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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2014 10:12:48 GMT -5
so from what i'm hearing, the Norcross and UFA merge is real. From a UFA perspective what is there to gain from this? better coaching. club is already too big in my opinion.
lots of logistics to work out.
paying the directors
do you create combined super teams at the academy level (u9-u12).
do you created combined super teams for u13 and above?
is this a push for ecnl for girls.
do you wear nike or adidas?
where do you train? fowler park ain't exactly easy to get to from 4:30 - 6:30 during the week from norcross area. i assume most norcross parents wouldn't be happy. and the reverse, it is a long haul to norcross when you live right next to fowler park....
concern on my end is it ends up like concorde, all the lesser players just foot the bill for the top teams and top players. I think concorde is a bad model, sending all the top players to concorde central at u13 and above, especially when the majority are coming from the north.
that being said, i'm just a stupid soccer parent, who knows nothing.
its unfortunate, but it seems that we are creating a system like the BCS in college football where only the top dogs can compete. but, i guess thats the purpose, field the best teams you can at every age group, regardless of past commitment to the club, coaching staff etc.
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Post by spectator on Feb 19, 2014 16:56:13 GMT -5
I think it's a bad thing for the kids at Norcross and hope they have other alternatives. UFA is a huge club spread out all over metro Atlanta - just like SSA. We had a friend at SSA that when her child got cut from the top team, since the second team was way south of the city, the only option was a very low level team at the location where they'd been previously. They ended up leaving for another club. I think traffic and scheduling will be a deciding factor with some parents - can't blame them! If the geography works out for the player, it's a good thing but for those where it doesn't, the options are pretty horrible.
I wish Norcross well - always thought the club and folks there are class acts. Unfortunately, based on my experiences with my own player's team, I can't say the same for the teams we've played at UFA. At least GSA is an option for some families who live out that way. Also, Roswell teams practice a lot at the East Roswell Park (east of 400) so that's a driveable option for any family from NSA who still wants a smaller organization. I want to see the smaller clubs succeed - they're great options for kids who don't want to get lost in the crowd at the mega club.
I'm sad to see the evolution of the mega clubs and traffic snarl ups with the field/team shuffle based on location.
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Post by zizou on Feb 20, 2014 13:02:22 GMT -5
This is obviously a complex topic, and it will be really fun to discuss in detail. I just wanted to post a quick note on relative size of academy programs. Norcross is not a small academy program. They actually had 314 registered academy players this year to UFAs 228 total. Those clubs may differ in size of Rec programs which might fuel the perception. If they merge, and their combined numbers stay the same, they still will be behind behemoths SSA (over 1000 across locations) and ConFire (over 700 across locations). They will be in neighborhood size wise of NASA (443), Cobb Y (415), and Inter Atlanta (340). Considering that these are combined academy player number for boys and girls, Tophat's 325 is pretty impressive.
Another comment is that obviously size does not equal quality. Both NSA and UFA have historically mediocre records of sending players to the next level compared to other clubs in the area (sorry Jack). I do not know why this is, but one must wonder about quality of coaching and/or player development at older age groups. This cannot be fixed by simply increasing number of players. This is obviously a complex issue with multiple other determinants (ECNL, Tophat effect).
If this is a move to get ECNL, how would this combined club possibly have a stronger case than Tophat? And what ECNL club in the area would get axed? It is pretty obvious given the records that Concorde is the only ECNL club from our area able to compete nationally across all ages (48-12-9 record across all ages). It appears there is not enough girls talent in our area to support 3 competitive clubs. Why would our area get another one? AFU is clearly the least competitive of the three clubs across ages (they are something like 20-40-8 across all age groups this season) but would they actually get cut?
Ok, this was not a brief note but it was quick!
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Post by fan on Feb 20, 2014 14:42:08 GMT -5
Zizou, is there a place where we can view registration numbers for all the clubs?
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Post by zizou on Feb 20, 2014 15:14:06 GMT -5
I got the numbers from Georgia Soccer. I had to ask for them.
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Post by zizou on Feb 20, 2014 15:14:15 GMT -5
By the way, I should say I do not have a bone to pick against any of these clubs. I really want to see what is best for youth development, and I am of the opinion that larger clubs and/or multi-club alliances can better serve their constituencies. But this is only under the assumption that they have good plans in place to support such development at multiple player ability levels.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 21, 2014 8:36:50 GMT -5
yea, i think the ufa numbers might be an underestimation of their academy system. i think they have close to 200 boys and 200 girls in the academy www.unitedfa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=274404but you are right, from what i here, their rec program is huge. |
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Post by zizou on Feb 21, 2014 8:54:31 GMT -5
What Georgia soccer sent me was the number of uniquely identified players registered with the club as an academy level player (U9-U12) as of start of fall season. Not the number of players identified at tryouts some of whom would have gone to multiple clubs and would be listed at multiple clubs as having made rosters. The numbers they sent are after that point.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 21, 2014 9:05:28 GMT -5
probably was "what do you mean my kid is going to be on the 4th/5th team, little johnny is amazing - have you seen his shot, he crushes it with his toe everytime"
thats the difference from when i grew up, we had 2 teams. a top and 2nd team. the system wasn't being driven by $$$$ and competition with other local clubs.
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Post by jack4343 on Feb 22, 2014 7:14:48 GMT -5
It'll be interesting to see how everything turns out. We have not received any official word from NSA and Tony regarding any potential merger. I'm sure there are benefits for both sides to justify the merger. While I'm not sure about the boys, the girl's side has seen a diminishing Rec program. From what I've learned from this board, you must have 1 Rec player for every Academy or Select player so merging with a club that has a large Rec program would definitely benefit NSA. I'm guessing that's why NSA started the affiliation with the Eagles club. (All speculation on my part though) While UFA does have Fowler Park, they also have a large training area off of McGinnis Ferry Rd that is closer for NSA kids. However, that being said, if either of my girls were to be moved to either of those fields, we'd have to leave NSA. We've been at NSA for 8 years (my oldest was 5 and my youngest was 4 when they started there) and our loyalties are there but it's alot of ask of my wife shuttling them so far for practice three or more nights a week. Heck, this week it's 5 days. I'll be there in a few minutes for a makeup practice at 9am. We live about 2 miles from Pickneyville and it works for us. We'd probably go to AFU as it would be more geographically desirable. There are good trainers at pretty much every club in Metro Atlanta and I feel you really get out of it what you put into it as a player. You dedication level determines your skill set for most players and you will excel at any club if you work hard. I guess we'll have to just wait and see...
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 24, 2014 20:52:15 GMT -5
No official word on our end. But the rumors are certainly floating around. UFA has a stronger girls program while NSA has a stronger boys program. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens, if this is anything like last merger then top teams will be run out of south and fowler.
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Post by spectator on Feb 25, 2014 20:39:16 GMT -5
It'll be interesting to see how everything turns out. We have not received any official word from NSA and Tony regarding any potential merger. I'm sure there are benefits for both sides to justify the merger. While I'm not sure about the boys, the girl's side has seen a diminishing Rec program. From what I've learned from this board, you must have 1 Rec player for every Academy or Select player so merging with a club that has a large Rec program would definitely benefit NSA. I'm guessing that's why NSA started the affiliation with the Eagles club. (All speculation on my part though) While UFA does have Fowler Park, they also have a large training area off of McGinnis Ferry Rd that is closer for NSA kids. However, that being said, if either of my girls were to be moved to either of those fields, we'd have to leave NSA. We've been at NSA for 8 years (my oldest was 5 and my youngest was 4 when they started there) and our loyalties are there but it's alot of ask of my wife shuttling them so far for practice three or more nights a week. Heck, this week it's 5 days. I'll be there in a few minutes for a makeup practice at 9am. We live about 2 miles from Pickneyville and it works for us. We'd probably go to AFU as it would be more geographically desirable. There are good trainers at pretty much every club in Metro Atlanta and I feel you really get out of it what you put into it as a player. You dedication level determines your skill set for most players and you will excel at any club if you work hard. I guess we'll have to just wait and see... Jack - depending on where you live, check out Roswell, too. Most of the older teams practice at East Roswell park across 400 toward Norcross. It was a haul for us but it was the selling point a few years ago when our old coach was talking to some girls from NSA about coming over. You already know the U13 team from your daughter's age group - Sharon is an amazing coach and she's staying with the group. (We're not there but I have friends at the club who are very happy with their coaches and teams - despite all the negativity and petty postings on the other forum). |
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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 17, 2014 14:21:24 GMT -5
any updates on the merge? I've heard its a done deal. no announcements made yet though, and probably won't be until we get closer to tryout times is my guess.
will be interesting to see how its handled.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2014 10:17:31 GMT -5
yea, the word i'm hearing around fowler is this is a done deal. i'm not close with ufa or nsa leadership, but seems odd to give up control of such a huge club that has some positive things going from a ufa perspective. i get it more for norcross, where there is not as much depth on the girls side. probably a push for ecnl more than anything as well. will be interesting if ga united becomes just ufa vs with nasa, lanier, afc etc.
not quite sure how this is going to impact kids, will kids have to practice some at norcross? or vise versa?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2014 8:36:33 GMT -5
any inside scoop folks?
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Post by jack4343 on Mar 28, 2014 18:42:20 GMT -5
Nope...observing radio silence over here. LOL! Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, parents are the last to know.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2014 12:34:03 GMT -5
still don't get what UFA gains from this. Size? better director i guess.
this will greatly change the landscape of soccer in georgia with 3 huge clubs.
concorde
ufa/norcross
ssa
DA already in place at 2 of the 3 giant clubs. SSA on the outside looking in, hence rumors of discussion with concorde.
you have to figure ecnl is the next thing on the minds of ufa/nocross.
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