U12 DA Landscape

I agree. I figured the idea of requiring 2 year commitments as being abnormal, but didn’t want to put anything past the club(s) since it’s sort of a new thing that they are allowing so many kids to “play up” into DA this year. As stated earlier in the thread, I guess we will all see how this plays out soon enough.

FC Dallas South now showing if you search under 2018-19 schedules and sort by u12 Texas Division. Just not updated on my the club side.

What’s the expected order of strength in DFW, hard to tell I guess until after the first month. Any insight out there?

Outside of Solar I couldn't tell who ended up where. Will have to wait until they publish the rosters to have an idea of what looks good, who might be playing up in 06, etc.

You are right. They populated the schedules now with FC Dallas South. Wasn't there before.

And OMGoodness what a kick in the pants. They scheduled a Solar game with FCD South on a Saturday (Nov. 17) and then an out of town game against Lonestar on a Sunday (Nov. 18th). What? This isn't my first go around with DA but this is the first I have seen same weekend different cities.

FCD South: I'm very happy to learn that this issue was corrected, for the kids sake. No issues with being wrong about this one.. That said, they have a tough schedule as mentioned in terms of travel. Anyone else notice the 3 consecutive weekends on the road in September? Perhaps this is USSDA's way of penalizing FCD for their late application...

As for as the  expected order of strength goes, not much has changed since the groups all signed. There are still too many unknowns. We likely won't see any matches between the groups until the season kicks off next month...

Anyone have insight as to when the DA rosters will be posted for all of the local clubs? Am I wrong in assuming that the rosters are finalized by now, or could there still be some player movement?

Dallas Texans at are the only U12 team I have seen with their roster posted .

I saw the Texans roster. I was wondering about the other teams? I figured they would be finalized by now, but I could be wrong?

Mr. Miyagi wrote:I saw the Texans roster. I was wondering about the other teams? I figured they would be finalized by now, but I could be wrong?

Both Texans and FCD teams now have rosters posted, neither Solar group has a roster posted. You can see them here:

• Texans North: http://dtxn.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7412156
  
• Texans South: http://dtxs.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7534736
  
• FCD North: http://fcdl.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7421976
  
• FCD South: http://fcdl.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=8605968
  
• Solar East: n/a
  
• Solar West: n/a
  

It looks like some of the rosters are still being updated/uploaded. Also several of the south Texas teams have posted their rosters. I expect that Solar will post rosters for their groups this week or next.

Definitely not complete but at least they’re making progress.

Looks like Texans North is the only one who has their complete roster posted. They have 26 kids posted. That sounds about right. 2 teams of 13 each. The other teams don't have enough kids listed yet. Work in process.

Solar East roster finally posted.
http://solr.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7473296

Link isn’t working for Solar West (or DT South for that matter). Anyone been able to find it?

It’s not up, yet.
FCD South is listed Under U-12 II on the Main FCD DA page.
I guess Texans and Solar are waiting for separate pages for the satellite clubs?

dragonstryker wrote:Solar East roster finally posted.
http://solr.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7473296

Link isn’t working for Solar West (or DT South for that matter). Anyone been able to find it?

Here are all the team roster links:

FCD North: http://fcdl.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7421976

FCD South: http://fcdl.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=8605968

Solar East: http://solr.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7473296

Solar West: http://solw.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7536456

Texans North : http://dtxn.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7412156

Texans South: http://dtxs.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7534736

Now that the rosters are posted its time for Pre-season power rankings:

1. FC Dallas - They're here by default but they'll need better coaching this year to stay on top over the long haul.

2. Texans - Core of Stavrou's team was improved upon by some nice additions. Deepest roster overall.

3. Solar East - Loaded with talent overall but several players being asked to fill new roles. May take a while to gel. Direct style will get them out to a fast start though.

4. Texans South - They're focusing on becoming more possession oriented which will cause a slow start but will be worth it in the long run.

5. FC Dallas South - From reports I've heard this is an amalgamation of FCD Saurez and FCD West Blue. Likely lacking in star power but I give them the nod over Solar West simply due to lack of depth out there in Grapevine.

6. Solar West - Zua Zua was handed a roster of only 9 kids. Great top end talent, but not enough depth at this level.

7. Texans B - Some quality 07s that are competing for playing time on a stacked "A" team plus some quality '08s. Can likely beat a couple "A" teams but since they'll never get the chance I put them here.

8. FC Dallas B - Essentially the FCD premier '08 team. Can compete with anyone. I'd give them the nod over a couple of "A" teams also.

9. Texans South B - The most experienced "B" squad out there...will be more competitive than many expect.

10. FC Dallas South B - No idea what to expect here.

11. Solar East B - Wells only focused on his "A" team and let what would have been a quality "B" side defect to other clubs. Final roster was cobbled together at the last minute. Early reports are they'd struggle in Classic D1.

12. Solar West B - Adames was given free reign to put together a roster from the south side of town. Who knows what he came up with.

LongTimeFirstTime wrote:Now that the rosters are posted its time for Pre-season power rankings:

1.  FC Dallas - They're here by default but they'll need better coaching this year to stay on top over the long haul.

2.  Texans - Core of Stavrou's team was improved upon by some nice additions.  Deepest roster overall.

3.  Solar East - Loaded with talent overall but several players being asked to fill new roles.  May take a while to gel.  Direct style will get them out to a fast start though.

4.  Texans South - They're focusing on becoming more possession oriented which will cause a slow start but will be worth it in the long run.

5.  FC Dallas South - From reports I've heard this is an amalgamation of FCD Saurez and FCD West Blue.  Likely lacking in star power but I give them the nod over Solar West simply due to lack of depth out there in Grapevine.

6.  Solar West - Zua Zua was handed a roster of only 9 kids.  Great top end talent, but not enough depth at this level.

7.  Texans B - Some quality 07s that are competing for playing time on a stacked "A" team plus some quality '08s.  Can likely beat a couple "A" teams but since they'll never get the chance I put them here.

8.  FC Dallas B - Essentially the FCD premier '08 team.  Can compete with anyone.  I'd give them the nod over a couple of "A" teams also.

9.  Texans South B - The most experienced "B" squad out there...will be more competitive than many expect.

10.  FC Dallas South B - No idea what to expect here.

11.  Solar East B - Wells only focused on his "A" team and let what would have been a quality "B" side defect to other clubs.  Final roster was cobbled together at the last minute.  Early reports are they'd struggle in Classic D1.

12.  Solar West B - Adames was given free reign to put together a roster from the south side of town.  Who knows what he came up with.

These "power rankings" will be powerless given we won't have the actual game scores.

We will just need to get the input then from the parents on the game scores. I'm sure it will be clean data. haha.

You can get the scores on the website, just have to know where to look and don’t show up typically for a couple of days.

07 boys soccer wrote:You can get the scores on the website, just have to know where to look and don’t show up typically for a couple of days.

Very true. I'm only teasing. That said, I'm gonna wait until Oct before I give my opinion on the rankings. I have some information on both FCD/Solar groups, but not enough on Texans. Also, nobody has played anyone so we will have to wait and see. This weekend, Texans North faces Solar East.. We should learn a lot about both groups then.

What we should learn about by watching the games:

Team skills
1.  Ability to dictate/control the run of play
2.  Ability to solve high press
3.  Ability to maintain shape
4.  Ability to take advantage of opponents mistakes
5.  Ability to create scoring opportunities
6.  Ability to transition from defense to attack and vice versa

Individual skills
1.  Skill/technique on the ball
2.  Movement off the ball
3.  Positional awareness
4.  Ability to limit mental mistakes
5.  Ability to convert scoring opportunities

What we should learn by looking up the score once its posted:

1.  Who won.

LongTimeFirstTime wrote:What we should learn about by watching the games:

Team skills
1.  Ability to dictate/control the run of play
2.  Ability to solve high press
3.  Ability to maintain shape
4.  Ability to take advantage of opponents mistakes
5.  Ability to create scoring opportunities
6.  Ability to transition from defense to attack and vice versa

Individual skills
1.  Skill/technique on the ball
2.  Movement off the ball
3.  Positional awareness
4.  Ability to limit mental mistakes
5.  Ability to convert scoring opportunities

What we should learn by looking up the score once its posted:

1.  Who won.

I agree. Let's just remember that a majority of the DA parents are no-longer following this forum, and that those of us who still follow will soon be too busy driving and tracking our BB's games to offer any real insight beyond the score.  All the other things you listed requires a bystander's perspective, which I doubt we will have that sort of coverage to inform us.  DA is about all the things you mention above, so the power rankings should be a moot point.

Should know a decent amount fairly quickly.

Texans play Solar East on Saturday and FCD on Sunday.

Texans South play Solar West next Saturday and FCD South on Sunday.

And then on the 3rd Saturday, FCD plays Solar East

Those games will tell a lot as the Texans teams have scrimmaged each other as have the Solar teams (and I'd be fairly surprised if FCD and FCD South haven't scrimmaged at some point).

I also think there are likely more DA parents still on this board than many suspect.

If your kid is playing DA at U12 and you care at all about wins and losses you are doing it wrong. DA isn’t about that. It’s about progression and development. Even in the name. Parents of DA kids need to let go of the “who’s better” mentality. Maybe at U15. But first year in it should all be about learning.

dreadpirateroberts wrote:If your kid is playing DA at U12 and you care at all about wins and losses you are doing it wrong. DA isn’t about that. It’s about progression and development. Even in the name. Parents of DA kids need to let go of the “who’s better” mentality.  Maybe at U15. But first year in it should all be about learning.

Development is a result of both consistency and patience, and should be the goal of the coach.
Winning is a result of development, and should be the goal of the player.

factsmatter wrote:

dreadpirateroberts wrote:If your kid is playing DA at U12 and you care at all about wins and losses you are doing it wrong. DA isn’t about that. It’s about progression and development. Even in the name. Parents of DA kids need to let go of the “who’s better” mentality.  Maybe at U15. But first year in it should all be about learning.

Development is a result of both consistency and patience, and should be the goal of the coach.
Winning is a result of development, and should be the goal of the player.

Funny how reality is more along these lines:

Development is a result of both consistency and patience, and IS the goal of the PLAYER.
Winning is a result of development, and IS the goal of the COACH.