Bethesda Soccer Club v Potomac Soccer Ass
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fkhmckensie
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| My rising U12 daughter has an offer from BSC for its U12 White EDP (4th team out of 4 teams) and an offer from PSA for its Premier II U12 NCSL (2nd team out of 2 teams). Of the two, which does she have a better chance of getting good development from so that she is competitive for a U13 ECNL team the following year? |
BunchlineDC
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| Take the Potomac offer, but neither one is going to get her to an ECNL team any time soon. BSC is a stronger club, but being on the 4th team will not be fun and she'll get ignored. Also BSC is not known to move kids up easily - they'd prefer to take new kids from outside the club. Go with Potomac and hopefully, she'll make the top team in a year. She can play EDP there and have a great time. |
PitchPrfect
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With all due respect, what makes you think she is good enough for ECNL if she was offered Bethesda White this year? Not being rude, but that would be a huge jump.
Both clubs had a lot of turnover this year. BSC is great for first or second team, but by fourth team the competition and coaching are both going to suffer. PSA is hit or miss. 2012 PII is getting a new coach from outside the club, so you should do your homework there. They turned a lot of girls away this year instead of forming a third team, so the second team should be decent |
dmv_directkicks
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Agree with the above responses. ECNL play is a HUGE step from where your daughter may play this year and will not occur in a year. Bethesda's girls' program had major turnover last year and (from what I hear) even more attrition this year (except for the '06 girls). My daughter joined another ENCL club because she needed a more positive environment and structure. Some of their ENCL and RL teams are losing 8-10 players because the culture has become unhealthy. Watch one of their ENCL games (coached by their ECNL director) and you will understand. If a team rebuilds every year, how can they be competitive? Bethesda doesn't seem to care as their model is built around bringing in outside players to "develop" teams; advancement within the club rarely happens and their funnel of new players is full.
I wish your daughter the best, but she will need practice, plenty of outside training, and perhaps a growth spurt to compete at higher levels. I would go with the PSA offer. |
CampChairCoffee
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OP, I’m not familiar with those clubs, so can’t help with your original question. But just so you know what you’re getting into with the whole ECNL thing (because I did not), my 2011 tried out this year and there were apparently 120 girls there. For a single team.
It’s nuts. |
jenR4567
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BSC will be a better option when they move to 11v11. If she plays on Potomac SA, she has the risk of making no team when her team moves to 11v11 next year.
She may not be playing ECNL now, but if she works hard this whole year he chances to make an ECNL team next year are decent. With Potomac she could be left without a team at all for u13 |
BunchlineDC
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| My experience suggests that this is not the case, particularly at BSC, unless you are prepared to do a lot of outside training. And if you do wind up on ECNL2, you will still be on a second team- and it feels like it. That said, BSC will give her a good soccer foundation for sure. |
Mocomom23
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I’d encourage you to gain a deeper understanding of your daughter's aspirations for her soccer journey in the coming year and beyond. Does she genuinely want to participate in ECNL, and if so, what are her reasons? Is her goal to prepare for the high school team or simply to enjoy the sport with friends, or perhaps a combination of these factors?
BSC is very competitive and the ECNL coaches get great results. However, there are times it feels too competitive and unhealthy. Eg when players from upper teams belittle fellow BSC on lower teams. In hindsight, I wish we had looked for a more humble and happy club, not just the BSC badge. |
Anonymous
| I think you should pick Potomac because I play for the U11 team Premier 1 and I am getting good development I even sometimes play with U12 because of the development I am getting so in my choise it is POTOMAC definitely not my rivals BESTHESDA. |
Anonymous
Assuming this is a genuine post, this is a good reminder for us all to be civil and constructive, as kids/players may be on these forums. As for the OP, agree with others that your daughter has a very long road in front of her to go from bottom Bethesda or Potomac teams to an ENCL team. If that is her goal, I hope you are investing in ample amounts of supplemental training, including potentially private training. |
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I would pick the one with practices closest to where you live.
Factoring in how much playing time she will get as well. Ask the coach. My kid is U14 and just started travel last spring. When she made the tryouts I specifically asked about playing time because I’m not paying just to be in a certain team/club/league if my kid is on the bench save for 5 mercy minutes. |
Anonymous
(though an old post got resurrected) The Potomac U11 team P1 is better coached than the P2 team and the original comparison was PSA 2nd team vs BSC 4th team... either way the BSC 4th team will always be the worst choice. From past exp, they had a hard time even getting enough players to field a team or practice on the 4th team. The 4th team gets the least attention and questionable coaching... even the 3rd team, which might have better coaching usually has kids that are not all that good/committed and feels like a rec team. Also, this year the Potomac U11 and U12 P1 teams have the same strong coach and practice together(sometimes) and some kids sub for the U12 team. The U12 team has been a strong team since at least last year. This is not common for PSA teams however, and I would pick BSC 2nd team over PSA 2nd team - and BSC 1st team over PSA 1st team outside of the current 2014/2015 teams. |
Anonymous
PSA 2015 1st team over the BSC 2015 first team? Not in a million years but we will see in the spring if PSA even comes up to the top EDP league. |
Anonymous
PSA is in EDP... 2015s BSA, but 2014 PSA |
Anonymous
https://system.gotsport.com/org_event/events/44329/schedules?group=407749 I guess its another PSA 2014G Premiere I team with AG as the head coach. lol.. |