ODP Regional Camp Experience

Bb had a blast at camp last week. We asked him about his player evaluation, and what he had to say was a bit weird. He described his evaluator as a combination of "Grandma, Gandalf, and Gollum." I'm guessing that he disagreed with his eval? Any campers and parents care to discuss? I can't get any more info out of my child.

Ibystander wrote:Bb had a blast at camp last week. We asked him about his player evaluation, and what he had to say was a bit weird. He described his evaluator as a combination of "Grandma, Gandalf, and Gollum." I'm guessing that he disagreed with his eval? Any campers and parents care to discuss? I can't get any more info out of my child.

Sometime you might have to beat it out of the kid for information.

if he had fun then thats enough. They have already proven at the highest levels that they have no idea how to evalute players

go99 wrote:if he had fun then thats enough. They have already proven at the highest levels that they have no idea how to evalute players

ain't that the truth!

Well said GO99 - mine commented that it was like they didn't know who he was or didn't even watch him with the comments. After having the wrong evaluations given to him on two other occassions, I assume the same thing happened again. The boys talked amongst themselves and evaluated each other telling each other what they did well and not so well - I think he got more out of that.

I can only tell you the rumors that I have heard: that ODP camp is very cliquish and the coaches play favorites. If your BB was one of the chosen ones, then he most likely felt like a rockstar the whole week. If he wasn’t, then that may explain why he's not being more talkative about things.

OnTheSurface wrote:I can only tell you the rumors that I have heard: that ODP camp is very cliquish and the coaches play favorites. If your BB was one of the chosen ones, then he was a rockstar the whole week. If he wasn’t, then that may explain why he's not being more talkative about it.

well I know for a fact that any kid from a team/club where one of the coaches on the staff coached... your in! if you were recomemmended by a coach dont even have to tryout...your in! if your parents played the politics....your in!!!

Congrats to the two NTX boys that made the National camp!!

omega striker wrote:

OnTheSurface wrote:I can only tell you the rumors that I have heard: that ODP camp is very cliquish and the coaches play favorites. If your BB was one of the chosen ones, then he was a rockstar the whole week. If he wasn’t, then that may explain why he's not being more talkative about it.

well I know for a fact that any kid from a team/club where one of the coaches on the staff coached... your in! if you were recomemmended by a coach dont even have to tryout...your in! if your parents played the politics....your in!!!

You're right!

Because there is no possible way that those kids that made it because they actually deserved it. No possible way!

It has to be because (pick one):
1. Parents played politics
2. Parents bribed coaches
3. Kid played on the "right" team
4. Kid had recommendation from the "right" coach and that coach decided to recommend a player that wasn't any good
5. One of a hundred other excuses losers make to explain why they lost because there is simply no possible way they lost fair and square, the game had to have been rigged!

Yep, you're right. None of those kids deserved it.

I'm curious, what kind of adult tears down a kid who's worked hard and achieved something? What do the excuses you're making teach your child?

Sadly, I've seen this in every other sport I've been apart of. Those that don't make it feel a need to tear down those that do. The losers accuse the winners of cheating. The losers accuse the winners of playing politics. Etc, etc, etc. Anything to justify losing because there's simply no way you actually got beat.

Seriously?

Play harder. Distinguish yourself. If you don't make it, take that as a cue to work even harder and come back next week/month/year with a vengeance and even more determination to win! If you don't do that, you probably don't have the drive to succeed at a national level anyway quite frankly.

If your first reaction to not succeeding is to make excuses for why you failed, I would point to that as the reason you are likely failing. Look in a mirror!

However, if your first reaction to not succeeding is to look in the mirror and say "I need to practice harder", then you, at some point, will be a success. Might not be in soccer, but in life, you'll succeed!

Those that choose the former over the latter, they will likely continue failing on average for the rest of their lives because of the life lessons they learned as a child. And they'll continue to blame others for their own shortcomings. Because no one ever told them that losing is ok, sometimes you get beat. It's what you learn from defeat that makes you better.

And above all else, don't forget the kid's that you're tearing down with your hateful comments, key word being KIDS.

My bb was at the ODP regional and he told me the two boys who made the national camp were the best from NTX...no question in his mind.

The only complaint he and I have is the down time. Early morning match, meetings in the afternoon, training for one hour, then watch the pool games.

I know it rained but in my opinion should have had other training activities planned in case of rain. Overall positive experience.

IC75 wrote:My bb was at the ODP regional and he told me the two boys who made the national camp were the best from NTX...no question in his mind.

The only complaint he and I have is the down time. Early morning match, meetings in the afternoon, training for one hour, then watch the pool games.

I know it rained but in my opinion should have had other training activities planned in case of rain. Overall positive experience.

Now thats a reasonable complaint.

So how much extra do you pay, Dragon?? Haha!

Soccerinsanity wrote:So how much extra do you pay, Dragon?? Haha!

Not a dime.

Ask my wife, I bitch every single month about the payment to my son's club team. But I figure out a way to pay it every single month because its important to him, and that makes it important to me.

Doesn't mean I have to like it though.

Dragon you definitely nailed it. Well done.
OTS I can only speak for the 95s and without a doubt your are wrong. At the younger ages, U12 and U13 there was alot of cliques, but those players were either replaced or matured in their outlook toward the game.
Omega; once again I can only speak to my experience with 4 years with the 95s. In that context your statemnt sounds like pure sour grapes and is laughabley ridiculous.
IC- I felt the same way the first year I went out to watch. But by the fourth day I had changed my mind on it and understood the down time.By the fourth and fifth games of the trials most players are running on dead legs. The pace of the games are very fast. And before the ODP haters start screaming kick ball, no I do not mean long ball all day. Far from it. Plus many are also playing in at least 2 pool games.
As to the eveluations if players think they are crap and do not use them as motivation to improve in the areas they state then get ready for more disappointing news in the future. The majority of evaluations are done by multiple college coaches. So you can listen to a coach you pay telling how he is going to get your kid into college ball or whatever next level, or you can take the advise of a next level coach who has no part of his paycheck involved saying this is what you need to work on to get there.

I take no issue with the BBs eval. - seems about on target, but I can say it was not done by "several college coaches" it was one of the Florida coaches.

ontherightside wrote:I take no issue with the BBs eval. - seems about on target, but I can say it was not done by "several college coaches" it was one of the Florida coaches.

He sat down with him, went over the evaluation and did the drill sessions with him. But at every game there are usually three to six coaches watching and evaluating players. That is how the pool players are chosen . The player's own coach has no say in it. These are part of the evaluation process as well.

my2cents wrote:Dragon you definitely nailed it. Well done.
OTS I can only speak for the 95s and without a doubt your are wrong. At the younger ages, U12 and U13 there was alot of cliques, but those players were either replaced or matured in their outlook toward the game.
Omega; once again I can only speak to my experience with 4 years with the 95s. In that context your statemnt sounds like pure sour grapes and is laughabley ridiculous.
IC- I felt the same way the first year I went out to watch. But by the fourth day I had changed my mind on it and understood the down time.By the fourth and fifth games of the trials most players are running on dead legs. The pace of the games are very fast. And before the ODP haters start screaming kick ball, no I do not mean long ball all day. Far from it. Plus many are also playing in at least 2 pool games.
As to the eveluations if players think they are crap and do not use them as motivation to improve in the areas they state then get ready for more disappointing news in the future. The majority of evaluations are done by multiple college coaches. So you can listen to a coach you pay telling how he is going to get your kid into college ball or whatever next level, or you can take the advise of a next level coach who has no part of his paycheck involved saying this is what you need to work on to get there.

understood! no sour grapes just mainly commenting from parents of kids who just either dropped ODP for academy or from what was told straight from the coaches MOUTH not my opinion, no need for something that has become not obsolete,maybe there is a difference at younger ages but in no way am i saying that ANY of those kids dont deserve it but regardless of what any of you say,before you get all defensive and "rant" and type paragraphs of explanations or your logic,this just my opinions and observations, I have been told and even heard from their(coaches) mouth in older ages and the younger ones "don't worry your kid will make just show up" but hey good luck to all and I hope every kid playing NTX can make the USMNT and start showing them how to win and that we are the most dominate soccer region in the country!

if I have offended anybody i appologize not intended just putting MY opinion out there if I'm wrong i'm wrong if not................well you people do the math

omega striker wrote:

my2cents wrote:Dragon you definitely nailed it. Well done.
OTS I can only speak for the 95s and without a doubt your are wrong. At the younger ages, U12 and U13 there was alot of cliques, but those players were either replaced or matured in their outlook toward the game.
Omega; once again I can only speak to my experience with 4 years with the 95s. In that context your statemnt sounds like pure sour grapes and is laughabley ridiculous.
IC- I felt the same way the first year I went out to watch. But by the fourth day I had changed my mind on it and understood the down time.By the fourth and fifth games of the trials most players are running on dead legs. The pace of the games are very fast. And before the ODP haters start screaming kick ball, no I do not mean long ball all day. Far from it. Plus many are also playing in at least 2 pool games.
As to the eveluations if players think they are crap and do not use them as motivation to improve in the areas they state then get ready for more disappointing news in the future. The majority of evaluations are done by multiple college coaches. So you can listen to a coach you pay telling how he is going to get your kid into college ball or whatever next level, or you can take the advise of a next level coach who has no part of his paycheck involved saying this is what you need to work on to get there.

understood! no sour grapes just mainly commenting from parents of kids who just either dropped ODP for academy or from what was told straight from the coaches MOUTH not my opinion, no need for something that has become not obsolete,maybe there is a difference at younger ages but in no way am i saying that ANY of those kids dont deserve it but regardless of what any of you say,before you get all defensive and "rant" and type paragraphs of explanations or your logic,this just my opinions and observations, I have been told and even heard from their(coaches) mouth in older ages and the younger ones "don't worry your kid will make just show up" but hey good luck to all and I hope every kid playing NTX can make the USMNT and start showing them how to win and that we are the most dominate soccer region in the country!

if I have offended anybody i appologize not intended just putting MY opinion out there if I'm wrong i'm wrong if not................well you people do the math

Not offended just tired of the program being run down by those who kids either did not make or decided to go academy and have never actually been to the regional trials. The Academy program in NTX is very strong but serves a very small geographic area centered around the metroplex north of Dallas. For those who don't consider hour and a half or more each way drives to practice feasible, academy is not an option. The two holdovers in the NTX 95s are from west TX and west of Fort Worth. There are also those who don't care to give up HS sports. Many seem to think Academy got the top 100 players in all NTX, thats ridiculous. I know of many ODP pool players over the last three years that did not make the team that are now playing DA. Many think ODP is obsolete. For most of the other states involved ODP is still the best option for top level play and college recruitment. In Alabama your want join academy, fine. Sign up and write a check. No try-outs. Academy has taken many good players from the NTX program but it did not take all as evidenced by the fact we are still getting kids in the regional pool and the national camp.
A person can say go to club x because it is the best thing ever. Well under coach Joe it could be he is gods gift to soccer but the same club under coach John could be a nightmare. This is my experience with the 95 age group and it has benifited my son tremendously over the past 4 years.

my2cents wrote:

omega striker wrote:

my2cents wrote:Dragon you definitely nailed it. Well done.
OTS I can only speak for the 95s and without a doubt your are wrong. At the younger ages, U12 and U13 there was alot of cliques, but those players were either replaced or matured in their outlook toward the game.
Omega; once again I can only speak to my experience with 4 years with the 95s. In that context your statemnt sounds like pure sour grapes and is laughabley ridiculous.
IC- I felt the same way the first year I went out to watch. But by the fourth day I had changed my mind on it and understood the down time.By the fourth and fifth games of the trials most players are running on dead legs. The pace of the games are very fast. And before the ODP haters start screaming kick ball, no I do not mean long ball all day. Far from it. Plus many are also playing in at least 2 pool games.
As to the eveluations if players think they are crap and do not use them as motivation to improve in the areas they state then get ready for more disappointing news in the future. The majority of evaluations are done by multiple college coaches. So you can listen to a coach you pay telling how he is going to get your kid into college ball or whatever next level, or you can take the advise of a next level coach who has no part of his paycheck involved saying this is what you need to work on to get there.

understood! no sour grapes just mainly commenting from parents of kids who just either dropped ODP for academy or from what was told straight from the coaches MOUTH not my opinion, no need for something that has become not obsolete,maybe there is a difference at younger ages but in no way am i saying that ANY of those kids dont deserve it but regardless of what any of you say,before you get all defensive and "rant" and type paragraphs of explanations or your logic,this just my opinions and observations, I have been told and even heard from their(coaches) mouth in older ages and the younger ones "don't worry your kid will make just show up" but hey good luck to all and I hope every kid playing NTX can make the USMNT and start showing them how to win and that we are the most dominate soccer region in the country!

if I have offended anybody i appologize not intended just putting MY opinion out there if I'm wrong i'm wrong if not................well you people do the math

Not offended just tired of the program being run down by those who kids either did not make or decided to go academy and have never actually been to the regional trials. The Academy program in NTX is very strong but serves a very small geographic area centered around the metroplex north of Dallas. For those who don't consider hour and a half or more each way drives to practice feasible, academy is not an option. The two holdovers in the NTX 95s are from west TX and west of Fort Worth. There are also those who don't care to give up HS sports. Many seem to think Academy got the top 100 players in all NTX, thats ridiculous. I know of many ODP pool players over the last three years that did not make the team that are now playing DA. Many think ODP is obsolete. For most of the other states involved ODP is still the best option for top level play and college recruitment. In Alabama your want join academy, fine. Sign up and write a check. No try-outs. Academy has taken many good players from the NTX program but it did not take all as evidenced by the fact we are still getting kids in the regional pool and the national camp.
A person can say go to club x because it is the best thing ever. Well under coach Joe it could be he is gods gift to soccer but the same club under coach John could be a nightmare. This is my experience with the 95 age group and it has benifited my son tremendously over the past 4 years.

ok point taken and noted

From The Pitch
Martin Salas and Christian Ramirez were both invited to participate in the U14 Boys' National Team Camp, which was held at California's Home Depot Center, May 1-8. Martin and Christian were two of 38 players that were invited to participate. Both boys play locally for FC Dallas. It was interesting to note that of the 38 players invited to the camp, 30 of them were from the Olympic Development Program.

And just to plug that particular FC Dallas team - another one of their players was recently invited to the National Camp that is taking place July 31st at the Home Depot Center. He will be attending along with the two boys just selected from the ODP camp.

Congrats to all three of these boys!!!

my2cents wrote:From The Pitch
Martin Salas and Christian Ramirez were both invited to participate in the U14 Boys' National Team Camp, which was held at California's Home Depot Center, May 1-8. Martin and Christian were two of 38 players that were invited to participate. Both boys play locally for FC Dallas. It was interesting to note that of the 38 players invited to the camp, 30 of them were from the Olympic Development Program.

cool for them! I wonder how much that cost?

omega striker wrote:

my2cents wrote:From The Pitch
Martin Salas and Christian Ramirez were both invited to participate in the U14 Boys' National Team Camp, which was held at California's Home Depot Center, May 1-8. Martin and Christian were two of 38 players that were invited to participate. Both boys play locally for FC Dallas. It was interesting to note that of the 38 players invited to the camp, 30 of them were from the Olympic Development Program.

cool for them! I wonder how much that cost?

I would imagine the same as the regional trials, disney tournament or international trips. $1000 or apply for financial assistance that is available on a needs basis.

my2cents wrote:

omega striker wrote:

my2cents wrote:From The Pitch
Martin Salas and Christian Ramirez were both invited to participate in the U14 Boys' National Team Camp, which was held at California's Home Depot Center, May 1-8. Martin and Christian were two of 38 players that were invited to participate. Both boys play locally for FC Dallas. It was interesting to note that of the 38 players invited to the camp, 30 of them were from the Olympic Development Program.

cool for them! I wonder how much that cost?

I would imagine the same as the regional trials, disney tournament or international trips. $1000 or apply for financial assistance that is available on a needs basis.

wow thats alot of mula!

omega striker wrote:

my2cents wrote:

omega striker wrote:

my2cents wrote:From The Pitch
Martin Salas and Christian Ramirez were both invited to participate in the U14 Boys' National Team Camp, which was held at California's Home Depot Center, May 1-8. Martin and Christian were two of 38 players that were invited to participate. Both boys play locally for FC Dallas. It was interesting to note that of the 38 players invited to the camp, 30 of them were from the Olympic Development Program.

cool for them! I wonder how much that cost?

I would imagine the same as the regional trials, disney tournament or international trips. $1000 or apply for financial assistance that is available on a needs basis.

wow thats alot of mula!

Includes airfare, room and board.