How are they backed by the county?

And what "reason" -- most appear to be going to another club, and my suspicion is the other club is looking to build and did a raid, and it was more of a pull than a push. If it was a push, I'd think that they would scattering to different clubs.

Even if big, bad management can quickly reduce the quality of anything -- company, club, governmental services, school, etc.

Transplant_1 wrote:Would quality of Arlington be impacted by recent departure of high level staff? I guess it would depend on who they find as replacements?

No that will not impact anything. Arlington is a very big club, has a very large pool of players and is in a good location to drawing players from other clubs. So in the DMV area quality(wins) will remain the same no matter who is there. Now when you play similar size or bigger clubs with similar/better athleticism the coaches, development and style of play makes a difference.

Arlington should be able to attract some quality staff because it’s a big club backed by the county. I think they offer a 401k and health benefits many clubs do not offer. Though this is travel soccer and there are a lot of retreads. So do not under estimate the ability of a club to pick the wrong person. Remember most of the direct level people are leaving there current situation for a reason.

Not sure about OP. I am interested in U13.

What age group?

Bump. I'm also curious about this question.

Would quality of Arlington be impacted by recent departure of high level staff? I guess it would depend on who they find as replacements?

On the boys side Arlington is by far the strongest club in Virginia. They could field two teams in ECNL and both teams would be competitive.

OP here. Thank you all for your thoughtful messages. It is interesting how as parents we share common concerns - wanting what's best for our kids and trying to navigate the environment.

soccer_dc wrote:FWIW Arlington Red is the better team in terms of winning, and probably as a result, they play in some better tournaments (Jeff Cup, Loudoun Premier vs Battlefield) which may be of interest if your son is eventually interested in college soccer. You can see a direct comparison here https://youthsoccergames.com/compare/2009-boys/300078005/300088501

But I wouldn't suggest choosing a team based on their records or worrying about college at this point. As has been said you should try to attend practices with each and determine fit with coaches and cliques. Both clubs are well established and solid, and fit will be way more important than winning games.

Arlington 2009 Boys is an interesting group. It has a lot of talent, even down to its 5th Team. Many of the really good kids are small and quick, but their Red team is very big and athletic. On any given day, a lower team can beat the team above it, or at least be very competitive.

FWIW Arlington Red is the better team in terms of winning, and probably as a result, they play in some better tournaments (Jeff Cup, Loudoun Premier vs Battlefield) which may be of interest if your son is eventually interested in college soccer. You can see a direct comparison here https://youthsoccergames.com/compare/2009-boys/300078005/300088501

But I wouldn't suggest choosing a team based on their records or worrying about college at this point. As has been said you should try to attend practices with each and determine fit with coaches and cliques. Both clubs are well established and solid, and fit will be way more important than winning games.

OP great questions. We moved to this area a year ago, and navigating all the club options around here is exhausting. I would say all teams have their cliques and the most important thing you can do is try to train with these teams for 3-4 sessions if possible. The cliques are super annoying but do impact your child's perfomance if they are not settled socially on the club so you are spot on in investigating that aspect of fit. Because there are so many options around here I would also say don't be afraid to make a change if the fit is not there. We as parents are the consumer and as long as your kid can play you should be able to navigate where they play next and if making a change needs to happen, that's your perrogative. Not a coach or a technical director, or other parents even. Talk to the other parents too cliques often start with the adults.

Technically, each team plays 11 different opponents in league play (since there are 12 teams). But yes, red teams play blue teams. You will play some opponents twice, I think usually the opponents in your color.

Yes, if you look at the 12 teams listed, all are DC area teams, so travel for those games is minimal. Full ECNL will involve a lot more games, and more travel to North Carolina, Richmond, VA Beach, and Baltimore. That said, we travel 3+ hours a couple of times spring and fall.

I don’t know this, but I do believe 2nd team players at these clubs could play some kind of college soccer.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

So to be clear, the red clubs and the blue clubs play against each other, so a red will play a blue? So, these teams play against a total of 12 other teams during the fall and spring season as part of ECNL-R?

Also, one aspect I like about ECNL-R is there is less travel than ECNL-National for games. It provides more time for studying for high school, and frankly down time and socializing time. Any sense of how the Arlington Red and McLean Green do for playing soccer at selective colleges?

For example, I've heard that kids do play soccer at selective colleges coming out of Bethesda Blue (the level right below their MLS Next); and that some kids purposefully choose Bethesda Blue instead of MLS Next so they can have more time for studying and down time. I'm wondering how Arlington Red and McLean Green do in terms of this -- providing training and level of play to play soccer at selective colleges (eg: colleges in NESCAC)

Thank you.

There are 12 ECNL-R clubs in the Virginia-North region. The “red” clubs you listed (Arlington, Loudoun, Herndon, McLean, Vienna, and Braddock Rd) plus the “blue” clubs (VSA, Great Falls Reston, Villarreal, Valor, PWSI, and Stafford. Your league games will be against this group, but you will play other clubs in tournaments.

I have a child playing ECNL-R, and we have enjoyed it. It can feel cliquey. Remind your child to be kind and welcoming to others once they have made it into the clique. We receive winter training and limited summer training.

Both Arlington and McLean are quality clubs with good coaching staff.

We're moving to N. VA area, and trying to get a better sense of the Arlington Red and McLean Green teams. I think these are the teams right below their highest level (which play at ECNL National), and Artlington Red and McLean Green play at ECNL Regional. Based on what I found online, their "region" is a total of 6 teams (https://public.totalglobalsports.com/public/event/2561/standings/16423).

Questions:
-- Does this mean, that these 6 teams play only each other for both the fall and spring season? Next year is it likely to change, so players can get more exposure to other teams?
-- What is the coaching like for each club? How solid of a line-up across the years (especially late middle - high school teams)
-- Do they tend to be "clique-y" -- my son joined a new club/team this year, and the boys are their internal sub-cliques, and as he said "it's hard to break into the cliques" so he's not having a great time, and its affecting his play, and the way boys treat him / pass balls to him or not on the field.
-- One basic question.... does the fee include any summer or winter training, or are they separate fees?

I know the 2nd an 3rd are very broad questions and depend on each team. If you have experiences to share for either team for the '09 group, I'd greatly appreciate it. Please no broad slam-dunk negative or positive reactions (eg: they suck, they are the best.) After a less than happy year, we're trying to find the right fit. -- Thank you.