This thread has turned into the SYC/LMVSC saga, so maybe the subject line should change to reflect that. I was interested when it focused on the common concerns we share as parents, but the details that came out of the discussion are mind-boggling. Whether we like it or not, many of us in SYC and LMVSC seem to be tangled up in this mess, largely due to the actions of just a few individuals.

Just to help wrap my brain around what seems to have happened here, I created a timeline based on posts in this thread and public domain. Families at both clubs may want to consider these events, because we're both affected. Dates and times that appear reflect when the information was posted here, and are direct quotes, but I've put them in order based on the actual chronology.

02/08/2019 18:41
"The membership made it crystal clear to Cesar and Dotty, at a town hall meeting on December 3, 2018, that coaching changes mid-year were not appropriate and would not be well received. In that meeting they said no changes would be made until they came back to the membership with a plan at the next town hall meeting to be held in January 2019. That town hall meeting never happened."

02/14/2019 18:47
"On January 17th at 8:51 pm, LMVSC travel families received an email from our executive director wishing Este success in his future endeavors and informing us that Esteban 'Este' Maldonado has resigned his Technical Director and head coaching responsibilities effective January 28, 2019, to join another club."

02/08/2019 18:41
"Lee, and 3 other coaches, were fired by e-mail on Saturday January 19, 2019 at approximately 9 pm. Lee had over 12 years of service at SYC, another coach 15+ years with SYC."

02/14/2019 18:47
"On January 20th, Este posted on his personal Facebook page at 10:21 am regarding an "Announcement Coming Soon" that included the SYC logo and hashtags #SYCSoccer #LetsgoSYC."

January 22, 2019 (Soccer Wire)
(Via SYC) – Esteban “Este” Maldonado will join Springfield South County Youth Club (SYC) as the new Youth Soccer Technical Director. (*His LMVSC resignation date was January 28th)

02/14/2019 18:47
"On January 25th, LMVSC families received an email from our Executive Director announcing a new Director of our Player Development program. This position was held by Justin O'Shell who was in charge of that and our Recreational Development Program."

02/08/2019 16:47
"I can confirm that Este brought over at least one other person - he is coaching my child and at least one other team." (*This is Justin O'Shell, former Director of Player Development at LMVSC)

That's just what's been discussed here and out in the open. If you have a boy playing on one of Pepe's teams (03B, 04B, 05B), some of his guys are talking about him taking them with him to SYC at the end of the season. Coach Tupy (08G, 09B, 10B) got dragged into the discussion as well. And now your current TD is giving accolades on his Facebook page for his brother's VYSA accomplishments while he's still at LMVSC (February 14 at 2:12 pm).

There's no way that this happened as suddenly as a few people would like us to believe. It seems to me like it started before December 3rd when two of SYC's voting members were called out in a public forum about pending coaching changes. I find it suspicious that a few weeks later, two former LMVSC Directors moved to SYC without a job announcement ever being posted for either position and without the knowledge of your former TD. Add to that the rumors of two more coaches being recruited in season, and it looks more and more like premeditated actions targeting LMVSC with the deliberate intent to cause significant damage to our teams and our club.

I don't blame SYC coaches or families. This is clearly not in your best interests either. I aim this at those in control at SYC who made it possible to hire a TD without a public job announcement and who failed to warn your existing TD and three other coaches their jobs were at risk, midseason, no less.

It only took a simple majority of seven votes (possibly two) to speak for the thousands in your club. If that's the way the soccer committee treats your club and honorable people who represented SYC Soccer for years, then if I were a new TD or new SYC coach I would tread lightly and check over my shoulder frequently and have regular job feelers out , because clearly, loyalty and ethics don't seem to matter much. I'll be interested to see how this plays out. Hopefully, the damage to the players, both in terms of soccer and emotional well-being, is minimal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

Who told you that? You take every chance you can if there’s a coaching point to be made...

It depends. Most cases in game for an 8-11 year old kid—no. They either won’t listen, won’t process, or will fixate leading to more errors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

Who told you that? You take every chance you can if there’s a coaching point to be made...

Anonymous wrote:Wow, your style is so easily recognizable for an anonymous forum. I’m always amazed at how many straw men you can build up and then knock down in your posts. Truly an amazing feat.

No one argued any of the points you have spent paragraphs expounding upon. Your opinion of what constitutes a good coach aside, too much instruction from the sideline during games helps no one, especially kids still learning the game. Often times kids end up spending too much time focusing on the instruction while it’s given, or just afterward, and are distracted, with little benefit. Such instruction is best given in training, where play can be stopped, broken down, and explained instead of trying to shove it down the throats of kids already overloaded with the problems they are trying to solve on the field. It’s like the difference between trying to cram for a test already in progress vs having properly prepared and come to the exam ready. What you would call good coaching, I would not.

Don’t tell me, you are the guy who overheard the bull crap dinner discussion at your local diner, right? No, just same holier than thou troll who peruses this forum to unveil your “vast” body of soccer knowledge to the poor, uneducated people on this board. You aren’t even with SYC. What a joke.

Lol, is this Este, or his brother?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, it wasn't clear to me whether the TD was there to actually coach, or there to take pictures/video while someone else was coaching.

Why do you care?

Because I have a deep, existential need to know. I NEED THIS, DAMMIT.

Anonymous wrote:Are you guys out of your minds. Since when is a soccer coaching job any different than any other job. If anyone wants to leave their job for a different job, they don't wait until the end of the year, they just give notice and leave. Leaving a club shows lack of integrity? Are you kidding me? This whole thread shows how unrealistic your expectations are. When I came to this forum I was looking for some advice on what club to choose when we move into the area. After reading this forum, which by the way was very entertaining, I don't know if I want my kids to play soccer in NOVA. You guys are nuts.

Best post in this thread. The level of insanity of a few on this forum is absurd.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, it wasn't clear to me whether the TD was there to actually coach, or there to take pictures/video while someone else was coaching.

Why do you care?

Yeah, it wasn't clear to me whether the TD was there to actually coach, or there to take pictures/video while someone else was coaching.

Wow, your style is so easily recognizable for an anonymous forum. I’m always amazed at how many straw men you can build up and then knock down in your posts. Truly an amazing feat.

No one argued any of the points you have spent paragraphs expounding upon. Your opinion of what constitutes a good coach aside, too much instruction from the sideline during games helps no one, especially kids still learning the game. Often times kids end up spending too much time focusing on the instruction while it’s given, or just afterward, and are distracted, with little benefit. Such instruction is best given in training, where play can be stopped, broken down, and explained instead of trying to shove it down the throats of kids already overloaded with the problems they are trying to solve on the field. It’s like the difference between trying to cram for a test already in progress vs having properly prepared and come to the exam ready. What you would call good coaching, I would not.

Don’t tell me, you are the guy who overheard the bull crap dinner discussion at your local diner, right? No, just same holier than thou troll who peruses this forum to unveil your “vast” body of soccer knowledge to the poor, uneducated people on this board. You aren’t even with SYC. What a joke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

Lol. Pep sucks then.

Pep doesn't joystick players, does he?

Of course not. That's part of the reason this is such an ignorant statement: "there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking."

We are talking about youth soccer for ulittles, not pro european leagues. The ignorant argument here is your own.

Great comeback. Not sure if I can recover from that one.

So youth players need less instruction than professionals, not more. Got it.

The best youth coaches will approach weekend games as an extension of the training week. Some will coach the same way they would during a scrimmage - which could mean a fair amount of "chatter", pertaining to off-the ball positioning, after-the-fact technical corrections, mindset reminders, etc... . Some will choose to quietly observe and save their points for the halftime talk, or even next week at the training ground. Neither approach is necessarily better than the other. Some coaches may even shift between one extreme and the other, and often be somewhere in the middle, depending on their professional judgement about what a team needs at that given moment.

It is as ignorant to state that "chatter" from the sidelines is a sign of bad coaching/joysticking, as it would be to suggest that a coach who sits an watches quietly is "not doing anything."

What matters is the content of the sideline chatter, not the quantity, but I'm guessing you have no idea how to determine quality coaching content from pure garbage, so you fall back on stupid and shallow platitudes like "there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking."

The only thing dumber than that statement was what followed it: "I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams."

Regardless of coaching style, at the absolute bare minimum a coach should be expected to be paying attention. There is absolutely no way to justify - or defend - a coach who is not even watching his team play during a match.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

Lol. Pep sucks then.

Pep doesn't joystick players, does he?

Of course not. That's part of the reason this is such an ignorant statement: "there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking."

We are talking about youth soccer for ulittles, not pro european leagues. The ignorant argument here is your own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

Lol. Pep sucks then.

Pep doesn't joystick players, does he?

Of course not. That's part of the reason this is such an ignorant statement: "there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

I wasn't asking he bark out directions, I'm just asking he look interested and not be on his phone. If you heard your kid's teacher was on their phone all day, how would you react?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

Lol. Pep sucks then.

Pep doesn't joystick players, does he?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You bring up a good point. If the team’s results are good, but a coach is just on his phone most of the time, how much coaching or direction is actually going on?

During a game, there really shouldn’t be much chatter from the sideline during play. That’s actually a sign of bad coaching/joysticking. A really good coach is able to get his points across during training. Specific tactics can be communicated pregame and reinforced/changed with quick chats at half. If there is a serious issue during a game, there may be place for a brief word with a player or two, but otherwise silence is golden. That said, I see nothing wrong with a coach/TD making recruitment materials during a well played game to promote their top teams. It’s actually part of their job, especially for a smaller club with no financial backing from big sponsors, large scale rec program, or a larger entity behind them.

Lol. Pep sucks then.