Eagleclaw?

[Unregistered]

I’m the one asking who Eagleclaw has developed. I want to be clear, the reason I know about their website and club is because we looked into eagleclaw several years ago. Back then, they were an “Ajax” club and 50% of the training was outsourced to TR’s group @ Coerver NW.

I heard that Ajax people introduced Eagleclaw to Valencia and that there is some collaboration behind the scenes. Also, Eagleclaw is not working with Coerver anymore and that happened around the same time they became part of Valencia. What’s the story there? They were partners for a long time.

[Unregistered]

I heard that Ajax people introduced Eagleclaw to Valencia and that there is some collaboration behind the scenes. Also, Eagleclaw is not working with Coerver anymore and that happened around the same time they became part of Valencia. What’s the story there? They were partners for a long time.

Pretty sure the Ajax-Valencia connection has a lot to do with the current Asst Coach at Atlanta United Bob deKlerk who is ex- Ajax youth academy. He was involved with Eagleclaw a few years ago, ran coaching education for them and word on the street is he brokered Eagleclaw’s intro to Valencia. The Dutch-Spanish connection is well understood. DeKlerk is Dutch and Campos is Spanish. Coerver is also Dutch. Weird. Anyway, that’s what I heard.
https://www.atlutd.com/club/technica...f/bob-de-klerk

[Unregistered]

This guy?
https://www.facebook.com/EagleclawFo...939597/?type=3

[Unregistered]

Honest question - what are the specifics of this "partnership" with Valencia? Has a single player from Eagleclaw joined a Valencia academy team? Or is this just another smoke and mirrors arrangement where they host a few camps during the year?

[Unregistered]

Honest question - what are the specifics of this "partnership" with Valencia? Has a single player from Eagleclaw joined a Valencia academy team? Or is this just another smoke and mirrors arrangement where they host a few camps during the year?

Probably too early to tell. Its the first year of the program. My kid joined the club two years ago and they had the first VDP tryouts last May, so not even one season complete. My kid was not picked, but Valencia coaches were there to do the tryouts and select teams. The Valencia coaches were back out a few weeks ago for the HS boys tryouts. The VDP teams are going to Spain in April for a tournament, so presumably more scouting. I've heard there are one or two players that have Valencia's eye, but the coaches are pretty tight-lipped about it. It would be cool if it happened. The tryouts are all free, so there hasn't been any cost to players for that as far as I can tell. There is one summer camp they do every year, and that costs money of course.

[Unregistered]

Probably too early to tell. Its the first year of the program. My kid joined the club two years ago and they had the first VDP tryouts last May, so not even one season complete. My kid was not picked, but Valencia coaches were there to do the tryouts and select teams. The Valencia coaches were back out a few weeks ago for the HS boys tryouts. The VDP teams are going to Spain in April for a tournament, so presumably more scouting. I've heard there are one or two players that have Valencia's eye, but the coaches are pretty tight-lipped about it. It would be cool if it happened. The tryouts are all free, so there hasn't been any cost to players for that as far as I can tell. There is one summer camp they do every year, and that costs money of course.

Gullible

http://valencianordics.com/soccer-camp/
http://valenciacfcanada.com/soccer-camp-registration/

http://www.valenciacfacademyitaly.co...l-italy-staff/

https://www.portoelounda.com/en/vale...er-school-camp

https://valenciacfacademy-ny.com/

https://valenciacffl.com/store/

Keep believing the hype... some kid at eagleclaw, know one has ever heard of, is going to get a chance to play with the first team someday.

[Unregistered]

Gullible

http://valencianordics.com/soccer-camp/
http://valenciacfcanada.com/soccer-camp-registration/

http://www.valenciacfacademyitaly.co...l-italy-staff/

https://www.portoelounda.com/en/vale...er-school-camp

https://valenciacfacademy-ny.com/

https://valenciacffl.com/store/

Keep believing the hype... some kid at eagleclaw, know one has ever heard of, is going to get a chance to play with the first team someday.

*no one

[Unregistered]

Honest question - what are the specifics of this "partnership" with Valencia? Has a single player from Eagleclaw joined a Valencia academy team? Or is this just another smoke and mirrors arrangement where they host a few camps during the year?

Clubs pay Valencia a licensing agreement, just like clubs paid sounders. Valencia makes money, sends some coaches on an all expense paid trip, and clubs get to say they are associated. Maybe your kid who’s never been noticed could end up with the Valencia 1st team.

It’s a gimmick. But don’t let that stop you from signing up for eagleclaw. Every club has their gimmick. This one is just a bit more absurd

[Unregistered]

Clubs pay Valencia a licensing agreement, just like clubs paid sounders. Valencia makes money, sends some coaches on an all expense paid trip, and clubs get to say they are associated. Maybe your kid who’s never been noticed could end up with the Valencia 1st team.

It’s a gimmick. But don’t let that stop you from signing up for eagleclaw. Every club has their gimmick. This one is just a bit more absurd

Not sure there’s anything more absurd than sounders requiring clubs to pay them rather than building grassroots in the area by doling our some money to area clubs who ultimately send their best players to sounders academy and whose parents pay for their season tickets.

[Unregistered]

Not sure there’s anything more absurd than sounders requiring clubs to pay them rather than building grassroots in the area by doling our some money to area clubs who ultimately send their best players to sounders academy and whose parents pay for their season tickets.

Sounders parents aren’t required to buy season tickets

[Unregistered]

Not sure there’s anything more absurd than sounders requiring clubs to pay them rather than building grassroots in the area by doling our some money to area clubs who ultimately send their best players to sounders academy and whose parents pay for their season tickets.

Sounders don’t require anyone to do anything. Clubs begged the sounders to let them use their name. It’s the same thing, as I mentioned above, a gimmick to separate parents from their cash.

However, at least with the sounders there was a pathway. I guarantee no kid from eagleclaw is playing for Valencia CF in La Liga. But dream big...

[Guest]

I am a parent whose kid (a boy) joined EagleClaw in the early days of the pandemic, as a 10 year old. We discovered EagleClaw through their Futsal program where players from other clubs are welcome. After spending 2019 really enjoying EagleClaw's high tempo Futsal program (which happens on Friday Nights), my kid asked to switch to EagleClaw for his regular soccer. He was invited to guest-train with the team he would join, and after two sessions, he was sold. I had been sold a long time ago, but didn't want to push him to join the club. We have not regretted our decision for one second. In fact, I take every chance I get to promote the club to other parents and share our experience. Here is why, starting with the basics:

1- Culture and Values
The club has an identity and a set of values that are lived on a day to day basis. It is a supportive, positive environment where club staff and parents are equally as engaged. We actually feel like we're part of a club with a clear development mission and where interactions with coaches and the small staff are consistently positive and caring. This proved crucial during the pandemic.I can talk to the coach, director of coaching, or the Executive Director often about how my kid is developing and I get meaningful feedback. More importantly, he gets meaningful and supportive feedback all the time. Just last night, he wanted to join the older and more advanced Futsal group. Instead of saying no, or just throwing him in, the coaches spent the firs half hour explaining what was happening and easing him into it. It was an intricate, fast-moving rondo pattern, and it took him time to absorb it. Without that high touch, he would have been lost and potentially written off the experience. Now he is looking forward to more. What a difference great coaching makes!


2- Playing Style and Coaching
I'm a Barca fan and have always been. So is my child :) I'm not an expert, but I do believe a positional-possession focused style of play creates more intelligent players. In addition to being fun to watch – and more importantly, for my kid fun to play– it teaches kids to improve their decision making with and without the ball. From everything I see and read, that is the most important aspect of developing youth players. My kid is not the prototypical Xabi/Iniesta wannabe. He is big, fast, shoots with both feet, and lives to score goals. He would feel at home on a team that prioritized that profile and would probably thrive from a goal scoring perspective. Perhaps, even win many tournaments. But he is starting to see the game differently, and play much more intelligently because that is what he's being taught at EagleClaw. He loves it because he is starting to understand how effective it is for a team to build from the back, occupy and create space, and pass quickly to break lines and advance the ball. Those are the words he uses as an 11 year old. His coach is an outstanding t-e-a-c-h-er! and for that I am very grateful. The same is true for his Futsal coach on Friday nights.

Last point on this but an important one: the coaching is consistent from one coach to another and from one age group to the next. It is a curriculum and philosophy that permeates everything. If you or your kid like the positional style of football, they will learn it well at Eagleclaw.

3- Competitive Games and Earned Minutes
We play in the WPL. I think it was called PSPL before. I don't quite understand the stratification but we're in the Classic league. We played in the semi finals of the state cup last year and were in the final of river jam tournament this summer. We're also second in our league with the best goal difference of any team. The games are competitive and the kids are being challenged. What I see –and this is subjective– is teams that we play against rely more on individual moments of brilliance. A fast break, a lucky/outstanding shot... and when we lose, it is seldom because the other team dominated us. I personally don't measure my kid's success by how many tournaments he wins. As long as he is learning, improving, and loving it, I am happy.

4- Valencia Academy
Yes, this is a big draw. My kid has not reached the age group where he might get selected for the Valencia Development Program (VDP) yet, never mind create a path to Valencia itself. So, I can't speak to it from first hand experience. However, knowing the possibility exists is important to me and to him. I know Valencia coaches follow these kids and are directly involved in their development. At the end of the day, if my kid is at a good enough level to break through, then I know he will have that opportunity. He certainly has the ambition and works hard for it.

I am sure other clubs offer an excellent environment for kids to develop and thrive. I am also sure there are outstanding coaches everywhere. None of this binary or zero-sum. That EagleClaw is good does not mean other clubs are bad, and vice versa. At the end of the day, all I want for my kid is to develop, have fun, become a better human being, and earn an opportunity to go to the limit of his potential. Currently, EagleClaw provides that for him in spades.

I am a real parent and I would be happy to talk to you. You can find me on twitter (at)Safouen

[Guest]

[QUOTE=Guest;n4252237]I am a parent whose kid (a boy) joined EagleClaw in the early days of the pandemic, as a 10 year old. We discovered EagleClaw through their Futsal program where players from other clubs are welcome. After spending 2019 really enjoying EagleClaw's high tempo Futsal program (which happens on Friday Nights), my kid asked to switch to EagleClaw for his regular soccer. He was invited to guest-train with the team he would join, and after two sessions, he was sold. I had been sold a long time ago, but didn't want to push him to join the club. We have not regretted our decision for one second. In fact, I take every chance I get to promote the club to other parents and share our experience. Here is why, starting with the basics:

1- Culture and Values
The club has an identity and a set of values that are lived on a day to day basis. It is a supportive, positive environment where club staff and parents are equally as engaged. We actually feel like we're part of a club with a clear development mission and where interactions with coaches and the small staff are consistently positive and caring. This proved crucial during the pandemic.I can talk to the coach, director of coaching, or the Executive Director often about how my kid is developing and I get meaningful feedback. More importantly, he gets meaningful and supportive feedback all the time. Just last night, he wanted to join the older and more advanced Futsal group. Instead of saying no, or just throwing him in, the coaches spent the firs half hour explaining what was happening and easing him into it. It was an intricate, fast-moving rondo pattern, and it took him time to absorb it. Without that high touch, he would have been lost and potentially written off the experience. Now he is looking forward to more. What a difference great coaching makes!


2- Playing Style and Coaching
I'm a Barca fan and have always been. So is my child :) I'm not an expert, but I do believe a positional-possession focused style of play creates more intelligent players. In addition to being fun to watch – and more importantly, for my kid fun to play– it teaches kids to improve their decision making with and without the ball. From everything I see and read, that is the most important aspect of developing youth players. My kid is not the prototypical Xabi/Iniesta wannabe. He is big, fast, shoots with both feet, and lives to score goals. He would feel at home on a team that prioritized that profile and would probably thrive from a goal scoring perspective. Perhaps, even win many tournaments. But he is starting to see the game differently, and play much more intelligently because that is what he's being taught at EagleClaw. He loves it because he is starting to understand how effective it is for a team to build from the back, occupy and create space, and pass quickly to break lines and advance the ball. Those are the words he uses as an 11 year old. His coach is an outstanding t-e-a-c-h-er! and for that I am very grateful. The same is true for his Futsal coach on Friday nights.



Last point on this but an important one: the coaching is consistent from one coach to another and from one age group to the next. It is a curriculum and philosophy that permeates everything. If you or your kid like the positional style of football, they will learn it well at Eagleclaw.

3- Competitive Games and Earned Minutes
We play in the WPL. I think it was called PSPL before. I don't quite understand the stratification but we're in the Classic league. We played in the semi finals of the state cup last year and were in the final of river jam tournament this summer. We're also second in our league with the best goal difference of any team. The games are competitive and the kids are being challenged. What I see –and this is subjective– is teams that we play against rely more on individual moments of brilliance. A fast break, a lucky/outstanding shot... and when we lose, it is seldom because the other team dominated us. I personally don't measure my kid's success by how many tournaments he wins. As long as he is learning, improving, and loving it, I am happy.

4- Valencia Academy
Yes, this is a big draw. My kid has not reached the age group where he might get selected for the Valencia Development Program (VDP) yet, never mind create a path to Valencia itself. So, I can't speak to it from first hand experience. However, knowing the possibility exists is important to me and to him. I know Valencia coaches follow these kids and are directly involved in their development. At the end of the day, if my kid is at a good enough level to break through, then I know he will have that opportunity. He certainly has the ambition and works hard for it.

I am sure other clubs offer an excellent environment for kids to develop and thrive. I am also sure there are outstanding coaches everywhere. None of this binary or zero-sum. That EagleClaw is good does not mean other clubs are bad, and vice versa. At the end of the day, all I want for my kid is to develop, have fun, become a better human being, and earn an opportunity to go to the limit of his potential. Currently, EagleClaw provides that for him in spades.

I am a real parent and I would be happy to talk to you. You can find me on twitter (at)Safouen

Your last paragraph is spot on. Glad you and more importantly, your child is having a great experience. We have one shot at being a parent and kids have one shot at being a kid. All the best and enjoy the ride!

[Guest]

Everything you said sounds great. The problem is that the "teams' are not competitive in the local landscape. It just depends on what your realistic goals are for your son and perhaps he is way to young to even think about it for you. My son has played a Team from there once or twice in Tournament settings and completely smashed them (he has played on Crossfire top teams). That doesn't make the experience better for my son, it just means he will likely have opportunity that players from Eagleclaw likely will not. Like you said, not right or wrong.

[Guest]

[QUOTE=Guest;n4252352]

I am a parent whose kid (a boy) joined EagleClaw in the early days of the pandemic, as a 10 year old. We discovered EagleClaw through their Futsal program where players from other clubs are welcome. After spending 2019 really enjoying EagleClaw's high tempo Futsal program (which happens on Friday Nights), my kid asked to switch to EagleClaw for his regular soccer. He was invited to guest-train with the team he would join, and after two sessions, he was sold. I had been sold a long time ago, but didn't want to push him to join the club. We have not regretted our decision for one second. In fact, I take every chance I get to promote the club to other parents and share our experience. Here is why, starting with the basics:

1- Culture and Values
The club has an identity and a set of values that are lived on a day to day basis. It is a supportive, positive environment where club staff and parents are equally as engaged. We actually feel like we're part of a club with a clear development mission and where interactions with coaches and the small staff are consistently positive and caring. This proved crucial during the pandemic.I can talk to the coach, director of coaching, or the Executive Director often about how my kid is developing and I get meaningful feedback. More importantly, he gets meaningful and supportive feedback all the time. Just last night, he wanted to join the older and more advanced Futsal group. Instead of saying no, or just throwing him in, the coaches spent the firs half hour explaining what was happening and easing him into it. It was an intricate, fast-moving rondo pattern, and it took him time to absorb it. Without that high touch, he would have been lost and potentially written off the experience. Now he is looking forward to more. What a difference great coaching makes!


2- Playing Style and Coaching
I'm a Barca fan and have always been. So is my child :) I'm not an expert, but I do believe a positional-possession focused style of play creates more intelligent players. In addition to being fun to watch – and more importantly, for my kid fun to play– it teaches kids to improve their decision making with and without the ball. From everything I see and read, that is the most important aspect of developing youth players. My kid is not the prototypical Xabi/Iniesta wannabe. He is big, fast, shoots with both feet, and lives to score goals. He would feel at home on a team that prioritized that profile and would probably thrive from a goal scoring perspective. Perhaps, even win many tournaments. But he is starting to see the game differently, and play much more intelligently because that is what he's being taught at EagleClaw. He loves it because he is starting to understand how effective it is for a team to build from the back, occupy and create space, and pass quickly to break lines and advance the ball. Those are the words he uses as an 11 year old. His coach is an outstanding t-e-a-c-h-er! and for that I am very grateful. The same is true for his Futsal coach on Friday nights.



Last point on this but an important one: the coaching is consistent from one coach to another and from one age group to the next. It is a curriculum and philosophy that permeates everything. If you or your kid like the positional style of football, they will learn it well at Eagleclaw.

3- Competitive Games and Earned Minutes
We play in the WPL. I think it was called PSPL before. I don't quite understand the stratification but we're in the Classic league. We played in the semi finals of the state cup last year and were in the final of river jam tournament this summer. We're also second in our league with the best goal difference of any team. The games are competitive and the kids are being challenged. What I see –and this is subjective– is teams that we play against rely more on individual moments of brilliance. A fast break, a lucky/outstanding shot... and when we lose, it is seldom because the other team dominated us. I personally don't measure my kid's success by how many tournaments he wins. As long as he is learning, improving, and loving it, I am happy.

4- Valencia Academy
Yes, this is a big draw. My kid has not reached the age group where he might get selected for the Valencia Development Program (VDP) yet, never mind create a path to Valencia itself. So, I can't speak to it from first hand experience. However, knowing the possibility exists is important to me and to him. I know Valencia coaches follow these kids and are directly involved in their development. At the end of the day, if my kid is at a good enough level to break through, then I know he will have that opportunity. He certainly has the ambition and works hard for it.

I am sure other clubs offer an excellent environment for kids to develop and thrive. I am also sure there are outstanding coaches everywhere. None of this binary or zero-sum. That EagleClaw is good does not mean other clubs are bad, and vice versa. At the end of the day, all I want for my kid is to develop, have fun, become a better human being, and earn an opportunity to go to the limit of his potential. Currently, EagleClaw provides that for him in spades.

I am a real parent and I would be happy to talk to you. You can find me on twitter (at)Safouen

Your last paragraph is spot on. Glad you and more importantly, your child is having a great experience. We have one shot at being a parent and kids have one shot at being a kid. All the best and enjoy the ride!

Thanks for your first experience! I took a look their website, it seems it's training locations are located all in Tukwila? Are there other clubs with similar attributes located in the north Seattle area?