Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some did well in group stage, but it looks like every single local (?) team that when to Utah for u8-12 got crushed. Worth the investment?

If that is what it "looks like," you need a new eyeglasses prescription.

Let's take u10 (2015) boys, for example. Coppermine, SYC, and Bethesda each finished second in their groups (losing only one game each to some of the top teams in the country), with SYC and Bethesda advancing to the final 4 and Coppermine narrowly missing out by losing in PKs. Then, in the final 4, SYC lost in PKs and Bethesda lost by one goal to the eventual gold champion.

For u10 girls (2015), SYC went 3-0 in their group and GFR went 2-0-1 (but both losing in the knockout stages), while Bethesda went 2-1 in their group and won all three playoff games to win their bracket.

And in the u11 boys (2014), SYC went 3-0 in the group only to lose in the playoffs.

Also, there is no u8 in this tournament, so clearly you aren't paying attention.

Long story short, almost all of the teams that went represented the DMV very well against some of the other top teams in the country.

The U10 SYC vs GFR play-in game for the top bracket was a great game!

Fly to Utah to play a u10 game against a team 20 minutes from you at home.

It just worked out that way (pointwise) after the Group Stage and as I said, it was a great game between 2 very good teams, regardless of your thoughts. So are you suggesting it they should not have played each other in the play-in game for the playoffs, quarter finals, semi finals, or finals? There are 4 teams in the area and none of them were in the same group as promised by the tournament. Losing the play-in game did not knock you out of the tournament, winner went into the (Iber Cup) playoff bracket and the other went into the Gold playoff bracket. So yes, fly to Utah to play in one of the prestigious tournaments in the country to possibly play a local team in the later rounds.

Prestigious? For 9 year olds?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some did well in group stage, but it looks like every single local (?) team that when to Utah for u8-12 got crushed. Worth the investment?

If that is what it "looks like," you need a new eyeglasses prescription.

Let's take u10 (2015) boys, for example. Coppermine, SYC, and Bethesda each finished second in their groups (losing only one game each to some of the top teams in the country), with SYC and Bethesda advancing to the final 4 and Coppermine narrowly missing out by losing in PKs. Then, in the final 4, SYC lost in PKs and Bethesda lost by one goal to the eventual gold champion.

For u10 girls (2015), SYC went 3-0 in their group and GFR went 2-0-1 (but both losing in the knockout stages), while Bethesda went 2-1 in their group and won all three playoff games to win their bracket.

And in the u11 boys (2014), SYC went 3-0 in the group only to lose in the playoffs.

Also, there is no u8 in this tournament, so clearly you aren't paying attention.

Long story short, almost all of the teams that went represented the DMV very well against some of the other top teams in the country.

The U10 SYC vs GFR play-in game for the top bracket was a great game!

Fly to Utah to play a u10 game against a team 20 minutes from you at home.

It just worked out that way (pointwise) after the Group Stage and as I said, it was a great game between 2 very good teams, regardless of your thoughts. So are you suggesting it they should not have played each other in the play-in game for the playoffs, quarter finals, semi finals, or finals? There are 4 teams in the area and none of them were in the same group as promised by the tournament. Losing the play-in game did not knock you out of the tournament, winner went into the (Iber Cup) playoff bracket and the other went into the Gold playoff bracket. So yes, fly to Utah to play in one of the prestigious tournaments in the country to possibly play a local team in the later rounds.

ha, prestigious and u10. lol

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some did well in group stage, but it looks like every single local (?) team that when to Utah for u8-12 got crushed. Worth the investment?

If that is what it "looks like," you need a new eyeglasses prescription.

Let's take u10 (2015) boys, for example. Coppermine, SYC, and Bethesda each finished second in their groups (losing only one game each to some of the top teams in the country), with SYC and Bethesda advancing to the final 4 and Coppermine narrowly missing out by losing in PKs. Then, in the final 4, SYC lost in PKs and Bethesda lost by one goal to the eventual gold champion.

For u10 girls (2015), SYC went 3-0 in their group and GFR went 2-0-1 (but both losing in the knockout stages), while Bethesda went 2-1 in their group and won all three playoff games to win their bracket.

And in the u11 boys (2014), SYC went 3-0 in the group only to lose in the playoffs.

Also, there is no u8 in this tournament, so clearly you aren't paying attention.

Long story short, almost all of the teams that went represented the DMV very well against some of the other top teams in the country.

The U10 SYC vs GFR play-in game for the top bracket was a great game!

Fly to Utah to play a u10 game against a team 20 minutes from you at home.

It just worked out that way (pointwise) after the Group Stage and as I said, it was a great game between 2 very good teams, regardless of your thoughts. So are you suggesting it they should not have played each other in the play-in game for the playoffs, quarter finals, semi finals, or finals? There are 4 teams in the area and none of them were in the same group as promised by the tournament. Losing the play-in game did not knock you out of the tournament, winner went into the (Iber Cup) playoff bracket and the other went into the Gold playoff bracket. So yes, fly to Utah to play in one of the prestigious tournaments in the country to possibly play a local team in the later rounds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some did well in group stage, but it looks like every single local (?) team that when to Utah for u8-12 got crushed. Worth the investment?

If that is what it "looks like," you need a new eyeglasses prescription.

Let's take u10 (2015) boys, for example. Coppermine, SYC, and Bethesda each finished second in their groups (losing only one game each to some of the top teams in the country), with SYC and Bethesda advancing to the final 4 and Coppermine narrowly missing out by losing in PKs. Then, in the final 4, SYC lost in PKs and Bethesda lost by one goal to the eventual gold champion.

For u10 girls (2015), SYC went 3-0 in their group and GFR went 2-0-1 (but both losing in the knockout stages), while Bethesda went 2-1 in their group and won all three playoff games to win their bracket.

And in the u11 boys (2014), SYC went 3-0 in the group only to lose in the playoffs.

Also, there is no u8 in this tournament, so clearly you aren't paying attention.

Long story short, almost all of the teams that went represented the DMV very well against some of the other top teams in the country.

The U10 SYC vs GFR play-in game for the top bracket was a great game!

Fly to Utah to play a u10 game against a team 20 minutes from you at home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some did well in group stage, but it looks like every single local (?) team that when to Utah for u8-12 got crushed. Worth the investment?

If that is what it "looks like," you need a new eyeglasses prescription.

Let's take u10 (2015) boys, for example. Coppermine, SYC, and Bethesda each finished second in their groups (losing only one game each to some of the top teams in the country), with SYC and Bethesda advancing to the final 4 and Coppermine narrowly missing out by losing in PKs. Then, in the final 4, SYC lost in PKs and Bethesda lost by one goal to the eventual gold champion.

For u10 girls (2015), SYC went 3-0 in their group and GFR went 2-0-1 (but both losing in the knockout stages), while Bethesda went 2-1 in their group and won all three playoff games to win their bracket.

And in the u11 boys (2014), SYC went 3-0 in the group only to lose in the playoffs.

Also, there is no u8 in this tournament, so clearly you aren't paying attention.

Long story short, almost all of the teams that went represented the DMV very well against some of the other top teams in the country.

The U10 SYC vs GFR play-in game for the top bracket was a great game!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about being on the team the whole year and flying across the country only to have players recruited on instagram replace you? Are you starting to see how this is a problem yet?

Apparently can't post the link - but check out the Nick L thread on Talking Soccer NJ

Two thought. Guess your team coach doesn't have the confidence in your DC to compete at that level, is there a takeaway there? And when winning is the primary goal this is what happens, might need to reassess what club to play and pay for.

It's not my club, but I post it as an example of how screwed up this is. You play for a "top" team all year and get invited to this prestigious tournament. You only find out after you're there that kids from all over the country are coming in to take your spot. How is a 2015-2014 first time parent supposed to know all this shady stuff is going on behind the scenes. That's my Super Copa Hot Take

What club was it then, or is this a made up story?

I just told you a few posts earlier - it's Matchfit Academy and there's tons of posts about it on Talking Soccer NJ forum in the NL thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about being on the team the whole year and flying across the country only to have players recruited on instagram replace you? Are you starting to see how this is a problem yet?

Apparently can't post the link - but check out the Nick L thread on Talking Soccer NJ

Two thought. Guess your team coach doesn't have the confidence in your DC to compete at that level, is there a takeaway there? And when winning is the primary goal this is what happens, might need to reassess what club to play and pay for.

It's not my club, but I post it as an example of how screwed up this is. You play for a "top" team all year and get invited to this prestigious tournament. You only find out after you're there that kids from all over the country are coming in to take your spot. How is a 2015-2014 first time parent supposed to know all this shady stuff is going on behind the scenes. That's my Super Copa Hot Take

What club was it then, or is this a made up story?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about being on the team the whole year and flying across the country only to have players recruited on instagram replace you? Are you starting to see how this is a problem yet?

Apparently can't post the link - but check out the Nick L thread on Talking Soccer NJ

Two thought. Guess your team coach doesn't have the confidence in your DC to compete at that level, is there a takeaway there? And when winning is the primary goal this is what happens, might need to reassess what club to play and pay for.

It's not my club, but I post it as an example of how screwed up this is. You play for a "top" team all year and get invited to this prestigious tournament. You only find out after you're there that kids from all over the country are coming in to take your spot. How is a 2015-2014 first time parent supposed to know all this shady stuff is going on behind the scenes. That's my Super Copa Hot Take

Yeah, that is a club and coach issue and super shady.

We have guested and typically been welcomed by parents of the host team but I have heard about a lot of kids who traveled to Utah on other clubs and never played due to guests coming in.

I guess if we are traveling I will confirm with our club if they have invited guests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about being on the team the whole year and flying across the country only to have players recruited on instagram replace you? Are you starting to see how this is a problem yet?

Apparently can't post the link - but check out the Nick L thread on Talking Soccer NJ

Two thought. Guess your team coach doesn't have the confidence in your DC to compete at that level, is there a takeaway there? And when winning is the primary goal this is what happens, might need to reassess what club to play and pay for.

It's not my club, but I post it as an example of how screwed up this is. You play for a "top" team all year and get invited to this prestigious tournament. You only find out after you're there that kids from all over the country are coming in to take your spot. How is a 2015-2014 first time parent supposed to know all this shady stuff is going on behind the scenes. That's my Super Copa Hot Take

Anonymous wrote:My son is on the 2014 BSC team. They went last year and this year. Both years they played great teams, played well, but lost in quarterfinals.

It was a great experience both times though and I would be excited to go again. It's fun to play teams outside your league or beyond those at Jeff Cup, Delco, etc. There are tons of good teams here but still fun to have new challenges and opportunities.

So it's fun, the kids loved it, but you can enjoy it while still being clear-eyed that's it's not some essential experience.

Well said, glad the kids had fun and some success.

Anonymous wrote:How about being on the team the whole year and flying across the country only to have players recruited on instagram replace you? Are you starting to see how this is a problem yet?

Apparently can't post the link - but check out the Nick L thread on Talking Soccer NJ

Two thought. Guess your team coach doesn't have the confidence in your DC to compete at that level, is there a takeaway there? And when winning is the primary goal this is what happens, might need to reassess what club to play and pay for.

How about being on the team the whole year and flying across the country only to have players recruited on instagram replace you? Are you starting to see how this is a problem yet?

Apparently can't post the link - but check out the Nick L thread on Talking Soccer NJ

My son is on the 2014 BSC team. They went last year and this year. Both years they played great teams, played well, but lost in quarterfinals.

It was a great experience both times though and I would be excited to go again. It's fun to play teams outside your league or beyond those at Jeff Cup, Delco, etc. There are tons of good teams here but still fun to have new challenges and opportunities.

So it's fun, the kids loved it, but you can enjoy it while still being clear-eyed that's it's not some essential experience.

Traveling really far in the US to play tournaments at these ages is an experience only for the kids and families. It's really not about the competition because like a PP said, you can find competition locally. Maybe in older age groups. The experience can be really fun and enriching for everyone and it does allow you to see and play against teams you don't normally go up against. Even if all of the DMV teams won the tournament, what does that really mean?? It's all under the age of 13 soccer. These kids are just starting their journey in the sport and there is such a long way to go.

Where extensive travel makes more sense is when you're traveling to Europe or South America for soccer experiences. This is where you can really benchmark your kids against MUCH better competition and academy systems and sometimes seeing how far your kid has to develop is humbling. Conversely, if he/she is killing it overseas you may think differently about their trajectory as a player and find the US insufficient for their future development.

Enjoy it all. It will be over faster than you realize.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some did well in group stage, but it looks like every single local (?) team that when to Utah for u8-12 got crushed. Worth the investment?

If that is what it "looks like," you need a new eyeglasses prescription.

Let's take u10 (2015) boys, for example. Coppermine, SYC, and Bethesda each finished second in their groups (losing only one game each to some of the top teams in the country), with SYC and Bethesda advancing to the final 4 and Coppermine narrowly missing out by losing in PKs. Then, in the final 4, SYC lost in PKs and Bethesda lost by one goal to the eventual gold champion.

For u10 girls (2015), SYC went 3-0 in their group and GFR went 2-0-1 (but both losing in the knockout stages), while Bethesda went 2-1 in their group and won all three playoff games to win their bracket.

And in the u11 boys (2014), SYC went 3-0 in the group only to lose in the playoffs.

Also, there is no u8 in this tournament, so clearly you aren't paying attention.

Long story short, almost all of the teams that went represented the DMV very well against some of the other top teams in the country.

Umadbro?

No, think he/she was just correcting the previous posters moronic and uninformed comments

Correct.