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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 23, 2023 19:12:50 GMT -5
Good evening,
With day 2 behind us now for SSA tryouts, do all kids make the academy? Or do some kids actually not make it and go Rec for fall and tryout again at next season? Im genuinely curious, I know it’s a lot of money so it’s not exactly in their financial interests to turn kids away, or am I wrong?
Thank you for the information!
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Post by soccerlegacy on May 23, 2023 19:46:18 GMT -5
Good evening, With day 2 behind us now for SSA tryouts, do all kids make the academy? Or do some kids actually not make it and go Rec for fall and tryout again at next season? Im genuinely curious, I know it’s a lot of money so it’s not exactly in their financial interests to turn kids away, or am I wrong? Thank you for the information! I can't speak for SSA specifically, but in general terms for most clubs, yes, they will just make another academy team (and another if necessary) if they have enough players interested. |
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 23, 2023 19:51:05 GMT -5
Good evening, With day 2 behind us now for SSA tryouts, do all kids make the academy? Or do some kids actually not make it and go Rec for fall and tryout again at next season? Im genuinely curious, I know it’s a lot of money so it’s not exactly in their financial interests to turn kids away, or am I wrong? Thank you for the information! I can't speak for SSA specifically, but in general terms for most clubs, yes, they will just make another academy team (and another if necessary) if they have enough players interested. Kind of what I was thinking, why tryout? Why not just pay to play? |
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Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on May 23, 2023 20:31:41 GMT -5
I can't speak for SSA specifically, but in general terms for most clubs, yes, they will just make another academy team (and another if necessary) if they have enough players interested. Kind of what I was thinking, why tryout? Why not just pay to play? Assuming they don’t do pool play (which I’m not sure if they do or not), then you have to have tryouts to determine team placements. |
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Post by ghostofgummer on May 23, 2023 21:04:59 GMT -5
Good evening, With day 2 behind us now for SSA tryouts, do all kids make the academy? Or do some kids actually not make it and go Rec for fall and tryout again at next season? Im genuinely curious, I know it’s a lot of money so it’s not exactly in their financial interests to turn kids away, or am I wrong? Thank you for the information! Given the state of SSA right now, anyone with a pulse, wouldn't put it past simon to sign the kid from the 6th sense either though, and a valid credit card will be signed. The good news is given the number of kids that leave every year, every kid wil eventually get a spot on the top team. |
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 23, 2023 21:19:30 GMT -5
Good evening, With day 2 behind us now for SSA tryouts, do all kids make the academy? Or do some kids actually not make it and go Rec for fall and tryout again at next season? Im genuinely curious, I know it’s a lot of money so it’s not exactly in their financial interests to turn kids away, or am I wrong? Thank you for the information! Given the state of SSA right now, anyone with a pulse, wouldn't put it past simon to sign the kid from the 6th sense either though, and a valid credit card will be signed. The good news is given the number of kids that leave every year, every kid wil eventually get a spot on the top team. What do you mean? Also, is there a “better” club we should be shooting for? |
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Post by ghostofgummer on May 23, 2023 21:23:04 GMT -5
Given the state of SSA right now, anyone with a pulse, wouldn't put it past simon to sign the kid from the 6th sense either though, and a valid credit card will be signed. The good news is given the number of kids that leave every year, every kid wil eventually get a spot on the top team. What do you mean? Also, is there a “better” club we should be shooting for? There is no one "better" club. Best advice is to find a coach and group of families your kid likes and let them be a kid on their journey through youth soccer. Every club has the good and the bad. |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2023 9:23:23 GMT -5
Given the state of SSA right now, anyone with a pulse, wouldn't put it past simon to sign the kid from the 6th sense either though, and a valid credit card will be signed. The good news is given the number of kids that leave every year, every kid wil eventually get a spot on the top team. What do you mean? Also, is there a “better” club we should be shooting for? I believe they're referring to some of the drama surrounding the club. I do not know anything other than what I've read here, but the Executive Director is getting some heat for various reasons, the SSA Northside location has lost their primary field, and high player/coach turnover. You didn't mention the age, gender, or which club location you were looking at, so I'll just share my experience. I have kids in both the girls and boys academy at the SSA Paulding/Kennesaw branch. On the boys side, they're switching from pooled play to set teams who practice & play together. Aside from that, the only "drama" I see is that the Central location is recruiting the best players from other branches into their more competitive programs. The coach of the elite team was, I've gathered, a reluctant volunteer (due to work, I think, but I don't know really). He's a great coach and the kids love him, but he hasn't committed to returning next season. Between losing good players and not knowing who will be coaching our teams, the parents are mostly just getting anxious from wondering what's going to happen with their kids. On the girls side, it's a different story. My daughter is on the younger end and the situation there is more of a mess. The girls are fine mostly, always a few "strong personalities" out there. It's really the adults surrounding the age group that ruin it. Now that TopHat is starting a LakePoint branch, which is where the SSA Paulding Girls Academy practices, the SSA director is swooping in to try and, from best we can tell, convince the parents of the elite team to stick around by bumping their current coach down to coach the second team while he takes over the elite team. I didn't care for the current coach's style; lots of punishment/negative reinforcement, laps being run by both groups of 40 something girls because of a mistake one player made in one of the groups but never actually says what the mistake was (tells them to "Figure out while you're running"), singles out some players publicly but talks privately with the top players...that sort stupid of stuff. She didn't coach my daughter, thankfully, but would this upcoming season and I don't know the director but, from what he's said of himself, he taught the coach he's replacing everything she knows...so yeah. I've moved my daughter to Tophat and I'm hoping she'll have a more enjoyable learning experience. |
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Post by ghostofgummer on May 24, 2023 10:02:44 GMT -5
Mostly correct and entirely reasonable response. I would just suggest looking at the number of coaches and players that SSA loses every year compared to the rest of the Big 5. Would indicate where there's smoke there's fire and a valid reason as to why everyone jumps ship.
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 24, 2023 10:08:57 GMT -5
What do you mean? Also, is there a “better” club we should be shooting for? I believe they're referring to some of the drama surrounding the club. I do not know anything other than what I've read here, but the Executive Director is getting some heat for various reasons, the SSA Northside location has lost their primary field, and high player/coach turnover. You didn't mention the age, gender, or which club location you were looking at, so I'll just share my experience. I have kids in both the girls and boys academy at the SSA Paulding/Kennesaw branch. On the boys side, they're switching from pooled play to set teams who practice & play together. Aside from that, the only "drama" I see is that the Central location is recruiting the best players from other branches into their more competitive programs. The coach of the elite team was, I've gathered, a reluctant volunteer (due to work, I think, but I don't know really). He's a great coach and the kids love him, but he hasn't committed to returning next season. Between losing good players and not knowing who will be coaching our teams, the parents are mostly just getting anxious from wondering what's going to happen with their kids. On the girls side, it's a different story. My daughter is on the younger end and the situation there is more of a mess. The girls are fine mostly, always a few "strong personalities" out there. It's really the adults surrounding the age group that ruin it. Now that TopHat is starting a LakePoint branch, which is where the SSA Paulding Girls Academy practices, the SSA director is swooping in to try and, from best we can tell, convince the parents of the elite team to stick around by bumping their current coach down to coach the second team while he takes over the elite team. I didn't care for the current coach's style; lots of punishment/negative reinforcement, laps being run by both groups of 40 something girls because of a mistake one player made in one of the groups but never actually says what the mistake was (tells them to "Figure out while you're running"), singles out some players publicly but talks privately with the top players...that sort stupid of stuff. She didn't coach my daughter, thankfully, but would this upcoming season and I don't know the director but, from what he's said of himself, he taught the coach he's replacing everything she knows...so yeah. I've moved my daughter to Tophat and I'm hoping she'll have a more enjoyable learning experience. He is 7 and we are also trying out for Paulding/Kennesaw. I thought I heard them say after try outs on Monday that it was going to be “pooled” players, did I hear wrong? |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2023 12:49:05 GMT -5
He is 7 and we are also trying out for Paulding/Kennesaw. I thought I heard them say after try outs on Monday that it was going to be “pooled” players, did I hear wrong? I don't know if you heard wrong. From experience, SSA frequently sends out incomplete or inaccurate information, or forget to include some parents in emails, but that's also people in general in my experience. On May 22nd, Hagan Robinson sent an email about this week's tryouts. The email included information for all age groups and, in that email, he included the following bit: Also, at the end-of-season party, he told all of the parents about the changes coming. He didn't explicitly say who would be affected but, since every age group was gathered together, I presume that all age groups would taking part in this. I believe Coach Hunter is the U8 boys coach at Paulding. I don't know him well but my daughter did practice with his U8 boys this season. Him and his assistant coach were wonderful, both to my daughter and to the boys rostered on their team. I attribute all of her progress this season to them (and her, of course). If either of them are coaching your son, I'd feel comfortable with whatever setup they've got going. |
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 24, 2023 16:27:34 GMT -5
He is 7 and we are also trying out for Paulding/Kennesaw. I thought I heard them say after try outs on Monday that it was going to be “pooled” players, did I hear wrong? I don't know if you heard wrong. From experience, SSA frequently sends out incomplete or inaccurate information, or forget to include some parents in emails, but that's also people in general in my experience. On May 22nd, Hagan Robinson sent an email about this week's tryouts. The email included information for all age groups and, in that email, he included the following bit: Also, at the end-of-season party, he told all of the parents about the changes coming. He didn't explicitly say who would be affected but, since every age group was gathered together, I presume that all age groups would taking part in this. I believe Coach Hunter is the U8 boys coach at Paulding. I don't know him well but my daughter did practice with his U8 boys this season. Him and his assistant coach were wonderful, both to my daughter and to the boys rostered on their team. I attribute all of her progress this season to them (and her, of course). If either of them are coaching your son, I'd feel comfortable with whatever setup they've got going. Fantastic information!! Thank you! Question for you, since we live in the same general area I presume, what do you know about GA Storm? |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2023 17:02:25 GMT -5
Afraid not. Only been at SSA (so far).
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 26, 2023 9:29:34 GMT -5
Good morning all, so my son was accepted into SSA, when will we find out what squad he made? I know they have different squads depending on skill.
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Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on May 26, 2023 10:46:08 GMT -5
Good morning all, so my son was accepted into SSA, when will we find out what squad he made? I know they have different squads depending on skill. The coach who offered didn’t tell you? Or did you just get an email from SSA with the offer? |
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 27, 2023 14:44:39 GMT -5
Good morning all, so my son was accepted into SSA, when will we find out what squad he made? I know they have different squads depending on skill. The coach who offered didn’t tell you? Or did you just get an email from SSA with the offer? I just got an email telling me he was accepted. |
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2023 9:43:18 GMT -5
The coach who offered didn’t tell you? Or did you just get an email from SSA with the offer? I just got an email telling me he was accepted. I’m not sure about anything above the academy age groups, but SSA doesn’t really talk much about which team your kid is placed on within their age group. You just kind of figure it out, at least on the boys side. On the boys side, they focus on trying to match your kids skill to that of his potential teammates. If your player needs to be challenged, he’ll get moved up eventually, just may need some patience for an opportunity to arise. Historically, you’d just find out when your kid got rostered with a different coach than normal. Now, they’re talking about individual action plans and stuff, so we’ll see how it goes this season. Can’t speak to the girls side, as my only experience is with the team the previous poster mentioned, where it appears the Team manager was building rosters with no input from the coaches. But they did clearly label which team your kid was on (Elite, Premier, A1). |
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 30, 2023 20:36:59 GMT -5
I just got an email telling me he was accepted. I’m not sure about anything above the academy age groups, but SSA doesn’t really talk much about which team your kid is placed on within their age group. You just kind of figure it out, at least on the boys side. On the boys side, they focus on trying to match your kids skill to that of his potential teammates. If your player needs to be challenged, he’ll get moved up eventually, just may need some patience for an opportunity to arise. Historically, you’d just find out when your kid got rostered with a different coach than normal. Now, they’re talking about individual action plans and stuff, so we’ll see how it goes this season. Can’t speak to the girls side, as my only experience is with the team the previous poster mentioned, where it appears the Team manager was building rosters with no input from the coaches. But they did clearly label which team your kid was on (Elite, Premier, A1). I got an email today for ordering Kit and it says “team 15/16B” and then his preferred number. Would that be the B team? Or is that just B for SSA Black? |
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Post by Oceanready on May 30, 2023 21:01:38 GMT -5
I’m not sure about anything above the academy age groups, but SSA doesn’t really talk much about which team your kid is placed on within their age group. You just kind of figure it out, at least on the boys side. On the boys side, they focus on trying to match your kids skill to that of his potential teammates. If your player needs to be challenged, he’ll get moved up eventually, just may need some patience for an opportunity to arise. Historically, you’d just find out when your kid got rostered with a different coach than normal. Now, they’re talking about individual action plans and stuff, so we’ll see how it goes this season. Can’t speak to the girls side, as my only experience is with the team the previous poster mentioned, where it appears the Team manager was building rosters with no input from the coaches. But they did clearly label which team your kid was on (Elite, Premier, A1). I got an email today for ordering Kit and it says “team 15/16B” and then his preferred number. Would that be the B team? Or is that just B for SSA Black? At our club, the “B” is for “Boys” and the G is for “Girls”. |
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Post by soccerdad2023 on May 30, 2023 21:02:31 GMT -5
I got an email today for ordering Kit and it says “team 15/16B” and then his preferred number. Would that be the B team? Or is that just B for SSA Black? At our club, the “B” is for “Boys” and the G is for “Girls”. That’s what I figured. This is alllll soo new to me, I have done baseball for soo long figuring out youth soccer is a whole new world. Lol. |
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Post by bogan on May 30, 2023 21:32:17 GMT -5
At our club, the “B” is for “Boys” and the G is for “Girls”. That’s what I figured. This is alllll soo new to me, I have done baseball for soo long figuring out youth soccer is a whole new world. Lol. …When you figure it out, please let me know… |
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Post by iamwhoiam on May 31, 2023 11:25:56 GMT -5
What do you mean? Also, is there a “better” club we should be shooting for? There is no one "better" club. Best advice is to find a coach and group of families your kid likes and let them be a kid on their journey through youth soccer. Every club has the good and the bad. You kid is not good enough. It’s ok. They won’t be good enough there either. Please don’t tell people before the year begins how great it is. Tell us after. Tell us after they get you there and then slowly your kid sees the field less and less. Then you figure it out. Hits you like a $5,000 weight. Good luck and PS. You can’t be the ghost of Gummer. You are the bs brother of Bentley. |
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Post by iamwhoiam on May 31, 2023 11:31:37 GMT -5
I just got an email telling me he was accepted. I’m not sure about anything above the academy age groups, but SSA doesn’t really talk much about which team your kid is placed on within their age group. You just kind of figure it out, at least on the boys side. On the boys side, they focus on trying to match your kids skill to that of his potential teammates. If your player needs to be challenged, he’ll get moved up eventually, just may need some patience for an opportunity to arise. Historically, you’d just find out when your kid got rostered with a different coach than normal. Now, they’re talking about individual action plans and stuff, so we’ll see how it goes this season. Can’t speak to the girls side, as my only experience is with the team the previous poster mentioned, where it appears the Team manager was building rosters with no input from the coaches. But they did clearly label which team your kid was on (Elite, Premier, A1). You are the problem. Your kid is not good enough. Just not good enough. So instead of dealing with that harsh reality you want to drag everyone into the quagmire. I have known the man that you speak about for many years. Coached both of my kids. He was honest with me when one was not good enough and the other was too good. Good luck moving forward. You will ruin your child’s experience more than you helped it. One of the kids you mention is mine. She pays to coach your kid in the end. She does it for your kid. Not for your feelings. |
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Post by user101 on May 31, 2023 12:07:40 GMT -5
The SSA girls Lakepoint director is mean. He’s rude and demeaning and those families who are jumping ship to Tophat Lakepoint have all mentioned it. My kids have independently witnessed his bad sportsmanship and commented on it. My son saw him repeatedly berate a teenage girl ref. I don’t want my daughter to have him as a role model four times a week. He’s very cocky and condescending. There is also a team manager on that side who is rude and condescending. Her daughter is allowed to play up a year for some reason. She was our permanent striker the first half of last season and probably scored two goals. These two people are the main reason people are moving from SSA to Tophat at Lakepoint. Basically, you need to make friends with that team mom if you want a lot of elite team playing time. It will catch up with them eventually. |
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Post by user101 on May 31, 2023 12:19:46 GMT -5
Wow, that must’ve been an incredibly tough situation to have to get on a public forum and talk such kind words about a little girl and a volunteer. I can only imagine that they are the reason that your daughter Alex Morgan was not playing. I’m sure Top Hat will be a much better fit for you.!
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Post by rifle on May 31, 2023 12:22:57 GMT -5
And a friendly “welcome to club soccer”. It’s toxic but expensive.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2023 12:39:25 GMT -5
I’m not sure about anything above the academy age groups, but SSA doesn’t really talk much about which team your kid is placed on within their age group. You just kind of figure it out, at least on the boys side. On the boys side, they focus on trying to match your kids skill to that of his potential teammates. If your player needs to be challenged, he’ll get moved up eventually, just may need some patience for an opportunity to arise. Historically, you’d just find out when your kid got rostered with a different coach than normal. Now, they’re talking about individual action plans and stuff, so we’ll see how it goes this season. Can’t speak to the girls side, as my only experience is with the team the previous poster mentioned, where it appears the Team manager was building rosters with no input from the coaches. But they did clearly label which team your kid was on (Elite, Premier, A1). You are the problem. Your kid is not good enough. Just not good enough. So instead of dealing with that harsh reality you want to drag everyone into the quagmire. I have known the man that you speak about for many years. Coached both of my kids. He was honest with me when one was not good enough and the other was too good. Good luck moving forward. You will ruin your child’s experience more than you helped it. One of the kids you mention is mine. She pays to coach your kid in the end. She does it for your kid. Not for your feelings. I'm not sure if you were directing that me or not but, regardless, that's an awfully mean take on what I wrote in reply to someone asking about the experience new parents have. Some of your latter comments, particularly around your experiences with (I think) one of the coaches and/or the team manager...frankly I'm not sure what you're referring to, which makes me think I may have been quoted by mistake. I expressed no opinion on the team manager, the coaches, or the placement of anyone's child. The only opinion that I've expressed was that "It's really the adults surrounding the age group that ruin it"; which, I have to say, feels more right today than it did the day I wrote it. That said, it's still just one person's opinion. I do not know you or your player at all, and I only know of the team manager/coaches from my personal observations and interactions, which were brief, limited, and largely uneventful. If it's working for you, great, and good luck this season. I hope you and your daughter continues to enjoy her playing time. As far as my kid's time on the team goes, she was correctly placed on the lower teams and received as fair a shake as any of the girls she played with. I know my daughter and I saw that the environment that I placed her in was not right for her. She came home from practices in tears because of interactions she had while at practice. Nothing bad or inappropriate, just upsetting for her. She's 8 years old and my only interest is in seeing her have fun. For us, that wasn't happening where we were, so we're trying something new. |
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Post by oraclesfriend on Jun 1, 2023 6:36:52 GMT -5
I’m not sure about anything above the academy age groups, but SSA doesn’t really talk much about which team your kid is placed on within their age group. You just kind of figure it out, at least on the boys side. On the boys side, they focus on trying to match your kids skill to that of his potential teammates. If your player needs to be challenged, he’ll get moved up eventually, just may need some patience for an opportunity to arise. Historically, you’d just find out when your kid got rostered with a different coach than normal. Now, they’re talking about individual action plans and stuff, so we’ll see how it goes this season. Can’t speak to the girls side, as my only experience is with the team the previous poster mentioned, where it appears the Team manager was building rosters with no input from the coaches. But they did clearly label which team your kid was on (Elite, Premier, A1). You are the problem. Your kid is not good enough. Just not good enough. So instead of dealing with that harsh reality you want to drag everyone into the quagmire. I have known the man that you speak about for many years. Coached both of my kids. He was honest with me when one was not good enough and the other was too good. Good luck moving forward. You will ruin your child’s experience more than you helped it. One of the kids you mention is mine. She pays to coach your kid in the end. She does it for your kid. Not for your feelings. You have posted quoting several people saying “your kid is not good enough.” While this person’s post MIGHT have been specific enough to identify them I doubt that is true of every post you quoted. It is rude to tell people their kid isn’t good enough especially when no one asked about their kid’s abilities here. Seems like you are trying to stir up trouble and hurt people just for the he** of it. Generally we try to keep the posts informative here. Please try to do better. |
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Post by ghostofgummer on Jun 1, 2023 7:32:57 GMT -5
His daughter is the coach that was being discussed. Can't blame him for being on edge, it's tryout season afterall. Just protecting his club, his kid, and his all expense paid trips to the World Cup paid for by youth soccer.
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Post by soccerdad2023 on Jun 1, 2023 7:52:22 GMT -5
This took an unexpected turn. lol.
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