Anonymous wrote:My dc plays for a different local club and they don't send their top team offers out until after the first day of tryouts. 5-6 spots seem to "turn over" every year with new players.

Sending out and rostering almost an entire team prior to "tryouts" lacks integrity. Just advertise that you are only holding tryouts for B and C and D team.

This is true for this and most other clubs.

My dc plays for a different local club and they don't send their top team offers out until after the first day of tryouts. 5-6 spots seem to "turn over" every year with new players.

Sending out and rostering almost an entire team prior to "tryouts" lacks integrity. Just advertise that you are only holding tryouts for B and C and D team.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year our gold/A team player was sent an offer a week before tryouts started with a 48
hour deadline. With cascading offers there were only maybe 2 spots available when tryouts began.

We haven't received anything yet. Did any other gold/first team parents receive offers yet?

So the tryouts were really just for the second and lower teams. Who have no coaches.

Yes. This is normal for most clubs. Top team has one maybe two 'open spots' during tryouts if any at all. Offers go out ahead of time to players they actually want (or an hour after day 1 of tryouts) and if the team isn't fully filled they'll take whoever's best from tryouts or wait until summer to pick up someone jumping ship from another top team.

Does anyone know who is coaching the boys 2nd 2010 team next year? Might as well ask on here. DS is weighing an offer from another club and would really like to know, without asking Valor. I know his current coach is quitting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can confirm-KO is in fact a parent coach who coaches his own kid, if anyone needs to know that for their tryout decision.

Okay- but is he a decent coach?
That’s the bottom line- I couldn’t care less if he was a parent coach.

NP-That's fine for you. A lot of people did care. My kids aren't in that age group but I would not even bother bringing my kid to tryout for a team with that dynamic.

Anonymous wrote:Can confirm-KO is in fact a parent coach who coaches his own kid, if anyone needs to know that for their tryout decision.

Okay- but is he a decent coach?
That’s the bottom line- I couldn’t care less if he was a parent coach.

Can confirm-KO is in fact a parent coach who coaches his own kid, if anyone needs to know that for their tryout decision.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older kids started. The younger kids start today.

So true about the gold teams. My friend's dc on a gold team had a special team meeting to introduce the coach for next year. My kid is on a second team and all we have heard is the coach is quitting after one year (rumor mill--we have heard absolutely nothing from Valor either way except for tryout dates). Coach had never coached before this season and our coach two years ago quit over the summer and they had to scramble for someone.

I personally would not take solace in feeling like everything is fine just because my child is on a gold/top team, especially at a younger age. I think the inability to hire speaks to larger issues within the club, which affects all teams. Plus you never know if they will decide to move your gold team kid down to the second team. Movement up and down happens every year. And the first and second teams train together fairly often. If the gold team coach is absent then it's the second team coach who will be working with your kid and vice versa. I don't have any inside info, but there must be a reason for the turnover in coaching.

+1
Our experience has been nothing like some of the crazy criticisms on this site. Our dc worked up from bottom to top team and we couldn’t have been more satisfied. But this recent announcing of hiring coaches is beyond appalling. We made no plans to tryout anywhere else. With no guarantee of our dc making top team again and then having the possibility of being placed in a team with no coach assigned, this changes everything. Now we’re scrambling to find other clubs to tryout for just in case.
Shame on Valor management. Now you’re chasing off otherwise satisfied parents.

Have you tried reaching out to the age group coordinator? I have two kids in Valor and know who the first and second team coaches are for both - I just had to ask.

Valor parent here- I don't know what an
age group coordinator is or does and don't think our age group has one. I have never even heard that phrase before. Is there a list posted online somewhere?

This current years https://www.virginiavalorfc.org/technicalstaff

No managers assigned for u13 and older....

I would recommend Valor also hire actual “managers”. The “management” somehow “managed” to lose faithful parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are crazy. I've come to the conclusion that it isn't Valor, it's the community it services. If you are so bent on the coach's name and assignment it would make more sense to find a coach you want and go to that club instead of harping on the fact that they haven't hired a coach for the 2nd or 3rd team. What if they said, Jane Doe is now the coach and has played D1 and won a state championship. Does that mean you kid will become messi under her coaching?

It's absolutely reasonable to want transparency about my child's coach, just as we value knowing who my child's teacher is at school. I'm not expecting my child to become a genius just because their teacher graduated from Harvard or Yale University, but I do expect their teacher to be qualified. I also believe my child will grow socially and academically when their teacher has a strong reputation or positive feedback from other parents. The same principle applies to a soccer coach. So, do you still think I'm asking for too much?

It's a reasonable ask and I also think it's reasonable that if they don't have a coached lined up then you are better off looking at other clubs. The point is that this thread is littered with things the club isn't doing but you all forget that you are the consumer so take your business elsewhere. I don't go to Popeyes demanding they start severing burgers or request a special cook.

The reality is that there isn't that many "good" coaches, most played and want to make some side money. The best coach I know coaches a rec team for a local club, he is more than qualified, played at D1 and 2 pro teams overseas. But doesn't have time to coach a travel team so if you find someone like him/her, would you join a rec team to truly be developed? Most of you wouldn't because you want the travel experience.

My dc got an offer a few days before tryouts last year. I guess dc wasn't A list and someone else declined!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year our gold/A team player was sent an offer a week before tryouts started with a 48
hour deadline. With cascading offers there were only maybe 2 spots available when tryouts began.

We haven't received anything yet. Did any other gold/first team parents receive offers yet?

Not here. We also got an offer a week prior last year.

No offer yet. I don't think anyone on the team has gotten one. But they didn't send out offers before tryouts last year either. The first round were sent out a few hours after the first tryout. I assume the same will happen this year. It must depend on age group/coach.

Anonymous wrote:Last year our gold/A team player was sent an offer a week before tryouts started with a 48
hour deadline. With cascading offers there were only maybe 2 spots available when tryouts began.

We haven't received anything yet. Did any other gold/first team parents receive offers yet?

Not here. We also got an offer a week prior last year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older kids started. The younger kids start today.

So true about the gold teams. My friend's dc on a gold team had a special team meeting to introduce the coach for next year. My kid is on a second team and all we have heard is the coach is quitting after one year (rumor mill--we have heard absolutely nothing from Valor either way except for tryout dates). Coach had never coached before this season and our coach two years ago quit over the summer and they had to scramble for someone.

I personally would not take solace in feeling like everything is fine just because my child is on a gold/top team, especially at a younger age. I think the inability to hire speaks to larger issues within the club, which affects all teams. Plus you never know if they will decide to move your gold team kid down to the second team. Movement up and down happens every year. And the first and second teams train together fairly often. If the gold team coach is absent then it's the second team coach who will be working with your kid and vice versa. I don't have any inside info, but there must be a reason for the turnover in coaching.

+1
Our experience has been nothing like some of the crazy criticisms on this site. Our dc worked up from bottom to top team and we couldn’t have been more satisfied. But this recent announcing of hiring coaches is beyond appalling. We made no plans to tryout anywhere else. With no guarantee of our dc making top team again and then having the possibility of being placed in a team with no coach assigned, this changes everything. Now we’re scrambling to find other clubs to tryout for just in case.
Shame on Valor management. Now you’re chasing off otherwise satisfied parents.

Have you tried reaching out to the age group coordinator? I have two kids in Valor and know who the first and second team coaches are for both - I just had to ask.

Valor parent here- I don't know what an
age group coordinator is or does and don't think our age group has one. I have never even heard that phrase before. Is there a list posted online somewhere?

This current years https://www.virginiavalorfc.org/technicalstaff

The "youth director" title?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older kids started. The younger kids start today.

So true about the gold teams. My friend's dc on a gold team had a special team meeting to introduce the coach for next year. My kid is on a second team and all we have heard is the coach is quitting after one year (rumor mill--we have heard absolutely nothing from Valor either way except for tryout dates). Coach had never coached before this season and our coach two years ago quit over the summer and they had to scramble for someone.

I personally would not take solace in feeling like everything is fine just because my child is on a gold/top team, especially at a younger age. I think the inability to hire speaks to larger issues within the club, which affects all teams. Plus you never know if they will decide to move your gold team kid down to the second team. Movement up and down happens every year. And the first and second teams train together fairly often. If the gold team coach is absent then it's the second team coach who will be working with your kid and vice versa. I don't have any inside info, but there must be a reason for the turnover in coaching.

+1
Our experience has been nothing like some of the crazy criticisms on this site. Our dc worked up from bottom to top team and we couldn’t have been more satisfied. But this recent announcing of hiring coaches is beyond appalling. We made no plans to tryout anywhere else. With no guarantee of our dc making top team again and then having the possibility of being placed in a team with no coach assigned, this changes everything. Now we’re scrambling to find other clubs to tryout for just in case.
Shame on Valor management. Now you’re chasing off otherwise satisfied parents.

Have you tried reaching out to the age group coordinator? I have two kids in Valor and know who the first and second team coaches are for both - I just had to ask.

Valor parent here- I don't know what an
age group coordinator is or does and don't think our age group has one. I have never even heard that phrase before. Is there a list posted online somewhere?

This current years https://www.virginiavalorfc.org/technicalstaff