Stoddert--has anyone not had a a horrible experience?

[Anonymous]

We've been with them for a number of years and each year just gets worse. No communication and really crappy coaching.
They lose players as soon as the players get good but then they're not loyal to the average players at all (they'll ditch a kid or put a kid on a lower roster
in a heartbeat if anyone new comes along). There's zero loyalty--which I can see coming from a competitive club but Stoddert can't keep their talented players--
so they just treat everyone poorly.
Can anyone else relate? We had a very busy spring (family illness) and I didn't have the bandwidth to try out my child elsewhere. However, now that I've seen what they've
done to the rosters and other kids I can't believe I'm signing up to pay more money for this sh%^t show again.

[Anonymous]

Boys or girls or both?

[Anonymous]

Par for the course at most Clubs.

[Anonymous]

No, I can’t identify. Some years the coach has been better than others, but our son has never had a “crappy” coach. We’ve seen a decent amount of movement between teams. Our son previously moved from B to A team, in fact (red to blue). Agreed that club communication isn’t great, and the all-club mandatory meeting was really silly. As for ditching a kid in a heartbeat, I haven’t seen that at all. I can only remember a few returning players who were left off a team completely at tryouts. Some players do move down, but how can you ever move players up if some don’t move down? It’s hard for kids (my older child experienced it at another club), but that’s life and sometimes other kids are working harder and deserve the opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Our DC played for a few years. Had one really good coach. One coach was nice but team was a mess. Other coaches, blah.

Was not really worth it. DC is a very good athlete but dropped it none-the-less for sports in which better experiences are had.

[Anonymous]

They are great for Rec. But we moved after 1st grade. Between the field conditions for rec and no clear path as to how to go from parent coaching to real coaching. My 2nd grader wasn't ready for travel, but nor was he learning anything from one dad coaching 15 kids.

[Anonymous]

To PP: What did you do with your 2nd grader?

[Anonymous]

Was your child abused?

Otherwise I can't fathom someone have a "horrible experience" with what is essentially a volunteer coached youth soccer league.

Trust me - if your kid is talented enough he will be discovered and recruited for a travel team by the time he is 8 or 9.

Otherwise relax and let your kids have fun playing soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To PP: What did you do with your 2nd grader?

For the moment -- PPA rec. Good coaches, 2 practices per week and a game, but not travelling anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was your child abused?

Otherwise I can't fathom someone have a "horrible experience" with what is essentially a volunteer coached youth soccer league.

Trust me - if your kid is talented enough he will be discovered and recruited for a travel team by the time he is 8 or 9.

Otherwise relax and let your kids have fun playing soccer.

How? there are no stoddert officials at any of the games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are great for Rec. But we moved after 1st grade. Between the field conditions for rec and no clear path as to how to go from parent coaching to real coaching. My 2nd grader wasn't ready for travel, but nor was he learning anything from one dad coaching 15 kids.

Completely agree with this for rec and we also moved to PPA. By age 8-9, they need better coaching than most parents can provide. And also agree with PP who had a negative experience with Stoddert travel coaches. We have had two years of really bad coaches. Big investment of time and money for really mediocre coaching and league support for a white Stoddert team.

[Anonymous]

Read: "I thought my kid was better and wouldn't be moved down."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was your child abused?

Otherwise I can't fathom someone have a "horrible experience" with what is essentially a volunteer coached youth soccer league.

Trust me - if your kid is talented enough he will be discovered and recruited for a travel team by the time he is 8 or 9.

Otherwise relax and let your kids have fun playing soccer.

This is a pet peeve of mine but can people please stop referring to soccer clubs as “leagues”?

[Anonymous]

There is no ‘loyalty’ , that is correct. In fact they cut kids down teams (small kids watch out!) to create stress on the kids so that they work harder. Your kid doesn’t get to stay in the ‘blue team’ just because you’re nice, no.
I’ve coached kids where none of them worked hard at practices at all and it’s awful - just remember that and let your kid have a good time on whatever team he/she ends up on. My kid loved the Stoddert B and even C teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was your child abused?

Otherwise I can't fathom someone have a "horrible experience" with what is essentially a volunteer coached youth soccer league.

Trust me - if your kid is talented enough he will be discovered and recruited for a travel team by the time he is 8 or 9.

Otherwise relax and let your kids have fun playing soccer.

This is a pet peeve of mine but can people please stop referring to soccer clubs as “leagues”?

It is not ‘volunteer coached’. Stoddert coaches typically have A, B or C licenses , they teach the kids great skills and they are definitely paid a good salary.