Reply to Bethesda Tournament vs McLean Tournament

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=FPYCparent]DD's 2008 FPYC squad will be at McLean and not Bethesda this fall.  No need to travel to Poolesville again for a similar experience at their current level of play.

I'd like to think many/most McLean teams (U12 and younger, at least) would be staying home as well.  They are also guaranteeing turf fields, which should mean something in November.[/quote]

Yeah, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that McLean gets decimated every year at the BSC tournament.

[/quote]

A lot of the biggest VA Clubs do when they have to play MD teams, just like this past weekend. Their regular season is against weak teams so they have false sense of superiority until they step outside their box.[/quote]

What do you think the leading factor is for this? Just a soft northern VA culture? Something else?[/quote]

Really good question. On the boys side, Maryland boys begin sooner (U8 leagues) and top teams play each other weekly, or at least more often than pre-U12 boys across the river. Top teams in any given year are not playing each other weekly in Virginia. That is a factor. I think these advantages level off over time. My impression is they are more physical at earlier ages and often more skillful. But there are certainly occasional exceptions that prove the general rule. A lot of the younger boys team parents are shocked when they see how much more physical the Maryland teams can be. Not dirty, just physical. [/quote]

All true.  Even within Maryland, teams outside of MoCo are more physical and harder.  Nothing bad about being from a wealthier area, but when it comes to sports, it makes the kids softer.[/quote]

Agree.  Baltimore and SAC teams have always been more gritty and physical in our experience, and that carries through up to the DA level.  Baltimore Armour is a good club with a lot of good coaches and players, but your kids will end up bruised and battered after a match up with them.

In general I think the MoCo to Baltimore corridor offers a more straightforward development path than what's available in NoVa.  There is much less talent dilution due to fewer clubs, so practices for kids below the A team tend to be better in general.  Also, Baltimore has been a soccer town since the 1930s at least.  It's like St. Louis in that tons of immigrants from soccer playing countries came for work and brought the game with them.  That sort of culture is hard to replicate. [/quote]

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