Anonymous
Post 02/13/2019 17:20     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:?: will the coaches contact you after an ID session? Are you supposed to attend more than one session or only come back if asked? Thanks!


From my limited experience you should hear something. DS has tried out at 2 different DA clubs in the last year and both emailed us after the first tryout. One emailed and said not to come to another session and the other said to attend the next session for further evaluation.
Anonymous
Post 02/13/2019 16:02     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:C'mon boys parents, the girls just had 3 whole pages of crazy devoted to their VDA scrimmages last weekend (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/975/775289.page).

The VDA, Loudoun and DCU boys all squared off in pre-season scrimmages also, but not a peep from anyone?


I'm not clear on why this is, but it always seems to be the case that parents of girl players are crazier on average than parents of the boy ones, and not just on DCUM. If you've followed this forum for several years, you will have noticed that the vast majority of posters who made the one giant soccer thread unpleasant all now post on the Girls' threads.


There's no doubt about that, but I don't think the craziness gap has anything to do with differences in college scholarships or chances of going pro. Something else is going on.

Some theories (in no particular order):

1) Parents just feel differently about their sons compared to their daughters. More likely to feel like their sons can fight their own battles. More likely to be protective of their daughters.

2) The difference in communication styles reflects gender differences between the posters. Maybe moms are more likely to post about their daughters soccer than their sons. Maybe dads are the opposite.

3) The overall level of soccer knowledge is much higher on average among elite boys parents than elite girls parents.

As far as the last point, it may or may not be the reason for higher levels of craziness / ignorance / lack of perspective on the elite girls threads, but it is definitely true - on average. I think it has to do with how much more selective it is for boys to make it to the elite level. In general it is much harder to make it to that level for boys if they don't come from a soccer culture at home.

All of these are generalizations of course, but there has to be some reason for the difference.

There are very heated rivalries between the top level boys teams, and emotions on the sidelines often run high. Yet you never see VDA vs Loudoun vs Arlington or even DCU vs Bethesda parents going tit-for-tat on this board.


Interesting points. I think your point #3 and the paragraph after are very true. Among the kids we know who have gone pro or ended up at good D1 programs, virtually all of them came from families with a deep soccer culture, and many from a family with a pro in the mix. Given this, there are probably a greater number of "elite" boy parents who have a pretty realistic sense of their kid's trajectory, so aren't really concerned about the dynamics of one team or club vs. another. It also seems to me that a huge number of top or serious boy players around here who are HS aged know each other in real life or through social media. Not sure if the same is true for girl players.
Anonymous
Post 02/13/2019 15:22     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:C'mon boys parents, the girls just had 3 whole pages of crazy devoted to their VDA scrimmages last weekend (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/975/775289.page).

The VDA, Loudoun and DCU boys all squared off in pre-season scrimmages also, but not a peep from anyone?


I'm not clear on why this is, but it always seems to be the case that parents of girl players are crazier on average than parents of the boy ones, and not just on DCUM. If you've followed this forum for several years, you will have noticed that the vast majority of posters who made the one giant soccer thread unpleasant all now post on the Girls' threads.


There's no doubt about that, but I don't think the craziness gap has anything to do with differences in college scholarships or chances of going pro. Something else is going on.

Some theories (in no particular order):

1) Parents just feel differently about their sons compared to their daughters. More likely to feel like their sons can fight their own battles. More likely to be protective of their daughters.

2) The difference in communication styles reflects gender differences between the posters. Maybe moms are more likely to post about their daughters soccer than their sons. Maybe dads are the opposite.

3) The overall level of soccer knowledge is much higher on average among elite boys parents than elite girls parents.

As far as the last point, it may or may not be the reason for higher levels of craziness / ignorance / lack of perspective on the elite girls threads, but it is definitely true - on average. I think it has to do with how much more selective it is for boys to make it to the elite level. In general it is much harder to make it to that level for boys if they don't come from a soccer culture at home.

All of these are generalizations of course, but there has to be some reason for the difference.

There are very heated rivalries between the top level boys teams, and emotions on the sidelines often run high. Yet you never see VDA vs Loudoun vs Arlington or even DCU vs Bethesda parents going tit-for-tat on this board.
Anonymous
Post 02/13/2019 12:54     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:C'mon boys parents, the girls just had 3 whole pages of crazy devoted to their VDA scrimmages last weekend (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/975/775289.page).

The VDA, Loudoun and DCU boys all squared off in pre-season scrimmages also, but not a peep from anyone?


I'm not clear on why this is, but it always seems to be the case that parents of girl players are crazier on average than parents of the boy ones, and not just on DCUM. If you've followed this forum for several years, you will have noticed that the vast majority of posters who made the one giant soccer thread unpleasant all now post on the Girls' threads.


Parents of boys already know there is no scholarship money available for them and any that is available goes to European players. This puts things in perspective and is calming.


I've always heard statements like this about boys' D1 scholarships, and have been surprised by how many boys from around here that I personally know end up receiving athletic money (in some case quite significant $$) to play D1. I came across this site a while back that I think explains some of the discrepancy: http://www.scholarshipstats.com/soccer.html

Odds of playing D1 soccer are significantly less for US male players than female players for two primary reasons: There are almost 40% fewer Men's NCAA I soccer teams (204) than Women's teams (333)and there is a significantly higher percentage of foreign student athletes playing Men's D1 soccer (16%) than playing on Women'steams (6%). US male soccer players have much better odds (over twice) of making an NCAA III roster over a D1 roster as there are over double the teams (416 versus 204) and D3 rosters are composed of a higher average percentage of US players (97% versus 84%).

The odds vary significantly depending on where you compete in High School. The odds of playing D1 are notably higher for players from the Mid-Atlantic states, but much lower for players in many other areas. The odds are especially low for states without NCAA I schools that sponsor men's and/or women's soccer:

The included chart indicates that in Maryland, where I'm from, the odds for boy HS players to make D1 for the 2017-2018 season are 45:1 (and this figure presumably doesn't include any of the many boys playing DA around here) vs. 34:1 for girls, though of course there will be more scholarships available for girls than boys (14 total per team vs. 9.9). Add in the fact that our area has a lot of college soccer programs that are among the best in the country for men's teams, and that boys have many more pro options, I really would expect more forum craziness on the boys' side.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2019 14:49     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:C'mon boys parents, the girls just had 3 whole pages of crazy devoted to their VDA scrimmages last weekend (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/975/775289.page).

The VDA, Loudoun and DCU boys all squared off in pre-season scrimmages also, but not a peep from anyone?


I'm not clear on why this is, but it always seems to be the case that parents of girl players are crazier on average than parents of the boy ones, and not just on DCUM. If you've followed this forum for several years, you will have noticed that the vast majority of posters who made the one giant soccer thread unpleasant all now post on the Girls' threads.


Parents of boys already know there is no scholarship money available for them and any that is available goes to European players. This puts things in perspective and is calming.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2019 14:46     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:C'mon boys parents, the girls just had 3 whole pages of crazy devoted to their VDA scrimmages last weekend (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/975/775289.page).

The VDA, Loudoun and DCU boys all squared off in pre-season scrimmages also, but not a peep from anyone?


I'm not clear on why this is, but it always seems to be the case that parents of girl players are crazier on average than parents of the boy ones, and not just on DCUM. If you've followed this forum for several years, you will have noticed that the vast majority of posters who made the one giant soccer thread unpleasant all now post on the Girls' threads.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2019 07:24     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
?: will the coaches contact you after an ID session? Are you supposed to attend more than one session or only come back if asked? Thanks!
Anonymous
Post 02/11/2019 13:34     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
C'mon boys parents, the girls just had 3 whole pages of crazy devoted to their VDA scrimmages last weekend (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/975/775289.page).

The VDA, Loudoun and DCU boys all squared off in pre-season scrimmages also, but not a peep from anyone?
Anonymous
Post 09/28/2018 12:38     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
I heard a few Bethesda DA players - 04/05s - are in London training with the Arsenal this week. Anyone know anything about that? Sound like a great opportunity. Possibly a meaningful one as well, since there has already been one player from Bethesda's DA that was signed by Arsenal.

Anonymous
Post 09/21/2018 12:04     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Bethesda v DCU scores from today.

U13: 2-0
U14: 2-4
U15: 0-1
U17: 2-3
U19: 2-2


It seems that Bethesda cannot accept losing by more than one goal (especially to a team they beat 3-0 in the Spring):
https://www.soccerwire.com/classifieds/bethesda-soccer-club-is-looking-for-u-14-boys-field-and-goal-keepers/


They should be working on out-recruiting Baltimore Armour to get DC's MD players who aren't going to want to deal with the commute to Leesburg next year.


You are right that that would be a smart thing to do. For better or worse, Bethesda hasn't really put much effort into recruiting for DA.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2018 11:12     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Bethesda v DCU scores from today.

U13: 2-0
U14: 2-4
U15: 0-1
U17: 2-3
U19: 2-2


It seems that Bethesda cannot accept losing by more than one goal (especially to a team they beat 3-0 in the Spring):
https://www.soccerwire.com/classifieds/bethesda-soccer-club-is-looking-for-u-14-boys-field-and-goal-keepers/


They should be working on out-recruiting Baltimore Armour to get DC's MD players who aren't going to want to deal with the commute to Leesburg next year.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2018 11:11     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Bethesda v DCU scores from today.

U13: 2-0
U14: 2-4
U15: 0-1
U17: 2-3
U19: 2-2


It seems that Bethesda cannot accept losing by more than one goal (especially to a team they beat 3-0 in the Spring):
https://www.soccerwire.com/classifieds/bethesda-soccer-club-is-looking-for-u-14-boys-field-and-goal-keepers/


Don't know if this is a serious post, but Bethesda has 4 teams in the U14 age group. Presumably they are looking to add to their 2005 NCSL and/or EDP teams.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2018 09:22     Subject: Re:Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:Bethesda v DCU scores from today.

U13: 2-0
U14: 2-4
U15: 0-1
U17: 2-3
U19: 2-2


It seems that Bethesda cannot accept losing by more than one goal (especially to a team they beat 3-0 in the Spring):
https://www.soccerwire.com/classifieds/bethesda-soccer-club-is-looking-for-u-14-boys-field-and-goal-keepers/
Anonymous
Post 09/18/2018 06:30     Subject: Boys DA 2018-19 Season
That's probably true at the older age groups, particularly if a girl has never played against boys. But actually Marta herself always played in a boys' club before going pro because during her time, Brazil didn't have any girls clubs.

I'm actually thinking though this may be more useful in younger age groups like U12 or in areas where there is no girls DA to join. So this may not even be helpful in DMV for the most part.

In Europe they do more coed training than we do, and I think given the flatness currently of the girls' game, at the earlier ages, it may lay some interesting foundations.

All of this is assuming they can legitimately make the team. sorry, I know that sounds sexist but the girls' game lacks sophistication. I have watched both DA genders play and the level of the boys DA is way higher.

That said, if someone finds that webinar that US Soccer put out, they actually suggest as well that for the exceptionally talented girl, to just train once a week with the boys if training with the girls isn't challenge enough. And you keep adding on training days (or something like that) before you just add her to the team.

Anyways, it's obvious this is such a new idea, it hasn't even spread so I don't mind dropping it. I just saw that webinar a couple of months back and wondered if it had had any actual practical implementation yet, or if it was still just an idea.

No big deal.
Anonymous
Post 09/18/2018 06:21     Subject: Boys DA 2018-19 Season
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I heard on the new DA rules, girls will be allowed to join boys' DA teams. Anyone else seen or heard that? Supposedly it was one of the changes new to this year? Or it's coming as part of the plan.


Source? There is nothing in the 2018-19 DA rules about it. http://www.ussoccerda.com/academy-operations

I haven't seen or heard anything about this and highly doubt they would allow it. It's one thing at the younger ages, teenage years are completely different.

I think this is just a rumor.



There was a PPT on the now closed DA vs ECNL vseverything else forum that I read through. So I was wondering if that was maybe a thought for coming plans or if it is actually in the works.


These girls should go out and watch a U15 and above game to see the hits and physicality once testosterone and muscle come into play. The hits are hard. I would not want my daughter getting head injuries and broken bones going up against 6ft guys with mustaches. It’s one thing for a 5’6 man, not the same at all for a 5’6 woman and that’s biology, not sexism. When I saw these “men” barreling down on my 12-year old son I did rethink having him play up.