Feedback for 04 Coaches

What coach that currently has a 04 Boys squad in the Plano/North Dallas area do you favor? Which one would you take your son to play for? Why?

Here is a quick list of names to begin the discussion. Obviously there are a lot of other coaches out there that are not included below, expand on the list as you see fit.

Arturo Rosales (Dallas Texans)
Kurtwyn Baird (Dallas Texans)
John Thomas (FC Dallas)
Jim Depew (FC Dallas)
Phil Gomez (FC Dallas)
Jesse Luna (FC Dallas)
Paul Marshall (FC Dallas)
Dean Robertson (LFCA)
Drew Rowell (LFCA)
Steven Armstrong (Solar)
Ryan Farley (Solar)
Reagan Angell (TFC)
Alex Opoku (TFC)
Michael Schell (TFC)

I don't think Drew Rowell is still coaching. I think that LFCA team is now coached by Jorge Molina.

rootx3333 wrote:What coach that currently has a 04 Boys squad in the Plano/North Dallas area do you favor? Which one would you take your son to play for? Why?

Here is a quick list of names to begin the discussion. Obviously there are a lot of other coaches out there that are not included below, expand on the list as you see fit.

Arturo Rosales (Dallas Texans)
Kurtwyn Baird (Dallas Texans)
John Thomas (FC Dallas)
Jim Depew (FC Dallas)
Phil Gomez (FC Dallas)
Jesse Luna (FC Dallas)
Paul Marshall (FC Dallas)
Dean Robertson (LFCA)
Drew Rowell (LFCA)
Steven Armstrong (Solar)
Ryan Farley (Solar)
Reagan Angell (TFC)
Alex Opoku (TFC)
Michael Schell (TFC)

I think it is always funny how no one likes to answer posts like this one, yet this is supposed to be one of the reasons why we have this forum.

If you look at results there are only three coaches on that list that seem to be having success in improving their teams. Arturo Rosales Texans, Ryan Farley Solar, and Phil Gomez FC Dallas. If I were you I would start with those three and talk to them and see how they are doing it.

Thank you for the specific suggestions. I will take your advice. Hopefully others will be as brave to provide feedback. Much appreciated.

I've seen Phil Gomez's FC Dallas '06 team play in a tournament... that team is really strong. I believe my exact thoughts were something like, "Holy crap those kids are impressive." I haven't seen the '04s. With the '06s though, Phil seems to have a good connection with his kids on that team.

I've seen Paul Marshall at FC Dallas run a couple practices and he seems like a very good coach. The kids seem to respond well to his direction. I've only seen him with the younger kids though. I haven't seen his '04s in practice or a game.

bigtex75081 wrote:I've seen Phil Gomez's FC Dallas '06 team play in a tournament... that team is really strong.  I believe my exact thoughts were something like, "Holy crap those kids are impressive."  I haven't seen the '04s.  With the '06s though, Phil seems to have a good connection with his kids on that team.

I've seen Paul Marshall at FC Dallas run a couple practices and he seems like a very good coach.  The kids seem to respond well to his direction.  I've only seen him with the younger kids though.  I haven't seen his '04s in practice or a game.

We played Paul's 04 last Saturday. His team came across as well-coached and I liked his style/demeanor. Specifically, he had a fairly even keel and didn't yell a lot. His 04's will easily make it into PPL D1 and likely do very well.

My only criticism is that he seems to let the kids get away with egregious un-sportsmen like conduct. (e.g., kid told one of our players he was going to kill him, another kid shoved the ball in one of my player's face and said a few choice words on a throw-in). Keep in mind, I do not know if/how he dealt with that.

Back to coaching/winning - they kept that intensity level until we ran out of juice, then scored 6 goals in short order to win 7 nil.

plano04b wrote:

bigtex75081 wrote:I've seen Phil Gomez's FC Dallas '06 team play in a tournament... that team is really strong.  I believe my exact thoughts were something like, "Holy crap those kids are impressive."  I haven't seen the '04s.  With the '06s though, Phil seems to have a good connection with his kids on that team.

I've seen Paul Marshall at FC Dallas run a couple practices and he seems like a very good coach.  The kids seem to respond well to his direction.  I've only seen him with the younger kids though.  I haven't seen his '04s in practice or a game.

We played Paul's 04 last Saturday.  His team came across as well-coached and I liked his style/demeanor. Specifically, he had a fairly even keel and didn't yell a lot.  His 04's will easily make it into PPL D1 and likely do very well.  

My only criticism is that he seems to let the kids get away with egregious un-sportsmen like conduct.  (e.g., kid told one of our players he was going to kill him, another kid shoved the ball in one of my player's face and said a few choice words on a throw-in).  Keep in mind, I do not know if/how he dealt with that.

Back to coaching/winning - they kept that intensity level until we ran out of juice, then scored 6 goals in short order to win 7 nil.  

Wow! We are really digging back into the threads to post about our 7-0 loss.

But it was good to look back and read this old thread and see what was said. I see that everyone was in love with Gomez back a year or more ago. I think plenty have now seen through his BS. No mention of Gall or Pomykal or Borg-a-whatever or Che.

nopassnoplay2 wrote:

plano04b wrote:

bigtex75081 wrote:I've seen Phil Gomez's FC Dallas '06 team play in a tournament... that team is really strong.  I believe my exact thoughts were something like, "Holy crap those kids are impressive."  I haven't seen the '04s.  With the '06s though, Phil seems to have a good connection with his kids on that team.

I've seen Paul Marshall at FC Dallas run a couple practices and he seems like a very good coach.  The kids seem to respond well to his direction.  I've only seen him with the younger kids though.  I haven't seen his '04s in practice or a game.

We played Paul's 04 last Saturday.  His team came across as well-coached and I liked his style/demeanor. Specifically, he had a fairly even keel and didn't yell a lot.  His 04's will easily make it into PPL D1 and likely do very well.  

My only criticism is that he seems to let the kids get away with egregious un-sportsmen like conduct.  (e.g., kid told one of our players he was going to kill him, another kid shoved the ball in one of my player's face and said a few choice words on a throw-in).  Keep in mind, I do not know if/how he dealt with that.

Back to coaching/winning - they kept that intensity level until we ran out of juice, then scored 6 goals in short order to win 7 nil.  

Wow! We are really digging back into the threads to post about our 7-0 loss.

*Point taken in good nature... I do research on every coach, team and club we play (to learn/develop my understanding), but generally don't post on wins, losses, or even stuff like this. Certainly not bitter about the loss. I just read through this after google kicked this thread up and figured now is a good time to rekindle this thread given 04's are hitting the pitch in PPl, Classic, etc... with a little something to talk about ;-) I will reiterate, the actions of some of the kids may not be indicative of his coaching, or FCD in general. Time will tell as we play more teams.

On a related note, I do find it interesting that most clubs don't provide much info on the coaches. They tend to promote a few names to market the club. But when you go to the website, they tend not to have bios or much else on many of the others. Is there something similar to "rate my professor" for coaches? If not, do you think there is value in building a more formal rating/feedback system outside of the conversations here?

There are sites that rate coaches, but can you even trust that? It is just a bunch of parents either patting their current coach on the back, or ripping into a former coach. Not a real comprehensive look at coaches. The one I saw had a bunch of low level coaches rated with people leaving remarks of what a great coach they were. But how do they know? They've probably only played for this guy and don't know the difference between a good coach and just a good person.

wow...totally agree.  Not sure how or why such an old post gets resurrected---but it is fun to look back and I agree with 4TL that this is one of the reasons for the forum (RIP).

I am familiar with 3 of the coaches listed from the basically disbanded TFC, and might I suggest that all 3 are probably pretty good coaches as evidenced by all 3 of their teams (Titans, FC Premier, and Dallas Roma) qualifying for Classic League D1....one of the most competitive soccer leagues in the U.S..    

It is unfortunate that some coaches let "the kids get away with egregious un-sportsmen like conduct", and coaches like Michael Schell, whom I have the most experience, do not allow it.  He coaches in a very vocal and disciplined manor, which many 10 year olds are frankly not ready for...but the proof is in the pudding as they say.  If anyone reading this has an unsigned 04 who would like the opportunity to play against top teams in Classic League D1 with us this year, you may contact Coach Schell at 214-244-3172.  Dallas Roma practices on Mondays & Wednesdays at 6:00 at its own private facility in Plano.

Back to coaching/winning - they kept that intensity level until we ran out of juice, then scored 6 goals in short order to win 7 nil.  

[/quote]

Wow! We are really digging back into the threads to post about our 7-0 loss.

But it was good to look back and read this old thread and see what was said. I see that everyone was in love with Gomez back a year or more ago. I think plenty have now seen through his BS. No mention of Gall or Pomykal or Borg-a-whatever or Che. [/quote]

You mentioned seeing pass Gomez's BS? Can you clarify? my son plays for him this season and he has been pretty much what you see is what you get. Has been good. I've seen my son develop. I haven't seen anything sneaky or questionable. Is there anything I need to ask or look for?

I agree -- Gomez is great. My 04 doesn't play for him, but I wouldn't hesitate to have him on Gomez' team because, like you said, what you see is what you get and he is pretty straightforward.

I'd agree too as unbiased 3rd party. Proof is in the pudding. I've seen first hand that he does not let his players get away with crappy and often unsportsmanlike play, which I think was what the complaint a few posts ago was about.

winkipop77 wrote:wow...totally agree.  Not sure how or why such an old post gets resurrected---but it is fun to look back and I agree with 4TL that this is one of the reasons for the forum (RIP).

I am familiar with 3 of the coaches listed from the basically disbanded TFC, and might I suggest that all 3 are probably pretty good coaches as evidenced by all 3 of their teams (Titans, FC Premier, and Dallas Roma) qualifying for Classic League D1....one of the most competitive soccer leagues in the U.S..    

It is unfortunate that some coaches let "the kids get away with egregious un-sportsmen like conduct", and coaches like Michael Schell, whom I have the most experience, do not allow it.  He coaches in a very vocal and disciplined manor, which many 10 year olds are frankly not ready for...but the proof is in the pudding as they say.  If anyone reading this has an unsigned 04 who would like the opportunity to play against top teams in Classic League D1 with us this year, you may contact Coach Schell at 214-244-3172.  Dallas Roma practices on Mondays & Wednesdays at 6:00 at its own private facility in Plano.

I just brought my boy out to Michael's practice yesterday and he had a lot of fun. I admit that I know about zero on the boy's side as far as coaching goes, being focused on the girl's side. My son has had experience playing with Edgar Hernandez and Pomykal on their academy teams before we had to move up to north Dallas, but had a good time with both of those coaches. My boy is unsigned, so this information about the coaches and where they are presently is very valuable.

Glad your BB had fun TMB.  My BB unfortunately was not there as he was home sick but should be there tomorrow night.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet you and tell you more about our team.

rootx3333 wrote:What coach that currently has a 04 Boys squad in the Plano/North Dallas area do you favor?  Which one would you take your son to play for? Why?

Here is a quick list of names to begin the discussion.  Obviously there are a lot of other coaches out there that are not included below, expand on the list as you see fit.

Arturo Rosales (Dallas Texans)
Kurtwyn Baird (Dallas Texans)
John Thomas (FC Dallas)
Jim Depew (FC Dallas)
Phil Gomez (FC Dallas)
Jesse Luna (FC Dallas)
Paul Marshall (FC Dallas)
Dean Robertson (LFCA)
Drew Rowell (LFCA)
Steven Armstrong (Solar)
Ryan Farley (Solar)
Reagan Angell (TFC)
Alex Opoku (TFC)
Michael Schell (TFC)

Just moved to town and saw this old post, thought it might be nice to get fresh opinions on these and any others.

This might be helpful: http://home.gotsoccer.com/rankings/event.aspx?EventID=46557

It lists all teams that qualified to play in CCSAI, our areas top league for youth soccer.

This year's QT which I believe will be held in late July instead of memorial day will be extremely competitive and unpredictable because of the new Age Pure rules.  All teams in D3 except the ones that finish #1 & #2 will have to play in the tournament along with other challenging teams that could be entirely new, and made up of players that are essentially 6 months older than the current players that comprise the teams.  This sounds confusing so let me explain and try to confuse even further:

1. Lets say a U12 team called "the Lady Bugs" finishes 3rd in D3 and therefore has to re-qualify in the July QT.

2. The Lady Bugs are comprised all boys who are born between  8/1/03 and 7/31/04, and decide not to add any new players to the squad. Their game day roster remains basically unchanged going into QT, where they must compete in the U14 division since they have '03 players still on the roster.

3.  An new team call "The Lady Killers" also enters the QT as a U14 team.  Its roster is comprised of all boys born primarily between 1/1/03 and 7/31/03 (6 months older than the Lady Bugs oldest players). These older boys on the roster are also not new to competitive soccer. In fact, they were the youngest players on U13 teams currently competing in D1 and D2. They are extremely skilled players.

4. The Lady Bugs get completely crushed by the Lady Killers in the QT.

My opinion is it may be wise to focus on the coaches with D1 and D2 teams as they may be more predictable but be advised that their team try outs will be tough and very selective...after all they can augment with older "Lady Killer" type boys as well.  If your son was born in 2004, then might be best to look at teams currently in U11, that either have a D1 or D2 by into U13, or plan on competing for one with current U12 talent.

I thought the top two finishing teams in D3 move up to D2 and then places 3 and 4 are safe to stay in D3.

LLHowie wrote:I thought the top two finishing teams in D3 move up to D2 and then places 3 and 4 are safe to stay in D3.

Correct.  Teams #3 and #4 would not be required to re-quailify.  But my point is that D3 is likely to be the most unpredictable of all divisions.  Its possible that teams that qualify for D3 next year could actually be stronger than ones in D2 or even D1 if the new D3 teams are comprised of older D1/D2 talent.  A team like the Lady Bug example will have a tough time competing.  They might be better severed to find new homes for their '03's, and compete with their '04's as a new team in the U13 QT, instead of trying to complete in U14 D3.

As a parent on a current U13 team, I can't see many (any?) of the good 03 BY kids in this year's U13 CL deciding that their best bet for next year is to sign up for a roll of the dice in the 03 BY Challenge tourney in the Fall.   If they want to play "down" or their age or whatever we are calling it, they will just walk out in June and take a spot from a current Aug03-July04 kid on a current established 04 team with a CL bye.   So I'll be shocked if there is a team of Lady Killers as in your example. Old team...maybe....but I doubt old and very skilled.

Not that any of this changes the basic premise, it will be hard for teams in ANY BY contest (be it CL or Challenge tourney or whatever) to compete on equal footing if they don't have some Jan-July kids.

Add to the chaos by pulling out kids for U12 and U13 DA programs at the same time as the age shuffle.

All go info, thank you, but does anyone have an opinion on what coaches are good and which to avoid?

What's your preferred location, Murphy04?

Murphy 04, you also need to elaborate on what you mean by "good". What kind of coach are you looking for that you feel would best match your players personality and skill level?

Preferred location, I am Sam Rayburn & Dallas North Tollway but don't mind driving a bit.

By good I mean they know what they are doing. They develop kids, challenge them but not take the fun out it.