Best Coaches in the area? Northern VA, DC, Maryland for girls?

[Anonymous]

I know of many players that credit her for their ultimate success in soccer.

Everyone's experience is different. There is no one size fits all, right/wrong, good/bad. Everyone has their own experience and journey along the way, and you need to find the right spot for your kid.

[Anonymous]

So, worked for your kid although you felt she was abusive. Got it.

[Anonymous]

retiredref wrote:

Lasso_FC_Girls wrote:I'll chime in...

Maryland side is currently hurting. Bethesda and MDU seem to keep trading players. Both have polarizing coaching and parents as well as high player turnover. I would probably put both Pipeline and Baltimore Armour above them since they are a little more grounded. Doesn't really matter for a true DMV layer as those clubs are further away.

Virginia's current leader is probably a toss up between VDA and FCV. The director at FCV is more like a dictator. Christian is very good. Tom Torres has the Spirit accusations but is still regarded as a very good coach. VDA's staff is excellent for the most part but I have heard complaints about the new 2008 coaches.

100% agree about what previous poster said about Mclean/Union. Clyde is/was best coach but on the way out. Some players are given favoritism due to who they might train with outside the club. Large rosters. Experienced college recruitment program.

Arlington is seeing success at younger ages. Good coaches but hear a lack of leadership and organization. Needs to work on building relationships with College coaches. Are they just another Loudoun? Time will only tell.

BRYC/Brave - Seem to have improved some for merger with VYS but not enough to put them in the top half of any ECNL tables. I don't know if they will ever get the college looks they once did.

Loudoun - Young teams always seem to do well due to the size of the club but by HS ages they aren't able to compete. This leads to a lack of interests at the next level. Coaches yell a lot but not an abusive manner. Still trying to figure out why the teams always start doing poorly at high school age.

Metro ASA - This club actually has my favorite set of coaches but they just can't bring in any talent teamwide. It's kind of a shame. As bad as some of the teams are, they still somehow manage to get kids to the next level. I bet if Loudoun had this coaching staff from an early age, they would see a lot more success.

Always go for ECNL unless you can get into a top GA club like FCV. I honestly wonder how long FCV can hold it together for. ECNL is hands down better competition, GA is a distant 2nd. The only thing that holds the GA together is it's Champions League Events and National Finals. Outside of the GA teams that make those, I don't see a big difference between GA, ECNLRL, or EDP.

2 cents deposited.

I've watched both Christian and Tom coach multiple times and I would not want my daughter anywhere near either.

Preach gurl

[Anonymous]

Blutarski wrote:

soccerx3kidsss wrote:

soccer_dc wrote:Sorry to answer your question with questions but so many variables go into "best" coach. Knowing the ages of your kids would help certainly. But also what are you looking for in best? Best college exposure and connections? Best at motivating kids? Best fun team atmosphere? Best private lessons? What kind of track record - winning tournaments, placing players in D1 colleges, professional players? Keep in mind at most clubs you won't have the same coach for more than a couple of years so it might be a better question to ask about clubs instead of coaches. Even still, everyone's experience with a coach and club is different so it's really an individual decision based on your own kid.

I'm just curious about who has a solid reputation in the area. Seems like good coaches are hard to find and change very often. I have 3 kids 8, 11, 16. Like give me some recommendations of who you would have your kid play for. Competitive travel soccer.

I'll bite. "Best" is kind of a curious term when evaluating youth clubs/coaches. All have pros and cons, so you have to consider the good with the bad. Alot depends on your geography and goals. If you've got girls and are aiming at college play ultimately, the best choices narrow to a few clubs/coaches, usually ECNL. Generally people in this category are willing to travel farther for it. If you aren't aiming at college play you are likely less willing to travel and coach selection becomes harder since the second tiers of coaches are much more transient. The below is aimed at the player targeting college and focuses on the clubs/coaches I know. My opinions only, YMMV.

TSJFCV: best college placement record currently, can be political/turbulent. Mostly based at Evergreen in Loudoun County. Christian is generally regarded as a good coach, Bobby can be polarizing; a mediocre soccer coach but great for college placement. Uncertain long term future since they are effectively locked out of ECNL. They still seem to find ways to place more girls at higher levels than any other club in the past two years though.
McLean: tremendous college placement history, but middling lately. Dwindling coaching roster and questionable leadership over the last few years. Brent is probably their best coach. Nadir is polarizing/volatile, Clyde on the way out and is best avoided. Club is still a great choice if you have a P5 player.
BRYC/Brave: middling college placement, many teams struggling to compete in ECNL. No specific coaching recommendations.
VDA: Bobby. Ugh.
Arlington:

He's got ECNL now though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, worked for your kid although you felt she was abusive. Got it.

Wasn't abusive to my kid. My kid's playing in college now. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

It's crazy how so many people think their is a "one size fits all" approach. I'm not advocating the yelling hard nosed approach or the participation trophy approach. I personally think and maybe their are coaches that need to hear this as well but coaches are like managers(hence why they're called managers at the professional level) and that it's about relationships and knowing your players. Certain players will respond to criticism and advice in different ways and you need to communicate to each based on that. My 2 kids are prime examples, my son puts so much pressure on himself to be perfect he doesn't necessarily need someone to yell at him for what he's done wrong because he already knows, they have to come at him hard but positively. My daughter who's younger understands nobody is out to hurt her feelings and that some instructions can't be conveyed in a "nice" way. If she messes up, all she needs to hear is someone yell her name and it fires her up to be better.

[Anonymous]

This is so 2022.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just found this post, and a bit late (understatement) to the party. My daughter had her as a coach for years and yes she was tough, had favorites and treatment was dependent on how she felt about the child. She told my daughter that she would never make it in soccer, and no matter how hard my daughter worked it wasn't enough. She was known to curse at the children at the time she was 7. My daughter spent years with her, and almost gave up the sport and no more joy out of it until we left the club and then it returned. My daughter, now in her 20s, earned a full ride to a high ranking D1 school, was a National Team player who was part of the World Cup Qualifiers, and is thriving. Had my daughter taken RaeAnn's words to heart she would not have made it.
I know of many other players who have gone on professionally that have a negative story about this coach telling them that they would never make it at 7-8 years of age.
Tough love is one thing. RaeAnn was abusive and it had nothing to do with playing time.

Was she fired from London?

[Anonymous]

RB at LS is by far the best youth girls soccer coach in the area. Nicole is also pretty good and you are lucky to have to have either. There are no great coaches but there are many awful ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RB at LS is by far the best youth girls soccer coach in the area. Nicole is also pretty good and you are lucky to have to have either. There are no great coaches but there are many awful ones.

RB is a legend, never heard anyone talk bad about him.
Nicole is also a great coach for girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RB at LS is by far the best youth girls soccer coach in the area. Nicole is also pretty good and you are lucky to have to have either. There are no great coaches but there are many awful ones.

RB is a legend, never heard anyone talk bad about him.
Nicole is also a great coach for girls.

LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RB at LS is by far the best youth girls soccer coach in the area. Nicole is also pretty good and you are lucky to have to have either. There are no great coaches but there are many awful ones.

RB is a legend, never heard anyone talk bad about him.
Nicole is also a great coach for girls.

lol Coach N has her moments…. Until parents call and complain and she capitulates and changes the line up. She could be the best coach if she stays neutral and gives playtime off of merit. But that can be said about a bunch of coaches.

RA got results at the expense of mental health. They do regret her leaving now imo. Backfill is just was just as tough.

[Anonymous]

You can’t be a perfectionist with youth girls travel coaches. You do need to make sure the coach is good for,your kid.