New resident looking for info

Hello everyone.

My family and I are moving to DFW this summer and are specifically looking at the Colleyville area as a landing spot. We would like to get some general info on soccer in DFW. I know that is a big question but I really appreciate the help.

Some things we would like to know:
What are the different league options? DO you have Premier and Select soccer? Are there divisions (Div 1, Div 2, etc)? Do you play US Club or USYS?

What clubs are located in the Colleyville area? I have a son who plays U13 and a daughter who plays U14. Both play at a competitive level. My son made ODP this season but I am not sure we want to do that again.

Does your area have a set tryout period (i.e. first two weeks of May) or does each club set their own tryout dates?

Thanks in advance. I am sure we will have more questions and we look forward to becoming part of your community.

One other question:

I was looking at some club websites and I think Texas does the team year and age group a little different than I am use to.

I have always know the 98 boys as U13 this season and the 97 girls as U14 this season. But it seems like when I look at 98 boys teams they are playing U14 right now.

I know current U13's were born between Aug 1, 1998 and July 31, 1999 but do you refer to them as 98's or 99's?

Thakns again.

Aug 1, 1998- July 1, 1999 are 99s aka U13s, in select here. You probably already know that PA and academy are birth year like ODP. Welcome!

June is the tryout period. Although if you are moving in, presumably your kids aren't under any contract here anyway, so you can start trying out whenever.

welcome aboard! where are you from? ithink the American eagles are right in that area and have quality coaching and some good teams!

get ready to drive. Oh but I do think solar and some of their pre academy stuff is out that way. Welcome to Almost Dallas BTW

Thanks.

Currently we are in western Washington, so we drive 4 hours every other weekend to Seattle to play games. I can't imagine the commute is going to be worse.

The clubs I have been able to find searching the web in the area are American Eagles, Hurst, and Liverpool has a team in Flower Mound? Not sure if there are others.

The fact that you mentioned that your bb played ODP will get you bombarded with emails.

If your son is a 98 he is currently U14 and your daughter is U15 in Texas. Aug. 1st is the cut-off, and they will be moving to U15 and U16 next season.

June is typically the open tryout month, which means you can go to any practices for any teams, but since you are coming from out of state you can start now. July 1st is when teams are formed and rosters are filled. Don't wait until July 1st and show up for tryouts, teams need to see your players in June, the more practices the better.

The Large Clubs:

FC Dallas in the Frisco/North Dallas area (boys and girls)
Dallas Texans Carrollton/Farmersbranch and a few other locations in the metroplex (boys and girls)
Solar Chelsea North Dallas area (boys and girls)
Sting Northeast Dallas area (girls only)
D'Feeters North Dallas (girls only)

These clubs have both Pre-Acedemy(U13-U15)and Developmental Academy(U15_U18)teams for boys and ECNL for girls (U13-U18).

After Pre-Acedemy, ECNL, and Developmental Academy; Classic League for boys and Lake Highlands Classic League for girls are the top leagues in the area. Both have D1, D2, and D3 divisions. Arlington Premier and Plano Premier are the lower division leagues, but there is plenty of good talent and teams even at that level.

Medium Size Clubs

Xtreme FC is located in the Colleyville area
Liverpool FC located in North Dallas area
Aces Denton area
Andromeda
Ft Worth FC
TFC

There are numerous other smaller clubs. The North Texas Soccer web site has a list of all clubs.

The large clubs tend to dominate the top leagues, but I think the important thing is that your kids are comfortable and that they will get playing time at no matter what level they are at.

Here is the watch out, clubs will welcome you to their practices and most will not commit to you if your players are a fit for their team. My advice is after 2 or 3 practices ask the coach out right if your player will make the team, if they hem and ha I would move on. Coaches will keep players around during open practices just to fill our their rosters in case they lose a key player to another team. Find a team that wants your kids.

Always find it interesting that people know about our forum before they move here or within weeks of moving to DFW.

finish1 wrote:Always find it interesting that people know about our forum before they move here or within weeks of moving to DFW.

Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Speed and agressiveness

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

which age group and teams have you practiced with? i have been looking to get my older son back into the swing of things(he was out for a little over a year from an knee injury) my younger son is on a solid 02'club team but would like to see other club options.

The Boss wrote:

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

which age group and teams have you practiced with? i have been looking to get my older son back into the swing of things(he was out for a little over a year from an knee injury) my younger son is on a solid 02'club team but would like to see other club options.

96's, clubs have been both large and medium size.

Bagman00 wrote:The fact that you mentioned that your bb played ODP will get you bombarded with emails.

If your son is a 98 he is currently U14 and your daughter is U15 in Texas. Aug. 1st is the cut-off, and they will be moving to U15 and U16 next season.

June is typically the open tryout month, which means you can go to any practices for any teams, but since you are coming from out of state you can start now. July 1st is when teams are formed and rosters are filled. Don't wait until July 1st and show up for tryouts, teams need to see your players in June, the more practices the better.

The Large Clubs:

FC Dallas in the Frisco/North Dallas area (boys and girls)
Dallas Texans Carrollton/Farmersbranch and a few other locations in the metroplex (boys and girls)
Solar Chelsea North Dallas area (boys and girls)
Sting Northeast Dallas area (girls only)
D'Feeters North Dallas (girls only)

These clubs have both Pre-Acedemy(U13-U15)and Developmental Academy(U15_U18)teams for boys and ECNL for girls (U13-U18).

After Pre-Acedemy, ECNL, and Developmental Academy; Classic League for boys and Lake Highlands Classic League for girls are the top leagues in the area. Both have D1, D2, and D3 divisions. Arlington Premier and Plano Premier are the lower division leagues, but there is plenty of good talent and teams even at that level.

Medium Size Clubs

Xtreme FC is located in the Colleyville area
Liverpool FC located in North Dallas area
Aces Denton area
Andromeda
Ft Worth FC
TFC

There are numerous other smaller clubs. The North Texas Soccer web site has a list of all clubs.

The large clubs tend to dominate the top leagues, but I think the important thing is that your kids are comfortable and that they will get playing time at no matter what level they are at.

Here is the watch out, clubs will welcome you to their practices and most will not commit to you if your players are a fit for their team. My advice is after 2 or 3 practices ask the coach out right if your player will make the team, if they hem and ha I would move on. Coaches will keep players around during open practices just to fill our their rosters in case they lose a key player to another team. Find a team that wants your kids.

Pretty good summation of teams/leagues. The only add I would make is that Andromeda (in the medium size club list) is also one of the clubs that is USCS Pre-Academy and USSF Development Academy.

they are for now at least

omega striker wrote:

finish1 wrote:Always find it interesting that people know about our forum before they move here or within weeks of moving to DFW.

It is because most of us have soccer boards where we currently live and we know they are probably the best source for info out there. So we go looking for them. I did a google search for "Dallas Ft Worth soccer forum" and found this site.

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Not sure why any team would need to carry 20/21 players. My experience is that 15 dedicated players is ideal with 16 being the max. The last club I coached in forced me to carry 18. I hated trying to manage that big of a bench. It made it impossible to not have angry parents after every game regardless of outcome.

dra wrote:

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Not sure why any team would need to carry 20/21 players. My experience is that 15 dedicated players is ideal with 16 being the max. The last club I coached in forced me to carry 18. I hated trying to manage that big of a bench. It made it impossible to not have angry parents after every game regardless of outcome.

Yes, I can understand 18, especially as they get older and injuries start to come in to play more often. 20-21, is too many. Also you hate to say 21 kids vs 16-18 kids, is more dollars to the club

dra wrote:

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Not sure why any team would need to carry 20/21 players. My experience is that 15 dedicated players is ideal with 16 being the max. The last club I coached in forced me to carry 18. I hated trying to manage that big of a bench. It made it impossible to not have angry parents after every game regardless of outcome.

oh so your a club coach? cool which club were you with?

omega striker wrote:

dra wrote:

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Not sure why any team would need to carry 20/21 players. My experience is that 15 dedicated players is ideal with 16 being the max. The last club I coached in forced me to carry 18. I hated trying to manage that big of a bench. It made it impossible to not have angry parents after every game regardless of outcome.

oh so your a club coach? cool which club were you with?

I am not coaching currently as I am enjoying watching my kids play on the weekends. Most recently I have coached for Benicia Arsenal FC and 3 Rivers SC. I have my national diploma through NSCAA and national D license as well. I will probably get back into it when the kids move on (unless I assist on one of their teams between now and then).

dra wrote:

omega striker wrote:

dra wrote:

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Not sure why any team would need to carry 20/21 players. My experience is that 15 dedicated players is ideal with 16 being the max. The last club I coached in forced me to carry 18. I hated trying to manage that big of a bench. It made it impossible to not have angry parents after every game regardless of outcome.

oh so your a club coach? cool which club were you with?

I am not coaching currently as I am enjoying watching my kids play on the weekends. Most recently I have coached for Benicia Arsenal FC and 3 Rivers SC. I have my national diploma through NSCAA and national D license as well. I will probably get back into it when the kids move on (unless I assist on one of their teams between now and then).

thats cool never heard of those clubs though ut good luck to ya anyway

omega striker wrote:

dra wrote:

omega striker wrote:

dra wrote:

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Not sure why any team would need to carry 20/21 players. My experience is that 15 dedicated players is ideal with 16 being the max. The last club I coached in forced me to carry 18. I hated trying to manage that big of a bench. It made it impossible to not have angry parents after every game regardless of outcome.

oh so your a club coach? cool which club were you with?

I am not coaching currently as I am enjoying watching my kids play on the weekends. Most recently I have coached for Benicia Arsenal FC and 3 Rivers SC. I have my national diploma through NSCAA and national D license as well. I will probably get back into it when the kids move on (unless I assist on one of their teams between now and then).

thats cool never heard of those clubs though ut good luck to ya anyway

I didn't expect you to have. The 3 Rivers club is the club Hope Solo grew up playing in.

dra wrote:

jaymeyer714 wrote:Going through same process now with my son, but coming in mid-year.

We are having more issues with coach liking son, but not having room on team. Carrying 20-21 players, can't add more, and not sure I want him to be added to team with this many players.

Son played on a team that was approx level of lower classic div 2. Wants to play/ train with higher level, so have been training with mainly div 1 teams. Also trained with div 2 and plano teams.

We have seen quite a bit of difference from div 1 to div 2. Especially soles and agressiveness.

Good luck, some very good coaches and players here.

Not sure why any team would need to carry 20/21 players. My experience is that 15 dedicated players is ideal with 16 being the max. The last club I coached in forced me to carry 18. I hated trying to manage that big of a bench. It made it impossible to not have angry parents after every game regardless of outcome.

That is fine until you hit the marathon tournaments of 5 or 6 games in a weekend. Add a 2 or three injuries and now you have one sub per game. Even in league play that can be rough with one sub if the injury bug hits. 16 to 18 seems to work best at the older ages.

I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago. What I did was speak to coworkers to find some soccer parents, and from them I got names of coaches and from speaking to few coaches got low down on various clubs. Have to take all with grain of salt, but pretty good. Then picked few clubs and had my boy go practice with them and from that picked a club.

What I would do is go to webpage for the Classic League

I tried to post it, but new member so this site will not let me do it for 7 days, maybe someone else will post it for you. You can also google it, Classic Soccer Plano

From that can find out wealth of information on roughly the top 30 clubs in each age bracket. A step below Classic is Plano Premier League and also league in Arlington. Good luck