We've had kids in travel soccer for more than 10 years. I have one in early HS and one playing in college. One thing that I feel has changed relative to college recruiting from when my older daughter first started is an emphasis on choosing the right school first with soccer being a second consideration. I feel like when we first started paying attention to college recruiting, it seemed like the emphasis was on playing for the very best soccer programs. Now, players are being properly counseled to figure out the best college fits academically/geographically/financially and then see where (or if) soccer aligns. Maybe that has contributed to the perceived "decline" in players going to top soccer programs (what the PP called "college placement quality").

The other thing that was an eye opener to me is that there is no shortage of national team level soccer players who are also top level students. Not surprisingly, I think the same attributes that make good athletes also drive them to be good students. That's a good thing.

Anonymous wrote:College placement quality has dropped - big time.

That history you talk about, were kids recruited back when the club was ECNL.

It isn't a GA or ECNL thing it is a NOVA thing. All the clubs quality college placement is dropping. But regionally college placement is up. Again, we are not going to out produce P5 numbers of the past, they will remain, but MORE kids overall will get placed and that is a good thing regionally even if a club takes a hit in placement prestige.

College placement quality has dropped - big time.

That history you talk about, were kids recruited back when the club was ECNL.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am actually curious — if girls are considering leaving FCV, where would they go? I’m assuming not another GA team, so that leaves Mclean, VDA, Loudoun, and BRYC? Does the destination depend on geography or something else?

I wouldn’t count on a mass exodus.

why not? thinking FCV is a top destination club playing in a BS league that no one cares about. Better off just playing in CCL so you don't have to travel to play against mediocre competition or joining a ECNL team that gets the mainstream attention

Believe it or not a competitive team in a club that has a record of college placement needs something significantly better to offer to entice players to leave. Just going to one of 4 ECNL clubs may not be the upgrade that is as enticing as you'd think.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am actually curious — if girls are considering leaving FCV, where would they go? I’m assuming not another GA team, so that leaves Mclean, VDA, Loudoun, and BRYC? Does the destination depend on geography or something else?

I wouldn’t count on a mass exodus.

why not? thinking FCV is a top destination club playing in a BS league that no one cares about. Better off just playing in CCL so you don't have to travel to play against mediocre competition or joining a ECNL team that gets the mainstream attention

Anonymous wrote:I am actually curious — if girls are considering leaving FCV, where would they go? I’m assuming not another GA team, so that leaves Mclean, VDA, Loudoun, and BRYC? Does the destination depend on geography or something else?

I wouldn’t count on a mass exodus.

I am actually curious — if girls are considering leaving FCV, where would they go? I’m assuming not another GA team, so that leaves Mclean, VDA, Loudoun, and BRYC? Does the destination depend on geography or something else?

Guess what-they aren’t getting any mergers with BRYC! No one wants to partner with them and lose their permitting and field space, not to mention player pool.

Anonymous wrote:FCV can always fold itself into BRYC and then everyone is happy

Is this what FCV has turned to? Hoping BRYC will take them in or vice versa?

FCV can always fold itself into BRYC and then everyone is happy

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish our FCV club was back in ECNL. Lots of parents ready to have their kid make the jump from our club to an ECNL club. Can’t wait for tryouts.

Everything soccer related was better back then. We've done nothing but confuse the landscape for the past 5 years.

The landscape is fine, there are more opportunities for players to be seen than ever before. The problem is parental egos are shattered by making sure their kid is on the best team in the best league.

Yes, there is dilution, all that means is take your teams success or failure in a relative sense with a grain of salt. But the benefit is that more kids have an opportunity to be seen today than ever before.

If parents can let go of the ego attachment of their kid being validated by the team they are on people would be far healthier.

Geez, where did all this parent evaluation come from. I thought we were talking about soccer here.

The landscape is fine for some, but not for all. Yes, there are more opportunities for players so if you're trying to grow a soccer culture, you might say this is a good thing. If your player is towards the marginal end, great, you now have access to a higher level of play. If your player is on the high performing end, their development could be affected by not being surrounded by as much talent. What this has done is chopped the top off the pyramid to some extent. It is not "fine" for elite players. DA might've/should've been that level for elite players to consolidate, but somewhere along the line they lost their way and died as a result.

We all weep for the 1% you think your kid is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish our FCV club was back in ECNL. Lots of parents ready to have their kid make the jump from our club to an ECNL club. Can’t wait for tryouts.

Everything soccer related was better back then. We've done nothing but confuse the landscape for the past 5 years.

The landscape is fine, there are more opportunities for players to be seen than ever before. The problem is parental egos are shattered by making sure their kid is on the best team in the best league.

Yes, there is dilution, all that means is take your teams success or failure in a relative sense with a grain of salt. But the benefit is that more kids have an opportunity to be seen today than ever before.

If parents can let go of the ego attachment of their kid being validated by the team they are on people would be far healthier.

Geez, where did all this parent evaluation come from. I thought we were talking about soccer here.

The landscape is fine for some, but not for all. Yes, there are more opportunities for players so if you're trying to grow a soccer culture, you might say this is a good thing. If your player is towards the marginal end, great, you now have access to a higher level of play. If your player is on the high performing end, their development could be affected by not being surrounded by as much talent. What this has done is chopped the top off the pyramid to some extent. It is not "fine" for elite players. DA might've/should've been that level for elite players to consolidate, but somewhere along the line they lost their way and died as a result.

And where pray tell are all the FCV players planning on going??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish our FCV club was back in ECNL. Lots of parents ready to have their kid make the jump from our club to an ECNL club. Can’t wait for tryouts.

Everything soccer related was better back then. We've done nothing but confuse the landscape for the past 5 years.

The landscape is fine, there are more opportunities for players to be seen than ever before. The problem is parental egos are shattered by making sure their kid is on the best team in the best league.

Yes, there is dilution, all that means is take your teams success or failure in a relative sense with a grain of salt. But the benefit is that more kids have an opportunity to be seen today than ever before.

If parents can let go of the ego attachment of their kid being validated by the team they are on people would be far healthier.

Anonymous wrote:I wish our FCV club was back in ECNL. Lots of parents ready to have their kid make the jump from our club to an ECNL club. Can’t wait for tryouts.

Everything soccer related was better back then. We've done nothing but confuse the landscape for the past 5 years.