Anonymous wrote:What program do you think should get more attention, the one where we have more than 3,000 players or the one that have less than 1,000 players? Also, do we all pay the same for the Technical Director Staff salary, right? So why they are giving more attention to Travel than Rec.?

Anonymous wrote:We have talked a lot about VYS Travel. What about our VYS Rec. program? This program overwhelmingly makes up the majority of our club. There are more players registered by far. It is this group that is providing us with the funding that keeps our club running. In the past, I seem to remember that we focused on the bigger picture. There were great programs for our players and many opportunities to be involved. Professional Coaches and Directors used to be very involved in Rec. They use to attend rec sessions and games. They provided coaches clinics and seminars. There were consistent lesson plans for coaches as well as ongoing communication with their families. Now, we barely see them. There is no clear connection between Travel and Rec. No clear direction or organization in general, for that matter. Everyone seems to be doing their own thing. We (Rec families) feel like we are paying a lot of money to the directors that, in turn, consistently keep travel as their main focus.

Anonymous wrote:not pp, but i would hope if it came down to a good vys player and similar chantilly okayer, the nod would go to vys.

i would hope the 3 vda clubs shared coaching resources to build a better system.

are all vda practices at howison? i thought some were at long park and some at vienna/mclean area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If being more than just a big neighborhood club was part of the vision, then getting rid of Eddie Lima was the dumbest thing the club ever did. He was on the right track. It's been a S#$% show ever since from a unified technical vision and plan standpoint. The only good teams the club has had were from a single, independent coach owning a group of players for many years, nothing that has come from club actually developing a group from day one. Yet again, a club that can't get out of it's own way because a bunch people who don't know a ton about the game try to run it like a business instead of serving their community.

Seriously ... not again.

Eddie's a great coach. He and the board disagreed over the business side. If you want to debate that, do a search for posts from a few years ago. It's been done.

The next TD hire was an utter disaster. Simply clueless.

But they've recovered. Current staff is pretty good.

Saying they recovered is a stretch. And to say they recovered is a misnomer anyways. They recovered from what? They have always been a middling club at best. Nothing has changed since new TD and his staff joined. You might like them and that's great but I wouldn't go as far as you say.

Pretty good for a community club that has a wide range of teams from State Cup champions to basic NCSL/ODSL to rec, and one that now feeds into and shares some staff with VDA.

They recovered in the sense that the tech staff that lasted less than a year was a horror show. Alienated everyone from parents to other clubs' staffs. No doubt that current staff is a considerable improvement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If being more than just a big neighborhood club was part of the vision, then getting rid of Eddie Lima was the dumbest thing the club ever did. He was on the right track. It's been a S#$% show ever since from a unified technical vision and plan standpoint. The only good teams the club has had were from a single, independent coach owning a group of players for many years, nothing that has come from club actually developing a group from day one. Yet again, a club that can't get out of it's own way because a bunch people who don't know a ton about the game try to run it like a business instead of serving their community.

Seriously ... not again.

Eddie's a great coach. He and the board disagreed over the business side. If you want to debate that, do a search for posts from a few years ago. It's been done.

The next TD hire was an utter disaster. Simply clueless.

But they've recovered. Current staff is pretty good.

Saying they recovered is a stretch. And to say they recovered is a misnomer anyways. They recovered from what? They have always been a middling club at best. Nothing has changed since new TD and his staff joined. You might like them and that's great but I wouldn't go as far as you say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If being more than just a big neighborhood club was part of the vision, then getting rid of Eddie Lima was the dumbest thing the club ever did. He was on the right track. It's been a S#$% show ever since from a unified technical vision and plan standpoint. The only good teams the club has had were from a single, independent coach owning a group of players for many years, nothing that has come from club actually developing a group from day one. Yet again, a club that can't get out of it's own way because a bunch people who don't know a ton about the game try to run it like a business instead of serving their community.

Seriously ... not again.

Eddie's a great coach. He and the board disagreed over the business side. If you want to debate that, do a search for posts from a few years ago. It's been done.

The next TD hire was an utter disaster. Simply clueless.

But they've recovered. Current staff is pretty good.

Anonymous wrote:If being more than just a big neighborhood club was part of the vision, then getting rid of Eddie Lima was the dumbest thing the club ever did. He was on the right track. It's been a S#$% show ever since from a unified technical vision and plan standpoint. The only good teams the club has had were from a single, independent coach owning a group of players for many years, nothing that has come from club actually developing a group from day one. Yet again, a club that can't get out of it's own way because a bunch people who don't know a ton about the game try to run it like a business instead of serving their community.

Anonymous wrote:If being more than just a big neighborhood club was part of the vision, then getting rid of Eddie Lima was the dumbest thing the club ever did. He was on the right track. It's been a S#$% show ever since from a unified technical vision and plan standpoint. The only good teams the club has had were from a single, independent coach owning a group of players for many years, nothing that has come from club actually developing a group from day one. Yet again, a club that can't get out of it's own way because a bunch people who don't know a ton about the game try to run it like a business instead of serving their community.

Anonymous wrote:I think all of you guys bring a good point. In the end, It is all about the quality of our board, technical staff and coaches. I know that a few years back when my oldest son played, VYS seemed to have a better structure and he enjoyed the club. Most importantly, the vision and direction seemed to be in place. I am not sure what all has changed over the past 3-4 years but I can say the atmosphere and overall feeling of community has changed. From my own experience, I do know that a lot of kids did not leave because we had high quality coaches in our academy. They held training 4 days a week (2 sessions with the coach, 1 training with the older age group and pick up games on Fridays) for significantly less than we are paying now with our youngest for less training time. It appears that the new technical staff means well but a lot VYS members say that they do not have what it takes to bring our club up to speed with neighboring clubs. Looking at the broader picture, concerns seem to encompass several different areas within the club; the overall quality of directors, coaches, fees, programs and time each team is alotted for training each week. My son stop playing two years ago. My youngest daughter is still playing VYS house and enjoys being with her friends. However, I am happy not to be a part of travel these day.