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Post by soccerlegacy on May 3, 2018 15:26:01 GMT -5
Fly Delta would be great, especially if they could garner a discount on travel also. I'm thinking Northside Hospital. Then again the amount DD is paying is pittance compared to what CF got for the AT&T sponsorship. If a company can afford a mid-sized car, they could challenge DD to the sweet spot on the UFA Jersey real estate. The Northside Hospital logo is already taken by Cherokee Impact. But atlfutboldad is right, why aren't there more of Atlanta's fortune 500's sponsoring teams?
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 3, 2018 13:03:38 GMT -5
So UFA and CF essentially control this “Georgia Soccer” forum. Good to know. By my count just now: CF/UFA = 26 Non-Them = 38 So, I wouldn't consider it a majority or even that they "control" this forum.
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 3, 2018 12:30:16 GMT -5
Ok, that's your experience. Mine was having my child switch clubs to come over to UFA because we were told we would have coach "X". Only to find out after committing, that it was now going to be coach "Y". That's not even mentioning the multiple other promises that were broken... plus when asking questions as to why they were broken, either being told I'm not suppose to question it, or most times, getting no answer at all. So when you describe UFA as this transparent oasis where they tell no lies, I have to differ. And my experience is that they are HORRIBLE at communication. I have no affiliation with CF and have no agenda... just calling it out that NO club is free from propaganda and misdirection. Ultimately, every club has good coaches and bad, good age groups and bad, good communication and bad. We have made the best of the situation and have done quite well to make lemonade out of the lemons we were given. Fair enough - sounds like you definitely have had your share of bad communication from UFA. I would totally be miffed at them switching coaches - that indeed is not a good feeling especially if you went there to play with Coach X and got Coach F. I have never experienced that but would totally flip out. I never said they didn't lie - that's like saying lawyers dont lie Hope you are getting a better experience at your current club. You are corrrect - each club has their own issues. Thank you, I truly appreciated your response and for your empathy. We did indeed switch because of the coach we were told we would have. But like I said, we adapted and have made the best of the situation. And for the record, I have one child at UFA, as stated, and yet another one at one of the smaller clubs. Both types of clubs have their pluses and minuses... I'm here on this board because of just how FUBAR the whole soccer landscape has become and I need to gather as much information as possible to make informed decisions with the tryouts looming. So I want to say "thanks" to all of those on here, including you soccermonster, for sharing your experiences, knowledge, and expertise. It's still rather muddy, but at least I feel as though I'm a step ahead of those parents relying on the honestly of the club(s) communications, regardless of whether they are big or small.
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 3, 2018 10:04:07 GMT -5
Ummmmm... your experience is that they have been transparent. Mine, very much the opposite. Just saying, nobody on here should paint with that broad of a brush. I definitely agree with cleansheet! UFA is better than CF when it comes to parent communication. UFA is VERY transparent with coaching changes and tries their best to inform the parents of future plans. I'd be curious to filter through the rumors on this page and see if CF is always at the center of it. Ok, that's your experience. Mine was having my child switch clubs to come over to UFA because we were told we would have coach "X". Only to find out after committing, that it was now going to be coach "Y". That's not even mentioning the multiple other promises that were broken... plus when asking questions as to why they were broken, either being told I'm not suppose to question it, or most times, getting no answer at all. So when you describe UFA as this transparent oasis where they tell no lies, I have to differ. And my experience is that they are HORRIBLE at communication. I have no affiliation with CF and have no agenda... just calling it out that NO club is free from propaganda and misdirection. Ultimately, every club has good coaches and bad, good age groups and bad, good communication and bad. We have made the best of the situation and have done quite well to make lemonade out of the lemons we were given.
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 3, 2018 9:49:32 GMT -5
That SSA 05 RPL team would beat most ECNL teams in this part of the country. They are good. Learned that the hard way LOL The SSA 05 RPL Team is very good but will they stay together now? Isn't the SSA 04 RPL/NPL team really, really good also? From what I have heard they are one of the best in this region.
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 3, 2018 8:57:52 GMT -5
Lol seems like this is a UFA forum but thank for the great clarification on UFA. Anyone from the other 5 post on here? UFA has always been transparent first. CF last. Ummmmm... your experience is that they have been transparent. Mine, very much the opposite. Just saying, nobody on here should paint with that broad of a brush.
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 2, 2018 9:31:21 GMT -5
So can anyone break this down to those of us whose kids are not in the top 1 or 2 teams at their clubs AND in one the the 5 clubs forming this new association? What positives are there for a player wanting to further develop, to be at a Big 5 club, and not on the 1st or 2nd team? What negatives are there for a player wanting to develop, to be at a Big 5 club, and not on the 1st or 2nd team? Is going to a smaller club a better option if you are currently at a Big 5 club and your child is not on the 1st or 2nd team? Thanks sportsdad #3 State Cup is no longer a qualifier for NL/RPL. Any team, regardless of Big 5 or non-Big 5 club, that wins State Cup will not qualify for NL/RPL via that method. Qualifying is now based solely on league play and not being disqualified as an out of compliance club. If your team is at one of the Big 5 clubs then you need to ask club management how your team gets promoted to the SCCL, Champions League. Oh... I didn't know that winning State Cup wouldn't qualify you for promotion to NL/RPL even if you are not a big 5. So what your saying is that its based solely off of your end-of-season ranking? i.e. If you are 1st or 2nd in Athena/Classic, then you qualify?
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 2, 2018 8:39:04 GMT -5
Speaking of logos, I think it would be a real coup if someone were able to land a "Fly Delta" on the front of their kit. Much like "Fly Emirates" is everywhere. But I digress...
The Dunkin' Donuts logo was rather "loud".
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 1, 2018 15:45:34 GMT -5
If I hope really hard that it happens, does that count for anything? Too funny! Okay, well I guess that's what the rumor was.... hope! If the moderator or administrator of this site wants to delete this, by all means, go ahead.
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 1, 2018 12:29:27 GMT -5
Okay, this is a rumor I heard over the weekend (and not even from a high level source)... but I heard there might be talk of ending the age mandate and going back to school year ages? This could be way off-base so I'm just throwing this out there to see if anyone had heard something similar? If not, we can end this thread quickly and delete it.
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 1, 2018 10:05:39 GMT -5
So, it is an understatement to say there is going to be a huge shakeup in the landscape of Georgia soccer affiliations for the upcoming 2018/19 season. My concern is that only very small minority of parents have any clue of the changes coming. Will the clubs be honest prior to tryouts so the parents can make informed decisions. The vast majority of girls are not on DA teams, they majority fall into the category of picking clubs based off of a preference of the ECNL/NPL/NL/Champions league/Athena A level. I was wondering the same with clubs being as informative and upfront as they can be. There are many parents in the lower ages or are making the move from academy to select that just don't know how f'ed up this landscape of youth soccer has become. Sure the onus is on the parents to educate themselves, but if you don't know to ask (or what to ask) it could cause some bad experiences that would last a year thanks to the full year commitment contract. It will only make matters worse if each club isn't honest with the parents and they have to sift through the deception. I think that was soccermaxx's point??
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 30, 2018 15:50:33 GMT -5
Well based on Georgia Soccer' s new statement this will be the last year this can happen since no club will be allowed to play in State Cup if their club participates in ECNL or NPL (or SCCL). I agree though that it is unfair to those kids on the team that have played together and worked together all season. That is not what the new rules says. They can still play in State Cup, they just can't play in RPL/NL I'm still trying to get the full picture, so please help me clarify: 1. The big 5 can and will still play Athena/Classic with their teams that are not DA/ECNL/NPL/SCCL 2. Those same Athena/Classic teams can play in State Cup 3. If they win State Cup, they will not be promoted because they can't play RPL Are any or all those statements correct?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 30, 2018 9:23:49 GMT -5
Another question I have for those smarter than I am... UFA has multiple locations, but each is run independently of each other, so if UFA Forsyth joins the SCCL, but UFA Milton doesn't.... does that mean UFA Milton can still play RPL?
To restate... many people smarter than me... I'm not the brightest of the bunch... how is this handled?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 30, 2018 9:01:34 GMT -5
I am confused by SSA in the new league. They have no Girls DA or ECNL. So, their top teams are playing THIRD teams from TH and Concorde, and SECOND teams from UFA and GSA? I'm not from SSA so I don't know what else they have to offer their top players. SSA has NPL, so if they keep it, theoretically it would be a level above SCCL. I'll preface this by saying I'm a centrist when it comes to all of this and have no affiliation to SSA... but if all they have is NPL, I would seriously consider dropping our of the SCCL if I were them.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 27, 2018 14:30:28 GMT -5
And I heard the Federation was run by a guy named Darth Sidious?? Anyway, he has a few guys he likes to use as enforcers when you go against the Federation. Wrong universe, so to speak. The Federation used to battle Klingons. Ha! Thanks! I didn't know if anyone would catch that reference.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 26, 2018 12:32:44 GMT -5
Curious... why all the posts of different states and their US Club affiliations??
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 26, 2018 8:38:41 GMT -5
Beware - Intergalactic Play is frowned upon by the federation. And I heard the Federation was run by a guy named Darth Sidious?? Anyway, he has a few guys he likes to use as enforcers when you go against the Federation.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 25, 2018 14:13:55 GMT -5
Would that have been at Life University? Ha, we went to Life last year. I remember the training held at Christmas when all the people were driving by to look at the lights. The "Lights of Life" at Xmas are pretty cool. I was just confirming who I thought your coach was when you said it was a college coach in Marietta. So, how did you like him as a coach?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 25, 2018 14:09:21 GMT -5
Tophat and Concorde Fire have joined with teams from Mars, Venus and Uranus for a new Universal league. Since all league games will be played at the new NTH Moon Landing Stadium, DA players will also be eligible. Current DA restrictions only pertain to Earth bound competition. Tryouts will take place at NASA headquarters as all players will have to pass a more stringent physical exam for space travel and space competition. Also, heading will be banned as the Venetians don't have heads. How can they dare call it a "Universal" league when they exclude teams from Mercury and Saturn?? Sure, exclude Pluto because it is no longer a planet, but the others I just don't get.... So much for reducing travel distance. Geesh!
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 25, 2018 13:48:21 GMT -5
True. For me at least, this forum has me prepared for any eventuality. On a semi-related note, I know that clubs recommend that you tryout all 3 nights with the same club, but when kids are changing clubs do they do that? Shouldn't the point be to try your hand at different clubs and trying to leverage a spot on the best team you can?This has always bothered me as well!! How are you suppose to grab a spot when you would like to try multiple options/clubs?? I get doing your research early to narrow your efforts, but sometimes it takes being there for your child to know the chemistry. Heck, this could be it's own topic...
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 24, 2018 10:35:39 GMT -5
If the coach starts singling out the starters or dominant players and separates them from the rest of the team then this may be the case when it comes to games too. The team won’t train as a team/win as a team/lose as a team. This will create anxiety between players and will eventually poison the entire team. Starts in Academy and players and parents will take so much. If the players are that good then please move them up in age group. Don’t single them out as your favorites, they will play like that as well. In a coaches defense and to play devils advocate, it is sometimes hard when you have a large group with uneven abilities.. for instance, at the academy level. There may be two or three teams worth of players all practicing together. I have seen where a coach will break the players into groups of equal level players, but run the same drill with everyone. The only difference is, he will require that top group to do the drill with extra stipulations that is harder than the others. I have also seen a coach that had obvious talent discrepancies between the top team and the 2nd team, and decided to break the practice into two separate training times/sessions. But my point is, it is sometimes hard to coach a team with varying degrees of ability and still allow for each of the players to get what they need out of a practice.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 24, 2018 9:35:32 GMT -5
Is there any rationale for the location of ODP being on the south side Atlanta, and I'm being kind calling it south Atlanta, compared to the majority of Girl's players being on the north side of 285. Most parents I talked to drive anywhere between 1.5-2 hours with traffic for ODP practices. Do they rotate who hosts ODP every few years or is it set in stone at the current location. The facilities have to be approved by GA Soccer and are part of a bid process. During the years my kid was involved: UFA - Fowler Park - due to UFA Games, often ended up with multiple teams on one small field Badger Creek - great facility - people on the east side of metro Atlanta griped about that commute - - so GA Soccer moved it to RYSA - because that's so much closer. Our age group had options with our coach so sometimes we would get to practice elsewhere but even that had to be approved and blessed by Jacob Daniel. Still trying to get the rationale for letting the boys use Atlanta United's practice facilities in Cobb County and making the girls haul it to RYSA where were got rained out pretty much all spring. But short answer to your question - they get assigned the fields by whatever club bids for and gets approval The facilities at Badger Creek are much nicer than RYSA... It sucks when you live much closer to say, Badger Creek... and then have to trek it all the way out to RYSA. It goes both ways with the griping but I guess some have louder voices than others.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 24, 2018 9:30:29 GMT -5
Sometimes it dependes on the coach. Last time my daughter did it, all the girls went to Rysa, but we went to Marietta. Our coach was a college coach and they let us use the university fields. Would that have been at Life University?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 19, 2018 15:38:21 GMT -5
I understand the bureaucracy of working with county governments when it comes to field maintenance. But, like @specator says, there is no reason those fields at South Forsyth can't be in better shape. They have not gotten much use this spring at all. They sat their unused for most of feb and march due to rain. Maybe too much rain is the problem, but its not the problem with many of Concorde's rented fields. There are a few items that are essential when it comes to soccer training: 1) you need players 2) you need a ball 3) you need objects that can act as goals 4) you need a place to train -- it doesn't have to be a soccer field, could be a patch of grass by the river and kids have to chase balls into the river. my point is leadership at these clubs get paid very well to assure items 1 to 4 are in place, and there is no reason item 4 isn't a place that is in better shape etc. Actually, items 1 and 2 are already provided by the parents, so it's really only 2 items that they have to take care of...
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 19, 2018 13:29:31 GMT -5
OKay, Please tell me if I am completely off base. After reading the info on this I cant stop feeling that the Smaller programs are just upset they were not invited to participate in this new SCCL. My understanding is that there are a couple of points the smaller clubs have issue with. First it is exclusionary, and second and more importantly, because the new league would fall under U.S. club soccer, they would be able to recruit their players without repercussion.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 19, 2018 9:17:42 GMT -5
I think a huge part of the problem is the lack of field space for soccer in general!! It causes overuse and the grass never gets to regenerate, which in turn causes poor drainage and the development of uneven surfaces.
What bugs the crap at me though, is that it seems soccer continues to be the "odd-sport out", even though it is one of the largest (if not the largest) youth sports being played. Yet, in my county there seems to be a new baseball park or football field being built every year. It appears to me soccer gets no love, but I could be biased.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 18, 2018 14:05:55 GMT -5
So glad to have found this site! I want to say "Thanks!" to all of you those that share their knowledge, experience, and insight in to such a crazy, complex world we know as Georgia youth soccer. When my kids finally hit that age where I felt I needed to educate myself and expand my understanding of the soccer landscape, I have been glad to have found a forum like this. Just curious, how do the numbers on this site compare to when it was first launched?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 18, 2018 11:00:16 GMT -5
LOL... I know, I know... I said "I hope". So sad to think of it being like all the others though. My kids love going to the ATL UTD games right now, and thankfully it is still reasonable affordable at the moment.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 18, 2018 10:55:55 GMT -5
"It is the arrogance, thinking they know best, that they do not need any help, no input." I think you summed it up best with this sentence right here... It's just like the age mandate change.... and yes... that still bugs the sh*t out of me!
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 18, 2018 9:25:12 GMT -5
Makes sense. I mean isn’t the nfl, mlb and nba going through similar things? I mean I’d rather watch a game at home in my comfy setting with my 102 inch Tv and bottomless keg then fight those crowds at all of our horrible local pro teams. (Sarcasm) but still who wants to spend $500-1000 for a family of four to go watch uga or the falcons and not sit in the nose bleeds. Agreed. I just hope as MLS soccer continues to grow in this country, they "powers-that-be" keep in mind just how important the fan base is to the game and that they keep the prices reasonable enough for the average fan to be able to afford it. Imagine going to a game (or even watching one on TV) where the supporters sections have been priced-out of the stadium? Sure I'd still love to watch the game because its soccer, but it wouldn't have the same feel or effect on the experience.
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