Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spirit MD is Pipeline and SAC. Two of the best youth U9-13 clubs in MD.
MD was not a startup. It was a rebranding. Two different things.

Plus, they are not close to Betheada or MD United. So they retain their player pool.

Let's be fair in the assessments.

Yes, but this just confirms that this individual knows nothing about WS and likely DA and youth soccer in this area in general.

That would be incorrect.

The fact is the WS-VA has failed to attract the talent necessary to be competitive. They had some disadvantages, to be sure. Unlike the MD side they were unable to bring an established dominant force in girls youth soccer into the fold. If Mclean, Loudoun, FCV, Arlington or BRYC had been willing to accept the same deal as Armour, WS-VA would be doing just fine.

On top of their disadvantages though, they've also mismanaged things. The coaching has not been great. Anyone who has seen their teams play (and knows anything about the game) can see that they are not effectivly teaching them to play out of the back, play through the 3rds, and in general play the way that is actually best for development. Their CBs first option is to clear the ball long, not control it and look for a MF or WB to feet. They look like they feel "pressure" when better (coached) players would feel in control.

On top of that they have bloated rosters, which they have dealt with by playing a significant # of players up in older age groups, all of which has had an effect on results.
Lets be real. DC United doesn't do that. Bethesda doesn't do that. None of the successful girls DA's do that. All of them will play players up when it is appropriate for the development -- they wouldn't be sufficiently challenged in their own age groups -- but it is not the norm.

No other DA in the country has such poor results combined with that high # of play-ups.

They have made a mess of things, and it's a damn shame. There are a lot of talented and dedicated players who bought what they've been selling, and the price has been quite high. I wish them all the best of luck in the future.

Maybe WS can turn it around. I hope they can. But it will require a change of leadership, and a completely revamped approach. That does not seem to be happening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spirit MD is Pipeline and SAC. Two of the best youth U9-13 clubs in MD.
MD was not a startup. It was a rebranding. Two different things.

Plus, they are not close to Betheada or MD United. So they retain their player pool.

Let's be fair in the assessments.

Yes, but this just confirms that this individual knows nothing about WS and likely DA and youth soccer in this area in general.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is still a year away but what sets Spirit apart from FCV or McLean? I realize they’re a “pro academy” but what does that actually mean other than their jersey and name? I’m trying to get a full education on what the options are.

If you are considering FCV Spirit and McLean, you should also consider BRYC and Loudoun and VDA Arlington and Bethesda potentially too depending on where you live. The former technical director of BRYC and the owner of FCV are deciding the future direction of Spirit VA along with the owners of Spirit, decision to be announced first week in Feb.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is still a year away but what sets Spirit apart from FCV or McLean? I realize they’re a “pro academy” but what does that actually mean other than their jersey and name? I’m trying to get a full education on what the options are.

Anonymous wrote:Spirit MD is Pipeline and SAC. Two of the best youth U9-13 clubs in MD.
MD was not a startup. It was a rebranding. Two different things.

Plus, they are not close to Betheada or MD United. So they retain their player pool.

Let's be fair in the assessments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep on hating and pushing the anti-Spirit agenda, but that doesn’t subtract from the fact that the focus in the short time they have been open has been on developing the players they have. The talent overall may not be on par with the established clubs, but why would anyone expect that with no club financing of players and after only one full year of operation. And there are some very talented players there regardless.

Your post brings up a few questions.

Can't all of the same things be said about WS-MD? Aren't they also new? Don't they also have the same philosophy of development over results?

So why are they doing so much better? Is it the talent? Coaching? Both?

Is it considered "anti-Spirit" to point out how much better the WS Academy in MD is doing compared to VA?

Is it possible Santino Quaranta has just done a much better job than Tom Torres? For those who know the track records of both, is that even surprising?

Even assuming that some of the answers to those questions are along the lines of "It's just harder in VA given the landscape, geography, density of competition, whatever ...." if you were the head of WS Spirt, rather than a parent of a WS-VA player, wouldn't it just make more sense to drop the VA program and invest in the MD side?

It's not like there's any real need for pro-academies to have 2 DAs. Off the top of my head I can't think of any others that do.

Not even going to address most of nonsense in your post.

Bottom line question for Spirit is are their two academies profitable? If the answer is yes and yes for MD and VA then clearly they should keep their two academies. If they are losing money on the academies then maybe they should have no academies. IF VA Soirit can establish stability they will be able to continue to add top players to their rosters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep on hating and pushing the anti-Spirit agenda, but that doesn’t subtract from the fact that the focus in the short time they have been open has been on developing the players they have. The talent overall may not be on par with the established clubs, but why would anyone expect that with no club financing of players and after only one full year of operation. And there are some very talented players there regardless.

Your post brings up a few questions.

Can't all of the same things be said about WS-MD? Aren't they also new? Don't they also have the same philosophy of development over results?

So why are they doing so much better? Is it the talent? Coaching? Both?

Is it considered "anti-Spirit" to point out how much better the WS Academy in MD is doing compared to VA?

Is it possible Santino Quaranta has just done a much better job than Tom Torres? For those who know the track records of both, is that even surprising?

Even assuming that some of the answers to those questions are along the lines of "It's just harder in VA given the landscape, geography, density of competition, whatever ...." if you were the head of WS Spirt, rather than a parent of a WS-VA player, wouldn't it just make more sense to drop the VA program and invest in the MD side?

It's not like there's any real need for pro-academies to have 2 DAs. Off the top of my head I can't think of any others that do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep on hating and pushing the anti-Spirit agenda, but that doesn’t subtract from the fact that the focus in the short time they have been open has been on developing the players they have. The talent overall may not be on par with the established clubs, but why would anyone expect that with no club financing of players and after only one full year of operation. And there are some very talented players there regardless.

Your post brings up a few questions.

Can't all of the same things be said about WS-MD? Aren't they also new? Don't they also have the same philosophy of development over results?

So why are they doing so much better? Is it the talent? Coaching? Both?

Is it considered "anti-Spirit" to point out how much better the WS Academy in MD is doing compared to VA?

Is it possible Santino Quaranta has just done a much better job than Tom Torres? For those who know the track records of both, is that even surprising?

Even assuming that some of the answers to those questions are along the lines of "It's just harder in VA given the landscape, geography, density of competition, whatever ...." if you were the head of WS Spirt, rather than a parent of a WS-VA player, wouldn't it just make more sense to drop the VA program and invest in the MD side?

It's not like there's any real need for pro-academies to have 2 DAs. Off the top of my head I can't think of any others that do.

Actually, they can’t. Spirit MD is Baltimore Armour

https://washingtonspirit.com/2017/02/06/washington-spirit-baltimore-armour-join-forces-for-u-s-soccer-girls-development-academy/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep on hating and pushing the anti-Spirit agenda, but that doesn’t subtract from the fact that the focus in the short time they have been open has been on developing the players they have. The talent overall may not be on par with the established clubs, but why would anyone expect that with no club financing of players and after only one full year of operation. And there are some very talented players there regardless.

Your post brings up a few questions.

Can't all of the same things be said about WS-MD? Aren't they also new? Don't they also have the same philosophy of development over results?

So why are they doing so much better? Is it the talent? Coaching? Both?

Is it considered "anti-Spirit" to point out how much better the WS Academy in MD is doing compared to VA?

Is it possible Santino Quaranta has just done a much better job than Tom Torres? For those who know the track records of both, is that even surprising?

Even assuming that some of the answers to those questions are along the lines of "It's just harder in VA given the landscape, geography, density of competition, whatever ...." if you were the head of WS Spirt, rather than a parent of a WS-VA player, wouldn't it just make more sense to drop the VA program and invest in the MD side?

It's not like there's any real need for pro-academies to have 2 DAs. Off the top of my head I can't think of any others that do.

Actually, they can’t. Spirit MD is Baltimore Armour

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep on hating and pushing the anti-Spirit agenda, but that doesn’t subtract from the fact that the focus in the short time they have been open has been on developing the players they have. The talent overall may not be on par with the established clubs, but why would anyone expect that with no club financing of players and after only one full year of operation. And there are some very talented players there regardless.

Your post brings up a few questions.

Can't all of the same things be said about WS-MD? Aren't they also new? Don't they also have the same philosophy of development over results?

So why are they doing so much better? Is it the talent? Coaching? Both?

Is it considered "anti-Spirit" to point out how much better the WS Academy in MD is doing compared to VA?

Is it possible Santino Quaranta has just done a much better job than Tom Torres? For those who know the track records of both, is that even surprising?

Even assuming that some of the answers to those questions are along the lines of "It's just harder in VA given the landscape, geography, density of competition, whatever ...." if you were the head of WS Spirt, rather than a parent of a WS-VA player, wouldn't it just make more sense to drop the VA program and invest in the MD side?

It's not like there's any real need for pro-academies to have 2 DAs. Off the top of my head I can't think of any others that do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep on hating and pushing the anti-Spirit agenda, but that doesn’t subtract from the fact that the focus in the short time they have been open has been on developing the players they have. The talent overall may not be on par with the established clubs, but why would anyone expect that with no club financing of players and after only one full year of operation. And there are some very talented players there regardless.

Your post brings up a few questions.

Can't all of the same things be said about WS-MD? Aren't they also new? Don't they also have the same philosophy of development over results?

So why are they doing so much better? Is it the talent? Coaching? Both?

Is it considered "anti-Spirit" to point out how much better the WS Academy in MD is doing compared to VA?

Is it possible Santino Quaranta has just done a much better job than Tom Torres? For those who know the track records of both, is that even surprising?

Even assuming that some of the answers to those questions are along the lines of "It's just harder in VA given the landscape, geography, density of competition, whatever ...." if you were the head of WS Spirt, rather than a parent of a WS-VA player, wouldn't it just make more sense to drop the VA program and invest in the MD side?

It's not like there's any real need for pro-academies to have 2 DAs. Off the top of my head I can't think of any others that do.

Anonymous wrote:Keep on hating and pushing the anti-Spirit agenda, but that doesn’t subtract from the fact that the focus in the short time they have been open has been on developing the players they have. The talent overall may not be on par with the established clubs, but why would anyone expect that with no club financing of players and after only one full year of operation. And there are some very talented players there regardless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun 07 ECNL will be Bereft of all talent once FCV DA picks them dry like a rotisserie chicken.

Umm!

Now stop talking about a 5th grade child you dope.

DP. Wanna bet?

Yeah. I'll take my payments in bitcoin.