What's going on with FCBEscola NOVA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello-I posted the original question on the colors. I found the answer confusing as an outsider. I don't feel a need to tear the club down. It was just a question. Why do people here feel that asking a question or pointing out something that is confusing is an attack?

I didn't find it a problem at all, nor the varied answers to it. People can disagree over the value of knowing if your child is on whatever level team. I did however find calling people "zealots" an attack.

Thank you, I did not call anyone a xealot. I think there are many posters here, how can you assume they are all the same one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello-I posted the original question on the colors. I found the answer confusing as an outsider. I don't feel a need to tear the club down. It was just a question. Why do people here feel that asking a question or pointing out something that is confusing is an attack?

I didn't find it a problem at all, nor the varied answers to it. People can disagree over the value of knowing if your child is on whatever level team. I did however find calling people "zealots" an attack.

Thank you, I did not call anyone a xealot. I think there are many posters here, how can you assume they are all the same one?

If you did not post things like "zealots" or "dismal results" or EDP's top division lacks decent competition, etc, then the terse responses did not relate to you. Questions are welcome here and the basic response is that there is no consistent color to designate the relative strength of the teams from the club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello-I posted the original question on the colors. I found the answer confusing as an outsider. I don't feel a need to tear the club down. It was just a question. Why do people here feel that asking a question or pointing out something that is confusing is an attack?

I didn't find it a problem at all, nor the varied answers to it. People can disagree over the value of knowing if your child is on whatever level team. I did however find calling people "zealots" an attack.

Thank you, I did not call anyone a xealot. I think there are many posters here, how can you assume they are all the same one?

I don't, which is why - speaking for myself - I never post in response to something a response that isn't relevant. So, speaking for myself again, I never posted anything related to the color subject something to stop the discussion or say anything bad about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't waste your time arguing on this thread, any minor critic will be shot at by a small group of Barca zealots pretending to be admiring neutrals. The thread went in hibernation when people could not bear it any more, but it seems that one of the zealot decided it was time to revive it.

Yes, in reading through the thread you can see that sort of back and forth whenever someone makes a criticism. It’s also noteable how well informed the admirers seem to be as though they have been studying the club for awhile. I wish I had the time and energy to know so much about the parents and details of each prospective club we might consider! Too bad about the team color confusion, I imagine we will be able to figure out the colors better once there is a record in tournament and league play for each group.

I think their results speak for themselves and explain why they will you have you believe that their blue teams i not the best one.
For example, their 2005B blue team, which plays in EDP, has lost 5 out of 5, scoring one goal and conceding 16.
Of course, with such dismal results, they will argue that the blue team is not their best team. f you ask where their best 2005 team plays, you will never get a straight answer, but just digressions on how the Barca Academy is different.

Here's the straigth answer for you. 2001 Garnet is in the first place in EDP Div 1 at the moment. If the Blue color designates Barca's top teams in all age groups as you suggest, then why is their supposedly inferior team, 2001 Garnet, dominates the top division of EDP with 19-1 goal difference and 100% win record? Btw, 2001 blue team, which is the B team in that age group, is in the same division in 6th place with 5-7 goal difference. Barca 2003 Blue team is the top team in their age group and is in the second place in EDP division 1 with 13-4 goal difference.

What is straight about your answer? I am referring to the 2005 boys team and, as foretold, you (and your sidekick) digress about the 2001 team (notwithstanding the fact that there is no decent competition in EDP at that age) and how Barca is different.
If you want to give a straight answer, which I absolutely doubt, just tell us where the best 2005 team plays.

You have implied that Barca mixes team colors to mask poor performances and I gave you examples of successful Barca teams that also have colors mixed. As for lack of decent competition in EDP for 2001s, Future Eagles team is in the same division. They beat DCU academy team in EDP last year. This year, Arlington Red, which is ranked No.24 nationally, beat Future 1-0. If a team plays a close, competitive game against a top 25 team in this country, it is pretty decent by any objective standard. Not only you are disrespectful to Barca, but you are even more disrespectful to several Virginia and Maryland clubs that play in the same league.

The DCU team that team beat was an 03 team playing a few years up. They lost most of their games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't waste your time arguing on this thread, any minor critic will be shot at by a small group of Barca zealots pretending to be admiring neutrals. The thread went in hibernation when people could not bear it any more, but it seems that one of the zealot decided it was time to revive it.

Yes, in reading through the thread you can see that sort of back and forth whenever someone makes a criticism. It’s also noteable how well informed the admirers seem to be as though they have been studying the club for awhile. I wish I had the time and energy to know so much about the parents and details of each prospective club we might consider! Too bad about the team color confusion, I imagine we will be able to figure out the colors better once there is a record in tournament and league play for each group.

I think their results speak for themselves and explain why they will you have you believe that their blue teams i not the best one.
For example, their 2005B blue team, which plays in EDP, has lost 5 out of 5, scoring one goal and conceding 16.
Of course, with such dismal results, they will argue that the blue team is not their best team. f you ask where their best 2005 team plays, you will never get a straight answer, but just digressions on how the Barca Academy is different.

It honestly depends on the age group. They do not have a team ranking system that is clear externally or internally. It is designed to keep parents confused and at an arms length. So Blue could be the top team for one age group and the second team in another. And to add more confusion even those rosters can be very fluid outside of a core group of players.

Not all the teams are of high quality but what club can advertise that from top to bottom. What you will find accross all of their teams are that they all play the same style just with varying degrees of success. I’m sorry if this bothers you even though it really shouldn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello-I posted the original question on the colors. I found the answer confusing as an outsider. I don't feel a need to tear the club down. It was just a question. Why do people here feel that asking a question or pointing out something that is confusing is an attack?

A few of these Barca folks are clearly insane, or work for the club. There is no other explanation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello-I posted the original question on the colors. I found the answer confusing as an outsider. I don't feel a need to tear the club down. It was just a question. Why do people here feel that asking a question or pointing out something that is confusing is an attack?

A few of these Barca folks are clearly insane, or work for the club. There is no other explanation.

The answers are confusing because nobody really knows.

The Barca folks have been honest with their answers. The reality is the color/rank designation is intended to be confusing to those on the inside. Across genders and age the same color can mean A, B or C team. That is the answer. The entire club is not even playing in EDP in the fall anyways.

If you are looking at results they are what they are. Older rosters are pretty set but younger rosters are very fluid.

[Anonymous]

is it even easy for Barca staff themselves to understand their system? How do they easily resolve rostering especially if you are stating there is a hierarchy? sounds like a lot of trouble to go through.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:You could make a case that the distinctions between A, B and C are fluid. You could also make a case that a club that hesitates to turn players away is going to have some teams that aren't as far along as others. All of that is fine.

You could even make the case that because the program is so new, you can't read much into results. If the U18s win everything in sight, great, but that doesn't say much about the development through the ages because all of those players played elsewhere until U15 or U16.

So yes, it's going to be difficult to read much into results, period.

All that said -- if they have teams that are clearly not competitive at whatever level, it's ... OK, maybe not a *red* flag but certainly a yellow one. It either means the coaches are deluded about the progress of their kids (something I've seen time and time again elsewhere) or that they're simply not able to bring these kids up to whatever standard they're seeking.

I still have a positive impression about Barca and what they're trying to achieve. I just wish the people in this thread would actually recognize that the players **and the club itself** have a learning curve. The people running the club didn't just land in Northern Virginia like some advanced alien species sharing its hyperspeed technology and secrets of long, healthy lives. They have what appear to be excellent training methods, and they seem dedicated to serving serious players even if they're not superstars when they walk onto the practice field for the first time.

If they make a few missteps when they get their kids into leagues and tournaments, just own it. It's a learning experience. Attacking people as "zealots" for what's basically constructive feedback is clearly hurting your image.

No poster has said anything that contradicts your points. I think people not in Barca seem to act like because parents are happy with the training and the environment regardless of the results that they must be zealots or a cult.

Yes, many of the kids are not as talented as kids at other clubs and the results demonstrate that fact. BUT, that doesn't mean that the kids are treated like they are B, C or D team players. Regardless of team or player level they all are trained in the same way across the club. Why does it bother people so much if folks at a club are happy? All anyone has done in this thread is to answer questions that were asked and it is beyond me why those answers upset people.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:You could make a case that the distinctions between A, B and C are fluid. You could also make a case that a club that hesitates to turn players away is going to have some teams that aren't as far along as others. All of that is fine.

You could even make the case that because the program is so new, you can't read much into results. If the U18s win everything in sight, great, but that doesn't say much about the development through the ages because all of those players played elsewhere until U15 or U16.

So yes, it's going to be difficult to read much into results, period.

All that said -- if they have teams that are clearly not competitive at whatever level, it's ... OK, maybe not a *red* flag but certainly a yellow one. It either means the coaches are deluded about the progress of their kids (something I've seen time and time again elsewhere) or that they're simply not able to bring these kids up to whatever standard they're seeking.

I still have a positive impression about Barca and what they're trying to achieve. I just wish the people in this thread would actually recognize that the players **and the club itself** have a learning curve. The people running the club didn't just land in Northern Virginia like some advanced alien species sharing its hyperspeed technology and secrets of long, healthy lives. They have what appear to be excellent training methods, and they seem dedicated to serving serious players even if they're not superstars when they walk onto the practice field for the first time.

If they make a few missteps when they get their kids into leagues and tournaments, just own it. It's a learning experience. Attacking people as "zealots" for what's basically constructive feedback is clearly hurting your image.

I am a Barca parent and I agree with much of your post regarding the learning curve. I do think, however, that your statement that Barca folks attacked their critics as "zealots" is inaccurate. If you scroll back a couple pages, you will see that the reference to zealots came from a Barca's critic: "Don't waste your time arguing on this thread, any minor critic will be shot at by a small group of Barca zealots pretending to be admiring neutrals." And since you've said you had positive impression of Barca, perhaps you will also be accused of being one of the Barca zealots pretending to be an admiring neutral.

[Anonymous]

I'm a Barca parent and it's not perfect here, not even close. The teams are tiered and the talent overall at the younger ages spotty at best. Some good players, but not an explosion of athletes by any means.

With that being said, the training is top notch and it really doesn't matter which team are on because you are all doing the same training and practicing the same style of play unlike other clubs where the training is coach dependent. Where it becomes a gap is that if you are on the top end of your grouping, you will play against bad talent so things will appear artificially positive. I like the training but am not a fan of the player pool. Without playing a lot of outside teams at the younger ages, it's hard to see how they measure up and they will tell you it's not important at this age. But if you base the ROI on player enjoyment and their (player) perspective of improvement then you will be ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a Barca parent and it's not perfect here, not even close. The teams are tiered and the talent overall at the younger ages spotty at best. Some good players, but not an explosion of athletes by any means.

With that being said, the training is top notch and it really doesn't matter which team are on because you are all doing the same training and practicing the same style of play unlike other clubs where the training is coach dependent. Where it becomes a gap is that if you are on the top end of your grouping, you will play against bad talent so things will appear artificially positive. I like the training but am not a fan of the player pool. Without playing a lot of outside teams at the younger ages, it's hard to see how they measure up and they will tell you it's not important at this age. But if you base the ROI on player enjoyment and their (player) perspective of improvement then you will be ok.

I think that's a fair assessment in general, having been there last year. It probably depends on an age group basis, but in our age group another negative for us were a few of the parents. Completely obnoxious and fanatic. Not really something I've seen at other clubs; in terms of the sheer level of obnoxiousness. It's a shame, because those parents really cast a shadow over the rest, who were generally friendly and likeable.

[Anonymous]

There’s loud minorities at every club though. No one is making those people be so fanatical except themselves

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s loud minorities at every club though. No one is making those people be so fanatical except themselves

By this I meant a few people who drown out others because they need to be the center of attention and don’t understand it’s about the players on the field, not vociferous minority groups.

[Anonymous]

I might agree with you to a small degree, but I'm talking about off the hook level of obnoxious; the kind that's in your face and impossible to ignore. I'm not surprised to see some of the more extreme dialogue here just from that experience. And no, it wasn't like anything I've seen at other clubs, big or small.