Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

Yeah, DC knows. Realistic about the low odds but hoping maybe some of the most wanted players go elsewhere due to having better options, or maybe get to be a development player or whatever they call it. DC says they want to play at that level but doesn’t always want to put in the work outside of practice. Maybe the tryout will be a good wake up call and motivator. Or they will decide they’re happy where they are which is fine too.

If your DC doesn’t “want to put in work outside of practice”, that’s a whole separate issue of its own. When players make it onto a top team, they should feel obligated to stay on the level of the better players to be able to contribute to the team effort.
Not trying to accuse your child (since I don’t know who you are), but I’ve seen this many times. Some players, and much worse, their parents, seem content when they make it onto a top team. The better players are constantly putting in extra work and they continue growing through the season. If those players content with just making the team do not put in extra work, the team doesn’t improve as a system. Those content players are keeping the rest of the team down.

I agree with this. The players who are truly committed are the ones putting in extra work, and that effort shows as the season goes on. When others are satisfied just making the roster and don’t push themselves, it holds back the overall development of the team. A system can only grow if everyone is moving forward, not just a few. A big part of the problem is that some parents put their kids in situations they aren’t ready for. They’re convinced their DD/DS belongs on the top team, even when the work ethic or skill level isn’t there yet. That kind of misplaced expectation doesn’t help the player, and it definitely doesn’t help the team dynamic

And then scream foul when an outside player bumps then down.

The thing is once your u13 and up the difference between the 6 VA clubs doing ECNL and MLS next hg is negligible for the kids future potential at playing college (or pro).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

Yeah, DC knows. Realistic about the low odds but hoping maybe some of the most wanted players go elsewhere due to having better options, or maybe get to be a development player or whatever they call it. DC says they want to play at that level but doesn’t always want to put in the work outside of practice. Maybe the tryout will be a good wake up call and motivator. Or they will decide they’re happy where they are which is fine too.

If your DC doesn’t “want to put in work outside of practice”, that’s a whole separate issue of its own. When players make it onto a top team, they should feel obligated to stay on the level of the better players to be able to contribute to the team effort.
Not trying to accuse your child (since I don’t know who you are), but I’ve seen this many times. Some players, and much worse, their parents, seem content when they make it onto a top team. The better players are constantly putting in extra work and they continue growing through the season. If those players content with just making the team do not put in extra work, the team doesn’t improve as a system. Those content players are keeping the rest of the team down.

DC works hard at practice and does some outside group training, but I don’t see them living and breathing soccer like some kids apparently do. You know the ones with the parent run IG accounts where the kid is always in the basement working on their own or with private trainers. Mine would rather play neighbor kids after school than work on soccer skills by themselves. And I think that’s ok for a child who is still in elementary school, even if it means they don’t play at the highest level. They have to want it for themselves and I think it’s partly a maturity thing for them to realize they can’t expect a certain result without a lot of hard work. I was an elite athlete myself but I was not “grinding” at age 11, that came later. We are professionalizing youth sports and using language with young kids that used to be for teens and older. But that’s a different topic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

Yeah, DC knows. Realistic about the low odds but hoping maybe some of the most wanted players go elsewhere due to having better options, or maybe get to be a development player or whatever they call it. DC says they want to play at that level but doesn’t always want to put in the work outside of practice. Maybe the tryout will be a good wake up call and motivator. Or they will decide they’re happy where they are which is fine too.

If your DC doesn’t “want to put in work outside of practice”, that’s a whole separate issue of its own. When players make it onto a top team, they should feel obligated to stay on the level of the better players to be able to contribute to the team effort.
Not trying to accuse your child (since I don’t know who you are), but I’ve seen this many times. Some players, and much worse, their parents, seem content when they make it onto a top team. The better players are constantly putting in extra work and they continue growing through the season. If those players content with just making the team do not put in extra work, the team doesn’t improve as a system. Those content players are keeping the rest of the team down.

I agree with this. The players who are truly committed are the ones putting in extra work, and that effort shows as the season goes on. When others are satisfied just making the roster and don’t push themselves, it holds back the overall development of the team. A system can only grow if everyone is moving forward, not just a few. A big part of the problem is that some parents put their kids in situations they aren’t ready for. They’re convinced their DD/DS belongs on the top team, even when the work ethic or skill level isn’t there yet. That kind of misplaced expectation doesn’t help the player, and it definitely doesn’t help the team dynamic

Agreed.
If the player makes the team, the coach saw potential. But if that player doesn’t put in extra work, it was unfulfilled potential. Extra work is how kids reach their potential.
What bothers me more is that it is usually the parents who are just content with their DC making a top team but don’t have their kids put in the extra work are the same parents who get angry that their DC doesn’t get the same playing time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have had a lot of kids doing informal ID practices over the last few weeks. If there is a not a link, just email the club and ask who you should reach out to to join a practice.

What if there is no ECNL team yet because it forms at U13?

then it is business as usual????

I mean how does asking to attend a practice work for that age. The team has yet to be formed with kids from the partner clubs and whoever else. Like VDA as opposed to Arlington for example.

I assume you’re asking about VDA or FVU. I suggest just email their admin. Their email addresses are provided in their website specifically on their ID Session pages.

VDA
https://www.vdasoccer.org/idsessions

FVU
https://www.fvaunion.org/id-sessions

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

Yeah, DC knows. Realistic about the low odds but hoping maybe some of the most wanted players go elsewhere due to having better options, or maybe get to be a development player or whatever they call it. DC says they want to play at that level but doesn’t always want to put in the work outside of practice. Maybe the tryout will be a good wake up call and motivator. Or they will decide they’re happy where they are which is fine too.

If your DC doesn’t “want to put in work outside of practice”, that’s a whole separate issue of its own. When players make it onto a top team, they should feel obligated to stay on the level of the better players to be able to contribute to the team effort.
Not trying to accuse your child (since I don’t know who you are), but I’ve seen this many times. Some players, and much worse, their parents, seem content when they make it onto a top team. The better players are constantly putting in extra work and they continue growing through the season. If those players content with just making the team do not put in extra work, the team doesn’t improve as a system. Those content players are keeping the rest of the team down.

I agree with this. The players who are truly committed are the ones putting in extra work, and that effort shows as the season goes on. When others are satisfied just making the roster and don’t push themselves, it holds back the overall development of the team. A system can only grow if everyone is moving forward, not just a few. A big part of the problem is that some parents put their kids in situations they aren’t ready for. They’re convinced their DD/DS belongs on the top team, even when the work ethic or skill level isn’t there yet. That kind of misplaced expectation doesn’t help the player, and it definitely doesn’t help the team dynamic

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

Yeah, DC knows. Realistic about the low odds but hoping maybe some of the most wanted players go elsewhere due to having better options, or maybe get to be a development player or whatever they call it. DC says they want to play at that level but doesn’t always want to put in the work outside of practice. Maybe the tryout will be a good wake up call and motivator. Or they will decide they’re happy where they are which is fine too.

If your DC doesn’t “want to put in work outside of practice”, that’s a whole separate issue of its own. When players make it onto a top team, they should feel obligated to stay on the level of the better players to be able to contribute to the team effort.
Not trying to accuse your child (since I don’t know who you are), but I’ve seen this many times. Some players, and much worse, their parents, seem content when they make it onto a top team. The better players are constantly putting in extra work and they continue growing through the season. If those players content with just making the team do not put in extra work, the team doesn’t improve as a system. Those content players are keeping the rest of the team down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have had a lot of kids doing informal ID practices over the last few weeks. If there is a not a link, just email the club and ask who you should reach out to to join a practice.

What if there is no ECNL team yet because it forms at U13?

then it is business as usual????

I mean how does asking to attend a practice work for that age. The team has yet to be formed with kids from the partner clubs and whoever else. Like VDA as opposed to Arlington for example.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

What sucks is they almost certainly would been invited to go if they had stayed with old club. But they wanted to leave. I am skeptical they would’ve risen to the top of the heap anyway, but now a total unknown. Hindsight is 20/20.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have had a lot of kids doing informal ID practices over the last few weeks. If there is a not a link, just email the club and ask who you should reach out to to join a practice.

What if there is no ECNL team yet because it forms at U13?

then it is business as usual????

Anonymous wrote:We have had a lot of kids doing informal ID practices over the last few weeks. If there is a not a link, just email the club and ask who you should reach out to to join a practice.

What if there is no ECNL team yet because it forms at U13?

We have had a lot of kids doing informal ID practices over the last few weeks. If there is a not a link, just email the club and ask who you should reach out to to join a practice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

DP
Take your child to the tryout. The worse that can happen is they don’t get selected. The best that can happen is they do get selected. Everything in between is whether you are a “glass is half full/half empty” person.
If you don’t go, your child definitely doesn’t make the team.

I don’t understand why people on this site feel like they have to discourage others.

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

Are the coach emails on the website? Do you have film of your player? Maybe send them a note expressing interest with a link.

Maybe your chances aren’t fantastic, but it’s a heck of a lot better if you can negotiate an invite now vs just showing up to tryouts when they have the official dog and pony show.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a U12 at an FVU feeder and we haven’t received anything about tryouts. I know some players have been invited to ID sessions and scrimmages. I would think a link on their website would be operational if they are saying registration is open. I don’t have high hopes for my child making it because I think they mostly know who they want by now. But they aren’t so far off that it’s not worth trying out and a good experience either way.

It's definitely good to go for experience but if you weren't invited to go to their winter ID sessions then your chances of making the team are slim to none.

Yeah, DC knows. Realistic about the low odds but hoping maybe some of the most wanted players go elsewhere due to having better options, or maybe get to be a development player or whatever they call it. DC says they want to play at that level but doesn’t always want to put in the work outside of practice. Maybe the tryout will be a good wake up call and motivator. Or they will decide they’re happy where they are which is fine too.