North Texas vs South Texas Soccer

We will be moving to Houston at the end of the year so I got on the South Texas Soccer forum to see what they had to say about what club teams are located in our area. I posted a New Topic asking for advice and WOW I am really going to miss North Texas Soccer!!! Those guys are a special kind of crazy and from what I can tell completely unorganized. We are looking at moving to the SouthWest side of Houston. We have an '05 DD and an '07 DD that need new teams. I think I might prefer North Texas thoughts on the subject.

Link it please

http://www.stxsoccer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2720

It is all fine until page 4 when "Realtalk" posts his conspiracy theory.

That forum certainly makes us look like saints. All the users with "guest" accounts create an environment of internet thuggery.

So funny! All I really wanted is to get a feel for what areas had club teams. Houston is so spreadout and they don't have nearly as many clubs as Dallas does. Had we known that all things Academy/Select were in Carroltton/Frisco type areas we would have moved in that general direction. We drive 30 to 45 minutes for games. I was trying to avoid that mistake this time. Maybe only drive 20 minutes to games.

That was pretty funny... paranoia runs deep.

Anyway, one thing you probably picked up on in that discussion was the "pool training" that goes on down there. I had a good friend who moved down there as well and his daughter was playing with Albion. He was telling me about the "pool training" where all the kids in the same age group ( as opposed to individual team) would train together in one massive herd. He didn't care for it. Kinda echoed what one STX poster said which was "strong players are bored, weak players dragging the drill down". He also said the teams may be a bit more fluid, with movement of players between the A,B, C teams within an age group ( for large clubs like Albion and Challenge). There may be others here on this board that give more info about the pool training and what-not, but it is for sure a different training process than what we are used to.

I don't have any Houston input, but thanks for the entertaining link. I now wonder if I'm crazy for having my own Sybil theories on this forum.

I'm not saying it never happens but even after I posted a link to my DD's team page they are still calling me a spy.     I doubt anyone down there does FBR rankings either. :-(   Darn this new job! Why did they have to offer me so much money.

Well be grateful that at least you have a few choices in soccer with your move to Houston. We moved from Ntx to Austin a few years ago and there is really only one club that controls everything. And yes south tx controls the market on "crazy" soccer parents. We've played quite a few Houston teams over the years. Challenge seems to be pretty good club. I've been impressed with Houston Express. Rush is hit or miss. Albion seems to attract the largest group of crazies⌒_⌒

And don't even get me started on the refereeing in STX!!

onthemove wrote:Well be grateful that at least you have a few choices in soccer with your move to Houston.  We moved from Ntx to Austin a few years ago and there is really only one club that controls everything.  And yes south tx controls the market on "crazy" soccer parents.  We've played quite a few Houston teams over the years.  Challenge seems to be pretty good club.  I've been impressed with Houston Express.  Rush is hit or miss.  Albion seems to attract the largest group of crazies⌒_⌒

And don't even get me started on the refereeing in STX!!

Oh no, I get the feeling this "New Soccer" will take some getting used to.

From one keeper's parent to another, sorry to see you leave. There are not enough of us in the world. Wish the best to you and your family.

What was the name of the club that put together the cool video and then came up and got steamrolled by 04 Rase last year? Apparently they were the best of the best down there and thought they were the best in the country or something crazy like that. You might check them out

Cleansheets wrote:From one keeper's parent to another, sorry to see you leave. There are not enough of us in the world.  Wish the best to you and your family.

Thank you!!

GrandTXSoccer wrote:What was the name of the club that put together the cool video and then came up and got steamrolled by 04 Rase last year? Apparently they were the best of the best down there and thought they were the best in the country or something crazy like that. You might check them out

There was a south texas forum post about how horribly physical Liverpool played when the Houston team came up for a tournament. If that is the case my DD is going to get the first Red Card in Houston soccer. HEE HEE ....softies.

GrandTXSoccer wrote:What was the name of the club that put together the cool video and then came up and got steamrolled by 04 Rase last year? Apparently they were the best of the best down there and thought they were the best in the country or something crazy like that. You might check them out

Kingswood Alliance. Just mentioning their name down there elicits the same (or worse) response as mentioning RASE here a year ago.

We moved here from Houston. Check out Houston express SC. They have good academy program and every trainer is well qualified. We moved from Houston my 04 and 06s played for kingwood alliance. . I have a 06 that plays soccer and nothing is close in Houston soccer wise. The houston soccer development philosophy is completely different and is behind the curve compared to NTX at academy level. You may want to look into rush and challenge if u live on the north side. Other than that u may be wasting your time.

AKeepersMomma wrote:We will be moving to Houston at the end of the year so I got on the South Texas Soccer forum to see what they had to say about what club teams are located in our area. I posted a New Topic asking for advice and WOW I am really going to miss North Texas Soccer!!! Those guys are a special kind of crazy and from what I can tell completely unorganized. We are looking at moving to the SouthWest side of Houston. We have an '05 DD and an '07 DD that need new teams. I think I might prefer North Texas thoughts on the subject.

CR7rocks wrote:We moved here from Houston.  Check out Houston express SC.  They have good academy program and every trainer is well qualified. We moved from Houston my 04 and 06s played for kingwood alliance. . I have a 06 that plays soccer and nothing is close in Houston  soccer wise.  The houston soccer development philosophy is completely different and is behind the curve compared to NTX at academy level.  You may want to look into rush and challenge if u live on the north side.  Other than that u may be wasting your time.

AKeepersMomma wrote:We will be moving to Houston at the end of the year so I got on the South Texas Soccer forum to see what they had to say about what club teams are located in our area. I posted a New Topic asking for advice and WOW  I am really going to miss North Texas Soccer!!! Those guys are a special kind of crazy and from what I can tell completely unorganized.   We are looking at moving to the SouthWest side of Houston.  We have an '05 DD and an '07 DD that need new teams.  I think I might prefer North Texas thoughts on the subject.

Thank you. I might have to take my own advice. I tell the girls that it is not good or bad just different and we have to give it a chance. :-)

Cleansheets wrote:From one keeper's parent to another, sorry to see you leave. There are not enough of us in the world.  Wish the best to you and your family.

Yes, but I kind of like it that way.  There are only so many straitjackets and Hannibal Lecter masks to go around, especially in my size.

Best wishes down there, Momma.  A friend of mine's kid in Friendswood plays for Space City in League CIty, but I don't know anything about it, except that he brags a lot.  Go down there and show 'em how it's done.

SteamingBean wrote:

Cleansheets wrote:From one keeper's parent to another, sorry to see you leave. There are not enough of us in the world.  Wish the best to you and your family.

Yes, but I kind of like it that way.  There are only so many straitjackets and Hannibal Lecter masks to go around, especially in my size.


Best wishes down there, Momma.  A friend of mine's kid in Friendswood plays for Space City in League CIty, but I don't know anything about it, except that he brags a lot.  Go down there and show 'em how it's done.

Leave it to the Bean, lol.

SteamingBean wrote:

Cleansheets wrote:From one keeper's parent to another, sorry to see you leave. There are not enough of us in the world.  Wish the best to you and your family.

Yes, but I kind of like it that way.  There are only so many straitjackets and Hannibal Lecter masks to go around, especially in my size.

Best wishes down there, Momma.  A friend of mine's kid in Friendswood plays for Space City in League CIty, but I don't know anything about it, except that he brags a lot.  Go down there and show 'em how it's done.

HA HAA you are right! There just aren't enough straitjackets. :-)

AKeepersMama:

You are correct - there are a LOT of crazies in Houston.  In soccer and outside it.  Houston is set up very different with clubs and teams. IMHO, get your DD the best training at a young age you can. Within reason, worry about wins and losses later.  If she is good at U13/U14, she can move where she wants, and you may very well have to do that as options are limited in Houston with 3 ECNL clubs, if you want to go that route.  If she hasn't developed primo keeping skills, she will have limited opportunities, so getting somewhere that she gets good training is really important.  (Quite frankly, I tend to think the loudmouth know-it-alls on the South Texas forum tend to be in the latter camp, but that's just my two cents...)  

But, as you noticed in Dallas, geography matters.  It isn't fun or particularly efficient to move to one area of town and find your soccer options in a completely different section of town, at least an hour away.  

Thank you to everyone, I appreciate the help, advice and support. :-)