How do you deal with the higher level club(A team) taking kids from your team (B team)

My experience is that most clubs highest level teams get players from other clubs' higher level teams, that is, they want "A" players regardless of their last club. "B" players, are for the most part, "B" players. Those very few that find themselves in a situation of being promoted from within should count themselves lucky as they are the exception and not the norm. This is probably the biggest fallacy of "developmental" leagues/clubs/teams.
 
An interesting situation came up in our neighborhood club a few years ago. The A team was pretty well set from the previous year and was set to contest for promotion into the top Presidio level. A big-for-his-age former rec player tried out for the team, but couldn't crack the A roster as a starter. The coaches offered the parents and player a deal - play on the B team, or play a year for the A team a year up (in Presidio AA-C, the lowest level) where he could be a starting defender against kids more his size. They took the deal, and he came back to tryouts the next year with some good game-play experience and made the A team.
 
Bdobyns said:
My experience is that most clubs highest level teams get players from other clubs' higher level teams, that is, they want "A" players regardless of their last club. "B" players, are for the most part, "B" players. Those very few that find themselves in a situation of being promoted from within should count themselves lucky as they are the exception and not the norm. This is probably the biggest fallacy of "developmental" leagues/clubs/teams.
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I have only seen girls moved up a
Bdobyns said:
My experience is that most clubs highest level teams get players from other clubs' higher level teams, that is, they want "A" players regardless of their last club. "B" players, are for the most part, "B" players. Those very few that find themselves in a situation of being promoted from within should count themselves lucky as they are the exception and not the norm. This is probably the biggest fallacy of "developmental" leagues/clubs/teams.
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At many clubs the talent difference is too great between the A and B team to really recruit from within. But even if there is a girl or two who could be moved up, coaches always want girls from other clubs instead. If you have a B team player that you think is ready for the next level, I would look around at other clubs for a coach that will give her a chance.
 
chargerfan said:
I have only seen girls moved up a


At many clubs the talent difference is too great between the A and B team to really recruit from within. But even if there is a girl or two who could be moved up, coaches always want girls from other clubs instead. If you have a B team player that you think is ready for the next level, I would look around at other clubs for a coach that will give her a chance.
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In some cases this is 100% correct. Sometimes the "A" team coach can't see the talent right in front of their face. There are some clubs that do. At the end of the day if a coach has 40+ players tryout for 18-22 roster spots and some girls from outside the club show better you can't really fault a coach. You can fault them when there are "B" team players that are better than the "A" team talent. I have seen both scenarios.
 
I have also seen a B team coach preventing his top player from joining the A team. He would give false evaluation to the A team coach and sacrifice the player’s chance for advancement. Doing this so his team can stay competitive.
If you are in a club where the A and B teams are coached by the same coach, advancement from B to A team is more of a possibility.
 
What do you do when the A team pulls up players from the B team?

I thought that was the goal. Kids on the B team work hard, and a few of them do well enough to make the A team. Happy kid.

We can’t really complain about the lack of internal development, then be grumpy when we see it happen.
 
Jamisfoes said:
I have also seen a B team coach preventing his top player from joining the A team. He would give false evaluation to the A team coach and sacrifice the player’s chance for advancement. Doing this so his team can stay competitive.
If you are in a club where the A and B teams are coached by the same coach, advancement from B to A team is more of a possibility.
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I've witnessed firsthand both of these examples Jamisfoes. 100% you want a coach that coaches both A and B or is the boss and can take a B team player to his or her A team anytime he or she says so. I knew of one B team coach that wanted to win so bad that he kept his top player from going to the A team. The B team parents found this out later and were so pissed off. Their B team player dominated the whole season but didn't get better practicing and playing with A team players and teams.
 
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Zeke said:
I thought that was the goal. Kids on the B team work hard, and a few of them do well enough to make the A team. Happy kid.
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"Happy kid" yes, but pissed off B Team parents, "Yes." This B team type of parents was big problem back in my day dealing with jealousy and the classic, "how come my little Susie wasn't invited to the A team." Susie's dad investigated and saw firsthand how real pay for play is played. I saw this firsthand as well, especially after 8th grade. The B team dad of Susie (very rich I might add) saw how this game is really played. He signed up his dd to do privates with the A team coach. Within one month, the A team coach had called up Susie to his A team. Most parents on the A and B teams believed that Susie was actually 4th best on the B team but doing privates with coach of the A team allowed her to skip the #1, #2 and #3 player because it always pays to play at this level.
 
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crush said:
"Happy kid" yes, but pissed off B Team parents, "Yes." This B team type of parents was big problem back in my day dealing with jealousy and the classic, "how come my little Susie wasn't invited to the A team." Susie's dad investigated and saw firsthand how real pay for play is played. I saw this firsthand as well, especially after 8th grade. The B team dad of Susie (very rich I might add) saw how this game is really played. He signed up his dd to do privates with the A team coach. Within one month, the A team coach had called up Susie to his A team. Most parents on the A and B teams believed that Susie was actually 3rd best on the B team but doing privates with coach of the A team allowed her to skip the #1 and #2 player because it always pays to play at this level.
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Saw the same thing happen.

Within 3 years all the players who's parents paid the coach for privates had quit.

One of the players that was being pushed to the side by the $$$ parents is now on the USWNTs radar. Another 2-3 that were being looked over have made their way to the top team.

It sucks that $$$ and a lack of ethics held the team back to what it could have been 2-3 years ago. After you've gone though all the nonsense is gives a better perspective on how well run the clubs that win consistently year after year really are. It's also easy to see why certain clubs, team, and coaches have issues once you've gone through it all.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
Saw the same thing happen.

Within 3 years all the players who's parents paid the coach for privates had quit.

One of the players that was being pushed to the side by the $$$ parents is now on the USWNTs radar. Another 2-3 that were being looked over have made their way to the top team.

It sucks that $$$ and a lack of ethics held the team back to what it could have been 2-3 years ago. After you've gone though all the nonsense is gives a better perspective on how well run the clubs that win consistently year after year really are. It's also easy to see why certain clubs, team, and coaches have issues once you've gone through it all.
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For most coaches this is a part time job that doesn’t pay much. Their primary goal is to earn some extra money without giving up more personal time than they have to and keep people from complaining about them as much as possible so they stay employed at the club. Hopefully they also love the sport and want to pass something on. Expecting someone to take a deep personal interest in your kid or their development is naive. The full time coaches and DOC’s - well, their job title should actually be salesman. Keep all that in mind, let your kid lead and have FUN, and all will be well. With kids in college now, looking back, none of the “power moves” any parents tried ever mattered. The kid and their own drive and love of the sport will be what carries them, or not.
 
By the way, I’m glad you are back Crush. I guess reviving an old thread is all it takes. ;)
Got tired of BY/SY discussion so figured let’s talk about something else.
 
Like it or not, all of the best “A team” players will soon choose to go to bigger clubs like Koge, Surf, Slammers, Legends and so forth. So all the “B” team players will move up. You won’t see any any of these A team former players playing in the So Cal State cup after u13 because the ECNL and GA clubs won’t play in the State Cup. State Cup will consist of N64 and other non-ECNL, non-GA clubs competing for a State Championship of no importance with zero college coaches watching. Not trying to rain on your State Cup parade, but this is the way of the world after u13.
 
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