Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U9 trainings are so packed at the big clubs with hardly any space, you would be laughed off. No U8 rec player is going to be allowed to train with the travel teams. That's only for older players.

As I said above, our club's travel program starts at U8. Many U8s train and/or play some games with one of the U9 teams. It is good that they allow this flexibility, in my view. I agree it might not make sense if the U8 program is rec only.

This is why a lot of people choose to train their kids in a smaller environment U9-U12. I know many kids that made top teams at big clubs, but their parents declined because they did not like the way training was done for the younger kids. Smaller clubs also will sometimes place an entire team in an upper league age bracket if the kids aren't getting enough competition in the weekly game. This is something big clubs just can't do.

In the younger years, individual skills and development is way more important than league, rankings, a large number of tournament play, or club size/reputation. Kids can always choose to go there at a later age.

Many parents new to this get to caught up in the club name or what they perceive is 'elite' without really knowing anything about the way they train or the attention their kid is going to get. The top team isn't always the right environment for a player to develop even if they make it. Sometimes it is better to train with the top team---but be the play maker on the second team where you get more playing time. Playing time and touches is the most important in the younger years. Training--not wins or perceived prestige (which is laughably at 8-12 anyways) is not the way your child will get better. Let the fools fight amongst themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Arlington's U8 Academy is not "pre-travel." U8 in Arlington is rec teams only. If you want, you can sign up for an extra skills session once a week with prof. staff coaches. There are no tryouts, you just pay. Yes, they call it "Academy," but other clubs have the exact same thing. For example, in Mclean, you can pay extra on your U8 rec team for a weekly skills session with coaching staff. This extra weekly thing is very different from the MYS U8 pre-travel academy that you have to try out for and that is run entirely by staff instead of being on a rec team.

Arlington appears to be rethinking its Academy program. They selected a few Academy players to participate in their new Winter, and now Spring Advanced Academy program (seems to be a type of pre-travel program). I've seen some of those Advanced Academy kids play winter indoor soccer, and many of them were highly competitive, fast, and surprisingly small. Hopefully, in the future, Arlington's Advanced Academy will progress towards an Alexandria like program where the kids actually play in a U8 league.

The U8 league is very common everywhere else. Surprising they don't have one.

[Anonymous]

While I understand the frustration of many parents in the cattle call style tryouts, previous posters have it right. There are teams or coaches you can contact about getting your kid to train and see practice with the team. This will give you a realistic look at what level your kid might fit, the way a team trains, and will give them a good look at your kid. I would have a big issue if they didn't allow at least that. That way, even if your kid can't play with the team that day, at least he/she might be known by someone on staff as a kid who's parents take this seriously and are willing to invest in their kids soccer beyond the bare minimum. Because be real, coaches want to win, and the bare minimum rarely helps to do so.

My son was allowed to try out with two teams in a smaller numbers environment and it really helped him know them and helped them see how his play worked with their players.

So, go to practice. It will help you assess your kid, the team and the all important commute. If they don't want you there, be concerned!

[Anonymous]

Speaking of tryouts, does anyone know what's up with Joga SC these days? I heard a rumour last fall that the founder Kephern Fuller pulled up stakes and moved back to Holland (after collecting a year's worth of training payments in advance from some players).

Now I'm hearing he's back and Joga is forming teams to compete with the DAs next year. Their website says nothing about this though. Anyone on here have the inside scoop on this? Are they holding tryouts?

[Anonymous]

12:44, don't throw something like that out there without knowing the facts. You're implying that Keph ran off with people's money and that wasn't the case at all.

Currently, Joga is holding ID sessions for academy teams for next year. I have no idea who is going to these and wheat the talent pool is like. I do know that there was a strong group of 06 and 07 players that trained with Joga a year or two ago and all of those kids had to go elsewhere because there wasn't a path for them going forward. Looks like there may be one now.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard anything about Virginia teams not being allowed in EDP? I can see a few Virginia teams are in this season. Will that change in the fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard anything about Virginia teams not being allowed in EDP? I can see a few Virginia teams are in this season. Will that change in the fall?

Well, where did you hear it? In general I don't think EDP cares and they provide Geographic based divisions. These divisions have existed for some time and certainly accommodate NOVa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard anything about Virginia teams not being allowed in EDP? I can see a few Virginia teams are in this season. Will that change in the fall?

Well, where did you hear it? In general I don't think EDP cares and they provide Geographic based divisions. These divisions have existed for some time and certainly accommodate NOVa.

I heard it was a U.S. Club Soccer thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:44, don't throw something like that out there without knowing the facts. You're implying that Keph ran off with people's money and that wasn't the case at all.

Currently, Joga is holding ID sessions for academy teams for next year. I have no idea who is going to these and wheat the talent pool is like. I do know that there was a strong group of 06 and 07 players that trained with Joga a year or two ago and all of those kids had to go elsewhere because there wasn't a path for them going forward. Looks like there may be one now.

Backing you up on the fact that PP threw some incorrect facts. Keph did not run off with money, I know he has been back since, seems to have good relationship with those that previously trained with Joga. Joga training still continued, just that Keph was not physically here.
The 03/04s were just in Portugal representing Joga 2 weeks ago.

As for the 06/07 group, most are with Bethesda South and unlikely to leave as they seem to be have a strong thing going.

As for the PPs comment to compete with DA, I really doubt that at this point. They will likely only compete in EDP or some partnership with an independent club to allow them access to leagues.

As for another comment posted regarding EDP and VA teams, I heard the same but haven't heard anything regarding since or any concrete details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard anything about Virginia teams not being allowed in EDP? I can see a few Virginia teams are in this season. Will that change in the fall?

Well, where did you hear it? In general I don't think EDP cares and they provide Geographic based divisions. These divisions have existed for some time and certainly accommodate NOVa.

I heard it was a U.S. Club Soccer thing.

EDP is kind of a weird confederation of leagues. It seems to support NPL in the Northern part and then the southern divisions are this weird all over the place league with clubs hopping in and out. Many use it as a supplement league.

Much of EDP never made any sense to me. I could see US Club Soccer trying to tighten up the NPLs but other than that I doubt they care much about EDP beyond the actual EDP NPL league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:44, don't throw something like that out there without knowing the facts. You're implying that Keph ran off with people's money and that wasn't the case at all.

Currently, Joga is holding ID sessions for academy teams for next year. I have no idea who is going to these and wheat the talent pool is like. I do know that there was a strong group of 06 and 07 players that trained with Joga a year or two ago and all of those kids had to go elsewhere because there wasn't a path for them going forward. Looks like there may be one now.

Backing you up on the fact that PP threw some incorrect facts. Keph did not run off with money, I know he has been back since, seems to have good relationship with those that previously trained with Joga. Joga training still continued, just that Keph was not physically here.
The 03/04s were just in Portugal representing Joga 2 weeks ago.

As for the 06/07 group, most are with Bethesda South and unlikely to leave as they seem to be have a strong thing going.

As for the PPs comment to compete with DA, I really doubt that at this point. They will likely only compete in EDP or some partnership with an independent club to allow them access to leagues.

As for another comment posted regarding EDP and VA teams, I heard the same but haven't heard anything regarding since or any concrete details.

"The Joga training still continued, just that Keph was not physically here."

Lol, I stand corrected then. I'm sure that's what people expected when they signed up.

And no, I don't think they'll actually be able to compete with the DA's. I just heard that was the marketing pitch.

More likely is that this will provide an option for some of the 04s and 03s currently with Arlington DA who are getting squeezed out next year. The 04 age group will contact from 2 9v9 teams to 1 11v11 team, so not all the current 04 DA players will make the cut. The 03s age up to U15 next year so Arlington won't have a DA team for them. To stay in the DA they would need to be good enough to make Bethesda, DCU, or VDA, and they'll be competing with existing players in those clubs as well as Loudoun's 03s, who are in the same situation. The end result is there will be a lot of 03/04s cut loose from the DA this year, and for many them Joga probably provides a more attractive option than just going back to a traditional club. Whether it is actually a better option is a different question, but the hype that comes with being a "Joga boy" will at least make the players/parents feel better about themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:44, don't throw something like that out there without knowing the facts. You're implying that Keph ran off with people's money and that wasn't the case at all.

Currently, Joga is holding ID sessions for academy teams for next year. I have no idea who is going to these and wheat the talent pool is like. I do know that there was a strong group of 06 and 07 players that trained with Joga a year or two ago and all of those kids had to go elsewhere because there wasn't a path for them going forward. Looks like there may be one now.

Backing you up on the fact that PP threw some incorrect facts. Keph did not run off with money, I know he has been back since, seems to have good relationship with those that previously trained with Joga. Joga training still continued, just that Keph was not physically here.
The 03/04s were just in Portugal representing Joga 2 weeks ago.

As for the 06/07 group, most are with Bethesda South and unlikely to leave as they seem to be have a strong thing going.

As for the PPs comment to compete with DA, I really doubt that at this point. They will likely only compete in EDP or some partnership with an independent club to allow them access to leagues.

As for another comment posted regarding EDP and VA teams, I heard the same but haven't heard anything regarding since or any concrete details.

"The Joga training still continued, just that Keph was not physically here."

Lol, I stand corrected then. I'm sure that's what people expected when they signed up.

And no, I don't think they'll actually be able to compete with the DA's. I just heard that was the marketing pitch.

More likely is that this will provide an option for some of the 04s and 03s currently with Arlington DA who are getting squeezed out next year. The 04 age group will contact from 2 9v9 teams to 1 11v11 team, so not all the current 04 DA players will make the cut. The 03s age up to U15 next year so Arlington won't have a DA team for them. To stay in the DA they would need to be good enough to make Bethesda, DCU, or VDA, and they'll be competing with existing players in those clubs as well as Loudoun's 03s, who are in the same situation. The end result is there will be a lot of 03/04s cut loose from the DA this year, and for many them Joga probably provides a more attractive option than just going back to a traditional club. Whether it is actually a better option is a different question, but the hype that comes with being a "Joga boy" will at least make the players/parents feel better about themselves.

ha ha, I guess I got to give it to you about the technical aspect of him not being there but even when he was there he wasn't the only one running sessions. My kid never participated in Joga training but a friend's did and it sounded like some of the other trainers were heavily involved.

Being a "Joga boy" in my opinion is just as you say "hype", something different that will entice parents as something else but what is their real pathway. Agree that the DA competition is just a marketing tool. They will pitch how EDP is the next best thing and where players of their "caliber" should be playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of tryouts, does anyone know what's up with Joga SC these days? I heard a rumour last fall that the founder Kephern Fuller pulled up stakes and moved back to Holland (after collecting a year's worth of training payments in advance from some players).

Now I'm hearing he's back and Joga is forming teams to compete with the DAs next year. Their website says nothing about this though. Anyone on here have the inside scoop on this? Are they holding tryouts?

Check out this twitter. He posts info about Joga ID Sessions, etc. @WehdawiDC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These discussions on the tryout selection process have me marvelling (again) at how coaches pick teams. From my years of navigating the process, most tryout formats I've seen are pretty flawed, and that's assuming there is no incumbency factor or politics going in.

It might sound impersonal but why don't clubs go to a metrics based approach to add some objectivity to the process? I still recall the year when my ds tried out for Virginia Stars (baseball, not soccer) and they put him through what amounted to a baseball combine one afternoon. He didn't make the team, but that was the first time we got a good explanation from the coach about why, and which specific areas he needed to work on. DS is now playing HS ball, and although it was tough to hear then, I think it was very valuable motivation for him. Parents can never provide this.

Soccer is less individual than baseball so you couldn't make your entire criteria based on simple drills, but properly implemented, it would help expose some key attributes. One could concoct a suite of representative drills, and actually measure according to some criteria... time dribbling through cones, circuits around a 4 cone drill in a minute, juggling touches in a minute, sprint times, passing through a gate from a run etc. Combine that with a subjective phase of one-on-ones against a known good defender, etc, and then top it off with the short sided scrimmage. Take notes, record the scores. Send it to Johnny's parents with the results. Lot of work? Sure. Most of us spend more than $2k per year, this should not be too much to ask.

DC Stoddert does something a little like this for half of its tryouts. Not sure how well that approach works.

Under u12 get times on players really do not matter. In 6 months everything can change.

[Anonymous]

^^it doesn't matter above u12 either. My future u13 next season will only be 11 years old the entire Fall season of 2017. DOB 12/22/05.

He is nowhere near hitting his growth spurt/puberty.

Things don't start evening out until much later.