Girls Development Academy

NoGoal said:
...I'm just glad I was able to cash out on the greatest Ponzi Scheme they call club soccer.
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Completely agree! The Klines also cashed out in the scheme but gave this post a "dislike". I understand that you rub many the wrong way but when you hit the nail on the head you shouldn't get a down vote unless it is just a Pavlovian response.
 
3thatplay said:
Completely agree! The Klines also cashed out in the scheme but gave this post a "dislike". I understand that you rub many the wrong way but when you hit the nail on the head you shouldn't get a down vote unless it is just a Pavlovian response.
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3TP, he doesn't rub me at all. I just think it is a disservice to call all of club soccer a Ponzi scheme. That may have been his reality, but we paid for a service that provided great training and development for my player, and created a great passion for the sport in her. It was never a goal to have her play college ball, but when the opportunity presented itself and she had the desire, then she pursued it. Even if she didn't want to play in college, club soccer would have been a great investment in her time and my money. It was a very positive experience that kept her occupied during the tumultuous middle school and high school years in a healthy peer group. And the per hour cost was way less than gymnastics, dance, volleyball and other club sports in which she had an aptitude. Calling it a Ponzi scheme paints it as a fraudulent, negative experience. And I disagree. Again, my opinion.
 
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NoGoal said:
That's right it is awesome, you ulittle parents have to figure this Girls DA crap out.....LMAO!

I'm just glad I was able to cash out on the greatest Ponzi Scheme they call club soccer.
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A good book once said ..."What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun". E1:9

If we rewind the clock, I'm sure parents/players were thinking the same during the period leading up to the Ecnl era....yet somehow, someway, kids were still making it to the college field & beyond, with and without "the patch" of Ecnl.

So don't fret young padawan parents.....DA, Schmee-A....just be sure to do your homework, study/investigate the players who play(ed) at the goal/destination (i.e. college/pro), work backwards, and comprise a plan (w/your player) and execute on that plan ;)
 
CaliKlines said:
3TP, he doesn't rub me at all. I just think it is a disservice to call all of club soccer a Ponzi scheme. That may have been his reality, but we paid for a service that provided great training, and development for my player, and created a great passion for the sport in her. It was never a goal to have her play "at the next level", but when the opportunity presented itself and she had the desire, then she pursued it. Even if she didn't want to play in college, club soccer would have been a great investment in her time and my money. It was a very positive experience that kept her occupied during the tumultuous middle school and high school years in a healthy peer group. And the per hour cost was way less than gymnastics, dance, volleyball and other club sports in which she had an aptitude. Calling it a Ponzi scheme paints it as a fraudulent, negative experience. And I disagree. Again, my opinion.
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Spot on post Cali. Many thanks.

My dd will be a freshman at HS next year, so I still have at least four more years of soccer ahead of me (assuming she does not abruptly quit playing). We as parents are paying for a service with club soccer. Do I agree with every aspect of club soccer, no. However, the overall experience has been positive. I have made multiple new friends along the way and she has made many new friends that may end up being life-long friends.

I believe college soccer is a possibility for my dd, but that is not what club soccer is teaching her. There are many things that structured sports teaches our children, but some of the things I really appreciate with this experience is teaching her that a commitment is to be taken seriously (getting up early for games or practices, going to practices when you would rather stay home and watch tv, going to games when your school friends are going to the mall, etc.). What she is learning from club soccer can be applied to many facets of life and that is really what I am paying for. Watching her play a sport she loves is just the icing on the cake.
 
Kicker4Life said:
Definitely not incorrect, but the 2 Boys DA clubs that were dropped...is it outside the realm of possibility that they were dropped for reasons beyond their record?
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Kicker: is it possible that these two DA clubs were dropped because they were not following the guidelines of development that US Soccer mandates? I definitely do not know all aspects of the DA program, but I believe that all DA clubs must adhere to specific development goals/guidelines and if those clubs deviate from those goals/guidelines, they can be dropped by US Soccer.

I would be disappointed if US Soccer dropped a DA club due to a poor W/L record.
 
CaliKlines said:
3TP, he doesn't rub me at all. I just think it is a disservice to call all of club soccer a Ponzi scheme. That may have been his reality, but we paid for a service that provided great training, and development for my player, and created a great passion for the sport in her. It was never a goal to have her play "at the next level", but when the opportunity presented itself and she had the desire, then she pursued it. Even if she didn't want to play in college, club soccer would have been a great investment in her time and my money. It was a very positive experience that kept her occupied during the tumultuous middle school and high school years in a healthy peer group. And the per hour cost was way less than gymnastics, dance, volleyball and other club sports in which she had an aptitude. Calling it a Ponzi scheme paints it as a fraudulent, negative experience. And I disagree. Again, my opinion.
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I call it a ponzi scheme, because there are thousands of club players of which only a small percentage will ever get a sniff at being recruited by a college coach. Let's be brutally honest. The players on C-F teams at large clubs should ALL be playing AYSO for $100 (estimation) a year, but it's not sexy to play AYSO. Now with Girls DA, some of these clubs will be fully funded and who exactly will be paying for these players? Oh yeah the B-F teams, brilliant! At least the ECNL families had to pay, except for the families in financial need.

There are clubs who put on a club wide annual production parading their college commits in front of their ulittle players and parents. If that isn't selling a dream and pie in the sky to a family I don't know what is. Anything to keep the gravy train rolling! It's like some sort of TV evangelist taping on individuals emotions to donate money.

Yet, there are parents who think with weekly skills training....their DD with 2 left feet (to be fair or 2 right feet) will get there. We have all seen the delusional parents, who thought their ulittle DDs was the next Marta. Only to see that ulittle girl being replaced by a better player from another team who was recruited by very own club coach. What about the club coaches who accepts ulittle package deals of 4-5 players moving to their club from another team, when in fact the club only wanted 1-2 of the players. It's why I never packaged my DD, lol.
 
CaliKlines said:
3TP, he doesn't rub me at all. I just think it is a disservice to call all of club soccer a Ponzi scheme. That may have been his reality, but we paid for a service that provided great training, and development for my player, and created a great passion for the sport in her. It was never a goal to have her play "at the next level", but when the opportunity presented itself and she had the desire, then she pursued it. Even if she didn't want to play in college, club soccer would have been a great investment in her time and my money. It was a very positive experience that kept her occupied during the tumultuous middle school and high school years in a healthy peer group. And the per hour cost was way less than gymnastics, dance, volleyball and other club sports in which she had an aptitude. Calling it a Ponzi scheme paints it as a fraudulent, negative experience. And I disagree. Again, my opinion.
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Well said CaliKlines. Agree. Club soccer is a great experience whether you play on top level or mid level teams. Our soccer players should be making friends, learning discipline and how to operate within a team. Organized sports are a wonderful outlet for kids these days to be athletic and have fun. To call it a "Ponzi" scheme is completely unfair. After all, NO one forces your player to try out and commit to a team and you to write the check. Just sayin...
 
bababooey said:
Spot on post Cali. Many thanks.

My dd will be a freshman at HS next year, so I still have at least four more years of soccer ahead of me (assuming she does not abruptly quit playing). We as parents are paying for a service with club soccer. Do I agree with every aspect of club soccer, no. However, the overall experience has been positive. I have made multiple new friends along the way and she has made many new friends that may end up being life-long friends.
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That's how you get sucked in, even if your DD isn't good enough for college soccer (I have no idea if she has the goods or not, if so great) are you going to pull your little princess from the friends she created in her team? A DOC once told me, he prefers girls over boys teams, because for some reason parents will "PAY" for their daughters, but not for there sons.

bababooey said:
I believe college soccer is a possibility for my dd, but that is not what club soccer is teaching her. There are many things that structured sports teaches our children, but some of the things I really appreciate with this experience is teaching her that a commitment is to be taken seriously (getting up early for games or practices, going to practices when you would rather stay home and watch tv, going to games when your school friends are going to the mall, etc.). What she is learning from club soccer can be applied to many facets of life and that is really what I am paying for. Watching her play a sport she loves is just the icing on the cake.
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She could have learned that playing for AYSO Select or whatever they call the travel squad nowadays.
 
Sane65 said:
Well said CaliKlines. Agree. Club soccer is a great experience whether you play on top level or mid level teams. Our soccer players should be making friends, learning discipline and how to operate within a team. Organized sports are a wonderful outlet for kids these days to be athletic and have fun. To call it a "Ponzi" scheme is completely unfair. After all, NO one forces your player to try out and commit to a team and you to write the check. Just sayin...
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The kids on the C-F teams could have learned those lessons and made those friends on their AYSO select teams and saved you thousands for their college fund. Just saying, lol!

BTW, post something controversial and it's how you get parents to post on the forum. See how that works!
 
Zerodenero said:
A good book once said ..."What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun". E1:9

If we rewind the clock, I'm sure parents/players were thinking the same during the period leading up to the Ecnl era....yet somehow, someway, kids were still making it to the college field & beyond, with and without "the patch" of Ecnl.

So don't fret young padawan parents.....DA, Schmee-A....just be sure to do your homework, study/investigate the players who play(ed) at the goal/destination (i.e. college/pro), work backwards, and comprise a plan (w/your player) and execute on that plan ;)
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ZD as always sage advice. You been sitting with Luke Skywalker and Yoda somewhere going all Zen on us?
 
If my DD didn't end up playing college soccer. I would probably be posting the same thing; organized sports teaches life lessons for a teenager, she has made life long friends, money spent can't replace the life long experience, etc, etc.

It's part of the 5 stages of grief.
 
TheBonus said:
Beach FC Announces DA Coaches:

http://beachfutbolclub.com/beach-futbol-club-development-academy-announcement/
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DA2 League? WTF? I am going to continue to watch this unfold. I like 3 of those coaches and have no knowledge of the others. I am surprised that Rob Demelo doesn't have a DA team. I agree NoGoal and I am also glad that I got out more from the ponzi scheme than I put in. I would have preferred to have her run track. It's cheaper and she could have ended up at the same school. I could have gotten a few more vacations versus spending $2500-$4000 for soccer (although the last year was free). I saw plenty go by the wayside and end up at worse schools than they could have gotten into based on academics alone.

I am not going to minimize the value that the passion and lessons learned through soccer provide but I come from the old school where you don't pay for a social circle. One of the reasons that my player left her first team is because she cared about getting better and winning and her team being the "B" team was more concerned with the team functions. I definitely felt that if she wasn't on the club's top team that it was more a social circle and less about true development. Now I am not saying that all clubs are like that and my daughter's last club definitely promoted from within. I am saying that you could easily cut the number of club teams in half and it would only help the quality of play throughout SoCal.
 
MakeAPlay said:
DA2 League? WTF? I am going to continue to watch this unfold. I like 3 of those coaches and have no knowledge of the others. I am surprised that Rob Demelo doesn't have a DA team. I agree NoGoal and I am also glad that I got out more from the ponzi scheme than I put in. I would have preferred to have her run track. It's cheaper and she could have ended up at the same school. I could have gotten a few more vacations versus spending $2500-$4000 for soccer (although the last year was free). I saw plenty go by the wayside and end up at worse schools than they could have gotten into based on academics alone.

I am not going to minimize the value that the passion and lessons learned through soccer provide but I come from the old school where you don't pay for a social circle. One of the reasons that my player left her first team is because she cared about getting better and winning and her team being the "B" team was more concerned with the team functions. I definitely felt that if she wasn't on the club's top team that it was more a social circle and less about true development. Now I am not saying that all clubs are like that and my daughter's last club definitely promoted from within. I am saying that you could easily cut the number of club teams in half and it would only help the quality of play throughout SoCal.
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Exactly, I find it hard to believe that several clubs have 4-6 teams in an age group. Why? Easy money that's why.

I know a smaller well known club. I asked the coach, why does the club only have 2 teams, when they could easily have 4-5 teams per age group. His reply, because we believe in quality over quantity. As the club gets bigger, it becomes harder and harder to find quality coaches also.
 
CaliKlines said:
3TP, he doesn't rub me at all. I just think it is a disservice to call all of club soccer a Ponzi scheme. That may have been his reality, but we paid for a service that provided great training, and development for my player, and created a great passion for the sport in her. It was never a goal to have her play "at the next level", but when the opportunity presented itself and she had the desire, then she pursued it. Even if she didn't want to play in college, club soccer would have been a great investment in her time and my money. It was a very positive experience that kept her occupied during the tumultuous middle school and high school years in a healthy peer group. And the per hour cost was way less than gymnastics, dance, volleyball and other club sports in which she had an aptitude. Calling it a Ponzi scheme paints it as a fraudulent, negative experience. And I disagree. Again, my opinion.
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Cali the people who get out of a Ponzi scheme before it collapses do pretty well (unrealistic returns). Same thing with club soccer. Those that go in it with an 8 or 9 year old and come out with a significant college scholarship worth more (or significantly more) than they paid essentially "won" in the Ponzi scheme.

If somebody walked up to you today and said that if you give them $30K (about what I spent) and said that they would hand me back $120k I would definitely not believe it. That is what you get if you have a player that navigates through all of the BS and ends up with a scholarship. The life lessons that they learn are amazing and valuable but that comes down to parenting not to spending money on sports. Trust me if you are good enough in a sport cost is never an issue. For the ULittle parents starting today if they end up having one of the 200 or so SoCal kids that get a decent scholarship or get into an AMAZING institution due to soccer they are the "winners" of the Ponzi scheme and the 10,000 that didn't may not be losers in the real sense but in terms of what they got from club soccer versus AYSO select or the Mexican league is honestly very little other than maybe some lifelong friends (we are talking about girls so lifelong is relative too!!).
 
NoGoal said:
Exactly, I find it hard to believe that several clubs have 4-6 teams in an age group. Why? Easy money that's why.

I know a smaller well known club. I asked the coach, why does the club only have 2 teams, when they could easily have 4-5 teams per age group. His reply, because we believe in quality over quantity. As the club gets bigger, it becomes harder and harder to find quality coaches also.
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You might be surprised to know that many of the kids on the 3,4,5th teams are just delighted that they can participate in a club, probably have no aspirations of playing at a higher level, but still take great pride in pulling on their club jerseys. Different level but still important to them.
 
Sunil Illuminati said:
You might be surprised to know that many of the kids on the 3,4,5th teams are just delighted that they can participate in a club, probably have no aspirations of playing at a higher level, but still take great pride in pulling on their club jerseys. Different level but still important to them.
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Like I posted, playing AYSO is not sexy! It's okay if your on the C-F team, I will pay the $2000 club fee without the travel expense and get you on that club team princess.

I would tell my DD...honey, let's try dance!
 
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