Achilles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the 2007 age group...does Sal coach the A and the B team? How is the A team SOOOOO much stronger than the B team? Do they train together?

Not sure about training, but the A team has players that used to play for DC united. They also picked up several players from Cerritos. If you're looking to play the age group look around at multiple clubs in the area.

Go check out any other "club" in the area. Their A team has the best players and B players don't, not sure why thats an issue......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're a new Achilles family. My 10 yr old joined the club in July and our experience has been overwhelmingly positive. The training stresses individual skill and creativity and the style of play mirrors what the majority of posters on these boards seem to be clamoring for. Kids are encouraged to connect passes, keep possession, and show their skill when 1v1. The ball should stay "on the floor." There are no punts or goal kicks. The parents and coaching staff have been welcoming and encouraging. Does Sal have an ego? Definitely. But to say that he doesn't know how to coach or run a club is a bit ridiculous. The club is only four years old and has multiple nationally relevant teams and is one of only three clubs in the immediate DC area to be invited into MLS Next. The other two, Bethesda and Alexandria, have vastly superior resources and talent pools. I believe each fields at least 4 teams at my son's age group where Achilles has one. In his short time with the club, my son has been coached by each of the three coaches. I've seen at least part of every practice and every game. I have never seen a kid bullied or berated. I asked my son before posting to make sure that he hasn't either. He hasn't. Sal has high expectations of the kids. Practices are fairly intense, but nothing grueling or abusive, just good hard work and competition. My son loves the training, his teammates, and all of the coaches. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone whose son is serious about training and improving. Coaches and players are not leaving at the first chance they get. A popular coach did leave to start their own club and took some talented players. I'm finding this to be a fairly common occurrence as it also happened at our last club. It seems like a couple folks have an axe grind or had a bad experience. I'm sorry things didn't work out for them, but we've been happy and look forward to growing with the club.

This sounds like us at the beginning. Give it a year or two and you may feel differently. I hope not though. If your kid ends up being on a favored team you’ll be fine.

Is that the story Sal’s circulating about the coach who left? That’s not even close to what happened. You also might want to dig into how the nationally recognized team was formed.

Please share!

MLS players started playing part time for this club. MLS team got fed up and removed the age group. These players started playing full-time with Sal. This was two years ago and many players (non-MLS) in this age group have left.

Got it, makes sense now on how they got the MLS slots. What's with these parents having their kids play for 2-3 clubs at once. I get it that they are trying to get their kid exposure but burn out is a real thing no matter how good you are or how much you love the game. At some point the kid gets fed up. At older ages, the lack of recovery is only going to hurt their body and ability to develop as a player.

Not true my son played for DCU 07 team when this all went down. Coach Ben Applefield left to Inter Miami MLS club, the director Ryan Martin left and they were talking about moving to Loudon County. Players from DC area decided it was a better fit to play for Sal. We were all open about it with Coach Ben and the director Ryan said it was fine. Ask any of the parents that left. Some now play at Arlington, Baltimore Armor, Bethesda, and Achilles. DCU no longer carries a 07.... so for those making up stories please get the facts straight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're a new Achilles family. My 10 yr old joined the club in July and our experience has been overwhelmingly positive. The training stresses individual skill and creativity and the style of play mirrors what the majority of posters on these boards seem to be clamoring for. Kids are encouraged to connect passes, keep possession, and show their skill when 1v1. The ball should stay "on the floor." There are no punts or goal kicks. The parents and coaching staff have been welcoming and encouraging. Does Sal have an ego? Definitely. But to say that he doesn't know how to coach or run a club is a bit ridiculous. The club is only four years old and has multiple nationally relevant teams and is one of only three clubs in the immediate DC area to be invited into MLS Next. The other two, Bethesda and Alexandria, have vastly superior resources and talent pools. I believe each fields at least 4 teams at my son's age group where Achilles has one. In his short time with the club, my son has been coached by each of the three coaches. I've seen at least part of every practice and every game. I have never seen a kid bullied or berated. I asked my son before posting to make sure that he hasn't either. He hasn't. Sal has high expectations of the kids. Practices are fairly intense, but nothing grueling or abusive, just good hard work and competition. My son loves the training, his teammates, and all of the coaches. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone whose son is serious about training and improving. Coaches and players are not leaving at the first chance they get. A popular coach did leave to start their own club and took some talented players. I'm finding this to be a fairly common occurrence as it also happened at our last club. It seems like a couple folks have an axe grind or had a bad experience. I'm sorry things didn't work out for them, but we've been happy and look forward to growing with the club.

This sounds like us at the beginning. Give it a year or two and you may feel differently. I hope not though. If your kid ends up being on a favored team you’ll be fine.

Is that the story Sal’s circulating about the coach who left? That’s not even close to what happened. You also might want to dig into how the nationally recognized team was formed.

Please share!

MLS players started playing part time for this club. MLS team got fed up and removed the age group. These players started playing full-time with Sal. This was two years ago and many players (non-MLS) in this age group have left.

Here we go ago again........... check the facts... When is the last time DCU ran a 07 team? All their players started leaving, then they shut it down. Check the DA website.... it shows the games the last time players on Armor and Bethesda played for DCU. United wont field an 07 team until fall of 2021, hence their players left to play for Sal.


Not true my son played for DCU 07 team when this all went down. Coach Ben Applefield left to Inter Miami MLS club, the director Ryan Martin left and they were talking about moving to Loudon County. Players from DC area decided it was a better fit to play for Sal. We were all open about it with Coach Ben and the director Ryan said it was fine. Ask any of the parents that left. Some now play at Arlington, Baltimore Armor, Bethesda, and Achilles. DCU no longer carries a 07.... so for those making up stories please get the facts straight.

[Anonymous]

Man. I thought this thread was about the mythical warrior or maybe a snapped tendon on your heel. How disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man. I thought this thread was about the mythical warrior or maybe a snapped tendon on your heel. How disappointing.

Plenty of myths on it by all appearances. Just not the one you had in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son has played for Sal for 2 years now. Previously played at DC United and left DCU to play for Sal. What we found is that Bethesda, Potomac, Pipeline, and every other club in the play the same style of soccer. Kick the ball far upfield and see who runs faster. Talk about a money grab!

Sal and Vinny are awesome coaches, training is intense and they have a great 07 team. Not sure why all the complaints, but hey you can't please everyone. I recommend to anyone who loves soccer and wants to see your child progress in possession based soccer. Hope this helps and open to any questions or comments!

Not sure why this came back up. I'm sure you would say that they are great. Your kid gets all the attention, hence why all of the "b" players left. And next year you'll be leaving Sal behind to go back and play for DCU. Achilles will not be in MLS next year with an 07 team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has played for Sal for 2 years now. Previously played at DC United and left DCU to play for Sal. What we found is that Bethesda, Potomac, Pipeline, and every other club in the play the same style of soccer. Kick the ball far upfield and see who runs faster. Talk about a money grab!

Sal and Vinny are awesome coaches, training is intense and they have a great 07 team. Not sure why all the complaints, but hey you can't please everyone. I recommend to anyone who loves soccer and wants to see your child progress in possession based soccer. Hope this helps and open to any questions or comments!

Not sure why this came back up. I'm sure you would say that they are great. Your kid gets all the attention, hence why all of the "b" players left. And next year you'll be leaving Sal behind to go back and play for DCU. Achilles will not be in MLS next year with an 07 team.

It came up because I googled and stumbled upon this. I felt the need to put my opinion out there. I have a 13 year that plays 07, but also have an 8 year old that doesn't get the "attention". He trains with the 09s and didn't even have a team to play with in the fall. So I asked my sons the same question that was proposed. Do you like Sal? Would you leave? The answer from both was NO. So They make the choice where to pay and I as a father guide them.

As a side note DC United ex coach Ben Olsen also has his son training with Sal/ Achilles. Might not mean anything, but might mean something that an ex pro player/coach chooses to have his son be part of this organization. Cheers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has played for Sal for 2 years now. Previously played at DC United and left DCU to play for Sal. What we found is that Bethesda, Potomac, Pipeline, and every other club in the play the same style of soccer. Kick the ball far upfield and see who runs faster. Talk about a money grab!

Sal and Vinny are awesome coaches, training is intense and they have a great 07 team. Not sure why all the complaints, but hey you can't please everyone. I recommend to anyone who loves soccer and wants to see your child progress in possession based soccer. Hope this helps and open to any questions or comments!

Not sure why this came back up. I'm sure you would say that they are great. Your kid gets all the attention, hence why all of the "b" players left. And next year you'll be leaving Sal behind to go back and play for DCU. Achilles will not be in MLS next year with an 07 team.

It came up because I googled and stumbled upon this. I felt the need to put my opinion out there. I have a 13 year that plays 07, but also have an 8 year old that doesn't get the "attention". He trains with the 09s and didn't even have a team to play with in the fall. So I asked my sons the same question that was proposed. Do you like Sal? Would you leave? The answer from both was NO. So They make the choice where to pay and I as a father guide them.

As a side note DC United ex coach Ben Olsen also has his son training with Sal/ Achilles. Might not mean anything, but might mean something that an ex pro player/coach chooses to have his son be part of this organization. Cheers.

LOL I meant to say they both said NO they wont leave lol. They love Sal and Vinny.... Sorry just wanted to clear that up.... Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has played for Sal for 2 years now. Previously played at DC United and left DCU to play for Sal. What we found is that Bethesda, Potomac, Pipeline, and every other club in the play the same style of soccer. Kick the ball far upfield and see who runs faster. Talk about a money grab!

Sal and Vinny are awesome coaches, training is intense and they have a great 07 team. Not sure why all the complaints, but hey you can't please everyone. I recommend to anyone who loves soccer and wants to see your child progress in possession based soccer. Hope this helps and open to any questions or comments!

Not sure why this came back up. I'm sure you would say that they are great. Your kid gets all the attention, hence why all of the "b" players left. And next year you'll be leaving Sal behind to go back and play for DCU. Achilles will not be in MLS next year with an 07 team.

It came up because I googled and stumbled upon this. I felt the need to put my opinion out there. I have a 13 year that plays 07, but also have an 8 year old that doesn't get the "attention". He trains with the 09s and didn't even have a team to play with in the fall. So I asked my sons the same question that was proposed. Do you like Sal? Would you leave? The answer from both was NO. So They make the choice where to pay and I as a father guide them.

As a side note DC United ex coach Ben Olsen also has his son training with Sal/ Achilles. Might not mean anything, but might mean something that an ex pro player/coach chooses to have his son be part of this organization. Cheers.

Out of curiosity, I've heard rumors that the 07 team is moving back to EDP from MLSNext in the spring. That sounded a little odd to me, but any truth to the rumor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has played for Sal for 2 years now. Previously played at DC United and left DCU to play for Sal. What we found is that Bethesda, Potomac, Pipeline, and every other club in the play the same style of soccer. Kick the ball far upfield and see who runs faster. Talk about a money grab!

Sal and Vinny are awesome coaches, training is intense and they have a great 07 team. Not sure why all the complaints, but hey you can't please everyone. I recommend to anyone who loves soccer and wants to see your child progress in possession based soccer. Hope this helps and open to any questions or comments!

Not sure why this came back up. I'm sure you would say that they are great. Your kid gets all the attention, hence why all of the "b" players left. And next year you'll be leaving Sal behind to go back and play for DCU. Achilles will not be in MLS next year with an 07 team.

It came up because I googled and stumbled upon this. I felt the need to put my opinion out there. I have a 13 year that plays 07, but also have an 8 year old that doesn't get the "attention". He trains with the 09s and didn't even have a team to play with in the fall. So I asked my sons the same question that was proposed. Do you like Sal? Would you leave? The answer from both was NO. So They make the choice where to pay and I as a father guide them.

As a side note DC United ex coach Ben Olsen also has his son training with Sal/ Achilles. Might not mean anything, but might mean something that an ex pro player/coach chooses to have his son be part of this organization. Cheers.

Out of curiosity, I've heard rumors that the 07 team is moving back to EDP from MLSNext in the spring. That sounded a little odd to me, but any truth to the rumor?

Is this like the rumor about the MLS collective bargaining agreement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has played for Sal for 2 years now. Previously played at DC United and left DCU to play for Sal. What we found is that Bethesda, Potomac, Pipeline, and every other club in the play the same style of soccer. Kick the ball far upfield and see who runs faster. Talk about a money grab!

Sal and Vinny are awesome coaches, training is intense and they have a great 07 team. Not sure why all the complaints, but hey you can't please everyone. I recommend to anyone who loves soccer and wants to see your child progress in possession based soccer. Hope this helps and open to any questions or comments!

Not sure why this came back up. I'm sure you would say that they are great. Your kid gets all the attention, hence why all of the "b" players left. And next year you'll be leaving Sal behind to go back and play for DCU. Achilles will not be in MLS next year with an 07 team.

It came up because I googled and stumbled upon this. I felt the need to put my opinion out there. I have a 13 year that plays 07, but also have an 8 year old that doesn't get the "attention". He trains with the 09s and didn't even have a team to play with in the fall. So I asked my sons the same question that was proposed. Do you like Sal? Would you leave? The answer from both was NO. So They make the choice where to pay and I as a father guide them.

As a side note DC United ex coach Ben Olsen also has his son training with Sal/ Achilles. Might not mean anything, but might mean something that an ex pro player/coach chooses to have his son be part of this organization. Cheers.

Out of curiosity, I've heard rumors that the 07 team is moving back to EDP from MLSNext in the spring. That sounded a little odd to me, but any truth to the rumor?

Yes they are playing in EDP in the spring. I assume they will also play MLS. Next year they won't be playing MLS since DCU will have a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son has played for Sal for 2 years now. Previously played at DC United and left DCU to play for Sal. What we found is that Bethesda, Potomac, Pipeline, and every other club in the play the same style of soccer. Kick the ball far upfield and see who runs faster. Talk about a money grab!

Sal and Vinny are awesome coaches, training is intense and they have a great 07 team. Not sure why all the complaints, but hey you can't please everyone. I recommend to anyone who loves soccer and wants to see your child progress in possession based soccer. Hope this helps and open to any questions or comments!

Not sure why this came back up. I'm sure you would say that they are great. Your kid gets all the attention, hence why all of the "b" players left. And next year you'll be leaving Sal behind to go back and play for DCU. Achilles will not be in MLS next year with an 07 team.

It came up because I googled and stumbled upon this. I felt the need to put my opinion out there. I have a 13 year that plays 07, but also have an 8 year old that doesn't get the "attention". He trains with the 09s and didn't even have a team to play with in the fall. So I asked my sons the same question that was proposed. Do you like Sal? Would you leave? The answer from both was NO. So They make the choice where to pay and I as a father guide them.

As a side note DC United ex coach Ben Olsen also has his son training with Sal/ Achilles. Might not mean anything, but might mean something that an ex pro player/coach chooses to have his son be part of this organization. Cheers.

Out of curiosity, I've heard rumors that the 07 team is moving back to EDP from MLSNext in the spring. That sounded a little odd to me, but any truth to the rumor?

Yes they are playing in EDP in the spring. I assume they will also play MLS. Next year they won't be playing MLS since DCU will have a team.

I'm pretty sure MLS doesn't allow MLSNext teams to play in multiple leagues. They can play in some higher end tournaments if given permission, but I'd be surprised if MLS turns a blind eye to them playing in both leagues as if they did the other MLSNext teams could too and the top tier of EDP would just be local MLSNext teams (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing).

I know they sort of did it a couple of years ago, when the DCU DA boys won MD State Cup for Achilles, but will be interesting if MLS and EDP allow it this year.

[Anonymous]

right, they can't play in multiple leagues but can they arrange scrimmages with teams and other leagues every weekend? And hire a referee for the game?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:right, they can't play in multiple leagues but can they arrange scrimmages with teams and other leagues every weekend? And hire a referee for the game?

Schedules come out this week for EDP. I'm assuming they will be playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:right, they can't play in multiple leagues but can they arrange scrimmages with teams and other leagues every weekend? And hire a referee for the game?

Schedules come out this week for EDP. I'm assuming they will be playing.

Looks like they are in both MLSNext and EDP for the spring, they are on the schedule for both for U14. Good for them for managing to play in multiple leagues. Other top teams should demand the same - there is no reason to commit to just one league if the desire exists to play more (assuming the kids want to play, and the money is there for families who need a hand). The DA should have allowed this as well.