Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Explain how the hundreds of hours of cumulative technical training which happends during u9-u12, the "golden years of development", is a waste.

Because you can get the same level of training with the right coach in classic or on an independent team. People get so caught up on playing for Bethesda or Potomac and don't mund spending thousands on spending hours traveling to pointless games. You find find great cooaching and training experiences for your kid in many different places. Travel becomes more critical at u12/u13. I have seen it over 15 years of kids who have done travel soccer at the elite level. If you want to spend thousands so that you feel that you are "in" then feel free to join a Potomac or Bethesda or McLean but if you want to save your money and time until it matters, then relax. Most of the top clubs usually pulltheir best players from others teams who start to migrate to these clubs at u13/u14. They end up forcing out kids that have been with the club since u8/u9. It is a constant theme.

You make some fair points. However, it also can be very difficult to find the right coach in classic or on an independent team. In our case, we didn't got to one of the big clubs you mention to feel that we were "in." We did it because the club's reputation led us believe that the club had quality standards and oversight of its coaches such that the odds of getting a good coach there would be better. The results have been mixed and there's still a lot of luck involved in getting a good coach even at the big clubs. We would leave if we could find the right classic or independent coach, but thus far we haven't been able to do that.

Anonymous wrote:Explain how the hundreds of hours of cumulative technical training which happends during u9-u12, the "golden years of development", is a waste.

Because you can get the same level of training with the right coach in classic or on an independent team. People get so caught up on playing for Bethesda or Potomac and don't mund spending thousands on spending hours traveling to pointless games. You find find great cooaching and training experiences for your kid in many different places. Travel becomes more critical at u12/u13. I have seen it over 15 years of kids who have done travel soccer at the elite level. If you want to spend thousands so that you feel that you are "in" then feel free to join a Potomac or Bethesda or McLean but if you want to save your money and time until it matters, then relax. Most of the top clubs usually pulltheir best players from others teams who start to migrate to these clubs at u13/u14. They end up forcing out kids that have been with the club since u8/u9. It is a constant theme.

u9 is too young to be worrying about this kids who are really good players at u9 are not the ones who will be really good players at u14

Explain how the hundreds of hours of cumulative technical training which happends during u9-u12, the "golden years of development", is a waste.

My son joined Potomac at age 8. We have had a good experience at Potomac -- it was a great step up in intensity while still having a pretty supportive vibe.

On the plus side, I definitely thought the overall talent level was better there than on the MSI Classic teams we saw, though I won't say we did a comprehensive search and we didn't try out for Premier. I've always found the coaches to be incredibly respectful and supportive toward the kids. The parents I see are better than almost all the other clubs' parents in terms of not shouting at the kids or refs. The real strength is the other kids: especially when you scrimmage the A team or u10s or whatever, the kids really get ferocious (and I mean that in a good way). Also, from what I've seen, the '08s are pretty competitive down through the B-team.

I would say the club's weakness is that it's all over the map with coaches. They've all been good to very good, but there are a lot of differences from coach to coach (and, apparently, from HQs down to the individual teams) and this can be really jarring. They were gungho on futsal for about 3 weeks, then they weren't. Some teams have specialized keepers, some don't. Some play quick passing style, some are 1v1, some more rustic. They all say they focus on skill over physicality, but some don't. Some teams practice together, some say this will but don't, and some go it alone. Some coaches age up with "their" teams, some don't, which sounds great unless you think the coach doesn't appreciate your kid or the next coach up won't ever break up "his" kids.

So yeah, I recommend Potomac but -- and i'd say this whereever you go -- keep your eyes open and always consider the options out there (there are a lot of them).

Anonymous wrote:Our son was accepted for msi premier and for Potomac B. We would like to know which is the better team where he will learn the most and grow the most as s player.

Look at the coaches and then compare to other options. Neither program is elite so you are paying thousands for what? This might be the best option for your kid or might not be. There might be better options that are much cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:Our son was accepted for msi premier and for Potomac B. We would like to know which is the better team where he will learn the most and grow the most as s player.

What age?

Our son was accepted for msi premier and for Potomac B. We would like to know which is the better team where he will learn the most and grow the most as s player.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac boys has a stronger reputation than MSI Premier. Outside of that, it is going to be a team/coach by team/coach analysis.

I would also add that at up to u12, you might consider a strong MSI Classic team. Travel at younger ages is a waste of time and money. People get caught up in the travel rat race. You will spend just as much time driving to games than your kid will spend in trainings. There are strong classic teams that will beat most top travel teams.

I disagree about classic teams being able to beat top travel teams. There are some talented players on classic teams and definitely some players who could play on a top travel team. But I doubt as a team they can beat a top travel team. My child played on a division 1 Classic team that always finished within the top 2 of the division. They entered some tournaments where they played travel teams in the lower divisions and they often lost. They wouldn’t have stood a chance against a top travel team.

That is fair. My point is that travel at u9-u12 is kind of a waste. At u12, the play gets serious but it is not until u13 that the play really takes off. I have watched many classic kids enter at u12/u13 and become the strongest players on the team within a year. Unless your kid is on the A team getting the best coaching, I would seriously consider just staying in classic especially if you are considering MSI Premier.

Potomac is better than MSI travel on the boys side. The reverse is true for girls.

MSI Classic can be a good option but there is huge varability between teams in terms of competitiveness, coaching, cost, time commitment. You should visit several teams before committing.

Anonymous wrote:How often does classic practice?

2-3x a week.

Anonymous wrote:Potomac boys has a stronger reputation than MSI Premier. Outside of that, it is going to be a team/coach by team/coach analysis.

I would also add that at up to u12, you might consider a strong MSI Classic team. Travel at younger ages is a waste of time and money. People get caught up in the travel rat race. You will spend just as much time driving to games than your kid will spend in trainings. There are strong classic teams that will beat most top travel teams.

I disagree about classic teams being able to beat top travel teams. There are some talented players on classic teams and definitely some players who could play on a top travel team. But I doubt as a team they can beat a top travel team. My child played on a division 1 Classic team that always finished within the top 2 of the division. They entered some tournaments where they played travel teams in the lower divisions and they often lost. They wouldn’t have stood a chance against a top travel team.

How often does classic practice?

Potomac boys has a stronger reputation than MSI Premier. Outside of that, it is going to be a team/coach by team/coach analysis.

I would also add that at up to u12, you might consider a strong MSI Classic team. Travel at younger ages is a waste of time and money. People get caught up in the travel rat race. You will spend just as much time driving to games than your kid will spend in trainings. There are strong classic teams that will beat most top travel teams.

Thoughts? For a 9 year old boy.