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[Big Youth]

Now that tryouts are being held, does anyone have any updates?

I've heard about five of the Federal Way Storm players migrated to FC United.  I also heard that the Snohimish Titans may have a key loss or two, and at least one of them won't be to Crossfire.

I've also heard that Jon M. already has chased off a bunch of the Emerald City pool.

Big news is EFC red GK quit and they are looking for a replacement!

Also know that a few of the boys from storm showed up at Xfire.  Anything else?

My sources say that EFC has more than solved the keeper situation.  No more news.

[Scorpion]

I hear there were only 11 players at the Storm 90 Green first try out,  so if the team does not have enough players back from 2005 for this year, who goes to Regionals?   And What did the FW club do to the boys of this team that so many would leave and give up on the Team?

[Big Youth]

I hear there were only 11 players at the Storm 90 Green first try out,  so if the team does not have enough players back from 2005 for this year, who goes to Regionals?   And What did the FW club do to the boys of this team that so many would leave and give up on the Team?

There appear to be some agendas that didn't mesh with a keep-the-team-together agenda.

Potential mistakes? Andy not telling the FW Board that he wouldn't continue coaching in the Club if he wasn't named coaching director.  Board naming director at a time when the defection could be fatal to the team.

One can hardly blame the boys for looking out for themselves in this situation.

[Squash]

I hear there were only 11 players at the Storm 90 Green first try out,  so if the team does not have enough players back from 2005 for this year, who goes to Regionals?   And What did the FW club do to the boys of this team that so many would leave and give up on the Team?

The team would still play together at regionals. Regionals are based on last years team..not the team or players at tryouts. I actually spoke to Andy the other day, and my understanding is he will coach them at regionals. If the boys / teams stay focused regardless of what happened they have a chance to shine at regionals and possibly have a chance at winning it.

[Sparta90]

Can someone clarify, As is currently looks there is not enough Storm player to  keep the P1 spot, so if 8 players move to crossfire with the coach, then would the crossfire team be able to keep the P1 status in the new club?

[Squash]

Can someone clarify, As is currently looks there is not enough Storm player to  keep the P1 spot, so if 8 players move to crossfire with the coach, then would the crossfire team be able to keep the P1 status in the new club?

No...status is assigned to the clubs. Taking kids to another club doesn't take the status as well. If Storm can't keep 8, the 1st place P1 team and state champs get relegated out of P1 and lose status completely.It would be back to LPT's  :shock:  it would be pretty shocking and probably a 1st ever given how good they are,

[Big Youth]

Can someone clarify, As is currently looks there is not enough Storm player to  keep the P1 spot, so if 8 players move to crossfire with the coach, then would the crossfire team be able to keep the P1 status in the new club?

No...status is assigned to the clubs. Taking kids to another club doesn't take the status as well. If Storm can't keep 8, the 1st place P1 team and state champs get relegated out of P1 and lose status completely.It would be back to LPT's  :shock:  it would be pretty shocking and probably a 1st ever given how good they are,

Generally true.  The team numbers actually belong to the Association, so a team with a P1 slot could move to a different club within the same Association, but not to a different Association.

If Storm cannot retain 8, they will not have a P1 slot.  And Crossfire must retain 8 to avoid losing their spot.

Storm still goes to Regionals assuming enough players stay committed to do it.

[Drfredc]

... I also heard that the Snohomish Titans may have a key loss or two, and at least one of them won't be to Crossfire...

Hmmm.... The Titans core seems generally intact, as far as can be determined from Sat & Sunday AM, but one never knows until after the next couple days.  There is one Titan core retiree from Mt Vernon, but that was expected...   The TItan parents and players generally get along quite well and look forward to adding some new faces to the extended soccer family that is club soccer at most every team.  

The Titan keeper's return is up in the air, but there were some reasonable to excellent options at tryouts.  He's more than welcome to come back as he saved the Titan's sorry butts in a couple close games last year, knows the new coach, but life won't end if it doesn't happen.  

As is probable with many P2 teams, there also looks to be quite a number (6?) of decent looking probably additions to the Titan core with several bubble players to sort out this evening.  What (P3-P4-District) teams some these new talents may be coming from is anyone's guess.  With most of this age group playing HS C or JVs, most are getting some intense schooling on playing with older aggressive players and playing/practicing every weekday so experience playing up a level or two may be gained faster than previous years.

If anything, the BU16 tryouts have proven to be somewhat brutal with three or more (new and returnees) slightly hobbled after attending several tryouts on Saturday and Sunday.  Some new talents came injured to the second tryouts to say HI to the coaches then sit on the bench to watch seems a good sign, IMHO.

[Scorpion]

So if Andy takes the team to regionals, do they have practices as a team as well as practices with their new team/s? And those players that are not with Andy's  Crossfire team, how do they feel, how does the new FW coach approach the situation does he allow the players to play for a coach who took players to a new team destroying his team and where do they practice on FW fields even though some of the players will not be paying field dues etc.

[Squash]

So if Andy takes the team to regionals, do they have practices as a team as well as practices with their new team/s? And those players that are not with Andy's  Crossfire team, how do they feel, how does the new FW coach approach the situation does he allow the players to play for a coach who took players to a new team destroying his team and where do they practice on FW fields even though some of the players will not be paying field dues etc.

Scorpion those are all valid questions, but the complete reality is simple.
 
Do the players let what's happened ruin what may be a regional championship run. Personally as a player, I'd work my hardest to go down as the BEST.

I'm positive that's what Andy wants, and I'm positive that's what these boys want. Fields..cost...relationships...paying for this or that are secondary.

Find a way as a team to finish the business..which is winning regionals, then when it's all over. I will welcome all the complaints about how sad and pathetic it is. I personally hate to see this happen.

These things happen..wrong or right.

I can say a few things ...Andy is one hell of a coach, and that teams was flat out AWESOME :mrgreen:

[SoccerFan90]

First of all FWU doesn't have a coach for the BU16 and that is one of the problems.  Yes Rob Walker is going to step in, but only temporary.  Right now even the new boys that are trying out are trying out without a coach.  Goodluck to everyone.  I believe one of the reasons the boys didn't stay as a group is because of broken promises and not feeling any committment from FWU.  They have to look out for themselves first and fore most.  
Andy is a good coach by all means.  Though he destroyed alot of hopes and dreams, he opened up new possiblities for them all too.
The boys will train together for Regionals and hopefully Nationals and their new coaches more than likely won't deny them this, as it will also reflect on them as coaches.
With all the upsets this tryout season it will make for a very interesting season.  It's a even field all across the teams.

[Squash]

First of all FWU doesn't have a coach for the BU16 and that is one of the problems.  Yes Rob Walker is going to step in, but only temporary.  Right now even the new boys that are trying out are trying out without a coach.  Goodluck to everyone.  I believe one of the reasons the boys didn't stay as a group is because of broken promises and not feeling any committment from FWU.  They have to look out for themselves first and fore most.  
Andy is a good coach by all means.  Though he destroyed alot of hopes and dreams, he opened up new possiblities for them all too.
The boys will train together for Regionals and hopefully Nationals and their new coaches more than likely won't deny them this, as it will also reflect on them as coaches.
With all the upsets this tryout season it will make for a very interesting season.  It's a even field all across the teams.

It is a shame for sure.

I can say with 100% confidence Andy loved that team.

I wish all of those boys the best of luck, and my hope is they put feelings and new teams aside and go to regionals and win it. I know last year, they did really well at regionals. This is a top notch team..one I will never forget watching.. One I always cheered for, and one of the best teams to come out of this state ..period :mrgreen:

[Boys90]

Well put, Andy was great with them, and they will be great still, it is just sad to see such a great team to play and watch go.  

[Madman]

Squash - Of course Andy loved that team.  He recruited all those players and they took him to 2 state championship and a higher-paying job.  That's what this is - a job.  He's a professional coach/trainer and he made a business decision.  Having talked with several of the boys from that team, most of them are mature beyond their years in the way they are handling this change.  Frankly, they display much more professionalism in their commitment to work together under Andy to be successful at Regionals than Andy did in the way he left FWU hanging.  As I stated in a different thread, he protected his own interests instead of the boys' by keeping the Xfire offer a secret until accepting, then recruiting players before telling FWU.  No matter what their problems, FWU did not deserve to have this sprung on them at the last minute.  At the end of the day, they are no different than any other 2nd-tier club trying to position themselves to operate in the new Super-club era.  He wasn't disrespected by them any more than coaches at other clubs fratically trying to select a DOC.  There isn't a club in Washington that doesn't have issues with politics in its administration.  It's the price of doing business.

[Big Youth]

Squash - Of course Andy loved that team.  He recruited all those players and they took him to 2 state championship and a higher-paying job.  That's what this is - a job.  He's a professional coach/trainer and he made a business decision.  Having talked with several of the boys from that team, most of them are mature beyond their years in the way they are handling this change.  Frankly, they display much more professionalism in their commitment to work together under Andy to be successful at Regionals than Andy did in the way he left FWU hanging.  As I stated in a different thread, he protected his own interests instead of the boys' by keeping the Xfire offer a secret until accepting, then recruiting players before telling FWU.  No matter what their problems, FWU did not deserve to have this sprung on them at the last minute.  At the end of the day, they are no different than any other 2nd-tier club trying to position themselves to operate in the new Super-club era.  He wasn't disrespected by them any more than coaches at other clubs fratically trying to select a DOC.  There isn't a club in Washington that doesn't have issues with politics in its administration.  It's the price of doing business.

While Andy is not the only participant in this drama whose behavior can be found wanting, I agree that he made some questionable decisions here.  He shouldn't have led FW to believe that he'd take three teams with them next year if he was negotiating with Crossfire.  While I have no reason to believe he won't succeed at Crossfire, he behavior here could limit his options in the future.  Assume for purposes of discussion that he decides to leave Crossfire and apply for jobs in another club.  If I were evaluating his candidacy, I would consider his lack of disclosure with the Federal Way board, his decision to leave FW and coach in the same age group in another club, and his recruitment of FW players, and I'd conclude that his capacity for carnage outweighs his obvious skills as a recruiter and trainer.

[Drfredc]

While Andy is not the only participant in this drama whose behavior can be found wanting, I agree that he made some questionable decisions here...

This year's BU16 tryout chaos/fiasco isn't necessarily any particular coaches creation.   Rather it's all a symptom of how many of the WSYSA calendar, leagues and policy need some serious evolution.  

The tryout chaos was created by WSYSA stretching the state cups for most age groups out 3 weeks longer than necessary into the middle of March when they should have been finished up in February.  Beyond that, the older ages (U17-18), who typically have the least player movement, finished up a week before the ages that have the most transitions.  Talk about common sense  left wanting...  

Then there's tryouts for most age groups are forced to be squashed into a tryout weekend with only one more open weekend before spring break starts at many schools.  Which means that many teams may be selected without the opportunity to barely get a first meeting in before spring break...  

It shouldn't be left unmentioned that in the case of FW Storm90, this entire fiasco has been created by WSYSAs antiquated soccer calendar which puts a huge gap between cups and regionals.  

There's several reasonable fixes to this problem -- none have absolutely anything to do with tearing down a fine coach who has just been trying to do the best he can in a system that has basically been a never ending train wreck for several years now.  Some options --

* Switch to a calendar that is closer to that used in most other successful states.
* Make sure Cups operate in a timely fashion -- do not stretch them out for weeks and weeks..
* Create a reasonable open tryout period (two week min) during which roster offers and commitment cannot not be formally made (sort of like how it's done between HS and College).
* Evolve the Premier Leagues to move away from full time state wide travel leagues and LPTs in favor of some sort of Metro Premier leagues.  Create some reasonable regional conferences that allows for local clubs to develop and contribute to top regional teams for high end competition through out the state without giving inherent preferences to metro premier teams.

[Big Youth]

I agree that the soccer scheduling by WSYSA is assinine and harms our competitiveness at Regionals, but I think you are wrong to say that the mess is entirely the creation of the WSYSA schedule.  Andy didn't need to agree to take three teams with FW while negotiating to go to Crossfire, and those events are independent of the schedule.

[Drfredc]

I agree that the soccer scheduling by WSYSA is assinine and harms our competitiveness at Regionals, but I think you are wrong to say that the mess is entirely the creation of the WSYSA schedule.  Andy didn't need to agree to take three teams with FW while negotiating to go to Crossfire, and those events are independent of the schedule.

Without knowing any details, perhaps the issue of offering to take 3 teams at FW was led by $, which Crossfire met with a better offer, perhaps while decreasing the coaching load at the same time.  

IMHO, it's generally unrealistic to coach 3 teams at the same time, at least not without a lot of top notch assisting to cover the numerous times you can't coach everyone, like at tournaments and leagues.

A relatively small (but successful) club that offers 3 team coaching opportunities also bears some burden in creating this situation.  A club has got to be able to cover it's coaching butts if a coach wigs out due to any of a number of circumstances.  Sizable clubs like XFire can probably handle this sort of burden without missing a step.  However, I'm not sure FW Storm has the stable of expertise to cover it's liabilities... Which may be one reason the coach left.

[SoccerFan90]

While Andy is not the only participant in this drama whose behavior can be found wanting, I agree that he made some questionable decisions here...

This year's BU16 tryout chaos/fiasco isn't necessarily any particular coaches creation.   Rather it's all a symptom of how many of the WSYSA calendar, leagues and policy need some serious evolution.  

The tryout chaos was created by WSYSA stretching the state cups for most age groups out 3 weeks longer than necessary into the middle of March when they should have been finished up in February.  Beyond that, the older ages (U17-18), who typically have the least player movement, finished up a week before the ages that have the most transitions.  Talk about common sense  left wanting...  

Then there's tryouts for most age groups are forced to be squashed into a tryout weekend with only one more open weekend before spring break starts at many schools.  Which means that many teams may be selected without the opportunity to barely get a first meeting in before spring break...  

It shouldn't be left unmentioned that in the case of FW Storm90, this entire fiasco has been created by WSYSAs antiquated soccer calendar which puts a huge gap between cups and regionals.  

There's several reasonable fixes to this problem -- none have absolutely anything to do with tearing down a fine coach who has just been trying to do the best he can in a system that has basically been a never ending train wreck for several years now.  Some options --

* Switch to a calendar that is closer to that used in most other successful states.
* Make sure Cups operate in a timely fashion -- do not stretch them out for weeks and weeks..
* Create a reasonable open tryout period (two week min) during which roster offers and commitment cannot not be formally made (sort of like how it's done between HS and College).
* Evolve the Premier Leagues to move away from full time state wide travel leagues and LPTs in favor of some sort of Metro Premier leagues.  Create some reasonable regional conferences that allows for local clubs to develop and contribute to top regional teams for high end competition through out the state without giving inherent preferences to metro premier teams.

The FW Storm breaking up wasn't because of anything WSYSA had done. It was because Andy decided at this point and time to make a career move.  FWU didn't offer him what he was looking for and Xfire did.  The boys didn't feel any commitment from FWU and had to move on for themselves. Simple and Sad.

[Big Youth]

I agree that the soccer scheduling by WSYSA is assinine and harms our competitiveness at Regionals, but I think you are wrong to say that the mess is entirely the creation of the WSYSA schedule.  Andy didn't need to agree to take three teams with FW while negotiating to go to Crossfire, and those events are independent of the schedule.

Without knowing any details, perhaps the issue of offering to take 3 teams at FW was led by $, which Crossfire met with a better offer, perhaps while decreasing the coaching load at the same time.  

IMHO, it's generally unrealistic to coach 3 teams at the same time, at least not without a lot of top notch assisting to cover the numerous times you can't coach everyone, like at tournaments and leagues.

A relatively small (but successful) club that offers 3 team coaching opportunities also bears some burden in creating this situation.  A club has got to be able to cover it's coaching butts if a coach wigs out due to any of a number of circumstances.  Sizable clubs like XFire can probably handle this sort of burden without missing a step.  However, I'm not sure FW Storm has the stable of expertise to cover it's liabilities... Which may be one reason the coach left.

You probably are right about the ability of Federal Way to cover themselves regarding departures.  A club with many teams, including multiple teams in an age group, like Crossfire or Eastside can cover a departure quickly and with minimal disruption.  However, the fact that Crossfire has more resources doesn't make it more correct for Andy to agree to take teams and walk on his deal.  And no such rationalization would make me more likely to hire him in the future.  If he wants to leave, he can rationalize a reason why it is better for him to leave, and he'll do it.

[lester]

I also agree with Doc that the scheduling stinks, but it’s been that way for 20 years; changing it will likely just lead to new conflicts, maybe better, maybe worse.
       I don’t think you can discount the advent of the ‘professional” clubs on the Washington soccer scene.  They are the recent change that has impacted good teams across Washington.  In the older days, the key to success was making it at U14.  If you could be successful there you could build and recruit through U18.
The new business model isn’t about producing better players or even better teams; it’s about making money off the existing ones.  If you have the best in an age group you can parlay that into B and C and even D team dollars.  
      When I see a coach move to one of the Big 4 (that’s just a random term for a handful of clubs) it isn’t because he’s the best coach in his age/gender (that being relative), or because he's better than who is already there, it’s because he happens to be coaching a team that Big 4 club wants or can’t beat.  The only way he’ll still be around in two years is if he had a pre-existing relationship with the controlling powers of that club.  If he doesn’t, his team becomes bait for the next coach/team to be absorbed or destroyed.  I don’t believe it has anything to do with anything but making money.
         I don’t know Andy from Alfred; my guess is he’s a good guy that was made an offer he couldn’t refuse. He probably regrets making commitments to FWU as much as anyone.  I don’t know what Cross offered him, but I don’t think there was a limit to what they would have offered him for the first year; after a couple of months it won’t matter, he’ll be disposable.  He was in a susceptible situation where he hadn’t signed a contract forbidding him from coaching in the same age/gender the first year after leaving.  The team was vulnerable to be taken or destroyed for the good of the Big 4 and, ultimately, the good of the business.
You won’t see WPFC or Cross coaches taking their players to their new team when they leave.