1. It is amazing how often the coach(es) at the tryouts start up a drill, then wander off to talk to another coach, or to a parent he hasn't seen in a couple of years who has wandered by, or to talk on his phone or bury his head in paperwork. The drill lasts until the conversation is over. Start a new drill and repeat. No doubt these are the secret methods that lead to the tremendous accuracy of the June selections.

2. I wonder if Andro teams would have been granted an n+1 move if it had been known that Andro-Lite would be formed?

3. Having tryout days during 4th of July weekend is a real bad idea. It is bad enough that so many families are frozen in place in June, do we need to disrupt the big holiday weekend of the summer too?

4. Probably not surprising, but lots of variation in the organization of these open practices. Some places you could hit the field, work out, and leave and the coach would never even know you'd been there. Others they have someone who takes down every kid's name and a bunch of other info before they even tell you where the field is.

5. I wonder if some sort of staggering of the process might not be good. An earlier period for selecting the traveling teams - say a week or 10 days - then a period for the teams in the local leagues.

I wonder if Freeatlast will ever post something worth reading.

eagle wrote:I wonder if Freeatlast will ever post something worth reading.

Yeah, well the stream of "our team needs one or two more good players, we have great coach" posts was getting pretty boring so I took a shot.
But since Quality Control has stepped in, guess I'll take a break from the board.

It is to bad that the Old Andromeda strung everything out as long as they did.

Many of the so called best Andromeda players went to greener pastures.( Which is Understandable)

BUT- the new Andro group is really good and will create a top tier club once again.

Many of these kids will be shocked that all the promises they may have received from Texans will not come true.
Texans play the players that have been there the longest and endured the abuse.
New Players seldom crack the starting line up and succeed.
FC Dallas gets pick of the litter and Texans get what's leftover. Solar gets some but is already stacked.
Andromeda will again be an over achieving Island of misfit Toys.

Good Luck to all !!!

Freeatlast wrote:1. It is amazing how often the coach(es) at the tryouts start up a drill, then wander off to talk to another coach, or to a parent he hasn't seen in a couple of years who has wandered by, or to talk on his phone or bury his head in paperwork. The drill lasts until the conversation is over. Start a new drill and repeat. No doubt these are the secret methods that lead to the tremendous accuracy of the June selections.

So true, FreeAtLast! And when the coach decides to glance over at the field, that's when bb steps on the ball and ends up in a heap on the turf right in front of him.

Glad June is behind us - on to the GAMES!

TheFarPost wrote:

It is to bad that the Old Andromeda strung everything out as long as they did.

Many of the so called best Andromeda players went to greener pastures.( Which is Understandable)

BUT- the new Andro group is really good and will create a top tier club once again.

Many of these kids will be shocked that all the promises they may have received from Texans will not come true.
Texans play the players that have been there the longest and endured the abuse.
New Players seldom crack the starting line up and succeed.
FC Dallas gets pick of the litter and Texans get what's leftover. Solar gets some but is already stacked.
Andromeda will again be an over achieving Island of misfit Toys.

Good Luck to all !!!

So what your saying is that if you do not get on a Texans team when you are young you will not play even if your better????

You may start a few games. Once you make same mistakes you will be benched.
Once you learn the system over a season or two you may start again.

I've seen some great talented players go through Texans and not get off bench much.

If you start out and make it to older age groups- Texans are very loyal to those who have been there a while.

TheFarPost wrote:
You may start a few games. Once you make same mistakes you will be benched.
Once you learn the system over a season or two you may start again.

I've seen some great talented players go through Texans and not get off bench much.

If you start out and make it to older age groups- Texans are very loyal to those who have been there a while.

I have a hard time believing this. The Texans are all about winning and whatever they do works based on their number of national championships. In order to win you play the best players regardless of how many years they've been around.

And if you make it through the years with a club I think loyalty is a good thing. More clubs should learn about the meaning of that word. Sounds like you've had a bad experience at that particular club.

TheFarPost wrote:

It is to bad that the Old Andromeda strung everything out as long as they did.

Many of the so called best Andromeda players went to greener pastures.( Which is Understandable)

BUT- the new Andro group is really good and will create a top tier club once again.

Many of these kids will be shocked that all the promises they may have received from Texans will not come true.
Texans play the players that have been there the longest and endured the abuse.
New Players seldom crack the starting line up and succeed.
FC Dallas gets pick of the litter and Texans get what's leftover. Solar gets some but is already stacked.
Andromeda will again be an over achieving Island of misfit Toys.

Good Luck to all !!!

I hate to tell you this, but it's not going to happen. A former "director" pretty much drained all the money out of the old ASG, and now Andro joins and brings nothing to the table besides their name. These are two nowhere clubs merging to form a soccer black hole.

You're right about what'll happen at the Texans. Too many politics and gutless coaches. The nuevo-riche parents over their wave a big stick sometime.

The Texan's Academy teams have been changing their style a bit. I have observed much more passing this year than in the past. They had some talented back line players that played the ball through the midfield. I watched them play FCD once and a half or 3 at Dallas Cup. I do
believe that US Soccer provides critical input to the teams about their style of play.

Everyone is quick to criticize a team that does not play the ball up the field with 2 or 3 back passes. There is a difference in how Real Madrid and teams in the EPL play the game. A big Difference.

I applaud the Texans for doing so well this year in the USD Academy and wish them the best.

2sgrm wrote:

TheFarPost wrote:

It is to bad that the Old Andromeda strung everything out as long as they did.

Many of the so called best Andromeda players went to greener pastures.( Which is Understandable)

BUT- the new Andro group is really good and will create a top tier club once again.

Many of these kids will be shocked that all the promises they may have received from Texans will not come true.
Texans play the players that have been there the longest and endured the abuse.
New Players seldom crack the starting line up and succeed.
FC Dallas gets pick of the litter and Texans get what's leftover. Solar gets some but is already stacked.
Andromeda will again be an over achieving Island of misfit Toys.

Good Luck to all !!!

So what your saying is that if you do not get on a Texans team when you are young you will not play even if your better????

I'm not going to air all of the Texans dirty laundry but I can say this...I have sat in a meeting and heard first hand that HN state specificslly that the club would much rather keep players sitting on the bench than risk having them leave the club to play for a competing team increasing the possibility of beating them on the field.

As as for the parents...With all due respect - My boy has NEVER player for a club with more politics. The fatter the wallet the more influence and power the family has over the team.

Politics, Sex,Money & Power...I think there has been a few books on the subjects and they will always play a part. It doesn't matter if you are talking about religion, politics or select soccer. A coach who I respect told me recently that if he didn't cut some kids from a U12 team and bring in some more talent then his club would not grow and the team might lose their top players. In other words if I don't win at U11 and U12 then he could not be successful. SAD and maybe true.

If parents would quit blaming the coaches and DOC's and be honest with themselves changes could be made. If your kid is not playing then get them on a team where they will. Ask these coaches the hard questions. You know what they are.

NTskeptic wrote:Politics, Sex,Money & Power...I think there has been a few books on the subjects and they will always play a part. It doesn't matter if you are talking about religion, politics or select soccer. A coach who I respect told me recently that if he didn't cut some kids from a U12 team and bring in some more talent then his club would not grow and the team might lose their top players. In other words if I don't win at U11 and U12 then he could not be successful. SAD and maybe true.

If parents would quit blaming the coaches and DOC's and be honest with themselves changes could be made. If your kid is not playing then get them on a team where they will. Ask these coaches the hard questions. You know what they are.

Though I agree with your statement I would also say (to bring another thread into this) that there needs to be an honest 2-way dialogue between the coach/club and the parent. This honest exchange is what seems to be lacking on one or both sides in conversations.

NTskeptic wrote:Politics, Sex,Money & Power...I think there has been a few books on the subjects and they will always play a part. It doesn't matter if you are talking about religion, politics or select soccer. A coach who I respect told me recently that if he didn't cut some kids from a U12 team and bring in some more talent then his club would not grow and the team might lose their top players. In other words if I don't win at U11 and U12 then he could not be successful. SAD and maybe true.

If parents would quit blaming the coaches and DOC's and be honest with themselves changes could be made. If your kid is not playing then get them on a team where they will. Ask these coaches the hard questions. You know what they are.

The big problem here is contract. Once you get on the team you have no way out.
Contract is absolutely "unfair". Parents "must" a lot and club/coach have
some pretty fuzzy obligations ( completely at coaches discretion).
And nothing that parents can do until the end of the year.

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.

[/quote]
The big problem here is contract. Once you get on the team you have no way out.
Contract is absolutely "unfair". Parents "must" a lot and club/coach have
some pretty fuzzy obligations ( completely at coaches discretion).
And nothing that parents can do until the end of the year.

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.
[/quote]

You can make the year long contract into a 9 month contract by going to NTX before April 1st and requesting a release back to recreational soccer. This will allow you to practice and guest play with as many different teams as you want through the end of June.

You basically create a 3 month long tryout period for the teams you are interested in before they have their tryouts.

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.
[/quote]

No way. If parents know they have a way out - signing would definitely be taken much less seriously.

Keeper96 wrote:

NTskeptic wrote:Politics, Sex,Money & Power...I think there has been a few books on the subjects and they will always play a part. It doesn't matter if you are talking about religion, politics or select soccer. A coach who I respect told me recently that if he didn't cut some kids from a U12 team and bring in some more talent then his club would not grow and the team might lose their top players. In other words if I don't win at U11 and U12 then he could not be successful. SAD and maybe true.

If parents would quit blaming the coaches and DOC's and be honest with themselves changes could be made. If your kid is not playing then get them on a team where they will. Ask these coaches the hard questions. You know what they are.

The big problem here is contract. Once you get on the team you have no way out.
Contract is absolutely "unfair". Parents "must" a lot and club/coach have
some pretty fuzzy obligations ( completely at coaches discretion).
And nothing that parents can do until the end of the year.

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.

If you give parents a way to break contract, do you then have to give coaches a way to break contract and remove players that are not performing midyear as well?

do you then have to give coaches a way

I thought the coaches way was called a 'bench'?

allen04 wrote:

do you then have to give coaches a way

I thought the coaches way was called a 'bench'?

Exactly!

Or, I don't mind giving coach right to officially "warn" and "fire" player
for not performing well or misconduct.

But "breaking" contract would mean refund "unused" amount to the parents also.
This will make coaches to be a little bit more responsible in making decisions.

Will never happen, I think. At least not anytime soon...

rdg wrote:

Keeper96 wrote:

NTskeptic wrote:Politics, Sex,Money & Power...I think there has been a few books on the subjects and they will always play a part. It doesn't matter if you are talking about religion, politics or select soccer. A coach who I respect told me recently that if he didn't cut some kids from a U12 team and bring in some more talent then his club would not grow and the team might lose their top players. In other words if I don't win at U11 and U12 then he could not be successful. SAD and maybe true.

If parents would quit blaming the coaches and DOC's and be honest with themselves changes could be made. If your kid is not playing then get them on a team where they will. Ask these coaches the hard questions. You know what they are.

The big problem here is contract. Once you get on the team you have no way out.
Contract is absolutely "unfair". Parents "must" a lot and club/coach have
some pretty fuzzy obligations ( completely at coaches discretion).
And nothing that parents can do until the end of the year.

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.

If you give parents a way to break contract, do you then have to give coaches a way to break contract and remove players that are not performing midyear as well?

Yes, you can't have it both ways.

wareagle wrote:

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.

If you give parents a way to break contract, do you then have to give coaches a way to break contract and remove players that are not performing midyear as well?

Yes, you can't have it both ways.

Why not?
Really, what is wrong to have an option to stop contract by either side?

Keeper96 wrote:

wareagle wrote:

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.

If you give parents a way to break contract, do you then have to give coaches a way to break contract and remove players that are not performing midyear as well?

Yes, you can't have it both ways.

Why not?
Really, what is wrong to have an option to stop contract by either side?

I am actually agreeing with you. As a parent you cannot expect to be able to break a contract if the coach doesn't have that same option. The way I answered was confusing...

wareagle wrote:

Keeper96 wrote:

wareagle wrote:

If parents had an option to break contract (at least for some "important" reasons),
then both sides would take sign up time more serious.

If you give parents a way to break contract, do you then have to give coaches a way to break contract and remove players that are not performing midyear as well?

Yes, you can't have it both ways.

Why not?
Really, what is wrong to have an option to stop contract by either side?

I am actually agreeing with you. As a parent you cannot expect to be able to break a contract if the coach doesn't have that same option. The way I answered was confusing...

Makes sense, thanks:)

[quote="FlatBack4"]

TheFarPost wrote:

I hate to tell you this, but it's not going to happen. A former "director" pretty much drained all the money out of the old ASG, and now Andro joins and brings nothing to the table besides their name. These are two nowhere clubs merging to form a soccer black hole.

I hate to tell you this but you have no idea what you are talking about. All Andromeda needed from ASG was two things. Their teams for the numbers. Got them. The second was Dave Dir. With Dir's pedigree in the MLS, Dallas Burn as well as his national recognition through both ESPN and Fox Sports he brings soccer royalty, so to speak, that was required by the USSF. It was a stunning bold move that totally solidified Andromeda FC.

Andromeda FC has John Watters at the helm who was the guy who brought Solar back from the brink a year ago from the debacle with David Ringer where the club lost in the neighborhood of a million dollars. Independently wealthy and an entrepreneur whose goal is to run Andromeda as a sound business entity. Something unheard off in North Texas soccer world.

Andromeda also has the support of the USSF with its USSF Developmental teams and now the support of US Club Soccer with it's USCS Pre-Academy teams. And a bye into Dallas Cup on top of that.

From where I sit they are in a really good situation. Will it take them a couple of years to totally turn things around, absolutely. But they have already corrected their issues by leaps and bounds and are not stopping any time soon.