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Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on Dec 7, 2020 13:59:18 GMT -5
I assume you know that your son has a high likelihood of landing on the bottom team, right? If a club is 5 teams deep at a particular age group, the top 3-4 teams are almost impossible to get on. Not only do they likely have full rosters, but they know that adding a new player midseason could disrupt their team dynamic. That doesn't mean your son isn't good enough to be on those teams. Just means they're not ready to take a chance on your son when they don't really need to. Now, there are a few things that could work in your favor:
- Sometimes upper teams will purposely go with smaller rosters, knowing they can pull up players during the season, depending on their needs. You could get lucky and find a spot on one of these upper teams if the roster is small and your son plays a particular position of need for the team.
- Injuries are always possible - one or two long-term injuries on a top team could create a space for your son.
- If one of the upper teams is struggling, they may take a chance on a new kid if they think it will make the team better.
All that being said, even if your son lands on the bottom team, if you think UFA Forsyth is the best club for him then it's probably best to make the move now as opposed to waiting until after the spring. Because new players always have a tough time getting on the correct/best team during May tryouts. Again, coaches lean toward a current player in the club over a similarly-talented kid who is new to the club. So getting into that bottom team before spring means all those U11 boys coaches will learn who your son is by word of mouth during the spring and before May tryouts, assuming he's as good as you say. And then during May tryouts, there's a better chance of him getting moved up to a team he truly belongs on.
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Post by erinmagee on Dec 7, 2020 15:05:15 GMT -5
Look into UFA Norcross. We are a smaller branch and there are still opps to be placed on a really good team. Since we have only a few teams per age group, there are more chances to play up or have movement. Coaching staff is great with high credentials. We have been at Norcross for over 6 years with 2 kids. Been very happy! If interested, I can provide a contact for tryouts as they are going on this week for spring.
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Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on Dec 7, 2020 15:15:17 GMT -5
Look into UFA Norcross. We are a smaller branch and there are still opps to be placed on a really good team. Since we have only a few teams per age group, there are more chances to play up or have movement. Coaching staff is great with high credentials. We have been at Norcross for over 6 years with 2 kids. Been very happy! If interested, I can provide a contact for tryouts as they are going on this week for spring. Was thinking the same thing, but I'm assuming he's looked into UFA Norcross? We're on the girls' side there, but I know the boys' side has good teams & coaches. |
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Post by upper90allday on Dec 7, 2020 17:02:08 GMT -5
10 min drive for the win ... plus Jack and Barat are great coaches.
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Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on Dec 7, 2020 17:11:57 GMT -5
Yes, I understand the starting at lower team thing, familiar with it. Bottom line, more teams/deeper roster is a better idea? UFA Norcross has 2x U11 teams. 10 minute drive. UFA Forsyth has 5x U11 teams. 30 minute drive. There are a lot more factors to consider than what you've mentioned above, but I get what you're saying about going to a deeper club. There are obviously a lot of positives to going that route, especially coming from a club that only has 2 teams at your son's age group. I just think it's worth your time to look into UFA Norcross. I know the boys' academy director very well (Sam Helliwell) since he also coaches an older girls' team at Norcross. Great guy, very helpful and won't B.S. you. |
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Post by Respect on Dec 7, 2020 18:49:57 GMT -5
UFA 10B Black C Raul Diaz Arce Raul Diaz Arce is a terrific coach. He was also a great attacking player in MLS and for El Salvador national team. |
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Post by oraclesfriend on Dec 7, 2020 19:53:04 GMT -5
I spent a number of years at UFA Forsyth. I have to disagree with Dunwoody because I have seen kids come from other clubs to UFA Forsyth for spring and get put on top and second teams. If the kid is good enough for first team he will get a spot. Rarely they are so stacked that they cannot add one kid.
I have heard great things about both Raul and Jacenir. Rafiq is fantastic but you said you are not expecting that. I do not know the other two. That being said remember that coaches are a very personal thing. I have loved coaches for my kids that others have hated and hated ones that others have loved. Usually I am with the majority opinion but not always.
Norcross is good for the boys. They do a good job there.
Good luck wherever you decide to go. It is hard to move mid year but sometimes you have to do what you know is right for your kid even when it is not easy.
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Post by Keeper on Dec 7, 2020 23:16:02 GMT -5
Our close family friend has a son playing for the U11 Premier team at UFA Metro Atlanta (formerly Brookhaven FC) and apparently have loved their experience this Fall season. From what I understand, they struggled a lot early in the season before eventually playing some decent, successful soccer recently. They also have an older son the same age as my oldest who plays ECNL at a “big 6 club,” so I usually (not always 😉) trust their opinions when it comes to quality youth soccer development. Wife and I have several kids all playing soccer at different ages and levels, likely not looking to take our older two over there as they’re happy with their current teams and love their coaches but we plan to have our Academy age kids at least tryout over there to see what’s what. Yeah Ufa Brookhaven’s boys academy is pretty decent and top notch, as long as you’re a top player. After that it can be tough for “B” and “C” level players to still develop and enjoy it as numbers are low. That and their girls program is still so mismanaged so it’s very boys heavy in numbers. |
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Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on Dec 8, 2020 8:29:26 GMT -5
Our close family friend has a son playing for the U11 Premier team at UFA Metro Atlanta (formerly Brookhaven FC) and apparently have loved their experience this Fall season. From what I understand, they struggled a lot early in the season before eventually playing some decent, successful soccer recently. They also have an older son the same age as my oldest who plays ECNL at a “big 6 club,” so I usually (not always 😉) trust their opinions when it comes to quality youth soccer development. Wife and I have several kids all playing soccer at different ages and levels, likely not looking to take our older two over there as they’re happy with their current teams and love their coaches but we plan to have our Academy age kids at least tryout over there to see what’s what. Yeah Ufa Brookhaven’s boys academy is pretty decent and top notch, as long as you’re a top player. After that it can be tough for “B” and “C” level players to still develop and enjoy it as numbers are low. That and their girls program is still so mismanaged so it’s very boys heavy in numbers. I have a buddy whose son plays for UFA Metro and would agree with this. 1st team in his age group is very good, 2nd team is a disaster. |
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Post by soccerparentx on Dec 8, 2020 9:32:00 GMT -5
Yeah Ufa Brookhaven’s boys academy is pretty decent and top notch, as long as you’re a top player. After that it can be tough for “B” and “C” level players to still develop and enjoy it as numbers are low. That and their girls program is still so mismanaged so it’s very boys heavy in numbers. I have a buddy whose son plays for UFA Metro and would agree with this. 1st team in his age group is very good, 2nd team is a disaster. Yeah, no... The first team plays low B/C level competition. They had two of their better players leave because they were dominated by UFA Forsyth Red (2nd Team) in a pre-season scrimmage. They don't have enough numbers for a first team, so some of the Premier players play on the Red Team (UFA Metro) and vice versa. It's still somewhat of a player pool model at UFA Metro. |
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Post by soccerparentx on Dec 8, 2020 9:46:01 GMT -5
Thank you all. So how are the teams at UFA Forsyth? First team is stacked at Forsyth. They have 12-13 kids. They will also pull from Norcross if there is an elite 2010 kid playing and they really want to put their best team in a tournament. (They will either play in the top division of their age group or play up in U12 if the competition isn't great in their age group) Like Concorde Central, your kid better be elite or have a good agent to crack that team. Second team is also pretty good. Well coached for sure. Solid team. You can go on the UFA website and pull down their schedules to see that they typically play A/B competition. After that, I'm not so sure. You seem well-versed in the landscape. Pull down the schedules from UFA Forsyth, Metro, and Norcross and look at the level of competition that they play. That will give you a good idea of competitiveness. |
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Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on Dec 8, 2020 9:49:02 GMT -5
I have a buddy whose son plays for UFA Metro and would agree with this. 1st team in his age group is very good, 2nd team is a disaster. Yeah, no... The first team plays low B/C level competition. They had two of their better players leave because they were dominated by UFA Forsyth Red (2nd Team) in a pre-season scrimmage. They don't have enough numbers for a first team, so some of the Premier players play on the Red Team (UFA Metro) and vice versa. It's still somewhat of a player pool model at UFA Metro. How do you even know what age group I'm talking about? I'm NOT talking about U11, I was referring to my friend's son's age group, which I purposely left out of the post. |
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Post by soccerparentx on Dec 8, 2020 10:00:53 GMT -5
Yeah, no... The first team plays low B/C level competition. They had two of their better players leave because they were dominated by UFA Forsyth Red (2nd Team) in a pre-season scrimmage. They don't have enough numbers for a first team, so some of the Premier players play on the Red Team (UFA Metro) and vice versa. It's still somewhat of a player pool model at UFA Metro. How do you even know what age group I'm talking about? I'm NOT talking about U11, I was referring to my friend's son's age group, which I purposely left out of the post. My bad. I thought the thread was about U11. I obviously did not read it close enough. My apologies. |
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floyd
Jr. Academy
Posts: 18
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Post by floyd on Dec 9, 2020 8:34:57 GMT -5
UFA Norcross Red compares well with their bottom team; UFA Forsyth White, though I think they would lose to their White Team.
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