Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind Barca moves players between teams a lot. The same team may have different players and coaches from day to day or week to week, and often invite players to play from other teams or age groups. They train this way also in order to keep players in unpredictable situations to teach them to adapt.

Yep I saw them play in an ‘07 tournament and they brought ‘09.

That's just dumb.

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind Barca moves players between teams a lot. The same team may have different players and coaches from day to day or week to week, and often invite players to play from other teams or age groups. They train this way also in order to keep players in unpredictable situations to teach them to adapt.

Yep I saw them play in an ‘07 tournament and they brought ‘09.

Keep in mind Barca moves players between teams a lot. The same team may have different players and coaches from day to day or week to week, and often invite players to play from other teams or age groups. They train this way also in order to keep players in unpredictable situations to teach them to adapt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We scrimmaged them at Evergreen and blew them out, then got our asses kicked in league play the very next day.

Wow! That's interesting. Why'd you play them two days in a row? What age group?

07s

Did not get it: did you play the same team twice the same week-end or was the Sunday league game against another team?

Anonymous wrote:I think all clubs tend to have pockets of age groups that are stronger or weaker.

AMEN, just take a look at CCL's standings and NCSL. Not one club is dominating which is good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We scrimmaged them at Evergreen and blew them out, then got our asses kicked in league play the very next day.

Wow! That's interesting. Why'd you play them two days in a row? What age group?

07s

I think all clubs tend to have pockets of age groups that are stronger or weaker.

Anonymous wrote:We scrimmaged them at Evergreen and blew them out, then got our asses kicked in league play the very next day.

Wow! That's interesting. Why'd you play them two days in a row? What age group?

Anonymous wrote:We scrimmaged them at Evergreen and blew them out, then got our asses kicked in league play the very next day.

Wow! You played too?

Congratulations on the big win on Saturday. At your age you were probably feeling pretty sore the next day, which explains the league result.

We scrimmaged them at Evergreen and blew them out, then got our asses kicked in league play the very next day.

Anonymous wrote:We are new to the club and the training is good, but there it takes a lot to get use to it. I won't past judgment after a short few months, but I can't say for a fact that we will be back next year. As mentioned above, some of the players are good and came from other successful programs from around the area, but some have no business playing travel ball. Not sure if they actually said no to anyone.

You've got to do what is best for your child. I will note, however, that the player pool gets better and more selective with their older teams. Even their B and C teams play nice soccer. Here's an example of play from their 2001 yellow team, which is not their top team.
https://www.facebook.com/barcaacademynv/videos/530108880785044/

I think they tend to be more generous in accepting younger kids as they have more time to develop and improve.

We are new to the club and the training is good, but there it takes a lot to get use to it. I won't past judgment after a short few months, but I can't say for a fact that we will be back next year. As mentioned above, some of the players are good and came from other successful programs from around the area, but some have no business playing travel ball. Not sure if they actually said no to anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not throwing stones, but seems like some of their teams are struggling out of the gates in EDP - albeit its very early. Did they push some teams in too early or was this sort of expected by the leadership there?

I think it is a little bit of both. It is harder at earlier ages, when playing out of the back against hard pressing teams so some mistakes/growing pains were probably expected. Their older teams are doing well in the top divisions. This week-end, 2003s and 2001s won 3-0 and 4-0 respectively.

The fact that their older teams are doing well might also be attributable to the fact that those kids had a decade of training before they came to Barca. It’s hard to know.

This is true in a sense that these players developed their technique at younger ages, while playing for other clubs. However, Barca's top teams display a distinctly different style of play from what you normally see on soccer fields in this area. This is not something these boys learned in their prior clubs. My son is on one of their older teams and he is raving about how good the coaching is.

Yes, I'd say there is a very clear program that is consistently being taught across the board. I've never seen anything quite like that. I have kids of different ages and genders and have largely seen the gambit of clubs in youth soccer. What is very consistent is that no club has a completely distinct, consistent style that every team displays across the board. Barca teams do. The practices also have a consistent theme. You look out across all the teams practicing and they are all on the same curriculum.

What Barca can't control is if it necessarily got the top talent in all the age groups that NoVA has to offer. I'd say they got some talented players, but programs like the DA still have that sense of credibility and recognition. The draw of being in the "right" league hasn't gone away. What makes it what it is is that regardless of the level of player, they are being developed to play a certain way and to work with their teammates in a certain way. It is a heavily possession based style.

I also love that the coaches give the players some creative license to try things without the coach jerking the player out. That's a great balance: be creative, but do it as part of the style of play they are being taught.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not throwing stones, but seems like some of their teams are struggling out of the gates in EDP - albeit its very early. Did they push some teams in too early or was this sort of expected by the leadership there?

I think it is a little bit of both. It is harder at earlier ages, when playing out of the back against hard pressing teams so some mistakes/growing pains were probably expected. Their older teams are doing well in the top divisions. This week-end, 2003s and 2001s won 3-0 and 4-0 respectively.

The fact that their older teams are doing well might also be attributable to the fact that those kids had a decade of training before they came to Barca. It’s hard to know.

This is true in a sense that these players developed their technique at younger ages, while playing for other clubs. However, Barca's top teams display a distinctly different style of play from what you normally see on soccer fields in this area. This is not something these boys learned in their prior clubs. My son is on one of their older teams and he is raving about how good the coaching is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not throwing stones, but seems like some of their teams are struggling out of the gates in EDP - albeit its very early. Did they push some teams in too early or was this sort of expected by the leadership there?

I think it is a little bit of both. It is harder at earlier ages, when playing out of the back against hard pressing teams so some mistakes/growing pains were probably expected. Their older teams are doing well in the top divisions. This week-end, 2003s and 2001s won 3-0 and 4-0 respectively.

The fact that their older teams are doing well might also be attributable to the fact that those kids had a decade of training before they came to Barca. It’s hard to know.