SYC, Arlington, McLean, and Alexandria Boy's Team ?

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[Post New]04/18/2023 12:23
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icetonges
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My son is currently playing on the 2014B first team for a smaller local club. Although he excels, recent incidents have made me consider looking elsewhere. After conducting some research, I found four teams that are within a reasonable commuting distance: SYC, Arlington, McLean, and Alexandria.

I watched Arlington, McLean, and SYC play over the weekend. All of their first teams were impressive, and SYC had a particularly strong 2014 team based on my personal opinion. While my son would most likely be able to make the SYC blue team, not the academy team, they have many talented players. One parent mentioned the boys have played together for over three years, which makes me wonder if my son would be able to blend in quickly as a newcomer.

All of these clubs have had success, and I would appreciate any insights or preferences you may have regarding their coaching styles, player development, training quality, training locations. We are new to this travel soccer business. If you have any experiences to share regarding the 2014 boys' group, I would greatly appreciate it. We are trying to find the best fit for my son after a less than happy year.
[Post New]04/19/2023 11:54
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Ossalt
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Out of those 4, I'd look at SYC and Arlington. SYC will be a stronger team but Arlington has great coaches. SYC tryouts for 2014 are next week, Arlington tryouts start this week. SYC MLSNext, Arlington ECNL. Check out both, see which team your son likes best. Good luck!
[Post New]04/19/2023 12:49
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westsidesoccer
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Ossalt wrote:Out of those 4, I'd look at SYC and Arlington. SYC will be a stronger team but Arlington has great coaches. SYC tryouts for 2014 are next week, Arlington tryouts start this week. SYC MLSNext, Arlington ECNL. Check out both, see which team your son likes best. Good luck!


Alexandria has the best boys coaching and development in the area through U12. SYC has top-notch teams and has done a terrific job recruiting at development on specific teams. They don't tend to rotate coaches, at least not on the teams I've seen. Beyond U12, Arlington coaches are the best in the area. McLean/VA Union also has good coaches and appears to put a bigger premium on big and fast across ages. You cannot go wrong with any of these options so long as your kid likes the other players and the developmental approach of the club and coach. The OP definitely knows what he's doing already - going to see the teams and having your kid practice with the team a few times before tryouts is the best way to evaluate the fit.
[Post New]04/20/2023 22:12
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icetonges
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Ossalt wrote:Out of those 4, I'd look at SYC and Arlington. SYC will be a stronger team but Arlington has great coaches. SYC tryouts for 2014 are next week, Arlington tryouts start this week. SYC MLSNext, Arlington ECNL. Check out both, see which team your son likes best. Good luck!


Thank you for taking the time to provide your valuable insight and guidance on the SYC and Arlington soccer teams. Your thoughtful analysis and recommendation have been immensely helpful in making an informed decision about.
[Post New]04/20/2023 22:14
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icetonges
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westsidesoccer wrote:
Ossalt wrote:Out of those 4, I'd look at SYC and Arlington. SYC will be a stronger team but Arlington has great coaches. SYC tryouts for 2014 are next week, Arlington tryouts start this week. SYC MLSNext, Arlington ECNL. Check out both, see which team your son likes best. Good luck!


Alexandria has the best boys coaching and development in the area through U12. SYC has top-notch teams and has done a terrific job recruiting at development on specific teams. They don't tend to rotate coaches, at least not on the teams I've seen. Beyond U12, Arlington coaches are the best in the area. McLean/VA Union also has good coaches and appears to put a bigger premium on big and fast across ages. You cannot go wrong with any of these options so long as your kid likes the other players and the developmental approach of the club and coach. The OP definitely knows what he's doing already - going to see the teams and having your kid practice with the team a few times before tryouts is the best way to evaluate the fit.


Thank you for your time and effort in providing such valuable insights. Your thoughtful analysis and recommendations on the coaching and developmental approach of each team have been immensely helpful in our search for the right team for my son. We will certainly take your advice to have my son practice with them before the tryouts.
[Post New]05/11/2023 13:26
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taengi322
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Virginia Union is a alliance of SYC and McLean, but as the ECNL club, McLean holds the charter. It's been a big plus for SYC's top girls, who now have a pathway to an ECNL club. For boys, it provides a pathway to an ECNL club if they don't make SYC's MLS Next team.

I have 2 boys U11 and U14, we went to tryouts for all 4 teams. I was impressed the most by SYC overall. Very strong player pool.
Their U14 3rd team (NL EDP) could probably beat many U14 ECNL-RL teams in the area, even challenge bottom-dwelling ECNL-NL teams.

The one misfit in your group of 4 is McLean. The other 3 are among NoVa's best clubs, McLean is in the second tier. Union can't stay competitive with McLean's organic geographic player pool, so they need to draw in SYC and other kids to stay competitive.
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