If your son will be U13 in the fall you could sign him up for a U14 team to challenge him more.

A good travel player will fit in better playing up a year.

Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of doing the same. What is SFL?

Suburban Friendship League. Interclub rec soccer for older kids in DC/NOVA

http://sflsoccer.org

Fairfax (FPYC) has some very good SFL teams. I would start by looking for a Division 1 Fairfax team. You can contact the SFL rep for any club. Name will be listed on club website.

There are a whole range of coaches in SFL. I am a long time SFL coach. I played college soccer and previously coached travel soccer.

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that SFL teams are prohibited from holding tryouts so you are not guaranteed placement on a particular team within the club. Some clubs circumvent this rule, as I have seen some teams filled with athletes and skilled players, but that's the rule. Like an earlier poster said, don't worry about team rankings, just pick the club with closest fields and enjoy the break from travel.

You should do well in SFL if you have a travel players. Some of those SFL teams are competitive and while it should be about the player they are out there to win. Lower end players tend to ride the bench. Talking from experience.

Keep in mind that SFL teams are prohibited from holding tryouts so you are not guaranteed placement on a particular team within the club. Some clubs circumvent this rule, as I have seen some teams filled with athletes and skilled players, but that's the rule. Like an earlier poster said, don't worry about team rankings, just pick the club with closest fields and enjoy the break from travel.

We are thinking of doing the same. What is SFL?

OP here. Taking a break from travel to do other things. No reason to pay for full season when you can only have time for 1 season at best.

I'm looking to see if the teams are always parent coaches with no knowledge or at least competent enough to give reasonable practice and keep DC decently challenged.

Well look into the SFL rankings to get a better idea of how the clubs stand.

Thanks

Just find out what team his friends play on and request to be placed on a team with them.

Take a look at the SFL rankings from the previous seasons. You want to choose one of the top teams in division 1.

Anonymous wrote:Looking to pull DC from club travel and putting DC a Rec/SFL team. DC is U13 in the fall.

Don't know much about SFL but we're from fairfax, va area. Any tips/info on clubs (CYA, SYA, GF, VYS) would be helpful.

Thanks

It is Rec. Pick the one most convenient and enjoy. If you are trying to compare rec programs you are doing it wrong. You probably should be asking your neighbors and friends if their kids are playing in your local clubs rec program. If your kid isn't playing with friends then what is the point.

If there are financial reasons for dropping to rec then reach out to your current club coach and see if they can help out.

You seem to have a pretty big geographic area spanning all across FFX. Where do you actually live and is this for boy/girl? Most large clubs still keep the U13s all in house, some like chantilly toss all their teams in SFL.

What is it about travel you don't like? Too many practices, too far for games? You can find a 'travel' in name only team that has a much more reduced schedule but isn't kids staring at clouds and thinking of fortnite during a game.

Looking to pull DC from club travel and putting DC a Rec/SFL team. DC is U13 in the fall.

Don't know much about SFL but we're from fairfax, va area. Any tips/info on clubs (CYA, SYA, GF, VYS) would be helpful.

Thanks