Agreed, the only club they could beat was Liverpool. That isn't saying much. Liverpool and Fuller Hamlets could get their a** kicked by most town teams.

At least liverpool was a lot cheaper, had great training, and treated people like family. One of my kids played there and the team was a good maple team. They do things right there. Hamlets were all arrogant and had nothing to show for it.

12 teams for the fall and 16 for the spring. Wow they still are around what do you know but my guess is that you already knew that. What happened your little superstar get cut by this irrelevant club.

Yes, but only one U14 team (girls) and no U13 teams at all. And only 4 more teams in the Spring isn't too impressive - if you field only 1 girls and 1 boys team in each of the age groups that's 8 teams. Clearly a club that is struggling to keep players and field teams at the older age groups.

Must have had a lot of turnover. Last year they had two u13 girls teams and now they're down to one. Also looks like coaching changes at least at the gu14, both coaches from last year are gone? All the smaller clubs are losing ground.

Yes all small clubs are in dire peril. Why don't the small club shut the doors ? Every player should go to NEFC or is it MPS ?

Eventually there will be 4 clubs, at least for girls, nefc, stars, mps and scorpions (maybe).
My daughter's town team has a player that plays for fuller hamlets and all I hear her mom yelling is "boot it", true story. If you want development you should run from fuller hamlets as fast as you can!

Oh yes, it will be so much better when there are fewer options for players. It will be even better when the likes of MPS monopolizes the market.

Just because an uninformed parent yells boot it does not mean everyone affiliated with a given club has the same mind set. That said, it seems there are a good many parents that believe in booting it. In many cases it seems to apply to coaches as well. On any given weekend there is a good bit of inelegant soccer being played.

The truth is almost all of the "elite clubs" are privately telling their players to boot it. Yes this is true! Most of the top teams only have a hand full of quality soccer players, the rest are made up of athletes who mostly play "up top". You know, the kid who is a little bigger, quicker, can dribble all day, bad touch, no vision. Most coaches believe this gives their teams the best chance to win. Its not the beautiful game, its a game where all that matters is the end result. "Boot it" is how we play in the US, get used to it!

What Liverpool and Hamlets accomplish with town level players is impressive. Good, solid coaches and great atmosphere, but they struggle to attain quality and top flight players. Even so, there are a number of successful squads. More bang for your buck here than at any of the bigger clubs.

This post is so dead on and yet you hardly ever hear it. Almost all of the premier soccer you watch in MA and throughout the region is a form of kickball. When you see a team playing just 70% kickball you remark "what a wonderful, possession-oriented style of play". Its like when Fox News came on the airwaves it seemed so bat**** crazy because all anybody ever experienced before was ABCNBCCBSPBSNPRNYT jibberjabber. If all you ever see is this English, direct, vertical, over-the-top, midfield-less game plan then seeing a team link 5 passes looks like joga lindo.

Parts of this story have been lamented a million times. We don't develop the kids enough technically. The coach needs the result for the parents. The parents need the results for their egos. And you can't get results for a long time if you are developing kids to play at high levels later on. The coach who is willing to leave the unskilled speedster at the top and let everyone kick it at her will beat the development-oriented U12, U13 and U14 team most times. The payoff for development simply comes too slow and its so hard to bring 11 (never mind 18) kids up to an entry-level competence for possessing the ball. So, when in doubt, when wins matter and when a job is difficult... Boot it!

Its hilarious to read these forums where Stars supporters accuse NEFC of playing kickball. And NEFC accusses Scopions of playing kickball. And Scorpions accuses Stars of playing kickball. And Fuller Hamlets accuses MPS of playing kickball... You are ALL RIGHT! But none of you are going to do anything about it.

It depends what you consider successful. Playing in low level maple divisions against no competition isn't getting your kids any better. Maybe you are 7-0 in the red division of Maple but that is a joke to anyone who knows anything about how the system works.(Don't kid yourself your coach is requesting you stay in a low level of Maple. ) You may be happy in your little pond with your solid coaching and great atmosphere but did you ever consider that there is a whole other world of coaching, training and players your kid could compete against. Who knows maybe it just might make your kid a better player. Don't sell yourself short and miss the boat.

Hello Soccer Mom,

If my child was cut from this club I would make sure she played a different sport. Re read my original post and you will see that my kids are older and do not play anymore. They were irrelevant before and still are as I can see. Div 3 maple is nothing to pay 2k for. But hey you have the money to waste. Enjoy your kid playing because if she is on this team she will be a JV player at best. Sorry to disapoint you. Anyone can take money and produce teams because Maple Soccer is not good anymore (watered down). Anyone can play. It is a glorified town / rec league. But hey you can go to work now and tell everyone that little Mia plays club soccer for a bottom feeder club.

Very true! Maple is a second rate town league. Sh** teams, crap competition, results get posted 2 days after games are played. It goes on and on. Pay $1500 to 2000 for nothing btw play in some crap tournament on the camp at $300 a night and you are above the cost of a real club. If you want to compete at a high level NEP is where the best clubs in the state are at. Stop trying to boost little Johnnys ego.