I live in Grafton MA. Looking for a club for my son age 11. I’ve been told Spirit of Liverpool which is not actually Liverpool, or Fortis. Suggestions? Any other clubs around?
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Spirit is more Liverpool than LfcIA.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
The owner is from Liverpool and has taken many teams to visit and incorporates Liverpool training practices.
Great family club. Had 2 kids play there.
Won’t speak to Fortis. -
You have NEFC, Stars, BEST and whatever FC United/FCUSA is now in the area as well. Liverpool has their own little indoor facility out in Oxford. The founder of Fortis is part owner of the massive complex being built in Fitchburg.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Go check out both for yourself. I am sure they'd be happy to have you join a session.Comment
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Wouldn't bother with either do yourself a favor and check out some of the Bigger clubsOriginally posted by Unregistered View Post
NEFC Stars etcComment
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Haha.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Where do you think the bigger clubs poach from?
Spirit does fantastic training at the earlier ages and then “donates”to the bigger clubs.
Many threads about SPOL losing teams to Stars, including turncoat coaches.Comment
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Spirit of donating money
If BG is from Liverpool, why does he have the Liver Bird backwards on every item the team puts its logo on? I think the reason is because he stole the name and brand hoping the real club wouldn't care. When he got the letter from them saying that they do care, he was forced to change the name of the club, and then he spun the logo around so the bird was facing the other direction. Maybe, this was done on hopes of avoiding copyright infringement? Who knows?What counts is that the very basis of any business is your name and brand, and both are a lie at SPOL.
He's also tied into Celtics FC and somehow now BEST FC in Westboro, as the DPL lists them together as one club.
They do own one indoor field so practices in the winter are managed inside. However since they don't own actual outdoor fields, they rent space around Central Mass in Sutton and Oxford and also in Woodstock CT. Woodstock games and practices are convenient for the coaching staff, and that's what matters.
Also, BG has a gripe with FC because of what that other poster said. An entire team left SPOL to join FC, and because of the financial hit BG refuses to enter any of his teams in FC run tournaments. So the Stars cup, where teams come from all around, well they don't come from Oxford because BG is butt hurt.
So let's see, we've covered his business ethics and his personal vendetta's at the sake of player development and opportunities. What else?
Oh that's right, they have sone amazingly talented kids who's parents love paying half the price for club dues than what most other teams charge. This is how SPOL remains viable, although that merge with Best FC may yield some insight into their true solvency post covid. Anyway, these kids need to be "poached" or at the very least their parents need to wake up and realize that if there's a shot for their kid at a higher level, they need a bigger club that can provide better opportunities. I mean the really special 07s did play the COPA on Texas last summer and did well, but they raffled tuition to the entire club to send that one "special group of girls".
Don't donate tuition to SPOL to only make these rationalizations yourself after 4 years like we did. What you should do is find out how clubs handled covid refunds, the big bad FC Stars did much more than most other clubs and I drink the Coolaid there because the head was greener for us in Lancaster.
Fortis is affiliated with GPS and there's about 200 threads in here about them.
Happy shoppingComment
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FC United is not partners with FCUSA but they are now partners with Scorpions. FC United is a great program with very experienced coaches that will develop your kid at this age and you can move on later if you take it serious. Very close to you alsoComment
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You are correct about the trademark/branding issue. Up until 4-5 years ago, his relationship with the pro team was cordial and they allowed him the use of the brand. He then decided to move away from that relationship, maybe it was forced on him, but he still has true love and passion for the home team. He made some changes to his branding and came up with SPOL. The atmosphere, training, and the overall value hasn't changed. One of the few reasonable good guys out there. I would definitely start with this club if child is younger, such as middle school. If your child is still playing in HS and is a decent player, you then should look to the bigger clubs, they seem to have more to offer in terms of no. of teams and overall competition at that age.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Correct.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
The brand was LFSC—Liverpool Football Supporters Club.
All was fine until Fenway Group got involved.
It is a fantastic club for development, as somebody earlier posted.
They do struggle a bit with keeping older, better players. Too bad there’s no compensation for getting players prompted.
Club soccer is littered with clubs using knock-off replica jerseys for teams.
Nothing new here.
Not PK.Comment
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Sol?
SPOL was once a good club with a few good coaches but their lack of a solid financial backing has led to a lot of parent coaches who get their coaching license online or in a weekend. It has become nothing more than glorified town soccer with players consistently not showing up for practices and games and leaving teams to scramble at games and bring in players from other SOL teams to cover. This simply doesn't happen at a serious club. The good coaches have left for clubs that compensate them for their time and efforts. SOL doesn't have their sights set on Nationals or putting their players in front of college coaches as they get older like other clubs. If one team goes then everyone will want to and it is too expensive for them so they do what they can to dissuade teams from traveling for those. They don't even enter most teams into he State Cup tournament due to the expense. So when everyone else is vying to play in it and possibly win, SOL won't even tell you they didn't enter your team until the pairings come out.
I recommend starting at Stars Worcester which has great training and the opportunity for your player to move up levels as they progress. Start with a club that is financially sound with good coaching at all levels.Comment
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