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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 6, 2018 10:45:14 GMT -5
Should be interesting spring, especially on the boys side as Concorde has shown they are force to be dealt with. boys 15s Concords 15s still sit a top the group after starting the spring 2-2. Again unreal coaching job, lose arguable your top 2 players, and barely skip a beat. Crazy impressive. Atlanta uniteds 15s, are in the wildcard but is only by a game or 2. They have 1 win, 2 loses and a tie to start the spring. Off to a bit of shaky start. They lost 1-0 to IMG, the worst team in the group. That was a must win game etc. Look team is still successful, but given the volume of players brought in, I personally expected them to dominate the division from the start. The team is full of monsters! Kids that look like they could play for the 18s! UFAs U15s are 13th of 15 in the group, and need to wake up to make a push. It's going to be extremely hard to make a strong push given they play concorde twice and Atlanta United again. But the spring has a ton of games on the schedule. We will see, this is where coaching comes into play. Managing and Balancing your roster in a long spring season. So far this spring have 2 wins, lets see if they can keep up the momentum.
boys 16/17s Concorde sits 2nd and is very close to Atlanta, with 3 less wins, but only 1 more loss. Very impressive Atlanta is right at top, where they probably will stay, has they make a push to build on their fall. I'd expect very little slip ups as they prepare to defend their title UFA is sitting in 6th place, and has gained some steam. Can they keep it up and get some wins to make the playoffs. We will see, its a younger team.
boys 17/18s Concorde is right there again in 4th place and has a wild card spot. Can they keep it up in the spring. Will be interesting. But again very impressive. Atlanta is rolling along here in first place, not as dominant as last years squad, but currently 12th in the playoffs.
Girls Its safe to say, its Tophat and tophat. In all ages U15 and above, they have 2 loses! Only 2 loses. Thats crazy Shows ya the big difference between State cup and DA for girls. UfA dominated state cup, but struggling in DA. yes it is different teams etc, but you get the point. They do get a pass for it being year 1, and the volume of players that have left to Tophat/Concorde etc. The question will be in the future does UFA retain those top girls at the younger ages now that they have top level girls soccer. Obviously in the past, many studs left to play ECNL. UFA clearly as the best facilities of the group, hopefully that counts for something has they move forward.
15s. Tophat first place, with 1 of the loses, number 1 in the playoffs, enough said. Unreal! If i'm UGA, i just fill my roster with Tophat players.... Concorde in a very respectable 3rd place, and 13th for the playoffs. only have 3 loses! tough division! UFA the opposite with only 3 wins. They get a pass in year 1 and given players that have probably left the club to join others. Same could be said with the older age groups etc.
16s Tophat Tophat Tophat first place, number 2 in the playoffs. Only 11 goals against Concorde in 6th, and currently out of the playoffs. Surprised this team isn't performing better, but they really are only a few games out, so a strong spring will put them in a good spot. UFAs squad is struggling with only 2 wins and 36 goals against. Only 13 goals for also. Could be a tough spring, but this a team that really could use all those players that left for other clubs. So far 1-1 to start the spring, with Tophat and Concorde being their next 2 games! Ouch
18s Shocker, Tophat in 2nds place, but 11-0-4. Concorde in 3rd, and only a few games behind them. UFA in a respectable 6th, only a game or 2 out of the wildcard. Again have tophat and then Concorde next!
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Feb 6, 2018 11:33:58 GMT -5
Soccerhouse, spot on with your analysis. I agree with all your analysis, but would like to add some perspective on what is going on behind the scene. The AU U15s are in a world of turmoil right now. Road wins are going to be tough this spring since 4 of the boys are now banned from travelling this spring due to idiotic behavior on a road trip early in January. A whole new travel agreement had to be signed by everyone at AU to encompass the new rules. In addition, they have 3 other players out with broken legs serious enough to warrant crutches. I think the worse of that triple is out for up to 6 weeks. Concorde on both the boys and girls side is a welcome surprise. I honestly thought with ECNL and DA on the girls side it may water down their squads but glad it still looks like business as usual. Scary about the rumors of their DA program maybe not being in compliance with the USSF in not meeting certain requirements required of DA clubs. However, don't see that being a lingering issue. Finally UFA. Like you said they are in Year 1 of a full accompaniment of DA teams. The one prevailing issue for UFA is their cost. Other clubs either have the experience of ECNL to help lower the costs associated with travel or play gratis(AU). Currently, some of the players on the Girls UFA DA program are there partly/wholly because they can pay the $5k for travel alone. In addition to the regular fees, some families are paying $1k a month for fees and travel on a payment plan. That plus only having 2 other teams to play locally, I don't know how much they can really reduce those costs. Hopefully UFA finds some way to subsidize their costs with a sponsorship or a generous donor.
Let's not forget that there will be some changes to ECNL and maybe even DA landscape on the girls side, plus the movement of seven U14 DA teams being waddled down onto 3 U1 5DA teams next season on the boys side. All said, should be a fun filled and very interesting spring season.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 6, 2018 11:48:44 GMT -5
In regards to the 5k for UFA girls fee, its actually no different that what TH and CF are charging...its just set up differently. Its also not 1k per month, its more like 500, but yes its high nonetheless, but its also an overestimate and it will be recalculated in a couple of months, so far they have spent less in every trip than what they thought it would be.
TH charged something between 2000-2500, but this doesn't include any transportation, that means that most of the time a parent has to travel with their kids...this can get pricey specially for the really far trips that require plane tickets, also if a parent goes, they have to get their own hotel and other expenses and if they fly they need to rent a car. When you add it all up is it more or less?? the showcase in San Diego is almost a week long, and those are not cheap plane tickets and definitely cheap hotels (ask anyone who went to the ECNL showcase in San Diego last year).
CF I am not sure how theyre doing it? I heard from someone they got charged a base amount and then get charged as expenses come along.
So in reality is 5k reasonable? I dont know, but if its too much, the parents will get refunded...and keep in mind that this includes EVERYTHING.
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Post by gaprospects on Feb 6, 2018 11:52:33 GMT -5
Interesting details. One of the other things with the AU U15's is that one of the losses they've taken this spring was a game they won on the field but forfeited later. Just looking at game reports, it looks like they accidentally started a player who was suspended for yellow card accumulation and realized it too late.
Both the 17's and 19's at AU look good, but with the USL team beginning preseason next week, it will be interesting to see which players move up. I imagine some academy players will be heavily involved with that team, meaning other guys (probably from younger squads) will move up to take their place. Obviously, the level of talent they have is enough to where that shouldn't be an issue when it comes to results.
One other thing with regards to the older teams will be players lost to high school. I know all 3 clubs have been affected by that. Still, should be an intriguing Spring, hopefully as many local teams as possible can earn a playoff spot come June.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 6, 2018 11:56:32 GMT -5
Another thing that will be interesting in the fall is whether UFA will be awarded the 18s Boys DA? If not, then 3 teams will have to be funneled into 2 making tryouts even more intense.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 6, 2018 11:59:21 GMT -5
Another thing that will be interesting in the fall is whether UFA will be awarded the 18s Boys DA? If not, then 3 teams will have to be funneled into 2 making tryouts even more intense. Great point!! My assumption is yes they will, the fact that weren't given in this past year really doesn't make much sense to be honest given the quality the older age group historically has had.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 6, 2018 12:01:09 GMT -5
Yea I heard that they would be awarded the group this year, but nothing is a given anymore until we see it
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 6, 2018 12:09:44 GMT -5
Interesting details. One of the other things with the AU U15's is that one of the losses they've taken this spring was a game they won on the field but forfeited later. Just looking at game reports, it looks like they accidentally started a player who was suspended for yellow card accumulation and realized it too late. That is nuts. Just looked at the game card as well. Man, looks like they won 2-1 also. How do you make that mistake? Seems like it should be pretty obvious in the rules: If a player receives a caution in five (5) separate games of the same U.S.SoccerDevelopmentAcademyCompetition,he is automatically suspended from the club’s next fixture,regardless of location. If a postponed game is to be replayed from the start,any caution issued during that game shall bean nulled.If the game is not to be replayed,the cautions received by the team responsible for causing the game to be abandoned are upheld; if both teams are responsible,all of the cautions are upheld. ussoccer.app.box.com/s/sa8yetaxel2i5j1ob649mwnmxgm7r5jo
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2018 12:22:15 GMT -5
Amazing quality of information!!!
I'm just glad that boys are still being boys, put 20 fifteen year old boys on a bus and ship them away for 2 days, you bound to have problems and kids getting into trouble!! We are talking about 14 and 15 year old crazy boys!!! Standard! If kids weren't getting into trouble i'd be more surprised!
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 6, 2018 13:03:16 GMT -5
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Post by gaprospects on Feb 6, 2018 13:47:11 GMT -5
That pretty much covers it. The only other thing is that professional players can play academy games if they are young enough. So the USL team could sign a kid to a pro deal and move him back and forth freely, and it wouldn't count against the academy player limit of 5 per game. Of the 5 homegrowns on the first team, the only one I suspect will be playing youth events in 2018 is Bello. He'll probably spend 2018 split between USL, YNT camps/tournaments, and high level academy events like Dallas Cup and playoffs.
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Post by 04gparent on Feb 6, 2018 14:16:39 GMT -5
In regards to the 5k for UFA girls fee, its actually no different that what TH and CF are charging...its just set up differently. Its also not 1k per month, its more like 500, but yes its high nonetheless, but its also an overestimate and it will be recalculated in a couple of months, so far they have spent less in every trip than what they thought it would be. TH charged something between 2000-2500, but this doesn't include any transportation, that means that most of the time a parent has to travel with their kids...this can get pricey specially for the really far trips that require plane tickets, also if a parent goes, they have to get their own hotel and other expenses and if they fly they need to rent a car. When you add it all up is it more or less?? the showcase in San Diego is almost a week long, and those are not cheap plane tickets and definitely cheap hotels (ask anyone who went to the ECNL showcase in San Diego last year). CF I am not sure how theyre doing it? I heard from someone they got charged a base amount and then get charged as expenses come along. So in reality is 5k reasonable? I dont know, but if its too much, the parents will get refunded...and keep in mind that this includes EVERYTHING. Unfortnately fees for travel in DA is no higher than what it has been for ECNL. As a matter of fact the U14 DA teams have actually traveled less than the U14 ECNL teams thus far this year. Travel cost/fees are a big issue at all levels of soccer above Athena A. Only a big shift can fix this one. From a competition perspective, I agree it will be interesting to see if UFA can keep talent as DA matures. I also assume this is probably the reason NASA/TH now has alliance with LSA. The alliance should help to keep the talent pool big to draw girls from in house.
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Post by krazykickers on Feb 6, 2018 17:44:23 GMT -5
Amazing quality of information!!! I'm just glad that boys are still being boys, put 20 fifteen year old boys on a bus and ship them away for 2 days, you bound to have problems and kids getting into trouble!! We are talking about 14 and 15 year old crazy boys!!! Standard! If kids weren't getting into trouble i'd be more surprised! Actually quite the contrary. I was a team manager for a now U15 DA team last year and I can say without a doubt that our boys did nothing that would have warranted being banned from travel. The only thing that ever happened was noise complaints and that was usually just when the teams arrived at the hotel after traveling late at night for check in. So no it is not standard nor should it ever be considered standard for the boys playing especially on a DA team. If that team was that out of control at a hotel, then that was a coaching or chaperone problem and player problem. Those kids knew if they did anything wrong that meant less playing time. There should be more to this game than just teaching the boys soccer.
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Post by cantgetright on Feb 7, 2018 7:24:14 GMT -5
Keeping Crazy, completely agree here. "Boys will be boys" is so lame. Playing is a privilege not a right. You represent yourself, family and club. If what you did warrants a ban on travel, then that is unacceptable. They know the rules. My child has been travelling for years with teammates and no trouble that would warrant a travel ban. That is not boys being boys, that is spoiled, entitled, I don't give a shizat kind of kids.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 7, 2018 10:13:22 GMT -5
Agree boys will be boys might be a little bit excessive, but I think people are taking what was said a little to literally. If what they did, deserved a travel ban, it probably was bad and deserving. But I do know plenty of stories, of kids doing things on these trips, and not getting caught/or not getting punished as severely other than a single game here or there etc. -- hence no penalty etc. I've heard stories, where we were never even told what happened etc, similar to Butler and the superbowl. Kid violated team rules and was punished for it.
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Post by krazykickers on Feb 7, 2018 13:47:30 GMT -5
Interesting details. One of the other things with the AU U15's is that one of the losses they've taken this spring was a game they won on the field but forfeited later. Just looking at game reports, it looks like they accidentally started a player who was suspended for yellow card accumulation and realized it too late. Both the 17's and 19's at AU look good, but with the USL team beginning preseason next week, it will be interesting to see which players move up. I imagine some academy players will be heavily involved with that team, meaning other guys (probably from younger squads) will move up to take their place. Obviously, the level of talent they have is enough to where that shouldn't be an issue when it comes to results. One other thing with regards to the older teams will be players lost to high school. I know all 3 clubs have been affected by that. Still, should be an intriguing Spring, hopefully as many local teams as possible can earn a playoff spot come June. I got noisy just poking around to look for instances of 5 yellow card accumulations so far in the mentioned U15 group. I found another in the same southeast division as AU, Concorde has one that should be sitting out next weekend but on the NCFC team, 5th yellow card given on 2/3 which meant the player should be suspended the next game on the schedule of 2/4. On the game report is says not rostered/suspended but on the NCFC Academy twitter account the player is pictured with the starting 11 and says he assisted on the first goal at the 6 minute mark. Does make you wonder how often coaches forget the 5 card rule.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 9, 2018 22:23:48 GMT -5
In regards to the 5k for UFA girls fee, its actually no different that what TH and CF are charging...its just set up differently. Its also not 1k per month, its more like 500, but yes its high nonetheless, but its also an overestimate and it will be recalculated in a couple of months, so far they have spent less in every trip than what they thought it would be. TH charged something between 2000-2500, but this doesn't include any transportation, that means that most of the time a parent has to travel with their kids...this can get pricey specially for the really far trips that require plane tickets, also if a parent goes, they have to get their own hotel and other expenses and if they fly they need to rent a car. When you add it all up is it more or less?? the showcase in San Diego is almost a week long, and those are not cheap plane tickets and definitely cheap hotels (ask anyone who went to the ECNL showcase in San Diego last year). CF I am not sure how theyre doing it? I heard from someone they got charged a base amount and then get charged as expenses come along. So in reality is 5k reasonable? I dont know, but if its too much, the parents will get refunded...and keep in mind that this includes EVERYTHING. Unfortnately fees for travel in DA is no higher than what it has been for ECNL. As a matter of fact the U14 DA teams have actually traveled less than the U14 ECNL teams thus far this year. Travel cost/fees are a big issue at all levels of soccer above Athena A. Only a big shift can fix this one. From a competition perspective, I agree it will be interesting to see if UFA can keep talent as DA matures. I also assume this is probably the reason NASA/TH now has alliance with LSA. The alliance should help to keep the talent pool big to draw girls from in house. Spoke to a friend the other day, he was telling me about his friend's kid that plays ECNL at TH. He told him that when the season is over he will have spent almost 15k in travel fees. This is U14, I honestly don't know how some people can afford it
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Feb 9, 2018 22:46:34 GMT -5
One thing I have never understood is spending that much money on nothing more than a prayer and a wish. Not to be a doomsday naysayer but what if she chooses not to play in college or God forbid gets hurt. I would rather take that $15k over the next 4 years and invest the $60k+ and just pay for part or all of the college tuition and fees.
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Post by Keeperkeeper on Feb 10, 2018 13:27:55 GMT -5
15K seems a bit much. ECNL realigned their conferences so that the travel costs would come down. So, rather than travel to NC, South and Central Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama, the travel was restricted to mainly Florida and one game in Alabama. It amounts to 3 weekends of Florida travel and 1 to Alabama. But, that’s all the travel for the entire year. DA has far more travel for the entire year. So, unless they are staying at the 4 seasons every time they go out of town, I am not sure why they have already spent 15k. I do believe that ECNL costs vary by club. I know that some clubs have very strict travel guidelines to manage cost for parents. My friend is a team manager at AFU, and they kept their costs to around $250 per player for each of the three weekends ($750 for regular season travel). Now, there is the added cost of showcases. So, let’s say it’s $1500 (which it’s not because one is in Florida—and plane tickets are cheap) per showcase. That’s an additional $3000. So, you aren’t looking at 15k...maybe 7k when you add in parent travel and club training fee). I’m just curious whether or not these costs are not similar to some of the UFA teams that play RPL and National League on top of club fees and tourney/showcase fees.
I am going to say this, though. Unfortunately, I think we miss so many talented girls (and boys (but at least they can compete for a spot at AU)) because of the cost of the game—be it ECNL, RPL, or DA.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 10, 2018 19:07:15 GMT -5
This dad said that they will attend 3 showcases during their ECNL stint, one in AZ, one in TX and one in CA.
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Post by Keeperkeeper on Feb 10, 2018 23:37:02 GMT -5
This dad said that they will attend 3 showcases during their ECNL stint, one in AZ, one in TX and one in CA. Per the ECNL website, there is no CA event for girls this year. Maybe they are going to a tournament? That would be a Tophat decision, not an ECNL requirement. It’s also not an ECNL requirement to go to 3 national events (showcases) at u14.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 11, 2018 6:07:18 GMT -5
This dad said that they will attend 3 showcases during their ECNL stint, one in AZ, one in TX and one in CA. Per the ECNL website, there is no CA event for girls this year. Maybe they are going to a tournament? That would be a Tophat decision, not an ECNL requirement. It’s also not an ECNL requirement to go to 3 national events (showcases) at u14. I wouldn't know personally where their tournaments are or showcases. But i guess NTH does attend that many events every year. I do know that AFU doesn't, dont know about CF. I never said it was a requirement by ECNL, just telling you about this one dad comment.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 11, 2018 10:35:11 GMT -5
I think UFA had the only slate of games yesterday for boys DA U15 and over. Didn't get a chance to go to watch the UFA DA games yesterday, any results with Fusion? 15s need a win bad against a week opposition.
Today looks like the Tophat/UFA girls war. Any guess on the scores for the 3 older girls games?
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Feb 11, 2018 11:37:34 GMT -5
Wish I could go watch that since all 4 age groups are in play today. Haven't had a chance to watch TH this season. Probably going to be a bloodbath, unless the rain slows down TH. I think all the TH teams are highly seeded if the playoffs began today. Keep us posted on scores and events.
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Post by sleepdreamlivesoccer on Feb 11, 2018 16:11:59 GMT -5
...... UFAs U15s are 13th of 15 in the group, and need to wake up to make a push. It's going to be extremely hard to make a strong push given they play concorde twice and Atlanta United again. But the spring has a ton of games on the schedule. We will see, this is where coaching comes into play. Managing and Balancing your roster in a long spring season. So far this spring have 2 wins, lets see if they can keep up the momentum. Well, doesn't look like a good day for UFA yesterday against a week Fusion side. Must win games for the 15s. U16/17s escaped with a point, but Fusion is 2nd to last in the division, not really a powerhouse by an means. 15s lost 3-1 to an average Fusion team based upon the standings. Everytime the 15s take a step forward, they seem to take 2 backwards. Next up is Concorde, you have to get some points there, otherwise your looking at 11 loses. They have a ton of games in the spring though, so maybe they find something. I'm very surprised that UFAs 15s aren't doing better. Also have heard rumors of RD heading to Atlanta United, maybe it's BS, but will be interesting to see what happens. Either way, the 15s should be doing better than they are. The GA United team from last year wasn't that bad compared to their record this year.
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Post by 04gparent on Feb 11, 2018 19:40:54 GMT -5
Wish I could go watch that since all 4 age groups are in play today. Haven't had a chance to watch TH this season. Probably going to be a bloodbath, unless the rain slows down TH. I think all the TH teams are highly seeded if the playoffs began today. Keep us posted on scores and events. I am note sure of the older girls games today but TH 04s won 9 to 1 and TH 03s won 2 to 0...
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Post by putmeincoach on Feb 11, 2018 20:19:30 GMT -5
That Tophat 04 team is best I've seen in this age group by a wide margin.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Feb 11, 2018 20:32:40 GMT -5
The Tophat 2002/2001 team beat UFA 3 - 0
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 15, 2018 13:53:06 GMT -5
Finally catching upon some of these great threads!!! I missed this bullet --- This would be devastating news for UFA. Anyone heard anything about this. UFA and UFA Norcross have a lost a lot of coaches of the years, and even RD leaving Norcross to Fowler was a huge blow. His older boys teams were phenomenal for years under him. This would be a huge blow. Wasn't he supposed to leave a year or two ago and then AU changed their mind?
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Feb 15, 2018 16:46:32 GMT -5
Finally catching upon some of these great threads!!! I missed this bullet --- This would be devastating news for UFA. Anyone heard anything about this. UFA and UFA Norcross have a lost a lot of coaches of the years, and even RD leaving Norcross to Fowler was a huge blow. His older boys teams were phenomenal for years under him. This would be a huge blow. Wasn't he supposed to leave a year or two ago and then AU changed their mind? SoccerMom/SoccerWorld you are both correct to some extent. At the beginning, when AU was starting up the Academy DA program, RD was hired and all set to begin his work with the U13s (2003s) from last year. He came on board early to work on picking the eventual team that suited up last year for AU. However, in the employment on-boarding process, some youthful indiscretions came up. For the record he was upfront about it and it had nothing to do with sex/drugs/assault. Nevertheless, the BFOB didn't want to take a chance so the on-boarding process was halted. UFA-Norcross jumped at the opportunity to bring him back to coach regular academy boys AND the DA U13s for Georgia United. What is very intriguing in all of this was that the boys on the U13 team for Georgia United where made up mostly of boys who did not make the cut at the AU tryouts. Remember Richard Money was in charge of the AU Academy at the time not TA. What ensued was a deep rooted burning desire to remind AU of the mistake they made. So when RD's U13s played the AU U13s, he made sure to loosen the reigns and let his boys get after the AU U13s. They completely dominated and beat the AU U13s at every turn. That AU U13(current U15s) team was dismantled with half of the boys getting released and new boys being brought in. So i'm not sure how true the rumors are about RD going/returning to AU are, but we have to remember that TA is now in charge and he may be able to convince those in power that RD might be worth the hire, especially due to his coaching abilities and talent of getting more out of the boys.
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