The term "money grab" gets thrown around way too much but this is one time it's accurate. For $950 a team you'll get 3 x 60 min games on crappy, bumpy, muddy fields, usually with only 1 ref, no ARs.
OBGC isn't any better. They can't even be bothered to cut the grass, or sometimes even line the fields properly. Between all my kids I've been to both tournaments 4-5 times each and it's always the same. Total ripoff!

That is disappointing. If we get a big rain with this possible storm this weekend (as currently predicted), that place is going to be a mud pit, just like last year when it was basically not playable.

FPYCparent wrote:

Oh God, Muldoon's Farm after a rainstorm - NEVER AGAIN!

Yeah, that's really why I'm asking about the Bethesda schedule. My DD's very first travel game was during the Bethesda PC tournament two years ago … at Muldoon's Farm. Regardless of what bracket her U11 team is in, I'm really hoping to be some place other than Muldoon's/Summer Hill. I see that Nike Park is one of the venues. Can I put in a request for that? (:

Sorry to disappoint you, but it looks like the U11G will be playing at Summer Hill.

For girls tournament locations:

https://www.moco-sports.com/events/event_details/163

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which is the better / more challenging tournament coming up, Bethesda Premier or Columbia Fall Classic?

You asked for "better/more challenging" but those can be two different things. Bethesda Premier Cup is more "prestigious" if you care about those things and, on the whole, tends to attract more skilled teams from further away than Columbia. The recruiting presence at Bethesda is overall better than what Columbia offers. Generally speaking, it is more impressive (again, if you care about those things) to win the top bracket of Bethesda than the top bracket of Columbia. However, outside of those issues, there can be wide variations, and the quality of the other teams in your bracket will depend on the bracket in which your team is placed. If you are looking for challenging and competitive games, it may be instances where you find it preferable to be in a higher bracket at Columbia than a lower at Bethesda (particularly one that involves one of Bethesda's bottom teams in an age group). Depending on the age group and bracket, the fields for Columbia may be better than for Bethesda. The fields for lower age groups and lower brackets for Bethesda can be pretty terrible condition depending on the weather leading up the tournament.

Oh God, Muldoon's Farm after a rainstorm - NEVER AGAIN!

I hear that the younger kids will play at OBGC, because there are too many bad patches there, and only smaller fields can avoid them. So I'm guessing the U9/U10 at least will be there, and U11/U12 will be at Muldoon.
We'll see.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which is the better / more challenging tournament coming up, Bethesda Premier or Columbia Fall Classic?

You asked for "better/more challenging" but those can be two different things. Bethesda Premier Cup is more "prestigious" if you care about those things and, on the whole, tends to attract more skilled teams from further away than Columbia. The recruiting presence at Bethesda is overall better than what Columbia offers. Generally speaking, it is more impressive (again, if you care about those things) to win the top bracket of Bethesda than the top bracket of Columbia. However, outside of those issues, there can be wide variations, and the quality of the other teams in your bracket will depend on the bracket in which your team is placed. If you are looking for challenging and competitive games, it may be instances where you find it preferable to be in a higher bracket at Columbia than a lower at Bethesda (particularly one that involves one of Bethesda's bottom teams in an age group). Depending on the age group and bracket, the fields for Columbia may be better than for Bethesda. The fields for lower age groups and lower brackets for Bethesda can be pretty terrible condition depending on the weather leading up the tournament.

Oh God, Muldoon's Farm after a rainstorm - NEVER AGAIN!

Anonymous wrote:Which is the better / more challenging tournament coming up, Bethesda Premier or Columbia Fall Classic?

You asked for "better/more challenging" but those can be two different things. Bethesda Premier Cup is more "prestigious" if you care about those things and, on the whole, tends to attract more skilled teams from further away than Columbia. The recruiting presence at Bethesda is overall better than what Columbia offers. Generally speaking, it is more impressive (again, if you care about those things) to win the top bracket of Bethesda than the top bracket of Columbia. However, outside of those issues, there can be wide variations, and the quality of the other teams in your bracket will depend on the bracket in which your team is placed. If you are looking for challenging and competitive games, it may be instances where you find it preferable to be in a higher bracket at Columbia than a lower at Bethesda (particularly one that involves one of Bethesda's bottom teams in an age group). Depending on the age group and bracket, the fields for Columbia may be better than for Bethesda. The fields for lower age groups and lower brackets for Bethesda can be pretty terrible condition depending on the weather leading up the tournament.

Which is the better / more challenging tournament coming up, Bethesda Premier or Columbia Fall Classic?

FPYCparent wrote:I really didn't want to start a new topic, but did GotSoccer just revamp their pages/entire site? (I already don't like finding a team's full history on one page.) I know their rankings have to be taken with a boulder of salt, but GS may provide the only comprehensive data points for some teams.

Anyone know when the Bethesda schedule will be posted? The Girls Weekend is less than three weeks away.

Does any give credibility to youthsoccerrankings?

BSC released schedules to managers and is receiving feedback. I heard they will post after confirming the new bracket next Monday.

BSC will be posting schedules for the girls in the next day or two.

For many tournaments, they know the coaches and local leagues and have a pretty good idea how to suss it out, but for new teams from other parts they might use the rankings systems fwiw.

But yes, got soccer and youth soccer rankings are used as well.

Most tournaments ask teams to self-select top/middle/low bracket then further breakdown by posted rankings. Sometimes tournament coordinator will discuss teams with their own club coaches to help place them in appropriate bracket. It’s not an exact science just a best effort to achieve even level of play within each bracket.

Does anyone know how tournament directors place teams in brackets? What is the criteria used? Are rankings such as gotsoccer or youthsoccerrankings used? Is league placement considered?