McLean or FCV for rising U15g?

[Anonymous]

New to the area. My daughter (currently U14) played on ECNL team outside of VA and we're looking for a new team. Mainly looking at FCV and McLean because of proximity, national rankings (top drawer), seeing them play in a few tournaments. Considerations are GA vs. ECNL. FCV seems to be a small club but have heard good things about coaches (Bobby and Christian?) and they do well in every age group 07 and up. McLean has more resources, is in ECNL, but teams don't rank as well. My daughter hopes to play in college and beyond and main objective is to find good training, strong competition, mentorship. Recommendations would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

If you care about rankings, Arlington is the best program in NOVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to the area. My daughter (currently U14) played on ECNL team outside of VA and we're looking for a new team. Mainly looking at FCV and McLean because of proximity, national rankings (top drawer), seeing them play in a few tournaments. Considerations are GA vs. ECNL. FCV seems to be a small club but have heard good things about coaches (Bobby and Christian?) and they do well in every age group 07 and up. McLean has more resources, is in ECNL, but teams don't rank as well. My daughter hopes to play in college and beyond and main objective is to find good training, strong competition, mentorship. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Both of those teams suck. Check out Loudoun’s Silver team. If your daughter is ecnl she may have a chance to make the squad.

[Anonymous]

Thanks but Arlington 07 girls aren't ranked well nationally (other than on got soccer, which is not worth looking at based on how they do the rankings). They didn't do that well in DA and are middle of the pack in GA. I've been looking at rankings because I'm new to the area and haven't had much else to go on. I'm looking for insight beyond rankings. Good coaching primarily, strong teammates, good competition in league/other games, long term viability of team, college prospects and beyond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks but Arlington 07 girls aren't ranked well nationally (other than on got soccer, which is not worth looking at based on how they do the rankings). They didn't do that well in DA and are middle of the pack in GA. I've been looking at rankings because I'm new to the area and haven't had much else to go on. I'm looking for insight beyond rankings. Good coaching primarily, strong teammates, good competition in league/other games, long term viability of team, college prospects and beyond.

have fun with FCV then. You'll fit in, right down to the long term viability angst

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks but Arlington 07 girls aren't ranked well nationally (other than on got soccer, which is not worth looking at based on how they do the rankings). They didn't do that well in DA and are middle of the pack in GA. I've been looking at rankings because I'm new to the area and haven't had much else to go on. I'm looking for insight beyond rankings. Good coaching primarily, strong teammates, good competition in league/other games, long term viability of team, college prospects and beyond.

have fun with FCV then. You'll fit in, right down to the long term viability angst

FCV parent troll thread. The focus on rankings gives it away.

[Anonymous]

I would see if your DD could attend some practices with the teams you are considering to evaluate the coaching staff and the quality of the training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would see if your DD could attend some practices with the teams you are considering to evaluate the coaching staff and the quality of the training.

Thank you. We have reached out to both to attend practices. Just looking for any additional insight from local parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to the area. My daughter (currently U14) played on ECNL team outside of VA and we're looking for a new team. Mainly looking at FCV and McLean because of proximity, national rankings (top drawer), seeing them play in a few tournaments. Considerations are GA vs. ECNL. FCV seems to be a small club but have heard good things about coaches (Bobby and Christian?) and they do well in every age group 07 and up. McLean has more resources, is in ECNL, but teams don't rank as well. My daughter hopes to play in college and beyond and main objective is to find good training, strong competition, mentorship. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Best NOVA 07 girls teams (not in any particular order): Loudoun (ECNL), FCV (GA), McLean (ECNL)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks but Arlington 07 girls aren't ranked well nationally (other than on got soccer, which is not worth looking at based on how they do the rankings). They didn't do that well in DA and are middle of the pack in GA. I've been looking at rankings because I'm new to the area and haven't had much else to go on. I'm looking for insight beyond rankings. Good coaching primarily, strong teammates, good competition in league/other games, long term viability of team, college prospects and beyond.

have fun with FCV then. You'll fit in, right down to the long term viability angst

FCV parent troll thread. The focus on rankings gives it away.

How else do you start assessing teams when you move from a out of state? We have reached out for my daughter to attend practices, watched (and plan to watch more) games, looked at rankings, and reaching out to local community. Not sure how that turns my question into an FCV parent troll thread....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to the area. My daughter (currently U14) played on ECNL team outside of VA and we're looking for a new team. Mainly looking at FCV and McLean because of proximity, national rankings (top drawer), seeing them play in a few tournaments. Considerations are GA vs. ECNL. FCV seems to be a small club but have heard good things about coaches (Bobby and Christian?) and they do well in every age group 07 and up. McLean has more resources, is in ECNL, but teams don't rank as well. My daughter hopes to play in college and beyond and main objective is to find good training, strong competition, mentorship. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Best NOVA 07 girls teams (not in any particular order): Loudoun (ECNL), FCV (GA), McLean (ECNL)

Thank you. At the end of the day we'll go with whichever teams seems like the best fit (coach, teammates) to my daughter but also trying to get any info we can about the clubs and teams.

[Anonymous]

You can't really go wrong with either one if your DD is talented enough take a roster spot.

Oh, and don't believe anything you read on this site. So many here are misinformed and post things just to put themselves in a good light. It's also every ECNL/GA club that does this to each other in NOVA. FCV, Loudoun and McLean are the main offenders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to the area. My daughter (currently U14) played on ECNL team outside of VA and we're looking for a new team. Mainly looking at FCV and McLean because of proximity, national rankings (top drawer), seeing them play in a few tournaments. Considerations are GA vs. ECNL. FCV seems to be a small club but have heard good things about coaches (Bobby and Christian?) and they do well in every age group 07 and up. McLean has more resources, is in ECNL, but teams don't rank as well. My daughter hopes to play in college and beyond and main objective is to find good training, strong competition, mentorship. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Best NOVA 07 girls teams (not in any particular order): Loudoun (ECNL), FCV (GA), McLean (ECNL)

Thank you. At the end of the day we'll go with whichever teams seems like the best fit (coach, teammates) to my daughter but also trying to get any info we can about the clubs and teams.

My recommendation is to ignore about 80% of what you read on these threads. The hate for certain clubs (Loudoun, FCV, McLean, BRYC, Pipeline, etc.) is just noise. And you really don't care about how great the 04s are at a club or how bad the 09s are. Just focus on the 07 teams, and you'll see that there really are the three options noted above. Reach out to each of them. Go to a practice. Meet the coach and the team. Then decide what fit seemed the best (given all the factors you noted previously). The rest, is just noise.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you think about fit and style of play. It will dictate playing time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would see if your DD could attend some practices with the teams you are considering to evaluate the coaching staff and the quality of the training.

Thank you. We have reached out to both to attend practices. Just looking for any additional insight from local parents.

My DD has played at both clubs. Hard to go wrong with either if college placement is the goal. Both have historically placed alot of girls at great schools. Beyond that, there are various pro's and con's which you would have to evaluate relative to your own situation. Although the only certain thing in youth soccer is change, both of these clubs are on unstable ground IMO. FCV is more of a boutique club, and is likely to be in transition as TSJ continues to take over. McLean is facing a shrinking player pool due to various factors, and Clyde's influence is declining and he is likely to retire at some point.

Both clubs have had tons of dirt dumped on them in these forums.