AFU?

Since nobody else has replied, I will give it a shot. Had a daughter there for 2 years so really can't comment on boys coaches much, but they have many teams per age group and play in multiple leagues(SCCL, E-64, ECNL) so depending on the age group they can have maybe 3-6 teams assuming they have to fill at least one for SCCL, 1 each for ECNL-R and ECNL with E-64 being a composite team or maybe its own(I honestly have no idea how that shakes out).

AFU fees IMO are a little more reasonable(Ha!) since they do not charge out of county fees like some other local clubs.
Never had a problem with club communication, and the parents being on both sides were not as obnoxious as some others.
They play games on both turf and grass, depending on the level of play. Grass at SHP, George Pierce, Bunton and one field at Pinecrest while turf at Notre Dame and Pinecrest. The grass fields will close with a decent amount of rain(For example yesterday SHP, GP and Bunton closed).

hth

Never been a fan of the parking at Scott Hudgens. I don't have first hand knowledge if this will be true going forward, but my neighbor had kids at AFU last year and she says they use the Notre Dame Academy turf fields and the Pinecrest Academy turf fields for rain-outs...

It was rare for us to get another location last year during rain outs. Top teams have first dibs on the turf fields. Younger teams have futsal options. Our coach had film work during rain outs. He would chose an instructional video or one of our game films and ask questions of the players that they would have to turn in to him.

We also are not fans of that location for parking though we never were unable to get a spot. It is just dangerous as many people don’t let people back out easily. Like you could be halfway out of a spot and then someone comes flying down the lot. Plus some kids and parents are not careful where they are walking.

Last year fees were very reasonable for us especially since tournaments are included. This year the fees went up A LOT! We are apparently getting another showcase than we got last year. We are also rising U14. Personally I am ok with the higher cost with the added showcase but I know many of our families were not. They don’t see the benefit in that given they are still under high school age. I think they need more games because there is still a lot of tactics to be learned in this transition to 11v11. Last year it seemed like we were still getting the hang of it at the end of the season.

I did like how the team camp was managed with it culminating in scrimmages within the club. We also scrimmaged the team one level higher than we were many times during the season as well as the team one age older and one age younger. That was very helpful.

Someone said look at the record of the teams in ECNL but this doesn’t bother me at all. I care if my kid and the team are improving and developing, not how many times we lost one goal games or drew people we should have beaten. Of course it is more fun to win and you need to make sure they have some success over the years, but they put plenty of players in college (if that is your player’s goal) and they have many kids that get very strong and move to other stronger clubs later.

I have only had girl children but AFU is getting stronger in ECNL this year and I feel like they will keep getting better as I know kids who left “better” clubs to come to AFU ECNL in our age group.

Great info, thank you, will keep reading if more post!

Counter point, if most players are not playing with and against stronger competition at higher levels, then they don't improve as quickly.  If a team wins all of its games, then where is the development?  Why do the same forumites here consistently agree that your player should play at the highest levels so they can to improve?  Otherwise, all players would simply play rec and win every game and thus 'get better'.

In terms of specific competitiveness at AFU within ECNL and -R, no other club has seen the growth in winning percentages that AFU has seen, maybe because they started off the pace.  AFU is quickly catching and surpassing, in some cases, GSA and UFA.

From my experience, helping players into many collegiate programs through the years, college coaches look at multiple competitive levels for all kinds of players, winning or losing.  Character, Discipline, Heart, and Academics play as much of a role in recruiting as technique and tactics.

The poster is asking about rising U14. This is a rising 7th or 8th grader. The boy is not even done with puberty and may not have even started. No hurry to be on the BEST team or to be drawing interest. Too many people are in a rush.

The times when my older child developed the most it was due to time spent training on their own and with a club coach who was patient.

Better club than UFA. Focuses on developing players above all else. Weekly scrimmages. Better coaching than UFA. Good mix of grass and turf training. They practice on large field versus the tiny space at UFA Fowler. Good college recruiting program. Definitely worth checking out.

How big of a space do you really need? 1/4 to 1/2 field is sufficient.