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[quote=asksoccernova]Now the interesting question: Arlington or Alexandria at U9?

First, it would depend on boys or girls, the player's ability level, which team they would be placed on if selected into the program, and who coaches that team.
Are you talking about for a current U8 player that will be trying out for teams this coming spring, or a current U9 player who is looking to join either of these clubs? 
Either way, the best thing you can do is to attend tryouts for both clubs.

If you were looking at this year's U9 program, here's the information that's important to start with:

ALEXANDRIA:

2008 | U9 Boys (Red, White, Blue, Black, Silver)

Red is the #1 team, Silver is #5

Red	 NCSL 	Lee Clement	
White NCSL	Jeff Hajek	
Blue	 NCSL	Edwin Zelaya	
Black ODSL	TBD	 
Silver ODSL	Octavian Crismaru

2008 | U9 Girls (Red, White, Blue)

Red	 WAGS (should say NCSL now) Peja Ilic	
White WAGS Chris Hubbard

Coach Bios:
http://alexandria-soccer.org/travel/coaching-staff

ARLINGTON:
 
2008 Boys (U09)	
Red Coach: Arbi Hammami	 
White Coach: Arbi Hammami	 
Blue Coach: Lester Calliste	
Black Coach: Lester Calliste	
Silver Coach: Jesse Phillips	 
Gold Coach: Jesse Phillips

2008 Girls (U09)	
Red Coach: Alexis Koppius	
White Coach: Alexis Koppius 
Blue Coach: Jillian Maslyn	 
Black Coach: Jillian Maslyn	
Silver Coach: Torey Beiro	 
Gold Coach: Torey Beiro

Coach Bios:
http://www.arlingtonsoccer.com/travelsoccer/coaching-staff/

Immediate observations:

The big difference is that with Arlington, each coach works with 2 teams. That means training sessions are likely run with about 18 kids (8 year olds), which can be kind of a challenge, even with an assistant (I do not know if Alexandria combines 2 teams for training sessions at the same time). On the flip side, the 2 teams will eventually merge into one team in a few years, and if the same coach has been working with all the players for a few years prior, it's easier than combining two teams with separate coaches.

I think the depth of talent with Arlington is slightly higher at U9 just because of the number of people that live in Arlington (you're talking about all of Arlington county, which includes 22 public elementary schools which players will be drawn from). Alexandria only has 13 public elementary schools according to the Alexandria Public Schools website. I heard that there were 160-180 girls at Arlington's U9 tryouts for girls this year, and I imagine even more than that for boys. On the flip side again, there may be more talent purely because of higher numbers than alexandria, but that means its harder to make one of the teams and there may be more competition from year to year for a player to keep their spot on a particular team.

Beyond those immediate observations, you'd have to look up the bio of the coach who works with the team your player was selected for, and compare/contrast them for each club.

What I would do is attend a training session and just watch the coach the entire time, see how well they are organized, how they communicate with the players, and if the players are learning and having fun at the same time. After watching several different coaches, you will be able to get a feel for who really knows how to teach the game at that age group. Some coaches are better than others with U9s, but you have to watch them in action.[/quote]

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