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Post by jvc2x on Jan 9, 2017 16:29:41 GMT -5
Just some questions about the GA ODP program as it relates to the 2000's - my son is in the ODP pool, but I have not been impressed with how the coaches have run the program so far.... - Picking practice dates & times without regard to league matches and major tournaments (practice dates seem to suit the coaches more than the boys) meaning that many boys miss practices;
- Cancelling practices at the last minute due to weather (which is understandable) but then making no attempt to make them up or find alternative dates;
- Calling an 'emergency' practice to choose there final squad with less than 24 hours' notice when many boys would not have been able to attend.
Full disclosure - my son was unable to go to the final 'emergency' practice that was called at the last minute so didn't make the team. He may not have made it anyway (who can say?) but I don't think all the boys had a fair shake. It just looks sloppy and feels like the ODP program is a bit of an afterthought (or already decided). Also, the lack of communication has been pretty startling for a program that is supposed to be so high profile. Has anyone else had a similar experience, or have any thoughts on this?
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Post by soccerfan30 on Jan 9, 2017 20:02:26 GMT -5
I'm sorry you've had a bad experience but that hasn't been typical of the age group I'm involved with. I've been coaching Boys ODP for the last seven years and from my perspective it's very organized, I know we've never had "emergency" sessions scheduled at the last minute and we try to make up any missed sessions due to inclement weather.
A number of things to point out:
RYSA determines if the fields are closed or not due to weather, that's out of our control. We will move to the new Atlanta United facility for practices in the next month or so.
The schedules for the entire season are determined at the beginning of the season and posted online. There may be reschedules due to weather cancelations or an added session if the coaches feel its needed prior to an out of town of event but for the most part the schedule is followed and doesn't change.
Practice days/times are always a challenge. Most of our pool plays NL and R3PL, those teams are typically out of town on weekends so in order to have a productive session with max attendance we have to practice on Friday nights. Most club coaches don't want their players going to ODP practice on the night before a game, but we don't have other options, it's not like the boys are getting overly exerted at ODP practice, it's most tactical sessions with some full sided play at the end. Most people find it extremely difficult to get to RYSA on a Friday at 7pm, it's only a 35 minute drive for me but on Fridays after work it turns into 90 minutes minimum to get there.
If you have any specific questons I'm happy to answer them.
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Post by soccerparent02 on Jan 9, 2017 23:56:10 GMT -5
Our experience has been very positive. I agree with the coach. RYSA is a challenge on Friday nights just like AU fields will be for players who now benefit from current location. Good program overall for players.
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Post by nani17 on Jan 10, 2017 8:32:33 GMT -5
That sucks that the tryouts ended up the way they did.
When my son did ODP a couple years ago, we had a similar issue with the coaches not showing up. I think they overstaffed the coaches as there would always be one or two missing. So, there would be one or two coaches available to run drills.
The GK coach went roughly the whole fall season without showing up to a single practice. Finally showed up in Nov/Dec.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Jan 11, 2017 17:26:00 GMT -5
I did hear that if you were on a DA team, you were not allowed to be on an ODP team. So what are your thoughts on the ODP program going forward? At first I would have said in the years when you are unable to make a DA team when clubs went to the mixed ages year, that would be a great opportunity to get some additional training. But now with the introduction of additional age groups, is there a real reason to keep ODP? I'll sit back and listen to your comments.
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Post by soccerparent02 on Jan 11, 2017 20:26:08 GMT -5
There are many DA quality level players who won't even consider trying out for DA. They want the option of playing high school soccer. Although in some instances the play level not be even C2 level there is more to it. There is the important social aspect and they can play with their friends. ODP provides the alternative training possibility but allows high school soccer as well. That is why ODP will continue. It's also why ECNL and the new boys league has emerged with a strong Georgia presence.
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Post by spectator on Jan 11, 2017 22:54:36 GMT -5
Just some questions about the GA ODP program as it relates to the 2000's - my son is in the ODP pool, but I have not been impressed with how the coaches have run the program so far.... - Picking practice dates & times without regard to league matches and major tournaments (practice dates seem to suit the coaches more than the boys) meaning that many boys miss practices;
- Cancelling practices at the last minute due to weather (which is understandable) but then making no attempt to make them up or find alternative dates;
- Calling an 'emergency' practice to choose there final squad with less than 24 hours' notice when many boys would not have been able to attend.
Full disclosure - my son was unable to go to the final 'emergency' practice that was called at the last minute so didn't make the team. He may not have made it anyway (who can say?) but I don't think all the boys had a fair shake. It just looks sloppy and feels like the ODP program is a bit of an afterthought (or already decided). Also, the lack of communication has been pretty startling for a program that is supposed to be so high profile. Has anyone else had a similar experience, or have any thoughts on this? I'm sorry you had such a bad experience and no, this is not typical. To answer some of your points: 1 Practice dates and times are set by GA Soccer not the coaches. It's based on field space and availabilty since ODP is happening at the same time as regular season games. 2 With all the leagues and levels, it'd be impossible to make sure there are no game conflicts. I will say on the girls side, ECNL games seem to be the most challenging to schedule around due to the travel. 3. Your age group coordinator works with the coaches (or should) to make them aware of major tournaments or when too many players would have conflicts. We have had practices rescheduled based on this many times. It's not in anyone's best interest to have an ODP practice with less than half the pool there. 4. Cancellations happen due to weather and should attempt to be rescheduled but again, it's hard with club games going on. If it rains on one of the weekends when most kids can attend, rescheduling for that weekend when you'll have less than 50% of the players there isn't worth it. 5. Never heard of an 'emergency practice as a tryout - please elaborate. You stated your son is on the team - I assume you mean GA ODP pool. What practice was this and for what roster? Every player plays in Sub Regionals - but unfortunately they were cancelled this year due to the snow/ice storm. Region Camp attendees won't be set until later this spring so what 'tryout' are you referring to? As far as communication - that's multi leveled - you get your main information from the State Coordinators and there's been some turnover in the last year so that's been pretty lax. Your main 'day to day' stuff is from your age group coordinators - which is a volunteer job. We've been fortunate in our age group to have a coordinator who is on top of things and lets us know what's going on - even when nothing is really going on. Overall our ODP experience has been a good one. What you described is nothing like what we've experienced and you should consider letting the GA Soccer know about your frustrations. They seem quite committed to keeping the program running and would welcome feedback. My two cents about the future of ODP - I think it'd be a great 'identification' program for younger ages - U11-U13 or U14. After that, the better players are already on DA, ECNL, RPL teams and getting the exposure that way. The focus now seems to be on those leagues for older ages so there may be a niche for ODP and even SuperY for the younger players as a nice 'training ground' to pave the way to the elite level teams. Just a thought - my kid has enjoyed ODP - it's not as 'fun' as club because you're not with your friends and it gets competitive even at training - but Region camp is a great experience and has given a lot of exposure to GA Players in the past.
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Post by footy on Jan 13, 2017 8:56:37 GMT -5
Just some questions about the GA ODP program as it relates to the 2000's - my son is in the ODP pool, but I have not been impressed with how the coaches have run the program so far.... - Picking practice dates & times without regard to league matches and major tournaments (practice dates seem to suit the coaches more than the boys) meaning that many boys miss practices;
- Cancelling practices at the last minute due to weather (which is understandable) but then making no attempt to make them up or find alternative dates;
- Calling an 'emergency' practice to choose there final squad with less than 24 hours' notice when many boys would not have been able to attend.
Full disclosure - my son was unable to go to the final 'emergency' practice that was called at the last minute so didn't make the team. He may not have made it anyway (who can say?) but I don't think all the boys had a fair shake. It just looks sloppy and feels like the ODP program is a bit of an afterthought (or already decided). Also, the lack of communication has been pretty startling for a program that is supposed to be so high profile. Has anyone else had a similar experience, or have any thoughts on this? This sounds very frustrating. This year has been weird because of the Winston-Salem subregionals being cancelled due to snow and both the boys' and girls' state administrators resigning in November. Georgia Soccer has hired staff to take their places but regarding the selection of the final squad, if your child is still interested in having a shot, you may want to talk to the coach and/or Jacob Daniel about the situation regarding the emergency practice. They may offer another look for your kid and the others who were not able to make it to that session. Our coach has said he's not making any cuts until Jacob Daniel says it's time to do so (usually one round of cuts in Feb. and another in April for the top 3 age groups, which is 00/01/02 this year but one could argue that maybe they shouldn't make as many cuts and possibly take more kids to region trials this summer). With the lack of subregional events for exposure and evaluations, our age group is doing a bunch of scrimmages against Atlanta United (same age group as well as 1 lower and 1 higher) and GA ODP teams (one age group below) so the kids can get a fair look before cuts. Ultimately, ODP is a good chance for kids to get more touches against players they don't normally see. The lucky ones get chosen to play in regional events, and sometimes that can lead to even bigger opportunities.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jan 13, 2017 9:00:02 GMT -5
? the both the boys' and girls' state administrators resigning in November --- is this the Boys and Girls ODP administrators that resigned?
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Post by SoccerMom on Jan 13, 2017 9:03:12 GMT -5
? the both the boys' and girls' state administrators resigning in November --- is this the Boys and Girls ODP administrators that resigned? It was husband and wife, one ran the boys side and one the girls side. Not sure how long the husband was in the position, but the wife was only there since early to mid last year.
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Post by SoccerMom on Jan 13, 2017 9:07:19 GMT -5
Just some questions about the GA ODP program as it relates to the 2000's - my son is in the ODP pool, but I have not been impressed with how the coaches have run the program so far.... - Picking practice dates & times without regard to league matches and major tournaments (practice dates seem to suit the coaches more than the boys) meaning that many boys miss practices;
- Cancelling practices at the last minute due to weather (which is understandable) but then making no attempt to make them up or find alternative dates;
- Calling an 'emergency' practice to choose there final squad with less than 24 hours' notice when many boys would not have been able to attend.
Full disclosure - my son was unable to go to the final 'emergency' practice that was called at the last minute so didn't make the team. He may not have made it anyway (who can say?) but I don't think all the boys had a fair shake. It just looks sloppy and feels like the ODP program is a bit of an afterthought (or already decided). Also, the lack of communication has been pretty startling for a program that is supposed to be so high profile. Has anyone else had a similar experience, or have any thoughts on this? This sounds very frustrating. This year has been weird because of the Winston-Salem subregionals being cancelled due to snow and both the boys' and girls' state administrators resigning in November. Georgia Soccer has hired staff to take their places but regarding the selection of the final squad, if your child is still interested in having a shot, you may want to talk to the coach and/or Jacob Daniel about the situation regarding the emergency practice. They may offer another look for your kid and the others who were not able to make it to that session. Our coach has said he's not making any cuts until Jacob Daniel says it's time to do so (usually one round of cuts in Feb. and another in April for the top 3 age groups, which is 00/01/02 this year but one could argue that maybe they shouldn't make as many cuts and possibly take more kids to region trials this summer). With the lack of subregional events for exposure and evaluations, our age group is doing a bunch of scrimmages against Atlanta United (same age group as well as 1 lower and 1 higher) and GA ODP teams (one age group below) so the kids can get a fair look before cuts. Ultimately, ODP is a good chance for kids to get more touches against players they don't normally see. The lucky ones get chosen to play in regional events, and sometimes that can lead to even bigger opportunities. 00/01/02 are only supposed to take 1 team this year to Regionals. These age groups are competing to try to qualify for the ODP championship in AZ the following year. Yes they could take another team but to be fair, those kids are not getting the same exposure or push that the kids on team 1 are. Region Camp is a week long ID Camp, and not a cheap one, but if you make the regional team that is where you get the real exposure at the events.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jan 13, 2017 9:08:02 GMT -5
Thats what I assumed. I didn't realize they had stepped down.
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Post by SoccerMom on Jan 13, 2017 9:09:43 GMT -5
Thats what I assumed. I didn't realize they had stepped down. Yes it happened all of a sudden and the old admin had to step in for a bit. Both positions have been filled now
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jan 13, 2017 9:11:23 GMT -5
Stupid question, but we always wondered were they volunteers or paid positions?
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Post by SoccerMom on Jan 13, 2017 9:19:08 GMT -5
Stupid question, but we always wondered were they volunteers or paid positions? My understanding is that its volunteer.
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Post by footy on Jan 13, 2017 9:34:09 GMT -5
Used to be volunteer but now paid, which makes more sense. All the other states have paid admins. It's a lot of work, and having paid staff gives the position better continuity.
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Post by spectator on Jan 13, 2017 20:07:26 GMT -5
Stupid question, but we always wondered were they volunteers or paid positions? STATE Administrators are paid Age Group Admins are volunteers
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Post by footy on Jan 14, 2017 14:39:54 GMT -5
Stupid question, but we always wondered were they volunteers or paid positions? STATE Administrators are paid Age Group Admins are volunteers You are correct that age group admins are volunteers and state admins are now paid, but my understanding is that in GA, the state ones were not paid until just this month, and that was part of the reason for the husband-wife team resigning. If they were paid, it may have been a small stipend, and not a real job. The state admin before them used to complain about it being a lot of work for a volunteer. Now the state admins fall under Georgia Soccer staff. Their state ODP admin duties are a part of their Georgia Soccer position responsibilities.
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