# Thoughts on clubs (LA Galaxy San Diego, Surf, Albion)



## Jlb (Dec 4, 2018)

I am not familiar with the girls DA clubs out there. Can anyone offer feedback on the clubs mentioned, coaching styles, club politics, styles of play, etc... 

If we were looking to play for one versus the other, anything that would be important to know?


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Dec 5, 2018)

That is quite the loaded question.  The bulk of my kid's experience is in the '05 age group so I will keep my response limited to that.
All three have very good coaches, and nothing against the other coaches, but from what we have observed the Surf coach is excellent.  My kid will tell you that there is a different style of play at each with Albion & LAGSD being the most direct.  
Historically Surf was the strongest with ECNL.  Last year Surf had DA & ECNL which gave them a dominant position.  Surf lost ECNL this year and has placed it's 2nd teams into DPL, like Albion & LAGSD.  I believe that going forward this will level the playing field between the clubs.  We know kids that have had great, and not so great, experiences at each club.  If your kid has their choice, then you probably can't go wrong with any of the three.   Find the right coach for your kid. 

PS  If you want additional information about the '05 group PM me.    There are some things that don't need to be aired publicly.


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## espola (Dec 5, 2018)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> That is quite the loaded question.  The bulk of my kid's experience is in the '05 age group so I will keep my response limited to that.
> All three have very good coaches, and nothing against the other coaches, but from what we have observed the Surf coach is excellent.  My kid will tell you that there is a different style of play at each with Albion & LAGSD being the most direct.
> Historically Surf was the strongest with ECNL.  Last year Surf had DA & ECNL which gave them a dominant position.  Surf lost ECNL this year and has placed it's 2nd teams into DPL, like Albion & LAGSD.  I believe that going forward this will level the playing field between the clubs.  We know kids that have had great, and not so great, experiences at each club.  If your kid has their choice, then you probably can't go wrong with any of the three.   Find the right coach for your kid.
> 
> PS  If you want additional information about the '05 group PM me.    There are some things that don't need to be aired publicly.


You are among friends.  Just pretend that we all PM'd you.


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## outside! (Dec 5, 2018)

Priorities:
1. Player
2. Coach
3. Team
4. Team Parents
5. Club


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## LASTMAN14 (Dec 5, 2018)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> That is quite the loaded question.  The bulk of my kid's experience is in the '05 age group so I will keep my response limited to that.
> All three have very good coaches, and nothing against the other coaches, but from what we have observed the Surf coach is excellent.  My kid will tell you that there is a different style of play at each with Albion & LAGSD being the most direct.
> Historically Surf was the strongest with ECNL.  Last year Surf had DA & ECNL which gave them a dominant position.  Surf lost ECNL this year and has placed it's 2nd teams into DPL, like Albion & LAGSD.  I believe that going forward this will level the playing field between the clubs.  We know kids that have had great, and not so great, experiences at each club.  If your kid has their choice, then you probably can't go wrong with any of the three.   Find the right coach for your kid.
> 
> PS  If you want additional information about the '05 group PM me.    There are some things that don't need to be aired publicly.


At Surf 05 are you speaking of BW?


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Dec 5, 2018)

LASTMAN14 said:


> At Surf 05 are you speaking of BW?


Yes


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## coachsamy (Dec 5, 2018)

Jlb said:


> I am not familiar with the girls DA clubs out there. Can anyone offer feedback on the clubs mentioned, coaching styles, club politics, styles of play, etc...
> 
> If we were looking to play for one versus the other, anything that would be important to know?


It all depends on what you and your DD want. You have to consider as well the time spent in the car as all 3 are fairly away from each other. The Carlsbad club has the least amount of drama, or at least known publicly. There is always something about Surf, but that comes mostly from disgruntled parents. Albion well they don't do a good job screening their coaches, did anyone remember about TS. Go check all 3 them out and make your decision on what best fits your needs based on your own experience.


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## Jlb (Dec 5, 2018)

coachsamy said:


> It all depends on what you and your DD want. You have to consider as well the time spent in the car as all 3 are fairly away from each other. The Carlsbad club has the least amount of drama, or at least known publicly. There is always something about Surf, but that comes mostly from disgruntled parents. Albion well they don't do a good job screening their coaches, did anyone remember about TS. Go check all 3 them out and make your decision on what best fits your needs based on your own experience.


 Thank you, yes, that's my stress with this, finding the area to live, club to play soccer, and the right schools, all without having to sit in traffic for hours.  Not an easy task!


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## outside! (Dec 5, 2018)

Jlb said:


> Thank you, yes, that's my stress with this, finding the area to live, club to play soccer, and the right schools, all without having to sit in traffic for hours.  Not an easy task!


Forget Albion. Pick a location near I-5, somewhere between Carlsbad and Del Mar and you can move as needed between the two clubs and lots of good schools. Pick the best coach and team for your player, not the club. For what it is worth, we had a good experience at Carlsbad Lightning/Carlsbad United/LAGSD and not such a great experience at Surf. I am sure there are others who had the opposite experience.


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## coachsamy (Dec 5, 2018)

Jlb said:


> Thank you, yes, that's my stress with this, finding the area to live, club to play soccer, and the right schools, all without having to sit in traffic for hours.  Not an easy task!


If you can afford Carlsbad, that's a no brainer.


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## LASTMAN14 (Dec 5, 2018)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> Yes


I have not yet seen his squad play at 05. Very interested. I do think CB who passed this team on is an excellent coach.


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## LASTMAN14 (Dec 5, 2018)

Jlb said:


> Thank you, yes, that's my stress with this, finding the area to live, club to play soccer, and the right schools, all without having to sit in traffic for hours.  Not an easy task!


The posters who have responded are all from SD and know the clubs well. Definitely share the age group with them if PMing...


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## futboldad1 (Dec 5, 2018)

My DDs had a great experience at Surf. CB their favorite coach there. That would be my choice, good soccer. 

There's good, ok, and bad coaches at all clubs. I'd put Carlsbad at two and Albion at three but your DD will now what coach she likes best and that's generally the best way to approach it unless you notice any red flags.

Good luck and enjoy the area, we miss it.


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## justneededaname (Dec 5, 2018)

Jlb said:


> Thank you, yes, that's my stress with this, finding the area to live, club to play soccer, and the right schools, all without having to sit in traffic for hours.  Not an easy task!


If you are looking at public schools, then Samy and the others are right. Carlsbad is a simple decision. It narrows your club choices to two which makes things simpler. And that choice might be made even easier based on the team that your DD makes. 

If you are thinking private schools, then my suggestion is Francis Parker (school), Mission Hills (community), and Albion.


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## surfertwins (Dec 5, 2018)

The top public schools in San Diego run along HWY 56, start there before picking a soccer club!


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## El Clasico (Dec 5, 2018)

surfertwins said:


> The top public schools in San Diego run along HWY 56, start there before picking a soccer club!


It fascinates me that this even needs to be said but, I know that it does....


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Dec 5, 2018)

surfertwins said:


> The top public schools in San Diego run along HWY 56, start there before picking a soccer club!


Perhaps, but all the cool people live in Carlsbad.  By that I mean, all the cool people and me.


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## outside! (Dec 5, 2018)

El Clasico said:


> It fascinates me that this even needs to be said but, I know that it does....


Just to bring some facts into the discussion. The top school in the county is the Preuss School UCSD.
San Diego Schools:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/search?district-id=107425&state-urlname=california
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/search?city-or-zip=San Diego&state-urlname=california
Eight schools in the top 200 for California
Carlsbad Schools:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/search?city-or-zip=carlsbad&state-urlname=california
Sage Creek is nationally recognized but not ranked. No other schools are ranked at all


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## Jlb (Dec 5, 2018)

Anyone know if Earl Warren Middle and Torrey  Pines High Schools are good? Those are ones that some people told us about and we were looking at those areas. I’ll check out those Carlsbad schools too, thanks for the recommendations on those. We would be coming in from out of state.


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## Fact (Dec 5, 2018)

Why would you based your decision on where to relocate your family based on soccer? That is very short sighted. Find a neighborhood in your price range, within easy commuting distance and condusive to your families needs in general. Do you want to be close to the beach, have a larger plot of land, ok with a cookie cutter home, want a walkable community etc.?

This school talk is way over-rated. There are good schools in all parts of San Diego regardless of ratings.  My only real concern would be the safety of the school location. Otherwise as long as the school has AP or IB classes which generally have the teachers that care, the quality of the education will be about the same and not impact learning or the ability to get in a good college.


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## Carlsbad10 (Dec 21, 2018)

Depending on the Age Group, Del Mar Sharks ECNL should be considered, only ECNL team in San Diego.  For example the '05 Sharks are 3-0 against Southwest DA teams this year, including 2-0 over LAGSD, 1-0 Real SoCal, and 3-1 over OC Surf.  

My '05 Rankings: 
1) Surf DA
2) Sharks ECNL
3) Surf DPL
4) LAGSD DA
5) Albion DA


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## Lambchop (Dec 23, 2018)

outside! said:


> Priorities:
> 1. Player
> 2. Coach
> 3. Team
> ...


I would add a #6, which clubs have the most players recruited to D1 schools.


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## outside! (Dec 26, 2018)

Lambchop said:


> I would add a #6, which clubs have the most players recruited to D1 schools.


That is covered under "Club".


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## meatsweats (Jan 1, 2019)

Lambchop said:


> I would add a #6, which clubs have the most players recruited to D1 schools.


Why? My kid is being recruited heavily by D1's, but is leaning real hard to committing to a D3. Not everyone wants D1. Some players might think more about their field of study or academic offerings, not just division. I think you should look at which clubs have ALL (or at least 90%) of their players recruited prior to graduation, no matter the division. Different strokes, for different folks. A lot of great schools out there, not just D1. The right fit is most important, not the division. Some D2's and D3's out there playing some very good soccer and some D1's that suck!


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## espola (Jan 1, 2019)

meatsweats said:


> Why? My kid is being recruited heavily by D1's, but is leaning real hard to committing to a D3. Not everyone wants D1. Some players might think more about their field of study or academic offerings, not just division. I think you should look at which clubs have ALL (or at least 90%) of their players recruited prior to graduation, no matter the division. Different strokes, for different folks. A lot of great schools out there, not just D1. The right fit is most important, not the division. Some D2's and D3's out there playing some very good soccer and some D1's that suck!


One of the weaknesses of that is that some clubs/players claim soccer recruitment when the admission to the school in question was not based on club or high school soccer at all.


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## meatsweats (Jan 1, 2019)

espola said:


> One of the weaknesses of that is that some clubs/players claim soccer recruitment when the admission to the school in question was not based on club or high school soccer at all.


I think you response on "some" is inaccurate. I would say "all". You know as well as I do, it's how all these clubs recruit players. By stretching the truth on why you need to come to their club. Just look at all the D1 recruits! 

I know quite of few D1's recruited currently that are getting little to no money for soccer and will probably never see the pitch, but that's their choice to accept. If they're ok to sit the bench and walk on, essentially, then it's cool. But you know the club will still say they got recruited. It's all in the numbers. And we wonder why so many transfers occur in college.


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## El Clasico (Jan 2, 2019)

espola said:


> One of the weaknesses of that is that some clubs/players claim soccer recruitment when the admission to the school in question was not based on club or high school soccer at all.


This happens much more than people realize..


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## espola (Jan 2, 2019)

El Clasico said:


> This happens much more than people realize..


And I don't even want to get into the players who really were recruited (with or without their club's  help) but whose college soccer careers went nowhere.


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## G03_SD (Jan 2, 2019)

My sr student is finishing college applications. She thought she narrowed down the schools at start of the year, but as she attended workshops and open houses, her choices expanded. Props to those kids who picked their schools 8th-11th grade and never looked back!


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## broshark (Jan 3, 2019)

Carlsbad10 said:


> Depending on the Age Group, Del Mar Sharks ECNL should be considered, only ECNL team in San Diego.  For example the '05 Sharks are 3-0 against Southwest DA teams this year, including 2-0 over LAGSD, 1-0 Real SoCal, and 3-1 over OC Surf.
> 
> My '05 Rankings:
> 1) Surf DA
> ...



Surf DPL over Sharks ECNL any day (and that's not a knock on Sharks).   In fact, I might put money on Surf DPL being better than Surf DA.  But that's this year.  I'm assuming that team blows up come tryouts though.


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Jan 3, 2019)

broshark said:


> Surf DPL over Sharks ECNL any day (and that's not a knock on Sharks).   In fact, I might put money on Surf DPL being better than Surf DA.  But that's this year.  I'm assuming that team blows up come tryouts though.


Are you saying the Surf DA team will blow up or the Surf DPL team will blow up? Either way I think you are incorrect.  Where will the DA players go to be on a better team, with better coaching (BW is fantastic)?  Where are the DPL players going to go?  Albion (DA), LAGSD (DA), or DMCV (ECNL)?  I am not going to say that Surf DPL is better than those teams, but I think they can compete day in and day out with all of them.  And YSR seems to think they are pretty good too.  https://youthsoccerrankings.us/rankings/CAS/14/Girls/
PS  Haven't lost a game since Surf Cup and have conceded 1 goal all year in DPL (so far).


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## broshark (Jan 3, 2019)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> Are you saying the Surf DA team will blow up or the Surf DPL team will blow up? Either way I think you are incorrect.  Where will the DA players go to be on a better team, with better coaching (BW is fantastic)?  Where are the DPL players going to go?  Albion (DA), LAGSD (DA), or DMCV (ECNL)?  I am not going to say that Surf DPL is better than those teams, but I think they can compete day in and day out with all of them.  And YSR seems to think they are pretty good too.  https://youthsoccerrankings.us/rankings/CAS/14/Girls/
> PS  Haven't lost a game since Surf Cup and have conceded 1 goal all year in DPL (so far).


  Yeah, sorry - my guess would be the DPL team gets raided, either by other DA squads or Surf's own DA team.  Those girls are getting older and college recruiting is now a thing.  No way the majority of that DPL team should be wasting their time playing games where they end with a single goal give up all year (versus, I'm assuming, 40+ scored?).  If they don't move on to DA or ECNL, they're making a mistake.


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## Carlsbad10 (Jan 5, 2019)

broshark said:


> Surf DPL over Sharks ECNL any day (and that's not a knock on Sharks).   In fact, I might put money on Surf DPL being better than Surf DA.  But that's this year.  I'm assuming that team blows up come tryouts though.


Surf DPL vs Sharks ECNL '05 would be a great local San Diego '05 game.  Sharks ECNL '05 is 3-0 against DA teams this year (3-1 over Surf OC, 2-0 over LAGSD, 1-0 over Real SoCal).  Surf DPL '05 while undefeated in DPL is  2-4 against ECNL teams this year (2-0 Phoenix Rising, 0-3 LAFC Slammers, 0-3 Heat, 0-1 Davis Legacy, 1-2 Pleasanton Rage, 2-1 Arsenal). 

Invite from Sharks for a scrimmage was declined by Surf's BW.


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## MarkM (Jan 5, 2019)

Carlsbad10 said:


> Surf DPL vs Sharks ECNL '05 would be a great local San Diego '05 game.  Sharks ECNL '05 is 3-0 against DA teams this year (3-1 over Surf OC, 2-0 over LAGSD, 1-0 over Real SoCal).  Surf DPL '05 while undefeated in DPL is  2-4 against ECNL teams this year (2-0 Phoenix Rising, 0-3 LAFC Slammers, 0-3 Heat, 0-1 Davis Legacy, 1-2 Pleasanton Rage, 2-1 Arsenal).
> 
> Invite from Sharks for a scrimmage was declined by Surf's BW.


Where were the DA games played?  At a showcase?


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## Carlsbad10 (Jan 5, 2019)

MarkM said:


> Where were the DA games played?  At a showcase?


Spring League


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## broshark (Jan 7, 2019)

Carlsbad10 said:


> Surf DPL vs Sharks ECNL '05 would be a great local San Diego '05 game.  Sharks ECNL '05 is 3-0 against DA teams this year (3-1 over Surf OC, 2-0 over LAGSD, 1-0 over Real SoCal).  Surf DPL '05 while undefeated in DPL is  2-4 against ECNL teams this year (2-0 Phoenix Rising, 0-3 LAFC Slammers, 0-3 Heat, 0-1 Davis Legacy, 1-2 Pleasanton Rage, 2-1 Arsenal).
> 
> Invite from Sharks for a scrimmage was declined by Surf's BW.


Too bad no ECNL in Nat Cup.  Would be fun to see how it all shook out.


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## futboldad1 (Jan 7, 2019)

broshark said:


> Too bad no ECNL in Nat Cup.  Would be fun to see how it all shook out.


In the G05 bracket, Arsenal ECNL are playing nat cup. They're not one of the stronger ECNL teams but they're there. Shame Surf DPL didn't enter as they'd be one of the two or three favorites.


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## Kicker4Life (Jan 7, 2019)

broshark said:


> Too bad no ECNL in Nat Cup.  Would be fun to see how it all shook out.


Don’t think you won’t see a few ECNL patches out on the fields during Nat’L Cup.....they will be there.


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## PLSAP (Jan 15, 2019)

How about for the olders? I know all about how the scene changes and its late in the recruiting game... if we could ignore all that for a second and just talk about the non obvious stuff. Where would an 01 benefit most? Say they didn't play a fall season, go back to an ECNL team? Or could they go to a DA team (should they be good enough)? I'm not familiar with the DA rules, could that even be a possibility in the spring or even right now?


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## Kicker4Life (Jan 16, 2019)

PLSAP said:


> How about for the olders? I know all about how the scene changes and its late in the recruiting game... if we could ignore all that for a second and just talk about the non obvious stuff. Where would an 01 benefit most? Say they didn't play a fall season, go back to an ECNL team? Or could they go to a DA team (should they be good enough)? I'm not familiar with the DA rules, could that even be a possibility in the spring or even right now?


Pick the Coach most of all.  DA, ECNL, either path provide opportunity.  Just depends on the best Coaching/Team chemistry.

If your DD isn’t registered with a team, there shouldn’t be any issue joining in the Spring.


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## Playmaker38 (Jan 16, 2019)

PLSAP said:


> How about for the olders? I know all about how the scene changes and its late in the recruiting game... if we could ignore all that for a second and just talk about the non obvious stuff. Where would an 01 benefit most? Say they didn't play a fall season, go back to an ECNL team? Or could they go to a DA team (should they be good enough)? I'm not familiar with the DA rules, could that even be a possibility in the spring or even right now?


So long as you did not play for another DA team this season, there is nothing stopping you from registering for a DA team now, if they will have you.  

Your biggest consideration then would be, is the coach of the team your kid is joining connected enough (or invested enough) to try to get your kid into college? It is those factors that will influence the return on such a late move. Then obviously enjoyment factor comes in since you know it is late and this could potentially be your DDs last season of soccer.


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## PLSAP (Jan 17, 2019)

thank you!!


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