Anonymous wrote:We are currently an SYC family and our DS is in the older age brackets. Been at SYC for a long time. People on here who complain about lack of development are mostly right because they are talking about lack of teaching soccer positioning, rotation on the field, IQ you might call it.

But they are very good at helping a player develop individual skills. On the ball, intensity of the press, winning mentality. I really wish they could take that individual development and graduate to the bigger IQ development.

Again, most people will complain and say they don't develop, which I would agree with on a certain level. But there's an aspect to developing players many other clubs overlook which SYC is very good at.

And they do recruit, but it's not nearly as bad as everyone here makes it seem. My DS older MLS Next HG team has one starter recently added from another club. All the other players have been at SYC and moved up through the teams.

Ha, I was going to post that there are certain positions that will do well at SYC (attacking wingers, strikers, goalkeepers, and probably defenders) based in part on what you wrote above about SYC being a good environment to develop tenacity.

These positions have less play making responsibilities (based on how SYC plays) so don’t need to really have super high IQ.

I would hazard a bet that those are the positions that are scouted for the USYNT and academies.

We are currently an SYC family and our DS is in the older age brackets. Been at SYC for a long time. People on here who complain about lack of development are mostly right because they are talking about lack of teaching soccer positioning, rotation on the field, IQ you might call it.

But they are very good at helping a player develop individual skills. On the ball, intensity of the press, winning mentality. I really wish they could take that individual development and graduate to the bigger IQ development.

Again, most people will complain and say they don't develop, which I would agree with on a certain level. But there's an aspect to developing players many other clubs overlook which SYC is very good at.

And they do recruit, but it's not nearly as bad as everyone here makes it seem. My DS older MLS Next HG team has one starter recently added from another club. All the other players have been at SYC and moved up through the teams.

Anonymous wrote:SYC seems to have a very strong pre-academy program. What are people’s experiences with the club, its structure, coaches, and culture?

You get great branding, solid BS from the coaches, unproductive practices that are overcrowded by all the recruits they bring in, little field space for practices with abysmal parking, lack of transparency on fees, last minute everything, zero communication, and a bunch of randoms constantly being added to the roster. The recruits make the program what it is but there is zero development actually being done within the sessions. If you join and genuinely want your kid to develop... find private training on the outside. The coaches will sell you with playing on the top but your kid may not see playing time as they call players down to fill in spots just to win those championships you see.

SYC benefits from the talent pool they bring in from other clubs - often times that occurs randomly throughout the year. That's how they win. So... kudos to the other programs for developing players who are then snagged by SYC.

10/10 do not recommend

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to see how 2 teams worth of kids are going to all play mlsnext in the fall. It’s going to be crazy to see all the kids move around

You mean 4 groups.

Pre MLS 1
Pre MLS 1A
Pre MLS 2
Pre MLS 2A

Money. Grab.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to correct pp. Arlington Bracket was all 2014 teams they just put it in the 2013 bracket but you are correct it would have had better competition if Loudoun MD United and Arl had been in same bracket as Richmond VSA Bethesda and PWC. Not to mention most of the 2014 teams playing 11v11 had u9 size roster sizes so kids were gassed on big field by second game.

I only did the research because I was confused about how Arlington did not have their 2014’s in the tournament. I typically only search the top bracket of tournaments and then I found them in the 3rd division of 2013 which was an entire bracket of 2014’s. We looked forward to playing them and were disappointing when the brackets were released.

You are spot on that those kids are gassed and will need 2-3 days of recovery to make up for 25-40% less touches. I don’t think parents understand this. While I don’t know soccer, I know running and how recovery influencing sleep. After my 2014 played his first 11v11 game, he needed 13 hours of sleep versus his normal 10.5 hours. It is taxing on their developing bodies for less touches.

Sorry to break into the SYC chat. ECNL mid-Atlantic forces their kids to play 11v11 at U12. That is the Potomac division and I am not sure about the Arlington/VDA division but this playing up is a BS epidemic.

Pre-MLS NAL which includes Bethesda, Achilles, Loudoun, SYC, Coppermine, etc. stays 9v9. SYC plays their third team and they play their 1st teams up in EDP in Acella. In defense, they would roll in 9v9 if they kept everyone together but that is a problem they should figure out based on the poor results of producing high level players. Mix the teams, focus less in results, IDK. What they are doing does not work long-term.

The NAL probably gate keeps on the league but it is BS that other clubs should fight. They bring in Sporting Delaware and PA Classics while we have quality clubs like Alexandria and McLean on the outside. I would prefer other clubs raise heck and request to be included so we can keep things local pre-MLS Next and ECNL. This is the league table and the average soccer parent does not know this league exists: https://system.gotsport.com/org_event/events/45525/schedules?group=398452. Ideally, it should include U11 and U12.

I don’t really care who the entity is that benefits but I don’t need to travel to western PA to play PA Classics because they developed Pulisic when I can get better run playing Alexandria, Arlington or SYC here in the DMV. I understand that high school level will probably not get resolved in the next 5-10 years due to the differences in MD and VA. But pre-MLS Next and pre-ECNL is totally solvable. Let go of USYS vs US Club and get Achilles, Arlington, Potomac, Bethesda, Loudoun, PW, Alexandria, MD United, Coppermine, Armour, Pipeline, TSJFC, SYC and DC Soccer (new to MLS II), etc. playing against each other here in the DMV. Geographically, the entire DMV would be covered, cost is lowered from travel and real quality rivals will ensue. Sorry if I missed any clubs thinking on the top of my head.

Right now, clubs are ducking each other and making championship posts without disclosing divisions in tournaments and the novice soccer parent is being misled. The kids love the competition and are fine with losing if they don’t measure up on the day. My kid has friends on every major club including many on SYC. My kid has already gained ground on the SYC kids in this last year. The SYC kids are still better IMHO but sadly the formula appears to stay the same as previous years and he will probably overtake them in 2-3 years based on the decisions we are making now.

The same is true on the girls side. We have been playing 11v11 this year, when we should have stayed 9v9. We moved up to a size 5 ball and the players have not been ready for headers with a size 5 ball also. We've had a few concussions. When the club said they were going to play up, most families thought it was great. But in reality, every kid touches the ball less and the added more kids, so they sub more. Kids went from playing most of the game with high energy to playing 20% less playing time and 20% less touches. And if the game is lopsided (as they tend to be at u12 v u13), some players don't touch the ball but 2-3 times per half.

Clubs should keep the U12 kids playing 9v9 and play each other locally.

Anonymous wrote:Just to correct pp. Arlington Bracket was all 2014 teams they just put it in the 2013 bracket but you are correct it would have had better competition if Loudoun MD United and Arl had been in same bracket as Richmond VSA Bethesda and PWC. Not to mention most of the 2014 teams playing 11v11 had u9 size roster sizes so kids were gassed on big field by second game.

I only did the research because I was confused about how Arlington did not have their 2014’s in the tournament. I typically only search the top bracket of tournaments and then I found them in the 3rd division of 2013 which was an entire bracket of 2014’s. We looked forward to playing them and were disappointing when the brackets were released.

You are spot on that those kids are gassed and will need 2-3 days of recovery to make up for 25-40% less touches. I don’t think parents understand this. While I don’t know soccer, I know running and how recovery influencing sleep. After my 2014 played his first 11v11 game, he needed 13 hours of sleep versus his normal 10.5 hours. It is taxing on their developing bodies for less touches.

Sorry to break into the SYC chat. ECNL mid-Atlantic forces their kids to play 11v11 at U12. That is the Potomac division and I am not sure about the Arlington/VDA division but this playing up is a BS epidemic.

Pre-MLS NAL which includes Bethesda, Achilles, Loudoun, SYC, Coppermine, etc. stays 9v9. SYC plays their third team and they play their 1st teams up in EDP in Acella. In defense, they would roll in 9v9 if they kept everyone together but that is a problem they should figure out based on the poor results of producing high level players. Mix the teams, focus less in results, IDK. What they are doing does not work long-term.

The NAL probably gate keeps on the league but it is BS that other clubs should fight. They bring in Sporting Delaware and PA Classics while we have quality clubs like Alexandria and McLean on the outside. I would prefer other clubs raise heck and request to be included so we can keep things local pre-MLS Next and ECNL. This is the league table and the average soccer parent does not know this league exists: https://system.gotsport.com/org_event/events/45525/schedules?group=398452. Ideally, it should include U11 and U12.

I don’t really care who the entity is that benefits but I don’t need to travel to western PA to play PA Classics because they developed Pulisic when I can get better run playing Alexandria, Arlington or SYC here in the DMV. I understand that high school level will probably not get resolved in the next 5-10 years due to the differences in MD and VA. But pre-MLS Next and pre-ECNL is totally solvable. Let go of USYS vs US Club and get Achilles, Arlington, Potomac, Bethesda, Loudoun, PW, Alexandria, MD United, Coppermine, Armour, Pipeline, TSJFC, SYC and DC Soccer (new to MLS II), etc. playing against each other here in the DMV. Geographically, the entire DMV would be covered, cost is lowered from travel and real quality rivals will ensue. Sorry if I missed any clubs thinking on the top of my head.

Right now, clubs are ducking each other and making championship posts without disclosing divisions in tournaments and the novice soccer parent is being misled. The kids love the competition and are fine with losing if they don’t measure up on the day. My kid has friends on every major club including many on SYC. My kid has already gained ground on the SYC kids in this last year. The SYC kids are still better IMHO but sadly the formula appears to stay the same as previous years and he will probably overtake them in 2-3 years based on the decisions we are making now.

9v9 roster sizes not u9

Just to correct pp. Arlington Bracket was all 2014 teams they just put it in the 2013 bracket but you are correct it would have had better competition if Loudoun MD United and Arl had been in same bracket as Richmond VSA Bethesda and PWC. Not to mention most of the 2014 teams playing 11v11 had u9 size roster sizes so kids were gassed on big field by second game.

Anonymous wrote:SYC seems to have a very strong pre-academy program. What are people’s experiences with the club, its structure, coaches, and culture?

Lots a great coaches for that age group. A big factor to their success is a centralized location that can attract a lot of player to their club. They pack out the tryouts. I don't care who you are, but if you can choose the best talent from the biggest pool, you are going to do well. College coaches will tell you the same thing. College teams who attract the best player will win.

Their MLS Next Boys 2013 and 2012 groups are very strong. The 2014 group will be just as competitive. It's a good combination of incoming talent, coaching expertise, location and there are lots of outside training opportunities (in the are, but outside of SYC) available to help kids continue to get better. Field and practice options are decent.

They could use improvement in Club communication & Club organization (lots of moving parts can impact practice & workout schedules ect).

Club culture is largely team dependent, Im not on that team, so your experience would be completely different depending on team level.

Anonymous wrote:Not specific to SYC, but in general at the younger ages there seems to have been a huge push for technical development. Can pretty much guarantee that all the kids on these top teams are working at it outside of practice. Curious how this will play out for teams like this in the long term. Doesn't seem like its the same scenario where certain teams just snatch up the bigger kids to try and win earky.

I think we all need to be more respectful of “it.” That is the nuance that separates the kids. It is not about putting in the hours. Most kids on A teams put the hours in. What they are working on and matters.

Not specific to SYC, but in general at the younger ages there seems to have been a huge push for technical development. Can pretty much guarantee that all the kids on these top teams are working at it outside of practice. Curious how this will play out for teams like this in the long term. Doesn't seem like its the same scenario where certain teams just snatch up the bigger kids to try and win earky.

Anonymous wrote:SYC seems to have a very strong pre-academy program. What are people’s experiences with the club, its structure, coaches, and culture?

We are a competitor and they are the best teams in our age group. Yes teams, they have 2 that are elite. Another club argued why SYC does not play their 2014 A team in our league games and I told them "you don't want that smoke" as they could not even handle us. Their current 2nd team were all developed at BSC, WCU, Alexandria and several other clubs.

That said, they are the prototypical American, Al Davis club: Just Win Baby!! They definitely attract the parents who like that hype.

Development is like a frog boiling in water. Slow and steady and you don't know what's happening until it hits you. While they win easily in these youth years, those of us who believe in delayed gratification are the tortoises who eventually overtake the hares. Do the research for yourself though if you don't believe me on the end results of their players. It is a tale as old as time. You will acquire trophies. You will be featured on IG posts. But will your child maximize their talents? It all depends on what you want from the experience.

I’d like to see how 2 teams worth of kids are going to all play mlsnext in the fall. It’s going to be crazy to see all the kids move around

🍿

SYC seems to have a very strong pre-academy program. What are people’s experiences with the club, its structure, coaches, and culture?