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Post by misoccer on Oct 15, 2015 18:56:57 GMT -5
My son is U12 and with the switch to birth year for 2016/2017 will play U12 again next year. We haven't selected a home yet (I am commuting to Atlanta now) but we have narrowed down between that stretch from Roswell/Alpharetta/Johns Creek/Duluth. Here is a little soccer history on my son so that I don't put him in a bad situation like I did in NC.
Michigan He started playing travel soccer in Michigan at U10 which may seem young, but they actually start younger in Michigan for travel soccer. Michigan travel is huge at an early age and extremely competitive. At U10 you practice 3x a week for a normal (not elite club) and usually have a 4th practice through the club or an outside training organization. I would categorize travel soccer in Michigan as follows
Elite - Vardar A team, Wolves A team, Waza A team, and so on... there are about a dozen elite teams in the state and they pull kids from a 20 mile radius at the U10 to U12 age group. Power Clubs - these are the B teams of the Elite clubs plus the A teams of the big suburban powers that win the HS state championships year in and year out (Livonia, Canton, Rochester, Troy, Bloomfield). So these are about 30 teams statewide. Power Clubs/Local Clubs - These are the B teams of the power clubs and the A teams of the local clubs. This is where my son played U10 and U11 Additionally, there are about 3 levels of play below my son's level Power Clubs C teams /Local Clubs B teams Local Clubs C teams And your son shouldn't be playing travel soccer teams... this is the lowest level of skill
In metro Detroit with 4.5m people you have about 100 travel teams at U11 that fit into these 6 skill levels. Then below these 100 travel teams you have the recreation leagues
So in Michigan my son played year around Fall/Winter I/ Winter II/Spring. Which is about 40 games a year and 90-120 practices. He played in that 3rd tier of skill which is actually pretty competitive with good ball handling and passing skills.
He is a really good player, but not elite and I don't think it is a goal of his to be elite.
North Carolina We moved to North Carolina a year ago mid-year and I chose CASL (which is an elite club). Unlike Michigan, North Carolina starts Classic soccer at U12. So CASL had about 3 U11 teams that played U12 Classic and another 20 U11 teams that played amongst themselves in two CASL Challenge leagues. My son was in their Challenge league. What a disaster. Rather than group boys by skill they put him on a brand new crap team where 1/2 the kids never even played beyond recreation soccer. The coach kept my kid on the field virtually the whole game because he could work the ball up the field and actually complete passes. This may be some parents dream (look my son gets to play the whole game), but I was pissed because his level of play during games dropped significantly as the game wore on and the coach kept yelling at him.
The worst part is that CASL caters to elite kids so unless my son made one of their elite teams at U12 I was stuck with the crap team forever??? We played 10 games for the half year and about 30 practices which is nothing compared to what he received in Michigan. So we bolted and this Fall....
He plays for Triangle Futbol Club. This club does not have the brand of CASL and carries about 8 teams at U12 boys Classic. However, now he gets to play Classic soccer with more games and more practices. Because we switched clubs he wasn't put on a very good team (has to work his way up), but I am not worried about him proving himself in practice and games.... TFC does not have the players that CASL has but again I know my kids abilities and I want him playing with like abilities.
So long story short... I don't want to go through the experience I had in North Carolina. Atlanta is our final stop as it relates to job related moving. I want him to tryout for a club that will place him accordingly to skill and will promote him if he deserves it and ultimately cut him if he can't keep up or doesn't have the desire. In my mind I have narrowed it down to 2 clubs, but rather than voice that to the board I'm really looking for good direction. My son has played enough soccer at various levels where I feel he can play for pretty much any club, but also knowing on the best clubs he will be on their 3rd or 4th team. I would rather have him play for a good club with excellent coaching and be on a lower rated team.
I appreciate any advice in advance
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Post by soccergator on Oct 15, 2015 19:10:37 GMT -5
Given the area your looking to move to Concorde or UFA are your choices in my opinion. But given what you stated ambush is a good choice also. UFA has some quality 2nd to 3rd teams as well so there is a lot of depth. Like u said the top teams at Concorde and UFA are typically vey strong in every age group.
Both have a history are well positioned for boys soccer.
The rising u12s next year probably will be chaos with DA now. The good thing is teams should and will play 9v9.
One of the best teams my sons team has played was a triangle futbal club team at u10. Team was deep played quality soccer and had no weaknesses.
Georgia soccer is pretty dang competitive at every level in my opinion - and there are a ton of options within easy driving distance.
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Post by misoccer on Oct 15, 2015 19:18:55 GMT -5
Soccergator,
Thanks for the response. The two teams you mentioned were the two teams that I narrowed down.
Also, I'm assuming that Georgia is going to birth year for '16/'17? Our current TFC club informed us a month ago and they are starting to have a few voluntary practices based on birth year which I assume is to give coaches a chance to figure out how they are going to re-rack the teams.
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Post by soccergator on Oct 15, 2015 19:23:45 GMT -5
Yep - they are making the change for next year. Tryouts will be interesting for sure.
Both clubs should be willingly to have your kid train with teams once i assume he's allowed to. Both clubs have excellent coaching. My personal opinion is UFA provides better coaches at all levels vs just for the top teams but both have top tier coaching. For example one of the best coaches at UFA right now has the 2nd 12s.
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Post by soccergator on Oct 15, 2015 19:32:22 GMT -5
Keep in mind with DA - Ga United, Concorde and we think Atlanta United will all have u12s - Will be interesting what happens. Do kids chose to play? How many kids come from UFA, ssa, Lanier etc. Do Concorde boys stay at Concorde or look at Atlanta United etc? Does Atlanta United even have u12s next year. Latest info says yes. Who coaches these teams? How much does it cost? Do any other local teams get or apply for just u12 etc? I've heard possibly 2 u12 teams for each. That was posted here and from a relative actually in North Carolina. I have not confirmed this with local DOC.
Why is this important- it could make some second teams become top teams depending upon how many kids play DA. Could open spots on top teams for additional players.
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Post by misoccer on Oct 15, 2015 19:49:38 GMT -5
Soccergator,
Pardon my ignorance but what is DA?
In Michigan DA stands for Directors Academy which was implemented a couple years ago for I think U11 and U12. Basically, Michigan had a history of the elite teams not wanting to play each other and joining conferences where they could dominate power clubs (playing against that second tier) and only play elites in tournaments. Thus the elites pulled kids from the power teams because the parents would say "I want my son to play on the best team" as they kept getting beat by the elites in league competition
So the state of Michigan said you losers need to stop playing chicken avoiding each other and man up. They created the Directors Academy which had the top 15 (I think 15) teams in the state play in one mega league over the course of the year.
One you had to apply to get selected in the Directors Academy (DA) and two if you weren't in the DA then you couldn't play in the MRL or any other national league at higher age groups.
So this forced every elite club to apply and then the top power clubs applied too probably for the competition to raise skill because they usually got slaughtered by the elites in the DA. I think after the first year teams complained about scores being posted so now schedules are on there but no scores unless you have some sort of access. Super Secret :-). I don't think some of the clubs were happy they were forced into this league and felt it damaged their brand vs. winning every game against power clubs
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So if my son joined Concorde boys U12 are you saying they would only have 2 elite teams and nothing below? Or that more parents would rush to join a Concorde thus moving my son down even further (which I am ok with as long as it is the same skill)?
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Post by Soccerhouse on Oct 15, 2015 20:02:18 GMT -5
It's probably good you don't know about it!!! www.ussoccerda.com/overviewConcorde UFA will both typically field as many teams at each age as they have players tHat want to play. Their is a level of play available for every level of player. Opportunity for growth upward etc
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Post by misoccer on Oct 15, 2015 20:10:16 GMT -5
Soccerhouse,
Thanks for being an administrator of a great tool for those who want to learn or be enlightened on GA soccer. There was a similar board in MI but I couldn't find one in NC. However, I came across this by chance in one of my many Google searches, not sure how you could make it easier to find in a search. Anyways thanks again!
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Post by spectator on Oct 15, 2015 20:42:46 GMT -5
If you are looking at homes in Roswell/Alpharetta/Johns Creek/Duluth areas: For boys 1. UFA Forsyth - they're trying to get a UFA Milton (Roswell) going but it's not there yet. You can contact UFA and ask where more teams for your son's age group are. 2. Concorde - although they are all over so depending on which team he makes and what level, you could end up at Concorde Central (Perimeter area - and that's an hour commute from the north side on a good traffic day - note, Atlanta has exactly five good traffic days per year so you can do that math). 3. GSA or UFA Norcross - maybe - not sure how strong the boys teams are there and that too could be a haul. 4. Roswell Santos - good location, beautiful fields, teeny tiny club and not growing much. From what you describe, this wouldn't be as good a match for your son as one of the larger clubs would be. EXCEPT He's U12. Still one more year of Academy. Your challenge if you start at a large club would be that he gets pigeonholed on a lower level team and in some big clubs it's an act of God to ever get moved up. If he plays at a smaller club for U12 with the full intention of trying out multiple places for U13, that could work in your favor. But it also sounds like you're not chasing the Elite Elite full ride D1 scholarship crazy bus either so my recommendation would also be UFA or Concorde. Smart move on the housing choice, too. South Forsyth County has good schools, lots of new developments, nice area. Getting a little congested up that way but what place with good schools and new developments isn't? Alpharetta is a bit of crap shoot with schools and traffic. Roswell is a great town - has been written up as one of the best places to live a few years back and making the reverse commute up to a UFA or Concorde field wouldn't be bad at all. And just to throw one more wrinkle in the equation - should you choose Roswell, you can also look at NASA (North Atlanta Soccer Association) also a large club with multiple teams/levels. I'd say only if you moved into the Roswell area would I consider NASA - just for the commute - and if you came did come to NASA- you'd be mucking up my commute home from work! LOL Best of luck and welcome to traffic hell!
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Post by rifle on Oct 15, 2015 21:31:30 GMT -5
When will your son move here?
It'd be worth the effort to reach out to some of these clubs and see if he can join them for training at the end of Fall season or over the Winter. Moving during the soccer year (the season is fall + spring commitment here) is a unique opportunity.. a bit like free agency.
Tryouts are always right around Memorial day following the Spring season. All clubs hold them on the same 3-4 evenings, mid week. (some add an extra session on the weekend) and it is pure lunacy.
Some clubs schedule theirs early (roughly 5:30) and others later (say 7:30) so it's even possible to visit more than one club per night to tryout.
Showing up as a total stranger makes it harder; most clubs have pre-tryout camps.
Given the traffic around Atlanta, try to find something reasonably close to home or you'll become a slave to soccer.
I suggest larger clubs just because they have teams for every level of play and some will allow players to get extra game opportunities with higher level teams. If a team dissolves, the club can absorb players and re shuffle.
Small clubs can be good, some are very good at developing kids and "passing them on" to big clubs after U12, but numbers dwindle at ALL clubs as kids get older.. and at small clubs, teams often have a diversity of talent levels that will eventually cause them to split apart. It just happens despite the best laid plans.
I wish you luck.
Lastly, it's refreshing to hear a parent who recognizes his son's comparative level and isn't looking through rose colored glasses.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Oct 16, 2015 13:38:50 GMT -5
Great input from a great board!
You can't go wrong in your choice for development. Like the others have said, take your time,reach out and practice with each of them. You will find what you are looking for no problem.
Welcome to GA!
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Post by letissier on Oct 16, 2015 16:02:29 GMT -5
We have moved our kids between Ambush, Concorde, Rush and UFA Forsyth. Friends have been at UFA Norcross.
David Eristavi is very good at Ambush if you can get on his team. They have a turf field.
Ryan Austin is very good at Concorde. Our friends like Maduka. They do not have any turf, so you miss a lot of training due to rain.
We like the coaches at Rush. You get an extra day doing fitness training and they have an indoor facility, but are a smaller club.
UFA Forsyth has some very good coaches. They offer extra group skills training on a Friday night at a cost - but the sessions are very good. They have turf fields.
UFA Norcross coaches seem pretty good from what I've seen. My daughter has attended some training there. They also have an indoor facility.
There is competition between the clubs to attract the best players. They want to win the games and move up, so they can attract some better players and more teams. It is better to be in the top half of the team.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Oct 16, 2015 22:56:53 GMT -5
Love David at Ambush...
Just to confirm.... Ryan is a good coach and all of Ryan's teams haven't missed a training yet due to rain. When it rains they go indoors.
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