LMAO. keep em coming, you are such a joke of a person!!

I love how the Spirit apologists keep explaining away what's about to happen. We will lose because of how the club is run on the VA side. Nothing more and nothing less.

Spirit MD is just as new. Let's watch what happens to them vs us. And I already say upfront: hats off to them because they are fielding better squads.

Anonymous wrote:Development and winning some aren't opposites; in fact, the ability to win some games shows development is happening. Losing as a culture is in fact a sign that a club is not getting any developmental traction.

LOL. They've been in business for one year and are up against teams that have been together for years.

You clearly don't understand soccer and are simply a WS troll. Probably had a daughter who didn't make the cut and now you are bitter.

Get a life.

Development and winning some aren't opposites; in fact, the ability to win some games shows development is happening. Losing as a culture is in fact a sign that a club is not getting any developmental traction.

And why do all these confused posters assume that angry posts only come from parents on the bench? Smh...it's not just about being on the field. It's about having quality players to train and play with. What ridiculous garbage, but then, I've come to expect that from the Spirit apologists.

If a team has some strategic losses from time to time for development, that's fine. If a team can't win a game, that's not development. That's just a weak club with a culture of losing.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone will see as our results are posted throughout the season. I guess there always has to be the one club that's bottom of the barrel. For VA, it's us.

Spirit MD though looks like it is fielding appropriate squads. Although I won't enjoy losing to them, it will be interesting watching that game.

If your definition of "bottom of the barrel" is losses, you really are in the wrong place. With your DD supposedly on the bench, try moving back to regular travel so you can get back to glory. She won't make FCV or Arlington based on her current disposition, considering they care a lot more about the W's than the Spirit.

Everyone will see as our results are posted throughout the season. I guess there always has to be the one club that's bottom of the barrel. For VA, it's us.

Spirit MD though looks like it is fielding appropriate squads. Although I won't enjoy losing to them, it will be interesting watching that game.

In addition to the above....have you ever considered that the issue may simply be you? You seriously should.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So....how’s about those rosters??

Terrible, but no surprises. I've given up on Spirit. We'll do our time and sort it out by looking elsewhere next round of tryouts. There's no point in expecting better, and some people are satisfied with less (maybe because they came from less). We'll lose this weekend, but then, we deserve to.

Expect similar with what Spirit did last year in performance.

You are not alone. There are 34 NFL hopefuls that are giving up on the Redskins at 4pm today too. It happens.

Anonymous wrote:So....how’s about those rosters??

Terrible, but no surprises. I've given up on Spirit. We'll do our time and sort it out by looking elsewhere next round of tryouts. There's no point in expecting better, and some people are satisfied with less (maybe because they came from less). We'll lose this weekend, but then, we deserve to.

Expect similar with what Spirit did last year in performance.

So....how’s about those rosters??

Good luck to all the girls this weekend!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poster needs to come to terms with reality. If his U15 DD is getting benched with no playing time, and he is that frustrated... then DA is clearly not for his family. Certainly D1 and D2 college is off the table so move to another club and enjoy the rest of the time playing youth soccer in high school or a non-DA or ECNL club.

The only parents who would defend the things they are hearing here is that 1 or 2 players that may be getting all the benefits and perks. The level of anger rising within WS families is rising. It can be swept aside or attacked here by the same 1-2 WS apologists ad nauseam. That doesn't erase facts on the ground.

Different poster here, but I don't understand why you are so upset by this situation. The DA programs are basically set up to help find and develop a few stars who will go into the national youth system, and for everyone else there is the benefit of good training and potential college offers. There is no goal of ensuring that all kids get equal treatment. Parents angry that their kids aren't considered to be in the top of the group can join together and complain all they want. It's not going to change anything, nor should it. I suppose if there are others out there like you who didn't really understand what kind of a program they were signing up for, then your warning is a good one. Certainly everyone should do their research before committing to DA.

The expectation is that parents will get the minimum professionalism and treatment found at the rest of the local DA and ECNL clubs. When that isn't matched, parents get upset. Everyone at WS has done travel at varying levels before, some have done ECNL and some have done DA at other clubs. So they expect what is the norm.

Nothing being described here is normal.

Echoing what others have said, it's completely normal, consistent with professional DA standards, and precisely what happens in all the boys' DAs. It's part of why so many kids drop out of DA to go back to their local club and high school

I'm sure communication could be improved at Spirit, and that was true for the boys' DA programs we've participated in too. It's also normal for parents to get upset when they realize their kid, who may have been a standout at a different level, is going to be spending most of the time on the bench. But you really have to come to terms with that if you are going to stay in DA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poster needs to come to terms with reality. If his U15 DD is getting benched with no playing time, and he is that frustrated... then DA is clearly not for his family. Certainly D1 and D2 college is off the table so move to another club and enjoy the rest of the time playing youth soccer in high school or a non-DA or ECNL club.

The only parents who would defend the things they are hearing here is that 1 or 2 players that may be getting all the benefits and perks. The level of anger rising within WS families is rising. It can be swept aside or attacked here by the same 1-2 WS apologists ad nauseam. That doesn't erase facts on the ground.

Different poster here, but I don't understand why you are so upset by this situation. The DA programs are basically set up to help find and develop a few stars who will go into the national youth system, and for everyone else there is the benefit of good training and potential college offers. There is no goal of ensuring that all kids get equal treatment. Parents angry that their kids aren't considered to be in the top of the group can join together and complain all they want. It's not going to change anything, nor should it. I suppose if there are others out there like you who didn't really understand what kind of a program they were signing up for, then your warning is a good one. Certainly everyone should do their research before committing to DA.

The expectation is that parents will get the minimum professionalism and treatment found at the rest of the local DA and ECNL clubs. When that isn't matched, parents get upset. Everyone at WS has done travel at varying levels before, some have done ECNL and some have done DA at other clubs. So they expect what is the norm.

Nothing being described here is normal.

The overloading of a field one night a week may or may not be an issue at other DAs, but large roster sizes, players playing up and pushing older players to the bench, unequal playing time, having to compete for a roster spot every week - let alone playing time, not finding out until Friday whether you've made the roster for Saturday, ... all of that is perfectly normal in the DA.

I'm not saying that's necessarily the right way to do things, but Spirit is certainly not alone if that's the way they are operating.

Whether the demand for their program is strong enough to handle that kind of cut throat environment remains to be seen.

That is how the DA and other highly competitive sports leagues are run. It's normal and it gets harder from this point on. Much much harder.

If you think this is cut throat - college is brutal. Imagine the average D1 program of 30 players and only 27 can be on the bench per NCAA rules. So 3 players on the team watch from the stands!

Only 21 are eligible to play and the official roster comes out 15 minutes before the game. So another 6 can be dressed but know right before the game starts that WILL NOT play no matter what happens. That's for a home game. For an away game they probably won't travel with the team!

The 21 that travel...maybe 13 or 14 will play in the game.

The starting 11 get better everything, more attention and focus at practices, coaching, video reviews, etc. The bottom 4-5 barely feel like they are on the team at all.

The point is that if you think the DA roster situation is "unfair" or "unprofessional" save yourself and leave DA and ECNL.