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This is about more than just your child, unfortunately. It seems to be a systemic issue that needs to be rooted out. Agree with previous comments that you should track the incidents and report them. Most counties have a "Student Rights & Responsibilities", and repeat offenders will be dealt with by getting a suspension. The offenders also need to be of concern here...at this age, they are at a fork in the road. Can they redirect to the right path or will they continue to be an a-hole the rest of their lives? Lord knows we have enough a-holes in society. A final piece of advice for all - maybe don't normalize this behavior by voting for a man to be President who publicly calls everyone names? Yes, it matters.
Anonymous wrote:Size will eventually catch up to you in soccer unless your aggression is off the charts. Even then, the bigger girls will knock you off the ball. At the younger ages it is fine, but once you hit teens, the game gets pretty physical past the rec level. Field hockey is better sport for smaller girls.
Perhaps the worst take I've seen in a while. Lower center of gravity is a huge advantage in soccer. Can't knock someone off the ball if you can't catch them.
Crazy stuff happens with these clubs...offers get revoked, coaches change, you find out things you didn't know...NEVER close a door until you absolutely need to. Go to the tryout and say as little as possible about your plans until they ask you what you are doing next year. Then, you tell them. They aren't telling you who they are offering...it's a two-way street. They start offers with the kids they want most for the top team and work downward on a rolling basis. You won't be taking anyone's spot. Your kindness is admirable, but don't overthink it.
Transplant_1 wrote:Rountree wrote:Transplant_1 wrote:Thank you for your perspective. Then why not send their lower level coaches? I don’t see the coaches doing much.
Whether true or not...I'd assume the calculation is that a U11 boys Mom thinks there's greater value in driving 10 extra miles when a former national team player is running drills as opposed to a coach who maxed out at high school soccer. Marketing....
And dads, right? Why disparagement of just the mom/females?
Now you're just wanting to fight. Sorry that I'm not wordsmything these random blog posts as you'd like. Get over yourself. - Sincerely, Dad
Transplant_1 wrote:Thank you for your perspective. Then why not send their lower level coaches? I don’t see the coaches doing much.
Whether true or not...I'd assume the calculation is that a U11 boys Mom thinks there's greater value in driving 10 extra miles when a former national team player is running drills as opposed to a coach who maxed out at high school soccer. Marketing....
Transplant_1 wrote:Why does Bethesda charge? Is it because they can and people pay?
Yes. Also a deterrent from the tire kickers - or in this case...ball kickers who just want another tryout or say they tried out for Bethesda.
You might be putting too much thought into this. Revenue generator? Of course, these clubs are a business - listed as non-profit or not. The three guys they have leading these sessions have impressive backgrounds and the thought is probably that not everyone will get to play for them - so they will be a draw for kids both inside and outside of Bethesda. We have attended a few of the blocks, and it's a good place to get extra touches alongside kids of various levels. I'd keep in mind that they have to cater to a wide range of skills - from virtually nothing to future D1 player. Bethesda is not using these for tryout screening. That you would think that tells me you aren't with Bethesda or haven't been for very long. It's less than $30 a session and on Sunday nights. Purely supplemental in terms of revenue for the club and skill-building for kids. Sometimes it's just that simple.
This is not a merger...it's a dumpster sale of what little remains of BRYC. Can you take one of our players in each age group and call it an alliance so that we don't have to go through the embarrassment and cost of shutting this whole mess down?
soccerNOVA wrote:Rountree wrote:Both BRYC and VYS tried to become something more than what they are - a community soccer team. A team like Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Achilles, VDA, etc...will pull talent from a 40 mile radius because there is a particular fit for a kid and an opportunity to develop or be part of a talent pool that helps them find success. Is anybody driving an hour each way to play for BRAVE? I don't think so. Why? Better options close by. BRAVE should be in ECNL-RL and VYS-BRYC should merge to at least make themselves competitive in NCSL. Stop trying to be something you're not.
Brave got started around this time last year, which is late for team building at the ECNL level. There were also some organizational issues and drama at the start especially on the boys side, and the result was that the player pool actually got significantly smaller rather than bigger. I think the geographical area and population density are big enough to support a successful ECNL club. Do people really drive 40 miles to VDA? Some do. But some of those come from the Fairfax area or from Vienna even, and would likely stay if they had a good option closer to home. Brave has a lot of work to do to become that good option, but I think its a year or two early to write off the program entirely. Let's see how things go at ID sessions this year and with the 2010 and 2011 age groups next season. Then we'll know more. Relationships with PAC, BAC, FPYC, Villareal would all help.
VYS was a top ECNL-RL club on the girls side and average on the boys side prior to Brave. If those teams lose 2-3 kids to ECNL instead of 9, then I think that's still where they belong. Losing too much of their player pool and every team has been playing up a level. Same issue at BRYC although the results are clearly worse. We'll know more after next season.
The unfortunate situation for BRAVE is that the parental / consumer pattern is to find a good fit NOW. They aren't willing to wait around for three years because those are three years of core development. time that they won't get back. As someone who has a boy at another club, I can assure you that we see current BRAVE kids in the 2010 and 2011 age groups coming to ID Sessions all the time at other clubs. So I'd expect that those age groups will lose more talent than they'll gain. I hope I'm wrong...it would be nice if people didn't have to drive so far for a good soccer option. But is anybody willing to wait around for that to happen? Afraid not. Agree that expanding recruiting to other clubs would be beneficial, but I don't think these "relationships" really mean much. It's a free market out there...people are able to go to whatever tryouts they want.
Both BRYC and VYS tried to become something more than what they are - a community soccer team. A team like Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Achilles, VDA, etc...will pull talent from a 40 mile radius because there is a particular fit for a kid and an opportunity to develop or be part of a talent pool that helps them find success. Is anybody driving an hour each way to play for BRAVE? I don't think so. Why? Better options close by. BRAVE should be in ECNL-RL and VYS-BRYC should merge to at least make themselves competitive in NCSL. Stop trying to be something you're not.
I'd say the operative word you used is "best". I assume by "best" you mean competitive, but is it the best team for your kid? Seems not. That said, spring season has started or will start soon, and it's hard to move at this point. He's a U11, and if it is one of the top teams in the area - aka Alexandria, Arlington, Bethesda, etc...you will find that's an age where parents are positioning kids to be the pros they are under the illusion they will become. I'd suggest staying at the same club but ask to move down a team. Tell the coach you want him to gain confidence, which is true. You'll likely find less drama, less attitude, less pressure, and more opportunity for success. You can then reassess with tryouts which are also approaching. If he moves and feels the same, it might be time to look inward.
soccer197 wrote:soccerNOVA wrote:Pepe wrote:Beyond necessary. DMV area was so concentrated with clubs. Clubs from Dallas, LA, and NY to name a few have fewer clubs that our area did. Working well for VDA, others followed. Clubs get more players, higher quality, better training in long run. There is no con to any of this for the players and clubs.
We’re still in a soccer hotbed. Just a couple of teams would make NOVA teams great, but travel to practice would be a nightmare for some families. I like the consolidation, but it’s not necessary to go that far. Consider that on the girls side all 5 NOVA teams are in the top 6 teams in ECNL at the U13 age group. That’s the first year things have been settled with the semi-recent promotion of Loudoun to ECNL, and the more recent consolidations leading to Union and Brave.
Things are more uneven in the boys side, but that’s because MLS Next has two teams that attract players in addition to the 5 ECNL clubs - and Alexandria and Springfield happen to be right next to each other.
If NOVA youth soccer was starting from scratch and I could align teams however I wanted, I’d make 4 top league county teams for both boys and girls. Those would go in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William. And they would all start at U13 and not be affiliated with youth programs whose missions should be different.
A hotbed? Really? What makes you determine that? California and Texas are soccer hotbeds. NOVA, like every other densely populated area with lots of affluence, produces plenty of players. Philly, Boston, Charlotte, NY/NJ, Atlanta, South Florida are also “hotbeds”
The DC area is a youth soccer hotbed. Ask any college coach. Travel to camps in other parts of the country. Some of the best players in the US are from this area. Are other areas just as good? Yes, but just because you don't have a pro living next to you doesn't mean this area is void of top talent. You're just not hanging out in the right circles.
"Since the season is half over at this point I asked about having my son released to look for another team here in Maryland to get a fresh start whoever has an available spot whether EDP ECNL or MLS and he told me that he won't release him till March 1. Is that the rule? Can he do that?"
They have no reason to not release you, but you need to have another club lined up to smooth this process. If you are trying to move to another ECNL team, he is right - you can't do that until after March 1st. In fact, you can't do any activity with another ECNL club until March 1st. So it would make your life much easier to transfer to an EDP club and ask for a release immediately and a transfer of your card to that club. MLS Next is probably not a fit for you because you're not allowed to play high school soccer and play MLS Next. Do people do it? Sure, but they are not sufficiently committed to either b/c MLS Next requires 4 nights of practice per week. And it's not for those who are showing up half the time. Good luck.
They have no reason to not release you, but you need to have another club lined up to smooth this process. If you are trying to move to another ECNL team, he is right - you can't do that until after March 1st. In fact, you can't do any activity with another ECNL club until March 1st. So it would make your life much easier to transfer to an EDP club and ask for a release immediately and a transfer of your card to that club. MLS Next is probably not a fit for you because you're not allowed to play high school soccer and play MLS Next. Do people do it? Sure, but they are not sufficiently committed to either b/c MLS Next requires 4 nights of practice per week. And it's not for those who are showing up half the time. Good luck.
DaniRojas wrote:Rountree wrote:NVA-Soccer wrote:PICKMECOACH wrote:Rountree wrote:
Trace is much more bang for the buck. Don't have a camera to lend, but if you want it filmed manually with a tower camera (much better video quality) - happy to do it for $50 per match.
Thanks. We will just go without recordings at this point.
Having compared Veo 1 to Trace for our team I disagree. Trace quality and post processing is poor.
Agree with DaniRoja, Veo vid quality much better, they just need to get their act together as to customer service and CAM issue's.
Always found quality of picture to be an issue with Trace.
The video quality is lackluster, but they've added a really cool "Multicam feature" where anyone with a phone from any angle can just hit record and it will sync up with the video - different angles at better quality at no additional cost - with the stats. Still taking Trace over Veo.
It sounds like you're choosing iPhone over Veo....?
The Trace trackers are a hassle and when we trialed it the data was not accurate. It was fun to look at and a great gimmick but if we can't trust the data, what good is it?
Not a single problem with the data. In fact, incredibly accurate. If you're looking for video quality, neither Veo nor Trace are your best option. The iPhone has higher resolution than both. Pairing the two (overhead Trace and on the ground phones - unlimited number) gives you the best of both worlds - overhead view with heat map plus time stamped and synced ground level video complimented by stats.
NVA-Soccer wrote:PICKMECOACH wrote:Rountree wrote:
Trace is much more bang for the buck. Don't have a camera to lend, but if you want it filmed manually with a tower camera (much better video quality) - happy to do it for $50 per match.
Thanks. We will just go without recordings at this point.
Having compared Veo 1 to Trace for our team I disagree. Trace quality and post processing is poor.
Agree with DaniRoja, Veo vid quality much better, they just need to get their act together as to customer service and CAM issue's.
Always found quality of picture to be an issue with Trace.
The video quality is lackluster, but they've added a really cool "Multicam feature" where anyone with a phone from any angle can just hit record and it will sync up with the video - different angles at better quality at no additional cost - with the stats. Still taking Trace over Veo.