DS loves futsal and played for Alexandria in the past. We were left frustrated by the lack of training facilities last season. They were either packed into a tiny elementary school gym or outside on a makeshift futsal court/turf. Haven't heard anything yet on what they plan to offer this year and would be reluctant to sign up without confirmation on what specifically they are offering.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the best futsal clubs in the area? We are club agnostic and just trying to understand the timing of try outs and the seasons (from my looking around, it looks like it is a "winter" sport. What kind of players do well in Futsal?

Avoid it. Overrated and injury prone sport.

Too funny! No skills obviously lol

Isn’t futsy just for winter touches… or is there a post youth pathway?

It does stink for the non-Alexandria players who have done futsal with Alexandria for years but the St James is a great option.

I'm not going to lie, I am mad at the St. James. On two occasions, my son has been offered spots on teams there, only to be notified literally days before a season was supposed to start that they couldn't have the team after all because they did not have enough players (once for futsal, once for Super Y). Their coaching seems good, but unless they can be more upfront with families going forward, would not consider again.

Op here, so do is there an actual opportunity for an out of club girl to play on a higher level team for alexandria or are they beholden to their outdoor travel players?


My personal view is that there will be no non-Alexandria players on the top 2-3 teams unless the turnout from their current rosters is bad. This could happen because kids had bad experiences last year

I can only speak to the boys' side. Teammates of my son's from Arlington's red team got offers, but they really just went to the tryouts to have fun, and did not accept them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the Metro coaches meddled in the teams and offered spots to girls who did not even try out. Then those girls did not show up to practice or games. Alexandria administration definitely messed up but they are trying to fix it this year. But, girls who have played for years but don't play for Alexandria travel are going to lose out. However, there are other options.

Interesting. The new guidance seems to say that all ID participants from last season (inside/outside club) are guaranteed a spot, just not on a particular team (red/white/blue...). https://alexandria-soccer.org/academy-futsal-2023-24/

I'm thinking reasonably effective players (including attending most of the practices) last year from outside the club (or from inside for that matter) can expect to be placed back onto their old ID team or plus or minus one level at most, no?

I don't actually think they are going to give priority to non-Alexandria players- no matter how long they have played futsal. I can't imagine girls are going to be like- sure I will take the 4th team slot so I can play bad futsal. They will go other places.

Op here, so do is there an actual opportunity for an out of club girl to play on a higher level team for alexandria or are they beholden to their outdoor travel players?

My personal view is that there will be no non-Alexandria players on the top 2-3 teams unless the turnout from their current rosters is bad. This could happen because kids had bad experiences last year

If your non-Alexandria kid is good enough to make the top futsal team, then they will make the top futsal team. Period.

This. We’ve been there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the Metro coaches meddled in the teams and offered spots to girls who did not even try out. Then those girls did not show up to practice or games. Alexandria administration definitely messed up but they are trying to fix it this year. But, girls who have played for years but don't play for Alexandria travel are going to lose out. However, there are other options.

Interesting. The new guidance seems to say that all ID participants from last season (inside/outside club) are guaranteed a spot, just not on a particular team (red/white/blue...). https://alexandria-soccer.org/academy-futsal-2023-24/

I'm thinking reasonably effective players (including attending most of the practices) last year from outside the club (or from inside for that matter) can expect to be placed back onto their old ID team or plus or minus one level at most, no?

I don't actually think they are going to give priority to non-Alexandria players- no matter how long they have played futsal. I can't imagine girls are going to be like- sure I will take the 4th team slot so I can play bad futsal. They will go other places.

Op here, so do is there an actual opportunity for an out of club girl to play on a higher level team for alexandria or are they beholden to their outdoor travel players?

My personal view is that there will be no non-Alexandria players on the top 2-3 teams unless the turnout from their current rosters is bad. This could happen because kids had bad experiences last year

If your non-Alexandria kid is good enough to make the top futsal team, then they will make the top futsal team. Period.

Anonymous wrote:Intensity is all hype and marketing. The teams really deteriorate once they hit u13.

Multiple national championships and usually the favorite to win any tournament they enter. But go on.

My kids tried out on Futsal courts and played actual Futsal when being evaluated at three year round Futsal club.

I always found it odd Alexandria just watched them at outdoor practices. I know it’s because it’s too big to be able to do the former. And, I see it more as a way to keep their own players getting touches over the winter than actual futsal.

Anonymous wrote:your first point is false- at least for the girls side. One age group- the top team roster of 10, only had 3 current ASA players. There were previous ASA top players and several outside.

Yeah I was referring to boys’ soccer/futsal. No idea how things look on the girls side.

your first point is false- at least for the girls side. One age group- the top team roster of 10, only had 3 current ASA players. There were previous ASA top players and several outside.

Anonymous wrote:Alexandria is basically blurring the line between soccer and futsal. This is a mistake. A good soccer player does not make a good futsal player and vice versa. They aren't even bothering trying kids out by watching them play futsal. They are simply observing them playing soccer and assigning them a futsal team. Basically, they've given up on futsal and are using the program to rake in more money in the winter months. Sad.

I think you are overstating several things.

First, ASA’s top futsal teams—which are very competitive—have typically been made up mostly of ASA’s top team soccer players. That’s not going to be a big change.

Second, for non-soccer player (or more realistically soccer players from clubs other than ASA), they can sign up and “will be invited to attend an Academy practice session for evaluation by the coaching staff from August 21st-October 1st. An additional ID/tryout day will be hosted in mid-October for external players if needed.” So there is a pathway to playing ASA futsal even if you’re not an ASA soccer player.

Third, I while I think it’s true that not every type of good soccer player makes a good futsal player (ie, for futsal there’s greater need for technical skills and finishing, less for size and raw speed) there is clearly substantial overlap and soccer; futsal coaches can reasonably identify futsal-relevant skill levels during soccer drills and observation of soccer sessions.

Will the season-long observation of Alexandria soccer players give them a leg up for making a futsal team? Probably a little bit, yeah. Given that nearly all kids who play futsal also play soccer, I don’t see that as unreasonable. It’s been stated many times how much futsal helps develop and improve soccer skills. If there’s a slight advantage for Alexandria soccer players when it comes to Alexandria’s futsal teams, that seems to me not unreasonable and just something that naturally comes with being part of a club.

Instead of griping about Alexandria, non-ASA soccer players can lobby their soccer clubs to also initiate a futsal program.

Anonymous wrote:Alexandria is basically blurring the line between soccer and futsal. This is a mistake. A good soccer player does not make a good futsal player and vice versa. They aren't even bothering trying kids out by watching them play futsal. They are simply observing them playing soccer and assigning them a futsal team. Basically, they've given up on futsal and are using the program to rake in more money in the winter months. Sad.

100%!!!

It’s been my beef with their program for awhile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the Metro coaches meddled in the teams and offered spots to girls who did not even try out. Then those girls did not show up to practice or games. Alexandria administration definitely messed up but they are trying to fix it this year. But, girls who have played for years but don't play for Alexandria travel are going to lose out. However, there are other options.

Interesting. The new guidance seems to say that all ID participants from last season (inside/outside club) are guaranteed a spot, just not on a particular team (red/white/blue...). https://alexandria-soccer.org/academy-futsal-2023-24/

I'm thinking reasonably effective players (including attending most of the practices) last year from outside the club (or from inside for that matter) can expect to be placed back onto their old ID team or plus or minus one level at most, no?

I don't actually think they are going to give priority to non-Alexandria players- no matter how long they have played futsal. I can't imagine girls are going to be like- sure I will take the 4th team slot so I can play bad futsal. They will go other places.

Op here, so do is there an actual opportunity for an out of club girl to play on a higher level team for alexandria or are they beholden to their outdoor travel players?

My personal view is that there will be no non-Alexandria players on the top 2-3 teams unless the turnout from their current rosters is bad. This could happen because kids had bad experiences last year