LA Surf is born

Funny because SoCal Academy (now LA Surf) was born largely from players and families who either got the shaft from LA Premier, or hated LA Premier with the heat of a thousand suns. Esteban also took great pride in building teams that outperformed those at LA Premier and I've heard he pretty much loathed Barry Ritson. The success of his older team (built with players LA Premier didn't respect or couldn't keep) is what got them on the map and got them the LA Surf affiliation. Also, Esteban's soccer philosophy (a'la Anson Dorrance) and what they preach at Premier is like mixing oil and water. Now LA Surf is absorbing LA Premier... but here's the catch: Barry gets to run the show! Those are going to be some awesome staff meetings. Nothing about this makes sense from an individual player's standpoint. It's lousy for the existing teams at both clubs. It's lousy for the coaches involved. The only thing this isn't lousy for is consolidating $$$$. Eliminating competition and creating fewer options for consumers. It's effing brilliant from that angle.

In other words, this whole episode is pretty much the most "club soccer-y" thing ever.
 
SoCal Academy was a true-to-life David vs Goliath story. Small club develops players. Does well with every team. Takes their oldest team and smashes every DA team they play in a single tournament. Would’ve been really cool to see them stay on the map as a small unique/boutique club that could be selective who they sign to their teams and continue to beat other teams from the big-name clubs. Leaving all those clubs scratching their heads asking themselves who this small unknown club is that just ruined their unbeaten season.
I’m sure they could’ve continued to get their players recruited to good schools.
Instead they were overtaken by the Evil Empire.
Sad ending for SCA
 
pewpew said:
SoCal Academy was a true-to-life David vs Goliath story. Small club develops players. Does well with every team. Takes their oldest team and smashes every DA team they play in a single tournament. Would’ve been really cool to see them stay on the map as a small unique/boutique club that could be selective who they sign to their teams and continue to beat other teams from the big-name clubs. Leaving all those clubs scratching their heads asking themselves who this small unknown club is that just ruined their unbeaten season.
I’m sure they could’ve continued to get their players recruited to good schools.
Instead they were overtaken by the Evil Empire.
Sad ending for SCA
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It is sad that almost all the small well-run clubs have been swallowed up. They're soon to be a thing of the past.
 
soccer81 said:
Can you explain the soccer philosophies you're talking about and why they're so different? Asking for a friend.
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Well, let me preface this by saying that what a club preaches and what they actually end up producing are often different things. LA Premier is a perfect example. Go through their promo and pr stuff and you will see all sorts of references to “development” and “pathways” yet the best players on their best teams are all recruited from other clubs while players they already had at younger levels moved to other clubs and went on to bigger success.

As for soccer philosophy, LA Premier again talks a good game. They preach technical emphasis and possession style. Once they went DA, they really promoted that aspect. Some of their coaches do an honest job of it too. But watch their teams top to bottom and it’s hard to see any consistency of philosophy. To be fair that is pretty normal for all mega clubs. It’s hard to control that when you have 3-4 coaches in every age group.

SoCal Academy started with just two teams total, and from the start Esteban openly modeled his philosophy on Anson Dorrance (UNC women’s coach) which is more like what the USWNT played like in the early 2000’s: an attacking, aggressive, direct style that also emphasizes individual skill. Again, results may vary depending on the individual coaches, but that’s what their website promoted.

I’m not saying one philosophy is better. What I am saying is that Barry and Esteban preached entirely different things when trying to sell parents on their clubs. So their merger (and their absorption into the Surf kingdom) is the perfect display of why every parent must understand that club soccer, no matter if it’s DA, ECNL or whatever, is only a business. Not a pathway. Not an academy for development. If you know that going in and are a smart, informed consumer, you can find places where your money can purchase a good soccer experience for your kids and that’s good enough. Just don’t buy the BS in those press releases.
 
ToonArmy said:
That would make sense for LA Surf. Hazell is a strong team the current 05 la premier dpl team struggled may not of won a game.
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Haven’t all the LA Premier DA teams struggled since they joined the DA? It does have a good marketing machine but not much performance on the elite level. Interesting that they chose a coach for the U16 GNT that does not have a successful DA program - does everyone realize that the entire US Soccer coaching staff now are all British? Why don’t we have any Americans in our own national soccer program?
 
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