Scuttlebut this weekend is SR coach is going to Andromeda...anyone confirm it?

That is true. Maric is at Andromeda.

Is this development recent, like within the last day or three? As far as I know he was at SR practices last week!

Rumors were floating last week when the 95 red team merged with Chivas at Solar. Confirmed this weekend.

Are there enough of LM's boys to go with him for Andro to take the bye or will Smudger find another coach for that team?

This is true, Maric has gone to Andro and it appears that The Chivas coach will most likely get the 95 spot and take over the team

Thanks mk1662. We are on the 96 Boys thread. What about that team?

soccerdad96b wrote:Are there enough of LM's boys to go with him for Andro to take the bye or will Smudger find another coach for that team?

this team was going to split if Leo remained anyway. There will be no 95 boys going to Andro and why do you presume Leo will even take a 95 team at Andro?

Also Kevin doesn't make the coaching decisions for SR..Solca does.

any idea who will be coaching the 97 Solar Red team that Leo had just taken over?

soccerdad96b wrote:Thanks mk1662. We are on the 96 Boys thread. What about that team?

The bye will stay with Solar Red and AS will find a new coach. No way LM gets 12 to go to Andro.

The 96 coach has already been named. It's Max Martinez who will also coach the 95 team. Heard this from AS myself. None of the boys are going to Andro with LM as he is not coaching a 96 team there, he'll oversee the u16 & u18 academy teams. MM is looking to add a few more players to the ones already committed to Solar, I'm sure there will be plenty of interest and they'll end up with a quality D1 squad.

So, is LM coaching USSF Academy at Andro or at Solar?

soccerdad96b wrote:So, is LM coaching USSF Academy at Andro or at Solar?

It looks that way...my kid is trying out for the Andro Academy...don't know anything about LM. (some other post said there were "grumbling parents" from his Solar team) I thought it was going to be Oscar. Any insight?

They way I understand it is that LM will oversee the USSF Academy teams at Andro. Not sure if he will actually be coaching them himself or not, but he is definitely gone from Solar.

soccerbag wrote:

soccerdad96b wrote:So, is LM coaching USSF Academy at Andro or at Solar?

It looks that way...my kid is trying out for the Andro Academy...don't know anything about LM. (some other post said there were "grumbling parents" from his Solar team) I thought it was going to be Oscar. Any insight?

There should be "grumbling parents" IMO. It's pretty far out for a coach to up and leave right in the middle of open tryout month. Especially when he was a coach of a team who thought everything was all in place for next year, leaving those kids now wondering that their future will be.

OnTheSurface wrote:

soccerbag wrote:

soccerdad96b wrote:So, is LM coaching USSF Academy at Andro or at Solar?

It looks that way...my kid is trying out for the Andro Academy...don't know anything about LM. (some other post said there were "grumbling parents" from his Solar team) I thought it was going to be Oscar. Any insight?

There should be "grumbling parents" IMO. It's pretty far out for a coach to up and leave right in the middle of open tryout month. Especially when he was a coach of a team who thought everything was all in place for next year, leaving those kids now wondering that their future will be.

Looks like all the s--- hits the fan in the month of June. I sure hope things smooth out a bit in July or we are all in for a long soccer year.

OnTheSurface wrote:

soccerbag wrote:

soccerdad96b wrote:So, is LM coaching USSF Academy at Andro or at Solar?

It looks that way...my kid is trying out for the Andro Academy...don't know anything about LM. (some other post said there were "grumbling parents" from his Solar team) I thought it was going to be Oscar. Any insight?

There should be "grumbling parents" IMO. It's pretty far out for a coach to up and leave right in the middle of open tryout month. Especially when he was a coach of a team who thought everything was all in place for next year, leaving those kids now wondering that their future will be.

No it is not. Not any different than the players leaving and jumping to other clubs.

I am sure there were hurt feelings all around. However, I am now wondering why there were "grumbles" prior to his leaving? I thought my son was trying out for a team coached by Oscar and now I'm not sure...I guess that is for my kid to decide if he likes Leo. Practice was cancelled tonight so I'll wonder about it another day

OnTheSurface wrote:There should be "grumbling parents" IMO. It's pretty far out for a coach to up and leave right in the middle of open tryout month. Especially when he was a coach of a team who thought everything was all in place for next year, leaving those kids now wondering that their future will be.

Remember that for these coaches, it is their livelihood...the way that they put food on the table for their families. No matter how inconvenient it is for the teams, they are entitled to make career decisions that help them earn a living with the security of knowing their paycheck will not bounce each month. Also, June is the end of the soccer year, so if a coach is going to make a change, it makes the most sense that the change would happen at the end of that year and not in the middle of a season.
I think it is a little dramatic to say that these kids were left, "now wondering that their future will be." This coach was named for your team at the end of the season. He hadn't even been around enough to develop a strong bond with this team. The club will now give them another coach. They will play on. Their futures are fully in tact and not dependent on a coach going to another club.

I don't completely subscribe to the notion that coaches are simply assets that can be plugged in and out of teams whenever a mood strikes. The boys form a bond with the coach, or at least we would hope. For the coach to suddenly depart is damaging to the team. Especially when it was a well established team where the coach had been in place for awhile. And especially in this month where we already have enough drama and unease to go around .. without the coach leaving too.

There are teams where he was new to them, and teams where he was not. And yes, it is their livelihood .... but I guess in my mind, the timing is a little unfortunate.

Finally - I have no dog in this hunt, just offering observations.

dreambig wrote:

OnTheSurface wrote:There should be "grumbling parents" IMO. It's pretty far out for a coach to up and leave right in the middle of open tryout month. Especially when he was a coach of a team who thought everything was all in place for next year, leaving those kids now wondering that their future will be.

Remember that for these coaches, it is their livelihood...the way that they put food on the table for their families. No matter how inconvenient it is for the teams, they are entitled to make career decisions that help them earn a living with the security of knowing their paycheck will not bounce each month. Also, June is the end of the soccer year, so if a coach is going to make a change, it makes the most sense that the change would happen at the end of that year and not in the middle of a season.
I think it is a little dramatic to say that these kids were left, "now wondering that their future will be." This coach was named for your team at the end of the season. He hadn't even been around enough to develop a strong bond with this team. The club will now give them another coach. They will play on. Their futures are fully in tact and not dependent on a coach going to another club.

I also have no dog in this hunt...just an observation that nothing good comes in the long term from mixing money and children's sports. It is where we are and i get it...but "this is their livelihood" is weird to me.

OnTheSurface wrote:I don't completely subscribe to the notion that coaches are simply assets that can be plugged in and out of teams whenever a mood strikes. The boys form a bond with the coach, or at least we would hope. For the coach to suddenly depart is damaging to the team. Especially when it was a well established team where the coach had been in place for awhile. And especially in this month where we already have enough drama and unease to go around .. without the coach leaving too.

There are teams where he was new to them, and teams where he was not. And yes, it is their livelihood .... but I guess in my mind, the timing is a little unfortunate.

Finally - I have no dog in this hunt, just offering observations.

Nobody but you said that "coaches are simply assets that can be plugged in and out of teams whenever a mood strikes." Also, to say that a career move was prompted by a "mood strike" is simply ignorant. Unless you are his wife, I suspect you have no idea regarding the situation.
I disagree with your hyperbole that these kids futures are in doubt because the coach they have had for one month is leaving at the end of his contract. The timing would have been more unfortunate if he left after player contracts were signed.
This is kids' soccer. Change happens. These boys are old enough to start learning how to deal with changes in their life without feeling like their future is jeopardized. Nobody got hurt, divorced, died, etc. It's a perfect opportunity for them to learn that they don't have to be victims of change, but have the power within themselves to make the most of it.

Rightback wrote:I also have no dog in this hunt...just an observation that nothing good comes in the long term from mixing money and children's sports. It is where we are and i get it...but "this is their livelihood" is weird to me.

I agree with you. But, as you say, "this is where we are". Just makes me grateful that my livelihood does not depend on kids playing a game and their parents that pay for it.

Dreambig you keep referring to this as if there was only one team involved. Yes one team had only had this coach a short amount of time, but there were other teams involved that had this coach for many years. To say "I think it is a little dramatic to say that these kids were left, "now wondering that their future will be." This coach was named for your team at the end of the season. He hadn't even been around enough to develop a strong bond with this team." is a bit unfair. Several of the boys on the older teams had been with him quite some time and had developed a bond. With that being said, I do agree that the boys have to learn to deal with changes and they will infact go on to continue playing soccer and form new bonds with new teammates and coaches. But we need to understand that they have a right to be upset for a moment and then move on from this. I also agree that coaches are well within their rights to make these types of decisions. As much as we may not like it or want to admit it, select soccer is a business. We as parents have to recognize that and help our kids deal with changes such as these.

Dreambig - Just2Smile is right. Leo had coached the 96 team since their Pal days. I'd say this was quite unexpected for them. I also know that Leo had already brought in a few boys to add to the squad just days before he left. That kinda threw a wrench in the works for them since they had already decided to make the switch from their old teams. It's not the end of the world of course, but doesn't make for a very smooth transition when the coach you switch teams for is suddenly gone.

dreambig wrote:Nobody but you said that "coaches are simply assets that can be plugged in and out of teams whenever a mood strikes." Also, to say that a career move was prompted by a "mood strike" is simply ignorant. Unless you are his wife, I suspect you have no idea regarding the situation.

You seem to think it's no big deal for a coach to leave a team that he's been with for several years. And you are able to justify this sudden and unexpected move by saying, it's just a job, he needs to makes money, that's life in the big city, the boys need to man up, etc. etc. etc.

I'm saying that I don't think it's quite that easy. These are 13 and 14 year old children and they do have feelings. Is it the end of the world and the boys are crying their eyes out because their coach left? Of course not. But for you to talk like this is nothing to them, is also rather ignorant.

So I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Why are parents complaining about this man taking his talent somewhere else. The parents are the ones who started this mess long ago. A coach would teach young kids to play and as soon as the parent felt their BB was better than the team they jump ship without so much as a thank you. Most of the time this meant paying more money to a club percieved by the parent to be superior. Clubs and coaches recognised this trend and the pricing went up as well as coaches jumping ship and dumping players for the next great bb. Now parents complain that is a joke. If Classic league play is so high and mighty then why dont we see more of our youngsters playing at the national level or PRO. I believe it is because the elite teams are built around antiquated of soccer play. Big fast athletes in certain spots that win the game and after u-19 all the bbs are left with so much to learn about the game they cant compete at the next level. Case in point Onyewu( whens the last time you saw a center back that becomes so fixated on the ball that he would allow a striker to run in space behind him while chasing a back pass to midfield.) ala Hesky today. Big fast strong no soccer brain! Reminds me of alot what you see here. But then again winning and showing off is what youth soccer seems to be about here in DFW. Before you complain as a parent maybe you should go find your bbs original coach who taught because he loved to pass on the game and say thank you. Parents are thee only ones who can change the course we are on today by holding coaches responsible for development and really watching your bb and judge their quality/skill on things other than wins and losses. If you really want to know what it takes to get to the next level look me up and we can talk. we can see if your bb really has the desire to do what is neccesary or if soccer is a status symbol. CHANGE STARTS WITH THE PARENTS NOT BUYING WHAT THE BIG CLUBS ARE SELLING ON FACE VALUE ALONE!!!!! ever heard of Billy Mayes

studsup wrote:Why are parents complaining about this man taking his talent somewhere else. The parents are the ones who started this mess long ago. A coach would teach young kids to play and as soon as the parent felt their BB was better than the team they jump ship without so much as a thank you. Most of the time this meant paying more money to a club percieved by the parent to be superior. Clubs and coaches recognised this trend and the pricing went up as well as coaches jumping ship and dumping players for the next great bb. Now parents complain that is a joke. If Classic league play is so high and mighty then why dont we see more of our youngsters playing at the national level or PRO. I believe it is because the elite teams are built around antiquated of soccer play. Big fast athletes in certain spots that win the game and after u-19 all the bbs are left with so much to learn about the game they cant compete at the next level. Case in point Onyewu( whens the last time you saw a center back that becomes so fixated on the ball that he would allow a striker to run in space behind him while chasing a back pass to midfield.) ala Hesky today. Big fast strong no soccer brain! Reminds me of alot what you see here. But then again winning and showing off is what youth soccer seems to be about here in DFW. Before you complain as a parent maybe you should go find your bbs original coach who taught because he loved to pass on the game and say thank you. Parents are thee only ones who can change the course we are on today by holding coaches responsible for development and really watching your bb and judge their quality/skill on things other than wins and losses. If you really want to know what it takes to get to the next level look me up and we can talk. we can see if your bb really has the desire to do what is neccesary or if soccer is a status symbol. CHANGE STARTS WITH THE PARENTS NOT BUYING WHAT THE BIG CLUBS ARE SELLING ON FACE VALUE ALONE!!!!! ever heard of Billy Mayes

Leo,
You have some very valid points. I would like to note you were with a big club and have moved to another big club. Albeit you are now with a big club that has fields and can make payroll.
My kids never played on your teams, but I always thought you did a good job.
Best of luck

Im not Leo. I just call it as I see it in youth soccer today. One day I do believe people will wake up and see that for the greatest sport in the world to grow strong in America we have to get back to grassroots and develop the youth not only with a passion but with the skill and knowledge of the game to enjoy it on every level. I started in this game in 75 at the age of 3 in Irving TX and have loved it like no other and hate seeing it become an elitist sport where money is more important than development and as long as you talk a good game with a bit of an accent parents pay out the wazu for the right to say I belong. Don't believe me How many kids sign with the Texans on low level teams with subpar coaches for nothing more than to be seen at the signing party in Texans outfit. For now ill just keep working with kids for gas money trying to make a difference the best i can. See you all at the fields.

I also know that Leo had already brought in a few boys to add to the squad just days before he left. That kinda threw a wrench in the works for them since they had already decided to make the switch from their old teams.
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I wonder how many of his old Solar team he will bring with him?? They have not been at his practices because they are still playing regionals.