http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/sections/usl2.php?article_id=20566 I was thinking that the venture would never get off the ground, with the state of the league and economy, but they'll be holding tryouts soon.
anyone got a list of locals that play professionally...besides Gioseppi (sp) Rossi and my friend Mike Grella What kind of talent does New York usually produce? Plus is this news anywhere besides on bigapplesoccer? Would they want to have this printed on a major newspaper...seeing as no other professional sports (that I know of) hold open try-outs and make it public knowledge? I remember going to their Boot Camp event last month at Mitchel Field. Great athletic complex; but the turn-out was awful (like 6 or 7 kids). Is this new marketing Czar going to do a better job at "recommending" how they get this information out? I might drive down there to see what its like...anyone else plan on going?
FCNY tryouts and prices FC New York holding tryouts for 2010 USL!?!?! http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/sections/usl2.php?article_id=20566
Re: USL1 in Crisis I've said this on the FCNY boards, but they still don't have a legit website...I'm not sure I would fork over $175 to a team that has glaring errors in their press releases and still doesn't have an informational website... Maybe they're going to take the tryout money and reinvest in a web presence, but this is ridiculous.
Re: USL1 in Crisis ''I'm not sure I would fork over $175'' You are right, looks like a sinkhole for money if you ask me
Re: USL1 in Crisis F.C. New York will host a player combine for eligible college seniors, qualified free agents and talented amateur players that are seeking a professional contract. The combine is set for the Mitchell Field Athletic Complex in Uniondale, N.Y. Nov. 13-14.
Re: USL1 in Crisis ...I hate to say it but does anyone think they may be doing this to recoup some of the money they have put in, and then they are gonna pull the plug?
Re: USL1 in Crisis I'd hate to see that happen, but its not out of the realm of possibility. Any player that gives them money for this is a fool... The fact that there isn't even housing or mention of discount housing seems a bit shady. I hope at the very least they have a "Coach" named by the time of these "tryouts". Also, even on the "site" they have, this release isn't posted... None of the releases they've sent out recently have been posted. I'd wonder about the validity of any of it.
Re: USL1 in Crisis I don't know about that. If I'm recalling correctly the Quakes charged a fee to try out with them back in 2007 when the team reformed. And I know the potential San Diego Flash USL1 team is doing the same thing right now. It seems to be fairly standard practice.
Re: USL1 in Crisis I'm no English major, but even the grammar and wording in the announcement is rubbish. Everything about it stinks. I can't believe some people would defend it as "fairly standard practice." The Charleston Battery usually host a couple of open tryouts every year. As part of the package players get lodging, maybe some meals, but most importantly they get a quality workout/training session. Even if they don't get invited back -- it's still a valuable experience. So for a legit organization that's one thing, but based on everything I've heard (or haven't heard) from FC NY this is nothing more than a cash grab. I can't believe some people would defend FC NY. Very sad.
Re: USL1 in Crisis One thing that I would think would be obvious against this being a "cash grab" is that if I'm not mistaken that could be construed as fraud. And fraud being a crime could lead to civil and criminal actions against them. I seriously doubt FCNY would be doing this if they didn't have some intention of following through. However I'm not defending their piss poor presentation of the proposition, that said, I've seen worse presentations as well.
Re: USL1 in Crisis Charleston has a couple of days of tryouts, including workout/training sessions and scrimmages, and charges $300 with lodging or $200 without (in 2007, the most recent year I found). FCNY announces a couple of days of tryouts, including workout/training sessions and scrimmages, and charges $175 but doesn't include a lodging option. That same year, by the way, Atlanta charged $200 with no hotel option available; Minnesota was $175 without hotel or $395 with; Rhinos were $350 including room and board; Virginia Beach was $200 without hotel or $300 with. So, yes, it seems like a pretty standard practice. I'm not saying FCNY is a well-run operation, but there's nothing skeezy about their charging $175 for tryouts. The story is certainly poorly written, but it's not clear whether that's FCNY or Big Apple Soccer's fault. It reads as though em-dashes in the original press release didn't make the transition to Big Apple Soccer's site.
Re: USL1 in Crisis While I think you've added good points to the argument, the fact that this isn't appearing on an official website associated with the club is EXTREMELY problematic. They shouldn't be solely depending on a separate website and message boards to get the message out. They also haven't posted any set time for the tryouts. These details are important if you're asking someone to shell out that amount of money... The lack of a legitimate website is conspicuous, especially given the web page they have (I say web page, because that's all it is) hasn't been updated since the club was announced. I wouldn't give them a dime at this point.
Re: USL1 in Crisis Not disagreeing that its conspicuous in this day and age to have an incomplete or crappy website, but that by no means is a reason to think they're not legit. That said I too wouldn't be shelling out money for this tryout. Not til I knew it was real.
Re: USL1 in Crisis That is the point though... Most businesses would put out a better presentation if they expected you to give them money. Forget ticket sales or anything else, this is a tryout but the tryout isn't listed on their web PAGE. The release has errors on it... It doesn't give specifics as to times... Not to mention this is New York, it's a big market, it needs at least the APPEARANCE of legitimacy, this should be elementary to them. I hope this is real and FCNY identifies players and if nothing else makes a little cash, but PDL teams do a million times better with stuff like this. @ FCNY. They should be absolutely embarrassed.
Trust me the poor English is not Bigapplesoccer's fault hahah. I would also go as far as to say this is not a money sink either...the 30 people that show up will not make them back the $400,000 they forked out to start this thing. Plenty of teams do that cheap stuff anyway..what they are doing is very clever actually. They WANT local players (or players who can show they can afford their own room and board) so that if they make the team they won't need to worry about housing them. If you guys have not noticed already, FC New York is as cheaply run an organization as they come (theyd call it being fiscally responsible). They have an advisory board, two owners, no coach, and a Go-Daddy template for a website....I know how hard it is to get things going, especially in a bush league like the USL, but do not expect flashy things, do not expect large contracts, and do not expect anything more then word-of-mouth marketing in the coming months. Anyway....if this team and league does make it to next April; let's hope the team manages to not get blown out by 7 goals every game. From the looks of it, this team is going to be comprised of college kids from Adelphi, Hofstra, and St. Johns, and some stand-out high school players from Nassau County.
Again, it's not that expensive to launch a website. USL-1 is not bush league... Every other USL-1 team has a decent looking website -- Tampa has had a very good one since Day 1. Most of the franchises, whether part of the league still or part of the TOA, are run professionally. If FCNY put all their money into the expansion fee, then they really are in over their heads -- though you could have paid someone $1000, or secured an even cheaper deal through Demosphere to design a website, for things exactly like this to appear on. I'm surprised their new "Marketing Advisor" hasn't advised them of this. I don't believe they're unable to afford this, at this point its just because they're inept.
Re: USL1 in Crisis ''FCNY. They should be absolutely embarrassed.'' Well, that franchise was officially announced on april 1, and that says enough
Re: USL1 in Crisis With respect...I'm guessing they aren't asking you to shell out the money. It's possible this is the only attempt they've made to tell people about the tryouts, yes. It's also possible that they've been working one-on-one with college, PDL, and local amateur league coaches and administrators, and sending targeted email to the local soccer community. Assuming their goal is to get as many qualified, interested prospects through the door as possible rather than just getting as many people as possible to pay them $175, informing the general public is not necessarily the best way to achieve that. Better to get your email address to the local coaches, so that they can send you a few realistic prospects, than to blanket the area and have to sort through hundreds of people who think they can play like the people on American Idol think they can sing. Again, I'm not saying they are or aren't doing things competently. But the importance of a web site tends to get blown out of proportion by fans who are following a team on the internet.
Re: USL1 in Crisis The website adds legitimacy. No they're not asking me to shell out money, but with the current state of their webpage, there's no reason to believe they'll even be playing next year...If that's the case, why would anyone, locally or from out of town, shell out money? If you were a college coach, would you really recommend that your players spend money to tryout for this team? Given their presentation so far, I would expect coaches to steer players away at the moment. I'm sure they're targeting mostly local based players, but if it's me, I'm at least going to try to see what sort of presence they have before spending cash on a glorified two-day runaround. Up till now, after six months, they've done very little to convince anyone that they're a legitimate operation. All I'm saying is that if its all about money, which these trials mostly are, there are very simple ways to present something like this -- this way is poor.
I'm also not an English or grammatical expert, but the original press release (the one they removed) was absolutely atrocious. If a Freshman in high school gave me that as a class project, I would've failed him. There's nothing wrong with not being rich. You can run a very successful franchise with a low budget. The Florida Marlins have been doing it for years. However, when a team has yet to play one game and should be eager to attract fans, using poor grammar and childish clip art is unacceptable. Be it when I'm surveying potential companies at work, or purchasing items online for Christmas, I judge the reliability of the company off of their first impression. And that first impression is their website.
what a sad ass operation.... a try out that requires YOU TO PAY THE TEAM TO LOOK AT YOU!!!!! really FCNY/LI is a mess so typical of the worthless league that is the USL....Leagues in Flushing meadows park are more serious and more prestigous.... sad state of affairs in FC EMBARRASMENT it sounds more like a Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madoff than a try out......... shit maybe FCNY is mobbed up and this is a perfect way to earn some bucks......... remember fcny you have to give a kick back to the mob boss....because he is the boss get it the boss......... AND NO NAPOLI FCNY WILL NOT USE THE MONEY TO PAY THE MLS EXPANSION FEE SO DONT EVEN START WITH YOUR SHIT!!!! WORRY ABOUT NAPOLI THE TEAM 2 BLOCKS AWAY FROM YOUR HOUSE........
A tryout where you have to pay is common place for most professional teams in this country... Even PDL teams do it. It's the way they've presented themselves in the run up to announcing this tryout that makes them look bad.
OK, Stupid Boy. If in this forum there is a SHIT, this are only you. You are only able to insult me because you don't care absolutely about a soccer team in NYC and you use this forum only to lose the time. URUGUAY - ARGENTINA 0-1 Sei solo una merda !!!
Union just announced their open tryouts; they're charging as well, although they charge less. (I think it's around $35). Fact is, running a combine costs money. If you make it free, people will show up just for fun, to say they tried out for a pro team. Look at who goes to American Idol auditions. Even at $35, I know plenty of people who are thinking about trying out for the Union but probably shouldn't. With a minor league team like FCNY, (1) even more people will think they have a shot at the team, and (2) the team doesn't have as much money as an MLS team to spend on an open tryout as marketing. So charging people admission means you can run a smaller, cheaper event; cover some of your costs; and weed out people who aren't serious about a pro career. Makes perfect sense to me.