Anonymous wrote:

Most top team kids are not going to play pro or D1, and a number of families and kids at Alexandria and other clubs may not think it is worth time or money. Money is going to be a bigger factor at Alexandria and other clubs vs top team kids from McLean and other wealthy suburbs.


Just curious, my boys are in middle school - does Alexandria also lose talented players as kids start playing for their high school teams (e.g., TC Williams)? Or does that not happen?


High school is played at a lower level than club in this area and is in addition to club, not the other way around

Understood, but it does not cost $2000 a year. I know that it is tough for some boys on my sons' teams who are not from affluent families but also are not poor enough to qualify for reduced Alexandria fees (which is a pretty high threshold of poverty)

Most top team kids are not going to play pro or D1, and a number of families and kids at Alexandria and other clubs may not think it is worth time or money. Money is going to be a bigger factor at Alexandria and other clubs vs top team kids from McLean and other wealthy suburbs.


Just curious, my boys are in middle school - does Alexandria also lose talented players as kids start playing for their high school teams (e.g., TC Williams)? Or does that not happen?


High school is played at a lower level than club in this area and is in addition to club, not the other way around

Anonymous wrote:

Most top team kids are not going to play pro or D1, and a number of families and kids at Alexandria and other clubs may not think it is worth time or money. Money is going to be a bigger factor at Alexandria and other clubs vs top team kids from McLean and other wealthy suburbs.

Just curious, my boys are in middle school - does Alexandria also lose talented players as kids start playing for their high school teams (e.g., TC Williams)? Or does that not happen?

Most top team kids are not going to play pro or D1, and a number of families and kids at Alexandria and other clubs may not think it is worth time or money. Money is going to be a bigger factor at Alexandria and other clubs vs top team kids from McLean and other wealthy suburbs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Did those teams (2003 and 2004) win all their games at younger ages, or have they always been weaker than other Alexandria teams?

I think some birth years just have a weaker group of players. I expect that sometimes this would happen randomly. When my daughter was younger, the same level team that she was on was much stronger han hers in the birth year above and the birth year below.

Agreed. Plus I also don't know when the current coaching staff started at Alexandria - but would expect the earlier teams to be weaker than later ones. And as others have pointed out, good players can move clubs to get more college exposure. So there are multiple possible explanations - and if we knew the actual results of the U18 team for example over the kast few years we could get a better sense of which explanation comes closest to the truth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is about the possession system, every club teaches that and has been teaching that for a decade (they just don’t market it like Alexandria).

No they don't. Most (all?) clubs claim to teach it. But many do not have a clue how to actually teach it, and end up relying on long balls, fast strikers, or one talented dribbler to score most of the goals.

Alexandria does teach it, and the consequence is that the players develop good technical ability.

It’s about wasting valuable development time by teaching systems at U9 - something that seems to be unique to Alexandria.

Sorry - but I think you're dead wrong here. Playing this style of football helps kids development rather than hindering it. Alexandria may take it a little too far in terms of limiting creativity - so perhaps they could do better still - but they do significantly better than most clubs from what I have seen.

Your opinions are noted, but there are no facts to support your statements. If they were teaching this system successfully and developing good technical skills in their players, there would be results. There are no results. It’s natural to feel like sucker after being lied to for years, but you can walk away and heal.

I don't have to walk away and heal since none of my kids have ever played at Alexandria. But - from my observation - I would say that they have achieved results. They are not a large club compared to many others playing in CCL. I believe they have a smaller pool of kids than almost all of the other CCL clubs and much smaller than the larger ones (SOCA, Legacy, Beach etc.). Despite that
- They have sent several kids to DCU.
- The kids I see playing pickup from Alexandria have above average technical skills.
- They have been accepted into MLSNext.
- Their teams seem to perform well above average at both futsal and soccer. In CCL the standings are as follows:
U9-U11 not published.
U12 (5/12) W6L2D0
U13 (1/18) W8L0D0
U14 (1/18) W8L0D0
U15 (2/18) W7L0D1
U16 (8/18) W4L1D3 (several games in hand over most others in league, so probably around 4th - 6th)
U17 (9/18) W4L3D1 (several games in hand over most others in league so probably around 5th - 7th)
U18 (18/18) W0L8D0 (clearly last)

It is true that the U17 and particularly the U18 team are not doing as well as the younger ones. So it's reasonable to ask why.

Did those teams (2003 and 2004) win all their games at younger ages, or have they always been weaker than other Alexandria teams? Has there been a longstanding trend of teams winning all their games at younger ages and falling off at older ages? Which age groups has this happened to? It will certainly be interesting to watch how the 2006/2007/2008 teams develop over the next 2-3 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Did those teams (2003 and 2004) win all their games at younger ages, or have they always been weaker than other Alexandria teams?

I think some birth years just have a weaker group of players. I expect that sometimes this would happen randomly. When my daughter was younger, the same level team that she was on was much stronger han hers in the birth year above and the birth year below.

Did those teams (2003 and 2004) win all their games at younger ages, or have they always been weaker than other Alexandria teams?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is about the possession system, every club teaches that and has been teaching that for a decade (they just don’t market it like Alexandria).

No they don't. Most (all?) clubs claim to teach it. But many do not have a clue how to actually teach it, and end up relying on long balls, fast strikers, or one talented dribbler to score most of the goals.

Alexandria does teach it, and the consequence is that the players develop good technical ability.

It’s about wasting valuable development time by teaching systems at U9 - something that seems to be unique to Alexandria.

Sorry - but I think you're dead wrong here. Playing this style of football helps kids development rather than hindering it. Alexandria may take it a little too far in terms of limiting creativity - so perhaps they could do better still - but they do significantly better than most clubs from what I have seen.

Your opinions are noted, but there are no facts to support your statements. If they were teaching this system successfully and developing good technical skills in their players, there would be results. There are no results. It’s natural to feel like sucker after being lied to for years, but you can walk away and heal.

Anonymous wrote:The results aren't published, but I heard that Alexandria's U13s and U14s did well in MLS next in the fall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is about the possession system, every club teaches that and has been teaching that for a decade (they just don’t market it like Alexandria).

No they don't. Most (all?) clubs claim to teach it. But many do not have a clue how to actually teach it, and end up relying on long balls, fast strikers, or one talented dribbler to score most of the goals.

Alexandria does teach it, and the consequence is that the players develop good technical ability.

It’s about wasting valuable development time by teaching systems at U9 - something that seems to be unique to Alexandria.

Sorry - but I think you're dead wrong here. Playing this style of football helps kids development rather than hindering it. Alexandria may take it a little too far in terms of limiting creativity - so perhaps they could do better still - but they do significantly better than most clubs from what I have seen.

Your opinions are noted, but there are no facts to support your statements. If they were teaching this system successfully and developing good technical skills in their players, there would be results. There are no results. It’s natural to feel like sucker after being lied to for years, but you can walk away and heal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is about the possession system, every club teaches that and has been teaching that for a decade (they just don’t market it like Alexandria).

No they don't. Most (all?) clubs claim to teach it. But many do not have a clue how to actually teach it, and end up relying on long balls, fast strikers, or one talented dribbler to score most of the goals.

Alexandria does teach it, and the consequence is that the players develop good technical ability.

It’s about wasting valuable development time by teaching systems at U9 - something that seems to be unique to Alexandria.

Sorry - but I think you're dead wrong here. Playing this style of football helps kids development rather than hindering it. Alexandria may take it a little too far in terms of limiting creativity - so perhaps they could do better still - but they do significantly better than most clubs from what I have seen.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is about the possession system, every club teaches that and has been teaching that for a decade (they just don’t market it like Alexandria).

It’s about wasting valuable development time by teaching systems at U9 - something that seems to be unique to Alexandria.

Yes, we get it, you don't think Alexandria is a good club or like them. That's fine. Time to move on.


Maybe Alexandria should change?