring up field space. We participated in Micro last Fall. I remember one night, the younger boys were playing on the tiniest part of the field I have ever seen. The practice was pretty lame compared to what the Micro kids were doing. The girls appeared to have 1/2 the field.
That all stood out to me and made me question the U9/U10 program. I think we will look around at other teams esp. if the emphasis is not on the younger kids.

I agree with this and the previous poster. We participated in Micro Academy as well last year. My son loved it. But as he started participating in the U9 practices leading up to tryouts, I sensed the lack of individual skill development and all I saw was passing, passing, and more passing. My son would be grouped with all the younger kids, many of which who couldn't receive a proper ball or pass it right back. My son told me he was bored and we ended looking elsewhere. Many on this board advise scouting other teams' practices. I couldn't agree more. We landed in a spot where individual skills and small sided games are emphasized and have seen each player's confidence on the ball grow significantly. They work on the technical aspects of passing and I see the coach's emphasis on making the right decisions on the ball instead of tactics. I felt this was appropriate for U9s.

Thank you for your feedback. Can I ask where you ended up?

Funny enough...someone mentioned it in the last page. Trying maintain anonymity in this soccer microcosm. Don't get me wrong, the people at BRYC were great and accommodating to my son's development, but I didn't see the next step as the right fit for him.

[Anonymous]

DD has U11 Arlington practices at 5 - 6:30 PM but need to be there 15 minutes early, so we go straight from school as it is

Traffic coming out after at 6:30 and you can't take the 395..

But she live in Arlington ( fortunately).

[Anonymous]

Spirit posted another VA tryout date for the 26th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spirit posted another VA tryout date for the 26th

And 4/2. what happened to those full rosters?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spirit posted another VA tryout date for the 26th

And 4/2. what happened to those full rosters?

Who knows how many spots are left per age group. It could be 1 it could be 17.

Anyone out there have a clue?

[Anonymous]

Does the DA post results between clubs? Will be interesting to see FCV and VDA relegate Spirit to 3rd tier DA afterthought. Will only change if they offer $$. Reston . . . just ridiculous. Glad my DD is YEARS away from this joke you guys are delaying with. ECNL will hopefully implode in about 5 years and one DA in this area will attract the top 20 girls in NoVA. Current U9s are very lucky. This mess ideally and finally put an end to the ODP state pool wasteland. Crap ... you 03/O2 guys must be at a terrible xroad. Condolences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does the DA post results between clubs? Will be interesting to see FCV and VDA relegate Spirit to 3rd tier DA afterthought. Will only change if they offer $$. Reston . . . just ridiculous. Glad my DD is YEARS away from this joke you guys are delaying with. ECNL will hopefully implode in about 5 years and one DA in this area will attract the top 20 girls in NoVA. Current U9s are very lucky. This mess ideally and finally put an end to the ODP state pool wasteland. Crap ... you 03/O2 guys must be at a terrible xroad. Condolences.

As ideal as 1 true elite team sounds, I personally think that would suck. The area can easily support 2 perhaps 3 elite teams - but more importantly it is good for all involved that there is competition between clubs. As you mentioned - it may encourage keeping costs down, it gives parents a choice if a club / coach isn't the right fit, and it will give a few more deserving kids an opportunity. Just to be clear - I think 5 elite clubs is too many, 3 might be too many - but I'd like to see if the area could support 3 "elite" clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does the DA post results between clubs? Will be interesting to see FCV and VDA relegate Spirit to 3rd tier DA afterthought. Will only change if they offer $$. Reston . . . just ridiculous. Glad my DD is YEARS away from this joke you guys are delaying with. ECNL will hopefully implode in about 5 years and one DA in this area will attract the top 20 girls in NoVA. Current U9s are very lucky. This mess ideally and finally put an end to the ODP state pool wasteland. Crap ... you 03/O2 guys must be at a terrible xroad. Condolences.

And you think your U9 would therefor be in the top 20 girls in NoVA?