Albion SC (East County specifically)

East County Soccer Dad said:
Nope.
Been ignoring the emails.
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New to the thread here. However, I’m a parent that was part of the San Diego United club that was grandfathered into Albion EC. Back in 2020/2021. Our first year was difficult. However, with time it got a lot better. And I see growth in our son skills. Plus, the other parents are great people to be around. Very supportive over all with a lot of love.

I have nothing but great things to say about Coach Sammy and Jason. I really hope it stays that way for a while.
 
Sami and Jason Heth are great coaches

Unfortunately they had to go under a bigger club and chose Albion. Since then the happiness and quality has left. They themselves have been burned and looked for a way out ( working w out a contract ) from NG and the dictatorship

They also have become so desperate to survive they brought in a well known liar and thief

Now that crafty Aldous has weaseled his way into power and will undermine both of them and will have one of their jobs within a month

that is a toxic mess to stay clear from
 
D8958 said:
Good for you. So look, Code, me, Hoodrat, we are not haters. We just have knowledge of things, things that aren't good. We just really want you to look at all your options.
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And we are. But it would be nice/helpful to know what these things are.

(Based on just the hinting we would not have a child play for MM or JA, but not sure we could pull them from a team we like at a club they are associated with just because)
 
East County Soccer Dad said:
And we are. But it would be nice/helpful to know what these things are.

(Based on just the hinting we would not have a child play for MM or JA, but not sure we could pull them from a team we like at a club they are associated with just because)
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I rarely speak up in here, but I feel like this is being blown way out of proportion. If you have a coach and team you like don't stress it. The fact that there are coaches associated with the club that other people dislike is meaningless. I know JA and MM, as we were with Liverpool/EC Surf for many years. My child was not coached by either of them, but I know people whose were, and they have mixed opinions on them. I don't personally have any love for JA as a director and questioned decisions he made over the years, but I don't think he's a bad guy, and I can't imagine how their arrival at EC Albion would necessarily create a toxic environment. Don't let things you read on this forum influence your decisions. If you're happy with your team and the club there is no reason to question that. Your coach and team are what's most important. Don't get overly wrapped up in club politics, it's just not worth the headache, and there is real value in keeping things close to home for as long as humanly possible.
 
polygon said:
I rarely speak up in here, but I feel like this is being blown way out of proportion. If you have a coach and team you like don't stress it. The fact that there are coaches associated with the club that other people dislike is meaningless. I know JA and MM, as we were with Liverpool/EC Surf for many years. My child was not coached by either of them, but I know people whose were, and they have mixed opinions on them. I don't personally have any love for JA as a director and questioned decisions he made over the years, but I don't think he's a bad guy, and I can't imagine how their arrival at EC Albion would necessarily create a toxic environment. Don't let things you read on this forum influence your decisions. If you're happy with your team and the club there is no reason to question that. Your coach and team are what's most important. Don't get overly wrapped up in club politics, it's just not worth the headache, and there is real value in keeping things close to home for as long as humanly possible.
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Thank you for the feedback.
That is what I am inclined to do at this point.
I would hope that if the guys in this thread had any info on truly nefarious actions that they would share them in order to allow those of us not in the know to do what is best for our children.
 
polygon said:
I rarely speak up in here, but I feel like this is being blown way out of proportion. If you have a coach and team you like don't stress it. The fact that there are coaches associated with the club that other people dislike is meaningless. I know JA and MM, as we were with Liverpool/EC Surf for many years. My child was not coached by either of them, but I know people whose were, and they have mixed opinions on them. I don't personally have any love for JA as a director and questioned decisions he made over the years, but I don't think he's a bad guy, and I can't imagine how their arrival at EC Albion would necessarily create a toxic environment. Don't let things you read on this forum influence your decisions. If you're happy with your team and the club there is no reason to question that. Your coach and team are what's most important. Don't get overly wrapped up in club politics, it's just not worth the headache, and there is real value in keeping things close to home for as long as humanly possible.
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Some of the best advice I’ve read on this forum!
 
polygon said:
I rarely speak up in here, but I feel like this is being blown way out of proportion. If you have a coach and team you like don't stress it. The fact that there are coaches associated with the club that other people dislike is meaningless. I know JA and MM, as we were with Liverpool/EC Surf for many years. My child was not coached by either of them, but I know people whose were, and they have mixed opinions on them. I don't personally have any love for JA as a director and questioned decisions he made over the years, but I don't think he's a bad guy, and I can't imagine how their arrival at EC Albion would necessarily create a toxic environment. Don't let things you read on this forum influence your decisions. If you're happy with your team and the club there is no reason to question that. Your coach and team are what's most important. Don't get overly wrapped up in club politics, it's just not worth the headache, and there is real value in keeping things close to home for as long as humanly possible.
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I am fairly certain the others said the same thing
 
polygon said:
I rarely speak up in here, but I feel like this is being blown way out of proportion. If you have a coach and team you like don't stress it. The fact that there are coaches associated with the club that other people dislike is meaningless. I know JA and MM, as we were with Liverpool/EC Surf for many years. My child was not coached by either of them, but I know people whose were, and they have mixed opinions on them. I don't personally have any love for JA as a director and questioned decisions he made over the years, but I don't think he's a bad guy, and I can't imagine how their arrival at EC Albion would necessarily create a toxic environment. Don't let things you read on this forum influence your decisions. If you're happy with your team and the club there is no reason to question that. Your coach and team are what's most important. Don't get overly wrapped up in club politics, it's just not worth the headache, and there is real value in keeping things close to home for as long as humanly possible.
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Let me be clear because you are obviously under the impression that these are trivial issues and you appear to have little knowledge of any actual events.

The issues I am referring to are not club politics or 'that coach or director is bad because I don't like him or disagree with his views.'

At present multiple clubs in San Diego continue to employ or have recently hired a coach or administrator who within the last year has engaged in behavior that I deem to be unacceptable for a youth coach. Some of these individuals coach High School teams as well.

I do not allow my child to play at clubs that hire coaches or administrators that engage in or exhibit the following:
  • Coaches or Administrators that get in fist fights with other adults at team practices in front of their team
  • Coaches or Administrators that engage in embezzlement.
  • Coaches or Administrators that commit acts that violate federal law, including the Federal Stored Communications Act(18 U.S.C. § 2701).
  • Coaches or Administrators that sleep with parents of players on their teams.
To be clear, this list represents the acts of multiple separate incidents of individuals at separate clubs.

I am uncomfortable with a club that either hasn't done enough due diligence to uncover these events or a club that knowingly continues to employ an individual who is engaged in these behaviors.

If the club is employing an individual that is engaging in any single one of the behaviors on that list, that doesn't work for me.

I don't care if the practice field is across from my house.

Even if the individual does not coach my team, I don't like clubs that struggle to be ethical and aren't willing to work hard enough to vet personnel or find good people. I don't want to give them my money and I don't trust them to do the right thing for my child.
 
D8958 said:
Let me be clear because you are obviously under the impression that these are trivial issues and you appear to have little knowledge of any actual events.

The issues I am referring to are not club politics or 'that coach or director is bad because I don't like him or disagree with his views.'

At present multiple clubs in San Diego continue to employ or have recently hired a coach or administrator who within the last year has engaged in behavior that I deem to be unacceptable for a youth coach. Some of these individuals coach High School teams as well.

I do not allow my child to play at clubs that hire coaches or administrators that engage in or exhibit the following:
  • Coaches or Administrators that get in fist fights with other adults at team practices in front of their team
  • Coaches or Administrators that engage in embezzlement.
  • Coaches or Administrators that commit acts that violate federal law, including the Federal Stored Communications Act(18 U.S.C. § 2701).
  • Coaches or Administrators that sleep with parents of players on their teams.
To be clear, this list represents the acts of multiple separate incidents of individuals at separate clubs.

I am uncomfortable with a club that either hasn't done enough due diligence to uncover these events or a club that knowingly continues to employ an individual who is engaged in these behaviors.

If the club is employing an individual that is engaging in any single one of the behaviors on that list, that doesn't work for me.

I don't care if the practice field is across from my house.

Even if the individual does not coach my team, I don't like clubs that struggle to be ethical and aren't willing to work hard enough to vet personnel or find good people. I don't want to give them my money and I don't trust them to do the right thing for my child.
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Fair enough point and I am inclined to agree, but is that this situation? Did JA do any of these things? Posters on here are alluding to bad behavior, but have not revealed what he did or did not do that resulted in his release from ECS aside from one person calling him a thief without any supporting evidence. Does Albion have knowledge of gross misconduct and hired him anyway? You're saying that I have little knowledge of any actual events, but do you? And if you do why don't you let this guy know so he can make an informed decision on what to do for his player? So many of you are implying that he should run from the club without really providing any information or explaining why.

I've had a child in soccer (east county and elsewhere) for over 10 years. Every club has issues. Every club has skeletons in the closet. Every club has coaches who screw up and get fired only to be rehired elsewhere or who rehire coaches who were fired from somewhere else. This is probably especially true for the mega clubs. But the bottom line is that if the original poster is happy with his child's team and coach why should he leave just because the club hired someone who is perceived by members of this forum to be a bad dude? And if JA did something really horrible or illegal that is common knowledge why not reveal it here or at the very least let East County Soccer Dad know privately.
 
D8958 said:
Let me be clear because you are obviously under the impression that these are trivial issues and you appear to have little knowledge of any actual events.

The issues I am referring to are not club politics or 'that coach or director is bad because I don't like him or disagree with his views.'

At present multiple clubs in San Diego continue to employ or have recently hired a coach or administrator who within the last year has engaged in behavior that I deem to be unacceptable for a youth coach. Some of these individuals coach High School teams as well.

I do not allow my child to play at clubs that hire coaches or administrators that engage in or exhibit the following:
  • Coaches or Administrators that get in fist fights with other adults at team practices in front of their team
  • Coaches or Administrators that engage in embezzlement.
  • Coaches or Administrators that commit acts that violate federal law, including the Federal Stored Communications Act(18 U.S.C. § 2701).
  • Coaches or Administrators that sleep with parents of players on their teams.
To be clear, this list represents the acts of multiple separate incidents of individuals at separate clubs.

I am uncomfortable with a club that either hasn't done enough due diligence to uncover these events or a club that knowingly continues to employ an individual who is engaged in these behaviors.

If the club is employing an individual that is engaging in any single one of the behaviors on that list, that doesn't work for me.

I don't care if the practice field is across from my house.

Even if the individual does not coach my team, I don't like clubs that struggle to be ethical and aren't willing to work hard enough to vet personnel or find good people. I don't want to give them my money and I don't trust them to do the right thing for my child.
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And a follow up question for you is which clubs are acceptable in your opinion?
 
D8958 said:
Let me be clear because you are obviously under the impression that these are trivial issues and you appear to have little knowledge of any actual events.

The issues I am referring to are not club politics or 'that coach or director is bad because I don't like him or disagree with his views.'

At present multiple clubs in San Diego continue to employ or have recently hired a coach or administrator who within the last year has engaged in behavior that I deem to be unacceptable for a youth coach. Some of these individuals coach High School teams as well.

I do not allow my child to play at clubs that hire coaches or administrators that engage in or exhibit the following:
  • Coaches or Administrators that get in fist fights with other adults at team practices in front of their team
  • Coaches or Administrators that engage in embezzlement.
  • Coaches or Administrators that commit acts that violate federal law, including the Federal Stored Communications Act(18 U.S.C. § 2701).
  • Coaches or Administrators that sleep with parents of players on their teams.
To be clear, this list represents the acts of multiple separate incidents of individuals at separate clubs.

I am uncomfortable with a club that either hasn't done enough due diligence to uncover these events or a club that knowingly continues to employ an individual who is engaged in these behaviors.

If the club is employing an individual that is engaging in any single one of the behaviors on that list, that doesn't work for me.

I don't care if the practice field is across from my house.

Even if the individual does not coach my team, I don't like clubs that struggle to be ethical and aren't willing to work hard enough to vet personnel or find good people. I don't want to give them my money and I don't trust them to do the right thing for my child.
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Could not have said it any better, need more parents like you. JA violaled 2 of the 4 on your list.
 
D8958 said:
Let me be clear because you are obviously under the impression that these are trivial issues and you appear to have little knowledge of any actual events.

The issues I am referring to are not club politics or 'that coach or director is bad because I don't like him or disagree with his views.'

At present multiple clubs in San Diego continue to employ or have recently hired a coach or administrator who within the last year has engaged in behavior that I deem to be unacceptable for a youth coach. Some of these individuals coach High School teams as well.

I do not allow my child to play at clubs that hire coaches or administrators that engage in or exhibit the following:
  • Coaches or Administrators that get in fist fights with other adults at team practices in front of their team
  • Coaches or Administrators that engage in embezzlement.
  • Coaches or Administrators that commit acts that violate federal law, including the Federal Stored Communications Act(18 U.S.C. § 2701).
  • Coaches or Administrators that sleep with parents of players on their teams.
To be clear, this list represents the acts of multiple separate incidents of individuals at separate clubs.

I am uncomfortable with a club that either hasn't done enough due diligence to uncover these events or a club that knowingly continues to employ an individual who is engaged in these behaviors.

If the club is employing an individual that is engaging in any single one of the behaviors on that list, that doesn't work for me.

I don't care if the practice field is across from my house.

Even if the individual does not coach my team, I don't like clubs that struggle to be ethical and aren't willing to work hard enough to vet personnel or find good people. I don't want to give them my money and I don't trust them to do the right thing for my child.
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Coaches sleeping with parents, players or other coaches is not good for the kids. Paying a Doc a little extra to get access to all the prizes is not good either.
 
polygon said:
Fair enough point and I am inclined to agree, but is that this situation? Did JA do any of these things? Posters on here are alluding to bad behavior, but have not revealed what he did or did not do that resulted in his release from ECS aside from one person calling him a thief without any supporting evidence. Does Albion have knowledge of gross misconduct and hired him anyway? You're saying that I have little knowledge of any actual events, but do you? And if you do why don't you let this guy know so he can make an informed decision on what to do for his player? So many of you are implying that he should run from the club without really providing any information or explaining why.

I've had a child in soccer (east county and elsewhere) for over 10 years. Every club has issues. Every club has skeletons in the closet. Every club has coaches who screw up and get fired only to be rehired elsewhere or who rehire coaches who were fired from somewhere else. This is probably especially true for the mega clubs. But the bottom line is that if the original poster is happy with his child's team and coach why should he leave just because the club hired someone who is perceived by members of this forum to be a bad dude? And if JA did something really horrible or illegal that is common knowledge why not reveal it here or at the very least let East County Soccer Dad know privately.
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JA
D8958 said:
Let me be clear because you are obviously under the impression that these are trivial issues and you appear to have little knowledge of any actual events.

The issues I am referring to are not club politics or 'that coach or director is bad because I don't like him or disagree with his views.'

At present multiple clubs in San Diego continue to employ or have recently hired a coach or administrator who within the last year has engaged in behavior that I deem to be unacceptable for a youth coach. Some of these individuals coach High School teams as well.

I do not allow my child to play at clubs that hire coaches or administrators that engage in or exhibit the following:
  • Coaches or Administrators that get in fist fights with other adults at team practices in front of their team
  • Coaches or Administrators that engage in embezzlement.
  • Coaches or Administrators that commit acts that violate federal law, including the Federal Stored Communications Act(18 U.S.C. § 2701).
  • Coaches or Administrators that sleep with parents of players on their teams.
To be clear, this list represents the acts of multiple separate incidents of individuals at separate clubs.

I am uncomfortable with a club that either hasn't done enough due diligence to uncover these events or a club that knowingly continues to employ an individual who is engaged in these behaviors.

If the club is employing an individual that is engaging in any single one of the behaviors on that list, that doesn't work for me.

I don't care if the practice field is across from my house.

Even if the individual does not coach my team, I don't like clubs that struggle to be ethical and aren't willing to work hard enough to vet personnel or find good people. I don't want to give them my money and I don't trust them to do the right thing for my child.
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Agreed
JA violated half your list. He was lining his pockets on every angle . Promo money , uniform kick backs, equipment , sub contracting out his job duties, paying his buddies with fake titles(guess who followed him) and after being shut down on his long term sale of the club, the scumbag quit working . Teams , players , coaches, all left stuck without goals, proper equipment , zero communication with the board = fired

People should run the other way
 
Hoodrat said:
JA

Agreed
JA violated half your list. He was lining his pockets on every angle . Promo money , uniform kick backs, equipment , sub contracting out his job duties, paying his buddies with fake titles(guess who followed him) and after being shut down on his long term sale of the club, the scumbag quit working . Teams , players , coaches, all left stuck without goals, proper equipment , zero communication with the board = fired

People should run the other way
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I know two Doc's pockets that parents were greasing big time back in the day when the Girls Development Academy was open for bribes. They quit on everyone when they saw a big out with Covid. Travel company kickbacks for being forced to pay more to play on the road with bullshit pay to stay mandates at expensive hotels that are marked up for extra pay out. Soccer uniform kickbacks is why so many of us are forced to buy new uniforms every year. Forcing parents to pay extra for kid's privates to ensure a starting spot and if dad pays more, he might just pay enough for Doc to put his kid on The List. The Doc that sleeps with mom is a low life scum bag as well. Good luck you guys and I mean that.
 
East County Soccer Dad said:
I'm not so sure. I read their messages as run and don't look back despite lacking substance.
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I just got done reading the posts. This is what I think the dads are trying to tell you, "Run" away. Cheater, liar and thief is how some coach and when parents catch cheaters, liars and thieves in the game, they come on here. I came on here in 2018 to warn parents of a few Docs that were cheating, lying and stealing from parents to make more side hustle money and punish other parents' kids for parents not paying more to ensure a spot on the team or a glowing recommendation to a scout or college coach on your behalf. The more you brown nose coach, kiss his ass and kiss the ring with $$$, the more play time and access one has.

 
I really appreciate dads and moms coming on here to share their stories. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law appreciate the information. My first year of club was insane. It started out with the coach watching my 6-year-old balling in Rec. Coach saw something special in my cheetah and invited her to one of her practices. She said she was putting together her squad for next season and offered my kid a spot on her U8 team. My first mistake was paying in full. Never pay in full, even for 10% off. My second mistake was keeping my child on her team after a few lies. Basically, she didn't recruit enough players for U8, so she found another half team of older U9 kids and put us in U9 without telling us until it was too late to say no. My kid was still 6 and super small. Coach told us at the last minute, and I felt pressure, so I just stayed. It was insane. My dd was not allowed to play up top because coaches' friends dd owned the spot and another friend's kid was Center Mid or the attacking mid. My kid was forced to play right back all season. Last and the worst of my first-year experience was the coach's husband. He was 6 4' and addicted to Chrystal Meth. I knew something was off with this dude all season and I really found out at State Cup. I told him (yelled) after holding it all in to "stop coaching my daughter and just let her play." Dude went pyscho on me and challenged me to a fight on the spot. I told him he was too big and a nutcase, and I left fast. He called later to say sorry and asked me to reconsider staying with the team because he was getting counseling for his drug habit. Last I heard he never reformed his ways and is divorced. My second year was way better. Third year of club was insane with a few parent fights and lots of backstabbing. Fourth and fifth year was amazing and best coach ever. Why best coach? He was honest, didn't cheat or steal from us. My wife actually baked him a pie and he wouldn't take it because he didn't want any parents to get the wrong idea. The parents put a cash gift together for him on Christmas as a token of "thank you" and he wouldn't take it. 6th year was amazing win of a Natty but lots of lies and bad behavior that made the Natty not so great for a parent after looking back. 7th year was full of big lies, big let downs and full of big rich assholes who only care about lining up their pockets with cash from dad. 8th year was even worse because of a real liar. 9th year we quit all together but came back part time for 9th and 10th years and coaches were amazing to close out club.
 
Hoodrat said:
Sami and Jason Heth are great coaches

Unfortunately they had to go under a bigger club and chose Albion. Since then the happiness and quality has left. They themselves have been burned and looked for a way out ( working w out a contract ) from NG and the dictatorship

They also have become so desperate to survive they brought in a well known liar and thief

Now that crafty Aldous has weaseled his way into power and will undermine both of them and will have one of their jobs within a month

that is a toxic mess to stay clear from
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Not a big fan of negative publicity for clubs or club personnel, but am compelled to say something as someone on the inside of this. Anyone at Albion EC who thought JA coming over was a good thing, there is very real merit to the concerns others have expressed. I know people want dirt, but I won't spread it here. Suffice to say, those who do know, the scumbaggery is very real.

What Hoodrat said here is true. Sami and Jason know it as well. RR couldn't leave Albion EC fast enough as soon as JA arrived. Albion EC is going to end up as another broken JA boys club, and any quality left will have been sucked out of it by the end of this tryout cycle, or olders cycle at the very latest. The lemmings JA dragged over as "another top coach building in East County" have one goal and that is to raid Rebels of anyone they can get out of spite. This was the only club that finally cracked and gave JA an in. If those coaches aren't dragging a team, they are trying to steal other teams by cold calling managers, text bombing parents, etc. You would be better off at literally any other club. Run away.
 
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