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Post by sportsdad on May 12, 2017 8:26:13 GMT -5
New to board, just discovered it.
What is the best you you all go about finding information on the local academy soccer teams? It is hard to find objective parents, if you can even find them. The website information for each club is vague and almost the same for all clubs. I can get a single good/bad/indifferent from a few, but I have the feeling it is not a very good description of the overall club.
So how does one (me) go about getting unbiased or at least parent/player feedback about all of these clubs in metro Atlanta? Most of these clubs seem to have a very long response time, but that is understandable with upcoming tryouts and tournaments I see on their websites.
Edit for questions: Age 11 Girl Loves soccer but not extreme die hard. This will be third year playing Live in Alpharetta area. Not interested in any particular club yet. Most interest is overall development.
Thanks in advance!
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Post by Soccerhouse on May 12, 2017 8:33:35 GMT -5
Honestly -- this is a great place to start. We have parents and coaches from all kinds of clubs that participate regularly on discussions here. They can help provide feedback and most importantly contact information if necessary of key people to speak with at clubs. (either through public or private message postings)
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Post by rifle on May 12, 2017 8:40:04 GMT -5
What clubs are you interested in? What age(s)?
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Post by footy on May 12, 2017 8:55:10 GMT -5
Boy or girl? Where do you live?
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Post by jash on May 12, 2017 9:37:06 GMT -5
And what are your goals and your children's goals (if they have any at this point)? What is your tolerance for travel times?
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Post by sportsdad on May 12, 2017 10:07:04 GMT -5
Updated info to questions in original post.
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Post by allthingsoccer on May 12, 2017 10:24:08 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum. You are for sure in the right place.
U11/U12, so what is the birth year? You want something close or willing to drive 30+mins?
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Post by SoccerMom on May 12, 2017 10:26:48 GMT -5
Alpharetta area -- you have Ambush and probably UFA. Depending on how much you are willing to drive there are other options as well
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Post by allthingsoccer on May 12, 2017 10:35:11 GMT -5
Those are both great options. If you travel just a little bit further Concorde North is an option as well.
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Post by sportsdad on May 12, 2017 13:23:36 GMT -5
Thanks. Anyone have any first hand information or thoughts on the individual clubs in the area? Quality of coaches, competitiveness, size, "politics", cost, etc?
Thanks again for all the feedback!
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Post by infoguy on May 12, 2017 15:44:17 GMT -5
I would suggest UFA in south Forsyth - good academy and great room to grow - stay away from city run clubs. There's not much flexibility there.
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Post by allthingsoccer on May 12, 2017 15:49:39 GMT -5
Concorde or UFA would be my choices for girls
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Post by greenmonkey on May 13, 2017 22:33:27 GMT -5
When we moved to Atlanta from out of state we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of great clubs and teams in the U8-U12 age groups. Lots of advice and most of it great advice but sometimes it wasn't the "right" advice for either my daughter or our family.
Things to think about: Do you prefer her to have the same coach and the same team all season or would you rather she was part of a pool of players that had access to multiple coaches during training and games. There are pros and cons to both scenarios but one may work better for her player development than the other.
Does she want the flexibility to play other sports or activities? Some clubs may only have 2 mandatory trainings but the "optional" or "additional" trainings or development opportunities may not be as optional as you would prefer.
As for our player we made the "mistake" of choosing a "great club" and assuming that a strong performing club would give her the best coaching experience and learned in our case finding the right coach was more important to her player development than finding the right club.
Some clubs will start listing "coaching" projections on their website. Some clubs you just know who the coaches will be for the "top teams". Some parents may have started hearing "rumors" of which coaches at their clubs are taking which age groups. Etc etc etc
There are two bigger tournaments coming up next weekend. The UFA extreme cup and The NASA TopHat Tournament. If your daughter isn't already playing go watch a few of the coaches at the clubs you think you are thinking about. Ask the parents on the sidelines what they like about their coaches. Etc etc etc
One last thing you posted she is 11 is she 06 or 05?
The U12 Academy versus U13 Athena might make a difference in recommendations depending on her skill level.
Keep asking questions here now that you have had a chance to see a few responses. We just went through this ourselves so I can share more insight if you have more specific questions.
GM
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 15, 2017 7:40:39 GMT -5
All good advice, one thing we did was listen to suggestions and then whittled down the list based on coaches, location, facilities, costs, weather solutions, etc. We then went out to all the clubs we were interested in to see the coaches in action during practice. I also spoke with parents at the fields as to what they like and dislike about the clubs. I got more info from the interaction with the parents than anything else. You do have to make sure you don't get sucked into the vortex of parents who have an adverse feeling towards the club(drinking the Kool-aid or having an axe to grind). Good luck and let's know whom you chose and why...
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Post by greenmonkey on May 15, 2017 9:12:05 GMT -5
I forgot to mention in my long reply that many clubs will be having open house pretryout camps next week. That's a way for your player to get a small feel for the coach.
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