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Post by southernsoccer on Dec 29, 2023 14:23:56 GMT -5
My daughter (07 ecnl) is looking at Tophat's Navy or Gold GA team for next year. Any thoughts on coaches Kyle Helton, Alex Munoz, James Garner, or Courtney Foster? We're not familiar with Tophat as a club, so insights into their coaching styles and overall experiences would be valuable. Happy new year!
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Post by unitedwestand on Dec 30, 2023 18:55:25 GMT -5
My daughter (07 ecnl) is looking at Tophat's Navy or Gold GA team for next year. Any thoughts on coaches Kyle Helton, Alex Munoz, James Garner, or Courtney Foster? We're not familiar with Tophat as a club, so insights into their coaching styles and overall experiences would be valuable. Happy new year! Why, would you leave ECNL to play on Navy? I'm just wondering; it doesn't make sense to me. |
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Post by atlantagray on Dec 30, 2023 19:16:02 GMT -5
Moving here from out of state, has friends at the club, closer to home, doesn't like current club, likes the color navy
There are a countless reasons why it would make sense
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Post by 04gparent on Dec 31, 2023 15:16:10 GMT -5
Moving here from out of state, has friends at the club, closer to home, doesn't like current club, likes the color navy There are a countless reasons why it would make sense Welcome to Atlanta... James (Troy) Garner is the DOC and is the lead coach of several age groups. Keep in mind next year the 07s and Fall 06s will be merged... Troy has a proven track record of development. I dont know Alex so I cant speak to him as a coach. Troy, Kyle, and Courtney will all focus and demand/expect quality foot skills. They will all want to put the ball on the ground and play that way. Good luck on your move to Atlanta and at whatever club and team you find yourself on. |
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Post by atlantagray on Dec 31, 2023 15:25:44 GMT -5
Moving here from out of state, has friends at the club, closer to home, doesn't like current club, likes the color navy There are a countless reasons why it would make sense Welcome to Atlanta... James (Troy) Garner is the DOC and is the lead coach of several age groups. Keep in mind next year the 07s and Fall 06s will be merged... Troy has a proven track record of development. I dont know Alex so I cant speak to him as a coach. Troy, Kyle, and Courtney will all focus and demand/expect quality foot skills. They will all want to put the ball on the ground and play that way. Good luck on your move to Atlanta and at whatever club and team you find yourself on. We knew what you meant 😂 |
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Post by soccerfan30 on Jan 1, 2024 12:51:50 GMT -5
All are good coaches who focus on technical skills and playing possession style soccer.
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Post by southernsoccer on Jan 3, 2024 13:53:08 GMT -5
All are good coaches who focus on technical skills and playing possession style soccer. Thanks! We don't know much about Tophat but is the difference between Navy and Gold determined by how well the players are able to meet those standards or is it more so that Navy is an overflow team for Gold? |
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Post by southernsoccer on Jan 3, 2024 13:57:01 GMT -5
Moving here from out of state, has friends at the club, closer to home, doesn't like current club, likes the color navy There are a countless reasons why it would make sense Welcome to Atlanta... James (Troy) Garner is the DOC and is the lead coach of several age groups. Keep in mind next year the 07s and Fall 06s will be merged... Troy has a proven track record of development. I dont know Alex so I cant speak to him as a coach. Troy, Kyle, and Courtney will all focus and demand/expect quality foot skills. They will all want to put the ball on the ground and play that way. Good luck on your move to Atlanta and at whatever club and team you find yourself on. Thank you! Yes we are taking that into account which is why I listed so many coaches haha. |
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Post by atlantagray on Jan 3, 2024 14:00:31 GMT -5
All are good coaches who focus on technical skills and playing possession style soccer. Thanks! We don't know much about Tophat but is the difference between Navy and Gold determined by how well the players are able to meet those standards or is it more so that Navy is an overflow team for Gold? Simply, Navy is Top Hat's 2nd team and Gold is their 1st team, but both Gold and Navy play in GAL. Similarly, Concorde Premiere is Concorde's 2nd team while Platinum is their 1st team and both play in ECNL. |
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Post by southernsoccer on Jan 3, 2024 14:01:13 GMT -5
My daughter (07 ecnl) is looking at Tophat's Navy or Gold GA team for next year. Any thoughts on coaches Kyle Helton, Alex Munoz, James Garner, or Courtney Foster? We're not familiar with Tophat as a club, so insights into their coaching styles and overall experiences would be valuable. Happy new year! Why, would you leave ECNL to play on Navy? I'm just wondering; it doesn't make sense to me. We are not leaving for Navy we are leaving to hopefully find a coach that doesn't make the entire team miserable. A coach that can demand high quality soccer while giving their players the tools to play high quality soccer. I don't care what color it is. |
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Post by rpsoccer on Jan 3, 2024 14:42:41 GMT -5
Why, would you leave ECNL to play on Navy? I'm just wondering; it doesn't make sense to me. We are not leaving for Navy we are leaving to hopefully find a coach that doesn't make the entire team miserable. A coach that can demand high quality soccer while giving their players the tools to play high quality soccer. I don't care what color it is. I know that Tophat will start with some pre-season training on following week, at their Marietta and Milton (Alex Munoz is the director there) branches. You might want to reach them to join and check if you like it. www.nasatophat.com/tophat-girls-coaching-staff |
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Post by atlbuster on Jan 3, 2024 14:49:54 GMT -5
Why, would you leave ECNL to play on Navy? I'm just wondering; it doesn't make sense to me. We are not leaving for Navy we are leaving to hopefully find a coach that doesn't make the entire team miserable. A coach that can demand high quality soccer while giving their players the tools to play high quality soccer. I don't care what color it is. Based on your criteria, Coach Kyle is the only one who fits the bill. |
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Post by southernsoccer on Jan 4, 2024 13:11:27 GMT -5
We are not leaving for Navy we are leaving to hopefully find a coach that doesn't make the entire team miserable. A coach that can demand high quality soccer while giving their players the tools to play high quality soccer. I don't care what color it is. I know that Tophat will start with some pre-season training on following week, at their Marietta and Milton (Alex Munoz is the director there) branches. You might want to reach them to join and check if you like it. www.nasatophat.com/tophat-girls-coaching-staffThanks! They start pre-season training this early? |
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Post by 04gparent on Jan 4, 2024 14:39:33 GMT -5
I know that Tophat will start with some pre-season training on following week, at their Marietta and Milton (Alex Munoz is the director there) branches. You might want to reach them to join and check if you like it. www.nasatophat.com/tophat-girls-coaching-staffThanks! They start pre-season training this early? U15? 9th graders? Preseason no. The Gold teams will go to a champions league showcase in March. That training will pick up later this month. I would not classiy that as preseason.. |
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Post by oraclesfriend on Jan 5, 2024 11:34:57 GMT -5
Not a fan of Munoz. We know several players who stayed on 05 Navy two years ago who could not stand him. We left to avoid him. He is a good technical development coach. Has always played the Tophat way even when he coached at LSA and UFA Norcross. But he has harmed a lot of girls’ psyches and negatively affected their love of the game. A few left last year’s 05 Navy team never to play again. Some of that was compounded by the previous coach.
Let me end the comments on him by saying that there are a few prior threads on here about him that are very negative.
As for Navy, despite being in the same league as Gold and being able to put players on D1 college teams (even DPL put two on D1 teams) Tophat treats Navy as second class citizens in some ways. Training fields are good generally, but game fields are sometimes crap. Unless things changed they don’t give you the GPS/HR monitor vests or upload your games as quickly for analysis. Not surprising, but this does cause them to lose Navy players and coaches.
Our kid learned a lot of quality soccer playing at Tophat in the GA. First year was great! The second year… well let’s not go there.
If you get the right coach it would be a great experience. I do like Kyle. I don’t know Courtney. Troy doesn’t bother with Navy.
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Post by southernsoccer on Jan 5, 2024 17:02:31 GMT -5
Not a fan of Munoz. We know several players who stayed on 05 Navy two years ago who could not stand him. We left to avoid him. He is a good technical development coach. Has always played the Tophat way even when he coached at LSA and UFA Norcross. But he has harmed a lot of girls’ psyches and negatively affected their love of the game. A few left last year’s 05 Navy team never to play again. Some of that was compounded by the previous coach. Let me end the comments on him by saying that there are a few prior threads on here about him that are very negative. As for Navy, despite being in the same league as Gold and being able to put players on D1 college teams (even DPL put two on D1 teams) Tophat treats Navy as second class citizens in some ways. Training fields are good generally, but game fields are sometimes crap. Unless things changed they don’t give you the GPS/HR monitor vests or upload your games as quickly for analysis. Not surprising, but this does cause them to lose Navy players and coaches. Our kid learned a lot of quality soccer playing at Tophat in the GA. First year was great! The second year… well let’s not go there. If you get the right coach it would be a great experience. I do like Kyle. I don’t know Courtney. Troy doesn’t bother with Navy. I'm sorry to hear that. We've been in that boat. Thanks for the honest review! |
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Post by weltzumerr on Jan 6, 2024 2:58:20 GMT -5
Not a fan of Munoz. We know several players who stayed on 05 Navy two years ago who could not stand him. We left to avoid him. He is a good technical development coach. Has always played the Tophat way even when he coached at LSA and UFA Norcross. But he has harmed a lot of girls’ psyches and negatively affected their love of the game. A few left last year’s 05 Navy team never to play again. Some of that was compounded by the previous coach. Let me end the comments on him by saying that there are a few prior threads on here about him that are very negative. sentinel miniaturesAs for Navy, despite being in the same league as Gold and being able to put players on D1 college teams (even DPL put two on D1 teams) Tophat treats Navy as second class citizens in some ways. Training fields are good generally, but game fields are sometimes crap. Unless things changed they don’t give you the GPS/HR monitor vests or upload your games as quickly for analysis. Not surprising, but this does cause them to lose Navy players and coaches. Our kid learned a lot of quality soccer playing at Tophat in the GA. First year was great! The second year… well let’s not go there. www.viberate.com/music-analytics/spotify-statistics/If you get the right coach it would be a great experience. I do like Kyle. I don’t know Courtney. Troy doesn’t bother with Navy. It sounds like you've had a mixed experience with the coaching and environment at Tophat, particularly with concerns about the impact on players' well-being and enjoyment of the game. It's essential for players and families to find a soccer club and coaching staff that align with their values and priorities. |
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Post by lajolla39 on Jan 6, 2024 11:32:04 GMT -5
Not a fan of Munoz. We know several players who stayed on 05 Navy two years ago who could not stand him. We left to avoid him. He is a good technical development coach. Has always played the Tophat way even when he coached at LSA and UFA Norcross. But he has harmed a lot of girls’ psyches and negatively affected their love of the game. A few left last year’s 05 Navy team never to play again. Some of that was compounded by the previous coach. Let me end the comments on him by saying that there are a few prior threads on here about him that are very negative. As for Navy, despite being in the same league as Gold and being able to put players on D1 college teams (even DPL put two on D1 teams) Tophat treats Navy as second class citizens in some ways. Training fields are good generally, but game fields are sometimes crap. Unless things changed they don’t give you the GPS/HR monitor vests or upload your games as quickly for analysis. Not surprising, but this does cause them to lose Navy players and coaches. Our kid learned a lot of quality soccer playing at Tophat in the GA. First year was great! The second year… well let’s not go there. If you get the right coach it would be a great experience. I do like Kyle. I don’t know Courtney. Troy doesn’t bother with Navy. It sounds like you've had a mixed experience with the coaching and environment at Tophat, particularly with concerns about the impact on players' well-being and enjoyment of the game. It's essential for players and families to find a soccer club and coaching staff that align with their values and priorities. To me it sounds more like someone had issues with the way they thought Navy teams were treated compared to gold. Interesting to hear since both Navy and Gold play in the same GA league and against each other. In theory Navy and gold could be #1 and #2 in league. This would alow both teams to attend GA finals. |
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Post by atlantagray on Jan 6, 2024 12:22:14 GMT -5
It sounds like you've had a mixed experience with the coaching and environment at Tophat, particularly with concerns about the impact on players' well-being and enjoyment of the game. It's essential for players and families to find a soccer club and coaching staff that align with their values and priorities. To me it sounds more like someone had issues with the way they thought Navy teams were treated compared to gold. Interesting to hear since both Navy and Gold play in the same GA league and against each other. In theory Navy and gold could be #1 and #2 in league. This would alow both teams to attend GA finals. I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but the navy team is a 2nd team. They are not a 1st team. Can a club's 2nd team be competitive in GA? Yes. Clearly. But as with any 2nd team, they are not given the same consideration as a 1st team. It's axiomatic. |
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Post by oraclesfriend on Jan 6, 2024 13:35:00 GMT -5
Not a fan of Munoz. We know several players who stayed on 05 Navy two years ago who could not stand him. We left to avoid him. He is a good technical development coach. Has always played the Tophat way even when he coached at LSA and UFA Norcross. But he has harmed a lot of girls’ psyches and negatively affected their love of the game. A few left last year’s 05 Navy team never to play again. Some of that was compounded by the previous coach. Let me end the comments on him by saying that there are a few prior threads on here about him that are very negative. As for Navy, despite being in the same league as Gold and being able to put players on D1 college teams (even DPL put two on D1 teams) Tophat treats Navy as second class citizens in some ways. Training fields are good generally, but game fields are sometimes crap. Unless things changed they don’t give you the GPS/HR monitor vests or upload your games as quickly for analysis. Not surprising, but this does cause them to lose Navy players and coaches. Our kid learned a lot of quality soccer playing at Tophat in the GA. First year was great! The second year… well let’s not go there. If you get the right coach it would be a great experience. I do like Kyle. I don’t know Courtney. Troy doesn’t bother with Navy. It sounds like you've had a mixed experience with the coaching and environment at Tophat, particularly with concerns about the impact on players' well-being and enjoyment of the game. It's essential for players and families to find a soccer club and coaching staff that align with their values and priorities. We did have a mixed experience and I think it is a great club for a lot of people. I still root for them. I am glad the won some age groups. I love the style of play and I appreciate that they follow the philosophy from top team to bottom team. I love that they encourage the kids to be comfortable with foot skills and teach composure under pressure early. I think it is the best training at the academy ages for sure. I don’t think that they should treat Gold and Navy differently with regards to fields and resources for the reason you mentioned. They have even had times when Navy has been right behind Gold, but that is how most clubs operate. Mainly it was unloading the game recordings that was the biggest deal since that affected ability to make clips and to show schools film. They have had a lot of trouble retaining Navy coaches and hiring good coaches from outside the club to take the Navy teams. That is a worrisome sign in my opinion. The best Navy coach they had the lost to Concorde ECNL in Eddie Hernandez. Finally I will say that what makes a good coach is in the eye of the beholder to an extent, but what I expect is that they treat the kids the same way I would expect other adults like teachers to treat them. I agree that the right coach for your player is very important. Too bad it is not easy to tell that in typical interactions one might have prior to choosing a team even with a lot of research. |
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Post by GAyouthdevelopment on Jan 9, 2024 7:47:48 GMT -5
Very simple. People are either looking for:
A coach who wants to recruit and win at all costs, OR
A coach who wants to develop.
Most families move around to be on a "winning" team while discarding the development side of things.
Whatever fits you...
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Post by lajolla39 on Jan 9, 2024 9:29:09 GMT -5
Treating 2nd teams differently from their 1st team is fairly common in soccer clubs.
GA clubs treat their GA teams better than their DPL teams.
ECNL clubs treat their ECNL teams better than their ECRL teams.
What makes Tophat a little different than most GA clubs is that they have 2 GA teams (instead of a GA and DPL team). Ideally Tophat would play both teams in a big pool and try to get both teams #1 and #2 in GA league. It sounds like this isn't happening likely because coaches want to get credit for all their efforts with the team and not share with other coaches. Might have also been parents who tend to hate pool play. Parents want someone to look down on and they don't like their kid being moved between teams.
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Post by rifle on Jan 9, 2024 11:18:00 GMT -5
Parents want someone to look down on and they don't like their kid being moved between teams. nailed it |
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Post by Lady Soccer Whistledown on Jan 9, 2024 16:46:29 GMT -5
My daughter (07 ecnl) is looking at Tophat's Navy or Gold GA team for next year. Any thoughts on coaches Kyle Helton, Alex Munoz, James Garner, or Courtney Foster? We're not familiar with Tophat as a club, so insights into their coaching styles and overall experiences would be valuable. Happy new year! Why, would you leave ECNL to play on Navy? I'm just wondering; it doesn't make sense to me. Agree 100% why would you leave ECNL at a crucial age of recruitment to Top Hat? The GAL league?? |
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Post by lajolla39 on Jan 9, 2024 17:22:21 GMT -5
Why, would you leave ECNL to play on Navy? I'm just wondering; it doesn't make sense to me. Agree 100% why would you leave ECNL at a crucial age of recruitment to Top Hat? The GAL league?? The logical answer is that the ECNL team they were playing on wasn't as good as Tophat Navy. Players and teams don't get better just by playing in a league. Some are terrible and will always be terrible. |
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Post by atlantagray on Jan 10, 2024 10:34:34 GMT -5
Agree 100% why would you leave ECNL at a crucial age of recruitment to Top Hat? The GAL league?? The logical answer is that the ECNL team they were playing on wasn't as good as Tophat Navy. Players and teams don't get better just by playing in a league. Some are terrible and will always be terrible. Just my two cents: The way this thread has gone, I suggest the forum have sub-forums for, at least, ECNL Girls, GA Girls. The fact that ECNL was mentioned immediately after op said they were looking SPECIFICALLY at a GA club doesn't help the conversation and muddies the water for the specific question asked. Add to it responses like this above- it's not "logical" that the ECNL team wasn't as good as Tophat navy- there are so so many reasons why players change clubs and to reduce it down to this and imply that it is 'logically' or 'obviously' the reason why someone makes a decision is intellectually dishonest and shows clear bias I hate to be "stay on topic" guy- I'm only saying that if this original question was posed in a GA Girls sub forum, I think it would have elicited more clear and effective responses for the op I also think clearly divided sub-forums will increase forum engagement as an added benefit |
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Post by triffling on Jan 11, 2024 16:25:13 GMT -5
Treating 2nd teams differently from their 1st team is fairly common in soccer clubs. GA clubs treat their GA teams better than their DPL teams. ECNL clubs treat their ECNL teams better than their ECRL teams. What makes Tophat a little different than most GA clubs is that they have 2 GA teams (instead of a GA and DPL team). Ideally Tophat would play both teams in a big pool and try to get both teams #1 and #2 in GA league. It sounds like this isn't happening likely because coaches want to get credit for all their efforts with the team and not share with other coaches. Might have also been parents who tend to hate pool play. Parents want someone to look down on and they don't like their kid being moved between teams. 1. Tophat has 2 GL teams and one DPL team. 2. You cannot do pool play between two teams in the same competition. That applies to both Tophat GA Gold and Navy and Concorde ECNL platinum and premier. What you can do is have a player on DPL or ECNL-RL play up (or down). |
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Post by lajolla39 on Jan 11, 2024 18:23:37 GMT -5
Treating 2nd teams differently from their 1st team is fairly common in soccer clubs. GA clubs treat their GA teams better than their DPL teams. ECNL clubs treat their ECNL teams better than their ECRL teams. What makes Tophat a little different than most GA clubs is that they have 2 GA teams (instead of a GA and DPL team). Ideally Tophat would play both teams in a big pool and try to get both teams #1 and #2 in GA league. It sounds like this isn't happening likely because coaches want to get credit for all their efforts with the team and not share with other coaches. Might have also been parents who tend to hate pool play. Parents want someone to look down on and they don't like their kid being moved between teams. 1. Tophat has 2 GL teams and one DPL team. 2. You cannot do pool play between two teams in the same competition. That applies to both Tophat GA Gold and Navy and Concorde ECNL platinum and premier. What you can do is have a player on DPL or ECNL-RL play up (or down). Las time I looked the only rule was that players couldn't play 2 ECNL/RL games in the same day. Meaning you could run an ECNL Pool of both NL and RL players and pick who plays each day. But I don't know if there's some kind of special restriction for GA or ECNL clubs with 2 GA or 2 ECNL teams from running a single pool. |
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Post by atlantagray on Jan 11, 2024 23:09:47 GMT -5
1. Tophat has 2 GL teams and one DPL team. 2. You cannot do pool play between two teams in the same competition. That applies to both Tophat GA Gold and Navy and Concorde ECNL platinum and premier. What you can do is have a player on DPL or ECNL-RL play up (or down). Las time I looked the only rule was that players couldn't play 2 ECNL/RL games in the same day. Meaning you could run an ECNL Pool of both NL and RL players and pick who plays each day. But I don't know if there's some kind of special restriction for GA or ECNL clubs with 2 GA or 2 ECNL teams from running a single pool. The way the rosters work, and I'll use ECNL as the operating example (though it's effectively the same with GA/DPL,) is that a player can be rostered on ecnlR and brought up to ECNL, but an ECNL rostered player cannot play down on an ecnlR team. So, if you were to pool in that sense, a player who is rostered on ecnl could not be dropped to ecnlR. As for the example of concorde with 2 ECNL teams, pool wouldn't work in that example because premiere is a singular ECNL team with a roster, and platinum is a singular ECNL team with a roster. ECNL players cannot be rostered on 2 ECNL teams simultaneously. So you can't move a player from premiere to platinum for one game or move a player from platinum to premium either. It would be no different that moving a premiere player to play with the GSA team for a game. All of this is assuming league play. Non ecnl Tournies, friendlies etc outside of league play are not governed by those rules If a team manager or rules savant can confirm this (for both ecnl and ga) i'd love it |
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Post by atlnoleg on Jan 12, 2024 8:36:45 GMT -5
Only caveat to above explanation is players can be dual-rostered on ECNL/ENCL-R, thus a player rostered with ECNL can play ECNL-R since they are technically rostered for both teams.
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