soccerIQ123
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| posted on 12/28/17 at 11:27 AM |
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Moving to Chapel Hill... Looking for Soccer Club Options.
My family is moving from Michigan to Chapel Hill in June of 2018. My two older boys (U11 and U9) play competitive soccer, and I am looking for some
club options for them to tryout, and join a soccer team. I hope you can help me answer some of my questions.
1. What soccer clubs have home fields in Chapel Hill?
2. How far are the away games for U11 and U9 age groups?
3. Do clubs in the area have tryouts on same week/day? Are they mostly in May?
4. Any suggestions of good/meaningful Summer soccer camps in or near Chapel Hill?
5. Lastly, any suggestions for Futsal clubs as well?
Thank you in advance!
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RayRay
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| posted on 12/28/17 at 02:19 PM |
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Welcome! You have landed in a great area for youth soccer development
1. Triangle United
2. U9 kid would play YDA in a local league and the furthest you might travel for regular season games is probably 30 minutes. They do one tournament
in the fall in Charlotte and one in the spring at the beach. Classic soccer starts at U11 and the travel gets a little more intense, but not bad.
They mainly play teams from the Triangle but there are usually teams from Wilmington, Jacksonville, Greenville, etc. where you might have to travel 2
1/2 hours tops.
3. The biggest competing club is NCFC and yes they purposefully schedule the tryouts at the same time/date. There are ways to do both as some only
require you to come to two sessions out of three, etc.
4. TU, NCFC and the universities have great camps.
5. Durham Futsal League and Hornets Futsal have seasons during the winter and summer breaks.
At some point, the lure of DA, GDA and ECNL pulls some of the top players to NCFC. Then, you will have an hour drive to North Raleigh 4 days per
week.
Hope this helps...
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Hokie
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| posted on 12/28/17 at 06:27 PM |
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Tryouts are typically early May for all clubs. You might land on a better team if your boys are able to attend tryouts and not come in after teams
are formed.
NCFC has mentioned more than once about establishing a "neutral" location for their high end (DA and ECNL) teams to train at. Rumors are that the new
facility recently announced as being constructed near the airport will likely be the neutral site.
[Edited on 12/28/17 by Hokie]
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soccerIQ123
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| posted on 12/28/17 at 10:45 PM |
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Thank you RayRay and Hokie for your replies.
From your answers to my initial questions, it seems that TUSA would be a good fit for my kids, but I noticed that NCFC has three soccer fields in
Chapel Hill-Durham area. Are these for games only, or practices as well? Just wondering if I should consider NCFC as well.
I am surprised that there are multiple try-outs, where I currently live all clubs try-outs are one hour long. Maybe we just have fewer kids trying out
than NC clubs.
Thank you again!
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winchester73
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Half a bubble off plumb
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| posted on 12/29/17 at 08:13 AM |
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If memory serves, NCFC has local CH-based teams until u13.
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
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messi
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| posted on 1/2/18 at 09:40 AM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by soccerIQ123
Thank you RayRay and Hokie for your replies.
From your answers to my initial questions, it seems that TUSA would be a good fit for my kids, but I noticed that NCFC has three soccer fields in
Chapel Hill-Durham area. Are these for games only, or practices as well? Just wondering if I should consider NCFC as well.
I am surprised that there are multiple try-outs, where I currently live all clubs try-outs are one hour long. Maybe we just have fewer kids trying out
than NC clubs.
Thank you again!
you basically have to decide whether you think your kids are going to be in the top 1% of all soccer players in NC or not. TUSA is certainly the
most convenient in CH. However, my impression is that at older ages (U14) if your kid is not in the NCFC systems or your kid is not the next Ronaldo
the chances of transferring into a high level team later are slim to none. The person I know who started in the regional team system for former
TFC/CASL (now NCFC) had a tough time making onto the consolidated teams at a high level at older ages. So if you start out local at NCFC, your kid
will likely not have a local option later on (I don't think they exist), particularly at a high level. So you might have to change clubs anyway.
Basically if soccer is not your or your kids driving influence for college than TUSA is fine. If you think your kids are the best players in their
town than and will play at a top 20 D1 school than NCFC for super competitive options. my 2 cents.
[Edited on 1/2/18 by messi]
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SoccerMomandWife
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| posted on 1/2/18 at 01:02 PM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by soccerIQ123
My family is moving from Michigan to Chapel Hill in June of 2018. My two older boys (U11 and U9) play competitive soccer, and I am looking for some
club options for them to tryout, and join a soccer team. I hope you can help me answer some of my questions.
1. What soccer clubs have home fields in Chapel Hill?
2. How far are the away games for U11 and U9 age groups?
3. Do clubs in the area have tryouts on same week/day? Are they mostly in May?
4. Any suggestions of good/meaningful Summer soccer camps in or near Chapel Hill?
5. Lastly, any suggestions for Futsal clubs as well?
Thank you in advance!
TUSA fields the stronger teams based in Chapel Hill. Their top teams in each age group play at the highest level of Classic and tend to play Region
3 (and NPL).
Some say to be in the pipeline for the Academy, you have to go to NCFC (and practice in Wake County). This is an option I would not even consider for
my family because of the drive. I can't imagine how it would be worth it no matter how good my son was (but my drive would be a bit longer than from
Chapel Hill). However, my experience is that the Academy coaches know the top area kids and kids from others clubs are not really disadvantaged when
it comes to the Academy (I would not say the same for the non Academy NCFC teams, though)
How far away games depends on the team and the level of play. U9 would be Triangle area, U11, I am not sure.
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messi
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| posted on 1/2/18 at 02:41 PM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by SoccerMomandWife
[quote]Originally posted by soccerIQ123
Some say to be in the pipeline for the Academy, you have to go to NCFC (and practice in Wake County). T
agree with everything you said, except I've seen an older level tryout for NCFC and the coaches literally did not watch the field. May already "know"
the players by that age (and maybe basing on a tryout isn't a good idea), but I think there's a big advantage to being in the system already.
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Hokie
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| posted on 1/2/18 at 03:22 PM |
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I am not familiar with how TUSA runs things, but can anyone explain to me why TUSA and some smaller area clubs do not have their boys teams competing
in any of the U11 or U12 NCYSA Classic divisions? The boys teams are in the Triangle Premier League, but the girls teams are in NCYSA.
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messi
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| posted on 1/2/18 at 04:12 PM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hokie
I am not familiar with how TUSA runs things, but can anyone explain to me why TUSA and some smaller area clubs do not have their boys teams competing
in any of the U11 or U12 NCYSA Classic divisions? The boys teams are in the Triangle Premier League, but the girls teams are in NCYSA.
don't exactly know, but it seems they don't play wilimington and onslow county clubs which NCFC does. so there might be less travel time? that
could be good
I'm sure tension with ncfc is part too, but not driving to wilimington at U10 seems like a good idea for most parents. seems like challenge teams at
older ages but less travel (less competitive) at younger ages.
[Edited on 1/2/18 by messi]
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RayRay
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| posted on 1/3/18 at 09:20 AM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hokie
I am not familiar with how TUSA runs things, but can anyone explain to me why TUSA and some smaller area clubs do not have their boys teams competing
in any of the U11 or U12 NCYSA Classic divisions? The boys teams are in the Triangle Premier League, but the girls teams are in NCYSA.
I had wondered the same thing. It would be great to hear from a parent on how that is going.
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soccerlovernc
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| posted on 1/3/18 at 10:43 AM |
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First of all...welcome!
If you move to the triangle in June then big club tryouts will be over. However, you might be able to go the supplemental tryout route and get on a
regional team for a big club. Soccer is madness here.
There are smaller clubs out there if you just want your kids to play and have fun in a semi competitive environment.
Start with the NCYSA website.
Unless your U13 kid is top 1% they wont make DA for NCFC but that;s not the end of the world and you would miss tryouts anyway. I'd start by
contacting the directors of each club at the appropriate age level and area. Basically it boils down to which club has the most number of teams in the
area. NCFC is mosty wake county. TUSA is bigger in CH.
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soccerIQ123
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| posted on 1/5/18 at 12:18 AM |
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Thank you for all the postings so far. Your comments have helped understand what is available in CH, as well as what soccer club/path is right for my
kids.
A couple of you mentioned "the top 1%" on your responses, does it mean 1% of all kids of same age that play recreational or competitive soccer in NC?
Would a top 1% player necessary play DA or higher leagues?
Thank you again!
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MySonsPlay
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| posted on 1/5/18 at 08:14 AM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by soccerIQ123
Thank you for all the postings so far. Your comments have helped understand what is available in CH, as well as what soccer club/path is right for my
kids.
A couple of you mentioned "the top 1%" on your responses, does it mean 1% of all kids of same age that play recreational or competitive soccer in NC?
Would a top 1% player necessary play DA or higher leagues?
Thank you again!
Stop worrying about the 1%. The 1% most people are referring to are the players that get a chance to play at the college level. In NC each year that
is about 75-100 players for the whole state. At U9 and u11 your only concern should be picking a club that will provide solid coaches who can teach
the technical side of the game and bring enjoyment to the process.
Full disclosure, I am a parent whose two boys spent their entire youth soccer careers at TUSA (all but one year for my youngest). Our family was apart
of the club from 2005 thru 2016 We had many very good coaches and couple of so so coaches. I would say a little less than half of those coaches are
still at TUSA. All clubs have a coaching turnover.
I am not a fan of TUSA's administrative staff and overall leadership, but at the end of the day this has very little to do with your sons overall
soccer enjoyment and development. If it does your making mistakes not the youth soccer world.
As others have stated you basically have two choices in Chapel Hill, NCFC and TUSA. With TUSA you will practice locally for all age groups, that can
not be said for NCFC. With NCFC you will eventually head to north Raleigh or southern Wake County. This is the single biggest reason we stayed with
TUSA for all those years, we did not want to travel 45-60 minutes one way to practices 3-4 times a week,
With two boys playing, the dysfunction would have been to much, especially in the early years. We explored our options with other clubs but nothing
was that much better than what we had at TUSA.
We never saw the grass as greener;
I do not think I would change a thing for either of my boys,
[Edited on 1/5/18 by MySonsPlay]
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dirtydurham
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| posted on 1/5/18 at 11:44 AM |
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Thanks for the insights on TUSA/NCFC.
For whom is the 4x/week trek from Chapel Hill to Raleigh/Wake worth it?
The top 1% only?
And even then, starting at which age group/level... u8? u10? DA?
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Hokie
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| posted on 1/5/18 at 01:17 PM |
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The highest level of soccer is Development Academy. Obviously, the clearest path to playing D1 college soccer is to play at the highest level youth
soccer. I am assuming this 1% talk is based on NCAA statistics such as this? http://scholarshipstats.com/soccer.html
DA starts at U12, but obviously being known by NCFC coaches prior to U12 tryouts plays a hand in getting selected.
[Edited on 1/5/18 by Hokie]
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messi
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| posted on 1/5/18 at 01:48 PM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by soccerIQ123
A couple of you mentioned "the top 1%" on your responses, does it mean 1% of all kids of same age that play recreational or competitive soccer in NC?
Would a top 1% player necessary play DA or higher leagues?
Thank you again!
1% means a starter on the top club in a region of a million people. someone who will play at a top30 D1 school
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messi
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| posted on 1/5/18 at 01:52 PM |
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Quote:
Originally posted by dirtydurham
T
For whom is the 4x/week trek from Chapel Hill to Raleigh/Wake worth it?
The top 1% only?
And even then, starting at which age group/level... u8? u10? DA?
the people who do it fit into a few categories 1) player will play for top 30 D1 academic or soccer school 2) stay at home parent can drive without a
ton of kids going different places. 3)money to spare can hire a driver a couple days a week (I've seen this sadly).
financially and academically and timewise when you do the calculations there are probably only a handful of people in RTP that such a tradeoff will
work out for. Club soccer supposedly collects $3 billion a year in club fees. http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Paying-to-play-is-new-normal-for-youth-athletes-4902034.php
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soccerlovernc
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| posted on 1/5/18 at 01:53 PM |
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Top 1% = top 1% of competitive payers at a particular age group of A club.
There are 3 tiers -- rec, challenge and classic. Now there is a 4th tier called "select" in between challenge and classic but you pay classic fees to
play. DA is different.
The very top and most competitive team is the DA team that follows the development guideline of US Soccer and plays in a separate league (not classic
but regional DA league).
The big differences between top level classic and DA are:
1. DA kids don't play HS ball.
2. Not all clubs have DA teams -- only the best clubs across the country as deemed by US Soccer through an application process.
3. DA is often partially subsidized by club and US soccer.
In our area, TFCA and CASL had DA teams. Then they combined to form NCFC.
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soccerIQ123
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| posted on 1/6/18 at 08:56 PM |
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Can anyone tell me how developed is Futsal in the triangle area? Do Futsal clubs participate in regional and national tournaments? Do soccer clubs in
the triangle area incentive kids to play Futsal?
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