SUSA Parents-Feedback

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To get back on track, the poster said the player is 10 years old and looking for an option in the middle of Suffolk county.

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To get back on track, the poster said the player is 10 years old and looking for an option in the middle of Suffolk county.

Thank you also for the info about how things will progress as they get older. My talking with coaches and parents yielded non of the info you provided..

Would anyone recommend Smithtown- Sachem-SUSA - Stonybrook - as a good starting program over another?

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Not OP, but figured I'd drop in. My U14 is my 3rd kid playing LI soccer. U10 & 11 seem to be the ages where the parents are the craziest. Sure, some remain as the kids get older, but I've found a lot of the nonsense weeds itself out as the girls get older. If you look at BOTN, the threads for the older age groups don't really get a lot of action. Not to be rude, but it seems the higher the league, the less parental BS.

I agree with OP that Fury GDA is the top destination spot right now. My kid knows a few players on her age group team and they're very talented. It's basically a combo of Alby's (last year)top ECNL and East Meadow's (last year) top ECNL players. A lot of regional ODP players and national training center players. Alby ECNL is kind of like the red headed step child now that the club is focused on GDA. Alby ECNL players parents will disagree, but it's the truth.

Next up would be East Meadow ECNL, as far as strength of club/league. I know the team in my kid's age group lost a lot of top players to Fury, but they were able to pick up some great players from Atletico and a couple other teams.

Albertson,and now Fury, and East Meadow players have been playing musical chairs back and forth for the last few years. Once you get to ECNL and now GDA, things get a little more political because there's more at stake and players/parents focus more on individual progress and success, as opposed to "team wins". Sure they care about winning and losing, but individual success is stressed.

Then you have the NPLs, EDPs, Region 1s. As far as I've seen, these are basically "Any Given Sunday" teams-Smithtown, Susa, Atletico, Massapequa, etc. can have a great game one week and then botch the next.
Pre-GDA days, these were good secondary league options for kids who were looking to play at a strong level, but not interested in $$$ and travel involved in ECNL. Whether accurate or not, the introduction of the GDA has now relocated NPLs and EDPs (perception wise) to third tier status. Susa and Massapequa have a pretty good track record of college placement, but I don't know if that changes with a new league.

I've seen a lot in the last decade and a half and hope I was able to offer some real info for you. I try to look at things as objectively as possible. I have no delusions about my Kid or her team

Not sure of LISC future status, but Massapequa does have a direct line from their program to DA.

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Thank you also for the info about how things will progress as they get older. My talking with coaches and parents yielded non of the info you provided..

Would anyone recommend Smithtown- Sachem-SUSA - Stonybrook - as a good starting program over another?

Sachem is still an out of control disaster.

Stony Brook isn't much better.

SUSA is good if you manage to get on one of the high level teams. If on the lower teams, not so much.

Smithtown isn't what it once was but is still solid.

Though I would still recommend staying on your existing team for now and instead get outside training from some place like KK so you can kind of "try before you buy" and see how your daughter does in a more competitive environement.

[Unregistered]

Thank you also for the info about how things will progress as they get older. My talking with coaches and parents yielded non of the info you provided..

Would anyone recommend Smithtown- Sachem-SUSA - Stonybrook - as a good starting program over another?

Smithtown is pretty good overall as a club, but a little inconsistent from team to team. Good teams are really good, bad teams are really bad. The NPL league they play in (through their affiliation with East Meadow) got hit the hardest by the introduction of the GDA. Clubs like PDA and FC Stars that were notoriously strong in ECNL and NE NPL, are fielding a 3rd team (GDA) in each age group now, which means for a lot of clubs-the top NPL players moved to ECNL (or GDA in some cases). They also only had a 3 year contract with EMSC which runs out this year or next, so they may renew or strike out on their own and play EDP or Region 1.

Susa is similar to Smithtown in the "hit or miss", except the good teams are very, very good and the bad teams are more middle of the pack. The NPL league they play in wasn't hit as hard by the intro of GDA and last year they had 3 teams win their league and play in Nationals-1was National champion, 1 was National finalist, 1 was National semi-finalist. They also sent a team to the National Cup, who finished as a finalist. There are well sourced rumors that the club is moving up a notch as far as league, but it hasn't been announced yet, so we'll see.Problem is because of the size of the club, it can sometimes feel factory-esque and if your kid is not on the A or B team, it's definitely not worth the cost.

Stonybrook is a little bit of a dead end. Their crown jewel is Sue Ryan, former Stonybrook University coach and ODP trainer, but her methods are outdated and tired and she's a little too old school for how much the soccer landscape is evolving and growing.

Sachem is another dead end. The club has been on life support for years. I think most of their teams play in LIJSL and are really more on a recreational level. They supposedly merged with Atletico, but that brings me to my final comments...

If you are looking for very solid training, technical and tactical, KK Atletico does a great job. Problem with Atletico is, once the kids turn 13/14, the teams dissolve, but not like normal 13/14 year old teams (some kids quit soccer, some kids move on or up to different teams) I'm talking Kurt just kind of walks away from them or hands them off to another club. I've seen it done with several age groups-first ISA/Susa, then Surf, then Brentwood and it seems every year Atletico is merging with someone new-first ISA, then Surf, then Brentwood and LISC, then Sachem, it's so odd and a little unstable. But if you're looking "short term", for just a year or 2/3, Atletico is a very good option. Also, other local clubs know that Atletico players are usually very strong, so if the time comes where she needs to move on, she'll be regarded pretty highly if she's coming from Atletico.

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Good info on the team, thank you. I know a few of them, I saw somewhere Atletico merged with Sachem(?)... There website was not very functional or informative either. What do you here about that merge?

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Good info on the team, thank you. I know a few of them, I saw somewhere Atletico merged with Sachem(?)... There website was not very functional or informative either. What do you here about that merge?

The merger really wasn't. All they really did was get some us club passes for sachem players to fill in gaps on the KK teams.

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The merger really wasn't. All they really did was get some us club passes for sachem players to fill in gaps on the KK teams.

Yeah I thought something was not right, I thought LIPPS was Sachem Training partner. Shame because LIPPS seems very amateurish... Atletico could have helped some of those Sachem teams I think. Maybe they should partner with Smithtown ......oh no they cant because the Smithtown board couldn't have their mortgages paid by Tommy.........

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Yeah I thought something was not right, I thought LIPPS was Sachem Training partner. Shame because LIPPS seems very amateurish... Atletico could have helped some of those Sachem teams I think. Maybe they should partner with Smithtown ......oh no they cant because the Smithtown board couldn't have their mortgages paid by Tommy.........

Who is Lipps and who is Tommy?
I gather you're not s fan, but we're trying to keep this informative, would you mind elaborating just a little for those of us who are unfamiliar? Thanks

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For a girl SUSA is a great choice as they have mostly ISA (Intense) coaches running the girls program. And they have an excellent track record.

The boys another story the DOC and Dan K both were caught falsifying state Cup rosters and had their teams suspended. JF and EH also doctored the roster for GotSoccer and wrongly claimed GotSoccer points from a disbanded team. Families and players have seen how unethical they are and a lot of players have been leaving the boys program over the last several months.

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Smithtown is pretty good overall as a club, but a little inconsistent from team to team. Good teams are really good, bad teams are really bad. The NPL league they play in (through their affiliation with East Meadow) got hit the hardest by the introduction of the GDA. Clubs like PDA and FC Stars that were notoriously strong in ECNL and NE NPL, are fielding a 3rd team (GDA) in each age group now, which means for a lot of clubs-the top NPL players moved to ECNL (or GDA in some cases). They also only had a 3 year contract with EMSC which runs out this year or next, so they may renew or strike out on their own and play EDP or Region 1.

Susa is similar to Smithtown in the "hit or miss", except the good teams are very, very good and the bad teams are more middle of the pack. The NPL league they play in wasn't hit as hard by the intro of GDA and last year they had 3 teams win their league and play in Nationals-1was National champion, 1 was National finalist, 1 was National semi-finalist. They also sent a team to the National Cup, who finished as a finalist. There are well sourced rumors that the club is moving up a notch as far as league, but it hasn't been announced yet, so we'll see.Problem is because of the size of the club, it can sometimes feel factory-esque and if your kid is not on the A or B team, it's definitely not worth the cost.

Stonybrook is a little bit of a dead end. Their crown jewel is Sue Ryan, former Stonybrook University coach and ODP trainer, but her methods are outdated and tired and she's a little too old school for how much the soccer landscape is evolving and growing.

Sachem is another dead end. The club has been on life support for years. I think most of their teams play in LIJSL and are really more on a recreational level. They supposedly merged with Atletico, but that brings me to my final comments...

If you are looking for very solid training, technical and tactical, KK Atletico does a great job. Problem with Atletico is, once the kids turn 13/14, the teams dissolve, but not like normal 13/14 year old teams (some kids quit soccer, some kids move on or up to different teams) I'm talking Kurt just kind of walks away from them or hands them off to another club. I've seen it done with several age groups-first ISA/Susa, then Surf, then Brentwood and it seems every year Atletico is merging with someone new-first ISA, then Surf, then Brentwood and LISC, then Sachem, it's so odd and a little unstable. But if you're looking "short term", for just a year or 2/3, Atletico is a very good option. Also, other local clubs know that Atletico players are usually very strong, so if the time comes where she needs to move on, she'll be regarded pretty highly if she's coming from Atletico.

Highly regarded no more.

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Who is Lipps and who is Tommy?
I gather you're not s fan, but we're trying to keep this informative, would you mind elaborating just a little for those of us who are unfamiliar? Thanks

Tommy Lips is the founder of the soccer training organization LIPS. LIPS pretty much runs Smithtown Kickers soccer and in the last couple of years expanded to also do training for Sachem.

LIPS has gotten some excellent results in Smithtown, but so far has been an abysmal failure at Sachem where there have been mass defections of not only players but also whole teams and even board members. I don't really blame LIPS though, Sachem is a lost cause that nobody can fix.

[Unregistered]

Tommy Lips is the founder of the soccer training organization LIPS. LIPS pretty much runs Smithtown Kickers soccer and in the last couple of years expanded to also do training for Sachem.

LIPS has gotten some excellent results in Smithtown, but so far has been an abysmal failure at Sachem where there have been mass defections of not only players but also whole teams and even board members. I don't really blame LIPS though, Sachem is a lost cause that nobody can fix.

LIPPS may have had some success, but after viewing practices at Smithtown and SUSA girls teams, I have to say, Smithtown seemed amateurish in how they ran the sessions. SUSA trainer seemed to have the girls focused, no fooling around, had them practicing game skills like how to settle and handle a ball on a bounce ( like when the goalie punts it) and pass and move to strike drills. Smithtown did nothing but basic foot skills from U9 ( this was a U12 team) and then just scrimmage. I saw them on more than one occasion. They were both supposedly A teams. I am also searching for a team for next year so this blog has been informative. I live local to Smithtown, but after reviewing the programs that LIPPS runs for them, also no information and from parents they arrange clinics hap-hazardly. Look at the SUSA website and all the variety of what they offer. I am thinking they may be worth the ride. Also, as for Stonybrook. Haven't seen any practices yet but daughter caught a weekly striker clinic with Mark their head of their training. I liked him and how he ran the weekly clinic so if anyone had info on Stonybrook program I would like to hear it.

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LIPPS may have had some success, but after viewing practices at Smithtown and SUSA girls teams, I have to say, Smithtown seemed amateurish in how they ran the sessions. SUSA trainer seemed to have the girls focused, no fooling around, had them practicing game skills like how to settle and handle a ball on a bounce ( like when the goalie punts it) and pass and move to strike drills. Smithtown did nothing but basic foot skills from U9 ( this was a U12 team) and then just scrimmage. I saw them on more than one occasion. They were both supposedly A teams. I am also searching for a team for next year so this blog has been informative. I live local to Smithtown, but after reviewing the programs that LIPPS runs for them, also no information and from parents they arrange clinics hap-hazardly. Look at the SUSA website and all the variety of what they offer. I am thinking they may be worth the ride. Also, as for Stonybrook. Haven't seen any practices yet but daughter caught a weekly striker clinic with Mark their head of their training. I liked him and how he ran the weekly clinic so if anyone had info on Stonybrook program I would like to hear it.

The only thing I'll add is that the training at SUSA varies wildly from team to team depending on who is training it. Have your kid practice with the actual team that they would be joining rather than hoping that you get one of the good ones.

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Anyone do any of the clinic classes I see SUSA offering this winter? I would like to try the striker clinic for my daughter.