[kenthesailor]

Hi, I am moving into the neighborhood soon and my son will be 5 years old in May. Do they have a soccer league for his age and if so, who would I contact? Also, I have a 3 year old daughter, do they have a girls league for her age? Thank you

[SoEdgemont]

Hello Ken, welcome to the neighborhood and thank you for your service.

Regarding soccer for your little ones, you have a couple of options. Because they’re so young (especially the 3 y.o.) you have the option of waiting until summer 2010 when the Riverwards Soccer Club – the only & preeminent local soccer club for experienced training – will have a major announcement regarding its expanding and focused single-sport offerings. There are a multitude of posts on this site giving info on RWSC or, if you prefer, PM directly and I’ll put you in touch with those-in-the-know.

Meantime, if you’re interested in getting started immediately with your move-in, you can get a good start in-house with Fishtown AC (215-423-1659). Fishtown – just a short drive south of Bridesburg - offers a wide array of entry-level soccer training by knowledgeable persons with their in-house program. As a 2nd choice, I’d head on up to Philadelphia Soccer Club. PSC (www.philasc.org) has programs right on down to your youngster’s age and is staffed by real soccer persons. After a headstart with either of these clubs, I’d highly suggest you switch on over to RWSC, your only true soccer option in Bridesburg.

I hope this info helps. Post additional questions, etc., or as mentioned earlier feel free to PM me directly.

[BBG Old Timer]

Ken, let me be honest with you and all this soccer stuff. The Bridesburg Cougars club has age brackets for your child and they are a competent club. Yes, Fishtown and PSC (Premier Club) are two great clubs just like the Cougars. The Riverwards are a club formed by a couple of disgruntled parents and their followers. The reason the split was that these few parents mainly could not run the club like they did their households, lots of problems. There was lots of political BS going on everyone’s part and could not come to ends. This is what caused the split in the neighborhood club into two clubs being Bridesburg Cougars and Riverwards Soccer clubs. Since, that split The Bridesburg Cougars have taken a step in the right direction, and that is the children. I have put many kids through the Cougars program over the years and ALL of the children ended up playing for their High Schools and Colleges, also they were respected players. As SoEdgemont put it "the Riverwards Soccer Club – the only & preeminent local soccer club for experienced training" that makes me want to laugh, but again you don’t know anyone here so you do not know what to believe. Everyone claims to be the best. Another quote is “"After a headstart with either of these clubs, I’d highly suggest you switch on over to RWSC, your only true soccer option in Bridesburg." Why would you switch over to play for the Riverwards if you are playing for a Premier Soccer Club like Philly Soccer Club, this is just nuts. I would put the child into a club that he/she will going to school with other players, its good for the child. Making lifelong friendships is great for the child. At that age it’s all about having fun, more then anything else. Remember, everyone’s child is going to be the next Pele, well at least in the parent’s minds but let’s face reality.

This post has been edited by BBG Old Timer: 02 April 2010 - 11:54 PM

[SoEdgemont]

BBG Old Timer, on 03 April 2010 - 12:52 AM, said:

Ken, let me be honest with you and all this soccer stuff. The Bridesburg Cougars club has age brackets for your child and they are a competent club. Yes, Fishtown and PSC (Premier Club) are two great clubs just like the Cougars. The Riverwards are a club formed by a couple of disgruntled parents and their followers. The reason the split was that these few parents mainly could not run the club like they did their households, lots of problems. There was lots of political BS going on everyone’s part and could not come to ends. This is what caused the split in the neighborhood club into two clubs being Bridesburg Cougars and Riverwards Soccer clubs. Since, that split The Bridesburg Cougars have taken a step in the right direction, and that is the children. I have put many kids through the Cougars program over the years and ALL of the children ended up playing for their High Schools and Colleges, also they were respected players. As SoEdgemont put it "the Riverwards Soccer Club – the only & preeminent local soccer club for experienced training" that makes me want to laugh, but again you don’t know anyone here so you do not know what to believe. Everyone claims to be the best. Another quote is “"After a headstart with either of these clubs, I’d highly suggest you switch on over to RWSC, your only true soccer option in Bridesburg." Why would you switch over to play for the Riverwards if you are playing for a Premier Soccer Club like Philly Soccer Club, this is just nuts. I would put the child into a club that he/she will going to school with other players, its good for the child. Making lifelong friendships is great for the child. At that age it’s all about having fun, more then anything else. Remember, everyone’s child is going to be the next Pele, well at least in the parent’s minds but let’s face reality.

Ken, you asked for a local club for your kids and I provided you my opinion of the best options available to you. I stand by my post and, as the old timer noted, you don’t know anyone here so you have to believe what you will.

Nevertheless, I do feel the need to correct certain of the accusations and/or observations made by the old timer and to provide additional commentary. First and foremost, the old timer says that PSC is a premier club. Philly Soccer has great training programs of all makes and models but that does not constitute a “premier soccer club” – at this point, your kids need an in-house program. As noted by the man himself in this post:

***Posted by BBG Old Timer 01 August 2008 - 12:39 AM
At the age of 10 the children are just learning soccer, and that is the basics. They are playing 8 v 8 on a small field and that should be instructional at that age. When you move to the 11 v 11 field there is a whole different game. There is no such thing as an elite player at that age....

At the age of your children, there are no elite or premier clubs. I was simply pointing you in the right direction at this day and age, not the old timer's times.

Secondly, the Riverwards Soccer Club was not “formed by a couple of disgruntled parents and their followers.” That is pure nonsense. The club was formed by a number of well-respected and well-known soccer community persons – including a local high school teacher and soccer coach and the former president & soccer director of the cougars. It was during the tenure of this president and director that the cougars club saw much of their growth and success. These persons decided to form a club that was in the best interest of children and parents by providing knowledgeable training for all soccer, all the time. A true soccer club is just that – all soccer. Some people will get that and others won't. There are plenty of clubs that try & meet the one-stop-shop of soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, etc. Unfortunately, their resources are usually spread thin and soccer doesn't get its due. Hence my post that RWSC is the only true soccer club in Bridesburg and that is a fact. The old timer noted his approval of the founders of Riverward Soccer Club in this post:

Posted by BBG Old Timer05 September 2008 - 01:59 AM
Since 2004 there have only been about 3-5 teams winning championships all the time and in every division. 3 boys teams and 2 girls team that comes to mind. That also helped to raise the count of players. He is doing a great job!

And this one:

Posted 05 September 2008 - 02:14 AM
The man before him did not even live in the neighborhood and started to make this club something. My hat goes off to the him!!!!!! The new guy has kept the ball rolling with a dream

So, while the cougars organization may have had programs in place over the old timer’s years that were successful in development of players for HS or college, the overwhelming majority of those coaches and trainers have left – for RWSC. These are the new days – not the old ones.

Finally, I suggested you look at these other clubs (Fishtown & Philly Soccer) if you were to try and get something today. Fact is, spring has already sprung and you probably cannot get in a good in-house program for spring 2010.. I stand by that if you’re able to get in one of their programs for the spring 2010, you leave in the fall 2010 for Bridesburg’s RWSC so that your kids can do exactly as the old timer suggest, play with their school mates and neighbors.

Once again, I implore you to visit your options and PM me directly if you’ve any questions, comments or concerns regarding your kids’ soccer development because, despite the hope that the next Pele is lurking out there, the next George Best really may be.

***Can't link to the actual posts by BBG Old Timer as the topic is locked.

This post has been edited by SoEdgemont: 04 April 2010 - 07:50 PM

[wiffybogg]

Hey Ken, I have a 5 year old boy and just wanted to add my two cents. My son played inhouse soccer for Bridesburg in the fall of 2009. The experience was pretty bad. First, you have to pay a $25 "family fee," in addition to the $30 inhouse soccer fee. Then, half the games were cancelled and never rescheduled. I heard rumors that there was a schedule made and then revised, but some coaches were still going by the first schedule. We would show for our scheduled game and our team would arrive, but not the opponents. Oh, did I mention that we played our games without nets? We started off playing with pop up goals, but they were quickly broken and never replaced. We used cones for goals for the remainder of the season. I feel for the amount of money we were charged, that Bridesburg could of bought a couple of replacement goals. i dont believe this is a "step in the right direction" as described by the previous poster.

[Ward_Cleaver]

OK, guys, you have to play nice in the sandbox. I know this is a hot topic, but if this thread degrades into another "Soccer League Bash" we will have to lock it down. A newcomer to our neighborhood asked for constructive advice. BBG Old Timer, get with it. Our regular posters have heard all this many times before, and it's begining to sound like sour grapes. Funny how wiffybogg just joined today and used your IP address. Very clever.

Comments about your leagues and their respective merits are always welcome here. Bashing the other guy is off topic and will not be tolerated.

Ken, I apologize on behalf of the staff here. I look forward to you and your family joining the community and hope you will all enjoy your stay here. Thank you for serving your country.

Ward

[wiffybogg]

Ward, I am not BBG Old Timer posing under a different name. I am offended you would insinuate that I am some kind of imposter. I am willing to give you my phone number or my address. I'll even meet you at the rec with my wife and kid. I'll even bring my kids soccer shirt and pictures I took of his first game. I have no idea who BBG is or who he is affiliated with. I have no idea how I would be using his IP address. It wasnt my intention to bash the Cougars. My kid only played inhouse soccer. That was our genuine experience. I wasnt trying to intentionally trash any club.

[Mikey]

wiffybogg, on 06 April 2010 - 11:06 PM, said:

I have no idea how I would be using his IP address.

When someone posts on Pridesburg.com (as well as most other forum boards I'm familiar with) your IP address is captured and appears in the body of the post but is visible just to mod staff. Many people have dial-up or broadband accounts and are assigned a dynamic IP. If one turns off their modem overnight, you will likely be assigned the first available IP address when you turn your system back on the following day. because of this, it does happen that an IP address gets reused.

You might think that the likelihood that two members wind up with the same IP address on different logins/days would be small due to the large number of IP addresses that could be assigned. But when I checked out the IP address to see how many times it was used here, I found it used on 234 posts by various members.

The IP address used on these posts resolves to cache-mtc-af13.proxy.aol.com. So it is possible for two households to wind up on the same dynamic IP within a day or so of their posts.

Now let's try to get back on topic. The original question was:

Quote

Hi, I am moving into the neighborhood soon and my son will be 5 years old in May. Do they have a soccer league for his age and if so, who would I contact? Also, I have a 3 year old daughter, do they have a girls league for her age? Thank you

Are the two named groups the only neighborhood teams? Are there any Church youth teams? Does Bridesburg Boys & Girls Club sponsor any teams?

Please supply some basic information. Do the named teams have web sites, telephone numbers of contacts? Published sign-up schedules?

[BBG Old Timer]

Ward, I truly believe that you owe me and that other poster an apology in your accusations. By telling me to “get with it”, now what gives you the right to say something like that. Your post is belittling, demeaning, and accusing another member in the public eyes, it should be dealt with accordingly with Cappa. I have been a member before you, and you’re now accusing me of using 2 IP addresses now. I am too old to be playing the games as you insinuated. Now that is REALLY CLEVER!!!. CAPPA PLEASE GET INVOLVED NOW!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Mikey for taking care of it as way of explanation.

This post has been edited by BBG Old Timer: 07 April 2010 - 02:31 PM

[Ward_Cleaver]

Ward_Cleaver, on 06 April 2010 - 07:12 PM, said:

Funny how wiffybogg just joined today and used your IP address. Very clever.

Mikey, on 07 April 2010 - 12:11 AM, said:

The IP address used on these posts resolves to cache-mtc-af13.proxy.aol.com. So it is possible for two households to wind up on the same dynamic IP within a day or so of their posts.

Until Mikey explained this to me, I was unaware of this fact about AOL users. For that, I am sorry.

Ward

[BBG Old Timer]

Ward_Cleaver, on 08 April 2010 - 05:39 AM, said:

Until Mikey explained this to me, I was unaware of this fact about AOL users. For that, I am sorry.

Ward

Apology accepted Sir

[Mikey]

Mikey, on 07 April 2010 - 12:11 AM, said:

Please supply some basic information. Do the named teams have web sites, telephone numbers of contacts? Published sign-up schedules?

As the Internet community likes to say, Google is your friend. So far I've found the following web resources.

Cougars:
Web Site: http://www.leaguelin...s&sid=918478772
Facebook: http://www.facebook....44235249?ref=ts

If coaches and supporters can supply more links to us, we'll include them on our Links pages in a special category.