VYS Soccer - better or worse?

[Anonymous]

They leave after one year in VYS and show up for the U7 Academy in McLean. Just saying . . .

[Anonymous]

Clubs are starting to ID U7s so they can retain them for U8 crossover teams and training programs to prep for U9 travel. No joke.

In other countries kids are IDd starting at 5-6 because soccer is an early specialization sport and academies invest resources into the young players so they have to figure out which ones are worth the investment.

I think we can agree that vienna is not the #1 destination for the best players in the dc metro area but the club offers many differenent competitive levels of play for both genders for where they fall. Some VYS teams are really good and some arent, same as any club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They leave after one year in VYS and show up for the U7 Academy in McLean. Just saying . . .

Some do. Some stay in McLean. Some come back to Vienna. Some quit playing soccer because they start to view all this as a bunch of nonsense.

In other countries kids are IDd starting at 5-6 because soccer is an early specialization sport and academies invest resources into the young players so they have to figure out which ones are worth the investment.

Somewhat. But Germany keeps coaches all over the country working with small clubs' kids to identify and develop talent at all ages.

I think we can agree that vienna is not the #1 destination for the best players in the dc metro area but the club offers many differenent competitive levels of play for both genders for where they fall. Some VYS teams are really good and some arent, same as any club.

That's entirely too sensible for this discussion.

[Anonymous]

Every club is a mess when you look under the hood. But you wouldnt know it by looking through their fancy websites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They leave after one year in VYS and show up for the U7 Academy in McLean. Just saying . . .

Some do. Some stay in McLean. Some come back to Vienna. Some quit playing soccer because they start to view all this as a bunch of nonsense.

In other countries kids are IDd starting at 5-6 because soccer is an early specialization sport and academies invest resources into the young players so they have to figure out which ones are worth the investment.

Somewhat. But Germany keeps coaches all over the country working with small clubs' kids to identify and develop talent at all ages.

I think we can agree that vienna is not the #1 destination for the best players in the dc metro area but the club offers many differenent competitive levels of play for both genders for where they fall. Some VYS teams are really good and some arent, same as any club.

That's entirely too sensible for this discussion.

Really? The 9/10 year old kid quits soccer because of the politics? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Only in Vienna

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only in Vienna

Good one. Now that was funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only in Vienna

Or McLean, in this case.

Not just politics. They start to sense that they're not really getting to *play*. Tough to get a U8 player excited about "development."

The McLean U8 Academy program is a horrible idea. Some Vienna parents have fallen in love with it over the years, but I think they've started to realize it doesn't work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only in Vienna

Or McLean, in this case.

Not just politics. They start to sense that they're not really getting to *play*. Tough to get a U8 player excited about "development."

The McLean U8 Academy program is a horrible idea. Some Vienna parents have fallen in love with it over the years, but I think they've started to realize it doesn't work.

Even the peeps in McLean hate that U8 program .... the kids all hate it. No games and 50 kids dribbling around for 90 minutes with too few coaches. Kiss $1000+ bucks away ... but if you do it, yo will make a U9 travel team. That's the hidden secret and why y'all VYS kids keep coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only in Vienna

Or McLean, in this case.

Not just politics. They start to sense that they're not really getting to *play*. Tough to get a U8 player excited about "development."

The McLean U8 Academy program is a horrible idea. Some Vienna parents have fallen in love with it over the years, but I think they've started to realize it doesn't work.

Braddock Road is taking the Mclean U8 approach and expanding it through U12. Single age group training pools and no teams. Lots of scrimmages and no league. That's MYS U8 Juniors in a nutshell. Juniors is a gateway? to travel, and Braddock will sell its program as a gateway to ECNL. Not sure it will work. Maybe Braddock run to VYS? Not too far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only in Vienna

Or McLean, in this case.

Not just politics. They start to sense that they're not really getting to *play*. Tough to get a U8 player excited about "development."

The McLean U8 Academy program is a horrible idea. Some Vienna parents have fallen in love with it over the years, but I think they've started to realize it doesn't work.

Braddock Road is taking the Mclean U8 approach and expanding it through U12. Single age group training pools and no teams. Lots of scrimmages and no league. That's MYS U8 Juniors in a nutshell. Juniors is a gateway? to travel, and Braddock will sell its program as a gateway to ECNL. Not sure it will work. Maybe Braddock run to VYS? Not too far.

BRYC won't have 50 kids in a pool. The younger pools will be 15-18 players. It won't be the chaos you're describing.

[Anonymous]

Great -- we can build up Vienna's house leagues and U9-U12 travel teams with the "Hey, you can actually play a game every once in a while!" sales pitch.

[Anonymous]

MYS Juniors program a horrible idea? Give me a break. That program produces kids who are light years ahead of their peers by age 9. They're doing something right and I've seen it with my own eyes because my kid spent those years at VYS. Kids from MYS with similar athleticism as him were technically superior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MYS Juniors program a horrible idea? Give me a break. That program produces kids who are light years ahead of their peers by age 9. They're doing something right and I've seen it with my own eyes because my kid spent those years at VYS. Kids from MYS with similar athleticism as him were technically superior.

And it drives talented players away from the sport.

McLean has technically superior kids at that age because they attract a lot of good players and, almost in spite of themselves, have some good coaches. They'd be technically superior even if MYS would let them play the occasional game instead of turning everything into rote training drills for 7-year-olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYS Juniors program a horrible idea? Give me a break. That program produces kids who are light years ahead of their peers by age 9. They're doing something right and I've seen it with my own eyes because my kid spent those years at VYS. Kids from MYS with similar athleticism as him were technically superior.

And it drives talented players away from the sport.

McLean has technically superior kids at that age because they attract a lot of good players and, almost in spite of themselves, have some good coaches. They'd be technically superior even if MYS would let them play the occasional game instead of turning everything into rote training drills for 7-year-olds.

+1

no way the OP has had their child go through McLean Jrs. Anyone who has, and anyone who has talked to other parents as they went through it, they all know it is simply trying to survive that program for a year in order to get into the U9 travel program. by spring, kids have figured out their are no games, and many want to quit. parents don't speak up because you will get branded and it could impact the U9 team selection process. It is a great idea, but executed poorly. at u8 there needs to be fun too and kids wants to play on teams against strangers, not scrimmages with pinnies against the same kids over and over. mclean won't let the kids play on rec teams at the same time as Jrs.