Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are quite a few NW DC kids who play for McLean, my own included. We've found it to be light years better than either PPA Premier or Stoddert.

Are there carpools to the practices? I fear the trip across the bridge on weeknights! If VA were open, I'd definitely look at McLean and Arlington.

My Bethesda kid also played for McLean. The drive wasn’t terrible but practices were late so the return drive was usually at 8 pm or later. We could usually get there in 20 minutes, which was closer than some of the MD teams. We occasionally carpooled with other MD players but not regularly because they were not really close enough to make it a regular thing.

My son plays Stoddert 2006 and has had a great experience, contrary to the weird things people say here. Tryouts were this week but there might be openings later this spring on the two lower teams (white is #3 and plays NCSL, and red is #2 and plays CCL2). You can find the contact information for the boys’ travel program director on the Stoddert website.

If you're looking for a team, more than a club, try Takoma United black http://takomaunitedblack.com. Or go to the Rush website and email the coach for Rush 06 (gray I think). These teams are affiliated with clubs but aren't centrally run, so there are no club-wide tryouts. You have to get in touch with the coaches directly.

PPA Premier maybe? Tryouts this month

Potomac

Anonymous wrote:I would not rule out Achilles based on this factors as there is probably not a club out there that doesn't suffer similarly.

Achilles top 2006 team is about the same as Bethesda Green and I assure you it would probably be harder to find a team that gets less respect from their club than this one. Practices everywhere from Silver Spring to Soccerplex to Bretton Woods, sometimes going until 10:00 at night. Joining a big club and playing on team two or three is going to be much worse than playing on Achilles 1 or 1.5.

As others have said, if this is not something you want to throw your life into, look for a club that a) is easily commutable and b) has some of your kids school or neighborhood friends on the team.

I don’t know the answer, but have learned a lot about Achilles through friends. One 06 team plays some level of EDP (maybe second?), but there are only a couple of 06 players on the team. They are mostly 07s who also play on their own 07 EDP team . Most of the 06s were apparently demoted to the SAM Select team. So, there is really no Achilles 1.5. More like Achilles 1 and 3 or 4.

Bethesda has its own problems for sure, but it seems like Achilles hasn’t improved upon their model. I have also heard that the environment at Achilles can be great or toxic, depending on the coach.Seems like the headcoach isn’t really suited to dealing with kids.

Anonymous wrote:There are quite a few NW DC kids who play for McLean, my own included. We've found it to be light years better than either PPA Premier or Stoddert.

Are there carpools to the practices? I fear the trip across the bridge on weeknights! If VA were open, I'd definitely look at McLean and Arlington.

I would not rule out Achilles based on this factors as there is probably not a club out there that doesn't suffer similarly.

Achilles top 2006 team is about the same as Bethesda Green and I assure you it would probably be harder to find a team that gets less respect from their club than this one. Practices everywhere from Silver Spring to Soccerplex to Bretton Woods, sometimes going until 10:00 at night. Joining a big club and playing on team two or three is going to be much worse than playing on Achilles 1 or 1.5.

As others have said, if this is not something you want to throw your life into, look for a club that a) is easily commutable and b) has some of your kids school or neighborhood friends on the team.

Anonymous wrote:To Poster #2, what about Brit-Am? I don't know anything about them, but am searching. I am looking for the same as OP. We have been in a couple of clubs and I have found that, regardless of what we hear from the club in the beginning, it almost always ends up at the same place--laser focus on top team and basically no care for teams below it, regardless of whether or not the kids in the second group are very good or not--"player development" goes out the window. There are so many good kids who at this stage aren't ready for the top team, but no club seems to be catering to this group at all. Very frustrating.

Yep. There are lots of small clubs that play mostly SAM league and MSI select -- not EDP / NCSL -- where your kid will get plenty of playing time and attention -- though in my experience they tend to be underfunded and not-quite-serious enough for some kids who are dedicated B-team types. They probably practice 2x/week and not 3x, maybe don't play tournaments. I think there's a big luck factor that comes into play -- finding a great coach and group of kids who mesh well together. Depending on where you live, look at ATD, MD Fusion, DCYFC, Brit-Am, FC Lions, PPA.

This isn't really what you're looking for, of course, but I haven't found anything between these and B-team purgatory.

oh also check out Laurel -- same as Takoma, I believe, where it's not really a "club" so much as an umbrella org that gives independent teams the means to compete in EDP / NCSL. (Those teams are not actually based in Laurel, either.)

There are quite a few NW DC kids who play for McLean, my own included. We've found it to be light years better than either PPA Premier or Stoddert.

PPA? My child is younger but has had a great experience on a lower team.

To Poster #2, what about Brit-Am? I don't know anything about them, but am searching. I am looking for the same as OP. We have been in a couple of clubs and I have found that, regardless of what we hear from the club in the beginning, it almost always ends up at the same place--laser focus on top team and basically no care for teams below it, regardless of whether or not the kids in the second group are very good or not--"player development" goes out the window. There are so many good kids who at this stage aren't ready for the top team, but no club seems to be catering to this group at all. Very frustrating.

Rush? Though they're not lower Moco. WSC moved / merged and they're now further downtown.
Maybe look at MSI academy or contact one of the Takoma teams that plays NCSL (though they're not really Takoma, I know of teams that practice in SS and Rockville. I believe those teams are basically independent but use the Takoma umbrella.)

good luck!

My 2006 DS is playing travel on a 3rd team and is ready to move up to get better competition and play among better players. We are shopping around though because the 2nd team of our club is in disarray...the coach was fired mid-season, the team is demoralized and loses all the time, and the new coach seems to want to clean house and bring in all new players. We like the 3rd team coach a lot but my DS has expressed interest in continuing to develop and play in HS and I don't think that playing on this level will do it for him. Is Bethesda, Potomac and Stoddert his only options? He's not good enough to be on the first team on Achilles and I've heard too many bad things on DCUM about how Sal treats his lower teams. Does anyone love their coach/team/club in this age band and give insights? TIA!