Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having now reached the stage of going to college ID clinics, many of the same complaints about beginning level tryouts still hold true at the college sessions. There are still players showing up who have no place being there, the players who think that they have to be a ball hog to impress, and even those players who show up in bright socks or shorts in order to catch the coach's eyes. And the format of the tryouts are very similar - the individual dribbling moving to passing drills to small-sided scrimmages and then finishing with a large-sided game.

And while you occasionally see the ball hog moving up to the higher field, generally the same things that will get your kid noticed by smart coaches at the younger ages, are the things that actually impress the college coaches - eg, as noted above, the ability to possess under pressure, to communicate with your teammates, high work rate, etc.

How does a parent know whether or not their kid should try out for travel? Wouldn't want to be one of the ones who has no place being there, but all I have to go off of is other rec players and some skills clinics sponsored by the clubs. Kid (U10) is definitely dominant in rec, but not refined.

If your kid has some soccer skills and a desire to play soccer and travel then go to some tryouts and don't worry about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having now reached the stage of going to college ID clinics, many of the same complaints about beginning level tryouts still hold true at the college sessions. There are still players showing up who have no place being there, the players who think that they have to be a ball hog to impress, and even those players who show up in bright socks or shorts in order to catch the coach's eyes. And the format of the tryouts are very similar - the individual dribbling moving to passing drills to small-sided scrimmages and then finishing with a large-sided game.

And while you occasionally see the ball hog moving up to the higher field, generally the same things that will get your kid noticed by smart coaches at the younger ages, are the things that actually impress the college coaches - eg, as noted above, the ability to possess under pressure, to communicate with your teammates, high work rate, etc.

How does a parent know whether or not their kid should try out for travel? Wouldn't want to be one of the ones who has no place being there, but all I have to go off of is other rec players and some skills clinics sponsored by the clubs. Kid (U10) is definitely dominant in rec, but not refined.

If your kid has some soccer skills and a desire to play soccer and travel then go to some tryouts and don't worry about it.

If you have a checkbook, your kid will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having now reached the stage of going to college ID clinics, many of the same complaints about beginning level tryouts still hold true at the college sessions. There are still players showing up who have no place being there, the players who think that they have to be a ball hog to impress, and even those players who show up in bright socks or shorts in order to catch the coach's eyes. And the format of the tryouts are very similar - the individual dribbling moving to passing drills to small-sided scrimmages and then finishing with a large-sided game.

And while you occasionally see the ball hog moving up to the higher field, generally the same things that will get your kid noticed by smart coaches at the younger ages, are the things that actually impress the college coaches - eg, as noted above, the ability to possess under pressure, to communicate with your teammates, high work rate, etc.

How does a parent know whether or not their kid should try out for travel? Wouldn't want to be one of the ones who has no place being there, but all I have to go off of is other rec players and some skills clinics sponsored by the clubs. Kid (U10) is definitely dominant in rec, but not refined.

If your kid has some soccer skills and a desire to play soccer and travel then go to some tryouts and don't worry about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having now reached the stage of going to college ID clinics, many of the same complaints about beginning level tryouts still hold true at the college sessions. There are still players showing up who have no place being there, the players who think that they have to be a ball hog to impress, and even those players who show up in bright socks or shorts in order to catch the coach's eyes. And the format of the tryouts are very similar - the individual dribbling moving to passing drills to small-sided scrimmages and then finishing with a large-sided game.

And while you occasionally see the ball hog moving up to the higher field, generally the same things that will get your kid noticed by smart coaches at the younger ages, are the things that actually impress the college coaches - eg, as noted above, the ability to possess under pressure, to communicate with your teammates, high work rate, etc.

How does a parent know whether or not their kid should try out for travel? Wouldn't want to be one of the ones who has no place being there, but all I have to go off of is other rec players and some skills clinics sponsored by the clubs. Kid (U10) is definitely dominant in rec, but not refined.

Anonymous wrote:Having now reached the stage of going to college ID clinics, many of the same complaints about beginning level tryouts still hold true at the college sessions. There are still players showing up who have no place being there, the players who think that they have to be a ball hog to impress, and even those players who show up in bright socks or shorts in order to catch the coach's eyes. And the format of the tryouts are very similar - the individual dribbling moving to passing drills to small-sided scrimmages and then finishing with a large-sided game.

And while you occasionally see the ball hog moving up to the higher field, generally the same things that will get your kid noticed by smart coaches at the younger ages, are the things that actually impress the college coaches - eg, as noted above, the ability to possess under pressure, to communicate with your teammates, high work rate, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Tryouts often begin with the entire group of players dribbling through and around an open area as the coach calls out techniques (e.g., "outside left") and moves. It's at least possible for players to begin making a good impression by controlling the ball well and moving quickly and without stopping during the warmup. In terms of the small-sided games, talent will probably reveal itself eventually, or not, and there's not much anyone can do about that now, but kids who are vocal in communicating with their teammates, are confident in holding the ball under pressure, and who take it upon themselves to defend the goal will often stand out. At some tryouts there are untimed sprint races and juggling sessions as well as the warmup and small-sided games. When your kid gets promoted to a higher field, your hopes may rise; when he's sent to the end of the park you may feel slightly worse, but keep it all in perspective. There may not be many open spots actually available, even at U9, and there are other clubs to try out for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Newbie here. What are tryouts like at these big clubs for U11 age? Do the kids do mostly drills, or is it small-sided games? Do they move kids around into different groups or do kids stay with a random cohort? Any insight appreciated.

Every club is different but as kids get older tryouts are mostly scrimmaged based, mostly small sided.

Anonymous wrote:Newbie here. What are tryouts like at these big clubs for U11 age? Do the kids do mostly drills, or is it small-sided games? Do they move kids around into different groups or do kids stay with a random cohort? Any insight appreciated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here - looking for thoughts on Bethesda Soccer vs. PPA vs. MSI Classic for a U9/U10 girl with reasonably good skills and a lot of passion for the game?

Has your DD had any formal coaching?

Bethesda has the best program and training, then PPA. MSI Classic is only loosely organized by MSI - you have to pass a not very hard skills test to be eligible for a Classic team. But then you have to either form your own classic team or try individually for other teams. The process for getting on a classic team is a major PIA because it is not coordinated. Classic teams find their own coach - either a parent or a paid coach that the team hires. So the coaching can be very, very good or not so good. It just depends. Same for cost of classic - if you have a parent volunteer coach, cost will be pretty low (but you often get what you pay for). The level of play on classic teams also varies widely - is it mostly friends or a former rec team that wants to stay together or is it team formed through talent? If you go the classic route, you should interview whoever is running each of the teams you try out for to understand its individual approach.

Agree with all of this. You nailed the description of MSI Classic!

Agree on all of this, too . Bethesda has very good training. Possible "downsides" at young age are 1). the logistics - practice locations can be tough and distance for games are far even for 'home' field in poolesville. I think PPA makes it much easier and classics tend to be more neighborhood basis . 2) The other part in Bethesda is that some parents can get anxious or competitive between on who is on the higher level teams (though far less than VA clubs) Those do not become issues for all parents - but just helpful to know before you commit

I am the PP who asked about these clubs for my DD. Thanks to all for your thoughtful responses. PPA sounds very appealing based on the feedback, because she does not have a group of friends from MSI Rec who would all be moving together (she'd basically be striking out on her own in search of a Classic team). We may still do the MSI tryout also, just to have options. Does anyone have info on the various annual costs for Bethesda and PPA? The websites don't have a lot of that information.

Pretty sure we pay around $375 a season for the basic package for PPA basketball (so, $375 for Fall, $375 for Winter, $375 for Spring). I don't know if the soccer fees are the same--our son plays soccer with Bethesda. I like PPA, but I think that fee is pretty high for what you get: 1 game and 1 practice each week of the season. For the Bethesda U8s, I believe the fee is around $1,350 for the year, which doesn't include uniforms. For that fee you get a minimum of 2 practices a week in fall, most of winter, and spring (you can do more if you like--they are flexible about letting kids attend other teams' practices) plus a game each weekend in fall and spring (with the opportunity to play additional games for other U8 and U9 teams). The coaches and training have been outstanding.

As another poster said, the fees for older kids at Bethesda are $2,300, except that the fees are lower and the travel costs are greater for kids playing in the DA at the high school ages.