Western Massachusetts soccer

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start your own club!

Duh why didn't I think of that!!?? Let me get right on that.

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Are there any quality clubs in western Mass? Sincere question.

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Anyone who lives in Western Massachusetts will know what a s**t show it is here when it comes to club soccer. Why is it that when someone comes looking for advice they are automatically a troll?

Because one could easily find half a dozen threads asking the very same question if someone really wanted that information. If OP is not a troll they're lazy as $#^@.

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Because one could easily find half a dozen threads asking the very same question if someone really wanted that information. If OP is not a troll they're lazy as $#^@.

Yes there are half a dozen threads asking the very same question, and a dozen responses accusing posters of being a troll or lazy. Welcome to talking soccer, where you'll find grown men and women acting like complete and utter fools. You will never get useful information here. You'd be better off going to a psychic or asking a crystal ball.

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All the west mass "premier" teams are full of town rec level players. Pay to play. Parents drinking the kool aid big time. All the decent players play outside west mass. Fact.

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All the west mass "premier" teams are full of town rec level players. Pay to play. Parents drinking the kool aid big time. All the decent players play outside west mass. Fact.

If any Mass kid is playing "premier," they are doing so in Conn. Fact.

Learn the lingo or post in yer own state forum.

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If any Mass kid is playing "premier," they are doing so in Conn. Fact.

Learn the lingo or post in yer own state forum.

What's the approved lingo

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What's the approved lingo

It's called club soccer here.

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All the west mass "premier" teams are full of town rec level players. Pay to play. Parents drinking the kool aid big time. All the decent players play outside west mass. Fact.

The level of difference in play between a good DA team and a good Town Travel team is relatively pretty small. Are they better, of course, because a concentration of the top athletic talent, not training.

For 95% of kids, Town Travel is all they need, but as with anything the more touches the better. So playing on a good local club team in addition to playing on a good Town Travel team, can help them improve relative to a child that only plays Town travel. This is the same state wide. Anyone traveling out east for anything below a DA Team, is just wasting their time and money, FACT.

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The level of difference in play between a good DA team and a good Town Travel team is relatively pretty small. Are they better, of course, because a concentration of the top athletic talent, not training.

For 95% of kids, Town Travel is all they need, but as with anything the more touches the better. So playing on a good local club team in addition to playing on a good Town Travel team, can help them improve relative to a child that only plays Town travel. This is the same state wide. Anyone traveling out east for anything below a DA Team, is just wasting their time and money, FACT.

I would include NPL and ECNL in that also as western Massachusetts clubs don't offer that. Again though, that is reserved for the cream of the crop and not your average player which is what you will find on all the club teams in the area.

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I would include NPL and ECNL in that also as western Massachusetts clubs don't offer that. Again though, that is reserved for the cream of the crop and not your average player which is what you will find on all the club teams in the area.

There is not any difference between an NPL, ECNL, and a top of the line NEP team. Not really much of a difference with a DA team, for that matter either. If your child is the best player on their team, try out for a DA team, if they do not make it, then stay local. You will get the same training without all the travel or expense. If they do make it onto a DA team, try it and if they are not in the starting 11, then quit and join Town Travel and a local club team.

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There is not any difference between an NPL, ECNL, and a top of the line NEP team. Not really much of a difference with a DA team, for that matter either. If your child is the best player on their team, try out for a DA team, if they do not make it, then stay local. You will get the same training without all the travel or expense. If they do make it onto a DA team, try it and if they are not in the starting 11, then quit and join Town Travel and a local club team.

Someone is pro DA.

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Someone is pro DA.

Not at all, I feel the return on the investment, does not out way the cost. The amount of time traveling to practices each week, to a DA team from Western Mass, will hurt the child academically more than any minor benefit they will get from playing against the slightly more athletically gifted players.

But each families situation is unique, so what I value might not be what you value.

So if you are hell bent on traveling outside the area, do it for some tangible benefit. Traveling far to go to a NPL or ECNL is just a waste of time and money, compared to playing on a local NEP team.

For that matter playing club only makes sense to me if your Town Travel program stinks, which none in Western Mass do, or if you want your child to get the extra touches to improve against the other players on their Town Travel team.

There is not a significant jump from Town Travel to Club. A minor bump up at each level at most.

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Completely agree, and speaking from direct experience

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Not at all, I feel the return on the investment, does not out way the cost. The amount of time traveling to practices each week, to a DA team from Western Mass, will hurt the child academically more than any minor benefit they will get from playing against the slightly more athletically gifted players.

But each families situation is unique, so what I value might not be what you value.

So if you are hell bent on traveling outside the area, do it for some tangible benefit. Traveling far to go to a NPL or ECNL is just a waste of time and money, compared to playing on a local NEP team.

For that matter playing club only makes sense to me if your Town Travel program stinks, which none in Western Mass do, or if you want your child to get the extra touches to improve against the other players on their Town Travel team.

There is not a significant jump from Town Travel to Club. A minor bump up at each level at most.

The return on investment does not "outweigh" the cost for an average player. You are absolutely correct. Which tells me your child is an average player. Tell me what town travel program in western Massachusetts is any good? Then tell me how the clubs in your area do it better. Then tell me how they compare to ECNL and NPL. I can tell you several major differences amongst the three different settings. Then tell me where those players all end up. You are not very well versed in soccer.