2009 girls clubs in SE Portland

[Unregistered]

I'm looking for insight and recommendations for SE soccer clubs. My daughter has been playing rec and wants to try a club.

Based on where we live, we're considering Eastside Thorns, SESC, and PCU. If anyone has experience with these clubs at this level (specifically with girls), I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

[Unregistered]

You will not get any good advice here. Run.

All of those clubs suck.

All of those clubs are the best.

[Unregistered]

Unless you think your daughter will be playing at the VERY top level of club soccer, I would base the decision on: 1) convenience of practices to your house, 2) whether she already knows anyone at any of the clubs so its easy to make friends and for carpooling purposes, 3) where the highest concentration of kids are that she will be going to high school with to develop relationships over the long term; and 3) cost (which I think is similar among those you listed). For the vast majority of kids, I think camaraderie and friendships are the most important things that come out of youth sports.

If you do think she will be playing very competitive, high level soccer, of those 3 clubs, PCU is by far the best/most competitive. That is not necessarily true for PCU as a whole, but their 09 girls group is very strong with a lot of depth. They have 4 teams total in the age group so they can accommodate any level of player.

Another option to consider if you think you are looking for very high level soccer would be SCA. They have a great development program, but is not in the standard OYSA league. There are pros and cons (which you can search this forum for), but their development of individual players is top notch.

FYI, most tryouts are May 2/3, so you need to make a decision fairly quickly. Any of these clubs would let you in after the tryout, but if you want to start out in the regular pipeline, get her signed up ASAP.

Also, most clubs will let you come out to a practice before tryouts to check it out if you are interested. I know United PDX does that frequently, as does SCA. I hope this helps!

[Unregistered]

I would mostly agree. However, SCA is not in the OYSA. So they mostly just play friendlies and some tournaments. The coaching and field are good. Also, not sure SCA will be in business for too long without a league. Good luck!

[Unregistered]

Another option to consider if you think you are looking for very high level soccer would be SCA. They have a great development program, but is not in the standard OYSA league. There are pros and cons (which you can search this forum for), but their development of individual players is top notch.

Yes, as clearly noted above SCA "is not in the standard OYSA league."

[Unregistered]

If you want someone to rank these club from most competitive to least competitive, it would be 1st PCU, 2nd Eastside Thorns, 3rd SESC. But they all have good programs so it really depends on where you think your player will fit in the best. Like the post above says, if you don't need the highest level of soccer, go for most convenient and making friends/creating community. Luckily the parents at all of these clubs seem fairly sane and nice. Which is sadly not true for all clubs.

[Unregistered]

SCA ("Soccer Chance Academy") is a for-profit enterprise rather than a nonprofit. While that's not a bad thing necessarily, it does mean they aren't allowed in OYSA (Oregon Youth Soccer Association) which requires all member clubs to be nonprofit organizations.

Thus they have other arrangements for finding matches.

[Unregistered]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses. When I posted my question, I was wondering which clubs are better for development. I had not considered the camaraderie element with respect to future high school friends, and I think that may be more important to us than the competitive nature of the club. I did not know of SCA, but I think we'll stick to the non-profits. Very grateful for all of the knowledge.

[Unregistered]

SESC is hit or miss at different age groups, 10 boys are great, 10 girls are pretty strong and 09 girls are not. Eastside is decent and PCU has a strong 09 group. Downside is PCU takes everyone so they have a lot of teams and kids and coaches get stretched and in turn less individual attention. SCA plays in the PSPL so there is heavier travel into WA and I think the quality is lower. I would go with where your daughter has friends, and talk to some coaches.