Anonymous wrote:My son is a 2010 boy on Achilles. The vibe is definitely intense, but I don't think my son has ever felt slighted for not being one of the very best players. In fact, I get the sense that the coaches love his tenacity and how much he's improved under their guidance. They all know him well and encourage what has been impressive progress. So if your kid really loves the game and is a hard worker, I think Achilles can be a good fit, even if he's not among the best players. At age 8, there's a lot of time for development, so potential and hard work will be acknowledged just as much as pure skill.
Achilles practices in NW at St John's High School, by the way.
That’s what it may seem like but it’s just not reality. Favorites are decided early on and despite good training, opportunities to move up are very limited, especially at the older ages. Even in the younger groups on the top teams, there are kids that sit the bench for entire games despite working hard at practice and showing up, whereas kids that don’t do this or even that play for other clubs, are brought in and get to play for an entire match.