Agreed with all above. If you haven't seen Sal or Vinny at practice, you are not on the first team. But again, perhaps they are doing a better job passing on their training method to the second team.

How have you been training with them during spring rec league? They have a rec team? Or you've just been invited to their practices while on a separate rec league. If they observed your son and liked him enough to invite him to join the first team, I think that's a great opportunity. But, Sal and Vinny have a style... you'll figure out whether you like it or not over the course of the year, and if you don't you can leave, but at least you got a good year's worth of technical training.

Achilles is also doing their Friday night technical class on a pay for class basis, so maybe they are standardizing their style more, and perhaps they are doing a better job bringing it to their second team.

Just ask -- it's a fair enough question for any club -- which team level, and who will be the coach? It may be that they have done a better job, than when my son was there as middle elementary, to bring the good techincal training to the second team.

FWIW, Achilles does an excellent job with technical skills development, esp. if on first team where Sal and Vinny concentrate more of their time, not so much the second team. I've found in my years, this is where other clubs don't do as well (the bigger, better known ones, not sure about the smaller ones.) My U14 son says that at tryouts he can tell the boys that have been at first team Achilles for a year or two during their elementary years (and then they, like him, leave for whatever reasons.)

NP here. I greatly appreciated this thread, and feedback from teachers, and perspective from parents. For me, it has cut through all the things that "don't make sense" and "I don't get" about what's going on in public education, and so diferent than "when I grew up." Also, these issues seem to be a problem across public schools in this area, regardless of which school system. I wonder, does it make a difference then, which school district you go to? People are always moving for different schools - does it make a difference, if in the end they are all facing the "endless retakes" "students taking photos of answers" "overworked teachers who can't give feedback as much" and "non-detailed feedback, except a number grade much later in the grading system."

It seems as if the Exec Dir of Arlington and DC soccer had a drinking game, and traded a couple of each other's staff. Anyone know what's going on... big picture?

Thank you for your help. I greatly appreciate it.

I couldn’t find it anywhere n their website or parent handbook.

Also, is CCL considered more competitive than NCSL? - Thank you.

OK, soccer Dad.

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?

And must be decent payoff for the coaches to be there on a Sunday afternoon.

Thank you for your perspective. Then why not send their lower level coaches? I don’t see the coaches doing much.

How are they backed by the county?

And what "reason" -- most appear to be going to another club, and my suspicion is the other club is looking to build and did a raid, and it was more of a pull than a push. If it was a push, I'd think that they would scattering to different clubs.

Even if big, bad management can quickly reduce the quality of anything -- company, club, governmental services, school, etc.

Anonymous wrote:^^^^

The above is a great piece of information. The only thing I would add is what also matters is your DC's age and development level. EM and PG are great at teaching technical skills. If your DC is under 14, I would go straight to those two but once your kid hits 14 and 15 and tactical skills become just as important as technical skills, you might need to look elsewhere, especially if DC is looking to play at the next level. I don't believe either coaches elite teams at those ages.

What are you referring to as EM and PG?