Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a great team..and I'm sure FVU would love some of those kids but if they didn't go to tryouts then they don't want to come.
The idea is to get the kids on that team back when they were U12s and have them go to FVU.
This isn't a merger like BRAVE and Mclean when you had 2 ECNL teams that had to become one.

Let's say you have a player who is going to be on a U12 pre-ECNL team next year at one of the clubs that feeds into FVU. Is it better to be part of a certain club over others? For example, do players at BRYC and Vienna have an advantage over the other feeders because they are the "founder" clubs so to speak? I know tryouts are open to everyone, and being part of one of the feeder clubs is no guarantee. But is it easier to get on the radar of the FVU coaches if you're already part of a specific feeder club/team? Do the coaches care at all about the records of the pre-ECNL teams the players are coming from, or do they evaluate strictly on what they see from an individual player at ID sessions? Does the reputation of a club or an age group factor in to who makes the team at U13? This feels like an interesting experiment coming up for the rising U12s.

100% feeder clubs will get first look let alone communication between feeder club coach and FVU coach. The issue is there are a growing number of feeder clubs so there will be leakage of players who are looked over and end up with another club

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a great team..and I'm sure FVU would love some of those kids but if they didn't go to tryouts then they don't want to come.
The idea is to get the kids on that team back when they were U12s and have them go to FVU.
This isn't a merger like BRAVE and Mclean when you had 2 ECNL teams that had to become one.

Let's say you have a player who is going to be on a U12 pre-ECNL team next year at one of the clubs that feeds into FVU. Is it better to be part of a certain club over others? For example, do players at BRYC and Vienna have an advantage over the other feeders because they are the "founder" clubs so to speak? I know tryouts are open to everyone, and being part of one of the feeder clubs is no guarantee. But is it easier to get on the radar of the FVU coaches if you're already part of a specific feeder club/team? Do the coaches care at all about the records of the pre-ECNL teams the players are coming from, or do they evaluate strictly on what they see from an individual player at ID sessions? Does the reputation of a club or an age group factor in to who makes the team at U13? This feels like an interesting experiment coming up for the rising U12s.

Anonymous wrote:It is a great team..and I'm sure FVU would love some of those kids but if they didn't go to tryouts then they don't want to come.
The idea is to get the kids on that team back when they were U12s and have them go to FVU.
This isn't a merger like BRAVE and Mclean when you had 2 ECNL teams that had to become one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bitter for the 2007 boys. Their VA Union team got dismantled for their very last year of soccer. Very few made it to the new team as the Brave coaches gave preference to their players. And to go back on their decision a year later.
Many boy parents could see this coming when they announced it, many boys parents were vocal but completely ignored. SO much incompetence that it is making my head spin. My son youth soccer years are over and it is such a relief.
The main issues are:
- Coaches are typically just good soccer players but are receiving little to NO training on youth psychology. You wouldn't trust a teacher without it, and yet, we let those men with overinflated egos train our kids.
- Administration is in it for the $$. Protecting their salaries while providing as little work as possible.
- Boards are useless because either their kids are on the teams and they just act in the best interest of their child or to get the favors of their coaches. OR they get the position to look good on their resumes or shine in society.
This is broken in so many places that I have little faith it could be fixed.

It does suck for the 2007 boys that were on both the previous VA Union and BRAVE teams and didn't make the new merged team. A lot of great boys lost the opportunity to play their last year of soccer together with teammates that they had for years. But let's not sugar coat it either. VA Union was not a world beater; in fact, the old 2007 BRAVE team had beaten the VA Union team and was higher in the standing the last year that they were individual teams. And the merged team was a pretty even split of VA Union and BRAVE players that were on the new 06/07 team with only 1 or 2 extra players from BRAVE, which should be expected.

I'm not disagreeing with your other points.

Will it get better with the addition of Herndon?

Why would they? FVU top players already left and Herndon just announced the merge today and FVU has been holding tryouts for the past 4 weeks. So FVU already got their 23+ kids that’s couldn’t make any other top team.
Also, the Herndon kids that have talent probably already left to their neighbor clubs NVA, Loudoun or Revolution (all mls next clubs)

Herndon and Villareal were only added for their boys program, but they did it too late. Will have to wait until next year to see any benefit to the program. However, Union may start to come after their fields since they are part of the "alliance". As a parent of Herndon or Villareal you really have to question if this merger was done in your child's best interests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bitter for the 2007 boys. Their VA Union team got dismantled for their very last year of soccer. Very few made it to the new team as the Brave coaches gave preference to their players. And to go back on their decision a year later.
Many boy parents could see this coming when they announced it, many boys parents were vocal but completely ignored. SO much incompetence that it is making my head spin. My son youth soccer years are over and it is such a relief.
The main issues are:
- Coaches are typically just good soccer players but are receiving little to NO training on youth psychology. You wouldn't trust a teacher without it, and yet, we let those men with overinflated egos train our kids.
- Administration is in it for the $$. Protecting their salaries while providing as little work as possible.
- Boards are useless because either their kids are on the teams and they just act in the best interest of their child or to get the favors of their coaches. OR they get the position to look good on their resumes or shine in society.
This is broken in so many places that I have little faith it could be fixed.

It does suck for the 2007 boys that were on both the previous VA Union and BRAVE teams and didn't make the new merged team. A lot of great boys lost the opportunity to play their last year of soccer together with teammates that they had for years. But let's not sugar coat it either. VA Union was not a world beater; in fact, the old 2007 BRAVE team had beaten the VA Union team and was higher in the standing the last year that they were individual teams. And the merged team was a pretty even split of VA Union and BRAVE players that were on the new 06/07 team with only 1 or 2 extra players from BRAVE, which should be expected.

I'm not disagreeing with your other points.

Will it get better with the addition of Herndon?

Why would they? FVU top players already left and Herndon just announced the merge today and FVU has been holding tryouts for the past 4 weeks. So FVU already got their 23+ kids that’s couldn’t make any other top team.
Also, the Herndon kids that have talent probably already left to their neighbor clubs NVA, Loudoun or Revolution (all mls next clubs)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bitter for the 2007 boys. Their VA Union team got dismantled for their very last year of soccer. Very few made it to the new team as the Brave coaches gave preference to their players. And to go back on their decision a year later.
Many boy parents could see this coming when they announced it, many boys parents were vocal but completely ignored. SO much incompetence that it is making my head spin. My son youth soccer years are over and it is such a relief.
The main issues are:
- Coaches are typically just good soccer players but are receiving little to NO training on youth psychology. You wouldn't trust a teacher without it, and yet, we let those men with overinflated egos train our kids.
- Administration is in it for the $$. Protecting their salaries while providing as little work as possible.
- Boards are useless because either their kids are on the teams and they just act in the best interest of their child or to get the favors of their coaches. OR they get the position to look good on their resumes or shine in society.
This is broken in so many places that I have little faith it could be fixed.

It does suck for the 2007 boys that were on both the previous VA Union and BRAVE teams and didn't make the new merged team. A lot of great boys lost the opportunity to play their last year of soccer together with teammates that they had for years. But let's not sugar coat it either. VA Union was not a world beater; in fact, the old 2007 BRAVE team had beaten the VA Union team and was higher in the standing the last year that they were individual teams. And the merged team was a pretty even split of VA Union and BRAVE players that were on the new 06/07 team with only 1 or 2 extra players from BRAVE, which should be expected.

I'm not disagreeing with your other points.

Will it get better with the addition of Herndon?

Why would they? FVU top players already left and Herndon just announced the merge today and FVU has been holding tryouts for the past 4 weeks. So FVU already got their 23+ kids that’s couldn’t make any other top team.
Also, the Herndon kids that have talent probably already left to their neighbor clubs NVA, Loudoun or Revolution (all mls next clubs)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bitter for the 2007 boys. Their VA Union team got dismantled for their very last year of soccer. Very few made it to the new team as the Brave coaches gave preference to their players. And to go back on their decision a year later.
Many boy parents could see this coming when they announced it, many boys parents were vocal but completely ignored. SO much incompetence that it is making my head spin. My son youth soccer years are over and it is such a relief.
The main issues are:
- Coaches are typically just good soccer players but are receiving little to NO training on youth psychology. You wouldn't trust a teacher without it, and yet, we let those men with overinflated egos train our kids.
- Administration is in it for the $$. Protecting their salaries while providing as little work as possible.
- Boards are useless because either their kids are on the teams and they just act in the best interest of their child or to get the favors of their coaches. OR they get the position to look good on their resumes or shine in society.
This is broken in so many places that I have little faith it could be fixed.

It does suck for the 2007 boys that were on both the previous VA Union and BRAVE teams and didn't make the new merged team. A lot of great boys lost the opportunity to play their last year of soccer together with teammates that they had for years. But let's not sugar coat it either. VA Union was not a world beater; in fact, the old 2007 BRAVE team had beaten the VA Union team and was higher in the standing the last year that they were individual teams. And the merged team was a pretty even split of VA Union and BRAVE players that were on the new 06/07 team with only 1 or 2 extra players from BRAVE, which should be expected.

I'm not disagreeing with your other points.

Will it get better with the addition of Herndon?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bitter for the 2007 boys. Their VA Union team got dismantled for their very last year of soccer. Very few made it to the new team as the Brave coaches gave preference to their players. And to go back on their decision a year later.
Many boy parents could see this coming when they announced it, many boys parents were vocal but completely ignored. SO much incompetence that it is making my head spin. My son youth soccer years are over and it is such a relief.
The main issues are:
- Coaches are typically just good soccer players but are receiving little to NO training on youth psychology. You wouldn't trust a teacher without it, and yet, we let those men with overinflated egos train our kids.
- Administration is in it for the $$. Protecting their salaries while providing as little work as possible.
- Boards are useless because either their kids are on the teams and they just act in the best interest of their child or to get the favors of their coaches. OR they get the position to look good on their resumes or shine in society.
This is broken in so many places that I have little faith it could be fixed.

It does suck for the 2007 boys that were on both the previous VA Union and BRAVE teams and didn't make the new merged team. A lot of great boys lost the opportunity to play their last year of soccer together with teammates that they had for years. But let's not sugar coat it either. VA Union was not a world beater; in fact, the old 2007 BRAVE team had beaten the VA Union team and was higher in the standing the last year that they were individual teams. And the merged team was a pretty even split of VA Union and BRAVE players that were on the new 06/07 team with only 1 or 2 extra players from BRAVE, which should be expected.

I'm not disagreeing with your other points.

Will it get better with the addition of Herndon?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bitter for the 2007 boys. Their VA Union team got dismantled for their very last year of soccer. Very few made it to the new team as the Brave coaches gave preference to their players. And to go back on their decision a year later.
Many boy parents could see this coming when they announced it, many boys parents were vocal but completely ignored. SO much incompetence that it is making my head spin. My son youth soccer years are over and it is such a relief.
The main issues are:
- Coaches are typically just good soccer players but are receiving little to NO training on youth psychology. You wouldn't trust a teacher without it, and yet, we let those men with overinflated egos train our kids.
- Administration is in it for the $$. Protecting their salaries while providing as little work as possible.
- Boards are useless because either their kids are on the teams and they just act in the best interest of their child or to get the favors of their coaches. OR they get the position to look good on their resumes or shine in society.
This is broken in so many places that I have little faith it could be fixed.

It does suck for the 2007 boys that were on both the previous VA Union and BRAVE teams and didn't make the new merged team. A lot of great boys lost the opportunity to play their last year of soccer together with teammates that they had for years. But let's not sugar coat it either. VA Union was not a world beater; in fact, the old 2007 BRAVE team had beaten the VA Union team and was higher in the standing the last year that they were individual teams. And the merged team was a pretty even split of VA Union and BRAVE players that were on the new 06/07 team with only 1 or 2 extra players from BRAVE, which should be expected.

I'm not disagreeing with your other points.

Anonymous wrote:Very bitter for the 2007 boys. Their VA Union team got dismantled for their very last year of soccer. Very few made it to the new team as the Brave coaches gave preference to their players. And to go back on their decision a year later.
Many boy parents could see this coming when they announced it, many boys parents were vocal but completely ignored. SO much incompetence that it is making my head spin. My son youth soccer years are over and it is such a relief.
The main issues are:
- Coaches are typically just good soccer players but are receiving little to NO training on youth psychology. You wouldn't trust a teacher without it, and yet, we let those men with overinflated egos train our kids.
- Administration is in it for the $$. Protecting their salaries while providing as little work as possible.
- Boards are useless because either their kids are on the teams and they just act in the best interest of their child or to get the favors of their coaches. OR they get the position to look good on their resumes or shine in society.
This is broken in so many places that I have little faith it could be fixed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the 2010 group provide a good experience?

Just because they have won the most games of any team does not make for a good experience. Still the same culture. Still the same lack of communication. Still the excessive roster. Still the crappy training, etc etc. Read the two threads on FVU boys. GM is still in charge and KJ is his pawn.

How large is the 2010 roster?

If you are legitimately asking you'll never get an unbiased answer here. This is the home of the entitled, left out and bitter.
Oh FVU boys have their problems for sure. Communication is definitely one of them. And rebuilding has been slow.
But if you don't know the history on the boys side, which most obviously don't, you don't get it's a rebuilding, that's what you are signing up for.
And GM is old school, in an 80s coaches way, he doesn't suffer fool parents and he doesn't cater to them. If you can't handle that, this is not a fit.
He is knowledgable and the majority of boys like him a lot.
But on DCUM it's rarely about the kids and mostly about parent ego.
Like I said, there are legitimate complaints to be had with FVU but some of these posts, especially from people at tryouts just have very little to do with the reality of being in the Club.
The 2010 roster is 21. KJ has been their coach for a long time, he's much less old school, much more approachable.
FVU works for us, and my son has gotten offers from other ECNL teams. It's year by year obviously, but isn't everything in NoVa soccer.
All I know is I was seeing 50-60 kids at tryouts, so not everyone has ruled them out. But obviously if they rule your kid out, your first stop is DCUM.

no your kid did not get offers elsewhere. As only moron would choose this as their first choice. Your kid is there because you want the ECNL hat. My kid got an offer last year and I told him hell no.

I have to agree. If a kid is good enough to play ECNL National or MLS Next they would get at least one offer elsewhere. Now if a kid is not there yet and did not get a 1st team offer anywhere else, but still wants to playin a 1st team he could get a spot at FVU. I’m sure there will be additional tryouts at FVU, at least until they get 22+ per team. That’s an unfortunate truth for a union that had potential to be great. Same coaches/leadership same results upcoming year.
Also about the 50-60 kids at tryouts that was most likely the 2010s and 2009s in one field, which is usual for clubs to do, with each team having 21+ kids it was mostly the two FVU teams.