# Your experience with LA Galaxy OC?



## onewaynerooney (Jan 16, 2018)

My DD has been invited onto a LA Galaxy OC team and I'm wondering if members here have any pros-and-cons to share about the club? The club philosophy sounds great, good level of coaches, etc. But what I really want to know is—how does your kid like it? Are you satisfied as a paying customer? Thanks in advance.


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## Not_that_Serious (Jan 17, 2018)

they have issues due to them being new in the area. they "poached" kids promising them higher flights even with their old coaches telling LAGOC  coaches (most coaches know each other) "kids arent ready to play higher". most kids didnt play higher flights. that fits in well how most big clubs operate - hype them up, promise them whatever and do what you want in end. that falls on the parents as well. they started rec and signature programs, so they seem to be trying to create an entire soccer ecosystem. 1st tournament they put on had some teams playing 10 v 11. same teams got beat up and had to borrow players during season - to the point of weakening the teams they borrowed from. so in the end both teams lose and pisses off parents on both teams. not a healthy environment to improve kids. second year, a lot of things have to improve and should improve. LAGOC was put in place to get something between SD and LA. needed the brand to be visible in the area. Best thing to do is visit training. Go to a couple practices and see if your kid likes the training and you like the coaching methods. should be standard practice no matter what club you decide to join.


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## forsomuch (Jan 17, 2018)

It is not about the club; it is about the coach and the team. Does you daughter like the coach? Do you like the coach? Have you watched the coach during a game? Does your daughter like the other players on the team? Is the team and parents welcoming? Can you see spending almost every weekend for the next year with this coach, team and parents? Every club has good coaches and bad. Every club is going to make some parents happy and some parents mad. 

That said, two of my favorite coaches my kids ever played for are with OC Galaxy, however they only coach on the boys side.


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## Penalty Kicks Stink (Jan 17, 2018)

They are having issues retaining current players. Didn't really live up to the hype. Promising Tier 1 for borderline t2t3 teams.


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## zebrafish (Jan 17, 2018)

forsomuch said:


> It is not about the club; it is about the coach and the team. Does you daughter like the coach? Do you like the coach? Have you watched the coach during a game? Does your daughter like the other players on the team? Is the team and parents welcoming? Can you see spending almost every weekend for the next year with this coach, team and parents? Every club has good coaches and bad. Every club is going to make some parents happy and some parents mad.
> 
> That said, two of my favorite coaches my kids ever played for are with OC Galaxy, however they only coach on the boys side.


Winner. 

In other words, the OP is asking the wrong questions.

In regards to other comments about retaining players, etc... These comments are more or less irrelevant. This may have a lot to do with parents who just care about a team's record. LAGOC isn't new to the area. It is a club that has been around (FC Blades -> Irvine Slammers -> LAGOC).


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## Not_that_Serious (Jan 17, 2018)

zebrafish said:


> Winner.
> 
> In other words, the OP is asking the wrong questions.
> 
> In regards to other comments about retaining players, etc... These comments are more or less irrelevant. This may have a lot to do with parents who just care about a team's record. LAGOC isn't new to the area. It is a club that has been around (FC Blades -> Irvine Slammers -> LAGOC).


They bought a pool of kids in order to break into market in order to have  larger immediate impact. The infastructure/overall direction is new.  Marketing is completely new as well. They even started a toddler/rec/signature program. Which means they are trying to create own soccer dev pyramid. Something Slammers would nevwr have resources to accomplish.  Being able to retain players after a year in existence is pretty relevant. Putting kids at levels they shouldnt be playing at doesnt help kids and usually ends up in player retention issues.


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## zebrafish (Jan 17, 2018)

Not_that_Serious said:


> They bought a pool of kids in order to break into market in order to have  larger immediate impact. The infastructure/overall direction is new.  Marketing is completely new as well. They even started a toddler/rec/signature program. Which means they are trying to create own soccer dev pyramid. Something Slammers would nevwr have resources to accomplish.  Being able to retain players after a year in existence is pretty relevant. Putting kids at levels they shouldnt be playing at doesnt help kids and usually ends up in player retention issues.


Not sure what "bought a pool of kids" means. ?

LAGOC is an organization that has changed names (but had essentially the same continuous top leadership structure) for reasons that will not shock people-- money. They took the Slammers name (for a price) to up their image. Same can be said for the move to LAGOC. Marketing matters in this business. It shouldn't (and it is lame), but it does. Making a rec program makes sense from a business level and also (maybe) has the added benefit of growing players from within. I think it's smart, honestly.

If a player leaves, one club "steals" that player and the other club doesn't "retain" that player. It all depends on perspective.

LAGOC fields >50 SCDSL teams. There are going to be players who come and go when you're that big. So, sure, you can go through 50 teams and find some teams with bad records. In a club this size, there are teams that work out and ones that don't. I think saying they have "retention issues" isn't fair or true. If they really were that bad about retaining players, I doubt they'd be fielding 50+ teams.


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## Not_that_Serious (Jan 17, 2018)

zebrafish said:


> Not sure what "bought a pool of kids" means. ?
> 
> LAGOC is an organization that has changed names (but had essentially the same continuous top leadership structure) for reasons that will not shock people-- money. They took the Slammers name (for a price) to up their image. Same can be said for the move to LAGOC. Marketing matters in this business. It shouldn't (and it is lame), but it does. Making a rec program makes sense from a business level and also (maybe) has the added benefit of growing players from within. I think it's smart, honestly.
> 
> ...


Ofcourse marketing is important and Galaxy is a recognized name in So Cal. Players are actually "stolen" when coaches approach kids/parents and say "come play at our club". Not all coaches or clubs do that. In fact coaches I know pick up the phone and call a coach (when they know them) when they see one of their players at their tryout and ask what that is about.  Not stealing when kids go to tryouts and seek another club on their own - not referencing those kids. Recently a coach asked a player to "inquire" if a couple tier 1 players he was friends with would move to their club. This kid was previously promised to play flight 1 (reason he left old club) but they turned around and put him on a flight 2 team. Cant put kids in that situation. 

I agree that rec is smart. I think all clubs should have rec programs. The problem is not all clubs can manage it or can spend the money for field space. Club my kids play at have all levels of play and still hard to keep kids in the ecosystem.

Keeping kids and having enough kids to field teams at certain age groups was an issue. Getting as many kids in as fast as possible with little advanced planning was an issue. Ill take the word of someone involved in the Org at face value. Being able to field 50+ teams has doesnt tell you quality of org but tells you they probably have good resources/support and might be good at marketing.


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## Win (Jan 18, 2018)

Both my kids played for LAGOC (and formerly known as Irvine Slammers). 
My son left just before they become LAGOC due to the coaches and the lack of direction and progress of the team. Promises were broken to a point that I have to pull my boy out before the season ended.
My daughter is also joining another club next season, as the current team couldn't find enough players to fill up the F1 team. I am worried that they will pull in kids from their Elite/Rec programs to join the team which they did for my son's team.

The number of teams in SCDSL doesn't mean anything, look at the team practices and results you will then see if those kids are really progressing. Some of the Flight 1 teams are decent but they have more flight 2 and 3 teams, I believe most of them are from their Elite/Rec programs.


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## ChipShot (Jan 18, 2018)

We received everything promised. DD has a great group of teammates and parents (on our team) are good. Had good fields for practice and games, and played in some of the best tournaments over the course of the year. From an administrative standpoint the club was very organized. To answer your question, yes, we were satisfied customers.


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## Kicker4Life (Jan 18, 2018)

Question:  is a lot of the attrition of players that happened (on the girls side) when Irvine Slammers became LAGOC attributable to the loss of AW as a Coach?  Just seems to me that AW was what made Blades and Irvine Slammers attractive.


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## Not_that_Serious (Jan 18, 2018)

Kicker4Life said:


> Question:  is a lot of the attrition of players that happened (on the girls side) when Irvine Slammers became LAGOC attributable to the loss of AW as a Coach?  Just seems to me that AW was what made Blades and Irvine Slammers attractive.


parents/players tend to follow coaches. which most reasonable people on the board tell people to do. just have to make sure that coach is solid and makes good decisions.  still need to be careful where you move to. seen coaches take teams and then club folding  and/or team player numbers following below number needed to field a team. this happens even over something simple as not having a field (or good field) to practice on.


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## OCsoccerDad (Jan 18, 2018)

My personal opinion is that they are disorganized from the bottom to the top from rec to elite to club.  I also know that coaches have left the club side of the organization.  Another thing that some like and some dislike (me personally dislike) is the fact that the coaches are given a to do list of what to do and how to practice.  In theory this may be good but you are hiring and paying theses coach for their expertise so let them coach, you are not hiring an inexperienced soccer person and saying coach these kids and follow these steps. 
They didn't just gobble up Slammers but also USA junior soccer


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## Not_that_Serious (Jan 18, 2018)

OCsoccerDad said:


> My personal opinion is that they are disorganized from the bottom to the top from rec to elite to club.  I also know that coaches have left the club side of the organization.  Another thing that some like and some dislike (me personally dislike) is the fact that the coaches are given a to do list of what to do and how to practice.  In theory this may be good but you are hiring and paying theses coach for their expertise so let them coach, you are not hiring an inexperienced soccer person and saying coach these kids and follow these steps.
> They didn't just gobble up Slammers but also USA junior soccer



i agree you do pay for expertise but have to keep in mind they are in theory trying to funnel kids to play in DA and then Sr Club team. So they have a philosophy they are trying to teach. Like this in just about every country but here.  What is done in HS as well. If the Varsity coach says play over the top and park the bus, guess what the kids are going to be taught? what you sign up for. the coaches know, but it its hard even for coaches to stay disciplined and stick to a style that may cause them to lose. Sometimes talent dictates style of play but if the higher us says "stick to the plan", you have to do it. Read about Hugo Perez' commitment to playing out the back. Probably what got him run off, but the guy had the correct idea - even if he was losing games.


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## Josep (Jan 18, 2018)

They definitely aren’t new kids on the block. 

They were Lazers, then FC Blades, then Irvine Slammers, Now OCG.   

Also, their kids and babies program have been around for pretty much as long as they have.  

They are loud about their promises but they are a disorganized mess.  You have to be on one of the “favored” coaches’ teams.


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## zebrafish (Jan 18, 2018)

OCsoccerDad said:


> My personal opinion is that they are disorganized from the bottom to the top from rec to elite to club.  I also know that coaches have left the club side of the organization.  Another thing that some like and some dislike (me personally dislike) is the fact that the coaches are given a to do list of what to do and how to practice.  In theory this may be good but you are hiring and paying theses coach for their expertise so let them coach, you are not hiring an inexperienced soccer person and saying coach these kids and follow these steps.
> They didn't just gobble up Slammers but also USA junior soccer


Well, in Irvine I think you have to keep in mind there are coaches moving clubs literally all the time. I personally know of coaches moving Strikers to Slammers FC, LAGOC to Slammers FC, Newport Mesa to Slammers FC, LAGOC to Pats, blah blah blah. I could go on and on. So, yes, coaches leave all these clubs for a better deal down the street. The market is very competitive and saturated. Club coaches don't make a lot of money. I don't blame them for moving for a better deal. But this is happening at all these clubs. 

I'll be open that my kid happens to play currently at LAGOC. I know many parents who have kids who play at Irvine Pats and Slammers FC. I'm not drinking the cool aid that LAGOC is the best club by any means. I think all these organizations are corrupted to some extent. It is the coach and team that matter way more.

However, I can say that in the younger divisions, my kid's LAGOC coach was told by leadership (as were other coaches) in the middle of the fall season to play games in different specific formations in 9v9 ages to help them prepare for 11v11 soccer. On some level, that means they are worrying about developing their players for the future. On my kid's team, this formation was not optimally suited to the personnel (and took a little time to adjust to), but I was actually pleasantly surprised that someone was taking the long view on how players learn positioning. I also liked that they played a couple formations. If it was all about winning, would this happen? Probably not.


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