Forum Index
»
Sports General Discussion
Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Your understanding of what has happened is wrong. 1. Those clubs you mentioned combined together and put in a bid to get Girls DA and got turned down by US soccer..yes? No. These clubs partnered with Spirit in VA. Larry Best of BRYC was actually employed by Spirit for a while. However, after Spirit was awarded the DA and then demanded money and field space from these clubs, while giving them no say in the training, each of the clubs decided the hassle wasn't worth the minimal benefits that they would receive. 2. BRYC took ECNL over Spirit DA so they can remain in complete control..yes? That's one way to look at. The more accurate way is BRYC took ECNL so they would have some control. Again, Spirit changed the terms and wanted complete control, over players, facilities, etc., and none of the clubs were willing to give that up. If you read the original articles about the clubs teaming with Spirit, they refer to a "partnership". Once the DA was awarded, Spirit turned it into a dictatorship. As an aside, there are rumors floating around that BRYC could probably have gotten a DA later in the process but had already committed to ECNL. Certainly, BRYC has produced as many female YNT players as any other club in the area. 3. The other clubs you mentioned ran in like a bunch of hobo peasants with demands to have some control. Spirit told them to kick rocks small fries..yes? No. See above and news articles about a partnership. And the clubs told Spirit goodbye, which is why Spirit had to desperately scrounge around and hook up with third tier clubs in order to secure some place to hold practices. And at least two of the clubs ended up better off, as Loudoun is still part of a DA and has more input, and BRYC is part of ECNL. I'm not sure why so many people think Spirit will end up being the top DA in the region. I've heard no reason, nor seen any evidence for myself, that their coaches are any better than the coaches at the other DAs or the ECNL clubs. Just b/c Spirit coaches are now affiliated with a "professional" team, doesn't change where they came from or how good they are. In terms of players, Spirit has attracted some very good players, but so has FCV (VDA, less so). As time goes by, the top players will gravitate towards the more successful teams, and in my opinion, FCV has the head start there. Not to mention, by going to FCV or VDA, the families can get the same level of training and prestige for less money (but they'll have to buy their own season tickets to Spirit). Spirit is not supplementing the costs of its DA players nor given the team's finances is there any reason to think they will do so in the future. |
Anonymous
|
Geez, I can hardly remember an argument in which every side was so wrong.
Yes, the Spirit went about things badly. Good management doesn't announce all these partnerships that aren't actually signed and then try to get the clubs to sign on to terrible deals. And yet, the Spirit will have something to offer beyond "an autographed picture of Mallory Pugh." Super-Y may have been a rotten deal -- note Vienna, which used to operate a lot of the Spirit Super-Y operations, went solo this summer -- but this is totally different. At the same time, Loudoun and Arlington are good clubs. No, they haven't developed the next Mallory Pugh. No one in NoVa has. If you want to constrict the definition of "elite" to national teamers, then unless your club developed Andi Sullivan, you're not elite. Geez -- I'm normally a "CCL hater," and I think Arlington is often full of itself. But let's not be ridiculous. |
Anonymous
|
Ummm, no.
Spirit was awarded DA, THEN Spirit looked for partners. That element of timing changes the dynamic. Loudoun and BRYC likely applied for full GDA on their own and were not awarded it so they begain talks with Spirit to partner. They both wanted more control over a program that they in fact did not win on their own. Why would Spirit hand over control to either club that were not awarded a DA in their own right? VDA is pretty much PWSI, CYA left because there simply was nothing in it for them. VYS will stay because the DA sticker means so much more to them on their website. VSA will stay because it is convenient. But VSA and CYA could simply act as free agents and hook up with either Spirit or FCV down the road. Loudoun gets their cake and eat it too with the FCV arrangement. They never really wanted GDA but they still get the affiliation while being able to still sell a player pathway to their girls. Loudoun makes its money through its huge rec and Ulittle travel program. They don't want the burden of DA but will be more than happy to suck off the DA by simply being within its orbit. BRYC took ECNL for fear of being relegated as irrelevant. They were gonna lose players to either McLean, Spirit or FCV DA so they might as well offer something to stay alive. The problem is they paid a steep price of giving up CCL which will likely all but kill their Ulittle program. While the all training and scrimmages/tourney model is truly all that is needed at thsoe ages, very few parents will be comfortable with that arrangement. Numbers will dwindle and they will end up in a less competitive NCSL which will frustrate parents too and ultimately affect their youth player pool. We'll soon see if BRYC's reputation will be enough to hold on. They certainly had the balls to bet on themselves. |
Anonymous
|
"Hummer said that the main obstacle with the board of each Virginia organization was giving Spirit a formal commitment of resources. The clubs wanted to retain control of the program including its curriculum and staffing, something the Spirit is unwilling to agree to. “This is never something a professional club would do given the whole point of having a Development Academy is to create the best possible environment for developing future professional players based on the beliefs of the club's leadership,” said Hummer. “While we value the experience and knowledge of all the partners we considered working with, ultimately we could not sign away final say on curriculum or staffing [as] they were asking us to do.”
https://www.blackandredunited.com/youth-development/2017/2/6/14526454/washington-spirit-girls-development-academy-bryc-loudoun-arlington-soccer-nwsl It kinda sounds like these clubs wanted to act as though the DA was truly theirs to run and not Spirit's. So who told who to kick rocks? |
Anonymous
|
Spirit started working with these clubs before getting the DA.
http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-girls/washington-spirit-land-larry-best-eyeing-spot-in-girls-da/ That's why Larry Best was hired - to help get the DA, and to help get partner clubs. And your PSW article you cite is worthless propaganda. The article was written by someone works for Hummer, who is not only the president of the Spirit but also owns and publishes PSW. So it's not like the author is going to write anything other than exactly what Spirit wants to portray, which in this case are lies about why the partner clubs left Spirit. Anyone who believes that PSW is objective when it comes to the Washington Spirit is delusional. |
Anonymous
| I read a bit of the posts on this thread and I feel so ignorant. So many abbreviations and I hate to look them up one by one. You guys seem to know a lot about the local soccer climate. One question: how is Great Falls U11 boys travel team? Any suggestions for supplemental training? |
Anonymous
The quote was a lie? Of course Spirit was in talks with clubs, but Spirit applied for DA and they listed the possible partnerships as assets obviously the partnerships were not formalized. PWSI did the same thing when they created VDA but make no mistake about VDA being anything but all PWSI. As the DA clubs get acclimated and their pipeline humming you can expect to see these "partnerships" fall apart as they do little for the club that was not awarded the DA outright. Partner clubs will either leave the affiliation or the DA club will cut them loose for a "better" deal elsewhere. CYA left VDA and nobody blamed VDA/PWSI of being greedy or a hot mess. It is fundamentally difficult to have these types of arrangements work in the real world. The odds of Loudoun, BRYC AND Arlington actually working together with Spirit is almost laughable. All three clubs are large and well run in their own right. The reality is they did not want to sit in the back seat and let Spirit drive even though the name on the DA is SPIRIT. How the fact that Spirit could not get two of the largest clubs in VA and BRYC to play together somehow reflects poorly on Spirit is anyone's guess. |
Anonymous
|
Loudoun and Arlington...two largest clubs in VA and what have they been awarded..NADA..no DA..no ECNL...and they applied for both. SO, who does that reflect poorly on. Surly not Spirit.
NOW The girls DA for Spirit - VA comprises of four teams...100 kids total give or take. What makes you think they need some mega club for field space. NOW You know who is the most upset? Arlington...wanna know why? Because they are stuck with nothing but a terrible rush hour commute for practice if they want to play DA You heard it hear 1st....Arlington will approach Spirit in the future an want in....knock knock..who's there...Arlington . |
Anonymous
CYA will knock first. Considering the actual geographical player makeup of Spirit VA and with McLean and eventually BRYC kids jumping from ECNL to Spirit they are located just fine. |
Anonymous
Which one? Great Falls is a small-ish club but puts forth some decent teams on occasion. Coaches seem reasonable. |
Anonymous
| I have never heard the term "ULittle" and I have played, coached or a parent of a player for a long time. Curious: is this just one poster using this term in multiple posts or is this a common term? Just say U9. |
Anonymous
U-Little means roughly the combined ages of U9 to U11. It is a commonly used term by those parents, coaches, etc. with kids in older age groups and who have understand that the pre-teen years are not always predictive of where a player will end up in their soccer journey. |
Anonymous
I usually hear it for younger ages -- maybe U5 through U9. |
Anonymous
| Word on the street is that Ulittle refers to all teams under the Loudoun-Sya-Arlington umbrella |
Anonymous
|
Hey Jen! What club do you play for?
I play for Arlington Susie! Ah man...Ulittle |