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Post by randomparent on Sept 11, 2020 10:14:53 GMT -5
A couple of questions about RDS tryouts.
1. Is this program a money grab or something of value?
2. Will each location have multiple teams, if so do they break kids out in levels at locations (e.g. You have a 1st RDS team, and then a 2nd, and a 3rd)?
3. The email says "By attending the try-out you are indicating a commitment to join the following program should your child be selected." I can read what it says, but do they expect kids to commit before even walking on the field? For example, if you kid makes the RDS but didn't like the process/tryout and do not want to move forward?
4. It runs the gauntlet from 8-14 years of age, is there a sweet spot for this program age wise or do all seem valuable?
5. Would you consider that your child actually made something if they made RDS? Is it the equivalent of making ECNL, SCCL/NPL, or just an academy team - I realize it is not a league just trying to get a sense for how many kids they take.
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Post by oraclesfriend on Sept 11, 2020 10:28:05 GMT -5
I believe it is of value if your kid likes free play and extra training. They did technical training for about 30 minutes, 1v1 or 2v2 or 2v1 for 30 minutes and scrimmage for the remainder.
I think they take most kids who are academy players so not necessarily like making ODP or ECNL teams as far as validation of their skills.
Location dependent on quality of the play.
I don't know of anyone who did not decide to join after being accepted so I don't know what would happen if you chose to say "no"
They split them by age but where we were they were not split by skill level in addition to age although stellar kids were playing with older players if they were not too big of a size differential.
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Post by oraclesfriend on Sept 11, 2020 10:29:28 GMT -5
oh and older kids less valuable than younger because the best of the best are not joining this program IMO.
It will depend on location though so you may want to say where you will go to get someone's opinion that has been there.
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Post by wolves97 on Sept 11, 2020 11:16:24 GMT -5
What locations do they have and is there a website or something to check out?
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Post by soccerspin on Sept 11, 2020 14:31:04 GMT -5
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Post by soulsurvivin on Sept 11, 2020 23:14:59 GMT -5
My son did the program when he was 8.5 at the Home Depot backyard location (Mercedes Benz). Overall, I would definitely say that the program was professionally run and extremely valuable. The program focused on technical skill and proficiency. Below are responses to your specific inquiries:
1. Not a money grab. Focuses on technical skills, provides the opportunity to play with other skilled players and highly qualified coaches. In fact the RDS coach for my son was recently promoted to coach the ATL UTD academy u12 squad.
2. This is mostly a training based program. Kids from 8-9 or possibly 10 train together. Then there are small sided games. In fact, the tryouts were just small games with very little engagement from coaches.
3. I believe the verbiage was such that you agree to pay the fees if accepted into the program.
4. The younger the better. Getting those technical skills early helps later on.
5. I think that it shows your kid has a baseline level of skill. When my kid made it, it was the first year of the program and Atlanta United had won the MLS cup. They kind of sell the dream of a pathway however. If you perform well in RDS with honors, then you potentially get invited to a Showcase. Good performance at the Showcase can potentially lead to ATL UTD juniors. Bottom line, the path to making the ATL UTD youth academy is a long road. The training equips you with skills to take back to your home club. They recommend that many kids do the RDS program multiple times, considering that it takes much repetition for young players to reach mastery as they grow and develop.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Sept 12, 2020 8:41:34 GMT -5
My son did the program when he was 8.5 at the Home Depot backyard location (Mercedes Benz). Overall, I would definitely say that the program was professionally run and extremely valuable. The program focused on technical skill and proficiency. Below are responses to your specific inquiries: 1. Not a money grab. Focuses on technical skills, provides the opportunity to play with other skilled players and highly qualified coaches. In fact the RDS coach for my son was recently promoted to coach the ATL UTD academy u12 squad. 2. This is mostly a training based program. Kids from 8-9 or possibly 10 train together. Then there are small sided games. In fact, the tryouts were just small games with very little engagement from coaches. 3. I believe the verbiage was such that you agree to pay the fees if accepted into the program. 4. The younger the better. Getting those technical skills early helps later on. 5. I think that it shows your kid has a baseline level of skill. When my kid made it, it was the first year of the program and Atlanta United had won the MLS cup. They kind of sell the dream of a pathway however. If you perform well in RDS with honors, then you potentially get invited to a Showcase. Good performance at the Showcase can potentially lead to ATL UTD juniors. Bottom line, the path to making the ATL UTD youth academy is a long road. The training equips you with skills to take back to your home club. They recommend that many kids do the RDS program multiple times, considering that it takes much repetition for young players to reach mastery as they grow and develop. Spot on with your responses. I will only add that you have to make sure where and when you choose to do the RDS it doesn't conflict with your actual team since there are no refunds or do-overs if you miss a session due to games/practices/tournaments... |
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Post by soccernotfootball on Sept 12, 2020 10:48:17 GMT -5
oh and older kids less valuable than younger because the best of the best are not joining this program IMO. It will depend on location though so you may want to say where you will go to get someone's opinion that has been there. I think it may depend on location. Every time my player has participated, DA and ECNL kids were in the group. As far as getting on at AU, younger is definitely better. They've pulled up kids from the youngest age groups. For older kids, it's fun - quality competition and quality coaches. |
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Post by soccerparentx on Sept 14, 2020 13:19:57 GMT -5
RDS is great if you feel like your current club is NOT offering the type of training that your child needs to develop. (i.e., the coaching that they get 2x to 3x per week is not meeting your expectations and the child's skill level). When we first started, it was with the intention of getting our son on ATL UTD's radar for the Juniors program / Academy. (Self-admission of parenting ego). But the reality is that if your kid is good enough, they know how to find you.
Last year, our son was basically in an advanced recreational program that called itself an academy-- so we needed to supplement his training sessions with a group of kids and coaches that challenged him. RDS is great for that.
This year, our son is in a better academy system and his training sessions are very similar to what RDS does during their sessions.
The other plus is that they are extremely professional. You don't have to deal with that one kid that is toxic (they won't tolerate it). These are professional and certified coaches that all know how to connect with the kids.
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Post by randomparent on Oct 4, 2020 17:27:54 GMT -5
A couple of questions about RDS tryouts. 1. Is this program a money grab or something of value? 2. Will each location have multiple teams, if so do they break kids out in levels at locations (e.g. You have a 1st RDS team, and then a 2nd, and a 3rd)? 3. The email says "By attending the try-out you are indicating a commitment to join the following program should your child be selected." I can read what it says, but do they expect kids to commit before even walking on the field? For example, if you kid makes the RDS but didn't like the process/tryout and do not want to move forward? 4. It runs the gauntlet from 8-14 years of age, is there a sweet spot for this program age wise or do all seem valuable? 5. Would you consider that your child actually made something if they made RDS? Is it the equivalent of making ECNL, SCCL/NPL, or just an academy team - I realize it is not a league just trying to get a sense for how many kids they take. Now that this program has went on for a few weeks I thought I would answer some of my own questions for the next person considering RDS. 1. The program does provide value but I would rate it lower than typical private training from a player development standpoint (also a bit cheaper). I think someone calculated it around $30 per session. So far, the sessions consist of a 30-60 minutes of practicing 1v1 moves against cones and then transitioning to against other kids. The end of practice is a scrimmage. I would say they are comparable to what we have at our club with more focus on the 1v1 moves / dribbling. 2. Our location appears to have broken the kids out into two separate groups but the kids do not seem to have noticed it. One group has 12 boys with two dedicated coaches, the other group has 14 boys with one coach. I thought that the coach to player ratio was odd. There has been no movement of kids from one group to the next that I have noticed. 3. I am not sure what would have happened if we would have tried to back out, but they sent an email where you had to click agree and give them your credit card number. 4. It seems more valuable for the younger ages. 5. So there are 26 kids at our location that made it, I believe 45-50 or so tried out. All of the kids trying out seemed like good players and I know of at least one good player that did not make it. With that said - I would not brag to anyone that my son does RDS. It just feels like a filtered training. I believe our location has 2-3 kids that are ballers. Closing thoughts are my son enjoys it. He has made a couple of new friends from other clubs. If we did it again in the spring it would be fine, if we skipped it that would be okay too. Would I change anything? - I would even out the player to coach ratio - I would mix the kids up more post tryout to see if the initial selection as the most accurate |
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Post by bogan on Oct 4, 2020 17:40:17 GMT -5
“Closing thoughts are my son enjoys it. He has made a couple of new friends from other clubs”
That’s one of the most important things-your son enjoys it...
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floyd
Jr. Academy
Posts: 18
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Post by floyd on Oct 6, 2020 13:19:17 GMT -5
Any idea on how RDS training is going at the Doraville site? Considering it for Spring
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Post by soccerparentx on Oct 8, 2020 13:57:25 GMT -5
Any idea on how RDS training is going at the Doraville site? Considering it for Spring I'm not sure if one of the posts was talking about Doraville, but they split out the groups in an interesting manner. There is a group under Coach Dean Atkins (Head of ATL UTD Training Programs) which is a mix of U10 / U11. I know of a few of the kids and they are on the top teams in their respective programs and age groups. (Roswell Santos, Concorde, UFA) The other group is primarily U11 and it's under another Coach. There are 2 girls and the rest (~10 boys) with that coach. Last winter I think they did a better job of separating by age group. But this session, I feel like they used different criteria since I saw U10s mixed with U11s. We are at the point where our son's club practices are pretty intense and RDS has become a place where he can get extra touches and make friends with kids from other clubs. But before that, we used it for his overall development and to help him understand that there are a variety of coaching styles. In the past, it definitely helped him develop as a 8/9 year old-- especially under Coach Kellington who now coaches the ATL UTD U12s. Hope this helps |
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floyd
Jr. Academy
Posts: 18
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Post by floyd on Oct 9, 2020 10:46:54 GMT -5
It does. Thanks!
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floyd
Jr. Academy
Posts: 18
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Post by floyd on Oct 9, 2020 12:05:19 GMT -5
It does. Thanks!
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