San Diego Surf SC Welcomes New Affiliate, New York Surf SC

[Unregistered]

I'm not sure but I did hear that they are telling people that all their trainings and games are at Farmingdale College. This is not true at all. In fact very few will be at Farmingdale. It's a complete misrepresentation and flat out wrong!

A bunch will be at farmingdale ... a lot of the older groups for sure ...
Sooooooo it's not an alternate fact- lol

[Unregistered]

I thought NY Surf was going to hold a regular tournament like SD Surf Cup. So why are they hosting a tournament for high school teams?

[Unregistered]

A bunch will be at farmingdale ... a lot of the older groups for sure ...
Sooooooo it's not an alternate fact- lol

They have 2 soccer, 2 lax and 2 track teams. How much time do you really think?

[Unregistered]

You assume that all these players have been "developed" to their full capacity simply becasue they are committed?

What impresses you, the quality of the schools ( for soccer) or the numbers? I reckon that if you took the percentage of kids with say top 100 talent on entry to a club and followed them , you would see that MOST Clubs get them committed to Top 100 schools.

if a kid goes to PDA who is already committed ( which happens) they what? DO you measure the Clubs impact some other way?


A single player can be part of creating that environment for a Club or they can run off to another. Most parents think the latter is better. Im not so sure. Depends on teh level you are looking to reach.

If a kid goes to PDA who is already committed, and joins a team that is made up of 17 other kids who are also already committed, being in that environment along with a good trainer will improve all of those kids. If they came from a club where only 2-3 others were committed, there will be a point where they outgrow that environment.

I am assuming that a "committed kid" is a better soccer than one who isn't. That may not be the best assumption, but the concept of training with better players still stands.

The impact PDA makes is that people know that the odds of having a team with more higher-talented players is greater than a lot of other clubs. Of course there will be exceptions on the player and the team level, but those are in fact exceptions. It's like applying to college; you know Ivy League schools are going to have extremely bright students (and yes, they were bright before they got there), good faculty, good resources. There may be a few extremely bright students at Hofstra, and they might in fact be brighter than the brightest in the Ivy League. But the odds are in favor of the Ivy League in terms of the overall student body.

[Unregistered]

None of my kids are at Surf, but the "father/son duo" are top coaches and were at FCWestchester before. That family of coaches knows what they are doing. And now with Winston Buddle as technical director, its an impressive lineup. Whether the club attracts kids of a decent caliber I can't say but those coaches are high quality

[Unregistered]

If a kid goes to PDA who is already committed, and joins a team that is made up of 17 other kids who are also already committed, being in that environment along with a good trainer will improve all of those kids. If they came from a club where only 2-3 others were committed, there will be a point where they outgrow that environment.

I am assuming that a "committed kid" is a better soccer than one who isn't. That may not be the best assumption, but the concept of training with better players still stands.

The impact PDA makes is that people know that the odds of having a team with more higher-talented players is greater than a lot of other clubs. Of course there will be exceptions on the player and the team level, but those are in fact exceptions. It's like applying to college; you know Ivy League schools are going to have extremely bright students (and yes, they were bright before they got there), good faculty, good resources. There may be a few extremely bright students at Hofstra, and they might in fact be brighter than the brightest in the Ivy League. But the odds are in favor of the Ivy League in terms of the overall student body.

There are 2 sides to that argument and it depends on the player. I dont think that PDA is teaching anything that other places are not and I think the majority of the attraction is winning games- nothing more.

If you are a kid on an ECNL team playing 80 pct of the minuntes and getting good coaching are you better there or going to PDA to get similar coaching, play 50 pct of the minutes and win more games?

Its not a no brainer .

[Unregistered]

I thought NY Surf was going to hold a regular tournament like SD Surf Cup. So why are they hosting a tournament for high school teams?

I still question whether any HS teams would even be allowed to enter a tournament on labor day weekend. There are all sorts of regulations they have to abide by concerning number of games they can play, how many practices they must have before they can play in games and so on.

[Unregistered]

There are 2 sides to that argument and it depends on the player. I dont think that PDA is teaching anything that other places are not and I think the majority of the attraction is winning games- nothing more.

If you are a kid on an ECNL team playing 80 pct of the minuntes and getting good coaching are you better there or going to PDA to get similar coaching, play 50 pct of the minutes and win more games?

Its not a no brainer .

That's a good point. I actually know a kid who left an ECNL team to play for an NPL team for exactly that reason. Was a role player on the ECNL team but is the featured player on the NPL team. Being in that featured role has improved her game a lot.

One question: if a player practices 3x per week and plays a game 1x per week, where is most of their improvement going to come from? And if you are a role player practicing with 17 excellent teammates, does that provide better opportunity to improve compared to being the feature player practicing with 17 only-very-good teammates? Being the feature player does provide other benefits as well (eg. standing out at college showcases, more attention from coach for recruiting purposes, etc).

As you say, it's not a no brainer. Definitely depends on the kid and her needs.

[Unregistered]

That's a good point. I actually know a kid who left an ECNL team to play for an NPL team for exactly that reason. Was a role player on the ECNL team but is the featured player on the NPL team. Being in that featured role has improved her game a lot.

One question: if a player practices 3x per week and plays a game 1x per week, where is most of their improvement going to come from? And if you are a role player practicing with 17 excellent teammates, does that provide better opportunity to improve compared to being the feature player practicing with 17 only-very-good teammates? Being the feature player does provide other benefits as well (eg. standing out at college showcases, more attention from coach for recruiting purposes, etc).

As you say, it's not a no brainer. Definitely depends on the kid and her needs.

Lol, because it's you "featured" kid. So very odd.

[Unregistered]

Lol, because it's you "featured" kid. So very odd.

On one team, your kid is the best player on the team and on the other she is not. There are pros and cons to each situation. Why is this odd?

[Unregistered]

On one team, your kid is the best player on the team and on the other she is not. There are pros and cons to each situation. Why is this odd?

Who made the determination they are the best player? Yes odd indeed.

[Unregistered]

Who made the determination they are the best player? Yes odd indeed.

Seriously? You can't tell whether some players are better than others?

[Unregistered]

Who made the determination they are the best player? Yes odd indeed.

You are missing the point. Best , almost best, one of the best,,,,whatever....the question is if for some players is being a big fish in a small pond better than being a smaller fish in a big pond?

I would think that for some the answer is yes and for some the answer is no like everything else in life.

[Unregistered]

Seriously? You can't tell whether some players are better than others?

Seriously? Perhaps the 17 other non featured players could explain the "oddness" better. Good luck to your "featured" player.

[Unregistered]

That's a good point. I actually know a kid who left an ECNL team to play for an NPL team for exactly that reason. Was a role player on the ECNL team but is the featured player on the NPL team. Being in that featured role has improved her game a lot.

One question: if a player practices 3x per week and plays a game 1x per week, where is most of their improvement going to come from? And if you are a role player practicing with 17 excellent teammates, does that provide better opportunity to improve compared to being the feature player practicing with 17 only-very-good teammates? Being the feature player does provide other benefits as well (eg. standing out at college showcases, more attention from coach for recruiting purposes, etc).

As you say, it's not a no brainer. Definitely depends on the kid and her needs.

To add, I believe many kids will leave GDA for ECNL for this reason as well. The sub issue will be a big one.