^^its not the same on the boys side. Some of the best players I’ve seen did not start at the 3 big clubs in this area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it better to do ADP for a year or two if you don’t make the top travel team initially and then try out for travel in a couple of years once DD has developed more skills?

I think the best thing to do is to get her on the thighest level team she is offered. As said above three day a week training with girls who are good really improves play. If she really like soccer and SHE wants to make the top team get her some private coaching/training. It’s has to be driven by her and not you. The coach will work on technique which she will have to practice on her own. Just be realistic with it. If she has no touch and or really is not into it, do not spend the money and time on it. Not every kid will make the top team even with the best coaching and work ethic.

My DD started at about 6 years old at a small club that was all about technique, first touch and ball control in small/tigh spaces. No games at that age just fun drills and small games. Once or twice a week depending on the age. She just loved it. We moved her to one of the big clubs at about u10. She had out grown the old club even playing a year up. Now to the point of the story. I asked her what the difference in play was between her old club and the new club. She said at her new club she gets no time and space. She clarified by saying it’s like playing Madden on the rookie level vs all pro. The kids get a lot better because the coaching is better and they are playing against really good competitive kids 4 days a week(3 practices and a game). The kids learn from each other. Just remember some kid will develop faster and other will seems to show no progress but they are getting better.

So if you go the non traditional way, make the change at u10. After u10 the girls really start to develop quickly(both physically and skill wise) and by u12 it’s hard to over come all the additional training and higher competition. Good luck and always ask if she is having fun! Also be proud for her even if she makes a team who takes everyone. It’s her first team and it’s her team!

Well put.

U9-U12 no change is necessary. It's new game in the later years. If the development is really good at the smaller Club--stay there. INDIVIDUAL development is the most important at those ages. Many big Clubs only care about the 'team' and the wins so they don't develop an all-around player but will only play kids in certain positions. They should be rotating constantly even when it means a game might not be won. I mean--come on---U10 we are talking about 8-year olds and a few 9-year olds.

You are wrong. My dd has done the small club and the big club. The small clubs do not rotate players while the big clubs do till u13. At u10 the small clubs is doing less and less ball skill development and more possession work at practice. By mid season they are only doing possession work. The small club has to try to win otherwise parents and kids leave. Sometimes on a small club all it takes is one or two girls leaving and 1/2 the team leaves or quits. At that point you can not field a team and everyone is screwed. Most of the small clubs only have one team per age group and some age groups do not have teams(so you have to play up). The small clubs have problems getting into competitive leagues and tournaments. This is a problem if your kid is skilled because they get beaten up. The development of players is not that great at small clubs. There is a huge difference between the top 2-3 players and the rest of the players on the team ie the less skilled player breaks play because they can not field the ball. It’s not a good thing. All the kids get frustrated with the better skilled players not passing to the other kids. Also the top players are not pushed in practice or in games because they are so much better vs the others. While the less skilled girls lose confidence. It’s like having 2 kids from the top 2 teams, 3 kids from the 3rd team and the rest from the 6th team or rec.

This is not the case at the large club. The better big clubs are following the guidelines regarding player development-rotating positions, individual skill work, etc. They do not even record the wins and losses till u13. I have seen girls who could have made the top team at any of the big clubs in the area but waited till u11 and u12 to make the switch. They did not make the team. Why? Because they did not develop the skills needed at the small club. It is utter bullshit to say the big clubs do not develop players. I have seen the difference in level of play between the girls who make the move and those who stay behind.

Yes by u10 on the girls side you should move to a big club. Every year after that it becomes harder harder to bridge the difference in terms of skill.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'd be more curious to see how Usain Bolt fares...

Me too!! I love him.

It is a publicity stunt and he likely would not make a third team. But hopefully this will put to rest the notion that US Soccer sucks because "our best athletes" are not playing.

Think Michael Jordan and his pro baseball career.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it better to do ADP for a year or two if you don’t make the top travel team initially and then try out for travel in a couple of years once DD has developed more skills?

I think the best thing to do is to get her on the thighest level team she is offered. As said above three day a week training with girls who are good really improves play. If she really like soccer and SHE wants to make the top team get her some private coaching/training. It’s has to be driven by her and not you. The coach will work on technique which she will have to practice on her own. Just be realistic with it. If she has no touch and or really is not into it, do not spend the money and time on it. Not every kid will make the top team even with the best coaching and work ethic.

My DD started at about 6 years old at a small club that was all about technique, first touch and ball control in small/tigh spaces. No games at that age just fun drills and small games. Once or twice a week depending on the age. She just loved it. We moved her to one of the big clubs at about u10. She had out grown the old club even playing a year up. Now to the point of the story. I asked her what the difference in play was between her old club and the new club. She said at her new club she gets no time and space. She clarified by saying it’s like playing Madden on the rookie level vs all pro. The kids get a lot better because the coaching is better and they are playing against really good competitive kids 4 days a week(3 practices and a game). The kids learn from each other. Just remember some kid will develop faster and other will seems to show no progress but they are getting better.

So if you go the non traditional way, make the change at u10. After u10 the girls really start to develop quickly(both physically and skill wise) and by u12 it’s hard to over come all the additional training and higher competition. Good luck and always ask if she is having fun! Also be proud for her even if she makes a team who takes everyone. It’s her first team and it’s her team!

Well put.

U9-U12 no change is necessary. It's new game in the later years. If the development is really good at the smaller Club--stay there. INDIVIDUAL development is the most important at those ages. Many big Clubs only care about the 'team' and the wins so they don't develop an all-around player but will only play kids in certain positions. They should be rotating constantly even when it means a game might not be won. I mean--come on---U10 we are talking about 8-year olds and a few 9-year olds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Interesting thread... For those with experience with ASA/Travel/ADP/Etc..., is there a benefit to doing the Academy program if DC is interested in Travel or ADP down the road? Curious if it's a good program or if they are trying to scam more $$ out of us?

Absolutely do academy. The coaches are excellent and it is definitely used as a "pre identification" (though by no means decisively) for travel. And if nothing else it is fun for motivated kids to play with others who have the same approach to soccer - my son loved it.

6-yo DD did the academy training thing and I'm not sure about the coaches are excellent part... I guess they are good just not for DD who thought it's not fun at all. The assistants ran most of the small group drills/games and the main coach mostly just watches. YMMV.

Just FYI, some kids get selected for ASA Advanced Academy for pre-travel. It is a good program, but do not assume your kids will be offered a top team selection after travel tryouts. Lots of unknown kids are already playing up a year at travel soccer at other leagues that will gravitate to Arlington. Lots of advanced academy kids are playing on lower teams. But you will find ASA is pretty strong for its top 3 team, so a good experience and competitive practices.

It's not uncommon for the Academy recommendations to not get followed. It has happened where Academy coaches will highly recommend a player for the first team, yet the travel coaches/TD that didn't seem them play all year will not put them on that team. Many kids in the 'first team' Academy group sometimes don't even make the top few teams when it comes to travel. All kinds of things come into play.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it better to do ADP for a year or two if you don’t make the top travel team initially and then try out for travel in a couple of years once DD has developed more skills?

I think the best thing to do is to get her on the thighest level team she is offered. As said above three day a week training with girls who are good really improves play. If she really like soccer and SHE wants to make the top team get her some private coaching/training. It’s has to be driven by her and not you. The coach will work on technique which she will have to practice on her own. Just be realistic with it. If she has no touch and or really is not into it, do not spend the money and time on it. Not every kid will make the top team even with the best coaching and work ethic.

My DD started at about 6 years old at a small club that was all about technique, first touch and ball control in small/tigh spaces. No games at that age just fun drills and small games. Once or twice a week depending on the age. She just loved it. We moved her to one of the big clubs at about u10. She had out grown the old club even playing a year up. Now to the point of the story. I asked her what the difference in play was between her old club and the new club. She said at her new club she gets no time and space. She clarified by saying it’s like playing Madden on the rookie level vs all pro. The kids get a lot better because the coaching is better and they are playing against really good competitive kids 4 days a week(3 practices and a game). The kids learn from each other. Just remember some kid will develop faster and other will seems to show no progress but they are getting better.

So if you go the non traditional way, make the change at u10. After u10 the girls really start to develop quickly(both physically and skill wise) and by u12 it’s hard to over come all the additional training and higher competition. Good luck and always ask if she is having fun! Also be proud for her even if she makes a team who takes everyone. It’s her first team and it’s her team!

I disagree. We kept our child in a smaller place and they got a lot of additional experiences, training abroad, select teams, etc. Now at U13 they have had the chance to play with and against the first team players at our original big Club and my child has improved light years above those kids. Those kids still have the same flaws they had years ago---dribbling the ball into the ground/holding onto it way too long. Not reading the field or anticipating. The only advantage is they had a 'place saver' at the Club and the civil service protection.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Interesting thread... For those with experience with ASA/Travel/ADP/Etc..., is there a benefit to doing the Academy program if DC is interested in Travel or ADP down the road? Curious if it's a good program or if they are trying to scam more $$ out of us?

Absolutely do academy. The coaches are excellent and it is definitely used as a "pre identification" (though by no means decisively) for travel. And if nothing else it is fun for motivated kids to play with others who have the same approach to soccer - my son loved it.

6-yo DD did the academy training thing and I'm not sure about the coaches are excellent part... I guess they are good just not for DD who thought it's not fun at all. The assistants ran most of the small group drills/games and the main coach mostly just watches. YMMV.

Just FYI, some kids get selected for ASA Advanced Academy for pre-travel. It is a good program, but do not assume your kids will be offered a top team selection after travel tryouts. Lots of unknown kids are already playing up a year at travel soccer at other leagues that will gravitate to Arlington. Lots of advanced academy kids are playing on lower teams. But you will find ASA is pretty strong for its top 3 team, so a good experience and competitive practices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Interesting thread... For those with experience with ASA/Travel/ADP/Etc..., is there a benefit to doing the Academy program if DC is interested in Travel or ADP down the road? Curious if it's a good program or if they are trying to scam more $$ out of us?

Absolutely do academy. The coaches are excellent and it is definitely used as a "pre identification" (though by no means decisively) for travel. And if nothing else it is fun for motivated kids to play with others who have the same approach to soccer - my son loved it.

6-yo DD did the academy training thing and I'm not sure about the coaches are excellent part... I guess they are good just not for DD who thought it's not fun at all. The assistants ran most of the small group drills/games and the main coach mostly just watches. YMMV.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Interesting thread... For those with experience with ASA/Travel/ADP/Etc..., is there a benefit to doing the Academy program if DC is interested in Travel or ADP down the road? Curious if it's a good program or if they are trying to scam more $$ out of us?

Absolutely do academy. The coaches are excellent and it is definitely used as a "pre identification" (though by no means decisively) for travel. And if nothing else it is fun for motivated kids to play with others who have the same approach to soccer - my son loved it.

NP here. Interesting thread... For those with experience with ASA/Travel/ADP/Etc..., is there a benefit to doing the Academy program if DC is interested in Travel or ADP down the road? Curious if it's a good program or if they are trying to scam more $$ out of us?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it better to do ADP for a year or two if you don’t make the top travel team initially and then try out for travel in a couple of years once DD has developed more skills?

I think the best thing to do is to get her on the thighest level team she is offered. As said above three day a week training with girls who are good really improves play. If she really like soccer and SHE wants to make the top team get her some private coaching/training. It’s has to be driven by her and not you. The coach will work on technique which she will have to practice on her own. Just be realistic with it. If she has no touch and or really is not into it, do not spend the money and time on it. Not every kid will make the top team even with the best coaching and work ethic.

My DD started at about 6 years old at a small club that was all about technique, first touch and ball control in small/tigh spaces. No games at that age just fun drills and small games. Once or twice a week depending on the age. She just loved it. We moved her to one of the big clubs at about u10. She had out grown the old club even playing a year up. Now to the point of the story. I asked her what the difference in play was between her old club and the new club. She said at her new club she gets no time and space. She clarified by saying it’s like playing Madden on the rookie level vs all pro. The kids get a lot better because the coaching is better and they are playing against really good competitive kids 4 days a week(3 practices and a game). The kids learn from each other. Just remember some kid will develop faster and other will seems to show no progress but they are getting better.

So if you go the non traditional way, make the change at u10. After u10 the girls really start to develop quickly(both physically and skill wise) and by u12 it’s hard to over come all the additional training and higher competition. Good luck and always ask if she is having fun! Also be proud for her even if she makes a team who takes everyone. It’s her first team and it’s her team!

Well put.

Anonymous wrote:Is it better to do ADP for a year or two if you don’t make the top travel team initially and then try out for travel in a couple of years once DD has developed more skills?

I think the best thing to do is to get her on the thighest level team she is offered. As said above three day a week training with girls who are good really improves play. If she really like soccer and SHE wants to make the top team get her some private coaching/training. It’s has to be driven by her and not you. The coach will work on technique which she will have to practice on her own. Just be realistic with it. If she has no touch and or really is not into it, do not spend the money and time on it. Not every kid will make the top team even with the best coaching and work ethic.

My DD started at about 6 years old at a small club that was all about technique, first touch and ball control in small/tigh spaces. No games at that age just fun drills and small games. Once or twice a week depending on the age. She just loved it. We moved her to one of the big clubs at about u10. She had out grown the old club even playing a year up. Now to the point of the story. I asked her what the difference in play was between her old club and the new club. She said at her new club she gets no time and space. She clarified by saying it’s like playing Madden on the rookie level vs all pro. The kids get a lot better because the coaching is better and they are playing against really good competitive kids 4 days a week(3 practices and a game). The kids learn from each other. Just remember some kid will develop faster and other will seems to show no progress but they are getting better.

So if you go the non traditional way, make the change at u10. After u10 the girls really start to develop quickly(both physically and skill wise) and by u12 it’s hard to over come all the additional training and higher competition. Good luck and always ask if she is having fun! Also be proud for her even if she makes a team who takes everyone. It’s her first team and it’s her team!

Anonymous wrote:i'd be more curious to see how Usain Bolt fares...

Me too!! I love him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington is a pretty small county - 1/5th the size of Fairfax. So it's not that surprising that there's really only one club in town. There are several clubs in neighboring towns (Falls church, McLean, Alexandria) if you don't like ASA.

I've had experience with all three levels of play (rec, ADP, travel) and have coached at the rec level. For the most part, I think ASA does a pretty good job, especially at the rec level. But as a parent, you do have to do a cost-benefit analysis. It probably doesn't make sense to accept a spot on a lower-tier travel team anywhere if you think that money would be better spent elsewhere.

If you don't like the training you have to go elsewhere. I found ASA to be hit or miss even on the upper teams. This is compounded by the fact they don't have a philosophy of play and the coaches aren't on the same page. Kids get dumped year to year and sometimes what one coach told them is completely contradictory to the previous one. There is also no way the Club can even contemplate a possession-style of play because in order to do that everyone in the Club has to be on the same page and it needs to start at the ground up---pre-academy. All coaches need to be working the same drills progressively as kids age up. I don't think they care about the style though--just winning trophies. It really can be frustrating for players with more soccer IQ to be thrown into a long-ball, boot it out and get the fastest kid chasing it down environment. I think this is where CHOICE within the County would really be appreciated. ASA pre-academy/travel does do a fantastic job getting the kids learning foot skills. I found the training just went downhill as the kids moved into and up the travel system. If they stayed there in the formative years, by 15/16 they would have not developed into well-rounded players.

We're thinking about trying out next year at Alexandria and McLean, as well as ASA. Are one of those 2 other programs (Alexandria and McLean) markedly better than the other? McLean is CCL - which I'm a bit disappointed in the CCL competition, and Alexandria is NCSL - so hit or miss in terms of competition. Which of those two would have a better possession style training for younger ages and good competitive games.

Better possession style training? No question, hands-down Alexandria. Better in general? That is hard to define... McLean and Arlington are bigger and get a lot of amazing athletes. Play is strong but I don't think training seems as good.

I'm at Lee Mount Vernon at the younger age groups and there seems to be a balance of focus on technique and ball possession. Pleased with the experience so far. If considering the above 3, might as well consider LMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting better and becoming the cream requires being faced with adversity and lots of challenge.

These suburban teams that carry over year to year with set teams aren’t even having true tryouts. It does nothing for these players. They are way too comfortable. Potential wasted. That is fine if HS is the dream.

You can see why we will never be a country on the World stage because everyone is okay with shitty soccer “a mix of kids that boot and run and a few kids that pass”. These are our top teams? Christ. Kids that can’t use both feet and have a crappy first touch and no soccer IQ.

But, I guess if you are going to succeed in the US, your kid should learn shitty US soccer. It is a disadvantage in the US to have them developed properly because that requires time and bucking the “super” teams to learn it and these “super” teams are the only path to our shitty non-qualifying USMNT or crappy MLS. I don’t know about cream, but the turd floats and stays on top.

Gotta be able to boot!

Hey, I recognize you! You're the "shitty soccer" poster. Your MO is to take a sentence or two from someone's post about their family's experience (or whatever) and then immediately extrapolate to your favorite theme of This is Why US Soccer is Shitty and We Will Never Achieve Anything on the World Stage.

I do agree that it's not good for a players' development for a team to have the same coach and players for years on end for the adversity and challenge reasons you note, and also because a new coach might be able to help you overcome weaknesses in your game that your prior coach was blind to. That's not to say that these type of teams uniformly lack skills and ability though. There a couple of teams playing in the U18 National League this year with a core group of kids who have had the same coach since they were 8 or 9, and in both cases the coaches are knowledgeable and most of the kids are skilled and talented and know how to play possession soccer. I will be curious to see how they fare when they are in a new environment.

I don't have an issue with players staying with the same coach for a number of years as long as they continue to improve, the coach challenges them and if he understands what he needs to be doing to better each player every year. My main issue is if they don't have exposure to anyone else at all. They should go to camps with different coaches/players, club training, ODP, individual training, pick-up, tournament teams, etc. This way they are also able to take what they learn elsewhere and bring it back to their team.