Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Congrats CFC Girls

Collapse
X
  •  
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    Not many locals going to Fairfield. They've got kids from CFC and OW committed. Good school. Not sure why you'd bash that choice? MAAC has some decent soccer.

    Sacred Heart is very nice school. With so many local kids going it does seem a bit watered down. Nothing like going off to school with half of your club mates.
    Funny you say that, because Santa Clara won a national championship by doing that very thing. Club coach took 3/4 of his club team to college with him and it put the school on the map. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying Fairfield or Sacred Heart is headed down that road for the simple reason that comparing CA and CT club soccer is apples and oranges. But definitely possible for those kids to have a great experience playing with some good friends.

    Comment


      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      Hello everyone who has participated on this thread. I've read the thread from beginning to end twice, and I like the content (whether I agree or disagree) as its a very relevant topic and some of the ideas shared and discussed here are real, regardless how it unfolds from here.

      That said, I would like to interject and share my thoughts. They are as I said my thoughts, and that makes them neither right nor wrong, just my ideas after 15 years in youth soccer. I've coached at the REC level, town travel level, club level, and have been an administer at the REC level, and Club level. I now participate at the MLS level as an administrator. I've lived in southern CT for the past 17 years. I have children who currently play the game at the Club level for a DA club, one in the USSDA, and one soon to be of age for that to begin (and yet to be determined if they make that team when that time comes.

      What changed so quickly, somewhat recently, has been the PRIVATE CLUB involvement at the younger ages. Prior to their jump into the sub U-13 age group, town travel was the best game in town. Since the move to starting at U-8 at the private club level, there are YEARS of town travel being sacrificed because parents believe that the training at the Club level is better, that the talent at the club level is better, and that in order to give their perceived super star child the best chance at reaching their potential, they need to be at the Club level and will sacrifice their family vacation to pay that bill.

      ....and they are right!

      Whether it be by design or chance, the evolution of this landscape has the more talented athletes gravitating towards the private club arena. Of course that isn't an absolute result, its just a more often then not result. The ones being a little left behind are the talented minorities. That said, most club teams have at least 2 scholarships per team, and at the DA level there are nearly 1/2 of the roster available for that. So as the costs increase for the private club option, so to do the scholarship dollars appropriated to it. There is more ground to be made up, but there IS progress.

      When stronger players practice together, it allows the coaches to craft their sessions to a higher level. Its like a math class with smarter students, it allows for a quicker progression of material and complexity.

      Because of the $ involved, and there is money involved, the stronger coaches gravitate towards club as well. They can earn $12,000 to $17,000 per team they coach, and the town environment can't support that. That is the economic landscape, and that is not going to change. What IS going to change is the number of clubs that can survive in this environment, and so the number of teams where these positions are available will diminish in time. Those jobs will be coveted. But those stronger coaches are STRONGER. Its their career, not just a job. They work hard, they are evaluated on the quality of their sessions, and are held to a standard with that oversight.

      The 'elite' nature of town travel is diminished greatly, and the elite nature of the private clubs has diminished as well. As the expansion of teams/clubs has saturated the area in recent years, the quality of the players diminishes at the depth space of the roster. That will continue to evolve with some of the historically stronger clubs suffering as well. That may mean CFC looses some teams, that may mean Beachside looses some teams. Shoreline has already lost teams (and almost their entire Northern branch).

      It seems that the DA Club level is stronger though, there are always a lot of talent finding its way there. Whether you are a supporter of the boys DA, the GDA, or the ECNL, strength finds strength. This can be a positive for the development of the sport, but also displacing for players (and lets be honest, they are kids and players) as they get displaced in the 12-15 year age level when teams consolidate and core talent matriculates to fewer clubs/programs; that will NOT change.

      So the onus falls on you, the parents. Do you GIVE IT A GO, and send your 9 year old to private club, not knowing whether they emerge from that 4 year tunnel on the inside looking in, or do you wait until they mature and develop into the player they become and MANAGE that development process on your own knowing that the town travel environment/coaching is at a standard below that of the private club experience? That is the question that I believe should occupy the discussion at some level with parents.

      There ARE developments that will ease this issue in the coming years. First is that DA clubs will be doing away with their premier teams, freeing up entire rosters to either move back towards town teams, or to participate at the club level at non DA clubs. This will have a ripple effect as players who were previously on a Shoreline or CFC (boys), Chelsea Piers or any other private club, may get displaced by DA club players who just missed the DA team roster. That in turn releases other players to return to the town. Although this process will take a few years to materialize in full, it will begin this fall and should gain speed each year thereafter.

      In the end, our regional contribution to US soccer has and will continue to improve. Progress can sometimes be difficult to see, and can also be disruptive during that transition.

      I've said to much already, happy to continue this thread and respond to well thought out follow ups.
      No one in CT premier soccer would put Shoreline in the same sentence as Beachside, CFC or even CP which actually does have tryouts and does not take anyone with a paycheck. And what about OW, FSA, NYSC? Is this DS trying to convince his ignorant Wall Street parents to keep pouring money into Shoreline club now at even earlier ages so they don't miss the boat? Shoreline survives on sweeping up all the town travel kids, even the "c" team kids and maybe as soccer enrollment is down and his teams are collapsing he has to post things like this in the hopes that a parent of an 8 year old is on this site. Nice try.

      Comment


        Sacred Heart? Hahaha.

        Isn’t their Coach a songwriter? What a joke.

        Comment


          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          Sacred Heart? Hahaha.

          Isn’t their Coach a songwriter? What a joke.
          Yes. Believe he wrote Stairway to Heaven or In the Air Tonight.

          Comment

          Previously entered content was automatically saved. Restore or Discard.
          Auto-Saved
          x
          Insert: Thumbnail Small Medium Large Fullsize Remove  
          x
          Working...
          X