Anonymous wrote:Looking to move to the next level in soccer and thinking ahead to tryouts. Which MoCo area club is best for a highly motivated, hardworking girl? Looks like Potomac, Bethesda, and PPA would all be reasonably convenient in terms of location. Feedback on club cultures is appreciated.

You could also consider fcgb. They seem to get some of the talent, but at the older ages, they will leave for Bethesda or another club. Go out to all the clubs that you are willing to drive to and see where your daughter fits in the best. Most are done with games, so you may not see all the girls at practice, but it should give you a good idea of how she fits in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

McLean is part of Union for ECNL and those practice locations are not near to MoCo.

Again, depends where in MoCo you live and your definition of "near". McLean and the fields where Union plays and practices are only 4 miles down 495 from the county line.

That depends on the Union team. Some have Springfield (the other part of the union) practices

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

McLean is part of Union for ECNL and those practice locations are not near to MoCo.

Again, depends where in MoCo you live and your definition of "near". McLean and the fields where Union plays and practices are only 4 miles down 495 from the county line.

That used to be the case, but the beltway construction for 495Next means it can take 30-45 minutes any given day from River Road to Chain Bridge. Not every day, but plenty of them. That said, BSC practices at SoccerPlex and Gaithersburg at times, so depending on where you live, that may not be better.

Anonymous wrote:Where does she play now? Do you have a sense of how she compares to travel players? It's worth reaching out to a few clubs and attending practices.

From a pure talent standpoint, BSC ECNL is easily the top team in MoCo and BSC 2 is probably second best.

Potomac and PPA are next tier. Other options include Juventus, MSI, FCGB, and ROSA.

Depending where you are located, don't sleep on Arlington and McLean. Their practice fields are just as close to parts of MoCo as some of the MoCo-based clubs.

Last year’s BSC2 was second best (one their division in EDP). Most of the entire team left and it’s a new team that isn’t very strong. The coach (who coaches BSC1 too) is only interested in his top team, has pushed girls down and promoted nobody while bringing in guest players from other clubs to build up his 1st team. He berates the girls (yelling at them) and criticizes them openly and loudly (include during games). Girls have already left the team this year, mid season. If you are a top player on the top team, you might be safe. To be sure, the top team has a lot of talent, but even those parents aren’t sure the abuse is worth the trade off. It’s very disappointing that the club tolerates it, these are still 11 year old girls.

Anonymous wrote:

McLean is part of Union for ECNL and those practice locations are not near to MoCo.

Again, depends where in MoCo you live and your definition of "near". McLean and the fields where Union plays and practices are only 4 miles down 495 from the county line.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really like the PPA coaches, but sadly, they've become a bit of a dead end for top boys and girls since they don't have ECNL.

And the quality just isn’t there.

Yup. Most of the boys on their only really good team left for Potomac ECNL.

Anonymous wrote:Where does she play now? Do you have a sense of how she compares to travel players? It's worth reaching out to a few clubs and attending practices.

From a pure talent standpoint, BSC ECNL is easily the top team in MoCo and BSC 2 is probably second best.

Potomac and PPA are next tier. Other options include Juventus, MSI, FCGB, and ROSA.

Depending where you are located, don't sleep on Arlington and McLean. Their practice fields are just as close to parts of MoCo as some of the MoCo-based clubs.

McLean is part of Union for ECNL and those practice locations are not near to MoCo.

Anonymous wrote:I really like the PPA coaches, but sadly, they've become a bit of a dead end for top boys and girls since they don't have ECNL.

And the quality just isn’t there.

Where does she play now? Do you have a sense of how she compares to travel players? It's worth reaching out to a few clubs and attending practices.

From a pure talent standpoint, BSC ECNL is easily the top team in MoCo and BSC 2 is probably second best.

Potomac and PPA are next tier. Other options include Juventus, MSI, FCGB, and ROSA.

Depending where you are located, don't sleep on Arlington and McLean. Their practice fields are just as close to parts of MoCo as some of the MoCo-based clubs.

I really like the PPA coaches, but sadly, they've become a bit of a dead end for top boys and girls since they don't have ECNL.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is way ahead of the other two in terms of player quality, but the Coach of their current U12 ECNL1 and ECNL2 is an acquired taste.

This. Second and third choice clubs would be Arlington or one of the Baltimore clubs. If you want best, then you need an ECNL or at least a GA club.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is way ahead of the other two in terms of player quality, but the Coach of their current U12 ECNL1 and ECNL2 is an acquired taste.

That’s what I am afraid of with Bethesda.

Bethesda is way ahead of the other two in terms of player quality, but the Coach of their current U12 ECNL1 and ECNL2 is an acquired taste.

Bump

Looking to move to the next level in soccer and thinking ahead to tryouts. Which MoCo area club is best for a highly motivated, hardworking girl? Looks like Potomac, Bethesda, and PPA would all be reasonably convenient in terms of location. Feedback on club cultures is appreciated.