Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:FCB entered a team in the Herndon All-Star Cup this weekend. Do they have a rec league now? Or were these players they're training but not assigned to the travel teams?

They entered some of their teams in rec level tournaments last year too, including some of in the 04-06 range. Apart from a few of the boys teams, especially a couple of the older teams and one or two of the younger boys teams, they have a lot of players that make a good fit at the challenge/rec level of play. Even more so when you consider many are learning a new style, which may slow them down a bit because they have to think more about what to do. It’s good that they are able to find the appropriate level of competition for each given group.

Most definitely. From what I saw of the results, it seemed to be the right level for them -- neither too easy nor too hard. Glad they're including players like that in their program.

There were several other local clubs that had their teams in the same age groups as Barca's teams (Loudoun Red, NVSC Blue, Herndon Black, McLean White, FPYC White, Vienna Red, etc). So, as you say, the competition level was balanced, neither too easy nor too hard.

Those are not the travel teams of those clubs!

My son played in the Herndon Cup for Barca. It was absolutely the right tournament for their development. It’s a largely new team and this was their first external competition, other than a friendly vs a bottom division ncsl team which they beat fairly easily. The objective was to see if they could play barca’s possession game which they have learned the last few months, under pressure of a competion. They performed well in that regard. The boys had fun and bonded as a team. It was a lot of fun to watch even the PK shootout which they lost. It was soccer vs kickball and we won possession in every game. Yes, I know these were rec teams and expected as much. The other teams were also considerably bigger and more physical, which was part of the development test for them - could they continue to play their game and not devolve into kickball. Will be great to see them in the spring when they’ll get travel competition.

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:FCB entered a team in the Herndon All-Star Cup this weekend. Do they have a rec league now? Or were these players they're training but not assigned to the travel teams?

They entered some of their teams in rec level tournaments last year too, including some of in the 04-06 range. Apart from a few of the boys teams, especially a couple of the older teams and one or two of the younger boys teams, they have a lot of players that make a good fit at the challenge/rec level of play. Even more so when you consider many are learning a new style, which may slow them down a bit because they have to think more about what to do. It’s good that they are able to find the appropriate level of competition for each given group.

Most definitely. From what I saw of the results, it seemed to be the right level for them -- neither too easy nor too hard. Glad they're including players like that in their program.

There were several other local clubs that had their teams in the same age groups as Barca's teams (Loudoun Red, NVSC Blue, Herndon Black, McLean White, FPYC White, Vienna Red, etc). So, as you say, the competition level was balanced, neither too easy nor too hard.

RantingSoccerDad wrote:FCB entered a team in the Herndon All-Star Cup this weekend. Do they have a rec league now? Or were these players they're training but not assigned to the travel teams?

The short answer is yes, they have some teams/players that are not ready for travel level competition and are likely not even carded.

RantingSoccerDad wrote:FCB entered a team in the Herndon All-Star Cup this weekend. Do they have a rec league now? Or were these players they're training but not assigned to the travel teams?

They entered some of their teams in rec level tournaments last year too, including some of in the 04-06 range. Apart from a few of the boys teams, especially a couple of the older teams and one or two of the younger boys teams, they have a lot of players that make a good fit at the challenge/rec level of play. Even more so when you consider many are learning a new style, which may slow them down a bit because they have to think more about what to do. It’s good that they are able to find the appropriate level of competition for each given group.

RantingSoccerDad wrote:FCB entered a team in the Herndon All-Star Cup this weekend. Do they have a rec league now? Or were these players they're training but not assigned to the travel teams?

It may be one of their developmental teams that does not play in any leagues. They had a couple 2010 teams do a rec tournament last year and the teams had a good number of 2011 players playing up. Another possibility is that with a couple local tournaments recently cancelled, they could have tried to find a last minute replacement and the Herndon tournament was the only option available for that age group.

Anonymous wrote:I have a child at Barca Academy this year. My child's coach is not knowledgeable. The team goes forward at every opportunity and when in possession are narrow and shallow (centre backs are pushed into the midfield). The coach does not address any of this. Typically, as soon as the ball is played wide, the winger goes down the wing blindly and hoofs in a cross. The team wins against weak teams. Instead of trying to play well (possessing, switching the point of attack, patiently stretching the other team out) the coach seems content with capitalizing on mistakes by the weak team and scoring. They win games by 5 or more goals while stringing together an average of 2 passes With a different coach the team could play so much better. Some of the older teams play a much nicer (Barca) style but it seems to be dependant on the coach. There is little to no coach rotation as others have mentioned and I rarely see the technical director.

If you have concerns and feedback about the coach, you should schedule a meeting with the TD and discuss. He’d probably appreciate the feedback and make a point to observe this coach to correct any deviations from the methodology. Different poster with kids in the program. My kids both have had several different coaches at games and trainings this year. I have observed there is some variations in the styles and personalities of the coaches (Spanish/American, male/female, young/old) , and some styles work better with some kids than others. They also said all teams would be rotating coaches mid season so after the winter break you should get a new one.

Anonymous wrote:I have a child at Barca Academy this year. My child's coach is not knowledgeable. The team goes forward at every opportunity and when in possession are narrow and shallow (centre backs are pushed into the midfield). The coach does not address any of this. Typically, as soon as the ball is played wide, the winger goes down the wing blindly and hoofs in a cross. The team wins against weak teams. Instead of trying to play well (possessing, switching the point of attack, patiently stretching the other team out) the coach seems content with capitalizing on mistakes by the weak team and scoring. They win games by 5 or more goals while stringing together an average of 2 passes With a different coach the team could play so much better. Some of the older teams play a much nicer (Barca) style but it seems to be dependant on the coach. There is little to no coach rotation as others have mentioned and I rarely see the technical director.

I also noticed that some of the coaches provide more tactical instruction than others. I cannot speak specifically about your child's coach, but it may be that your child's team is not as advanced as some others. As for the coaching rotation, all my kids have new coaches compared to last year and they usually have a different coach covering one practice per week. So the experience may be different for different teams and age groups. I saw the technical director at Evergreen this morning and my wife saw him at an EDP game in Maryland last week. I think that with more teams to oversee, he is stretched more than last year when the program was smaller and teams did not have league travel. Barca has added three age group coordinators, who observe practices and report to the technical director. If you have concerns or questions about training, etc., you can send email and request a meeting with your age group coordinator and the coach.

I have a child at Barca Academy this year. My child's coach is not knowledgeable. The team goes forward at every opportunity and when in possession are narrow and shallow (centre backs are pushed into the midfield). The coach does not address any of this. Typically, as soon as the ball is played wide, the winger goes down the wing blindly and hoofs in a cross. The team wins against weak teams. Instead of trying to play well (possessing, switching the point of attack, patiently stretching the other team out) the coach seems content with capitalizing on mistakes by the weak team and scoring. They win games by 5 or more goals while stringing together an average of 2 passes With a different coach the team could play so much better. Some of the older teams play a much nicer (Barca) style but it seems to be dependant on the coach. There is little to no coach rotation as others have mentioned and I rarely see the technical director.

Anonymous wrote:Yes that team included 2001, 2002, and 2003 players. This team and a couple others travelled to Disney, too. They are planning more travel for some of the top teams

Some age groups are playing in the MIC Cup in Spain this spring.

Yes that team included 2001, 2002, and 2003 players. This team and a couple others travelled to Disney, too. They are planning more travel for some of the top teams

I believe this is the only Barca team that has played in LA Galaxy tournament last Spring.

https://home.gotsoccer.com/rankings/team.aspx?teamid=1172614

They just need more than 1 person running the front office. I you are going to run it like a business, then you have to be spot on. It sometimes feels like a soccer mom team manager was just added to this large entity .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet, no one has lied about Barca to put them down. Former member opinions have been targeted as lies. But some of the pro-Barca posts have been found to be factually warped, for example how the business is set up and many other details about the program.

I am a parent at Barca. A lot of negative stuff that was posted is total nonsense and the parents with kids in the program know that it is not true.

Another Barca parent here and I saw many legitimate criticisms that were treated as lies and nonsense. I wish some of us here wouldn't be so defensive, it makes us look a little unhinged as a group.

I don't think people react negatively to legitimate criticisms, but rather to assertions like politics is rampant and parents are hovering over coaches or calling Barca parents obnoxious. Barca is not perfect, but the flaws are rather minor. I am happy that my kids don't have to deal with politics, have to earn every minute of playing time on the field and have high quality coaches who pay attention to details.

I don't think anyone said politics were rampant or that all the parents were obnoxious. Late last season I observed a few parents getting chummy with a few of the coaches and saw at least one couple in a very involved conversation with a top organization official, exchanging phone numbers. That's not "rampant" politics, but it's not quite the "Chinese" wall someone tried to advertise in this thread, either. Personally, I'm not offended by that behavior and expect it, especially in the DC area. I think any grown adult realizes you can't take "politics" out of any environment in life. I think we need to stop pretending it doesn't exist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet, no one has lied about Barca to put them down. Former member opinions have been targeted as lies. But some of the pro-Barca posts have been found to be factually warped, for example how the business is set up and many other details about the program.

I am a parent at Barca. A lot of negative stuff that was posted is total nonsense and the parents with kids in the program know that it is not true.

Another Barca parent here and I saw many legitimate criticisms that were treated as lies and nonsense. I wish some of us here wouldn't be so defensive, it makes us look a little unhinged as a group.

I don't think people react negatively to legitimate criticisms, but rather to assertions like politics is rampant and parents are hovering over coaches or calling Barca parents obnoxious. Barca is not perfect, but the flaws are rather minor. I am happy that my kids don't have to deal with politics, have to earn every minute of playing time on the field and have high quality coaches who pay attention to details.