Maryland Youth Soccer - Let's compile our experiences here

[Anonymous]

After spending the last three years going through the youth soccer world in Maryland pretty much blind, I thought it might be worthwhile to compile reviews and experiences people have had and any information you think might be important to share with parents who are either new to the sport or new to the organized soccer world in this area.

I can start: I've lived in MD my entire life, and played YMCA, MSI, NCSL (Bethesda Soccer Club), HS, College, Washington International Soccer League, etc... As a parent, especially for younger kids, I've found that there aren't too many options for kids who learned the basics early on and need to be challenged a bit rather than babysat (I don't mean that as negatively as it sounds). However, there are some that are worth checking out:

1) Damascus Soccer Club runs a junior academy where players as young as 3 have practice during the week and games on the weekend. The positives here are that practices are optional (we never went because Damascus is a bit of a hike from where we live), and games are early in the morning Saturday, so the weekend is still in tact when you're done. They teach kids some basic soccer skills, but really the value here is in the repeated exposure to small sided games where kids can learn to play as a team, and learn what it's like to be on a field with several other kids at the same time. This is the one thing that parents who have some experience in the sport can't teach their kids in the backyard. Cost is around $100/season.

2) Bethesda Soccer Club Juniors - My kids haven't participated in this program yet, but we plan on signing them up. They run clinics on Thurs/Sun at several locations and you sign up for one. Half hour of practice, half hour of games, and a tournament at the end of the season. Cost $195

I'd love to hear from folks with experience in these or any other clubs/academies/camps and certainly not limited to the youngest age groups. Anything parents of budding soccer players should know as the years tick by would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

Brit-Am has good programs for the little ones and the younger ages and focuses on MSI Classic league so it's less intense than "travel soccer". PPA has a really good reputation for training as well.

For travel soccer, we have been at both Potomac Soccer and Bethesda Soccer and found at least through U12, it is really coach specific. Bethesda's top teams (Green and Blue, U11 and U12) have excellent coaches. The lower teams tend to be hit or miss on coaches (though that could be more related to the very different skill levels of the kids on the lower teams). BSC from U13 and up have really good coaches. We found that Potomac is just hit or miss with the coaches across the age groups. Potomac is also less intense than BSC (2x week practice vs 3x in Fall and Spring).

[Anonymous]

I have the sense from reading the massive NoVa soccer thread that there aren't many of us from Maryland around here. I've followed that thread from the beginning and posted quite a bit too. One takeaway for me is that we are extremely lucky in MoCo to have MSI, and I think they do a fabulous job of running an orderly and affordable rec program. My husband played MSI rec all the way through high school and one of our kids has as well. It's so nice that we have a county-wide option v the confusing patchwork of club-based house and development leagues parents have to navigate through in NoVa.

We have two kids at Bethesda now, one in the younger age groups and a high-schooler. We've been very happy there, and I would definitely recommend the club for anyone whose kids are serious about soccer. They emphasize foot skills a ton in the early ages, which we really appreciate. We have liked some coaches better than others (loved most), but they all take soccer seriously--we've never had one who seemed to be mailing it in. I should note we have boys. I have heard complaints from girls' parents through the years, but hopefully things are improving since they brought in new staff a couple years ago.

[Anonymous]

I am interested in moving my rising 6th grader to MSI Classic, but it's not as simple as I hoped. He passed the skills inventory, but then it's a matter of reaching out to existing teams that are in need of players and then participating in a tryout. Some of the teams are in the highest Classic Division (meaning they won in the lower Division), so it's hard to know what teams to try out for and would be the best fit. I'll basically have to take my son to try out for multiple teams that he may or may not make. Also, some teams are parent coached, others are professionally coached and require a greater monetary commitment.

If you are fortunate enough to be on a rec team and the whole team is moving to Classic, it's probably pretty simple. But if you are a loner, the process is much more challenging for the parent and child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am interested in moving my rising 6th grader to MSI Classic, but it's not as simple as I hoped. He passed the skills inventory, but then it's a matter of reaching out to existing teams that are in need of players and then participating in a tryout. Some of the teams are in the highest Classic Division (meaning they won in the lower Division), so it's hard to know what teams to try out for and would be the best fit. I'll basically have to take my son to try out for multiple teams that he may or may not make. Also, some teams are parent coached, others are professionally coached and require a greater monetary commitment.

If you are fortunate enough to be on a rec team and the whole team is moving to Classic, it's probably pretty simple. But if you are a loner, the process is much more challenging for the parent and child.

Have you asked the Classic coaches you've contacted whether your son could attend a practice or two to check the team out and see how he'd fit? I think it will be a little chaotic if you try to send him to multiple teams during the tryout season.

Also, you may want to look into PPA if you haven't already. They offer a program for that age group that seems to be generally equivalent to the MSI Classic level. It's pricey, but they have a lot of good coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have the sense from reading the massive NoVa soccer thread that there aren't many of us from Maryland around here. I've followed that thread from the beginning and posted quite a bit too. One takeaway for me is that we are extremely lucky in MoCo to have MSI, and I think they do a fabulous job of running an orderly and affordable rec program. My husband played MSI rec all the way through high school and one of our kids has as well. It's so nice that we have a county-wide option v the confusing patchwork of club-based house and development leagues parents have to navigate through in NoVa.

We have two kids at Bethesda now, one in the younger age groups and a high-schooler. We've been very happy there, and I would definitely recommend the club for anyone whose kids are serious about soccer. They emphasize foot skills a ton in the early ages, which we really appreciate. We have liked some coaches better than others (loved most), but they all take soccer seriously--we've never had one who seemed to be mailing it in. I should note we have boys. I have heard complaints from girls' parents through the years, but hopefully things are improving since they brought in new staff a couple years ago.

How old were your kids when they started and what are the schedules like for the youngest kids? (Have a nearly 6 yr old who's very into soccer and pretty good, but not sure how realistic it is to put a K'er in anything beyond MSI / Brit Am at this point).

[Anonymous]

Age 3 -- tot class
Age 4-5 Brit Am clinics/free play, MSI Kindergarten program
Age 6-7 MSI Rec, Brit am clinics (occasionally), MSI Second Grade "Players Academy" (essentially extra clinics)
Age 7-11 Travel (2x week but summers off, three no more than four tournaments a year), Coerver clinics
Age 11-14 Travel (3X week but six weeks of summer off), four no more than five tournaments a year, one week residential soccer camp, ODP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am interested in moving my rising 6th grader to MSI Classic, but it's not as simple as I hoped. He passed the skills inventory, but then it's a matter of reaching out to existing teams that are in need of players and then participating in a tryout. Some of the teams are in the highest Classic Division (meaning they won in the lower Division), so it's hard to know what teams to try out for and would be the best fit. I'll basically have to take my son to try out for multiple teams that he may or may not make. Also, some teams are parent coached, others are professionally coached and require a greater monetary commitment.

If you are fortunate enough to be on a rec team and the whole team is moving to Classic, it's probably pretty simple. But if you are a loner, the process is much more challenging for the parent and child.

Have you asked the Classic coaches you've contacted whether your son could attend a practice or two to check the team out and see how he'd fit? I think it will be a little chaotic if you try to send him to multiple teams during the tryout season.

Also, you may want to look into PPA if you haven't already. They offer a program for that age group that seems to be generally equivalent to the MSI Classic level. It's pricey, but they have a lot of good coaches.

Good idea to contact the Classic coaches and attend a practice or two. I've heard of PPA, not sure of the price, but I'm also in Rockville and thought that PPA was based closer to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have the sense from reading the massive NoVa soccer thread that there aren't many of us from Maryland around here. I've followed that thread from the beginning and posted quite a bit too. One takeaway for me is that we are extremely lucky in MoCo to have MSI, and I think they do a fabulous job of running an orderly and affordable rec program. My husband played MSI rec all the way through high school and one of our kids has as well. It's so nice that we have a county-wide option v the confusing patchwork of club-based house and development leagues parents have to navigate through in NoVa.

We have two kids at Bethesda now, one in the younger age groups and a high-schooler. We've been very happy there, and I would definitely recommend the club for anyone whose kids are serious about soccer. They emphasize foot skills a ton in the early ages, which we really appreciate. We have liked some coaches better than others (loved most), but they all take soccer seriously--we've never had one who seemed to be mailing it in. I should note we have boys. I have heard complaints from girls' parents through the years, but hopefully things are improving since they brought in new staff a couple years ago.

How old were your kids when they started and what are the schedules like for the youngest kids? (Have a nearly 6 yr old who's very into soccer and pretty good, but not sure how realistic it is to put a K'er in anything beyond MSI / Brit Am at this point).

My older child started travel soccer in second grade at a different club, then moved to Bethesda a couple years later. He did MSI in kindergarten and first. My youngest started with Bethesda in 1st grade as a U8. For him, practices are 2 times a week plus a low-key game on the weekend. It's a very flexible program at that age, and kids who are interested have the opportunity to play additional games on the weekend or join other U8 practices. It's much more of an academy-style program than it was a few years ago.

Our oldest son could have handled focused soccer in kindergarten, but that would have been too much for the younger one. We were told years ago by one of our favorite coaches that the key ages for laying the foundation for foot skills and other techniques is 8-12, so that has been our guideline. We have another child who didn't move to travel soccer until middle school, and it is very hard (if not impossible) for a kid to catch-up skill-wise at that point, though this is not an issue if you have skilled family members who can train a kid at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am interested in moving my rising 6th grader to MSI Classic, but it's not as simple as I hoped. He passed the skills inventory, but then it's a matter of reaching out to existing teams that are in need of players and then participating in a tryout. Some of the teams are in the highest Classic Division (meaning they won in the lower Division), so it's hard to know what teams to try out for and would be the best fit. I'll basically have to take my son to try out for multiple teams that he may or may not make. Also, some teams are parent coached, others are professionally coached and require a greater monetary commitment.

If you are fortunate enough to be on a rec team and the whole team is moving to Classic, it's probably pretty simple. But if you are a loner, the process is much more challenging for the parent and child.

Have you asked the Classic coaches you've contacted whether your son could attend a practice or two to check the team out and see how he'd fit? I think it will be a little chaotic if you try to send him to multiple teams during the tryout season.

Also, you may want to look into PPA if you haven't already. They offer a program for that age group that seems to be generally equivalent to the MSI Classic level. It's pricey, but they have a lot of good coaches.

Good idea to contact the Classic coaches and attend a practice or two. I've heard of PPA, not sure of the price, but I'm also in Rockville and thought that PPA was based closer to DC.

The programs we've done with PPA have been at the Norwood school in Bethesda and Stone Ridge (a summer camp) which is pretty close to Rockville. Not sure how far north their range extends.

I'm pretty torn about PPA to be honest. I think they do a very good job (much better than KOA and some of the other similar groups we've encountered), and the two founders (who used to coach at Bethesda) are wonderful--great coaches, great with kids, and nice guys. But they are slowly taking over the mid-tier level basketball and soccer level in MoCo, which erodes our outstanding, affordable rec programs for both. They seem to get more expensive each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have the sense from reading the massive NoVa soccer thread that there aren't many of us from Maryland around here. I've followed that thread from the beginning and posted quite a bit too. One takeaway for me is that we are extremely lucky in MoCo to have MSI, and I think they do a fabulous job of running an orderly and affordable rec program. My husband played MSI rec all the way through high school and one of our kids has as well. It's so nice that we have a county-wide option v the confusing patchwork of club-based house and development leagues parents have to navigate through in NoVa.

We have two kids at Bethesda now, one in the younger age groups and a high-schooler. We've been very happy there, and I would definitely recommend the club for anyone whose kids are serious about soccer. They emphasize foot skills a ton in the early ages, which we really appreciate. We have liked some coaches better than others (loved most), but they all take soccer seriously--we've never had one who seemed to be mailing it in. I should note we have boys. I have heard complaints from girls' parents through the years, but hopefully things are improving since they brought in new staff a couple years ago.

How old were your kids when they started and what are the schedules like for the youngest kids? (Have a nearly 6 yr old who's very into soccer and pretty good, but not sure how realistic it is to put a K'er in anything beyond MSI / Brit Am at this point).

My older child started travel soccer in second grade at a different club, then moved to Bethesda a couple years later. He did MSI in kindergarten and first. My youngest started with Bethesda in 1st grade as a U8. For him, practices are 2 times a week plus a low-key game on the weekend. It's a very flexible program at that age, and kids who are interested have the opportunity to play additional games on the weekend or join other U8 practices. It's much more of an academy-style program than it was a few years ago.

Our oldest son could have handled focused soccer in kindergarten, but that would have been too much for the younger one. We were told years ago by one of our favorite coaches that the key ages for laying the foundation for foot skills and other techniques is 8-12, so that has been our guideline. We have another child who didn't move to travel soccer until middle school, and it is very hard (if not impossible) for a kid to catch-up skill-wise at that point, though this is not an issue if you have skilled family members who can train a kid at home.

Thanks - this is really helpful. My son will be 6 in a few weeks and is very focused (also small and not the technically best player, maybe, but can handle and soaks up instruction). MSI is too easy for him, but at 6 it seems crazy to do twice a week practices etc. My younger son will happily stare at the grass for 45 mins.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this. For those who have moved from MSI Rec to Classic, how far in advance do you need to start the process? DD is playing (hopefully) her last season of rec this spring and would like to move to something more challenging next year. Her preference is something intense like a travel team with lots of practices and games but that isn't really feasible for our family right now so I'm hoping to stick with MSI and just move to a more rigorous team.

[Anonymous]

If your daughter will be 12U or younger, she'll need to pass a Classic skills evaluation, which is usually held in early May. If she passes, you'll then need to reach out to teams that are in need of players and request a tryout. Some teams will have parent coaches and others will have paid coaches. The quality of instruction and the players will widely vary. If your daughter will be 13U or higher, no skills evaluation is required and you'll go directing to contacting teams to request a tryout. The list of teams seeking players will be posted later this season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter will be 12U or younger, she'll need to pass a Classic skills evaluation, which is usually held in early May. If she passes, you'll then need to reach out to teams that are in need of players and request a tryout. Some teams will have parent coaches and others will have paid coaches. The quality of instruction and the players will widely vary. If your daughter will be 13U or higher, no skills evaluation is required and you'll go directing to contacting teams to request a tryout. The list of teams seeking players will be posted later this season.

Thank you! She is 9. I assume that if she passes the evaluation she would be trying out for placement on a team for the Fall 2017 season? She's playing on an MSI Rec team this spring.