Does anyone kno if spirit actually includes those tournament fees?

Anonymous wrote:03 VDA Girls Parent -- How would you describe the coaching, the players and parents for the VDA 03 girls team? I have heard a mix bag but not actually from a parent directly. Also from what I am putting together VDA is significantly less than the Spirit program. Can you share pricing?

Hi!

OK so VDA is $2500 for the year. This does not include cost for tournaments. The December Florida showcase was like ~$700 player cost for the trip. That included flight, transportation, food and hotel. Showcases are planned for Spring in North Carolina and then Summer in San Diego. I am not sure of the trip costs for those yet.

I understand that Washington Spirit is more. Perhaps like $5000. So it appears that VDA is cheaper but the Spirit may include some of the tournament cost in the base cost and the difference may not be so stark in reality.

The coaching has been an issue. We had a very experienced "A" licensed coach from preseason until November when he was dismissed from the team. I am not clear on the reasons of why he was dismissed - but I do think DA for newly formed teams is a huge challenge for coaches to blend the girls into a new training system. I believe that ECNL teams that converted to DA have a significant advantage in understanding the style of play of their mates prior to the formation into a DA club. So, I think this turmoil is a natural side effect of new girls, new club, new league, new coach, etc. However, our coach now is Mike Cullina. Mike is an excellent coach and he was just elected Chairman of the Board for US Club Soccer. If you want your coach to know the right folks toward college recruiting - Mike's a good match. We will see how the Spring goes - the team is currently 6-6-3 and has the capability to dominate most of the teams in our division if we can put the all the speed bumps that come from being a new team behind us.

Hope this helps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi:

Virginia Development Academy just announced ID day for next weekend.

http://www.vdasoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1227912

I have a daughter on the u15 squad and would be happy to respond to any friendly questions.

Thanks.

Thanks for the offer !
I would be interested to hear your feedback with regard to the quality of coaching and playing time. I know one of the big items for US Soccer is to focus on practice, not games, but the generally large size of DA rosters for local teams creates less playing time in general than you would typically get at the next level down. It looks like there are 20 on the VDA 03GDA roster for example, meaning that 2 players are not rostered for any given game, and some of the 18 actives may not play as well. I am specifically interested in how VDA handles the rotation and if there are playing time issues amongst the players as a result.

I can only speak to the 03G team in the fall. The team had 17 girls on the roster. With 11 starters on 5 subs - one player would be selected to not play for that game (and typically would not travel to the game if it was away). In addition, the team has 3 Development Academy players who practice on an 02 Development team and with the 03 G team any given week (3 days with Dev team and 1 day with 03G). Development Academy players are players who show promise and are developed by following the same training schedule / methods. The Dev players practice in DA and then play in the NPL. Those three players traveled to the Florida Showcase and all three started during the tourney.

So, due to the sub rule from DA - a max of 16 girls will play on any given match day. Also, the DA rules say that all players must start 25% of the time through the season. I would caution anyone joining a DA team where the roster is bigger than 16 players. Getting playing time will be a challenge.

As far as VDA handles playing time conflict - I think they favor their stronger players more than the weaker ones when it comes to playing time. But I think the DA subbing rule really should be changed at this age allowing coaches more flexibility to sub kids in and out as development requires.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi:

I have a daughter on the u15 squad and would be happy to respond to any friendly questions.

Thanks.

My Son wants to try out (2007), do you know anything about the boys side?

Hi: I don't know much about the boys program. Sorry for the slow response.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what the BRYC 2005 Boys A team is doing this year?

They are in NCSL.

I think affordable group training that is available to anyone who wants to show up doesn't pose a serious "conflict of interest" problem. A lot of the coaches at my kids' club who run these sorts of sessions do so because they are completely devoted to soccer and want to do their part to raise the level in their communities. Many of them don't blink an eye if kids show up without paying, and many of the kids who show up year after year never make the top team. With this sort of set-up, it looks like sour grapes if someone complains.

I think there is much more of an optics problem when a coach does expensive one-on-one lessons on the side with a kid who is on his team or seeks to join it, and this can quickly cause problems if the kid's playing time doesn't match up to his perceived talent level.

Anonymous wrote:If the only players who play for DA are those that are ready to pay extra to the coaches, should not DA be concerned?
Btw, it is not a problem specific to DA. Many travel coaches propose, for a fee, "advanced training" and the parents feel obliged to pay, lest their DC will lose his position.

The argument of the extra work is what makes the difference, not the paying for extra work. If a kid has been doing HP once or twice a week for a couple of years since U8 on top of club it would stand to reason that the player is likely more technically sound. The touches simply add up. There are also many other factors that a coach like Quan might get to see over time that have influence far above the money spent, but the time spent. Is the kid coach-able, how much or how little has the kid improved over time, what is the kids attitude, how are the parents? etc...

Throwing money at training and having a kid not improve or have a lousy attitude could also work against the kid. Observing over bearing parents can be red flag as well. And kids go to HP from all over and not all of them are remotely close or interested in playing for PWSI or VDA. This is really a non-issue outside of current PWSI parents.

If the only players who play for DA are those that are ready to pay extra to the coaches, should not DA be concerned?
Btw, it is not a problem specific to DA. Many travel coaches propose, for a fee, "advanced training" and the parents feel obliged to pay, lest their DC will lose his position.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, I myself don't like Quan, but the training is very good.

Agree with this 100%. A very good trainer....problem is, he's not a very good game coach. Parents also question his personal relationships with those who pay him for HP Elite training. The kids/parents who pad his wallet have a leg up with regards to the DA team. I've seen this play out the last several years, and that is a total conflict of interest. US Soccer DA decision makers would not be happy with this type of arrangement.

This is absolutely not true. The only reason the kids might have a leg up is because they are TRAINING. Quan does not make decisions based on personal relationships. He doesn't even poach kids who do the training not already at PWSI. You don't have to like Quan but his decisions are always soccer decisions. You don't have to like his selections but nobody is buying their way onto VDA through him.

I like and respect Quan. I think he's a good coach and has integrity. I don't think he would consciously show favoritism to a kid just because his parents pay extra for HP Elite Training.

However, ...

It is definitely a conflict of interest for a DA coach to be running a for-profit supplemental training company within the same geographic area as that coach's DA program.

The training company has a clear financial incentive for it's customers to make DA teams and do well in those teams. When the "training company" and the DA coach are in fact the same person, the conflict is inherent in the situation. I've never seen a COI policy that wouldn't be violated by that sort of relationship.

That being said, ... Ken Kreiger was doing the same thing with DCA / Arlington; Phillip Gyau does the same thing with Bethesda / PG Young Boys; James Meyers was doing the same with Bethesda / Joga/SMI. That's not intended to be a smear on any of them. I believe they are all good people, trying to do the right thing, providing good training and opportunities for players. But conflict of interest policies are designed to address the appearance of impropriety just as much as the reality of it - in part because the reality can be nearly impossible to prove (especially in a sport as subjective as soccer).

The real problem is that US Soccer does not seem to care all that much about conflict of interest policies, from the top down. Hopefully that will start to change with some new leadership after the February election.

Before I go on my rant, I'm not Quan and have not affiliation with HP Elite except my kids go there to get training. After a few years of seeing the same kids train and seeing them in action when we play those clubs, you will can easily pick out the HP players. Good ball control, excellent shooting, and aggressive play. Not surprised if his HP players make top teams and DA programs, one can even find correlation that kids that train extra would perform better . If he forced his DA players to sign up with HP Elite, I would agree it's a conflict of interest, but his father set this program up long before there was a DA program.

Yeah, I don't see it as a real conflict myself. The whole point of DA from a US Soccer standpoint is to scout, find kids and get them into a DA period. US Soccer isn't concerned as much with a particular clubs win loss record, they are looking for players.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, I myself don't like Quan, but the training is very good.

Agree with this 100%. A very good trainer....problem is, he's not a very good game coach. Parents also question his personal relationships with those who pay him for HP Elite training. The kids/parents who pad his wallet have a leg up with regards to the DA team. I've seen this play out the last several years, and that is a total conflict of interest. US Soccer DA decision makers would not be happy with this type of arrangement.

This is absolutely not true. The only reason the kids might have a leg up is because they are TRAINING. Quan does not make decisions based on personal relationships. He doesn't even poach kids who do the training not already at PWSI. You don't have to like Quan but his decisions are always soccer decisions. You don't have to like his selections but nobody is buying their way onto VDA through him.

I like and respect Quan. I think he's a good coach and has integrity. I don't think he would consciously show favoritism to a kid just because his parents pay extra for HP Elite Training.

However, ...

It is definitely a conflict of interest for a DA coach to be running a for-profit supplemental training company within the same geographic area as that coach's DA program.

The training company has a clear financial incentive for it's customers to make DA teams and do well in those teams. When the "training company" and the DA coach are in fact the same person, the conflict is inherent in the situation. I've never seen a COI policy that wouldn't be violated by that sort of relationship.

That being said, ... Ken Kreiger was doing the same thing with DCA / Arlington; Phillip Gyau does the same thing with Bethesda / PG Young Boys; James Meyers was doing the same with Bethesda / Joga/SMI. That's not intended to be a smear on any of them. I believe they are all good people, trying to do the right thing, providing good training and opportunities for players. But conflict of interest policies are designed to address the appearance of impropriety just as much as the reality of it - in part because the reality can be nearly impossible to prove (especially in a sport as subjective as soccer).

The real problem is that US Soccer does not seem to care all that much about conflict of interest policies, from the top down. Hopefully that will start to change with some new leadership after the February election.

Before I go on my rant, I'm not Quan and have not affiliation with HP Elite except my kids go there to get training. After a few years of seeing the same kids train and seeing them in action when we play those clubs, you will can easily pick out the HP players. Good ball control, excellent shooting, and aggressive play. Not surprised if his HP players make top teams and DA programs, one can even find correlation that kids that train extra would perform better . If he forced his DA players to sign up with HP Elite, I would agree it's a conflict of interest, but his father set this program up long before there was a DA program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know which clubs will be in the Varsity Winter Soccer League at the Dulles Sportsplex? It's supposed to start this weekend but very little info has been given.

https://dulles-sportsplex.ezleagues.ezfacility.com/leagues/319672/Varsity-Boys.aspx

Thanks a bunch! They must have released it today.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know which clubs will be in the Varsity Winter Soccer League at the Dulles Sportsplex? It's supposed to start this weekend but very little info has been given.

https://dulles-sportsplex.ezleagues.ezfacility.com/leagues/319672/Varsity-Boys.aspx

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, I myself don't like Quan, but the training is very good.

Agree with this 100%. A very good trainer....problem is, he's not a very good game coach. Parents also question his personal relationships with those who pay him for HP Elite training. The kids/parents who pad his wallet have a leg up with regards to the DA team. I've seen this play out the last several years, and that is a total conflict of interest. US Soccer DA decision makers would not be happy with this type of arrangement.

This is absolutely not true. The only reason the kids might have a leg up is because they are TRAINING. Quan does not make decisions based on personal relationships. He doesn't even poach kids who do the training not already at PWSI. You don't have to like Quan but his decisions are always soccer decisions. You don't have to like his selections but nobody is buying their way onto VDA through him.

I like and respect Quan. I think he's a good coach and has integrity. I don't think he would consciously show favoritism to a kid just because his parents pay extra for HP Elite Training.

However, ...

It is definitely a conflict of interest for a DA coach to be running a for-profit supplemental training company within the same geographic area as that coach's DA program.

The training company has a clear financial incentive for it's customers to make DA teams and do well in those teams. When the "training company" and the DA coach are in fact the same person, the conflict is inherent in the situation. I've never seen a COI policy that wouldn't be violated by that sort of relationship.

That being said, ... Ken Kreiger was doing the same thing with DCA / Arlington; Phillip Gyau does the same thing with Bethesda / PG Young Boys; James Meyers was doing the same with Bethesda / Joga/SMI. That's not intended to be a smear on any of them. I believe they are all good people, trying to do the right thing, providing good training and opportunities for players. But conflict of interest policies are designed to address the appearance of impropriety just as much as the reality of it - in part because the reality can be nearly impossible to prove (especially in a sport as subjective as soccer).

The real problem is that US Soccer does not seem to care all that much about conflict of interest policies, from the top down. Hopefully that will start to change with some new leadership after the February election.

Do you think seeing a player week to week in your training sessions improve not have any impact on a the player being seen in a favorable position in roster decisions when it comes to seeing that kid in the DA ID sessions? I think it would be hard to measure, but any person claiming that trainer could be objective would be fooling himself. The pp is correct, the view of impropriety is just as corrosive as actual, you can see a child that trains with HP Elite try out for a VDA ID session and be turned down because that one player would be seeing as tipping point and a VDA team with many former and current HP Elite players under Quan Phan.

Anyone know which clubs will be in the Varsity Winter Soccer League at the Dulles Sportsplex? It's supposed to start this weekend but very little info has been given.

Anonymous wrote:Anybody with any insight on how BRYC's pre-ENCL kids are doing without league participation? Do the kids enjoy it? Does more of a focus on development vs. weekly games seem to be paying off? Or is it all too early to tell? I am interested in any insights from those whose kids participate, as well as those that have been able to observe their teams in scrimmages and tournaments.

A parent told me they are struggling to get scrimmages. But they are doing quite a few tournaments and doing well in them. I've seen them train and they look good (this would be the U12 pre-ECNL boys).