This is Robert Woodbury. I coach both the Boca girls' G2008 (Gold level) and G2009 teams. I will give you a summary of what I know about the club, and of my teams in particular. I have decided to move my teams to a different club, for reasons described below.
1. The President of Boca Jrs. was providing significant financing for the club. But he has personal business interests that need attending, is on the fence about continuing with the club, and has asked the coaches to assume more financial and administrative responsibility for the club. At the last meeting I attended, about 4 coaches indicated a desire to continue with Boca Jrs. The number of teams at Boca, particularly on the girls side, will be greatly reduced; perhaps to one or two bronze-level teams at the older ages. The Boys teams will not be impacted to the same extent, but there will be fewer teams there, as well. My best estimate is that the club will have about 8 teams this fall if they can keep it together. I hope they can do so. The President and the other people at Boca Jrs. are nice people and I harbor no ill will towards them.
2. My girls 2009 team appears to be intact, and we are hovering right at about 8 players right now. Parents are anxious to restart practices, and I was willing to do it under the auspices of the club I moved to. However, I later learned that Calsouth pulled its insurance for all activities, including practices, and that it is a misdemeanor to run practices, even with social distancing. So I am waiting until it is legal and insured.
3. My girls 2008 gold-level team is not the same team it was, and I may formally disband it. I had 5 ODP selections from an 10-player roster on that team. However, Boca Jrs., as a club, was unable to qualify for any DA** or ECNL program, was not on track to do so, and it was perceived that opportunities to advance were limited. When one player left, there was concern among families, and then the losses snowballed. All those girls, by the way, are wonderful players and good kids. I love them and will miss them, but wish them the best. Now, with the Covid-19, I am uncertain how many I really have left. The club I am moving to also has a G2008 gold level team with a similar situation. We are considering trying to merge those two G2008 teams. Truthfully, we will not know how many players would be able to do that, or what will happen after Calsouth restarts.
4. My reasons for moving my teams to a new club revolved around Boca Jrs.' inability to obtain either DA or ECNL status, coupled with its limited public presence and administrative shortcomings, all of which impacted my ability to recruit talented players. My goal is to build and train teams that are capable of competing on a national level under a system of play which is heavily reliant on possession and passing. I need talented players to play in this system. I struggled to recruit such players at Boca Jrs. Therefore, I am moving to a much bigger club, with much better public relations and ECNL access.
If you desire more detailed information, you can message me.
** This was before the DA was disbanded.
