Maple BU11 Spring 2010

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The problem isn't the great player, it's the north shore location. I'm sure you have a terrific club and a terrific team for a terrific price. Unfortunately, you can't get there from here. The metro Boston clubs charge what they do because they can. There is huge competition in the metro area for the spots on the top club teams and more than enough parents willing to pay whatever price tag is attached to join. Supply and demand. We've just got a whole lot more soccer players concentrated down here.

Great point, there are 3 clubs on the North shore who are all fighting for the same pool of players because of location. Aztecs, who might as well be in N.H. but are the most established and have the best facilities along with the big Club prices, NSU who have just set up shop at the Topsfielf Fairgrounds arena and SFVikings who have better quality teams but struggle with facilities. I would agree that paying extra would not affect me as long as I had the coach I liked. So find the coach you like and pay. I personally could not afford $3000 a year. Maybe my son will get noticed by this guy Q.

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I agree, But don't you think with that many Clubs the price would go down, or is there just that many players with parents who are willing to pay over twice the amount of other Clubs. Then there is the ACArlington way, which is to basically give every kid a scholarship and field 2 teams in this Blue division. If your son impresses Q enough at a game you might be the recipient of his generosity.

hate to be clueless here, but where does Q get the cash to fund his freebie generosity?

[Unregistered]

hate to be clueless here, but where does Q get the cash to fund his freebie generosity?

My guess is some kind of donations, not to mention being very enthusiastic and endless amounts of energy especially about the BU-11 group because that is where his son is. He gets alot of inner city kids with tremendous talent because of this play for almost nothing philosophy. How long it can last only time will tell, but until then your team best be prepared for these guys.

[Unregistered]

My guess is some kind of donations, not to mention being very enthusiastic and endless amounts of energy especially about the BU-11 group because that is where his son is. He gets alot of inner city kids with tremendous talent because of this play for almost nothing philosophy. How long it can last only time will tell, but until then your team best be prepared for these guys.

Enthusiasm doesn't buy indoor or outdoor practice space or pay Maple fees or coaching fees, etc. If there is a new formula here, I for one would love to know it. Or is it just a matter of all younger teams? At U11 the need for the big bucks hasn't really kicked in yet.

[Unregistered]

My guess is some kind of donations, not to mention being very enthusiastic and endless amounts of energy especially about the BU-11 group because that is where his son is. He gets alot of inner city kids with tremendous talent because of this play for almost nothing philosophy. How long it can last only time will tell, but until then your team best be prepared for these guys.

Great team, dont know how he is with his teaching but I would imagine it has to be pretty solid. He is a terrible guy. Verbally berates referees, screams at his players during matches and at the other coach. My son's team has played them many times in the last few years with competitive games each time. His attitude is always the same. I wish the team was not good but they are outstanding. If they were coached by someone else I think the kids would develop even more.

[Unregistered]

Enthusiasm doesn't buy indoor or outdoor practice space or pay Maple fees or coaching fees, etc. If there is a new formula here, I for one would love to know it. Or is it just a matter of all younger teams? At U11 the need for the big bucks hasn't really kicked in yet.

My guess is he plays the town vs club game to get fields cheap or free. That will catch up to him though, because the towns usually require at least 50% of the team practicing to be from the town. He definetely pays for alot of fees himself. I don't think he can keep it up for the long hall without a merger. For now though his teams at this level are a force. It is alot easier for him to get what he wants after he desribes the system he has employed. The Robin Hood theory I'll call it. I don't know what he does for work but he must have alot of free time on his hands to manage that many teams.

[Unregistered]

Q is a ruthless recruiter, doing so out in the open in a blatant and in an arrogant way. I doubt he is a good coach because I have yet to see any development. Every player wears an AC Arlington shirt because they were recruited by Q someway, somehow.

He is an awful role model for the boys, as one poster commented, losing his mind yelling at his boys, the ref, opposing parents, and anyone in his path.

I hope the best for the kids, but in no way do I support how he conducts his club and I do not wish him any bit of good luck going forward.

[Unregistered]

Could you tell me how Blazers is going to be falling apart??

Blazers 2009 Current Ranking Nationally, MA, and others (according to Gotsoccer ranking, whether you think it is right or wrong)

National Ranking MA Ranking MAPLE/region

U13 88 1 D1/and Region

U14 897 16 D2/and Region

U15 118 2 D2/and Region

U16 20 1 Region

U17 199 5 Region

U18 78 1 D1/and apply Region

U19 40 1

The Gotsoccer rankings and National Soccer Rankings are a guide only. Many sub par teams get lots of points and high rankings because they enter lots of easy tournments just to gather points.The clubs that focus on development will "play up" or enter into premier divisions int heir own age group, not to get points, but to develop thier players. Rankings and standings at this age are largely BS. Unforunately, FO is chasing that metric to prove he has a successful club. The folly in that strategy will be evident when his players discover at an older age that they do not have the technical skills to compete at a high level. FO steals players from other clubs, he does not develop them.

[Unregistered]

Great point, there are 3 clubs on the North shore who are all fighting for the same pool of players because of location. Aztecs, who might as well be in N.H. but are the most established and have the best facilities along with the big Club prices, NSU who have just set up shop at the Topsfielf Fairgrounds arena and SFVikings who have better quality teams but struggle with facilities. I would agree that paying extra would not affect me as long as I had the coach I liked. So find the coach you like and pay. I personally could not afford $3000 a year. Maybe my son will get noticed by this guy Q.

Thoughts from a north shore person - Aztecs aren't really that close to NH, started in Beverly, stayed in Beverly at the indoor facility after the NESS merger, and the merger is over so they aren't in amesbury sports park anymore. NSU's topsfield experiment - have heard from some people who don't like what they have done to the facility, but haven't seen it myself so that is second-hand info. Not sure what you mean by SFV having better teams - do you mean just at specific ages or overall?

Let's examine - Last fall, looked at MAPLE, state cup, bandits cup, and stars cup to see if/when the 3 clubs played each other - Aztec has the most teams. Aztec A teams were 9-3-2 vs. NSU/SFV, Aztec B/C teams were 4-5-1. NSU A teams were 6-7-2 vs Aztec/SFV, their B team was 1-3-0, SFV's teams were 4-6-5 vs Aztec/NSU. Recent past, Aztec have won 2 state titles in last few years, NSU one and an Irwin cup, and SFV have had a state finalist. Not sure who from these clubs are officially playing Region I, don't think any are premier, but I think at most Aztec will have 2 girls, maybe one boys in subregional, NSU one subregional, SFV none as far as I know, maybe their state finalist boys from last year? As far as maple this spring, Aztec has 2 D1 & 4 d2 boys, 3 d1 2d2 girls; NSU 1 d1 2 d2 boys, 1 d1, 2 d2 girls, SFV 1 d1, 1d2 boys, 2 d2 girls. 11s & 12s - Aztec 11 boys green, 11 girls and 2 12 girls in blue, NSU 12 boys blue, 11 girls green, SFV 11s,12s boys are blue. Certainly younger ages development philosophy is more important than Ws, hard to quantify in a forum like this so divisional alignment and head to head are the only way I know of to compare the 3. Based on that, looks like Aztec has the overall edge, followed by NSU, then SFV.

As for cost, i think all 3 clubs offer financial aid.

Totally agree with comments about north shore location, alot easier to get off north shore than it is to get to it. None of these clubs is anywher close to being a "super" club to thoroughly marginalize the others and capture all the best players from the north shore or entice people to drive north the way clubs like stars girls/bolts boys can entice players to drive out of the region. One of them needs to build an amesbury sports park-like facility in a better location in order to ever make that even remotely possible. It may never be possible.

[Unregistered]

The Gotsoccer rankings and National Soccer Rankings are a guide only. Many sub par teams get lots of points and high rankings because they enter lots of easy tournments just to gather points.The clubs that focus on development will "play up" or enter into premier divisions int heir own age group, not to get points, but to develop thier players. Rankings and standings at this age are largely BS. Unforunately, FO is chasing that metric to prove he has a successful club. The folly in that strategy will be evident when his players discover at an older age that they do not have the technical skills to compete at a high level. FO steals players from other clubs, he does not develop them.

The idea of replacing kids each year to develop a better team is the same for all clubs. As for the Blazers, the older teams are former Bolts teams (U16 and older). Their current U13 team was an initial 'GEM' in Fall of U11 (massive Goal Differential) after FO split from the Bolts with more than half of the team. Kerr Sr put together a Bolts team that then won the next three Blue Division seasons while the Blazer team sunk further. This past fall, NEFC U13 appeared as the GEM. The Blazer team improved, but only by replacing several starters with outside players. FO is yet to prove that he can develop the skill of a single player. However, give him a host of already skilled players and he can form a solid team. It will be more telling to see what his U13 team (the former 'GEM') will do this Spring at home and in region 1. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how many of his current U13 team will be there in the Fall.

[Unregistered]

nice shot, but your missing one detail- FO doesn't coach the current u13 team.

[Unregistered]

nice shot, but your missing one detail- FO doesn't coach the current u13 team.

Under 13 Boys 1st O
Under 13 Boys 3rd Blue S

You are a day late and a dollar short on brains and information. There are two Blazer U13 teams; one in Div 3 and one in Div 1. The 'O' stands for Okaroh and the 'S' stands for Spann. It is your choice which one you want to discuss, but the Div 1 team is the more common topic of conversation.

[Unregistered]

I don't know why it always amazes me how these threads can go from Bu-11 to Aztec girls side to Bu-13 in 1 page . If you want to compare whole Clubs or other age groups start your own thread, this is a BU-11 thread.

[Unregistered]

The idea of replacing kids each year to develop a better team is the same for all clubs. As for the Blazers, the older teams are former Bolts teams (U16 and older). Their current U13 team was an initial 'GEM' in Fall of U11 (massive Goal Differential) after FO split from the Bolts with more than half of the team. Kerr Sr put together a Bolts team that then won the next three Blue Division seasons while the Blazer team sunk further. This past fall, NEFC U13 appeared as the GEM. The Blazer team improved, but only by replacing several starters with outside players. FO is yet to prove that he can develop the skill of a single player. However, give him a host of already skilled players and he can form a solid team. It will be more telling to see what his U13 team (the former 'GEM') will do this Spring at home and in region 1. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how many of his current U13 team will be there in the Fall.

The U13's do not have a chance!

[Unregistered]

Thoughts from a north shore person - Aztecs aren't really that close to NH, started in Beverly, stayed in Beverly at the indoor facility after the NESS merger, and the merger is over so they aren't in amesbury sports park anymore. NSU's topsfield experiment - have heard from some people who don't like what they have done to the facility, but haven't seen it myself so that is second-hand info. Not sure what you mean by SFV having better teams - do you mean just at specific ages or overall?

Let's examine - Last fall, looked at MAPLE, state cup, bandits cup, and stars cup to see if/when the 3 clubs played each other - Aztec has the most teams. Aztec A teams were 9-3-2 vs. NSU/SFV, Aztec B/C teams were 4-5-1. NSU A teams were 6-7-2 vs Aztec/SFV, their B team was 1-3-0, SFV's teams were 4-6-5 vs Aztec/NSU. Recent past, Aztec have won 2 state titles in last few years, NSU one and an Irwin cup, and SFV have had a state finalist. Not sure who from these clubs are officially playing Region I, don't think any are premier, but I think at most Aztec will have 2 girls, maybe one boys in subregional, NSU one subregional, SFV none as far as I know, maybe their state finalist boys from last year? As far as maple this spring, Aztec has 2 D1 & 4 d2 boys, 3 d1 2d2 girls; NSU 1 d1 2 d2 boys, 1 d1, 2 d2 girls, SFV 1 d1, 1d2 boys, 2 d2 girls. 11s & 12s - Aztec 11 boys green, 11 girls and 2 12 girls in blue, NSU 12 boys blue, 11 girls green, SFV 11s,12s boys are blue. Certainly younger ages development philosophy is more important than Ws, hard to quantify in a forum like this so divisional alignment and head to head are the only way I know of to compare the 3. Based on that, looks like Aztec has the overall edge, followed by NSU, then SFV.

As for cost, i think all 3 clubs offer financial aid.

Totally agree with comments about north shore location, alot easier to get off north shore than it is to get to it. None of these clubs is anywher close to being a "super" club to thoroughly marginalize the others and capture all the best players from the north shore or entice people to drive north the way clubs like stars girls/bolts boys can entice players to drive out of the region. One of them needs to build an amesbury sports park-like facility in a better location in order to ever make that even remotely possible. It may never be possible.

You just compared clubs based on tournament results. You adressed the major cost difference by stating they offer financial aid. You are basing how good the Club is on how many State finalists they have had ,you think over the past couple of years. You take away from SF Vikings that their U-11, U-12 boys are among the best in the State , by saying that wins don't matter at the younger age groups. You have totally bought into the Aztec sales pitch. The simple fact is that they must charge twice as much as the other 2 Clubs in order to compensate all the directors and assistant directors they have. They also must max out every roster to get the most money they can from evey team. You also say that they don't have Amesbury anymore. What is it that would get me to bring my kid there?