I think it is important to back any team that makes this far from our DMV. It's been especially rough on the girls side of things with the exception of McLean and Bethesda from a few a years ago.

With so many good clubs in the ECNL/DA around the Beltway(s), it makes it that much harder for any of them to go far.

Here's to hoping for more National Championship opportunities for years to come, no matter the badge!

Love or hate FCV, the 2007 Girls team has been a controversial subject on this site for many years. I've always watched from the outside as the many parents have argued over the this age group.

Congrats to the DC United Boys who took home a National Championship last weekend further proving the our DMV Boys side is still very strong as it has been for years.

Regardless of how you feel, this team deserves some congrats making it into the final for the GA National Championship! It's been a few years since our area have been able to claim a Girls' National Champion in any age group. Everyone should be cheering them on to win! The Game will be played tomorrow at 3pm EST and live streamed.

L0ud0unParent wrote:

Lasso_FC_Girls wrote:4 year old? Which ever club beats ball skills to death until they go to 9v9. I honestly don’t know what club that is though. Probably not the clubs that care about winning at early ages. Definitely not Loudoun though.

Why not Loudoun? Just curious.

At that young of an age, a smaller atmosphere is usually better so the coach/trainer interact more with the player. My DD is now 13, plays in ECNL and is excelling. She started in our area's town club at ages 4 to 9. Was trained in ball skills only till age 7 and then the coach added in some IQ work through age 9. Game results were ignored. While that can be painful for a parent, it was certainly the best approach looking back now. I should also say the only reason to move your player to a larger and more competitive is if they are excelling so much that they are not being challenged by those around them.

Worry less about the club at early ages and more about the coach/trainer. Most will be parents at the young ages anyway. If you think Loudoun will train heavily on skills at a young age, than Loudoun is fine, however, Loudoun is not known for a technical style of play at later ages. At U9 though U13, it's more like put our fastest and strongest players up top, kick it long and hope the forwards get there.

4 year old? Which ever club beats ball skills to death until they go to 9v9. I honestly don’t know what club that is though. Probably not the clubs that care about winning at early ages. Definitely not Loudoun though.

...

I have heard the 09 ECNL coach has somewhat a conflict of interest, bringing in players that pay him privately for Futsal and private training. Those are the girls who likely will get first look for roster spots unless your DD is a star. Just be weary. A lot of other clubs in NOVA to look at. Where McLean is ahead of others is what they do for your child in the long run. Loudoun 09s will begin to fail as they get older because they are not developed for a possession game. Arlington is a wild card. FCV is similar to McLean but the 09 is struggling and the younger ages seem to be following. I would not recommend going over the bridge to Bethesda either. I am hearing they are having major management and coaching problems, causing the players to leave.

Find the coach your DD likes most at a stable club and go there.

realdmv wrote:

mdsoccerdad wrote:mass exodus occuring regardless.

there is no trust anymore. bethesda has lost that with too many families and its one person causing it

the boys side seems fine.

The canceling of games is why people are leaving? Really? I'll believe it when i see it.

It's not the canceling of games. The blatant lying by those in charge combined with a now corrupt board which is a whole other story completely; a new coach that came in and didn't even complete the season before being removed from one of his teams. Families were willing to look past that but again, after those "in charge" decided to blame the Maryland Ref Assoc., it was quickly found the games that were canceled only because of negligence on behalf of Bethesda, and nobody else.

Another thing that has not been mentioned is the 10s, 09s, and 08s have not played a game since Jefferson Cup, the weekend of March 20th. After these games were canceled, they will have there first games in South Carolina at an ECNL showcase. Pretty much 6 weeks between games in the middle of the Spring season.

So yeah, some families are still on the edge while others have already checked out. When you know the above, it's easy to see why. Imagine having four different coaches over a 4 year time period??? The 07s know all too much about that.

Pipeline played its girls’ Team ECNL home games and that is one of Bethesda’s in state rivals. Nothing else even needs to be mentioned after that. Somebody screwed up and they are being covered for. This was the nail in the coffin for at least four families I know of spread across different age groups. They said they feel like Bethesda is treating families like they are stupid, outright lying to them. They said they have never seen this many families upset. Some families even came back early from Spring Break for these games that were canceled, not to mention all of the families from other clubs that also had their plans screwed up.

Congrats Bethesda. One screw up without any accountability is going to likely hurt the Club for at least a couple years.

Since this age group thread was so active before the new restriction, figure its time to start a new one. I'm sure it will be much cleaner this time around.

Thanks for the advice OP!