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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] Some pickup play is coming back. That's a good sign. [/quote]

They are only bringing what they are calling "Junior Pickup" back for age groups where there is no crossover alternative (U11 and above), but the majority of the typical Friday Night Lights participants used to be the younger, crossover-eligible kids , so it isn't "coming back" for them.  Many of those younger, crossover-eligible age groups were the loudest about demanding FNL’s return, and they were the only age groups that took advantage of the old VYS field assignors offer to quietly get field space for some Friday pick-up last fall over the TD’s resistance.  So why the crossover limitation? They realize that most parents of young kids would rather take their kids to pick-up than what’s left of the degraded crossover program, so they are trying to force them into crossover by making them ineligible for pickup.

Also, when they bring back U11+ pickup, parents are now going to have to pay for it for the first time – at least $60-80 per season, or $180-240 if you play fall/spring/summer like folks used to do – which will force VYS parents to incur yet even more additional costs and have the effect of discouraging participation, thereby diminishing the quality of the overall experience.   I guess they view this as part of making VYS run "more like a corporation," but I was taught in b-school that corporations don't typically raise costs when the product is otherwise struggling.  Incidentally, VYS tried the exact same thing with the adult pick-up group and, rather than agree to pay the new fee, the adult participants told VYS to forget it.  That group then went and got their own permits from the County and now run pick-up themselves to keep it open, free, and fun, as pick-up has been at VYS for over a decade.

The club's approach to pick-up also raises questions about their new player development philosophy.  New TD’s philosophy stands in contrast to prior TD's often-stated belief that the Friday Night Lights pick-up program he pioneered should be open and free to all as a way to encourage players to play pick-up, which he viewed as a critically important in helping players to develop creativity, and to create a sense of club and community amongst VYS players, coaches, parents, and volunteers across age groups and programs.  FNL, in particular, was the one event that brought the VYS community together on a regular basis.  I can also distinctly remember Eddie and many of his professional coaches playing regularly in the adult pick-up games with everyone else, and even remember him playing with the kids and encouraging them to try to beat him 1v1 with some crazy move.  That set the tone for everyone else to follow.  By way of contrast, we now seem to have more of a European, tactics-focused, and school-like approach to player development, where pick-up soccer and the associated benefits – i.e. a venue for experimentation and the encouragement of creativity in players both young and old -- are secondary to other aims.  I guess there is a legitimate debate to be had over which is better, but I preferred Eddie’s approach.
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