Falls Church, sometimes Alexandria as well.

Anonymous wrote:The team practices 2 days a week in Rockville at Montgomery College stadium and one day in Virginia. Our families come from across the region so they make an effort to spread it out although Montgomery College is our home field.

where in VA?

The team practices 2 days a week in Rockville at Montgomery College stadium and one day in Virginia. Our families come from across the region so they make an effort to spread it out although Montgomery College is our home field.

Thank you - where does your child practice? TP or Frederick?

My son is a player with Benfica SC here in the DC area.

A couple of points, first off, ALL "pay to play" soccer clubs are money grabs. They are businesses who make money from club fees and not reciprocity payments or sponsorships the way it works in most countries.

Second, there is obviously very little direct link from Benfica SC here and the home club's academy in Lisbon. The coaches do spend time there every year for coaches training, learning drills etc which they bring back and utilize here.

The club is still fairly new, so many players are coming into travel or at EDP level for the first time. However the coaches do a great job focusing on development of those players, often stopping practice to reinforce something or help a kid who is having trouble with a particular skill.

That can reduce the intensity of the training because not every kid is at that high level. But as a parent, I'm glad to see the attention to all kids not just the team's stars.

We didn't join the club because we thought my son would have a direct path to Europe. We joined because we liked the training, focus on skill, possession, position and team play that many American clubs lacked.

I took my son to trial with some of the biggest and "best" clubs in the region. One in particular spent the entire tryout in 1v1 and 3v3 and from what I could tell it was just about which kid was most aggressive defensively and scores the most individual goals.

Benfica was different and tested different skills, including maturity and willingness to take instruction.

However I personally believe that travel soccer isn't very valuable for kids under u15. Many take longer to mature physically and puberty only complicates that more.

I would recommend more parents focus their youth players in futsal to really focus their training on skill and speed with the ball, movement and quick decision-making. At least until u15 level, futsal would be a better investment than travel soccer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The contempt comes from xenophobia.

Lolz. Sorry your venture isn’t working out like you had hoped

No venture, I coach at a small local club. But a cynical jack*ss like you shouldn’t be able to dictate the conversation. Hopefully you’re just ignorant and not a xenophobe.

Why is ignirance superior to xenophobia? Personally I'd rather be a xenophobe.

not anymore. all the players on the U13 went pro in Brazil and Portugal, so there's no team left.

At the risk of being trolled, circling back on this thread. Moved to Frederick and saw they had a team last year. Do they still have a team after COVID? Anyone with thoughts who have a child on the team? Looking for U-13...thanks in advance.

They have teams playing in the ASK tournament in a couple weeks. Might drop by a game to check them out.

Is it cheaper than IMG

I’ve so sickly burned. Ouch.

Anonymous wrote:Clinic guy here again.

Yes, we're also in VA, which is the reason that our boys are not on their travel teams. As someone else posted, they have teams that train in Takoma Park, Frederick, and (I think) in DC at Galludet University.

While at their clinics, I was talking to their staff and they have tentative plans to do travel teams in Virginia starting this fall. Their fees are in line with normal ranges, and I definitely think they're worth a look.

This thread is a prime example of "wankers gonna wank." Take an evening and check out Benfica.

Seems like you have a lot of experience with checking out wankers. You should get out more.

Clinic guy here again.

Yes, we're also in VA, which is the reason that our boys are not on their travel teams. As someone else posted, they have teams that train in Takoma Park, Frederick, and (I think) in DC at Galludet University.

While at their clinics, I was talking to their staff and they have tentative plans to do travel teams in Virginia starting this fall. Their fees are in line with normal ranges, and I definitely think they're worth a look.

This thread is a prime example of "wankers gonna wank." Take an evening and check out Benfica.

The FAQ on their website says they train in Takoma Park and Frederick, and players who train in one of those locations will not be expected to travel to the other.

Takoma looks to be Washington Adventist. Frederick I think Utica park (at least that's where they ran some clinics, so maybe there, maybe not).

They did a winter clinic at Marshall High in Falls Church, but no idea if that was just a one off.

Anonymous wrote:Where do the travel teams practice?

I saw “Fairfax County” which is very broad description and College Park.

We live in VA and are looking for a closer option.

Thanks

So, nobody can actually answer a question about the school??? How about you know-it-alls about 'brand' clubs? Since you know so much could you tell me what fields they use for practices?