LAFC Academy coaches were there, observed (no they didnt conduct training & that was never the plan) and were impressed with the talent at both the 03 and 04 levels. Correct they do not have plans for the 03s right now. With the 03 talent it did spark their interests. Why is Vargas not happy?? What did he assume??
LA GALAXY Coming to the OC
- Thread starter Frank the Tank
- Start date
LAFC Academy coaches were there, observed (no they didnt conduct training & that was never the plan) and were impressed with the talent at both the 03 and 04 levels. Correct they do not have plans for the 03s right now. With the 03 talent it did spark their interests. Why is Vargas not happy?? What did he assume??
Funny moment this morning driving the kids to school. I saw a car with an FC Blades and Irvine Slammers stickers on the window. I wonder if they'll be adding an OC Galaxy Sticker.
I do think my kids would be thrilled to wear a Galaxy shirt for games. If they were closer, I'm sure we'd give them a look.
You'd be better off buying a jersey at a LAG store, instead of wasting money and your kid's time.
It's the most expensive club in OC, despite its mediocrity in development or competition. On the girls side, a few of their teams are in EGNL, not to be confused with ENCL. On the boys side, they mostly field flight 2 and 3 teams. Their flight 1 teams are only in age groups DA clubs field teams. Other than Matt Tutton, they have mostly English coaches most of whom played no higher than high school back home. Yet, they charge $2700 for 03s, which doesn't include unis, around $350 to be purchased at their designated website. They've signed decent American coaches recently, but overall, they're exceptional salesmen.
jimbohonky
SILVER
Another bitter voice. Do you speak from experience within the club, or as an outsider?
My son plays for this club and loves it.
If you are focusing on money and flights and uniforms, perhaps this club's priorities aren't to your liking, and they wouldn't fit your interests anyway. That doesn't make them "mediocre" by any meanful measure.
I can say this with certainty: as far as salesmanship goes, they are the LEAST used car salesman and pipe dream merchant staff I've come across in over a decade of club soccer experience with my kids.
What makes them mediocre in addition to what I cited? Let's just compare them to OC clubs. Have they developed players like Pats, Strikers or West Coast on the boys side? No. Have they developed players like Blues, Slammers (the authentic one in Newport), Pats on the girls? No. Competition is not everything but it's something especially in older age groups. They field more teams than another other club in OC, but have any of them been the cream of the crop or even top 5? No.
If empirical evidence is not good enough, could it be a case of Dunning Kruger effect? Could it be salemanship?
jimbohonky
SILVER
Well, one could throw in the factor of those other clubs recently getting Academies (aside from the Strikers), which has a mesmerizing draw for many parents and which has unquestionably sucked in many of the top flight players. This effect has been profound and palpable, as any parent on this forum can attest to. Beyond that, their record on both the girls and boys side matches the other clubs in the area, empirically speaking.
Check overall standings on boys and girls clubs, and recent tournament results to confirm this, no need to take my word for it.
I still don't understand why sarcastic snarkness is necessary.
genesis
SILVER ELITE
So true but let's not allow other conglomerates off the hook: Slammers, Legends, Surf, Pateadores, Strikers, among others. You see people these affiliates get duped. They get absolutely nothing but a name and a uniform. In return they pay a fee per player. That's it.
Galaxy gets $50 per player, not sure about the others. There is no golden ticket to academy, do you people actually think Galaxy Academy players and their parents will just step aside for imports from the OC? Besides why would people travel when they have academy programs in their backyard? Oh yeah...they get scholarships and honestly isn't that what it is all about? $$$, remember to sell your Galaxy tickets, good business for LA Galaxy. They double their fan base long term adding girls soccer to the mix even though they could care less about girls soccer. People youth soccer is no longer about the kids, it's all about big business. Let the crucifixion begin.
No sarcasm intended. You called me bitter, so I told you the reasons why I consider it a mediocre club. Tell me your reasons by all means.
Your reasoning is circular. DA clubs are awarded based on merit. If Irvine Slammers is good, why hasn't it got Academies? Or ECNL? Or CRL? By other clubs, you mean other than the good clubs like Pats, Blues, Strikers, Slammers, West Coast? And that's not mediocrity in your opinion?
jimbohonky
SILVER
Well, this conversation has devolved into an AM radio talk show shouting match.
I defer to your insight and wisdom and will move on to more fruitful enterprises.
Enjoy your day.
Question....will LAFC be partnering with the CDA Slammers group or the main Slammers (Newport) group? Maybe that's what @mahrez was referring to...
There was no shouting on either part, I don't think. Have a good day.
mahrez
SILVER ELITE
I dunno if it's just an American thing, but the "doing business as" or the LA of Orange county things are nothing but marketing.
There is value to the smaller organizations to sell out their identity to gain more players or market share. But there are tradeoffs and some like west coast decided those we're not worth it.
The novelty of wearing a Branded kit wears off pretty quickly for any body but the youngest players. There is a lot of promises about something special that only affiliates get but in reality people see through that after a few months.
There is value to the smaller organizations to sell out their identity to gain more players or market share. But there are tradeoffs and some like west coast decided those we're not worth it.
The novelty of wearing a Branded kit wears off pretty quickly for any body but the youngest players. There is a lot of promises about something special that only affiliates get but in reality people see through that after a few months.
If they (LAG OC) keep AW on their coaching staff, they won't have much of an issue with their program. Would help LAG's DA coaching pool as well.
jrcaesar
SILVER ELITE
If you click on that writer's profile, there's an ignore button. That helps a lot in this forum...
jimbohonky
SILVER
Cheers
All Slammers boys 03s and 04s (nominated by their coaches) were brought out for the LAFC training- CDA, Irvine, Newport etc. so they are working with the Slammers as a whole not a specific group. Slammers newport focus has always been on the girls side. The other groups (especially CDA was specifically brought in to build the boys side and that is beginning to happen)
jimbohonky
SILVER
I can attest to this--they had a well-orchestrated event in HB on Oct 21st under the banner of both CDA Slammers and LAFC, mostly by invite only. They should have a strong group for sure.
gauchosean
SILVER
Actually they have done quite well developing boys up until about u14 age where they often ended up moving to other clubs for their older years. I know of numerous boys who graduated last year who played for the Blades until u14 that then went on to play for West Coast, Pats, Strikers and Galaxy and are now playing in college. Everybody sees the team they play on at u17 but nobody seems to remember the team they were developed on for the first 5 or 6 years they played club. The Blades name might not appear on the college roster next to their name but those boys all remember where they learned to play the game. I was their team manager and my son played with them and I know where they started.
Slammers Newport!!
The better players tend to leave that club at 11 when they move to the full size pitch and play 11 v 11, a fact that can be easily verified. Parents can draw their conclusions as to why.