I am thinking of having my son try out at as B team/Sam Select player. It sounds like a non-favorite A team player would certainly constantly feel vulnerable to getting cut and would not be happy at Achilles unless they had a very special personality. However, do you think a kid who knows that he is a B team player and is happy to be a B team player could be happy there and get good training?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I read this, I had to laugh. Whoever wrote this is being totally and completely disingenuous. I wouldn't even be surprised if the author is working for the club. I will try to cut through the bs and shed some light on the truth. The current 09 team (rising 10 team) is very good. No child trying out should expect to make that team (or the #1 team if there are 2) unless they are an incredibly strong player. I don't know if the current 09s (rising 10s) have a second team. However, if they do, it will be a SAM Select team---meaning, there is pretty much no comparison between the two teams. The EDP team will get all of the focus and best practice times and the SAM team will receive good training, but not much else despite paying the same amount. There is barely any movement between #1 team and #2 team ever. The head coach tells parents that to placate them. From the get go, he has pretty much determined who is on the #1 team and who will never be. And, yes, it is completely true that the rosters are too big that and several kids are not likely to get any play time, particularly if it is a competitive game. Trust me--there might not be a "red, white or blue team" but unless kids are oblivious, they "know their place".

New soccer parents here. What do you mean by "From the get go, he has pretty much determined who is on the #1 team and who will never be"? How does the coach determine if player A is better than player B? Is a fair system if the coach is the final arbiter?

Sorry I have to ask because I swam in HS and the coach determines the roster and starting spot is the time trial.

As for comparing to swimming, rostering in soccer is always a challenge. Achilles coaches, like most coaches in the world, choose rosters that set their teams up best to be successful at their style of play. Even professional coaches at the highest levels make decisions that most wonder about. People still wonder why Klinsman dropped Landon Donovan from the World Cup roster years ago, and the same happens weekly in every league from youth to pro. Achilles coaches do their best at every level and agonize about who will improve each team.

There’s a lot of confusing talk on here. Achilles coaches will select their best available rosters for each team and each age. It’s hard to imagine why any coach would do it differently. The only big difference is that rosters are rearranged throughout the year based in kids’ performance in practices and games, rather than the standard model of only adjusting once a year or season. Also incredibly important is that Achilles training is excellent.

Yes, it is to be expected that most coaches would select their best available roster for each team and each age. However, Achilles portrayed itself as a true development club, which it is not. There is also the promise that " that rosters are rearranged throughout the year based in kids’ performance in practices and games, rather than the standard model of only adjusting once a year or season." Practically speaking, very[u] few kids move between the A team and B/C team, unless of course, they need to fill a roster. For the most part, Sal is the one making the decisions, despite the other coaches having a lot to offer. Sal is very difficult to deal with and parents are afraid to confront him for fear that he will take it out on their kids.

Another parent here - I agree with this last statement 100%. The most movement has been in U-13 group but that’s only bc there aren’t enough kids to fill the A team roster. And even then, the kids that play A team games (other than a handful of permanently rostered kids) are usually U12 A team kids asked to play up rather than B team U-13 kids asked to move up for a particular game. Sal is the only one making roster decisions from week to week with little or no input from the other coaches (who are very good and frankly IMO better coaches from a overall development standpoint) as PP noted. And also as another PP said, Sal does not attend B team practices or games, so there’s no way he would have a solid idea of how the B team players are doing. It is the opinion of more than one parent that he doesn’t really care - evidenced also by the fact that the B team kids are only getting training 2x per week as opposed to 3x for A teams. The icing on the cake for U13 kids is that half the fall A team (EDP) was relegated to SAM Select for the spring season with no warning or explanation or any communication from Sal at all. Their weekly practices dropped from 3 to 2. I can only imagine how those kids feel. Certainly not “nurtured.” Even on the A teams there are favorites who play every game and kids who sit out for entire matches. Young kids sitting out for entire matches. They don’t feel too nurtured either. We are leaving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I read this, I had to laugh. Whoever wrote this is being totally and completely disingenuous. I wouldn't even be surprised if the author is working for the club. I will try to cut through the bs and shed some light on the truth. The current 09 team (rising 10 team) is very good. No child trying out should expect to make that team (or the #1 team if there are 2) unless they are an incredibly strong player. I don't know if the current 09s (rising 10s) have a second team. However, if they do, it will be a SAM Select team---meaning, there is pretty much no comparison between the two teams. The EDP team will get all of the focus and best practice times and the SAM team will receive good training, but not much else despite paying the same amount. There is barely any movement between #1 team and #2 team ever. The head coach tells parents that to placate them. From the get go, he has pretty much determined who is on the #1 team and who will never be. And, yes, it is completely true that the rosters are too big that and several kids are not likely to get any play time, particularly if it is a competitive game. Trust me--there might not be a "red, white or blue team" but unless kids are oblivious, they "know their place".

New soccer parents here. What do you mean by "From the get go, he has pretty much determined who is on the #1 team and who will never be"? How does the coach determine if player A is better than player B? Is a fair system if the coach is the final arbiter?

Sorry I have to ask because I swam in HS and the coach determines the roster and starting spot is the time trial.

As for comparing to swimming, rostering in soccer is always a challenge. Achilles coaches, like most coaches in the world, choose rosters that set their teams up best to be successful at their style of play. Even professional coaches at the highest levels make decisions that most wonder about. People still wonder why Klinsman dropped Landon Donovan from the World Cup roster years ago, and the same happens weekly in every league from youth to pro. Achilles coaches do their best at every level and agonize about who will improve each team.

There’s a lot of confusing talk on here. Achilles coaches will select their best available rosters for each team and each age. It’s hard to imagine why any coach would do it differently. The only big difference is that rosters are rearranged throughout the year based in kids’ performance in practices and games, rather than the standard model of only adjusting once a year or season. Also incredibly important is that Achilles training is excellent.

Yes, it is to be expected that most coaches would select their best available roster for each team and each age. However, Achilles portrayed itself as a true development club, which it is not. There is also the promise that " that rosters are rearranged throughout the year based in kids’ performance in practices and games, rather than the standard model of only adjusting once a year or season." Practically speaking, very[u] few kids move between the A team and B/C team, unless of course, they need to fill a roster. For the most part, Sal is the one making the decisions, despite the other coaches having a lot to offer. Sal is very difficult to deal with and parents are afraid to confront him for fear that he will take it out on their kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is a top player on a strong Rec team and is looking at travel options. Given what has been said about Achilles, I doubt he would make the top team -- but is it so competitive that someone coming from Rec has no shot at all? I don't want to send him to tryouts only to be completely crushed. Thoughts?

Unlike a team like Bethesda, Potomac, Arlington or Alexandria, Achilles is very new. There are great coaches at the club and some very talented kids on the 09 team already. But the 08 and 09 top teams only have 4-5 sure starters from week to week. The club has attracted some really strong players- a few grown there in the last couple years, a couple who moved over. There's sometimes a clear difference in levels on the same field in games. It often seems with better established clubs that the whole team is often more level on ability, while there might be a star or two. But Achilles would definitely benefit from a couple more top level players, whether they come from rec depends how good the kid was in rec, whether he plays outside of rec, and how quickly he learns.

I can think of two kids who came straight from rec and they had a huge learning curve. But they're playing with the top teams and it's because they've worked hard at and outside of practie.

What doesn't seem to matter at achilles is size. I'd guess the big, fast kids didn't consider Achilles when it was new. Achilles teams are often smaller than the kids they play against and not every kid is fast, but they make up for it with passing and ability to win one on ones. But of course, size and speed are always great if a kid has them and I'm sure the coaches would love it (with skills, of course).

I am surprised that this poster would say that there are only 4-5 sure starters for 09. That is not correct as far as I know as the team is doing incredibly well. And it a bit disconcerting for the PP (a parent) to say that they could use a couple more top level players. Presumably, you would be ok with the existing players who are not "up to par" in your opinion to be downgraded. I'll bet if your son went through a performance plateau, you would expect your son to be given the benefit of the doubt.

Anonymous wrote:Wait, so is Achilles a cut-throat meat grinder or a family-like, nurturing environment that focuses on development?

If your son is a good player/shows potential, answer is nurturing environment that focuses on development. Seems to be someone here who is dissatisfied that their son is on a lower team and finds it to be a cut-through meat grinder.

Wait, so is Achilles a cut-throat meat grinder or a family-like, nurturing environment that focuses on development?

Bethesda is not academy style. Some teams practice together sometimes, but that is the exception rather than the rule. As has been mentioned here, Achilles is not purely academy style either but it is closer to that model than Bethesda. The impression that may be left by some of the posts here about opportunities to play with other teams at Achilles also is not accurate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My family never played for this particular club,but I would consider your kid's personality when considering going to a club with an Academy style. My child hated not knowing who his teammates would be and who his coach would be throughout the year. He also hated the constant evaluations. After about six months, he had lost much of his self-confidence as he was moved around. Other kids do fine in this environment.

OP of this thread- yes, this is not going to be a great fit for my son. We're skipping.

What are alternatives relatively close to NWDC?

PPA, Stoddert, Bethesda SC,to name a few

I've heard Bethesda is also the same tough Academy style - is that correct?

plus Jouons in Columbia Heights and DC Youth Football Club

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My family never played for this particular club,but I would consider your kid's personality when considering going to a club with an Academy style. My child hated not knowing who his teammates would be and who his coach would be throughout the year. He also hated the constant evaluations. After about six months, he had lost much of his self-confidence as he was moved around. Other kids do fine in this environment.

OP of this thread- yes, this is not going to be a great fit for my son. We're skipping.

What are alternatives relatively close to NWDC?

PPA, Stoddert, Bethesda SC,to name a few

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My family never played for this particular club,but I would consider your kid's personality when considering going to a club with an Academy style. My child hated not knowing who his teammates would be and who his coach would be throughout the year. He also hated the constant evaluations. After about six months, he had lost much of his self-confidence as he was moved around. Other kids do fine in this environment.

OP of this thread- yes, this is not going to be a great fit for my son. We're skipping.

What are alternatives relatively close to NWDC?

Anonymous wrote:My family never played for this particular club,but I would consider your kid's personality when considering going to a club with an Academy style. My child hated not knowing who his teammates would be and who his coach would be throughout the year. He also hated the constant evaluations. After about six months, he had lost much of his self-confidence as he was moved around. Other kids do fine in this environment.

OP of this thread- yes, this is not going to be a great fit for my son. We're skipping.

My family never played for this particular club,but I would consider your kid's personality when considering going to a club with an Academy style. My child hated not knowing who his teammates would be and who his coach would be throughout the year. He also hated the constant evaluations. After about six months, he had lost much of his self-confidence as he was moved around. Other kids do fine in this environment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Former Achilles parent here - It’s true on the higher division teams that not all players get to play in a match. Also, Sal frequently brings in kids from other clubs (e.g., DC United) to play in the tournaments and they end up getting far more playing time than some of the Achilles players. If your son will struggle with this prospect then before committing to the club I would ask Sal if he plans to continue these situations in the fall, or if his model is going to change. It’s a new(ish) club so it’s possible.

Are parents really ok with non-club kids playing instead of theirs in tournaments!?

No. It shows the club’s claim that it is about development over winning is complete BS. Sal wants to make a name for himself and that comes first.

As for St. John’s - it is my sense that it didn’t allow Sal to use the fields as much as he needs because some teams have fewer practices than the club committed, so the club is looking into other options. This is all just speculation since the club never communicated why there are fewer practices than we paid for (while other teams get 3), what the plan is, etc.

Agree with all of this. It’s total BS. We didn’t know any of this going in.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for the info on Achilles.

With this flexible approach to rosters and moving kids up and down, how many kids do they typically have at the club for each age year?

The club is very small and there are only one or two teams in each age group. They don’t take kids just to fill a roster so it varies from year to year how many in each age, which is also part of the reason younger kids and B team kids sometimes get called to play up during any given week. As for B team kids, their skill level is high enough to enable them to do this as a sub, they just might not be ready for a full time top team roster spot yet. This flexible approach could change tho so best to ask about upcoming season