Magic Vs Sockers Fc

Question by question

1. Neither. They both play boring, boring soccer - but quite effective.
2. Depends on how old you are
3. Depends on how old your kid is. U11 and younger - Sockers. They do a better job of feeding the basic technical and tactical fundamentals. At older ages, depends on how badly Magic wants your kid. Magic is WAY more agressive than Sockers about marketing its top players. Sockers takes more of a laid back 'been there, done that' approach. So if Magic really wants your kid, you can be sure his name will be pushed in every relevant circle.

In terms of play:
Sockers allows a bit more freedom in their overall system of play. Magic has a bit more rigid system, but the super-talents are given nearly free run of the park. Everyone else is made to run for them. Therefore make sure they tell you the kid is transcendentally talented before you take him or your kid will become the role player. (Which is pretty dang good actually if your boy is not a total 24/7/365, bordering on maniacal soccerhead)

In terms of team building:
Sockers has a 'take whatever comes' approach. They play the hand their dealt. Magic absolutely does not. They want every team to be excellent and they will AGRESSIVELY recruit players from wherever they can to build the team - even if it's two states over.

 

Nothing I can add to this, except to echo the comment about the different cultures.

The Magic are a corporation. Microsoft. Fidelity. Wal-Mart. They want 100% market share. They want all the good players, with none for anybody else. The Magic is like the dragon Smaug, sleeping on a vast treasure hoard but having nightmares that somebody, somewhere might have a dram of gold that properly belongs in its hoard. Magic West, Magic North, Magic South, they'd do Magic East too but that damn lake keeps getting in the way.

The Sockers are just a soccer club. They're not interested in building an empire. There is no Sockers North, West, South. They don't recruit, at least from what I can see. They actually turn down players who are better than they guys they have, as long as the players aren't too much better and the guys they have are good citizens. They believe in live & let live. The Magic are live & let die.

 

What do you want.............Development (Sockers) or Winning (Magic)
Magic produce great teams
Sockers produce better players.

 

If your child is a role player, he may become a better player at Sockers, but then he won't get near the opportunity to play at higher levels because they won't market him very aggressively. So the small development advantage is marginalized. In the end all of the average players at both clubs end up looking the same - technically sound basics, with strong team tactics.

Basically that means running about in support of the 'super players'.

Super players maybe should lean towards Magic.

Here's the caveat: don't go to either to become a super player. For that, go to Wind, Lightning, NWI United, Galaxy or one of the good Hispano/CLASA teams.

 

Jonathan Spector perhaps but if Gravaboy is an example of a "Super" player then I think US soccer is in deep doo-dah or should I say deep Adu-dah?

 

Remember, 10 years ago a kid like Grabavoy was indeed a super player. Remember back then you either got an athlete or a soccer player - hardly ever both.

Grabavoy is absolutely an excellent soccer player. Not much on the athlete side.

 

To be fair Magic have produced Quavis Kirk who I think will make a big impact on the game,bigger than Gravaboy even though Gravaboy is Matko's all time favorite.

 

Ummm.........Kirk already is a pro..........picked 34th in the MLS draft

 

If I was a parent, I'd probably choose the Sockers over the Magic. I'd rather have my son or daughter be coached by someone like Brett Hall then a screamer.

Sorry, but I don't agree that coaches on the Magic are "screamers". I've been to more games than I can count and have had my child coached by just about every coach in the club (not Matko). Not a screamer in the bunch...that said, let me add that they certainly are not quiet coaches. They direct, they correct, they guide, they show frustration and they do so loudly, but hey...how else can you be heard over the parents coaching on the sidelines! LOL

Playing for Magic is a unique experience. From U9 down they are all about fundamental's & training. There is very little, if any pressure on these kids from the coaches. U10 & U11 the pressure and the expectations start to head up a little bit more each year. U12 is that start of State Cup and ODP prep & expectations. But by then they are ready for it. I have been told by coaches that they do not want to burn out the kids at an early age. That they need them to be ready and hungry at U13 and up through HS. Too much training & pressure can lead to burn out just when these kids should be hitting their high games.

I don't think there is a perfect club out there, there are plus's and minus's that need to be weighed. A decision should be what is best for the child's talent & temperment.

I do not know anything about Sockers...Just a different perspective on the Magic way....

 

You imply a rivalry.............recent results show that the rivalry is history and Magic have wiped the floor with the Sockers.No wonder the Magic were so upset last year when their B team lost to the Sockers A team in U-13 state cup,the Magic B team dominated the Sockers team but just could not find the back of the net.

Last year the Magic's trophy cabinet added the following titles

U-12 Boys took 2nd place in US Club Soccer National Championship
U-13 Boys ..State and Region 2 Champions
U-14 Boys...2nd In Super Y-League North American Championship.
U-15 Boys...US Club Soccer National Champions,State Champion, Region 2 Champion,2nd place USYSA National Championship.
U-16 Boys...State Champion,Region 2 Champion,Super Y-League North American Champions.
U-17 Boys...Super Y-League North American Champions
U-18 Boys..State Champions.

In addition to which Magic were also named the # 1 Boys soccer club in the U.S.
To borrow from another sport.........
Game Set and Match.

 

That ain't no real national championship.

Dang good team.

A quasi championship.

Dang good team.

It's not really "in addition," as the titles that you mention were the sole criteria for SoccerAmerica's ranking.

Just tweaking ya ... there is no doubt that Chicago Magic have the strongest overall boys teams from U13 - U19 in Illinois, as well as Region 2.

 

You take offense pretty easily unless you work for U.S. Club soccer.

U.S. Club Championship is just another tournament and at the u12 age not a particularly deep or impressive one. The tournament had only 6 teams, and 3 games that featured 7-0 scores.

Making the final of Surf Cup -- to cite just one example -- would be much more difficult, but nobody calls Surf Cup a "national" championship.

 

Haven't we already discussed the Championship issues on a past thread? Again, how many players on these Magic championship teams are full time Magic players rostered in the regular season? How many of the players train with the team and how many show up at tournament time.

I am not trying to downplay the success of these teams, they have accomplished great things. Just asking the tough questions. Maybe all the players are truly Magic players, but I think we have been down this road.

 

With all due respect.

Who cares?

Don't exactly understand the problem here.

I, for one, am getting close to fed up with my son having to be subjected to the level of his teammates. It's not a talent problem, but a commitment problem.

I used to say (been coaching for 17 years) "everybody should get treated like a future Pele." Now I am rethinking this.

If a club can put together a bunch of basic 8 hours a week players, mold them into a system of play and then bring in 3 or 4 20 hour a week 'stars' to set the level, then so be it.

 

If they can get him, then they should...

 

Soccer parents!

It's darned hard to find a group of kids with similar talent & similar commitment levels. It's golden when it happens, though.

 

Whoever said that the Magic produce better teams, and the Sockers FC produce better players is completely correct.

If only to use a political analogy, the Magic are very conservative, and base their play on the team as a whole, along with tactics and conditioning for all. Sockers FC is more liberal in this regard, as they give their players a "run of the park," so to speak.

I spent one full year playing for Sockers FC back in high school, and coaches like Bret Hall, Dave Richardson, Batata, etc seemed to stress individual talent before team talent. Lucky for them, all the individual talent on their teams just happened to be a well-formed cohesive unit.

Again, lately, the Magic have been producing great teams out of their large-scale program, and in turn, have also been producing great players along the way. Sockers FC gets by fine with a smaller trophy case than the Magic, simply because, I think, they know that being the #2 team in Chicago is still a GREAT accomplishment. While I played for the Sockers, we had tremendous facilities (full indoor fields at Soccer City, weight room, etc), nice playing fields at Forest View (a stadium, no less), wonderful practice fields at that huge forest preserve next to Woodfield Mall, and most importantly, great competition.

To me, there is one simple criteria for choosing which club to play for:
Location.
If you live anywhere on the north side of the city (including the north side of the western suburbs), you should try-out for Sockers FC.
If you're on the south side, try-out for the Magic.

They are both tremendous programs, and you really can't take anything away from either of them.

 

Talked to an ex-Magic player last night. He said that when he was at the Magic, "we ran like crazy." Whereas the Sockers tend to believe that fitness should come by playing with the ball.

Grand scheme of things I don't think there are huge differences between the programs (or between them & other national level clubs) aside from the Magic's greater ambition & more aggressive recruiting tactics, but fitness would be one difference.