Looking for B09 Club Around Toluca Lake/North Hollywood Area

[sdsurfer2525]

Hello Everyone,

My son is a B09 kid that is currently playing in a mid-level flight 2 club team. I'll leave the club name out of it for now. The team he's on is decent, but lacks cohesion and there are a few players that do not put in the work so they drag down the team. My son is a bit more competitive and is seeking a high flight 2 or flight 1 team. I'm looking to see if there are any teams in the Toluca Lake/North Hollywood area that fit this bill. My son currently plays CAM and plays best as a distributor on the pitch.

I know there are a few LA Surf teams in our area, but I'm really not interested in LA Surf due to their coaching inconsistencies and them have a few poor B09 teams in the Burbank/La Canada/Hollywood areas. Are there any recommendations for teams or coaches that are good at developing players and a team in this area?

 

[focomoso]

Hello Everyone,

My son is a B09 kid that is currently playing in a mid-level flight 2 club team. I'll leave the club name out of it for now. The team he's on is decent, but lacks cohesion and there are a few players that do not put in the work so they drag down the team. My son is a bit more competitive and is seeking a high flight 2 or flight 1 team. I'm looking to see if there are any teams in the Toluca Lake/North Hollywood area that fit this bill. My son currently plays CAM and plays best as a distributor on the pitch.

I know there are a few LA Surf teams in our area, but I'm really not interested in LA Surf due to their coaching inconsistencies and them have a few poor B09 teams in the Burbank/La Canada/Hollywood areas. Are there any recommendations for teams or coaches that are good at developing players and a team in this area?

I would suggest not worrying about the club and concentrating only on the coach and the other kids. Except for the top teams in the age group, most teams are run pretty independently from the club itself. If you find an LA Surf team with a good coach and dedicated kids at the right level, I wouldn't turn that down.

That said, LAFC SoCal has a lot of teams in the area. They're also a big club, so the level will be inconsistent, but, again, you have to check each one out to see how they fit.

 

[Grace T.]

I would suggest not worrying about the club and concentrating only on the coach and the other kids. Except for the top teams in the age group, most teams are run pretty independently from the club itself. If you find an LA Surf team with a good coach and dedicated kids at the right level, I wouldn't turn that down.

That said, LAFC SoCal has a lot of teams in the area. They're also a big club, so the level will be inconsistent, but, again, you have to check each one out to see how they fit.

LAFC SoCal also has a couple hubs/affiliates in the area....including Burbank and West Val. La Surf and LAFC SoCal are the big ones in the area. There's also LASC in the Pasadena/Los Feliz area...I believe they have an flight 1 team. Surf also has a couple valley affiliates. TFA I think also has a Val affiliate but I don't see a flight 1 or NPL team. I think that's kinda it in the Val by way of big clubs until you get to Ventura County/Downtown/or Santa Clarita. The Val used to be heavy with small local clubs, many heavily Latino, that played coast, but they've been pushed out by: 1) the decline of Coast, and 2) the rise of the closed circuits (you need an MLS/ECNL team to remain competitive) and big clubs absorbing the smaller affiliates, and 3) the dearth of acceptable fields in the Val to meet SoCal League minimum standards. As a result, there's a real dearth of opportunities in the Val.

CAM (like CB and goalkeeper) is also a hard position to move around since if a team is doing well that role will likely be occupied. Keep your eyes open on the soccer announcement boards as they'll usually be specific announcements for those positions. If he's able to move around to somethin other than CAM it will be easier to place.

 

[Grace T.]

LAFC SoCal also has a couple hubs/affiliates in the area....including Burbank and West Val. La Surf and LAFC SoCal are the big ones in the area. There's also LASC in the Pasadena/Los Feliz area...I believe they have an flight 1 team. Surf also has a couple valley affiliates. TFA I think also has a Val affiliate but I don't see a flight 1 or NPL team. I think that's kinda it in the Val by way of big clubs until you get to Ventura County/Downtown/or Santa Clarita. The Val used to be heavy with small local clubs, many heavily Latino, that played coast, but they've been pushed out by: 1) the decline of Coast, and 2) the rise of the closed circuits (you need an MLS/ECNL team to remain competitive) and big clubs absorbing the smaller affiliates, and 3) the dearth of acceptable fields in the Val to meet SoCal League minimum standards. As a result, there's a real dearth of opportunities in the Val.

CAM (like CB and goalkeeper) is also a hard position to move around since if a team is doing well that role will likely be occupied. Keep your eyes open on the soccer announcement boards as they'll usually be specific announcements for those positions. If he's able to move around to somethin other than CAM it will be easier to place.

p.s. you can also put up an ad on those boards for players looking for teams, but I wouldn't lead with CAM unless that's the only position he'll play.

 

[rcgooner2002]

Thank you for this thoughtful reply. Yes, many of the smaller clubs have been pushed out. The pandemic made sure any of those clubs that were teetering on the edge folded.

The area I live at is definitely not condusive for club soccer. Most of the very good ones are in Ventura, Santa Clarita, and east of Pasadena.

I'll have to look at the clubs you recommended above. Appreciate it.

LAFC SoCal also has a couple hubs/affiliates in the area....including Burbank and West Val. La Surf and LAFC SoCal are the big ones in the area. There's also LASC in the Pasadena/Los Feliz area...I believe they have an flight 1 team. Surf also has a couple valley affiliates. TFA I think also has a Val affiliate but I don't see a flight 1 or NPL team. I think that's kinda it in the Val by way of big clubs until you get to Ventura County/Downtown/or Santa Clarita. The Val used to be heavy with small local clubs, many heavily Latino, that played coast, but they've been pushed out by: 1) the decline of Coast, and 2) the rise of the closed circuits (you need an MLS/ECNL team to remain competitive) and big clubs absorbing the smaller affiliates, and 3) the dearth of acceptable fields in the Val to meet SoCal League minimum standards. As a result, there's a real dearth of opportunities in the Val.

CAM (like CB and goalkeeper) is also a hard position to move around since if a team is doing well that role will likely be occupied. Keep your eyes open on the soccer announcement boards as they'll usually be specific announcements for those positions. If he's able to move around to somethin other than CAM it will be easier to place.