Anonymous wrote:^^^

Great post, well said

Shucks, I meant that for the longer, mubered post. That was well laid out and had solid points.

^^^

Great post, well said

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

How is Spirit MD running it’s EDP?

While I know that the EDP announcement included Spirit MD, I never heard anything about it from coaches or TD or parents. Further, of the several parents of 2003 girls I know who did not get a DA offer by end of June, they all left the club and took offers with other clubs. I suspect there is not enough to field a Spirit MD EDP team. The website says "VA Only" for the EDP team. Personally I think it is a nice option, but may not exist at Spirit MD. Anyone know better?

I thought only Spirit VA was doing EDP. I don’t think Spirit MD ever planned to do EDP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

How is Spirit MD running it’s EDP?

While I know that the EDP announcement included Spirit MD, I never heard anything about it from coaches or TD or parents. Further, of the several parents of 2003 girls I know who did not get a DA offer by end of June, they all left the club and took offers with other clubs. I suspect there is not enough to field a Spirit MD EDP team. The website says "VA Only" for the EDP team. Personally I think it is a nice option, but may not exist at Spirit MD. Anyone know better?

Interested bystander here with some thoughts on the previous several pages of posts.

I come on here to find out information about other clubs, in order to have a better idea of what different options may be out there for my kids. So I think it's a good thing when someone shares real information, whether they are complaining about something or praising/defending it. I get the criticism that if they really wanted to change things they just contact the coach or admin staff, but I also think some of the things people complain about are things they know they couldn't change anyway. So I appreciate the information, regardless of whether or not there is an agenda behind it (and I don't always think there is).

As far as WS VA,

1) If the roster #s posted were accurate, they don't seem unreasonable to me for a DA, except for the 04s. What was posted was 15 U13s, 20 U14s, 28 U15s and 25 U16/17s. If the solution for the 04s is that many will end up playing on an 03 EDP team, that's probably not a bad thing. For the 05s, 20 on the roster means 2 won't dress every week, or many some will be made DPs (now called PTs I guess). That stinks but is not abnormal for a DA.

2) With regard to roster competition, if all of the players were told from the outset (a) this is where we see you now (DA or EDP), but (b) nothing is set in stone and there will be open competition for spots every week, then I don't think anyone can have any legitimate complaints about it. Some may think it unduly harsh, and/or not the best way to do things for development sake, but others will disagree. Others would say that level of intense competition - always having to fight for your spot with nothing guaranteed - is precisely what has been missing from elite level US Youth Soccer. There can be reasonable differences of opinion on those issues, as well as playing time distribution, play-ups, etc... To me the most important thing is whether they were honest with people from the beginning. The other thing I would be interested in knowing (about any club) is how those decisions are made. What types of players are they selecting and playing, and what types are they dropping or relegating to the bench? Do they really value technical ability and intelligence along with effort and coachability, or do they just play lip service to those things and put the most athletic, fast and "aggressive" players on the field? How do they treat early vs late developers? I will say that one concern that has come up in some posts is the degree of influence parents may have in those decisions.

3) As for the crowed Monday night practice field with 45 minutes of 4 teams on the field (some with rosters of well over 20), I agree with those who have posted that in the end it probably isn't that big of a deal, but I also appreciate those who have shared the information. Logistical factors - including quantity and quality of field space and facilities, player/coach ratio, things like that ... are important in assessing the overall package offered by a club. That being said, it would not be too difficult for the coaches of all 4 teams to find productive activities to do during those 45 minutes that would not take a great deal of space but could still be very intense and technically, mentally and physically demanding. If it was that cramped on a regular basis it would present an issue because there are other things you need to work on that do require more space, but if it's only for 45 min out of 4.5 - 6 hours of practice time a week, and the norm is 2 teams at a time so each time gets 1/2 field, that seems more than fine for me.

What I don't get - but I must admit is slightly fascinating - is the shear volume of vitriol and personal attacks on the girls' threads as compared to the boys threads. Both the girls and boys DA threads here were started around the same time, but the girls thread has 4 times as many posts, and most of them are just people sniping back and forth, and back again, and generally behaving in ways that most normal people would find downright embarrassing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

Unfortunately, it's true. Close to 40 girls between the u15 and u17 team have no idea if they will be DA or EDP

The other thing that concerns me for those EDP girls is that they never practice together as a team. How can they play games together without any team practices?

FCV’s DA DPs who are playing in EDP are training with the DA team and not as a “EDP team” as well. The whole EDP element is not intended to have a EDP team but to keep 03’s training with DA with the anticipation that they rejoin the combined age group the following year when they are older or to rejoin in full in the event that US Soccer Pilots U16 in our division next year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

How is Spirit MD running it’s EDP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

Unfortunately, it's true. Close to 40 girls between the u15 and u17 team have no idea if they will be DA or EDP

The other thing that concerns me for those EDP girls is that they never practice together as a team. How can they play games together without any team practices?

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure if pp is from DA Spirit but wow really awful stuff. The Spirit price is very high and to casually say "oh well you may lose your spot during the year" is horrible esp to young kids. Shame if this is true.

It’s true. One of the coaches to,d her gir,s every week is a competition for the DA roster, and the rest will play EDP (which I didn’t even know that was allowed in the DA but I guessed it is)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

No, it’s totaly true I’m afraid. I wish I could deny it.

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure if pp is from DA Spirit but wow really awful stuff. The Spirit price is very high and to casually say "oh well you may lose your spot during the year" is horrible esp to young kids. Shame if this is true.

Those costs are correct and not the full cost. That is just what is due by July. Another $1500 due on Nov. 1 and between $250-750 winter training, plus coaches' overnight travel costs. So yes $2350 before you know if your daughter really has a DA spot. But it seems the truth is somewhere in between not knowing at all and having a fair idea where you stand based on the clarification above on how offers were given. This seems limited to VA side of Spirit. The MD side does not seem to have this problem (although maybe that shoe has not dropped yet!).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

Trolls are completely in control and have been since early on. If you want real information, go to the website and email the directors. WS VA director is very responsive.

The rest of the garbage in this thread is for entertainment purposes only. I know i break out the popcorn when i start reading.

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure if pp is from DA Spirit but wow really awful stuff. The Spirit price is very high and to casually say "oh well you may lose your spot during the year" is horrible esp to young kids. Shame if this is true.

The DP rules are the same for all DA clubs. If you don’t honestly believe the carrot of playing in 10 games and earning a FT DA spot is not being used at FCV or other clubs you are naive.

I am not sure if pp is from DA Spirit but wow really awful stuff. The Spirit price is very high and to casually say "oh well you may lose your spot during the year" is horrible esp to young kids. Shame if this is true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did FCV tell the U16 players which were EDP and which were DA when offers were given? Were offers given timely so they could decide between FCV EDP
and another club?

No, not particularly. Their options mostly dried up as well. In fact at FCV all you ever hear is "offers have gone out to some kids" but many did not go out until after tryouts elsewhere had passed.

I think the first Spirit MD offers went out in mid-May. Better than other local DAs it would appear.

I don't know how you could live with pay me $500 now (May) then $1850 in July and we will tell you on August 31 if your daughter is playing DA or EDP. Is that really what is going on for U16s in Spirit VA or have the trolls seized control of information flow on this thread?

Spirit made specific DA and specific EDP offers. Spirit also told returning players that nothing is guaranteed. New DA rules allowing more flexible movement between DA and DP would prove this intent. Basically, Spirit was telling players you have this offer now but you will have to compete in order to keep the spot. With the EDP team not yet officially broken out separate from the DA squad Spirit is simply following through on its promise that players will have to fight for their job before and during the season, not just in an ID session. So if you were offered a EDP spot you were also offered a fair opportunity to compete for a DA spot. If you were offered a DA spot you were offered a fair opportunity to keep the DA spot.

When you paid your money you accepted the risk. If you felt your kids DA chances were in doubt you should have looked someplace else as did other families who understood the implication.