Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had limited exposure just watching boys side play in two different age groups. Both of those teams emphasized a style of play that was all about winning, running as fast as possible, and hoping to just score goals on breakaways and one-on-one. I was underwhelmed by their buildup play or off-the-ball play of the kids. It really was to find the fastest athletes and run them until they pass out. Then substitute and repeat.

This is just my experience watching two age groups. Others may vary.

Yes, that’s why the boys 2006 encl team hasn’t lost a game in more than 2 years.

Anonymous wrote:I've had limited exposure just watching boys side play in two different age groups. Both of those teams emphasized a style of play that was all about winning, running as fast as possible, and hoping to just score goals on breakaways and one-on-one. I was underwhelmed by their buildup play or off-the-ball play of the kids. It really was to find the fastest athletes and run them until they pass out. Then substitute and repeat.

This is just my experience watching two age groups. Others may vary.

Anonymous wrote:No club is perfect. It really comes down to your year and the coach. If you're looking for a top girls team in the Baltimore area, check out Pipeline, Baltimore Armour and Celtic Union. OPSA and Coppermine are worth looking at too if you're not set on ECNL or GA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.

Pipeline plays kids down, not up. For instance, girls on the "A" team will often guest on the "B" or "C" teams in order to win tournaments. Most clubs will ask players from the year below to play up on these "B" and "C" teams as that is what is better for Development. Also what happens is if a team is playing one year up, players from the top team on age will guest with that team even though the team playing a year up may be in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th EDP division.

Cheating, no. Perfectly within the rules. But the choice of trying to win games rather than develop its younger or weaker players shows what a club's priority is. It also shows there are likely many other problems within the club because they choose to do things the wrong way in an ethical matter.

Good Luck.

Well, calling it "guesting" on the lower teams isn't the entire story, but your point is understandable and accurate, but it's a broader "guesting" policy than club-internal. Pipeline tends to bring in external guest players for tournaments that join their teams (particularly at younger levels on their A roster, see Jeff Cup as an example), which pushes some of the regular players down to the B or C teams. This definitely has the result you describe where they're much more competitive than they already are in tournaments across the board. I presume this is a recruiting strategy, a way to get new players to know the team and unofficially try out. I don't know how they handle communication of it, but when we saw them at Jeff Cup the parents seemed to openly talk about it and be fine with it, but I'm making a big assumption there. Personally, I think it's a great plan if you're looking to build a competitive, winning team and extending a tryout period, but it does support what several have said on here that there's a clear focus on winning. I just think there can be a focus on putting the strongest kids togethe and winning while focusing on their development and practicing against the best players you can practice against.

There was one Pipellne boy's team that had a rash of injuries and several players move up to the top team that brought several guest players to Jeff cup. I don’t think this is a typical practice, and the reason parents seemed ok with it was they would not have been able to field a team otherwise for that particular tournament.

Oh, I thought PP was talking about the 2010 Girls who had multiple McLean Guest players at Jefferson Cup. That's a long drive just to play for Pipeline...As a parent at Pipeline, I can tell you that BEST players at the younger ages do in fact play on the 2nd and 3rd teams to get wins. Yes, some players also play up on top teams. No idea about ECNL ages. We are leaving after Spring as our experience has been disappointing. I also know there are many other families across other age groups that are leaving. The girls side is managed completely different than the boys side. It's night and day actually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.

Pipeline plays kids down, not up. For instance, girls on the "A" team will often guest on the "B" or "C" teams in order to win tournaments. Most clubs will ask players from the year below to play up on these "B" and "C" teams as that is what is better for Development. Also what happens is if a team is playing one year up, players from the top team on age will guest with that team even though the team playing a year up may be in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th EDP division.

Cheating, no. Perfectly within the rules. But the choice of trying to win games rather than develop its younger or weaker players shows what a club's priority is. It also shows there are likely many other problems within the club because they choose to do things the wrong way in an ethical matter.

Good Luck.

Well, calling it "guesting" on the lower teams isn't the entire story, but your point is understandable and accurate, but it's a broader "guesting" policy than club-internal. Pipeline tends to bring in external guest players for tournaments that join their teams (particularly at younger levels on their A roster, see Jeff Cup as an example), which pushes some of the regular players down to the B or C teams. This definitely has the result you describe where they're much more competitive than they already are in tournaments across the board. I presume this is a recruiting strategy, a way to get new players to know the team and unofficially try out. I don't know how they handle communication of it, but when we saw them at Jeff Cup the parents seemed to openly talk about it and be fine with it, but I'm making a big assumption there. Personally, I think it's a great plan if you're looking to build a competitive, winning team and extending a tryout period, but it does support what several have said on here that there's a clear focus on winning. I just think there can be a focus on putting the strongest kids togethe and winning while focusing on their development and practicing against the best players you can practice against.

There was one Pipellne boy's team that had a rash of injuries and several players move up to the top team that brought several guest players to Jeff cup. I don’t think this is a typical practice, and the reason parents seemed ok with it was they would not have been able to field a team otherwise for that particular tournament.

Oh, I thought PP was talking about the 2010 Girls who had multiple McLean Guest players at Jefferson Cup. That's a long drive just to play for Pipeline...As a parent at Pipeline, I can tell you that BEST players at the younger ages do in fact play on the 2nd and 3rd teams to get wins. Yes, some players also play up on top teams. No idea about ECNL ages. We are leaving after Spring as our experience has been disappointing. I also know there are many other families across other age groups that are leaving. The girls side is managed completely different than the boys side. It's night and day actually.

I was talking about boy’s side so that might be true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.

Pipeline plays kids down, not up. For instance, girls on the "A" team will often guest on the "B" or "C" teams in order to win tournaments. Most clubs will ask players from the year below to play up on these "B" and "C" teams as that is what is better for Development. Also what happens is if a team is playing one year up, players from the top team on age will guest with that team even though the team playing a year up may be in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th EDP division.

Cheating, no. Perfectly within the rules. But the choice of trying to win games rather than develop its younger or weaker players shows what a club's priority is. It also shows there are likely many other problems within the club because they choose to do things the wrong way in an ethical matter.

Good Luck.

Well, calling it "guesting" on the lower teams isn't the entire story, but your point is understandable and accurate, but it's a broader "guesting" policy than club-internal. Pipeline tends to bring in external guest players for tournaments that join their teams (particularly at younger levels on their A roster, see Jeff Cup as an example), which pushes some of the regular players down to the B or C teams. This definitely has the result you describe where they're much more competitive than they already are in tournaments across the board. I presume this is a recruiting strategy, a way to get new players to know the team and unofficially try out. I don't know how they handle communication of it, but when we saw them at Jeff Cup the parents seemed to openly talk about it and be fine with it, but I'm making a big assumption there. Personally, I think it's a great plan if you're looking to build a competitive, winning team and extending a tryout period, but it does support what several have said on here that there's a clear focus on winning. I just think there can be a focus on putting the strongest kids togethe and winning while focusing on their development and practicing against the best players you can practice against.

There was one Pipellne boy's team that had a rash of injuries and several players move up to the top team that brought several guest players to Jeff cup. I don’t think this is a typical practice, and the reason parents seemed ok with it was they would not have been able to field a team otherwise for that particular tournament.

Oh, I thought PP was talking about the 2010 Girls who had multiple McLean Guest players at Jefferson Cup. That's a long drive just to play for Pipeline...As a parent at Pipeline, I can tell you that BEST players at the younger ages do in fact play on the 2nd and 3rd teams to get wins. Yes, some players also play up on top teams. No idea about ECNL ages. We are leaving after Spring as our experience has been disappointing. I also know there are many other families across other age groups that are leaving. The girls side is managed completely different than the boys side. It's night and day actually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.

Pipeline plays kids down, not up. For instance, girls on the "A" team will often guest on the "B" or "C" teams in order to win tournaments. Most clubs will ask players from the year below to play up on these "B" and "C" teams as that is what is better for Development. Also what happens is if a team is playing one year up, players from the top team on age will guest with that team even though the team playing a year up may be in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th EDP division.

Cheating, no. Perfectly within the rules. But the choice of trying to win games rather than develop its younger or weaker players shows what a club's priority is. It also shows there are likely many other problems within the club because they choose to do things the wrong way in an ethical matter.

Good Luck.

Well, calling it "guesting" on the lower teams isn't the entire story, but your point is understandable and accurate, but it's a broader "guesting" policy than club-internal. Pipeline tends to bring in external guest players for tournaments that join their teams (particularly at younger levels on their A roster, see Jeff Cup as an example), which pushes some of the regular players down to the B or C teams. This definitely has the result you describe where they're much more competitive than they already are in tournaments across the board. I presume this is a recruiting strategy, a way to get new players to know the team and unofficially try out. I don't know how they handle communication of it, but when we saw them at Jeff Cup the parents seemed to openly talk about it and be fine with it, but I'm making a big assumption there. Personally, I think it's a great plan if you're looking to build a competitive, winning team and extending a tryout period, but it does support what several have said on here that there's a clear focus on winning. I just think there can be a focus on putting the strongest kids togethe and winning while focusing on their development and practicing against the best players you can practice against.

There was one Pipellne boy's team that had a rash of injuries and several players move up to the top team that brought several guest players to Jeff cup. I don’t think this is a typical practice, and the reason parents seemed ok with it was they would not have been able to field a team otherwise for that particular tournament.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.

Pipeline plays kids down, not up. For instance, girls on the "A" team will often guest on the "B" or "C" teams in order to win tournaments. Most clubs will ask players from the year below to play up on these "B" and "C" teams as that is what is better for Development. Also what happens is if a team is playing one year up, players from the top team on age will guest with that team even though the team playing a year up may be in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th EDP division.

Cheating, no. Perfectly within the rules. But the choice of trying to win games rather than develop its younger or weaker players shows what a club's priority is. It also shows there are likely many other problems within the club because they choose to do things the wrong way in an ethical matter.

Good Luck.

Well, calling it "guesting" on the lower teams isn't the entire story, but your point is understandable and accurate, but it's a broader "guesting" policy than club-internal. Pipeline tends to bring in external guest players for tournaments that join their teams (particularly at younger levels on their A roster, see Jeff Cup as an example), which pushes some of the regular players down to the B or C teams. This definitely has the result you describe where they're much more competitive than they already are in tournaments across the board. I presume this is a recruiting strategy, a way to get new players to know the team and unofficially try out. I don't know how they handle communication of it, but when we saw them at Jeff Cup the parents seemed to openly talk about it and be fine with it, but I'm making a big assumption there. Personally, I think it's a great plan if you're looking to build a competitive, winning team and extending a tryout period, but it does support what several have said on here that there's a clear focus on winning. I just think there can be a focus on putting the strongest kids togethe and winning while focusing on their development and practicing against the best players you can practice against.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.

Pipeline plays kids down, not up. For instance, girls on the "A" team will often guest on the "B" or "C" teams in order to win tournaments. Most clubs will ask players from the year below to play up on these "B" and "C" teams as that is what is better for Development. Also what happens is if a team is playing one year up, players from the top team on age will guest with that team even though the team playing a year up may be in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th EDP division.

Cheating, no. Perfectly within the rules. But the choice of trying to win games rather than develop its younger or weaker players shows what a club's priority is. It also shows there are likely many other problems within the club because they choose to do things the wrong way in an ethical matter.

Good Luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.

Pipeline plays kids down, not up. For instance, girls on the "A" team will often guest on the "B" or "C" teams in order to win tournaments. Most clubs will ask players from the year below to play up on these "B" and "C" teams as that is what is better for Development. Also what happens is if a team is playing one year up, players from the top team on age will guest with that team even though the team playing a year up may be in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th EDP division.

Cheating, no. Perfectly within the rules. But the choice of trying to win games rather than develop its younger or weaker players shows what a club's priority is. It also shows there are likely many other problems within the club because they choose to do things the wrong way in an ethical matter.

Good Luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son has been with pipeline for many years - U12 and above. As a PP said, the opinions are polarizing, as are mine. Our experience is that the coaches are good, they are organized and put money into the teams/training. He has also played on other Baltimore based teams and comparatively, they are good.

The bad - they are about stats. They want to win and only win. We have been told by our son's coach that he is out if he doesn't show results. We also see rolling tryouts which means that you sign a contract, your kid shows up and plays but your child's spot can be taken at any minute if a kid from another club decides to go to pipeline mid-season. They won't be kicked off the team but will be benched permanently. We have seen it happen to kids that were good (and someone excellent came along) and kids who weren't so good but needed a little extra help. Therefore, you have to question if the club is there to develop your child or just replace or if it is a money grab. They also, like many other clubs, have taken on full teams from other groups. While this is great at times, it also can push down an existing team which we have also seen happen.

If you have a child who has an interest in being a keeper, you are on your own. They have keeper training but it is a waste. You will be expected to have private training in addition to the standard practices.

They don't have their own fields so you are jockeying for space which can get old. The fields they do use are turf and nice. The indoor training space is a joke and about the size of a big living room.

The parents all seem reasonable although we have had some backstabbing in our team. I haven't heard the crazy parent rumors that others have said.

All in all - if you are looking for a club that will win and you and your kid have tough skin, go for it. If you are looking for a club that will work through issues with your kid and foster development and growth, I am not sure pipeline is the club for you.

Thank you for these comments. I think this is helpful. Yes, no club is perfect and this will be part of the conversation we have with our children. I just want them to go to a team/organization where they will be happy, get challenged to progress, and hopefully continue to develop. Pipeline seems like a pretty good place to do that, but I was curious about other people's experiences. Thanks again!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do they do the same BS as most higher level clubs trying to recruit kids/teams and win tournaments by playing a kid "down" who was playing up a year?

How is it BS to play a kid at age level to try and have the team/club win a medal? Clubs let parents know kids may play up or get sent down either in age or within the stratified pool. I don’t see that as a BS move. The talent levels are so strong all around I think more kids should play on age level for tournaments/the most important competitions.

I agree that this is not cheating. What is BS is parents who complain about this because their little Johnny lost the tournament. However the reason to play a kid up a year is because it is good for that kid's development. The reason to play them back down a year for a specific tournament is because it is good for the club. This is an example of a club putting its own interest ahead of the kid's. But it is a pretty mild example when compared to clubs that, for example, roster too many players or refuse to allow kids to tryout at other teams, or refuse to return the kid's player card. And I'm guessing the kid often doesn't mind - they probably quite enjoy occasionally playing with their old teammates and winning things.