Kennie and JohnR, Thanks for your replies. I think Eclipse absorbed the Hinsdale Hurricanes, so they do have teams in this age group. The question is, do they bother developing young players there or do they rely on Team Chicago to do that at the young age groups. The U10 team was middle-of-the-table in IWSL B South this past fall. There are so many interlocking alliances that I can't, as an outsider, figure it out. Next step is to talk with the coaches there. Thanks again for your advice.
Team Chicago is pretty good at developing a solid skill base for players and carries girls to U13. Then it becomes Eclipse South under Steve Berry. It depends on location but Team Chicago is the most established of their younger club alliances.
I agree, Team Chicago does a pretty good job with the younger ages. I think it is odd that Team Chicago kind of threw in the towel to the Eclipse group. They overall have done a good job, why let the better players go to the Eclipse group? I think if Eclipse long term wants to survive in the long run, they need to develop kids at the younger ages.
Lots of talk on Eclipse.......what are your thoughts on the upcoming National League competition? Eclipse's 16 and 17s will be participating in that starting next week. Any thoughts?
U16G STANDINGS Team Wins Losses Ties Points GF GA GD Slammers FC G92 3 1 0 9 9 4 5 So Cal Blues-Dodge 3 1 0 9 7 4 3 Dallas Texans 93G Red Dallas 3 1 0 9 8 7 1 Montclair United Thunderbolts 2 1 1 7 8 8 0 Eclipse Select 92-93 1 2 1 4 4 5 -1 Team Boca 92/93 1 3 0 3 4 8 -4 Cleveland FC 0 1 3 3 8 9 -1 Scorpions Elite 0 3 1 1 5 8 -3 U17G STANDINGS Team Wins Losses Ties Points GF GA GD Dallas Texans Red 92 4 0 0 12 11 2 9 Eclipse Select 91-92 3 0 1 10 5 1 4 Vardar 2 1 1 7 4 4 0 McLean MPS Dragons 2 2 0 6 9 6 3 Ela Elite 1 2 1 4 2 5 -3 LHSC Eclipse Black 1 2 1 4 7 6 1 Challenge 92 1 3 0 3 5 9 -4 BVSC STARS Mallorca 91/92 0 4 0 0 7 17 -10 Hey SSL, I'm not far off from my preseason prediction for the 16's. Very impressed with Slammers' Striker and GK. Think Eclipse 16's will do better in Florida and finish 4th in the final standings behind California teams and Texans or NJ. Eclipse 17's will finish 1st or 2nd. Won't know until Vegas games are done. Thanks for asking.
I don’t know anything about TeamChicago, but I do know that over the last year we have played several age groups of the boys eclipse teams and they have all given us very good competition. I have met several of the coaches and they all seem to be top quality, Dames, Nesci, Mcelligott, Litvack. The kids seem to respond to whatever tactics are being used and are getting results, not only winning, but turning out some great soccer players.
Re: Eclipse Select East Hi, A question about Eclipse East. Does anyone have information about the coaching staff? Any thoughts from parents with kids in this team? I am a father of an U9 boy who is getting serious about soccer. He is playing for a local team in Oak Park. The team is coached by very skilled and nice people but maintains low key to accommodate diversified clientele. We feel he will need to be trained/surrounded under more intense atmosphere soon (U11?) but many highly respected teams are located way too far for weekly commute for him. We thought of Blasts but it appears many negative opinions on them in this forum. Any comment, alternative suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
We have been with the Eclipse (on the boys side) for about a year now. Don't know about the younger kids, but we are very impressed with the coaching staff at our age (U13) and above. The coaching staff is demanding as they get older but they seem to have the right people in place for the right ages. You won't get a U16 win at all cost coach, coaching your U10 boy. Hope this helps.
>udntknwme Thank you for the information. It is very helpful to hear from the people involved directly. We are planning to visit their practice in the next few months to see their U9 level coaching staff. Yes, we do not want "win at all cost" coaches at this stage but want someone serious about teaching techniques and game skills (with an uncompromising but calm way, just like good teachers).
We were with another local club and then saw some of the Eclipse games and practices. I'll be interested to hear if you see what we saw. IMO Eclipse hve great coaches. Their focus seems to be teaching the kids, skills, technical side, confidence, not all about winning but becoming great players. Teaching for the long run, isn't that what we are all paying for in the end. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some of the older boys play during competition and haven't seen one of their coaches not want to win, but not at any cost which is a refreshing difference from some other clubs in the area.
You might be talking about boys, from the girls side, big, strong athletic kids. More long ball than skill. I call it boof ball.
I was speaking of the boys side, but I have seen Eclipse coaches work with both groups of kids. I don't know much about girls soccer, but do believe it is played differently and can only go by the results I see that the Eclipse girls have made. Very impressive even on the national level. All you need to do is take a look at the clubs accomplishments, the coaches bio and the amount of teams at the junior and senior level. Back to the boys side, for a program that is still in the fairly early stages, quite a few decent accomplishments in just over a year as well. Definitely can not be ruled out as one of the top clubs in the Chicagoland area. http://www.eclipseselect.org/ BTW, I trust you meant to say "hoof ball" and not "boof ball".
The coaches bios are quite impressive, but I found the Club accomplishments and the amount of teams and locations to be more so.
I did not have a chance to visit their practice this week and will not have time for the next few weeks but promise to report my thoughts when we visit. About the coach's bio, my son's coach's bio as a player is one of the most impressive ones around the Chicago land. Yet, that does not translate into the outcomes of the team's accomplishment. I think this has a lot to do with the board members philosophy, parents' attitude, and the players themselves. As a parent, how much kids should be supported/encouraged to play sports is a very difficult one to decide.
I was actually at the Odeum last week-end and watched the highschool boys play. Very impressed with the skill level, ball movement, and the overall style of play. Bios are much like resumes, you can spruce them up to read well for a particular situation, what you can't "add to" is the accomplishments and the level of licenses, etc. I don't think you need to be a great soccer player to be a great coach. But, you do need to know how the game is played. If you're questioning how much support your child needs, then you need to make sure you are aware of the demands placed on the kids in top clubs around the chicagoland area. Not much extra time for anything else.
Read on another thread that the Eclipse U18B won 11v11 in Jacksonville. I'm not sure who they were playing against, but it's always good to see a local team do well. It sounds like there were quite a few Chicago local teams in all age groups, either in Jacksonville or AZ.