novasoccer15324 wrote:

soccer_dc wrote:

novasoccer15324 wrote:The higher the socio-economic demographic is, the worse the boys teams get and the better the girls teams get.

The lower the socio-economic demographic is, the better the boys teams get and the worse the girls teams get.

This is why the girls are doing OK and the boys aren't.

That's an interesting take and seems at first glance to have some merit. What would you speculate as possible reasons for this difference?

Boys in families and neighborhoods of mid- to lower socioeconomic standing tend to come from multi-ethnic / multicultural households where soccer is part of their culture and accepted as a lifestyle or a way to spend a lot of free time... built-in peer group to play with constantly, family members, friends, neighbors, and community members who encourage it, local men's league games at the park all the time... as an example, there may be a low income housing set-aside area right next to a turf field, which is constantly filled with teens/kids playing constantly with adults who also live in the community. Thomas Jefferson Middle School (TJMS) in Arlington is a perfect example of this. These kids generally know their options as they get older and graduate high school, the path and the options are fairly straightforward and not that complicated. These kids do not need to spend time with extra academics, tutoring, test prep, and extensive college visits. Many will graduate, maybe go to community college or vocational school, or just start working as teens and continue in the same careers and just keep playing soccer in adult leagues on the weekends and enjoy life working for a small business in the local community or a family business of someone they know.

Boys in families of higher-mid or high income areas are busy being multi-sport athletes to hang out with their friends, watching their favorite NCAA college basketball teams, NFL, NBA, playing different sports in different seasons, summer internships, taking a language class, meeting with guidance counselors, taking SAT prep classes, checking off boxes of extracurricular activities, and checking off all the boxes needed to apply to competitive colleges in VA, DC, or elsewhere. Spending all summer playing Futbol on a turf field somewhere in Arlington is not something that adds to your college application unfortunately. So, how did you enrich yourself this summer? Uhhh... I played soccer the whole summer with random people.... that's not gonna happen. Unless its the rare player whose obsessive parent signed them up for every single HP Elite clinic ever offered and has an individual trainer for their kid 2-3x a week. I'm sure there are a few kids like that in the area.


So which kid do you think is going to end up a better soccer player, hmmmm

novasoccer15324 wrote:

soccer_dc wrote:

novasoccer15324 wrote:The higher the socio-economic demographic is, the worse the boys teams get and the better the girls teams get.

The lower the socio-economic demographic is, the better the boys teams get and the worse the girls teams get.

This is why the girls are doing OK and the boys aren't.

That's an interesting take and seems at first glance to have some merit. What would you speculate as possible reasons for this difference?

Boys in families and neighborhoods of mid- to lower socioeconomic standing tend to come from multi-ethnic / multicultural households where soccer is part of their culture and accepted as a lifestyle or a way to spend a lot of free time... built-in peer group to play with constantly, family members, friends, neighbors, and community members who encourage it, local men's league games at the park all the time... as an example, there may be a low income housing set-aside area right next to a turf field, which is constantly filled with teens/kids playing constantly with adults who also live in the community. Thomas Jefferson Middle School (TJMS) in Arlington is a perfect example of this. These kids generally know their options as they get older and graduate high school, the path and the options are fairly straightforward and not that complicated. These kids do not need to spend time with extra academics, tutoring, test prep, and extensive college visits. Many will graduate, maybe go to community college or vocational school, or just start working as teens and continue in the same careers and just keep playing soccer in adult leagues on the weekends and enjoy life working for a small business in the local community or a family business of someone they know.

Boys in families of higher-mid or high income areas are busy being multi-sport athletes to hang out with their friends, watching their favorite NCAA college basketball teams, NFL, NBA, playing different sports in different seasons, summer internships, taking a language class, meeting with guidance counselors, taking SAT prep classes, checking off boxes of extracurricular activities, and checking off all the boxes needed to apply to competitive colleges in VA, DC, or elsewhere. Spending all summer playing Futbol on a turf field somewhere in Arlington is not something that adds to your college application unfortunately. So, how did you enrich yourself this summer? Uhhh... I played soccer the whole summer with random people.... that's not gonna happen. Unless its the rare player whose obsessive parent signed them up for every single HP Elite clinic ever offered and has an individual trainer for their kid 2-3x a week. I'm sure there are a few kids like that in the area.


So which kid do you think is going to end up a better soccer player, hmmmm

soccer_dc wrote:

novasoccer15324 wrote:The higher the socio-economic demographic is, the worse the boys teams get and the better the girls teams get.

The lower the socio-economic demographic is, the better the boys teams get and the worse the girls teams get.

This is why the girls are doing OK and the boys aren't.

That's an interesting take and seems at first glance to have some merit. What would you speculate as possible reasons for this difference?

elcsoccer wrote:We heard this was coming a few weeks ago but is now official:

Dear VIVA families,

Villarreal Virginia Academy and BRYC Elite Academy are excited to announce an Alliance to strengthen their program in the Virginia ECNL Regional League operated by VPSL.

"The Alliance will increase the competitiveness and development for both clubs' players and technical staff", stated Carlos Aranda Villarreal's Technical Director.

This Alliance will field ECNL teams in the U11-U19 age groups across both genders beginning in the 2023-2024 season. VIVA will serve as the foundation on the BOYS’ side, while BRYC will serve as the foundation on the GIRLS’ side. Both clubs will continue to field teams in all age groups in alternative leagues such as EDP, NCSL, as they collaborate on the ECNL- regional league pathway.


"This Alliance will support both clubs ability to continue its commitment to player development and to build sustainable player and competition pathways (i.e., ECNL via Fairfax BRAVE, ECNL RL, or non-regional leagues like NCSL)," stated Bo Amato, Villarreal's Executive Director.

scrswm wrote:Fairfax BRAVE was an alliance between Vienna and Bryc right? They squeezing a third club to partner with for Ecnl rl? How many RL teams will there be between viva, bryc and Vienna?

Bestdaysyet wrote:Viva is one of more sketchy clubs in the area, they repeatedly bring in kids from SYC and other clubs to "guest" play leaving the rostered kids on the bench. You will never play the same Viva team twice. ENCL will check rosters every game so that will be interesting.

elcsoccer wrote:We heard this was coming a few weeks ago but is now official:

Dear VIVA families,

Villarreal Virginia Academy and BRYC Elite Academy are excited to announce an Alliance to strengthen their program in the Virginia ECNL Regional League operated by VPSL.

"The Alliance will increase the competitiveness and development for both clubs' players and technical staff", stated Carlos Aranda Villarreal's Technical Director.

This Alliance will field ECNL teams in the U11-U19 age groups across both genders beginning in the 2023-2024 season. VIVA will serve as the foundation on the BOYS’ side, while BRYC will serve as the foundation on the GIRLS’ side. Both clubs will continue to field teams in all age groups in alternative leagues such as EDP, NCSL, as they collaborate on the ECNL- regional league pathway.


"This Alliance will support both clubs ability to continue its commitment to player development and to build sustainable player and competition pathways (i.e., ECNL via Fairfax BRAVE, ECNL RL, or non-regional leagues like NCSL)," stated Bo Amato, Villarreal's Executive Director.