NoGoal
DA
At ulittle, have your DD play for a great coach who allows her to enjoy the game, develop her skills and be creative on the pitch. There is no need to play for a big club until U14 and older.
Girls Development Academy
- Thread starter Swoosh
- Start date
NoGoal
DA
Unless she is freak athlete, get her in club as soon as possible, my DD began club at U8-U9. Dam almost 10 years ago.
Enjoy the journey and the lasting memories!
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Generik
SILVER
You're in the right place now...ask away and these Forum members are great resources!
We've all experienced "the good, the bad, and the ugly" that is SoCal youth soccer - and most of us here want to give our "two-cents" worth of past experiences to help out our fellow families.
Everyone will have a different opinion...but the more information you have, the better choices you can make.
Good luck...and give your neighbor RB my love!
I coach an AYSO Extra (select) team. It's been a great program for the girls in it. We started at u9 and we will be u12 this Fall.
We've had a few girls leave for club teams and a few girls join us from club teams.
As mentioned above, it's all about the coach. (Not saying I'm the best, but I certainly put in a ton of effort). But almost as important at the younger ages, it's about the families that are on your team.
outside!
DA
DD started club at U10. She was always BFS but tended to rely on speed over technique. She has worked hard on skills and if all works out will be playing D1 with a great program and school in 2018. She was never on an ECNL team, but has gotten lots of exposure through USYS National League. The start of GDA changes the landscape going forward however.
Emphasize skill training and first touch with futsal, privates and individual work. For a club soccer, coach and teammates matter more than the name on the jersey. Get her on a team where she will start, but is not the best player. If she keeps working, she will become one of the best players at which time it will probably be time to move on to a higher level team. Aim to be on a top team at an ECNL or GDA club by around U13 if she still loves it. Despite what some say, juggling helps and is one of the things that helped DD get noticed. Make time for other sports if she is interested while she is younger.
devupa2.0
SILVER
Picaboo - you have a number of good choices in your area at ulittle.
Legends, I.E. Surf, I.E. Surf West all have coaches that work to develop skills in players at the young ages. This is not an exhaustive list, there are others too.
My point would be that the first priority is that your DD is at a spot that she enjoys and sees plenty of time on the field with the following keys (just my thoughts and others might add/edit):
1. She shouldn't be the best player on the team. This allows her to be pushed by some other players that will challenge her.
2. The coach should be almost completely focused on skills development. A focus on team play develops over time, but at this age great coaches will work to get players confident on the ball. The concepts of moving the ball around as a team are good, but overrated at the younger ages. This will be taught and emphasized later. In the earlier years your DD should become as technical and confident as possible on the ball.
3. The coach should not identify specific positions for players. Your DD should have the chance to be all over the field, thus getting familiar with many roles.
4. Winning is fun and may be important for some of your daughter's confidence, but the coach should not seem super focused on this. resist the temptation to go to a team/club because that team has a great record. Focus more on the coaching philosophy (see #2 and #3).
5. She has to enjoy her team and you need to enjoy the parents. Club soccer ends up commanding a lot of time (yours and hers), so you want to like the folks your with. If you find the right group, it can be a tremendous journey and a ton of fun!
The water is warm - time to dive in!
Legends, I.E. Surf, I.E. Surf West all have coaches that work to develop skills in players at the young ages. This is not an exhaustive list, there are others too.
My point would be that the first priority is that your DD is at a spot that she enjoys and sees plenty of time on the field with the following keys (just my thoughts and others might add/edit):
1. She shouldn't be the best player on the team. This allows her to be pushed by some other players that will challenge her.
2. The coach should be almost completely focused on skills development. A focus on team play develops over time, but at this age great coaches will work to get players confident on the ball. The concepts of moving the ball around as a team are good, but overrated at the younger ages. This will be taught and emphasized later. In the earlier years your DD should become as technical and confident as possible on the ball.
3. The coach should not identify specific positions for players. Your DD should have the chance to be all over the field, thus getting familiar with many roles.
4. Winning is fun and may be important for some of your daughter's confidence, but the coach should not seem super focused on this. resist the temptation to go to a team/club because that team has a great record. Focus more on the coaching philosophy (see #2 and #3).
5. She has to enjoy her team and you need to enjoy the parents. Club soccer ends up commanding a lot of time (yours and hers), so you want to like the folks your with. If you find the right group, it can be a tremendous journey and a ton of fun!
The water is warm - time to dive in!
US Soccer is trying to build a better foundation for players, so that they will reach a higher ceiling after high school. What you do early on in development is very important. Our culture of winning at all costs sometimes deters this.
Josh is very passionate about his club and it shows. He has thrived and is now being rewarded. Legends is the obvious choice in the IE.
The Kooiman's were great for the IE as well. But have not been able to replicate the same success they had a Arsenal.
NoGoal
DA
The more you post the more you sound like a Legends homer, particulary a coach! I see you are 29 years old and guess who is about the same age. A certain DOC's little brother.
The more you post the more you sound like a Legends homer, particulary a coach! I see you are 29 years old and guess who is about the same age. A certain DOC's little brother.
Here is what happens when you share an opinion that is contrary to what the resident bully thinks: First I haven't been thru the recruiting process, then my post is idiotic, and now I'm Josh Hodges' little brother, the Legends homer. Nice try though.
NoGoal
DA
Last I check you were the individual that posted the first insult....remember clueless! You must suffer from selective memory.Here is what happens when you share an opinion that is contrary to what the resident bully thinks: First I haven't been thru the recruiting process, then my post is idiotic, and now I'm Josh Hodges' little brother, the Legends homer. Nice try though.
Nice try sure, like you would admit it. Keep posting though, everyone slips eventually!
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eastbaysoccer
GOLD
GDA is hogwash. Never on the basketball court in the hood, on the gridiron or on the baseball field do kids and coaches talk development. These athletics studs just go out there and play the game to win and they do it well. As a kid when I played it was all about winning.
INhave never coached soccer before but give me better and faster players then Bobak at the so cal blues and I'll beat him every time.
INhave never coached soccer before but give me better and faster players then Bobak at the so cal blues and I'll beat him every time.
G98dad
BRONZE
Mine started club at 12 coming from a successful AYSO Plus team that moved en masse to Cypress FC. Two moves later and she is now with Beach on a team that has a chance at winning USYS National League title. Just the facts, for your info Picaboo.
The essential question is posed after the observation.
"The fact that girls soccer here isn’t really broken muddies the waters. There are plenty of issues – the high cost, prizing of sheer athleticism over technical ability, the ECNL is decidedly top heavy – but were they so bad that another league generating a jagged rift in the middle of American girls soccer development was a necessary step?"
"The fact that girls soccer here isn’t really broken muddies the waters. There are plenty of issues – the high cost, prizing of sheer athleticism over technical ability, the ECNL is decidedly top heavy – but were they so bad that another league generating a jagged rift in the middle of American girls soccer development was a necessary step?"
CaliKlines
Well-Known Member
There are plenty of public dissenters on the Girls Development Academy, just read these forums. But there are also many more supporters of the GDA, such as Christian Lavers, the president of the ECNL. His club, Eclipse, just joined the Girls Development Academy. I'd say that is a pretty big endorsement.
And Rev, to answer your question, it depends on which side of the fence you're standing. You will not convince a non-DA club supporter of the necessity of DA until they are admitted, or maybe never if they drank enough ECNL Kool-Aid. Just as you will not convince a DA club supporter that women's soccer was fine "as is".
And Rev, to answer your question, it depends on which side of the fence you're standing. You will not convince a non-DA club supporter of the necessity of DA until they are admitted, or maybe never if they drank enough ECNL Kool-Aid. Just as you will not convince a DA club supporter that women's soccer was fine "as is".
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MakeAPlay
DA
I don't disagree with your statements at all as a matter of fact I totally agree with it. What I don't agree with is how they are going about it. The player pool isn't deep enough to merit it. If they really were looking to develop the uber elite players why not do a residential academy that is fully funded by US soccer? Invite the true national pool of 40-50 players and take them out of the system and develop an "A" and "B" team that plays each other all of the time. Let's be clear in SoCal in each birth year there are maybe 20-25 players per birth year that are truly elite and maybe 5 that are uber elite. Let US soccer focus on them and let the rest focus on college soccer.
CaliKlines
Well-Known Member
And Picaboo, additional FYI...The US Youth Soccer (USYS) National Championship Series is the country's most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, providing approximately 185,000 players on over 10,000 teams from US Youth Soccer State Associations the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation while emphasizing teamwork, discipline and fair play. This is why we play State/National Cup in Southern California.
The US Youth Soccer National Championships cap a yearlong series of competitions for boys and girls teams in multiple age brackets as teams earn their way from the top teams in their state to the regional championship tournaments. US Youth Soccer State Champions and selected wildcard teams through US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues in most age groups are eligible to compete in one of four US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. The champions in the Under-13 through Under-19 age brackets from each regional event will converge in July for the US Youth Soccer National Championships. (Watch them live here eventually, once they get the broadcast schedule finalized...http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org/live/)
Annually the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series provides the nation's top collegiate coaches with the premier stage to identify and scout the most coveted players in the country. In 2012, over 600 coaches attended the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships including the majority of the top 25 men's and women's programs based on the final 2011 NSCAA National Rankings for NCAA Division I schools.
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MakeAPlay
DA
I wouldn't say that it matters if a club is in DA or not. My player's club is a DA club although she is now in college. I have no dog in this fight and if my player was a '00 or younger she would definitely be a coveted player and would have DA as an option. For me it comes down to what US soccer's true motive is. It is not developing players for the WNT because college soccer is where they pick most of their players from. If they were truly being genuine in their stated goal then they would have a residential academy like on the boys side and it is as simple as that.