Blond bomber wrote:My son has been approached several times to play competitively and until recently it wasn't really an option due to schedule conflicts. We were approached again this weekend and I started looking into the various organizations out there and realized I have no idea where to start. I have a ton of questions but don't really know where to find the answers.

Which FC's are reputible?
Which are the best value?
What is the typical "all in" costs with travel and everything else that goes with it?

I live just south of Dallas so I am fairly limited as to what is available down here but driving up to Dallas 3 or 4 times a week sounds unpleasant long term.

If anyone can get me started in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Thanks

bigtex75081 wrote:Wow… You just asked a couple of the $1,000,000 questions right there. I’m surprised this thing hasn’t exploded with 15 posts already.

Before things get nuts… If your Rec association has a good Director of Coaching, contact him directly with this question. Answering these questions is a part of his role. He should be familiar with your area and the coaches that are available to you. He’ll have his opinions (but definitely not as opinionated as some of the people you’ll meet on here) and he’ll be able to answer your questions honestly. Hopefully he already knows of your son. Tell him and he’ll be able to guide you in a good direction.

The right club or coach for one player is not always the right fit for another. Just because a big club has a big reputation doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good fit for your son or your family.

mavericks67 wrote:

anselansel wrote:Go to FC DaLLAS. Its the easiest answer.


Lmao, that's a good one !

anselansel wrote:I like FC Dallas , I just think it was a stupid comment to just assume that FC Dallas is the hands down organization to anyone looking to play. They have really good teams and some not very good teams. Don't get awed by the shirt they wear and look for what's best for your son

anselansel wrote:Not to denigrate your team but I think that you played a watered down version of FC Dallas premier this weekend. I don't know that for a fact but having played premier and been beat by them, I think something was going on for them to show so poorly against d3 or rec teams. I know they won but still seems strange given the scores.

anselansel wrote:Disregard my post, I thought you were an 01. My apologies

Soccerinsanity wrote:The obvious to all of us "older" parents is: don't choose the club, choose the coach! The coach is the person that will have the impact on your son.

my2cents wrote:Any organization has good teams/coaches and not so good or even bad ones. At that age do not get trapped into travelling an hour or more to practices. Do not think or let anyone tell you he needs to be in Classic League or he will never catch up. Find a coach that has a reputatiuon for developing players. Many top teams are a result of getting the top talent to begin with. Getting beat every game is not good but winning every game is not neccesary either. Pay attention to the parents at teams your checking out. Make an effort to talk to them. If you get a bad vibe , dont see eye to eye or cant even get them to engage then walk away. Parental attitudes and beliefs manifest themselves in their kids. You will have problems if you have problem parents. Try to get honest evaluations from coaches. If one tells you that your kid is a superstar and you can see he is not a stand out with those kids then walk. He wants the check. Treat it like a big ticket item purchase. Be patient, don't act on impulse and use due dilegences in checking out teams. Don't let coaches intimidate you. A coach is your contract employee and should be accessible within reason and accountable. Always remember that even at the upper levels it is stiil just a game.

Laimport wrote:In the grand scheme of things, the coach has little bearing on your son's success.

The team certainly doesn't.

A good coach is maybe 20% of the equation.

At this age, you want his skills improving and having fun.

hard to do when you have to worry about 'relegation' at U11...

anselansel wrote:Go to FC DaLLAS. Its the easiest answer.


Lmao, that's a good one !

AND! wrote:

anselansel wrote:Go to FC DaLLAS. Its the easiest answer.


Lmao, that's a good one !

Watching practices, talking to parents, talking to coaches are all hit-and-miss because they will only give you half of the real story. The real story is very hard to find out.

LOL. FC Dallas is the easiest answer because its the only PROFESSIONAL CLUB'S Youth System in the Dallas area.
If you move to LA the easiest answer is LA Galaxy. If you move to Chicago the easiest answer is Chicago Fire. If you move to New y York the easiest answer is the Red Bulls. If you move to Manchester England, its Man u or Man. City. If you move to Milan the easiest answer is Inter or ANY OTHER PROFESSIONAL CLUB'S YOUTH SYSTEM. Professional clubs are MORE LIKELY to have established the many things that it takes to develop great soccer players. That doesn't mean that there aren't private clubs that can do the same. But when you are looking for a club to take your BB to you have so many things to evaluate that it becomes a daunting task. You may need a team of experts to get to a point that you have only a suggestion of where to go.
1.) You need an accountant to check their books to make sure they are in the black financially. Many people moved from Texans to Andromeda only to have to move back because of Financial issues. Will you ask to see their books?
2.) You need someone that is an expert on Tactics to evaluate all the coaches in the club because you never know when the coach you pick will be replaced.
3.) Same as 2 but for Technique. Are the highly Technical players that you see in the older teams taught by the club or was it recruited in?
4.) You need an expert on club structure. A good club structure will make sure that the philosophies of the club are taught "thru-out" their youth system. At many clubs each coach do their own thing and have their own philosophy, but on paper the club tells the NIEVE parents that they have a system. What philosophy do you feel is the best? How will you check and see if the club's philosophy is taught thru-out the whole club.
5.) Is the club really producing youth(15-19) that are being sold to other clubs or used by their club. This demonstrates that they have an invested interest in the development of some of the youth in their system. This interest in some may also help them all.
6.) You have to make sure that their facilities are quality, large enough for growth, and they either own them or have LONG TERM agreements to rent. How will you do that? Are you going to ask to see their lease agreement? What is their expected growth? You dont want to end up practicing on a quarter of a field.
This is just a FEW questions that needs to be asked. Thats why I said the easiest route is with a Professional Club's Youth System. With a professional club's youth system you have a BETTER chance that these things have been addressed.

NOT HATIN' JUST STATIN'

Wow... my head just exploded. Everything you said makes sense. Thanks a lot.

jesuit54321 wrote:Hi Blond Bomber,

I would consider a few key things.

At U12, your boy having fun is still the biggest part of develpment. Kids age/mature (physically and mentally)at different rate. A typical young U12 has a decent development gap when you compare him to an older U12. So focus where your boy will have a coach who is not so focused on results vs. giving everyone at this stage a fair chance at competing when he's 14 or 15.

- Pick a coach who's philosophy agrees with the above and practices it.

- For your first foray into Competitive soccer, I would recommend Arlington Premier or Plano Premier level teams. While there may be some exceptions, most Classic League coaches are under heavy pressure to win. At this age, more often then not, winning vs. development are often exclusive of one another.

- Consider the style of soccer you want your child to learn for the future. Kick ball style does wonders at younger age, but it doesn't translate well into later ages. If you look at a lot of posts, it's generally agreed that FC Dallas kids, while they won't win all the games in league or tournaments, will play the most attractive style. There are exceptions with various coaches in other clubs of course, but FCD (again not all, but in general) excels at teaching small sided type of games.

- Many coaches have differing approach to teaching kids how to play the game. IMHO, the game situations teach kids how to play better than any coach. Small sided games teach kids better than full size 11v11 games. Coaches are there to guide them and reinforce the values learned from these small sided games. Look and see how much the coach spends out of his 1 to 2 hour practice running technical drills vs. facilitating various small sided games with different emphesis. Coach should be developing small sided type games that create learning opportunities.

- At U12, if your child wants to play mid or forward in games because that's where he enjoys the game the most, then the coach should share that enthusiasm and help in develop his skills in those positions even if he may not be the best fit at this age. There are coaches out there that will still allow the kids to rotate through the entire line up at each of the positions - giving each kid a chance to play the position they enjoy. You won't see many of these types of teams at Classic level, but you can still find them at Arlinton Prem or Plano Prem.

- Shoot for the long term development. Many kids that may be considered studs at U10-U13 won't even be playing soccer after U14 or 15. Some of them just become mediocre as other later bloomers catch up. The key is to find a coach who shoots to excel with the team by the time they hit U13 or 14, not someone who is trying to win at all costs at U12. Of course, no coach will admit to this, but look at how he rotates the team during practice and at games. Ask parents if the team generally rotates through all the positions. Proof is in the way the team plays in games and runs practices.

Blond bomber wrote:

jesuit54321 wrote:

The different perspectives are amazing... I am looking at Arlington and Plano (Leaning towards Arlington only because of drive). I know we aren't ready for the top tier divisions yet and to be honest, I want to make sure that I am as commited as I should be before taking that plunge.

I absolutely agree with the balance of small sided games and technical skills.

Though I think it is great to rotate positions and all parents want to see their kids playing forward, I am somewhat torn on rotating. I am not saying that skill sets for all positions don't need to be developed, they do, but I have seen how a player focusing on any position benefits by time understanding schemes and how they see the field. My son played forward his whole life until 2 seasons ago. They moved hom to defender for speed at the position and it took him most of a season to figure it out and another season to really excel. Once again, not disagreeing just torn.

Thanks for your input...

Blond bomber wrote:

jesuit54321 wrote:

The different perspectives are amazing... I am looking at Arlington and Plano (Leaning towards Arlington only because of drive). I know we aren't ready for the top tier divisions yet and to be honest, I want to make sure that I am as commited as I should be before taking that plunge.

I absolutely agree with the balance of small sided games and technical skills.

Though I think it is great to rotate positions and all parents want to see their kids playing forward, I am somewhat torn on rotating. I am not saying that skill sets for all positions don't need to be developed, they do, but I have seen how a player focusing on any position benefits by time understanding schemes and how they see the field. My son played forward his whole life until 2 seasons ago. They moved hom to defender for speed at the position and it took him most of a season to figure it out and another season to really excel. Once again, not disagreeing just torn.

Thanks for your input...

Blond bomber wrote:

AND! wrote:

anselansel wrote:Go to FC DaLLAS. Its the easiest answer.


Lmao, that's a good one !

Watching practices, talking to parents, talking to coaches are all hit-and-miss because they will only give you half of the real story. The real story is very hard to find out.

LOL. FC Dallas is the easiest answer because its the only PROFESSIONAL CLUB'S Youth System in the Dallas area.
If you move to LA the easiest answer is LA Galaxy. If you move to Chicago the easiest answer is Chicago Fire. If you move to New y York the easiest answer is the Red Bulls. If you move to Manchester England, its Man u or Man. City. If you move to Milan the easiest answer is Inter or ANY OTHER PROFESSIONAL CLUB'S YOUTH SYSTEM. Professional clubs are MORE LIKELY to have established the many things that it takes to develop great soccer players. That doesn't mean that there aren't private clubs that can do the same. But when you are looking for a club to take your BB to you have so many things to evaluate that it becomes a daunting task. You may need a team of experts to get to a point that you have only a suggestion of where to go.
1.) You need an accountant to check their books to make sure they are in the black financially. Many people moved from Texans to Andromeda only to have to move back because of Financial issues. Will you ask to see their books?
2.) You need someone that is an expert on Tactics to evaluate all the coaches in the club because you never know when the coach you pick will be replaced.
3.) Same as 2 but for Technique. Are the highly Technical players that you see in the older teams taught by the club or was it recruited in?
4.) You need an expert on club structure. A good club structure will make sure that the philosophies of the club are taught "thru-out" their youth system. At many clubs each coach do their own thing and have their own philosophy, but on paper the club tells the NIEVE parents that they have a system. What philosophy do you feel is the best? How will you check and see if the club's philosophy is taught thru-out the whole club.
5.) Is the club really producing youth(15-19) that are being sold to other clubs or used by their club. This demonstrates that they have an invested interest in the development of some of the youth in their system. This interest in some may also help them all.
6.) You have to make sure that their facilities are quality, large enough for growth, and they either own them or have LONG TERM agreements to rent. How will you do that? Are you going to ask to see their lease agreement? What is their expected growth? You dont want to end up practicing on a quarter of a field.
This is just a FEW questions that needs to be asked. Thats why I said the easiest route is with a Professional Club's Youth System. With a professional club's youth system you have a BETTER chance that these things have been addressed.

NOT HATIN' JUST STATIN'

Wow... my head just exploded. Everything you said makes sense. Thanks a lot.