Portland club recommendations?

[Guest]

I’m supporting my 5th grade son in his transition from rec to club soccer and I have been reading through this forum to try to get the lay of the land. He is connected to a club now and it has been a good experience so far but I’m not sure yet if it will be a long term fit. I’m wondering if there is any consensus on here about which clubs in the Portland area have the best reputations in terms of creating positive environments for kids to grow in the game. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[Guest]

My advice is:
1) flee from this forum, as fast as you can. Any club recommendations (or disrecomendations) made here should be taken with a grain of salt.
2) Talk to your kid's rec coach, and other parents in your community.
3) If your kid is coming out of rec, start with a local club, rather than going for one of the blue chip clubs. There will be a lot less travel and BS, and just because your kid excels at rec doesn't mean he won't be in for a rude awakening in a competitive club. If the kid becomes the best (or one of the best) players on a smaller club's top team, then consider moving up to one of the travel clubs. Travel club B and C teams may work fine, and you might be able to move up early, but know that at Westside or UPDX or OPFC the kids on the lower teams are subsidizing the kids on the A team.
4) Be wary of coaches that overly praise the talent level of a kid in grade or middle school, especially if they are suggesting private training (at an additional cost). Puberty will change things big-time. Quite a few coaches will tell you that they can make your kid a start--but then say the same thing to every other parent on the team.

[Guest]

My advice is:
1) flee from this forum, as fast as you can. Any club recommendations (or disrecomendations) made here should be taken with a grain of salt.
2) Talk to your kid's rec coach, and other parents in your community.
3) If your kid is coming out of rec, start with a local club, rather than going for one of the blue chip clubs. There will be a lot less travel and BS, and just because your kid excels at rec doesn't mean he won't be in for a rude awakening in a competitive club. If the kid becomes the best (or one of the best) players on a smaller club's top team, then consider moving up to one of the travel clubs. Travel club B and C teams may work fine, and you might be able to move up early, but know that at Westside or UPDX or OPFC the kids on the lower teams are subsidizing the kids on the A team.
4) Be wary of coaches that overly praise the talent level of a kid in grade or middle school, especially if they are suggesting private training (at an additional cost). Puberty will change things big-time. Quite a few coaches will tell you that they can make your kid a start--but then say the same thing to every other parent on the team.

Those are good points - thanks for sharing. Yeah, I've seen that there are some pretty strong opinions on here, and that's one of the reasons I started to think I should do some more research and ask around before signing on to anything too quickly. We definitely aren't looking for the blue chip experience at this point, just an organized club with quality coaching, where my son can continue to learn fundamental soccer in a positive, team-oriented environment.

[Guest]

My advice is:
1) flee from this forum, as fast as you can. Any club recommendations (or disrecomendations) made here should be taken with a grain of salt.
2) Talk to your kid's rec coach, and other parents in your community.
3) If your kid is coming out of rec, start with a local club, rather than going for one of the blue chip clubs. There will be a lot less travel and BS, and just because your kid excels at rec doesn't mean he won't be in for a rude awakening in a competitive club. If the kid becomes the best (or one of the best) players on a smaller club's top team, then consider moving up to one of the travel clubs. Travel club B and C teams may work fine, and you might be able to move up early, but know that at Westside or UPDX or OPFC the kids on the lower teams are subsidizing the kids on the A team.
4) Be wary of coaches that overly praise the talent level of a kid in grade or middle school, especially if they are suggesting private training (at an additional cost). Puberty will change things big-time. Quite a few coaches will tell you that they can make your kid a start--but then say the same thing to every other parent on the team.

Go watch some practices and games from some of your local clubs. Pay attention to how the players, coaches -‘d especially parents behave. Is there just constant yelling from the coaches and parents or is there instruction and teaching? Are all the kids getting a chance to play?

Can’t stress enough, do your research and go observe for yourself. And certainly don’t trust any opinions about specific clubs on here.

[Guest]

In my experience, “quality coaching” can be hit or miss at any club, age group, or tier.

[Guest]

Go watch some practices and games from some of your local clubs. Pay attention to how the players, coaches -‘d especially parents behave. Is there just constant yelling from the coaches and parents or is there instruction and teaching? Are all the kids getting a chance to play?

Can’t stress enough, do your research and go observe for yourself. And certainly don’t trust any opinions about specific clubs on here.

That is great advice. I'll definitely do that. Thank you!

[Guest]

In my experience, “quality coaching” can be hit or miss at any club, age group, or tier.

good point

[Guest]

In my experience, “quality coaching” can be hit or miss at any club, age group, or tier.

What does a “quality coach” do?

[Guest]

The most important thing, at this age, is avoiding a BAD coach. While some youth coaches are better than others, really good youth coaches get college gigs. And kids at this age need to be learning proper touch and technique, with tactics being added as they get older. None of that is secret; there's no special knowledge that some coaches have that other (skilled) coaches lack.

A good coach:

1) Will have some high-level playing experience. Not necessarily pro or even college, but they should be able to demonstrate the skills they are teaching.
2) Will have age-appropriate curriculum. Avoid coaches that, e.g. emphasize a passing game before teaching the kids how to pass and receive the ball accurately.
3) Won't be an a-hole. Criticism is part of coaching, but humiliation of children should not be.
4) Will focus on helping the team and the players improve, rather than on short-term strategies to maximize wins. All players on the roster should get attention from the coach as well as playing time, with exceptions being made for top-level teams in elimination games. But in general, if the parent/player is playing the club money, rather than the other way around, the player shouldn't be chained to the bench.
5) Will not claim to have any secret techniques, boast of connections, claim to be the "gateway" into the higher levels, etc.
6) Will act professionally, and take the job seriously. In modern times, this includes a USSF coaching license. Not necessarily an A or a B license, as much experience is needed to earn those credentials, but run from anyone who says "you don't need a license, it just proves you can pass a test!". Nobody would accept that nonsense coming from an unlicensed physician. (This only applies to competitive soccer, for rec it's fine if an unlicensed volunteer parent is the coach).

[Guest]

It's pretty simple. Reach out to the club and ask them about their long-term plan for players. Good luck with that in the USA, never mind Oregon.

[Guest]

I’m supporting my 5th grade son in his transition from rec to club soccer and I have been reading through this forum to try to get the lay of the land. He is connected to a club now and it has been a good experience so far but I’m not sure yet if it will be a long term fit. I’m wondering if there is any consensus on here about which clubs in the Portland area have the best reputations in terms of creating positive environments for kids to grow in the game. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Try SCA (Soccer Chance Academy).

I would find something where you can make the commute and within budget. I follow the coach usually, not club. SCA right now has one of the best coaches for young players, Coach Abdi.

In the past SCA had open practices and tryouts for players wanting to check it out. Give them an email or call. They have an Instagram and website- SCA Portland

[Guest]

It's pretty simple. Reach out to the club and ask them about their long-term plan for players. Good luck with that in the USA, never mind Oregon.

FC Portland have a plan and are willing to share it. They share it with our age group and my daughter reads it all the time.

[Guest]

The most important thing, at this age, is avoiding a BAD coach. While some youth coaches are better than others, really good youth coaches get college gigs. And kids at this age need to be learning proper touch and technique, with tactics being added as they get older. None of that is secret; there's no special knowledge that some coaches have that other (skilled) coaches lack.

A good coach:

1) Will have some high-level playing experience. Not necessarily pro or even college, but they should be able to demonstrate the skills they are teaching.
2) Will have age-appropriate curriculum. Avoid coaches that, e.g. emphasize a passing game before teaching the kids how to pass and receive the ball accurately.
3) Won't be an a-hole. Criticism is part of coaching, but humiliation of children should not be.
4) Will focus on helping the team and the players improve, rather than on short-term strategies to maximize wins. All players on the roster should get attention from the coach as well as playing time, with exceptions being made for top-level teams in elimination games. But in general, if the parent/player is playing the club money, rather than the other way around, the player shouldn't be chained to the bench.
5) Will not claim to have any secret techniques, boast of connections, claim to be the "gateway" into the higher levels, etc.
6) Will act professionally, and take the job seriously. In modern times, this includes a USSF coaching license. Not necessarily an A or a B license, as much experience is needed to earn those credentials, but run from anyone who says "you don't need a license, it just proves you can pass a test!". Nobody would accept that nonsense coming from an unlicensed physician. (This only applies to competitive soccer, for rec it's fine if an unlicensed volunteer parent is the coach).

You don’t have to have high level playing experience to be able to demonstrate a technique. As long as the coach can break technique down into its part and recognize where the breakdown happens in order to fix it you’ll be fine. Being able to demonstrate adequately is fine.

everything else I agree with entirely!

[Guest]

Choose anywhere but Soccer Chance Academy, biggest scam run by parent influence and bad coaches and directors.

[Guest]

Try SCA (Soccer Chance Academy).

I would find something where you can make the commute and within budget. I follow the coach usually, not club. SCA right now has one of the best coaches for young players, Coach Abdi.

In the past SCA had open practices and tryouts for players wanting to check it out. Give them an email or call. They have an Instagram and website- SCA Portland

Abdi is not the best coach for younger players. If you’re following (club hopping and/or with illegal recruiting) for coach Abdi, good luck getting your kid to the next level. Nice try (clearly a paid advertiser for SCA) There are plenty of really good coaches around and none of them are at soccer chance academy. They let parents “coach” and hardly ever have coaches available on game day.