Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

*bar isn't very high.

Unlike outdoor soccer which has 100s of programs.

My kids play on another futsal team and from what I've seen, it is not some superior skill of the players. It is the fact they are some of the only teams having dedicated weekly practices and learning set plays. They also had a tendency to run picks. Their iq of futsal on a team of kids that all are coached exactly where to go is higher than most untrained kids, but it's not that they are the best skilled players. Of course, they can beat all of these teams that just throw a bunch of kids that never played futsal together and don't have futsal practice. I think this is what many of the pps are talking about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

*bar isn't very high.

Unlike outdoor soccer which has 100s of programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anyone have experiencing signing up for the Alexandria futsal league as an individual? Our club isn't doing futsal this year so I wanted to find something for my DS to participate in.


My son did it once. It was ok. The problem was that he was put on a "free agent" team where most of the other players were on the same travel soccer team, but he was not. He felt a little uncomfortable, even though no one was mean or rude to him.


My kids have done it and enjoyed it, but my one son was put on teams so far below his level it was ridiculous we finally stopped doing it as a free agent.


Same. Ball skill wasn't the top priority for many of the selections. It's the usual--who you know, what team you are currently on, how much dad kisses *ss (like constantly on the sidelines and nose up *ss every practice/game).

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.

Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

Futsal is not very big in this area. Very few dedicated futsal teams or futsal programs. The bar isn't very hard for becoming a 'champion team' in Futsal in the DMV. Most teams are a bunch of outdoor players that just play Futsal for fun in the off-season.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

New poster that just read your reply. Is your kid and those on his team on a white team for outdoor?

No. Again, I'm not upset about him not getting picked, or the fact that invitations seem to be extended by outdoor team. All of that is ok. I just think it is better to be more direct about it, so that the kids don't have anxiety about a tryout that doesn't seem to mean anything.

what leads you to believe the tryout doesnt mean anything. I dont mean to offend you but if you kid is already on a white team they go into a Futsal ID tryout knowing they are at a disadvantage right away. They are not even skilled enough at this point in time to make an outdoor Red team roster of 18,19 or more. Trying out for a Futsal ID team where a roster size is generally 9 seems like an incredible stretch. Encouraging the kid is the right choice but managing their expectation is just as important. Again you are trying to break into a roster that is half the size of an outdoor team with the top outdoor RED team players grabbing the spots as well they should.
The club has teams other than Futsal ID that offer the same sport at a skill level more appropriate for a kid that is not at the ID level.

As for the tryout not meaning anything, my kids team saw outside players come in and try out. The team was selected from the best of the lot regardless.

Clarification: The best of the lot that actually got a chance to be put on the red id field.

Anonymous wrote:

New poster that just read your reply. Is your kid and those on his team on a white team for outdoor?


No. Again, I'm not upset about him not getting picked, or the fact that invitations seem to be extended by outdoor team. All of that is ok. I just think it is better to be more direct about it, so that the kids don't have anxiety about a tryout that doesn't seem to mean anything.

what leads you to believe the tryout doesnt mean anything. I dont mean to offend you but if you kid is already on a white team they go into a Futsal ID tryout knowing they are at a disadvantage right away. They are not even skilled enough at this point in time to make an outdoor Red team roster of 18,19 or more. Trying out for a Futsal ID team where a roster size is generally 9 seems like an incredible stretch. Encouraging the kid is the right choice but managing their expectation is just as important. Again you are trying to break into a roster that is half the size of an outdoor team with the top outdoor RED team players grabbing the spots as well they should.
The club has teams other than Futsal ID that offer the same sport at a skill level more appropriate for a kid that is not at the ID level.

As for the tryout not meaning anything, my kids team saw outside players come in and try out. The team was selected from the best of the lot regardless.

I have no idea what you are talking about. I have no aspiration for him to be on the red futsal ID team. You seem unhinged.

I watched tryouts. There were teams filled with players from outside of the red team that beat the red team in every scrimmage that was had in tryouts...and in some cases by a huge degree. So, yeah, some of this is just untrue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

New poster that just read your reply. Is your kid and those on his team on a white team for outdoor?

No. Again, I'm not upset about him not getting picked, or the fact that invitations seem to be extended by outdoor team. All of that is ok. I just think it is better to be more direct about it, so that the kids don't have anxiety about a tryout that doesn't seem to mean anything.

what leads you to believe the tryout doesnt mean anything. I dont mean to offend you but if you kid is already on a white team they go into a Futsal ID tryout knowing they are at a disadvantage right away. They are not even skilled enough at this point in time to make an outdoor Red team roster of 18,19 or more. Trying out for a Futsal ID team where a roster size is generally 9 seems like an incredible stretch. Encouraging the kid is the right choice but managing their expectation is just as important. Again you are trying to break into a roster that is half the size of an outdoor team with the top outdoor RED team players grabbing the spots as well they should.
The club has teams other than Futsal ID that offer the same sport at a skill level more appropriate for a kid that is not at the ID level.

As for the tryout not meaning anything, my kids team saw outside players come in and try out. The team was selected from the best of the lot regardless.

not so sure about this. I watched some futsal practices this week and there were clearly 1 or 2 kids heads and shoulders above in skill and iq from the rest of the team on those fields. i think there are always players that fall through the cracks. And the idea there aren't more skilled players on some of the white teams is patently false. some of the red team players have size but do not out skill some of the white team players. this reveals itself as they continue to age.

Anonymous wrote:Heard Arlington has a team or two playing unaffiliated since they are not participating in futsal this year. Teams will be coached by parents.

Cool

Heard Arlington has a team or two playing unaffiliated since they are not participating in futsal this year. Teams will be coached by parents.

Hopefully next year when things get back to normal, they can increase the number of ID teams. There's a tough snowball effect that kicks in as you go down in colors because each color futsal team is approximately one-half size of the corresponding outdoor team. For example, there are probably 12 kids or so from the red/white outdoor teams competing for spots on the Blue futsal ID team. Have you looked into registering your own team and perhaps requesting your own ASA coach? Last season, I saw some pretty competitive teams that did that.

Anonymous wrote:

New poster that just read your reply. Is your kid and those on his team on a white team for outdoor?

No. Again, I'm not upset about him not getting picked, or the fact that invitations seem to be extended by outdoor team. All of that is ok. I just think it is better to be more direct about it, so that the kids don't have anxiety about a tryout that doesn't seem to mean anything.

what leads you to believe the tryout doesnt mean anything. I dont mean to offend you but if you kid is already on a white team they go into a Futsal ID tryout knowing they are at a disadvantage right away. They are not even skilled enough at this point in time to make an outdoor Red team roster of 18,19 or more. Trying out for a Futsal ID team where a roster size is generally 9 seems like an incredible stretch. Encouraging the kid is the right choice but managing their expectation is just as important. Again you are trying to break into a roster that is half the size of an outdoor team with the top outdoor RED team players grabbing the spots as well they should.
The club has teams other than Futsal ID that offer the same sport at a skill level more appropriate for a kid that is not at the ID level.

As for the tryout not meaning anything, my kids team saw outside players come in and try out. The team was selected from the best of the lot regardless.

From what I can tell the best players are who's chosen. It's no surprise that those players are mostly ones from the "red" team. Depending on how many teams you have in your age group that can mean the lower teams not having much a chance to make it, but that is not due to anything but talent.

New poster that just read your reply. Is your kid and those on his team on a white team for outdoor?

No. Again, I'm not upset about him not getting picked, or the fact that invitations seem to be extended by outdoor team. All of that is ok. I just think it is better to be more direct about it, so that the kids don't have anxiety about a tryout that doesn't seem to mean anything.

New poster that just read your reply. Is your kid and those on his team on a white team for outdoor?

I don't think that is exactly accurate. I 100 percent agree that selection was deterimined by what soccer team people are currently on, but I've seen no evidence that the rest factors in at all. Frankly, I think it would be better if selection was just deterimined by sending out invites due to current teams (or tryouts for outside players only), rather than putting the other kids through a "tryout" that doesn't really determine anything.


Translation: "Whatever makes you feel better." The coaches are often different between futsal and outdoor, and the performance expectations for the top teams in futsal are significantly higher than outdoor. There is not room for favorites and there is no evidence of it in four years of watching how it works.

I'm not sure what you mean. No one on my son's team even got a look. But actually, I don't have an issue with a decision to only take players from higher level teams. I don't view that as "favoritism." Just be direct about it. If that position makes you angry, too bad.