# Looking for feedback on westside coaches/teams (Encino to South Bay)



## Footbollah (Jul 22, 2017)

I'd be interested in anyone's feedback on coaches/teams worth having a look at, which are accessible from the westside, stretching from the South Bay up to Encino (up & down the 405). Northridge is too far north, Palos Verdes is too far south, Calabasas is too far west, N. Hollywood is too far east.

I'm looking for my son and daughter, both under 12. 

Feel free to PM me with your comments (which I will not share without your OK). Examples of teams I have in mind are:

Real SoCal
Sherman Oaks Extreme
Barcelona California Soccer Club (probably too far for us, but I'm curious)
Atlético Southern California
FC Los Angeles
Westside Breakers
Santa Monica United
Autobahn
FC England (probably doesn't have teams in the younger age groups)
Culver City FC
LA Galaxy South Bay

I have observed some practices, but am looking for comments to make sure I haven't overlooked a coach or club I should be looking at, and for a reality check. It can be hard to gauge a club from a couple of practices.

What I'm especially interested in is coaches who walk the talk--preach and practice development, focused on individual and team growth and creativity (not wins), meaning building a team that think on their feet and work well together.

My kids are fans of Spanish and Dutch soccer, but MLS does not grab their attention at all, if that tells you anything.


----------



## John Akii-Bua (Jul 22, 2017)

the age group is about to turn over. do you mean they're 05s or 06s?


----------



## SoCal GK mom (Jul 22, 2017)

Westside Breakers preach Dutch-style soccer from the littlest team to the oldest. Of course, since they are only a girls' club, they only solve half of your problem. They share a field with FCLA (a boys-only club) but are not officially affiliated. PM me if you want more specific info.


----------



## Art (Jul 22, 2017)

Your dutch and spanish characteristic holds no weight here tbh...for clubs that are good in youth development, id say real socal, the have plenty of players and are competitive. Coaching staff rather knowledgeable, but wont know your personal taste, youll have to see for yourself.

Atheltico southern is rather a club that lacks strong players from what Ive seen, your teammates should be rather good and competitive to see self growth. Although Lucas Bongarra is a good coach, he's of argentinian descent and has a few foreign coaches with him at the club.

With sherman oaks extreme id say thats a good choice, all the teams Ive reffed theyve had solid teams and play nice on the ground soccer. 

La galaxy is a really competitive club, see what suits you best by having them guest train. Your kids have to be comfortable rather than you being comfortable. If their put in a situation where they are not feeling confident, they will not develop as smoothly as possible, believe me. 

I think LAG is worth your look and your probably closer, I'd say club fees are higher with that club than the other 2/3 I mentioned. Good luck!


----------



## soccerobserver (Jul 23, 2017)

FootBolla, my suggestion is to look at the older teams in each of the clubs. You can see how the teams have developed and done at the end of their journies from U11/U12 to U18/19.

Santa Monica United has had more kids going to play soccer in college than any other club in west Los Angeles. More boys than any other club and more girls than any other club in west Los Angeles. For example the G98's had 10 girls who collected over 30 offers to play college soccer. DOC's Fab Amezaga (girls) and Aaron Craggs (boys) have had excellent teams over the years and have won a few coaching accolades.

Real Socal has had outstanding teams and has some amazing coaches as well. They place kids all over the country in some great colleges. LA Galaxy is in south bay and has some excellent teams over the years. As you know RSC and LAG have girls DA which also makes them totally unique on your list.

Some of the clubs you mentioned I have noticed over the years have some  good younger teams that then have trouble as they get older. If you look at the SCDSL and CSL archives you can track the teams and see the evidence of the long term track records over the past 5 years.


----------



## etc1217 (Jul 23, 2017)

This club is within the area you're looking into, *Strikers* *Southbay* is in the El Segundo area and practice at El Segundo High School and Campus El Segundo, it a small club, a total of 20 teams. They carry both boys and girls teams in your age bracket. They do stress development and offer speed/agility training along with team practices, so kids have 2-3 nights of training for that age bracket. It's not a powerhouse club but it's worth a look.


----------



## Livinthedream (Jul 23, 2017)

Footbollah said:


> I'd be interested in anyone's feedback on coaches/teams worth having a look at, which are accessible from the westside, stretching from the South Bay up to Encino (up & down the 405). Northridge is too far north, Palos Verdes is too far south, Calabasas is too far west, N. Hollywood is too far east.
> 
> I'm looking for my son and daughter, both under 12.
> 
> ...


Check out Beach FC...either South Bay or Long Beach. Beach FC Southbay is out of Redondo Beach and Long Beach uses LB State. Excellent club on the girls side (DA in the 2004-1999 age groups). Boys side is starting to make a lot of noise in the 2001-1999 age groups. Beach is one of the clubs that teaches playing out of the back. I think it's good that you are asking questions and shopping around. Good luck.


----------



## Stip21 (Jul 23, 2017)

What Year barn are your children? It's all about the coach and there are good and bad at every program.


----------



## Buddhabman (Jul 24, 2017)

FCLA may have teams. Santa Monica United or maybe Culver City United.


----------



## rainbow_unicorn (Jul 24, 2017)

It really depends on where you live.  With two kids U12 or younger you would really want to be somewhat close to the club.  If you're closer to Encino, no way you're making your way to south bay and vice versa.  You should also add Tudela FC to your list (girls only) if you're around mid-Wilshire area.


----------



## PLSAP (Jul 25, 2017)

Westside Breakers tends to create very good, technical, organized teams. Emphasize on organized and technical. I don't know for sure, as all I know is from when our team has played against them and seeing them play at tournaments, but it seems like they focus on development more than anything, they definitely don't play kickball.


----------



## Footbollah (Aug 16, 2017)

Buddhabman said:


> FCLA may have teams. Santa Monica United or maybe Culver City United.


About Culver City and Santa Monica United:

I've heard from a couple of parents who had daughters that Culver City might accept your child, but will just as easily bench them. This was from two parents with daughters were playing up one year and spent the entire season on the bench. I got the sense the parents and kids were led to expect a different experience. If anyone has had a different (better?) experience, I'd love to hear. Culver City is manageable.

I know some parents from Santa Monica United, and it sounds like that club started going through some parent/board politics in the spring that I think I'd like to stay away from. I was not impressed with the particular coaches for my kids' age groups at try-outs, although I liked what some of the other teams' coaches were doing. Otherwise, it would have been a good choice. I'd be interested to hear anyone's experiences as the season progresses.


----------



## Footbollah (Aug 16, 2017)

PLSAP said:


> Westside Breakers tends to create very good, technical, organized teams. Emphasize on organized and technical. I don't know for sure, as all I know is from when our team has played against them and seeing them play at tournaments, but it seems like they focus on development more than anything, they definitely don't play kickball.


Breakers look good, although I prefer some of the coaches for teams a year or two up from us. Unfortunately, my daughter's try-out was not good enough to nab the one opening they had left.


----------



## Footbollah (Aug 16, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> It really depends on where you live.  With two kids U12 or younger you would really want to be somewhat close to the club.  If you're closer to Encino, no way you're making your way to south bay and vice versa.  You should also add Tudela FC to your list (girls only) if you're around mid-Wilshire area.


My kids are in school near-ish to Encino, but we live closer to the 10, if that helps explain the range. Otherwise, there's no way.

Thanks for suggesting Tudela FC--that was definitely not on my radar.


----------



## Footbollah (Aug 16, 2017)

PLSAP said:


> Westside Breakers tends to create very good, technical, organized teams. Emphasize on organized and technical. I don't know for sure, as all I know is from when our team has played against them and seeing them play at tournaments, but it seems like they focus on development more than anything, they definitely don't play kickball.


I agree, thanks. Sadly, my daughter did not make the cut.


----------



## Footbollah (Aug 16, 2017)

etc1217 said:


> This club is within the area you're looking into, *Strikers* *Southbay* is in the El Segundo area and practice at El Segundo High School and Campus El Segundo, it a small club, a total of 20 teams. They carry both boys and girls teams in your age bracket. They do stress development and offer speed/agility training along with team practices, so kids have 2-3 nights of training for that age bracket. It's not a powerhouse club but it's worth a look.


Thanks, I hadn't considered them. I'll have a look.


----------



## soccerobserver (Aug 16, 2017)

Footbollah, from your previous posts in other threads it seems clear your player was at Santa Monica United and left or was cut. SMU has the highest ranked girls teams in your area and has placed more girls in college playing soccer than any other club is west LA by far. Hopefully you will find a soccer home for your kid. Real So Cal is probably your next best and closest  choice although the commute on the 405 North at rush hour would be tough but you don't have many choices if you exclude SMU and can't make at least the Breakers B teams which I have never heard of anyone not making.


----------



## soccerobserver (Aug 16, 2017)

Actually, if your kid's school is near Encino then Real SoCal would be a no brainer, you would not have much of a commute to training after school, and you must know this already. Pierce College where RSC trains is 5 miles from Encino.


----------



## Footbollah (Aug 16, 2017)

soccerobserver said:


> Footbollah, from your previous posts in other threads it seems clear your player was at Santa Monica United and left or was cut. SMU has the highest ranked girls teams in your area and has placed more girls in college playing soccer than any other club is west LA by far. Hopefully you will find a soccer home for your kid. Real So Cal is probably your next best and closest  choice although the commute on the 405 North at rush hour would be tough but you don't have many choices if you exclude SMU and can't make at least the Breakers B teams which I have never heard of anyone not making.


Actually, SM United offered my kids spots for 2017/18, and we declined several times each. But that's all irrelevant. I solicited positive feedback ("coaches/teams worth having a look at"), and I keep an open mind.

We declined to go with SM United based on feedback from families who did not have good experiences at the end of the 2016/17 season and left, or wanted to leave but stayed. Also, there seemed to be extensive changes in board & staffing, which made it bit of an unknown quantity this season. Based on that information and my own observations of the practices across age groups, I decided to avoid potential drama and look elsewhere.

Even so, if someone told me their experience with it or any other coach/club made it worth having a look at, I'd like to know. Clubs and coaches change. For that reason, I have asked for the community's input and keep an open mind, as I hope you do.

I'm interested in the comments that say, "You should check out this coach or this club because X." (As you did, and a couple of DMs like that, so thank you.)

All that aside, in the interest of discussion, _my_ measure of a coach/club isn't college placement. My measure of a coach/club is how the coach is communicating with the kids, whether coach's direction seems effective, whether the team is working together (and learning) and whether I can make out a philosophy on the field. That is uncommon.

Regarding my "previous posts in other threads," as far as I know, I have a grand total of 1 other post other than this thread _ever_, so I'm not sure what you mean, but it seems irrelevant in any case.


----------



## Footbollah (Aug 16, 2017)

soccerobserver said:


> Footbollah, from your previous posts in other threads it seems clear your player was at Santa Monica United and left or was cut. SMU has the highest ranked girls teams in your area and has placed more girls in college playing soccer than any other club is west LA by far. Hopefully you will find a soccer home for your kid. Real So Cal is probably your next best and closest  choice although the commute on the 405 North at rush hour would be tough but you don't have many choices if you exclude SMU and can't make at least the Breakers B teams which I have never heard of anyone not making.


I was told Breakers caps the number of players on a team (not sure if that's a coach cap or a club cap). If nobody is leaving, your kid has to be sufficiently better than another player to justify knocking out another player. Coach said there were 1, maybe 2 spots, and there were 15 trying out, all very good. Mathematically, someone's going to get rejected.


----------



## soccerobserver (Aug 16, 2017)

Footbollah, perhaps I can help refresh your memory...

In one of your previous posts regarding the West Side Breakers, FCLA and FC England you wrote " Breakers is OK, but it's small, has a worn out field space, and fees are high despite not having assistants"..." FCLA (overly-involved parents can be a problem, and they always seem to keep one hand on your checkbook"..."FC England (maybe, if one of their 3 teams per gender matches your kid's age)), you still might not find a decent coach within that club. The few coaches I've liked are not coaching my kids' age group."

Therefore you clearly know the landscape and had shopped at most of the west side clubs long before you started this thread. And given that your kid goes to school down the street from the largest and most all encompassing youth soccer club in the area (Real SoCal) your post stands out as a bit contrived in that you don't seem to have availed yourself of the biggest club's proximity. But maybe I am missing something.


----------



## SoCal GK mom (Aug 17, 2017)

Footbollah said:


> I was told Breakers caps the number of players on a team (not sure if that's a coach cap or a club cap). If nobody is leaving, your kid has to be sufficiently better than another player to justify knocking out another player. Coach said there were 1, maybe 2 spots, and there were 15 trying out, all very good. Mathematically, someone's going to get rejected.


You've just gotten a taste of the SMU vs. Breakers crosstown rivalry. Disregard what soccerobserver says about the Breakers.


----------



## Grace T. (Aug 18, 2017)

With all the hodge podge of leagues, teams rising and falling, parent confusion, arcane rules, numerous trainers out there, someone might make real money as a "soccer placement consultant".    Hey, they have them for college placement.


----------

