Reply to NVA (Loudoun) going MLS NEXT?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A lot of people just don’t want to  acknowledging how bad the Alexandria MLS teams currently are.  Cant blame them.  Hopefully the future is better for that club.  [/quote]

Among MLS Next teams in area (other than DCU), only the following are ranked higher in each group

05/06:  Bethesda, Armour (barely)

07:  Nobody

08:  Armour

09:  SYC, Bethesda, Armour

10:  SYC, Bethesda, Armour

011: SYC (barely)

So Armour is ahead in 4/6, Bethesda and SYC are ahead in 3/6.  I'd say that's pretty solid.
[/quote]

Yeah.  I think they hold their own fairly well except in the 2010 and 2009 age groups.  I think some of that might be attributed to a young coach working to find his footing.  Some of it is talent.  And some of it is organizational philosophy.  [b]Alexandria's train by playing approach [/b]might not be the best fit for a 4-day a week practice schedule.  I think they'd do well to incorporate more individual skill work and team conditioning/speed training.  [/quote]

Can you elaborate on this? And any particular years that you know of specifically?  Ds is considering trying out there for next year. [/quote]

Ex-ASA parent here.  The traditional Alexandria philosophy was that individual/technical work and fitness were activities that can and should be done outside of practice.  I happen to agree with this, strongly.  And ASA top players tend to play futsal as well, which enhances technical/individual skill development, at least in the off season.  But it is also noticeable that ASA players may be a little less fit or 1 v 1 oriented than players developed at other clubs, with some very notable exceptions among ASA players who have gone to DCU.

Practices are heavy on buildup, shape and positional play.  My son learned more at early ages there than the rest of his years in soccer combined.  He took care of skills at HP.[/quote]

Current ASA parent here who basically agrees with the philosophy but doesn't think it's totally compatible with the MLS Next format.  The kids practice 4X a week for an hour and a half as mandated by the league.  they often have two games on the weekends and need at least one-day off.  The tactical heavy approach works for 2 or 3 day a week practice where the kids have time to work on their own.  In the 4-day a week structure, Alexandria needs to be all things for the kids, including devising ways to get them more touches, specific skill training, and speed and agility.  I'd also say that, for our team, the tactical philosophy needs to be more strongly implemented, whether that's pattern play or simply a reinforcement of positioning and movement during play.  I really like my son's coach and think he has a lot to offer, I just think the expectations need to be higher for what the kids can handle, physically and tactically.  Futsal has been great for some of these things and the lessons learned there need to be applied to full field situations.   [/quote]

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