Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Call it what you like depending on the club and league -- as kids get older, there seems to be a group of players who are perceived as not good enough to be on the "top team" but good enough to want to hold onto. They are given apparent opportunity to be challenged and improve their game so that they at some point can make that "top team".... How often does it happen? How often is it just a means of stringing a kid along when he/she would be better off moving to a new club, coach, system that would either be truthful about the prospects, or see something different in the player?
Do all these players get some guarantee of at least a limited number of games with the "top team" or is practicing with that group considered a fulfillment of the promise? Do they all pay the same as the top team? Do they ever actually move up or are any slots always filled by outside players? At our club there are several players in this situation in various age groups and I've never understood exactly how it works. Anyone who has knowledge or a DC in such a position able to elaborate?
Here is how it works at Arlington and I have seen this for a few years now. Three or four of the red team players get to come to one practice a week with the academy team. Over the course of the year they will likely play one or two scrimmages with the academy team - but not more than that. Then, if they are good enough, they will be offered a full spot the following year. In my experience it has only been one player each year who has been offered a full spot - but it is based on ability rather than a numbers game - so if two kids had been good enough they both would have got spots.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Call it what you like depending on the club and league -- as kids get older, there seems to be a group of players who are perceived as not good enough to be on the "top team" but good enough to want to hold onto. They are given apparent opportunity to be challenged and improve their game so that they at some point can make that "top team".... How often does it happen? How often is it just a means of stringing a kid along when he/she would be better off moving to a new club, coach, system that would either be truthful about the prospects, or see something different in the player?
Do all these players get some guarantee of at least a limited number of games with the "top team" or is practicing with that group considered a fulfillment of the promise? Do they all pay the same as the top team? Do they ever actually move up or are any slots always filled by outside players? At our club there are several players in this situation in various age groups and I've never understood exactly how it works. Anyone who has knowledge or a DC in such a position able to elaborate?
Here is how it works at Arlington and I have seen this for a few years now. Three or four of the red team players get to come to one practice a week with the academy team. Over the course of the year they will likely play one or two scrimmages with the academy team - but not more than that. Then, if they are good enough, they will be offered a full spot the following year. In my experience it has only been one player each year who has been offered a full spot - but it is based on ability rather than a numbers game - so if two kids had been good enough they both would have got spots.
Same with our club. They pick 5 or 6 B-Team players to practice and scrimmage, once a week with the A-Team, towards the end of the spring season. They also invite a couple of A-Team players from the year behind. This is basically a tryout before the actual tryouts. Let's see how you've progressed over this past season and if you can hang with the best players now. Then the coaches will have more to compare with when outside players come in for tryouts.
With Arlington the "development players" practise once a week with the top team for the whole year. It's more than, and different to, a tryout. It is genuinely a development opportunity which challenges them to play at a higher level over a protracted period.
The GA development kids on our team at Arlington have not practiced with the GA.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Call it what you like depending on the club and league -- as kids get older, there seems to be a group of players who are perceived as not good enough to be on the "top team" but good enough to want to hold onto. They are given apparent opportunity to be challenged and improve their game so that they at some point can make that "top team".... How often does it happen? How often is it just a means of stringing a kid along when he/she would be better off moving to a new club, coach, system that would either be truthful about the prospects, or see something different in the player?
Do all these players get some guarantee of at least a limited number of games with the "top team" or is practicing with that group considered a fulfillment of the promise? Do they all pay the same as the top team? Do they ever actually move up or are any slots always filled by outside players? At our club there are several players in this situation in various age groups and I've never understood exactly how it works. Anyone who has knowledge or a DC in such a position able to elaborate?
Here is how it works at Arlington and I have seen this for a few years now. Three or four of the red team players get to come to one practice a week with the academy team. Over the course of the year they will likely play one or two scrimmages with the academy team - but not more than that. Then, if they are good enough, they will be offered a full spot the following year. In my experience it has only been one player each year who has been offered a full spot - but it is based on ability rather than a numbers game - so if two kids had been good enough they both would have got spots.
Same with our club. They pick 5 or 6 B-Team players to practice and scrimmage, once a week with the A-Team, towards the end of the spring season. They also invite a couple of A-Team players from the year behind. This is basically a tryout before the actual tryouts. Let's see how you've progressed over this past season and if you can hang with the best players now. Then the coaches will have more to compare with when outside players come in for tryouts.
With Arlington the "development players" practise once a week with the top team for the whole year. It's more than, and different to, a tryout. It is genuinely a development opportunity which challenges them to play at a higher level over a protracted period.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Call it what you like depending on the club and league -- as kids get older, there seems to be a group of players who are perceived as not good enough to be on the "top team" but good enough to want to hold onto. They are given apparent opportunity to be challenged and improve their game so that they at some point can make that "top team".... How often does it happen? How often is it just a means of stringing a kid along when he/she would be better off moving to a new club, coach, system that would either be truthful about the prospects, or see something different in the player?
Do all these players get some guarantee of at least a limited number of games with the "top team" or is practicing with that group considered a fulfillment of the promise? Do they all pay the same as the top team? Do they ever actually move up or are any slots always filled by outside players? At our club there are several players in this situation in various age groups and I've never understood exactly how it works. Anyone who has knowledge or a DC in such a position able to elaborate?
Here is how it works at Arlington and I have seen this for a few years now. Three or four of the red team players get to come to one practice a week with the academy team. Over the course of the year they will likely play one or two scrimmages with the academy team - but not more than that. Then, if they are good enough, they will be offered a full spot the following year. In my experience it has only been one player each year who has been offered a full spot - but it is based on ability rather than a numbers game - so if two kids had been good enough they both would have got spots.
Same with our club. They pick 5 or 6 B-Team players to practice and scrimmage, once a week with the A-Team, towards the end of the spring season. They also invite a couple of A-Team players from the year behind. This is basically a tryout before the actual tryouts. Let's see how you've progressed over this past season and if you can hang with the best players now. Then the coaches will have more to compare with when outside players come in for tryouts.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Call it what you like depending on the club and league -- as kids get older, there seems to be a group of players who are perceived as not good enough to be on the "top team" but good enough to want to hold onto. They are given apparent opportunity to be challenged and improve their game so that they at some point can make that "top team".... How often does it happen? How often is it just a means of stringing a kid along when he/she would be better off moving to a new club, coach, system that would either be truthful about the prospects, or see something different in the player?
Do all these players get some guarantee of at least a limited number of games with the "top team" or is practicing with that group considered a fulfillment of the promise? Do they all pay the same as the top team? Do they ever actually move up or are any slots always filled by outside players? At our club there are several players in this situation in various age groups and I've never understood exactly how it works. Anyone who has knowledge or a DC in such a position able to elaborate?
Here is how it works at Arlington and I have seen this for a few years now. Three or four of the red team players get to come to one practice a week with the academy team. Over the course of the year they will likely play one or two scrimmages with the academy team - but not more than that. Then, if they are good enough, they will be offered a full spot the following year. In my experience it has only been one player each year who has been offered a full spot - but it is based on ability rather than a numbers game - so if two kids had been good enough they both would have got spots.
Anonymous wrote:Call it what you like depending on the club and league -- as kids get older, there seems to be a group of players who are perceived as not good enough to be on the "top team" but good enough to want to hold onto. They are given apparent opportunity to be challenged and improve their game so that they at some point can make that "top team".... How often does it happen? How often is it just a means of stringing a kid along when he/she would be better off moving to a new club, coach, system that would either be truthful about the prospects, or see something different in the player?
Do all these players get some guarantee of at least a limited number of games with the "top team" or is practicing with that group considered a fulfillment of the promise? Do they all pay the same as the top team? Do they ever actually move up or are any slots always filled by outside players? At our club there are several players in this situation in various age groups and I've never understood exactly how it works. Anyone who has knowledge or a DC in such a position able to elaborate?
Anonymous wrote:the reason is that you need backups in case one or several of the top 18 move on, get injured, switch clubs, etc. You can't bring a kid up from rec to replace player #17.
Anonymous wrote:Call it what you like depending on the club and league -- as kids get older, there seems to be a group of players who are perceived as not good enough to be on the "top team" but good enough to want to hold onto. They are given apparent opportunity to be challenged and improve their game so that they at some point can make that "top team".... How often does it happen? How often is it just a means of stringing a kid along when he/she would be better off moving to a new club, coach, system that would either be truthful about the prospects, or see something different in the player?
Do all these players get some guarantee of at least a limited number of games with the "top team" or is practicing with that group considered a fulfillment of the promise? Do they all pay the same as the top team? Do they ever actually move up or are any slots always filled by outside players? At our club there are several players in this situation in various age groups and I've never understood exactly how it works. Anyone who has knowledge or a DC in such a position able to elaborate?