Spirit DA - 2019 and forward

[Anonymous]

The thread about Larry Best becoming CEO had taken too many tangents.

Let's discuss the future of Spirit DA here. Anyone care to post the CEO's email from today? Dates for ID sessions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thread about Larry Best becoming CEO had taken too many tangents.

Let's discuss the future of Spirit DA here. Anyone care to post the CEO's email from today? Dates for ID sessions?

Agree about the tangents but I'm sure this one will as well. Nothing brings out the haters like WS (cept maybe Barca lol).

Glad to hear they are committed to the academy moving forward. Would've loved to see something about bringing costs down, scholarshipping more players, and more outreach for talent among less privileged communities. That woukd would show a real commitment to talent development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thread about Larry Best becoming CEO had taken too many tangents.

Let's discuss the future of Spirit DA here. Anyone care to post the CEO's email from today? Dates for ID sessions?

There are not Dates for the ID sessions included just a statement that dates will be announced soon.

[Anonymous]

Can you post the email

[Anonymous]

Dear DA Parents, Players & Staff
Less than a month ago, when I started my journey with the Spirit, I stated that our objective was to become the best female soccer club in the world. We have been working hard to evaluate all club operations, including our youth programming. We have had numerous meetings doing our due diligence with DA staff, Spirit staff, US Soccer, and DA parents. The focus of these meetings has been to audit the services we provide, listen to feedback, and understand the direction of US Soccer related to the everchanging youth landscape.
The high-level conclusion from this input is that our best course of action is to work to build upon the current DA programs in Maryland and Virginia. We will be announcing tryout dates for both DA programs as well as improvements we will implement to the current development model. We will be adding additional dedicated staff to improve the back-office operations of the DA programs. Of critical importance to us is we will be making these improvements and providing this additional staff without increasing the cost of participation. Our bottom line assessment is that we need to deliver greater value and that is what we are going to do. We fully intend to establish and set standards of excellence in everything we do which includes our Professional team, Youth programming services, and our overall Sporting and Business operations model for the Washington Spirit franchise.
“The overall Spirit experience is one that is very important to all of us at this club, with our commitment to provide a professional model that provides the highest level of quality from top to bottom. We'd like our brand to be synonymous with excellence in all areas of club operations, from our 1st team down to our youth programming. Mapping out a viable pathway through the youth process and into our first team is vital for a professional club like ours - and I believe we are taking positive strides in making that a reality with a new direction for our youth model.”
Richie Burke - Technical Director & Head Coach – Pro Team
“In the two-year existence of the DAs, we have made a tremendous amount of progress and appreciate the support from all of our staff, players and families. With the club's added leadership, we are even more excited about elevating the overall experience and footprint of the club from top to bottom. Providing the opportunity for youth players to have a unique experience as part of a professional franchise means a lot to us and we are committed to continuing to enhance that type of club environment.”
Tom Torres – Academy Director VA
“Our goal in Maryland has always been to create a competitive training environment that relates specifically to the first team. Inspiring and preparing these top players with a true pathway is
now a reality. Working with Richie and the new technical staff has provided clarity and a clear vision for Technical & Tactical integration from Pro to Youth which we are very excited about.”
Santino Quaranta – Academy Director MD
“As someone who grew up playing all over the DMV, I'm so excited to see the Washington Spirit franchise fully support youth development. I love that the organization values growing the game and the connection between development and the professional level.”
Andi Sullivan – Spirit Professional Player
Finally, if you have been observing our announcements related to the pro team, you have seen us deliver on our commitments to create, build, and execute better experiences for our players and fans. We have hired a world class technical staff that for the first time has all staff members as full-time staff. We have announced a new groundbreaking broadcast agreement to bring a minimum of 12 games to live TV in the DMV. You will be seeing other important announcements regarding our pro team that further reinforce the commitments we have made. I share this with you because the Washington Spirit want you to know we take our commitments seriously and we will deliver on our commitment to make important improvements to the full breadth of our youth programming services, including the DA’s.
Thank you for your participation in our youth programs and your loyal support of the Washington Spirit franchise.
Larry R. Best
Chief Executive Officer

[Anonymous]

How did this weekend at Penn Fusion go for the spirit teams? Any observations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear DA Parents, Players & Staff
...We have had numerous meetings doing our due diligence with DA staff, Spirit staff, US Soccer, and DA parents.

The focus of these meetings has been to audit the services we provide, listen to feedback, and understand the direction of US Soccer related to the everchanging youth landscape.

We will be adding additional dedicated staff to improve the back-office operations of the DA programs.

Of critical importance to us is we will be making these improvements and providing this additional staff without increasing the cost of participation. Our bottom line assessment is that we need to deliver greater value and that is what we are going to do. We fully intend to establish and set standards of excellence in everything we do which includes our Professional team, Youth programming services, and our overall Sporting and Business operations model for the Washington Spirit franchise.

“The overall Spirit experience is one that is very important to all of us at this club, with our commitment to provide a professional model that provides the highest level of quality from top to bottom. We'd like our brand to be synonymous with excellence in all areas of club operations, from our 1st team down to our youth programming. Mapping out a viable pathway through the youth process and into our first team is vital for a professional club like ours - and I believe we are taking positive strides in making that a reality with a new direction for our youth model.”
Richie Burke - Technical Director & Head Coach – Pro Team

“In the two-year existence of the DAs, we have made a tremendous amount of progress and appreciate the support from all of our staff, players and families. With the club's added leadership, we are even more excited about elevating the overall experience and footprint of the club from top to bottom. Providing the opportunity for youth players to have a unique experience as part of a professional franchise means a lot to us and we are committed to continuing to enhance that type of club environment.”
Tom Torres – Academy Director VA

“Our goal in Maryland has always been to create a competitive training environment that relates specifically to the first team. Inspiring and preparing these top players with a true pathway is
now a reality. Working with Richie and the new technical staff has provided clarity and a clear vision for Technical & Tactical integration from Pro to Youth which we are very excited about.”
Santino Quaranta – Academy Director MD

Finally, if you have been observing our announcements related to the pro team, you have seen us deliver on our commitments to create, build, and execute better experiences for our players and fans. We have hired a world class technical staff that for the first time has all staff members as full-time staff. We have announced a new groundbreaking broadcast agreement to bring a minimum of 12 games to live TV in the DMV. You will be seeing other important announcements regarding our pro team that further reinforce the commitments we have made. I share this with you because the Washington Spirit want you to know we take our commitments seriously and we will deliver on our commitment to make important improvements to the full breadth of our youth programming services, including the DA’s.

When did these meetings with DA parents take place? What back office additions are required, Club/team managers? What are the important improvements that are promised to the youth programming, including the DAs. What does new direction really mean? Were the commitments and improvements presented to current rosters?

[Anonymous]

Spirit VA administration badly needs to schedule a parent meeting with its current players and parents. Communication via emails is not going to cut it. The new plans definitely need explanation and a framework for implementation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did this weekend at Penn Fusion go for the spirit teams? Any observations?

Washington Spirit Virginia teams were out scored 29-3

In 10 matches

.....

[Anonymous]

To be fair, the showcase included some of the top teams in the region. I am not affiliated with WS VA so I am not trying to defend my own DD but given that the teams in that showcase have been together for years. Also, it was the U16 team that really had a bad tournament. I believe that team alone is responsible for 15 GA and 0 GF.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I agree. You didn’t mention that FCV was outsxored 0 to 9. Their 05 team lost 1 game 0-7. And the parents created a huge scene because they were yelling and cursing at each another blaming each other’s kids. They were yelling ‘f*** you. Your kid sucks and that’s why we lost’ ‘your kid won’t even make the team next year’ and other curse words. They went back and forth for 10 minutes and other parents from their team had to pull hem away. This was on the sideline. Guess they can’t take losing.

[Anonymous]

That is a crazy story. I hope FCV Dad weighs in and gives his $0.02.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is a crazy story. I hope FCV Dad weighs in and gives his $0.02.

It was actually 0-7, but the rest of it is true. I know it’s hard for some here to believe that WSVA could finish above FCV in anything, but the results don’t lie.

http://events.gotsport.com/events/results.aspx?EventID=67761&Gender=Girls&Age=14

[Anonymous]

^^^ misread the first post. Sorry, it was all true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, the showcase included some of the top teams in the region. I am not affiliated with WS VA so I am not trying to defend my own DD but given that the teams in that showcase have been together for years. Also, it was the U16 team that really had a bad tournament. I believe that team alone is responsible for 15 GA and 0 GF.

Also note that the U16 team is the EDP team, not the DA team. I didn't see the U17s and U19s from WS, but the U14s and U15s were actually playing pretty competitively. They simply can't score. One or two players would change that. Seems to me like an opportunity for a few talented attacking players who aren't getting as much play time as they would like elsewhere to come out and make a difference. Could turn a team around.