Best Academy?

[RCharlesworth]

We are in South Surrey but are able travel to nearby communities if it allowed for the opportunity to train, Delta, Surrey, Langley, Richmond, New West

 

[Admin]

Jeff Clarke (Surrey United TD) has a goalkeeper coach helping with academies and camps - not sure if one-on-one time is available but I can try and see if I can get you a direct contact to him if you are interested to take it from there.

Let me know and I'll see what I can find.

 

[RCharlesworth]

If you can facilitate direct contact that would be great and yes, we will go from there. Thanks

 

[JDFMike]

No experience with the Island academy. I would expect the coaches are a higher standard than your normal staff coaches at the local clubs. They'd be, I'd require, an equal level to any TD, or private academy coach - if not higher.

You are right to be cynical about the tournaments. Have Whitecaps ever signed a player based on any of those tournaments? I don't know, but I'd love to hear about it if they did.

Academy players generally are higher level kids in that of the kids that play (and can afford) higher level sports, they are additionally motivated to find the funds for additional training. On top of that academy coaches should be a higher standard than their club coaches (if they aren't your kid should not be in that academy). But academy doesn't mean they are better players - they are just generally speaking the better players that can also afford it. On my u11 tier 1 team for example neither of my top two players are in the Whitecaps regional academy because neither bothered to try out.

the main coaches, from my understanding, are B license minimum. our academy is U12 and below, so nobody is being signed and even higher age groups i highly doubt would be signed from a tournament they put on...generally those players would be scouted at the HPL level for residency.

if the academy has any standards generally the players are going to be, for the most part, at a higher baseline of skills than club soccer. that doesn't diminish the fact there are comparable players outside the academy system within clubs, it just means, in theory, that academy players (again, dependent on the standards - coaching staff, players involved skills levels and mindset) have a higher baseline of technical/tactical proficiency than your typical club player and within the academy system, given the dynamics, should acquire knowledge and proficiency at a more rapid pace.

 

[TKBC]

That would be my assumption also.

 

[RaeJaxx]

My daughter has been going to the Whitecaps Academy for a couple of years now. The coaching has been great and they do put kids within skill level groups. She has made some new friends, has fun and her skillset has greatly improved.

 

[TKBC]

My daughter has been going to the Whitecaps Academy for a couple of years now. The coaching has been great and they do put kids within skill level groups. She has made some new friends, has fun and her skillset has greatly improved.

Yes, I understand those practices have a heavy focus on individual technique - a kid on my team has been going (not sure how long) and his individual technique with the ball is superb, surely helped by the Whitecaps coaching (and his constantly having a ball at his feet!). The teams from Whitecaps academy I've played/seen in a tournament all had high individual skill level (though they were basically hand-picked all-star teams lol).

 

[easoccer]

Do we have any quality academies in Surrey?

 

[Nate]

Do we have any quality academies in Surrey?

I don't know what defines as quality but in the interest of this thread, there is now a new league for just Academies. Noticed there is at least one academy listed to be in Surrey.
BCASL

 

[TKBC]

Potentially this is very cool. I find it odd TSS isn't involved.

How can Paul Bahia have an academy when he's a TD!? How can he possibly have the time? Does he not act in a TD role April-June each year? This screams conflict of interest.

 

[easoccer]

Potentially this is very cool. I find it odd TSS isn't involved.

How can Paul Bahia have an academy when he's a TD!? How can he possibly have the time? Does he not act in a TD role April-June each year? This screams conflict of interest.

His academy is year round. I get so many emails.

 

[TKBC]

His academy is year round. I get so many emails.

I know how busy my TD is in a much smaller club. I can't see how a TD at a club like Surrey FC could possibly have the time to run an academy and still provide the care and attention the players of his club require. Surely he's attending training every night, and observing games on weekends during the league season? Every TD of course gets days off....but during the league season I imagine those are difficult to manage.

BEST has other coaches. So maybe he isn't hands-on during the season.

I still see a conflict of interest here. It's clear as day. Everything may well be completely above board. I assume that it is. But perception means a lot...

 

[easoccer]

He obviously has an agreement with sfc. And obviously its meant to supplement the sfc offerings but if I were running a club, Id definately want my td to have complete focus on my club.

 

[southsloper]

Could it be that BCASL isn't a sanctioned by BCSA league? Although TSS has had (may still be in litigation?) differences concerning getting it's academy teams "access to" (play in) BC SPL or other leagues, TSS remains an associate member of BCSA.

(disclosure: my u14 daughter attends TSS)

Potentially this is very cool. I find it odd TSS isn't involved.
[deletia]

 

[Admin]

You guys can't really take that "league" seriously can you?

Poke around that website and you'll see what I mean

 

[southsloper]

Yes, not impressive by my neophyte eye. I checked the BCASL website/schedule, their FB page, checked the member Academy websites, got a pretty good look at the "lay of the land" I'd say. I would be wary based on what I saw

I am familiar marginally, with Premier - my youngest attended a summer camp in Port Moody. A teammate'smom had invited my daughter to go. Camp seemed OK and a parent we talked to was quite positive and said many of the boys at the camp were also full-time academy with Premier. We noticed the girls tended to get the short end of the stick attention-wise at this camp though. That was a few years back, and I see he's trying to put together a Girls Elite academy this year. Seems like a bona fide youth academy.

Of remaining lower mainland camps, FCBEscola (affiliated with FC Barcelona?) seems to be a "brand name", strong in Ontario and a newcomer trying to get established in Vancouver (around since last year or so?). My older girl & teammate are going to a FREE (normally pre-reg with $100 deposit) tryout camp, originally Saturday afternoon at Fortius in Burnaby, but moved back a couple of weeks because of snow closures). [Off-topic, I saw a Juventus branded camp advertised to take place at Fortius too. My girls & their friends have done Roman Tulis spring break camp at Fortius].

Of the rest of the BCASL academies, I've seen anecdotal positive posts about Faly & BEST (but see other discussion regarding owner). No info about any of the others but scan their listed websites, schedules, and league team lists show a preponderance of U10/U11 teams, and many of the academies only list a couple of teams for younger <U9 or so. A few have older teams listed, but not many. Some divisions list NO or a single team. Notably, the 2 Soccaskool profiles website URLs are dead links.

Caveat Emptor.

You guys can't really take that "league" seriously can you?

Poke around that website and you'll see what I mean

 

[Nate]

You guys can't really take that "league" seriously can you?

Poke around that website and you'll see what I mean

How serious one takes it is another story. I just see it as an improvement that academies are finally trying to structure something more than ad-hoc friendlies. Anything to get the kids more game time is a good thing IMHO.

Also the academies that I've come across seem to push a certain approach, it would be good to have a bit of street cred to play for.

 

[TKBC]

He obviously has an agreement with sfc. And obviously its meant to supplement the sfc offerings but if I were running a club, Id definately want my td to have complete focus on my club.

As would I, especially such a large club.

 

[TKBC]

You guys can't really take that "league" seriously can you?

Poke around that website and you'll see what I mean

It's gotta start somewhere - just like Cascadia. Definitely didn't hear flattering things about it's first year.

 

[TKBC]

How serious one takes it is another story. I just see it as an improvement that academies are finally trying to structure something more than ad-hoc friendlies. Anything to get the kids more game time is a good thing IMHO.

Also the academies that I've come across seem to push a certain approach, it would be good to have a bit of street cred to play for.

Exactly.