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OT: travel soccer in NJ

UMRU

UMRU

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Sep 19, 2006
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My daughters been involved in town associated travel soccer teams for about two years. It was an eye opening jump from recreation soccer - the variety of teams and levels and flights, etc were totally unknown to me.

Now, starting in Spring, I will have one daughter on a club team that plays in the EDP of NPL. Yesterday following an indoor game, I was approached by an organizer of GPS FC Bayern Munich who wants my younger daughter to join his club. They play in the JAGS league.

Any of you with more experience/knowledge who can explain the difference between EDP, NPL, JAGS, etc. and the different clubs like PDA, Stronghold, NJ Elite, etc?

Thanks in advance.
 
UMRU said:
My daughters been involved in town associated travel soccer teams for about two years. It was an eye opening jump from recreation soccer - the variety of teams and levels and flights, etc were totally unknown to me.

Now, starting in Spring, I will have one daughter on a club team that plays in the EDP of NPL. Yesterday following an indoor game, I was approached by an organizer of GPS FC Bayern Munich who wants my younger daughter to join his club. They play in the JAGS league.

Any of you with more experience/knowledge who can explain the difference between EDP, NPL, JAGS, etc. and the different clubs like PDA, Stronghold, NJ Elite, etc?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I don't know and don't want to know, what can tell you is your daughter should play more than one sport until at least high school.
 
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UMRU said:
My daughters been involved in town associated travel soccer teams for about two years. It was an eye opening jump from recreation soccer - the variety of teams and levels and flights, etc were totally unknown to me.

Now, starting in Spring, I will have one daughter on a club team that plays in the EDP of NPL. Yesterday following an indoor game, I was approached by an organizer of GPS FC Bayern Munich who wants my younger daughter to join his club. They play in the JAGS league.

Any of you with more experience/knowledge who can explain the difference between EDP, NPL, JAGS, etc. and the different clubs like PDA, Stronghold, NJ Elite, etc?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I was in the same situation as you where my daughter played softball for 2 years and lost interest. She tried out for my town travel team and made the B team. After 2 years we moved to another town because of the politics. This was the best move we could have made. It turned out this travel team was made up of girls from different towns that were supposedly not good enough for their own travel teams. Our girls all have chips on their shoulders. Our coach who played at Rutgers is the best coach I've been around. Very detailed oriented and has all the licenses except A which is the top license. Plus we have a Divsion 1 head coach as our trainer.

What I've learned about the clubs is Jags used to be a good league but has gotten worse. We play in EDP which is very competitive and organized. Academy teams like PDA, COPA, and others are in my opinion money making machines. You are paying way more money than a town team but the training will be much better in most cases. We have something special where we are and would never look to go anywhere else. How old are your girls and what town do they play in?
 
Interesting - we are also seeing the rise of travel lacrosse team and clubs
 
I will try knowing there are strong opinions either way.
Its been 6 years since my kids went this route so I assume some things change like the namews

So first lets say you lived where I did. In nj youth soccer you could try out for the Americans ( saddle river, upper saddle river, hohokus ) with no guarantees and play in the nj youth soccer leagues at ranges then group 4 up to premier that is determined by performance.

Within the context of that league the coach, club, could also enter Jags( jersey area girls soccer) and play simultaneously.
For most girls that should be enough and at that point not price prohibitive.

Their teams are professionally trained and that eliminates the parent / coach situations

But that is a strong program that feeds perennial state champs Northern Highlands.

If you played in the surrounding towns it is probably parent coach, trained with a once a week pro coach.

Its not about glory, entirely, but the girls realize quickly if they dominate practice you do not have suitable competition to advance yourself

Girls go to summer soccer camps and the really talented are recruited daily by their friends.
You mention the coach approached you inviting your girl. Back then he could receive communication but not initiate.

So next step Academies PDA, Match Fit, Tsf and others. these are not locals but rather girls from all over trying to be on the best team they can. Travel 3 practices a week, plus games, tournaments gets exponentially more expensive. Make no mistake this is a family decision because the travel is difficult.

Then they are not neighborhood kids but rather girls from everywhere with high opinions of themselves. The friends they left in town will resent them.

So next step if you are that good is super y league which starts in June after Jags ends. It is a northeast Us schedule with 18 games from June thru early August. You may have a game in Massachustts Saturday, and Maryland Tuesday.

But 6 years ago participation was by license with Pasco, Ironbound, Parsippany and one other Match fit.

So if you are good enough and want to play there you have only 4 teams to try out for.

I would say if you re here you are in 8000--10,000 for the year

Pasco also offered a two week summer Spain tour where you flay 5 teams and do film work on the teams you will play the day before a game. that's a start just trying to help and don't want arguments
 
My daughters played both travel/club soccer and softball. Biggest piece of advice I can give you is research teams. Some have no qualms in continuing to recruit new players even when they have a full roster. We have always been involved with teams that selected best from tryouts but once roster was set focused on developing their players as opposed to continuing to search for better players. We also tended to be on teams that had stable rosters from year to year rather than complete turnover.
 
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I have been waist deep in girls travel soccer for about 8 years now. My daughter played 1 year rec soccer (32 goals in 9 games), the town travel (120+ goals in 3 years) and has been on a high-level academy team for 5 years. We go all over (stretch in November-December where we did Bethesda, Long Island, Raleigh and Disney in about 5 weeks) and play the best teams in the country (going to CA in spring). A couple of things to consider:

- don't go for advanced clubs unless its obvious she has outgrown the team she's on. Self-esteem and playing time is more important IMO
- NJ is absolutely loaded with girls soccer talent so it gets very competitive very fast. PDA, Match Fit, Copa, STA are all big-time clubs and there are many more. Money matters to these clubs and they have B, C, D teams that they claim are feeders for the top clubs, but that's not really the case.
- Check out facilities - you can tell a lot by where they play games and where they practice; also where they train in the winter
- more girls play soccer than every other girls sport combined. If you're looking for college ships, much easier for some other sports (Lax and field hockey)
- having fun is most important - if she dreads practice or has anxiety in games may not be worth it. You don't want to start traveling all over kingdom come if its not the right situation - talent and desire-wise.
- the top league is ECNL and the next top league is NPL. EDP is a branch within NPL.

Just my 2 cents...
 
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I never realized how many parents of elite girls soccer players posted on this board.

My son has been on the same town travel team for the last 6 years. They've been in the premier flight of MOSA the last three years and next year they'll all be on the Freshman soccer team together. I can't imagine any elite soccer club could replace the friendships & respect these kids have have with each other.
 
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RUJohnny99 said:
I never realized how many parents of elite girls soccer players posted on this board.

My son has been on the same town travel team for the last 6 years. They've been in the premier flight of MOSA the last three years and next year they'll all be on the Freshman soccer team together. I can't imagine any elite soccer club could replace the friendships & respect these kids have have with each other.
Click to expand...
News flash,
They aren't elite, or I should say the percentages say they aren't, your kid will enjoy a far better life experience and if he's good, he'll be recognized by college coaches
 
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daveo13 said:
I was in the same situation as you where my daughter played softball for 2 years and lost interest. She tried out for my town travel team and made the B team. After 2 years we moved to another town because of the politics. This was the best move we could have made. It turned out this travel team was made up of girls from different towns that were supposedly not good enough for their own travel teams. Our girls all have chips on their shoulders. Our coach who played at Rutgers is the best coach I've been around. Very detailed oriented and has all the licenses except A which is the top license. Plus we have a Divsion 1 head coach as our trainer.

What I've learned about the clubs is Jags used to be a good league but has gotten worse. We play in EDP which is very competitive and organized. Academy teams like PDA, COPA, and others are in my opinion money making machines. You are paying way more money than a town team but the training will be much better in most cases. We have something special where we are and would never look to go anywhere else. How old are your girls and what town do they play in?
Click to expand...

You moved towns because of the 'politics '. The politics of the local mayor , council etc? Or the politics of local softball ? Just wondering .
 
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Did travel lax for 4 years. Son told me he didn't want to play in college so I am going to get my summer back this year
 
zappaa said:
News flash,
They aren't elite, or I should say the percentages say they aren't, your kid will enjoy a far better life experience and if he's good, he'll be recognized by college coaches
Click to expand...
Sounds good, but unfortunately, not true anymore. The best academy boy players skip HS ball altogether now and the best girls will be there soon too. The best boy player in our town did not play for HS once in 4 years and committed to a major college. College coaches just don't go to HS games anymore because the play has deteriorated so much - I heard that from 3 college coaches directly. Colleges do most recruiting at major club tourneys. I don't disagree that kids may enjoy life more without it though.
 
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Beancounter88 said:
Sounds good, but unfortunately, not true anymore. The best academy boy players skip HS ball altogether now and the best girls will be there soon too. The best boy player in our town did not play for HS once in 4 years and committed to a major college. College coaches just don't go to HS games anymore because the play has deteriorated so much - I heard that from 3 college coaches directly. Colleges do most recruiting at major club tourneys. I don't disagree that kids may enjoy life more without it though.
Click to expand...

That's really sad to hear. I know swimming has been like this for awhile, but figured it was just the nature of the sport. (Not enough good swimmers in most towns?)

There is something about playing for your hs (and town too!). School pride and involvement.
 
Plum Street said:
You moved towns because of the 'politics '. The politics of the local mayor , council etc? Or the politics of local softball ? Just wondering .
Click to expand...
The politics of the A team soccer coach who wanted to keep his team together and not bring any B team girls up even though some of the A team players regressed and should have been dropped. Granted at that time my daughter would be in the middle of the pack on the A team but now she would be the top 3 player on the A team. It's the bs I didn't care for. Meanwhile the team she is presently on the coach believes in performance and commitment unlike the other team that stressed keeping the same girls together no matter what.
 
Plum Street said:
You moved towns because of the 'politics '. The politics of the local mayor , council etc? Or the politics of local softball ? Just wondering .
Click to expand...
He moved to another town's softball team. He didn't sell his house & relocate the family.
 
Actually my daughter lost interest in softball and picked up soccer.
 
zappaa said:
Montclair high school varsity girls soccer has a half dozen girls commited to play in college.
Click to expand...
Zap almost all those girls play for Ashleys. An academy , large white bubble, near the train tracks
He turns out a lot of great players.
 
another note.
girls , because of the competition, make very good lacross players if they give up soccer. Even those that are not great players
 
zappaa said:
No question they grew up playing Ashley's or Montclair United, but they still played on their HS team.
Click to expand...
The best players do not play for Ashley's or Montclair United. Montclair United went downhill about 5 years ago and is just an average town travel program now. Ashley's came back and has started up Soccer Domain FC in Montclair. They have some good younger clubs and are trying to build. The top Montclair HS players play for NJ Stallions, Match Fit, YMS, etc. People expect in a year or 2, players for Match Fit's and PDA's top teams will not be playing HS ball. Risk of injury too high and those club seasons will be expanded to 9-10 months.
 
RUJohnny99 said:
I never realized how many parents of elite girls soccer players posted on this board.

My son has been on the same town travel team for the last 6 years. They've been in the premier flight of MOSA the last three years and next year they'll all be on the Freshman soccer team together. I can't imagine any elite soccer club could replace the friendships & respect these kids have have with each other.
Click to expand...

Johnny,

Small world. My daughter is in her first year for town travel in MOSA also. Team moved up to premier this past fall. I agree she has made great friends. Definitely a big step up from rec. She's improving but was a blow to her ego. She went from one of the best players on her rec team to one of the worst on her travel team. I'm proud of her! She keeps practicing hard and improving! She also plays travel Lax for our town too.
 
Bamm Bamm Rubble said:
Find a good FUTSAL league in an urban setting and save your money. The soccer trainer leash on to these clubs and drives the prices sky high.
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This.

Although coach quality has been exponentially improving since my travel days, there are still far too many coaches that resort to win at all costs tactics like punt-and-run.

Find a coach whose philosophy is to develop the player first. Good luck.
 
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miketd1 said:
This.

Although coach quality has been exponentially improving since my travel days, there are still far too many coaches that resort to win at all costs tactics like punt-and-run.

Find a coach whose philosophy is to develop the player first. Good luck.
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That's what amazes me about the team my daughter plays for. They control the ball up the field,until the find a seam for someone to take a run. Very few long balls. 9 out of 10 teams parents will compliment our team on how technical and beautiful of a game our girls play. All this from a parent coach. Rare indeed.
 
zappaa said:
I don't know and don't want to know, what can tell you is your daughter should play more than one sport until at least high school.
Click to expand...

That sounds so easy, but even rec teams play two seasons now (both fall and spring). If they play at a higher level than rec, training goes year round. So the second sport would likely mean playing two sports at the same time. Practice or games nearly every night, conflicting games on the weekends, etc. So while I agree with you, it is really hard to make this happen and keep my job.
 
I coached girls traveling soccer for many years (from U12 to U19), and am still a trustee on the towns soccer board. Daughter played rec (fall/winter indoor/spring), then town traveling (and rec at the same time), then for an elite team (World Class in Teaneck). World Class ended up costing us about 10K that year. Town traveling less than 1K. She played Div 1 college soccer the first year, then transferred to a Div 3 school. She was also a gymnast (from a toddler up until high school).

Just make sure she's having fun whatever she (and you) choose to do.
 
I bet if you pushed your kids as hard in school as you do in soccer they'd all be going to Ivy League schools and be set for life.
 
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UMRU said:
That sounds so easy, but even rec teams play two seasons now (both fall and spring). If they play at a higher level than rec, training goes year round. So the second sport would likely mean playing two sports at the same time. Practice or games nearly every night, conflicting games on the weekends, etc. So while I agree with you, it is really hard to make this happen and keep my job.
Click to expand...
I hear you.
I'm an old guy with an 11 year old and a 9 year old.
My 11 year is a good softball player and plays travel softball in the spring, I help with fundamentals and teach the kids how to communicate between pitches.
In the fall when I get a call from the coach asking is my kid going to play fall ball, the answer is no, she's playing field hockey...see ya in the spring.
 
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zappaa said:
I hear you.
I'm an old guy with an 11 year old and a 9 year old.
My 11 year is a good softball player and plays travel softball in the spring, I help with fundamentals and teach the kids how to communicate between pitches.
In the fall when I get a call from the coach asking is my kid going to play fall ball, the answer is no, she's playing field hockey...see ya in the spring.
Click to expand...

I miss the "old days", when soccer or football was in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring. Then the summer was used to play stuff like one-on-one football. I still laugh when I think of how the kid playing QB would throw the ball way high and then run under and catch as the WR. Kids don't seem to do stuff like that anymore.
 
UMRU said:
My daughters been involved in town associated travel soccer teams for about two years. It was an eye opening jump from recreation soccer - the variety of teams and levels and flights, etc were totally unknown to me.

Now, starting in Spring, I will have one daughter on a club team that plays in the EDP of NPL. Yesterday following an indoor game, I was approached by an organizer of GPS FC Bayern Munich who wants my younger daughter to join his club. They play in the JAGS league.

Any of you with more experience/knowledge who can explain the difference between EDP, NPL, JAGS, etc. and the different clubs like PDA, Stronghold, NJ Elite, etc?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
were you at TSF yesterday?
 
KingHigh said:
I bet if you pushed your kids as hard in school as you do in soccer they'd all be going to Ivy League schools and be set for life.
Click to expand...

Lots of assumptions there, KingHigh. My wife and I are both professors in the medical school - trust me, school and homework still come first; if it doesn't, they don't play. Plus if either one loses the interest in going to practice, etc. they would be done with soccer. But I'm not going to tell them to not play a sport - they really only get the chance to do this when they are kids.
 
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