Best Coaches in the area? Northern VA, DC, Maryland for girls?
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soccerx3kidsss
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| Opinions on best coaches for my kids to play for? Who has the best reputation and track record in the area? Please provide Name, Club and Pros and Cons Thanks! |
ECNLDD
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Need more info, how old are your kids, what level are they at? |
soccer_dc
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| 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 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. |
soccerx3kidsss
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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. |
Blutarski
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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: |
Pepe
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| VDA has great cast and since the last few years turnover, every girls age group is top 3 in their MA league. If you can make the drive west of the DMV, then I'd look there. |
NotMessi
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Every VDA girls team is in the top 5 (not 3), and that is partially due to VDA playing weaker clubs so far this year (other than Richmond U). That said, it does look like VDA will probably be the top DC area club in the Mid Atlantic this year across the 6 ECNL age groups for girls. |
retiredref
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| Really depends on the player. Someone mentioned Clyde is on the way out, but he still knows more than any 5 other mclean coaches and your child will still learn more about the sport from him. But he is also a perfect example of how it depends on the player, if your daughter is highly motivated and self-secure she will thrive under Clyde, but if she not overly self-confident and can look to her coach to borrow belief she will perform better with a different coach. The coaches who can really work well with all the players are few and far between. Best is to go watch some games and see the coaches as they work. Get certified as a ref and you can get paid to see how coaches coach. If you hear coaches belittling players or offering useless advice like "it's gotta be better" move on. |
Lasso_FC_Girls
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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. |
retiredref
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I've watched both Christian and Tom coach multiple times and I would not want my daughter anywhere near either. |
Lasso_FC_Girls
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Yeah, I've seen a lot of coaches I wouldn't want my DD to play for either BUT some players will excel under these coaches and others will not. We are close with two families at FCV who are very happy but have admitted other families that feel differently. That is why it is up to parents to find that coach and style that is a good fit. Every player is different and reacts to different environments. Fortunately we are happy where we are despite the lack of success through many older age groups. Who cares if a Club or team is good or gets more attention if your kid is unhappy or riding the bench. |
SDC
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You can pick any club in the area, pick a coach or three out by name, and make this exact same statement. |
soccerx3kidsss
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This is really great info. Thank you. So would it be safe to say the club doesn't really matter here it's more about the coach? Basically anytime I hear anything about a coach it usually is always some love them and some hate them. There are some coaches who I hear such awful things about or rumors about abusive behavior that worries me. There are a lot of coaches who somehow still manage to keep their job even with a track record of inappropriate behavior. ALL I WANT IS A GOOD COACH! It seems a good coach is so hard to come by these days. I do agree it depends on the kid and the way they get along with the coach but as far as what constitutes a good coach I think the things we are looking for are:
1. Dedication - showing up on time and being prepared with a game plan. Players are held accountable and good leadership! 2. Communication - has great interpersonal skills to develop trust with parents and players 3. Knowledge of the game and age-appropriate development, truly helping every player on their team be the best version of themselves 4. Passion and positive coaching style, someone who can really build a winning team not just steal players. Not someone who joysticks or constantly yells. 5. Connections to college? Overall if anyone on here had to list their top 5 coaches in the area (ECNL coaches or GA) that fit these criteria that would be great to hear! VA or MD |
novasoccer15324
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| You need to do this by club - can you be a little more specific? the DC area is big. There are coaches who do not coach in ECNL or GA that are better than some who do. |
soccerx3kidsss
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It seems like this is a really broad question. Just looking for the best most recommended coaches in the ECNL and GA who are currently coaching as this is what we need to choose from. I am in 100% agreement that there are better coaches out there that trump the ones in these roles right now. Just looking for insight as to what is out there.
If anyone is interested in chiming in, I would like to know your thoughts on the coaches for these clubs in these roles. Norther VA clubs: ECNL VDA Arlington VA Union Loudoun Fairfax Brave GA TSJ FC Metro ASA |