Announcement

03-04-2008, 09:49 AM

Itâ€™s really difficult to predicate where teams will place this Spring. Iâ€™m sure the predictions will change from time to time as the season goes on. WAGS opens up in April giving teams plenty of time to prepare. Some coaches believe that state cup will be emphasized more than WAGS, therefore, will train their teams to peak at certain times of the year and preparation will vary from team to team. Chantilly is the obvious choice to finish at the top of the group leaving the other Virginia clubs to battle with one another. Thatâ€™s where it will be interesting. Thereâ€™s so much talent in the Northern Virginia area. In a 20 minute radius of one another, you have Chantilly, Mclean, Braddock Road, Vista, Loudoun, SYA, FC Virginia. Arguably some of the best clubs in the state. Iâ€™m sure the dynamics of several teams will change in the next few years and will most likely settle down by U16.

Answering the question in regards to SYA. They lost a keeper that is rated as the top keeper for this particular age group in the state of Virginia. I know she auditioned for both Chantilly and Mclean but will remain in the Richmond area for her club soccer this spring. With that being said, the other SYA is a quality keeper herself so I donâ€™t believe they lose that much in that particular area. The SYA back line will be key and their ability to play as a unit and an attacking style of play will be paramount for them to have a productive season. The other players who were reported to sign with Mclean during the off season were also key for SYA. The striker is probably rated in the top 5 at her position will add options for Mclean as well as the other midfielder who also left for greener pastures was a key component to the SYA success last Fall. This weekend will tell how their losses affected the team. With Loudoun, Richmond, and the Thunder on their plate, competition should be good.

The FC Synergy will be playing a age group higher from everyone else (U15) this weekend at Arlington. With 4 VA state ODP players on the roster and Coach Smith at the helm, the Synergy is right there with the other thoroughbreds. I personally think that the Omni and the Synergy will have the opportunity to sneak up on teams and surprise a few onlookers.

This upcoming weekend at the Arlington Tournament will give supporters an early snapshot of the WAGS clubs that are participating. On Saturday, SYA opens up with Loudoun 93 and on Sunday Mclean is scheduled to play VISTA sometime in the afternoon. At the Baltimore March Madness tournament, Braddock Road is scheduled to play Bethesda first thing Saturday morning. Thereâ€™s a lot of good soccer around and it will be tough to keep up.

I also have heard that the U13 VSA Heat signed on to play at the U15 Classic bracket this weekend which is a big surprise. In my opinion, I think it is more detrimental than developmental for a young team. I know they are a good team but the physical gap of a 15/16 year old compared to a 13/14 year old is huge. I would have rather them play with top U14 teams rather than the U15â€™s in the early part of the season. To each his own. Like I said before, development in soccer is a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line.

03-05-2008, 04:40 PM

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to check back after the tournament to get the latest thoughts!

03-11-2008, 07:31 PM

potomac soccer wire

Bourne, What's wrong with Potomac soccer wire?

03-23-2008, 08:58 PM

I think one of the things is the moderators are just dying to moderate.
Recently within a day or two of becoming the moderator for the Girls Youth Soccer The moderator asked someone not to ask the analysis of a team and their pick up of some new players. Something about lets just say they are nice young ladies added to the team or something. Oh yeah that would be very informative, Sounded a little trigger happy to me. :? It discourages people from posting.