Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very common with GFR. I’ve seen it over 3-4 seasons now: boys who attend practice regularly and consistently exhibit good teamwork over individual glory are notoriously overlooked and played less than the big goal scorers who maybe comes to 1 practice a week and hogs the ball every game. We are looking to move our kid to McLean.

I have been hearing great things about the younger boys side at Mclean. They were not as competitive in past years but they are fielding some exceptional teams from U9-U12 now considering all the changes that have been going on.

Great news. Thanks for sharing! My son was offered a spot on their white team last year and I wish we had taken it. He will try again next year.

Anonymous wrote:Very common with GFR. I’ve seen it over 3-4 seasons now: boys who attend practice regularly and consistently exhibit good teamwork over individual glory are notoriously overlooked and played less than the big goal scorers who maybe comes to 1 practice a week and hogs the ball every game. We are looking to move our kid to McLean.

I have been hearing great things about the younger boys side at Mclean. They were not as competitive in past years but they are fielding some exceptional teams from U9-U12 now considering all the changes that have been going on.

Very common with GFR. I’ve seen it over 3-4 seasons now: boys who attend practice regularly and consistently exhibit good teamwork over individual glory are notoriously overlooked and played less than the big goal scorers who maybe comes to 1 practice a week and hogs the ball every game. We are looking to move our kid to McLean.

Anonymous wrote:GFR seems great on the girl's side

Except for their 2008 team, it looks like their teams are doing well enough in ECNL-RL.


2012 - 3rd / 12
2011 - 3rd / 12
2010 - 3rd / 12
2009 - 3rd / 12
2008 - 10th / 11
2007/2006 - 2nd / 12

GFR seems great on the girl's side, their 2014-2015G won so many tournaments

I don't think GFR is any worse than any other small club. Every club has their issues.

Not seen it on the boys side.

Girls, boys, or both?

Anonymous wrote:I think the question of “pay to play” is mostly a factor for bubble kids. Has anyone actually seen coaches bench top players at GFR specifically? We haven’t seen it. The top players play regardless. If winning is a priority and these clubs are businesses, it wouldn’t be good for business right?

yes

I think the question of “pay to play” is mostly a factor for bubble kids. Has anyone actually seen coaches bench top players at GFR specifically? We haven’t seen it. The top players play regardless. If winning is a priority and these clubs are businesses, it wouldn’t be good for business right?

Anonymous wrote:I think it's coach dependent, but also happy at GFR. Some coaches are more about the wins (looks good for them), others more about the kids, so you luck out when you get one that actually cares about development.

This is true at every club, though. The difficulty is in knowing *which* kind of coach someone is unless you already know the coach or you know players who currently play for him/her (and even then, there is always a degree of subjectivity). I definitely agree with you that you "luck out" when you find a coach whose prioritizes teaching/developing. But it's not hard to understand why that is, though. Everybody likes winning! Winning attracts more players to a club and that means more $$$ for the club. And above all else, these clubs are businesses.

Anonymous wrote:We do training with gd and we are also happy with our playing time of dd.

That is the entire point. Definition of pay to play my dude.

Anonymous wrote:I think it's coach dependent, but also happy at GFR. Is playing time equal? No, but I don't see kids getting playing time that don't deserve it. Some coaches are more about the wins (looks good for them), others more about the kids, so you luck out when you get one that actually cares about development.

Then consider yourself lucky. I see it constantly on our team (HS age girls).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a great club. It’s also not awful. They got rid of lots of the worthless coaches and some of the best ones left for “better” clubs like Herndon and Valor. We stay out of convenience and friendships. I’m definitely frustrated by their lack of communication and ever increasing fees for no more value added, but that would be the case at countless other clubs.
No idea about the lawsuits.

This is how we feel too. Not sure what we will do next season but as the costs increase and we see little to no value for what we are getting, it might be worth looking at other options. A lot of our former team left for other opportunities. We stayed for convenance. Our HC left and we can feel the difference on our team. Not as much bonding before he left and the new coach doesn't really seem interested in our team.

Is this travel boys or girls side?

Boys

Girls side too

We do training with gd and we are also happy with our playing time of dd.