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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Does anyone know the outcome of the '05 Loudoun DA vs. Arlington DA today?[/quote]

Loudoun 1 - Arlington 2[/quote]

Someone recorded this game and put it up on YouTube, if anyone is interested - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1BBGDvnqcI

[/quote]

The responses to this video were about what I expected.  Many will watch and see that both teams are finding it difficult to get sustained possession, high pass strings, or building quality attacks.  That much is obvious.  Then they compare it to their perception of their own kids team or other teams they've seen at that age, who seem to have more success doing those things.  They then conclude the DA isn't all it's cracked up to be, plenty of other clubs doing the same but better, and so on.

The reality is that with a few exceptions (LMVSC, Alexandria, Baltimore Celtic, maybe still Doradus), none of the local non-DA 05 teams could hang with either one of these teams.  None of the NCSL D1 teams other than Doradus are anywhere close.  Same with VPL.   To put it in perspective, MCLN's 05 ENCL team, which isn't bad, lost to Loudoun's B team a few weeks ago at OBGC.

Make no mistake, the kids on the teams in this video are very, very good players.  Relative to other 05 boys in this area, they have outstanding footskills, great first touch and technical ability, awareness and game intelligence.  But, it's true that when you watch the video you see lots of bad touches, misplaced passes, poor decisions, and not that much use of skill.

Why do you think that is?

Where most people go wrong is that they only see what each team is doing with the ball, without understanding what the other team is doing to stop them.  Look how organized both teams are defensively.  Look how vertically and horizontally compact they are, how quickly they get numbers back in transition.  Notice the pressing traps. Look at the man-marking in the midfield. Yes, players are moving off the ball, but their defenders are moving with them.  Passing lanes are clogged. Space is hard to come by, and doesn't last long.  Notice how many times a player receives the ball without being immediately put under pressure.  It almost never happens.  When it does it's usually after a back pass to relieve pressure, but only for a second or two, and when that player looks up he doesn't see any obvious options, because everyone is marked and there is not a lot of room in passing lanes to thread the needle.

In an environment like that, every technical weakness is exposed and magnified, and that is the environment those kids are putting themselves into every single week.   It only gets harder for them when they play teams like DCU, Bethesda, Armour, Philly Union and New York Red Bulls.  They will struggle, but that's what will make them better.

An honest assessment of local non-DA teams, including the smaller independent clubs like Sporting who do play possession, would reveal that the level of pressure and speed of play is not the same.

For those of you who are still not buying it, please give us some examples of clubs who you think have a comparable level of play.  Video would be helpful.

I am not saying the DA has a monopoly on all the good players in this area.  There are many teams that have one or two players who are good enough to make either one of these teams.  There are a few - including those I've mentioned above - who probably have 5-6 players on their roster who are good enough, but after that there is a drop off.

Oh, and as for the video of the Spanish U14s, FCB's academy is not one of the top 5-10 in Spain.  It is one of the top 5 in the entire world.  Posting that video as a comparison to these 2 teams is kind of silly.  A better comparison would be a match between two 2nd or 3rd division European clubs.  That would be interesting to see.

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