Smaller NOVA clubs

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of talk on here about larger clubs, but what about the smaller clubs? The smaller clubs seems more intimate and could provide a more personalized coaching experience than the larger clubs with 4-6 teams per age group. Are any known for quality training, especially strong teams at certain age groups, etc? I am thinking of the Burke, Annandale, Springfield, Gunston, Team America, Doradus type clubs. Thanks for your insight.

[Anonymous]

Bryc has strong teams in the younger ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of talk on here about larger clubs, but what about the smaller clubs? The smaller clubs seems more intimate and could provide a more personalized coaching experience than the larger clubs with 4-6 teams per age group. Are any known for quality training, especially strong teams at certain age groups, etc? I am thinking of the Burke, Annandale, Springfield, Gunston, Team America, Doradus type clubs. Thanks for your insight.

All clubs, big or small, are hit or miss when it comes to coaches, but it's probably true you're more likely to hit - or miss - with some than with others.

My take:

Not sure I would classify Annandale as a small club, but anyway they've re-branded and are now "Villarreal Virginia". Same folks, different logo: https://www.villarrealva.org/about-viva. Never been impressed by any of their coaches.
Gunston is worth a look if you're close to that area.
Springfield (SYC) is a complete mess right now. Stay away.
Doradus has some successful teams but that org (which has gone by many names over the years, all with Coach Roby) has always been known more for recruitment than training. They've also been known for putting some extremely skillful players onto the field, and then having them play kick and chase to get results.
Burke, FPYC, VYS, Great Falls, Reston, .... could also be classified as small clubs. They all seem to go through their ups and downs. If you look hard enough you may find a few individual teams here and there doing good things.
PAC (Premier AC) is a small club that's been around for a while. Their style of play is decent (relatively), and most parents and players seem pretty happy with them.

If Euro-branding appeals to you, you could also look at Olympiacos (https://www.olympiacosdc.com/), Sporting CP (https://www.facebook.com/SportingCPsocceracademyDC/)

If you are in MD I would highly recommend you look at FC Bordeaux (https://www.fcgirondinsdebordeauxusa.com). Their website is down (small club issues?), but their coaching is really quite good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Springfield (SYC) is a complete mess right now. Stay away.

Would love to hear more about why you think that PP. We are with another small club and were considering moving back to SYC. (We tried out for them last spring and ended up going with another club, mostly because there seemed to be a lot of upheaval in terms of how they charge, the role of the team manager, transition from more fluid movement between the teams to players being locked into A/B/C/D for the entire year, etc.). Is that what you were referring to? I don't know much about the coaches so if you have any info on that I'd love to hear. Our DS is U11, if that matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of talk on here about larger clubs, but what about the smaller clubs? The smaller clubs seems more intimate and could provide a more personalized coaching experience than the larger clubs with 4-6 teams per age group. Are any known for quality training, especially strong teams at certain age groups, etc? I am thinking of the Burke, Annandale, Springfield, Gunston, Team America, Doradus type clubs. Thanks for your insight.

All clubs, big or small, are hit or miss when it comes to coaches, but it's probably true you're more likely to hit - or miss - with some than with others.

My take:

Not sure I would classify Annandale as a small club, but anyway they've re-branded and are now "Villarreal Virginia". Same folks, different logo: https://www.villarrealva.org/about-viva. Never been impressed by any of their coaches.
Gunston is worth a look if you're close to that area.
Springfield (SYC) is a complete mess right now. Stay away.
Doradus has some successful teams but that org (which has gone by many names over the years, all with Coach Roby) has always been known more for recruitment than training. They've also been known for putting some extremely skillful players onto the field, and then having them play kick and chase to get results.
Burke, FPYC, VYS, Great Falls, Reston, .... could also be classified as small clubs. They all seem to go through their ups and downs. If you look hard enough you may find a few individual teams here and there doing good things.
PAC (Premier AC) is a small club that's been around for a while. Their style of play is decent (relatively), and most parents and players seem pretty happy with them.

If Euro-branding appeals to you, you could also look at Olympiacos (https://www.olympiacosdc.com/), Sporting CP (https://www.facebook.com/SportingCPsocceracademyDC/)

If you are in MD I would highly recommend you look at FC Bordeaux (https://www.fcgirondinsdebordeauxusa.com). Their website is down (small club issues?), but their coaching is really quite good.

Would you please tell me more about FC Bordeaux? Their website is very limited and only shows 3 Girls Team. Would love to know where they practice, play their home games, quality of development,etc. I met one of their coach while at Rockvilke Sportsplex and he invited me to bring my U11 DD to their upcoming practice and tryouts in May. He seems like a great coach & person. I am strongly considering it but it depends on mostly where the team practices as we are in Rockville. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Do some of the smaller clubs get bypassed simply because they are not as flashy? The poster above mentioned several clubs I had not heard of.

[Anonymous]

SYA only has around two teams per age group, and they have a good reputation.

[Anonymous]

Have had a positive experience with SCAA if Syc isn't for you. Gorgeous fields, a lot of attention from the coaches. Not as strong as some of the bigger clubs but my son has improved a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do some of the smaller clubs get bypassed simply because they are not as flashy? The poster above mentioned several clubs I had not heard of.

It is actually more the opposite -- many, many kids start at the smaller clubs (which are often the club closest to their home) but then move to bigger clubs (usually a bit further from home) as their skill level, dedication and aspirations to play at higher levels outgrow the small club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do some of the smaller clubs get bypassed simply because they are not as flashy? The poster above mentioned several clubs I had not heard of.

It is actually more the opposite -- many, many kids start at the smaller clubs (which are often the club closest to their home) but then move to bigger clubs (usually a bit further from home) as their skill level, dedication and aspirations to play at higher levels outgrow the small club.

They are developed at the small club and then move to the big clubs that are ‘recruitment vs development’ in order to get to play in leagues/tournaments only the big clubs are invited to. You see the other direction as well, e.g.,kids at big club pushed out later by the kids developed elsewhere
at less “name brand” places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Springfield (SYC) is a complete mess right now. Stay away.

Would love to hear more about why you think that PP. We are with another small club and were considering moving back to SYC. (We tried out for them last spring and ended up going with another club, mostly because there seemed to be a lot of upheaval in terms of how they charge, the role of the team manager, transition from more fluid movement between the teams to players being locked into A/B/C/D for the entire year, etc.). Is that what you were referring to? I don't know much about the coaches so if you have any info on that I'd love to hear. Our DS is U11, if that matters.

Have heard similar things from 3 different people - with both boys and girls, in different age groups. Coaching is spotty at best, and there's been lots of upheaval as you say. The general sentiment is they haven't gotten what they signed up for, and those who've been with the club for a while feel it's moving downhill. They've moved away from academy model which makes the coaching even more inconsistent. Coaches have too many teams, often show up late to practices, or leave early. Now some coaches are being forced to drop teams in the middle if the year, so some parents don't even know who is going to coach their kid in the spring. No one seems to know what's going to happen next, or who's even in charge. Just sounds like a complete mess.

[Anonymous]

The club scene here is typical of DMV culture. People embrace the latest cool item like the newest chain restaurant of yoga brand. Parents ride it until it is no longer exclusive. It is asinine.

You need to follow the coaches first. In MD, the MRM Rush U13/U14 coaches are solid and their track record is beyond reproach. They are likely to stay with this group of girls until U18/19 and will likely win several national cups in the process. They are an example of a non-McLean, Bethesda, FCV or Arlington club that will beat any ECNL/DA team but since the club does not play in ECNL/DA, they don't the respect from the brand groupies.

Ask around for strong teams in your DD's age group and then do your homework. The strongest coaches will standout no matter where they are. Get beyond the winning record and see which coaches have actually taken talented players from u12 and developed them through u17/u18. That is different than recruiting strong players at u14/u15 and winning tournaments.

[Anonymous]

We’re pretty happy at FPYC but I don’t believe the club is super competitive across all age groups.

[Anonymous]

FPYCparent wrote:I don't differentiate between large and small clubs in my DC-Area Youth Soccer Clubs Info Spreadsheet (<== link).

However, if a club only has one or two colors/names for teams, you can probably discern that the club is smaller than others (with 3+ colors/teams).

…

I still haven't seen anything official on the change(s) with FPYC Soccer. I just understand that the club is not renewing the contract with UK Elite, which expires 31 December. My U11 DD's coach is staying, and I am quite thankful for that. He is excellent.

I've heard that the coaches may start earning more money, as UK Elite will no longer be "consuming" (up to 30% or so) off of the top … without raising the reasonable costs we pay. Bear in mind that FPYC itself isn't small (sponsoring 10+ sports, likely with multiple age groups in each sport), but the soccer operation seems small. The only information I get regarding other soccer teams, or about the soccer "program" itself, is from other U11 parents who have kids in other age groups. As far as the competitive performance of FPYC teams, I can only rely on information from YouthSoccerRankings, GotSoccer, and the NCSL websites. Even then, I see only tournament results for most of the younger age groups.

Glenn’s a good coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do some of the smaller clubs get bypassed simply because they are not as flashy? The poster above mentioned several clubs I had not heard of.

It is actually more the opposite -- many, many kids start at the smaller clubs (which are often the club closest to their home) but then move to bigger clubs (usually a bit further from home) as their skill level, dedication and aspirations to play at higher levels outgrow the small club.

The clubs which play in DA and or ECNL at the older age groups tend to attract the best players at the younger ages as well. BRYC for example plays in ECNL both boys and girls. They don't carry as many teams at the older age groups as say Arlington.

DC United and Washington Spirit are somewhat unique in that they essentially only have DA teams.