Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac is like any club. They’re happy people and unhappy people. I would venture to say the unhappy people at Potomac will be unhappy anywhere. It is a well run club with good coaches and decent communication. However they did let a coach that was brought from the outside create too much turmoil and upheaval and that disrupted what should have been a natural flow of kids moving upward and their progression. However, those kids are developing and will do fine. Most everyone we know from u12 and above is happy and u9 and below seems happy.
The top teams at Potomac can beat anyone and their “issues” seem to be the same that any club has.

No doubt the top ECNL and MLSNext clubs are competive against each other. But I’m curious as to what has been asked. Why are Potomac boys and girls not being invited to USYNT events or do not appear to be scouted by academies? DCU takes kids from the other MLSNext and ECNL clubs all the time (even the ones they have cool relationships with). Haven’t seen much from Potomac. Are the coaches and club not doing enough to advocate for their players?

Is that Potomac’s business model?

1) DCU has its P2P clubs it works with. I would not expect any special relationship to Potomac.
2) BSC does not promote anything to DCU and DCU still find kids at BSC despite the clubs efforts to block them. If you are good enough, they will find you. I would not focus on the club. I would focus on your kid.
3) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players to ID2. Again, if your kid can play, USYNT and MLS academies will find you through that process.
4) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players for the MLS Next ID weekend on Indigenous People/Columbus weekend.
5) MLS academies recruit at the regional ID camp for ODP. I know a few Potomac players in ODP. If you are not making the regional ID camp for ODP, USMNT should not be on your radar. If you kid can ball, they will be noticed.

No horse in the race but a club does not dictate what happens to a kid. Plenty of ways to get seen if your kid can ball. Most kids can’t ball at the level of their parent’s ambition and think it is the club's fault.

This is a lot of confidence in a call to authority.

What are you on about??!!

Coaches are clearly biased for tall players that fit the look.

Kids develop at different times too.

The real issue is no movement between first and second teams. Potomac has this problem in spades - even with trackers.

Anchoring effect is real in the system - no matter how many hours your kid puts in.

It’s a coaches sport - our kids are pawns.

My kid has a spot on Potomac’s 1st team whenever he wants it. We have been actively recruited for months.

My kid has friends at Potomac who are developing well so I thought I would bring some levity to the grass is greener and FOMO hype. While we are not with Potomac, it is a quality organization with quality coaches.

Yes, your kid is a pawn but has nothing to do with the coaches and more do with you from your response.

the Potomac boys side is much better than the girls side. The boys program is taken much more seriously and not just for the 1st team. Girls are a completely different matter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac is like any club. They’re happy people and unhappy people. I would venture to say the unhappy people at Potomac will be unhappy anywhere. It is a well run club with good coaches and decent communication. However they did let a coach that was brought from the outside create too much turmoil and upheaval and that disrupted what should have been a natural flow of kids moving upward and their progression. However, those kids are developing and will do fine. Most everyone we know from u12 and above is happy and u9 and below seems happy.
The top teams at Potomac can beat anyone and their “issues” seem to be the same that any club has.

No doubt the top ECNL and MLSNext clubs are competive against each other. But I’m curious as to what has been asked. Why are Potomac boys and girls not being invited to USYNT events or do not appear to be scouted by academies? DCU takes kids from the other MLSNext and ECNL clubs all the time (even the ones they have cool relationships with). Haven’t seen much from Potomac. Are the coaches and club not doing enough to advocate for their players?

Is that Potomac’s business model?

1) DCU has its P2P clubs it works with. I would not expect any special relationship to Potomac.
2) BSC does not promote anything to DCU and DCU still find kids at BSC despite the clubs efforts to block them. If you are good enough, they will find you. I would not focus on the club. I would focus on your kid.
3) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players to ID2. Again, if your kid can play, USYNT and MLS academies will find you through that process.
4) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players for the MLS Next ID weekend on Indigenous People/Columbus weekend.
5) MLS academies recruit at the regional ID camp for ODP. I know a few Potomac players in ODP. If you are not making the regional ID camp for ODP, USMNT should not be on your radar. If you kid can ball, they will be noticed.

No horse in the race but a club does not dictate what happens to a kid. Plenty of ways to get seen if your kid can ball. Most kids can’t ball at the level of their parent’s ambition and think it is the club's fault.

This is a lot of confidence in a call to authority.

What are you on about??!!

Coaches are clearly biased for tall players that fit the look.

Kids develop at different times too.

The real issue is no movement between first and second teams. Potomac has this problem in spades - even with trackers.

Anchoring effect is real in the system - no matter how many hours your kid puts in.

It’s a coaches sport - our kids are pawns.

My kid has a spot on Potomac’s 1st team whenever he wants it. We have been actively recruited for months.

My kid has friends at Potomac who are developing well so I thought I would bring some levity to the grass is greener and FOMO hype. While we are not with Potomac, it is a quality organization with quality coaches.

Yes, your kid is a pawn but has nothing to do with the coaches and more do with you from your response.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac is like any club. They’re happy people and unhappy people. I would venture to say the unhappy people at Potomac will be unhappy anywhere. It is a well run club with good coaches and decent communication. However they did let a coach that was brought from the outside create too much turmoil and upheaval and that disrupted what should have been a natural flow of kids moving upward and their progression. However, those kids are developing and will do fine. Most everyone we know from u12 and above is happy and u9 and below seems happy.
The top teams at Potomac can beat anyone and their “issues” seem to be the same that any club has.

No doubt the top ECNL and MLSNext clubs are competive against each other. But I’m curious as to what has been asked. Why are Potomac boys and girls not being invited to USYNT events or do not appear to be scouted by academies? DCU takes kids from the other MLSNext and ECNL clubs all the time (even the ones they have cool relationships with). Haven’t seen much from Potomac. Are the coaches and club not doing enough to advocate for their players?

Is that Potomac’s business model?

1) DCU has its P2P clubs it works with. I would not expect any special relationship to Potomac.
2) BSC does not promote anything to DCU and DCU still find kids at BSC despite the clubs efforts to block them. If you are good enough, they will find you. I would not focus on the club. I would focus on your kid.
3) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players to ID2. Again, if your kid can play, USYNT and MLS academies will find you through that process.
4) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players for the MLS Next ID weekend on Indigenous People/Columbus weekend.
5) MLS academies recruit at the regional ID camp for ODP. I know a few Potomac players in ODP. If you are not making the regional ID camp for ODP, USMNT should not be on your radar. If you kid can ball, they will be noticed.

No horse in the race but a club does not dictate what happens to a kid. Plenty of ways to get seen if your kid can ball. Most kids can’t ball at the level of their parent’s ambition and think it is the club's fault.

This is a lot of confidence in a call to authority.

What are you on about??!!

Coaches are clearly biased for tall players that fit the look.

Kids develop at different times too.

The real issue is no movement between first and second teams. Potomac has this problem in spades - even with trackers.

Anchoring effect is real in the system - no matter how many hours your kid puts in.

It’s a coaches sport - our kids are pawns.

My DS played travel soccer at the first team. Very few players moved up to the first team. When they did, you could see that they were not at the same level. For most clubs, there's a huge gap between the first and second teams.

I think the expectation is the 2nd team player better be as good or better than the top 1/3 of the 1st team to move up, otherwise they can just bring in new players for revenue. This is why many talented players move from club to club, you don't have to be as good or better as the top 1/3 of the 1st team, just better than the bottom 1/3... the club will just add your kid and drop a player to 2nd team.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac is like any club. They’re happy people and unhappy people. I would venture to say the unhappy people at Potomac will be unhappy anywhere. It is a well run club with good coaches and decent communication. However they did let a coach that was brought from the outside create too much turmoil and upheaval and that disrupted what should have been a natural flow of kids moving upward and their progression. However, those kids are developing and will do fine. Most everyone we know from u12 and above is happy and u9 and below seems happy.
The top teams at Potomac can beat anyone and their “issues” seem to be the same that any club has.

No doubt the top ECNL and MLSNext clubs are competive against each other. But I’m curious as to what has been asked. Why are Potomac boys and girls not being invited to USYNT events or do not appear to be scouted by academies? DCU takes kids from the other MLSNext and ECNL clubs all the time (even the ones they have cool relationships with). Haven’t seen much from Potomac. Are the coaches and club not doing enough to advocate for their players?

Is that Potomac’s business model?

1) DCU has its P2P clubs it works with. I would not expect any special relationship to Potomac.
2) BSC does not promote anything to DCU and DCU still find kids at BSC despite the clubs efforts to block them. If you are good enough, they will find you. I would not focus on the club. I would focus on your kid.
3) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players to ID2. Again, if your kid can play, USYNT and MLS academies will find you through that process.
4) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players for the MLS Next ID weekend on Indigenous People/Columbus weekend.
5) MLS academies recruit at the regional ID camp for ODP. I know a few Potomac players in ODP. If you are not making the regional ID camp for ODP, USMNT should not be on your radar. If you kid can ball, they will be noticed.

No horse in the race but a club does not dictate what happens to a kid. Plenty of ways to get seen if your kid can ball. Most kids can’t ball at the level of their parent’s ambition and think it is the club's fault.

This is a lot of confidence in a call to authority.

What are you on about??!!

Coaches are clearly biased for tall players that fit the look.

Kids develop at different times too.

The real issue is no movement between first and second teams. Potomac has this problem in spades - even with trackers.

Anchoring effect is real in the system - no matter how many hours your kid puts in.

It’s a coaches sport - our kids are pawns.

My DS played travel soccer at the first team. Very few players moved up to the first team. When they did, you could see that they were not at the same level. For most clubs, there's a huge gap between the first and second teams.

Well, Potomac only has 2 teams, so there is only one top team and then the second team - and it's usually not all that great. Also, it's almost impossible to move up, even for great players. But, this is common in most clubs - specifically team 2 to team 1.

Just chiming in to say agree with others statements on the club experience is very different depending on if your kid is on the top 2 teams or not. If they aren’t, you will likely get “the luck of the draw” on coaching and practice times. BSC has their nice new training facility and has their club infrastructure more organized than other clubs but 1) the training facility is in Gaithersburg NOT Bethesda and 2) poor coaching on the lower teams same as any club. I too was blown away by the way BSC conducted tryouts but it’s very coach dependent once you’re “in.” We moved clubs for better coaching and to learn “the Bethesda way” they tout but were sorely disappointed. Research the coach and level thoroughly before accepting. And believe me - it could still change anyway which is what happened in our case.

Also, BSC is one of the only clubs not switching their lower teams to school year and staying with birth year in 2016-2017. A big disadvantage for kids with later birth months.

Having endured two kids (two genders) in travel soccer the last 6 years across 3 clubs…. I’m a bit disillusioned. It takes a lot of trial and error and luck to find the right fit. And even then - it could all change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter played U12 at Potomac and coach there told me that they weren't pulling her up to first team because she was small (short and really skinny) although she had better skills. We have found that a lot of coaches go for size, which has just made her have to work harder....but it starts pretty early in girls' soccer that bigger girls get noticed, esp if they are also fast...

I’ve never had this happen at any club and my dd height peaked at u12. If you have the iq and technical skills coaches don’t care.

Well, based on this thread, the Potomac coach does care

Anonymous wrote:My daughter played U12 at Potomac and coach there told me that they weren't pulling her up to first team because she was small (short and really skinny) although she had better skills. We have found that a lot of coaches go for size, which has just made her have to work harder....but it starts pretty early in girls' soccer that bigger girls get noticed, esp if they are also fast...

I’ve never had this happen at any club and my dd height peaked at u12. If you have the iq and technical skills coaches don’t care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac is like any club. They’re happy people and unhappy people. I would venture to say the unhappy people at Potomac will be unhappy anywhere. It is a well run club with good coaches and decent communication. However they did let a coach that was brought from the outside create too much turmoil and upheaval and that disrupted what should have been a natural flow of kids moving upward and their progression. However, those kids are developing and will do fine. Most everyone we know from u12 and above is happy and u9 and below seems happy.
The top teams at Potomac can beat anyone and their “issues” seem to be the same that any club has.

No doubt the top ECNL and MLSNext clubs are competive against each other. But I’m curious as to what has been asked. Why are Potomac boys and girls not being invited to USYNT events or do not appear to be scouted by academies? DCU takes kids from the other MLSNext and ECNL clubs all the time (even the ones they have cool relationships with). Haven’t seen much from Potomac. Are the coaches and club not doing enough to advocate for their players?

Is that Potomac’s business model?

1) DCU has its P2P clubs it works with. I would not expect any special relationship to Potomac.
2) BSC does not promote anything to DCU and DCU still find kids at BSC despite the clubs efforts to block them. If you are good enough, they will find you. I would not focus on the club. I would focus on your kid.
3) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players to ID2. Again, if your kid can play, USYNT and MLS academies will find you through that process.
4) Potomac coaches SHOULD be recommending players for the MLS Next ID weekend on Indigenous People/Columbus weekend.
5) MLS academies recruit at the regional ID camp for ODP. I know a few Potomac players in ODP. If you are not making the regional ID camp for ODP, USMNT should not be on your radar. If you kid can ball, they will be noticed.

No horse in the race but a club does not dictate what happens to a kid. Plenty of ways to get seen if your kid can ball. Most kids can’t ball at the level of their parent’s ambition and think it is the club's fault.

This is a lot of confidence in a call to authority.

What are you on about??!!

Coaches are clearly biased for tall players that fit the look.

Kids develop at different times too.

The real issue is no movement between first and second teams. Potomac has this problem in spades - even with trackers.

Anchoring effect is real in the system - no matter how many hours your kid puts in.

It’s a coaches sport - our kids are pawns.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter played U12 at Potomac and coach there told me that they weren't pulling her up to first team because she was small (short and really skinny) although she had better skills. We have found that a lot of coaches go for size, which has just made her have to work harder....but it starts pretty early in girls' soccer that bigger girls get noticed, esp if they are also fast...

How long ago was this?

My daughter played U12 at Potomac and coach there told me that they weren't pulling her up to first team because she was small (short and really skinny) although she had better skills. We have found that a lot of coaches go for size, which has just made her have to work harder....but it starts pretty early in girls' soccer that bigger girls get noticed, esp if they are also fast...

Anonymous wrote:Is he short? Maybe its a napoleon complex thing.

Nope, average/taller and is a well regarded coach. I'm sure a high quality player that is taller will generally be a better fit (at least at this age), but they barely gave the shorter kids a chance. Speed and footwork, not to mention game IQ can beat a good tall player.

Is he short? Maybe its a napoleon complex thing.

Anonymous wrote:Weird to have such a fixation on height for little girls soccer, does it really matter that much?

No idea, maybe it's their U12 1st team coach, he more/less gets whatever he wants. I don't think it was as bad on the U11 side.

Weird to have such a fixation on height for little girls soccer, does it really matter that much?