Living in NW DC: options for 7 years old boy

[Anonymous]

We are new to DC. We would like to understand options for our very passionate about soccer 7 years old boy. Have heard about Bethesda Soccer Club, McLean Youth Soccer and PPA. Pros? Cons? Do not mind some driving, but would like to minimize it. Other good programs? Also heard about DC Stoddert, buy would prefer professional coaches. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Achilles FC might be a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We live in NW DC also and currently play at Bethesda. I'm not going to write about the actual soccer program there (a long post) but wanted to point out that the vast overwhelming majority of our practices are in Rockville or even further out like the Soccerplex. This means we need to get up there, in rush hour, several times a week.

It is not pleasant.

From the time we leave the house, pack the bags and get out the door to the time we arrive can easily be 45-60 minutes some nights. And if there is a wreck even more miserable. Plus you basically have to stay up there. You won't drop off in Rockville, come home, then go back up to pick them up. It really adds up.

In addition, of the 20 odd players on my son's team, I think maybe 2 or 3 live in DC or Chevy Chase. My son's schoolmates in DC do not play there, and arranging playdates with other boys from the team is another effort and a half.

I would strongly urge you to find a team that is a) close and b) where you might have some schoolmates or other friends on the team. Achilles FC is a good and growing program (many folks from Bethesda switch there for logistics reasons) and I recently heard about DC Youth Football but don't know much about them (train at schools in NW DC). Arlington has a number of practices at National Airport and in North Arlington which are convenient as well.

[Anonymous]

At this young age, there is no point in enduring the commute to go to one of the big clubs in the burbs. Go for one of DC's clubs (DC Stoddert travel, Achilles, Washington Capitals, which all have professional coaches). If your kid is still passionate and good after a few years, you can consider moving him to one of the big clubs when he is U13-U14. My experience is that hours of commuting can be too much even for the most passionate kid (and his parents)...

[Anonymous]

There are some excellent players in DC Stoddert travel, and all of the coaches are professional. We’ve liked some more than others, having gone through from the first year of travel to (now) U14. Agree with PP that we didn’t consider anywhere outside of the city for pre-U15 soccer; we don’t have someone at home who can drive to practices in Germantown or Alexandria (for instance) three days a week, and since no one else’s family seems to either, the carpool opportunities would be extremely limited. Note that Stoddert travel has finite field space so it can be hard (especially for boys) to make the cut.

[Anonymous]

Look at PPA and Achilles. Both practice in and around NW DC. Both are new-ish and growing. Both play in EDP and SAM Select. Achilles seems a bit more serious. PPA is a bigger program with lots of different levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at PPA and Achilles. Both practice in and around NW DC. Both are new-ish and growing. Both play in EDP and SAM Select. Achilles seems a bit more serious. PPA is a bigger program with lots of different levels.

Agree. Our kids do PPA rec- and it's great. Professional coaches, a practice, a game and a clinic each week, but with none of the headache of travel or parent coaching of Stoddert. And you can play with your friends. At this age, I think it's great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at PPA and Achilles. Both practice in and around NW DC. Both are new-ish and growing. Both play in EDP and SAM Select. Achilles seems a bit more serious. PPA is a bigger program with lots of different levels.

I've only seen one age group of Achilles players (U10 boys), but they were excellent. PPA is not a great destination for a serious player, but they do a good job of providing a fun experience for kids while teaching the basics. Seemed quite expensive for what you get though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at PPA and Achilles. Both practice in and around NW DC. Both are new-ish and growing. Both play in EDP and SAM Select. Achilles seems a bit more serious. PPA is a bigger program with lots of different levels.

I've only seen one age group of Achilles players (U10 boys), but they were excellent. PPA is not a great destination for a serious player, but they do a good job of providing a fun experience for kids while teaching the basics. Seemed quite expensive for what you get though.

I agree although the top PPA teams U12 and below are quite good.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks. I just saw that Achilles has winter practices in Rockville, sam as BSC. Hence still a hike. Guess during spring they would be somewhere closer. Re Stoddert, I was under the impression that it is parents who are coaches... will look it up.

[Anonymous]

Find out what team the kids at your son’s school play on. At our upper NW school, 7-8 YOs play on stoddert and PPA. There are teams organized by school.

[Anonymous]

Pp here: our PPA team practices at school after school so it’s really convenient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks. I just saw that Achilles has winter practices in Rockville, sam as BSC. Hence still a hike. Guess during spring they would be somewhere closer. Re Stoddert, I was under the impression that it is parents who are coaches... will look it up.

To clarify: DC Stoddert has a rec league, played mostly by school teams coached by parents, and a few travel teams (3-4 by age groups) coached by professionals. The latter is a very decent and quite practical option for kids who live in DC and want to play travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks. I just saw that Achilles has winter practices in Rockville, sam as BSC. Hence still a hike. Guess during spring they would be somewhere closer. Re Stoddert, I was under the impression that it is parents who are coaches... will look it up.

During the winter, Achilles practices in NW DC, just like it does the rest of the year. Practices are at St John's HS (outdoors) and other NW schools like Wilson and Sidwell (indoors). They have optional additional training at SoFive in Rockville on the weekends.

It's a really great club. Serious but also fun if your kid is passionate about soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks. I just saw that Achilles has winter practices in Rockville, sam as BSC. Hence still a hike. Guess during spring they would be somewhere closer. Re Stoddert, I was under the impression that it is parents who are coaches... will look it up.

During the winter, Achilles practices in NW DC, just like it does the rest of the year. Practices are at St John's HS (outdoors) and other NW schools like Wilson and Sidwell (indoors). They have optional additional training at SoFive in Rockville on the weekends.

It's a really great club. Serious but also fun if your kid is passionate about soccer.

So at that age DCYFC is a really good option. They teach individual technical skills in a fun, age appropriate way and have a low stress environment. The last part of the session is 3v3 games. The program has three session a week and you pick the day that works for you. You can also switch sessions with no problems. There are no tryouts or games on Saturday for this age. At 7 that is the way it should be.