Abbey Villa S.C.
Background
Abbey Villa S. C. (sometimes referred to as simply AVSC) is based in based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts with satellites in Shrewsbury, North Grafton, Newton, Uxbridge and Ashland; the club started in 2002.
This is a pressure-free environment where self-esteem is fostered by encouraging players to “express themselves” with their soccer ball and learn from their mistakes.
Abbey Villa S. C. promotes the Total Football concept from the very early stages of soccer development. This concept is anchored in a methodology that encourages each player to aspire to play a controlled game.
Total Football is a tactical way of playing soccer in which any player can take the role of any other player on the field. So if a midfielder needs to attack or defend then he /she can play that position on-the-fly. No player has a specific role other than the goalie; players are tested physically and need to be comfortable with playing many positions. There is less of an emphasis on winning and more on player development.
This approach is not traditionally taught in the U.S., though the Total Football movement is gaining recognition on the West Coast.
** In 2014 they started AVSC Training Centers in order to expand into other areas – mostly along the I-495 belt. Areas now include Greater Lowell, Metrowest and South County. This allows Abbey Villa to train more soccer players and develop winning teams in order to compete nationally.
Club Highlights
Abbey Villa S.C. ~ 40 teams playing premier soccer in Massachusetts and regional leagues; the emphasis is on player development; there is a great emphasis on ball possession and technical ability.
Teams train in the Hopkinton area. The main home field for game day is Lancaster Citizen Bank. During winter teams train in the surrounding indoor facilities. The Hopkinton based teams main winter home is Hit Quarters in Shrewsbury. They also train in Northborough and Franklin.
Abbey Villa S.C. provides opportunities for players ages 8 to 17 years old to play soccer at the highest level through their Club Teams. Youth Academy (below) is offered for boys and girls aged 6-9 while their Soccer Mini is offered for children aged 3-6 years old. The Club’s primary focus is player development through the teaching of technique.
Abbey Villa S.C. is a very competitive club with teams playing in the Northeast Soccer League (NSL) and Region 1.
Camps/Clinics
There are many summer (and winter!) clinics available for just about every age group and skill level; there are so many you will not need to work your summer vacation plans around them.
Young Players
Abbey Villa has a youth academy that started in 2011 and has more than 50 players; the academy is for girls and boys ages 6 – 9 years old.
The academy strives to provide a fun, safe and pressure free environment where children can learn to play and love the game of soccer; they accept all applicants.
Facilities
| Carpe Diem Technologies 34 Saxon Street Franklin, MA 02038-3023 | Hit Quarters 3 Tennis Drive Shrewsbury, MA 01545-3378 | TEAMWORKS Northborough 185 Otis Street Northborough, MA 01532 |
| Cornell’s 229 Hayden Rowe Street Hopkinton, MA 0174 | Hubbard Field 81 Creeper Hill Rd North Grafton, MA 01536 | MetroWest Sportscenter 270 Eliot Street Ashland, MA 01721 |
| Emerald Hills 35 Greenwood Road Hopkinton, MA 01748 | Melican Middle School 145 Lincoln St Northborough, MA 01532 | YMCA Fields Hopkinton 45 East St Hopkinton, MA 01748 |
| Faith Community Church 146 E.Main St. Hopkinton, MA 01748 | Citizens Bank Fields MYSA 512 Old Union Turnpike Lancaster, MA 01523 |
Website
- The NEW website of Abbey Villa is easy to read and contains a fair amount of information.
- Some great videos and updated news section will help all those who want to stay informed.
- The key information you need for the club is all in here.
As a father of an Abbey Villa team member, I can say that my son has had great development in the past couple years, due to the comforting, yet effective coaching styles. My son’s team doesn’t win much games, but it doesn’t phase the coaches at all. The coaches seem to care more about development, rather than winning, which is not a bad thing to me. Also, the club is very helpful for those with financial problems. Some complaints I have though, are the training fields. They seem rather low quality and uneven at some times. I don’t really understand how the field thing works, but that’s all for complaints. Great club
Love their focus on development.
Our team gave up 65 goals in a single season. Several of the players should never have been put on a club team, Abbey Villa will clearly take any player just to make a profit and to fill out a roster
Or maybe the league placed them or other teams in the wrong division?
What age was this? Typically training only matters for younger age groups, especially at a club like Villa
Totally agree. They are all about the money
Abbey Villa is clearly about profits. Under performing coaches are retained because they cannot get good ones.
What age group? Also was your team the B team placed in a higher division? Abbey villa is a lot better than that
my u10 son is having poor experience, looking to leave at the end of the fall
Abbey Villa does a great job developing foot skills. However I agree with some of the above posts regarding Abbey Villas focus on their top teams. My son was playing pass and double touch for a Valencia team while the top Abbey Villa team was in full training mode transitioning from drill to drill. What frustrated me was the lower Abbey Villa team was scheduled to play the top Abbey Villa team in a 3 game tournament with 4 other clubs registered to participate. It seems as if they were positioning their top team to accumulate as many points as possible for the tournament.
Abbey villa has great Barcelona teams and even a few good Valencia teams but beyond that forget it. The effort put into most Valencia and Real Madrid (b and c teams) is noticeably less. From small things like Barcelona teams practicing on turf while Valencia and Real Madrid teams are on baseball outfields, to big things like playing in a drastically less competitive league with less Games. This wouldn’t be a big problem if there were different pricings. But no. Everyone pays the same. But not everyone gets what they pay for. MAPLE is a great league. MASC is not. Teams in the MASC hs league can be up against a u19 team. Having 15 year olds play seniors in high school is not competitive it is demoralizing. Abbey villa is aware of this but does not act on it. The founder of this club does attend practices for lots of teams. BARCELONA teams. You will never catch him any where near a Valencia or Real Madrid practice. All of this is why Abbey villa will never grow into the club they would like it to be. You can only get so far the way this club runs things. my advice is to avoid this club unless you have a Barcelona offer. Which most likely won’t happen unless you are introduced at a young age.
I agree that their focus is mainly on their top teams. They develop great foot skills. Price range is fair, some clubs ask for year round fee up front. My son was playing for a Valencia team and they were scheduled to play the Barcelona team in a 3 game tournament when there were 4 other organizations registered. This let me know that they were going to make sure that the Barcelona team got a guarantee victory in the first match.
I’ve got a son who has been involved in club soccer since before FC PUMA and NE Eagles merged into NEFC. He played on those teams as well as Stars of MA before we found AVSC. Obviously, club soccer is big money in MA and teams want to win. How the club communicates and organizes the teams is key to me.
My son tried out for AVSC and it’s the best thing we ever did. Abbey Villa is dedicated to developing good foot skills in each kid and my son’s coach is great at communicating, we get email reminders and he takes personal telephone calls. The last club had a strict rule that parents do not talk to the coach after a game. AVSC coach likes to stick around and talk. The communication from higher up is also excellent. I get emails from the owner, manager, and coach. I’ve never felt I didn’t know what was going on which is more than I can say for other clubs. AVSC feels to me like a functional healthy family.
This club is phenomenal. Greatest thing I ever did. We have tried other clubs and this is the first club we stuck with for a second year, Great coaching, great skills training and the price is competitive.Thanks!
We LOVE this club! The coaches are Great, they are supportive, enthusiastic and great teachers. Their possession style of soccer is effective and developmental in nature. Our son has blossomed in this program. Each boy on his team receives attention and instruction from the coach. I have Never heard Any AV coach yelling at a child at either games or practices. Love this club, their philosophy and practices!
We resisted club soccer for years. We reluctantly signed up for AVSC and have had the best experience ever. It was not the same as other clubs that I have seen (overbearing coaching teaching aggressiveness and playing to win at U9-U12 level). No pressure is put on the coaches to win at the U9-U12 level, which allows them to coach to develop all of the players and actually enjoy the sport. They teach my kids to play, the way I would want them to play (with skill vs. aggressiveness). I highly recommend this club over the other clubs in the area based on the training, positive atmosphere and the way they play the game.
I observed one of the coaches from this club scream at a young girl until she cried because she made a mistake on the field.
No details like age, time or place? I don’t buy that story for a minute mostly because it completely goes against what I’ve ever seen. There are plenty of clubs that have coaches who yell and scream like that, but this isn’t one of them.
not a fun experience for my son or me, would not recommend to others
Look, Abby Villa is the best club I’ve found, check them out. I love playing for them.
Checking out Mass Soccer saw this website…we just had a new coach for a tournament with AV and thought he was great, so happy to be part of a club with consistent coaching. No matter who you get its the same philosophy, same great coaching. Can’t imagine any other club for us.
My son and daughter were members of the oldest youth soccer club in MA for 3 years. They went to a AVSC tryout with their friends on a Tuesday night and fell in love with the club right away. The next day, Wednesday, my son and daughter became members of AVSC. The Club, Staff and Owner and just AWESOME
One of our tripplets has played for AVSC the last couple of years and really enjoys both the other players and the coaches and trainers. Like any large club, there are good coaches and great coaches, but as a whole the team at AVSC has been consistently good, and is ALWAYS great with the kids.
Unlike a number of other Clubs we’ve played with ( both pickup, and tournaments with permission) the coaches seem genuinely interested is player development and NOT just winning. I’ve yet to see anyone associated with AVSC really get on a kid at a match, unlike a number of well repected clubs.
AVSC absolutely stresses a posession style of play both in practice and on the pitch. If you are looking for a more forward style then you might want to consider someplace else. If you want to have you young player develop into one who’s comfortable on the ball in most every situation then I’d really consider AVSC. At the very least, you should go see a match or two and one of the practices and decide for yourself.
For us, we are very happy with the club.
We’ve been doing the club thing with our son and daughter for some time with a number of clubs and had a combined 7 seasons with the Abbey. I have to say the coaching can vary widely, loved the boys coach found inconsistent coaching on the girls side. There’s always pros and cons and what works for some kids doesn’t work for all.
Recently had an issue where we made a late decision to move my daughter to another club and the club owner withdrew an offer to my son out of spite. The coach refused to coach unless my son was offered a position, boys and parents spoke on his behalf, but to no avail. The owner indicated he didn’t care if the team fell apart…
Where I would have recommended this club in the past I couldn’t in good conscience now understanding this is not a club driven by a commitment to kids but one mans selfish ego.
I was surprised to find this comment! Respectfully, I couldn’t disagree more. The owners passion for soccer and his dedication to the players is the absolute reason we chose Abbey Villa.
We have had offers from other clubs but the more we spoke with the owner and watched his interaction with the kids on the team the more we knew we wanted AVSC.
It’s true, he might not care about the team falling apart because he literally cares more about the players and their own development than anything else, including more than winning.
My son has gone from a shy, reserved player to a blossoming confident kid. The changes in him are on and off the field.
We actually left our son the final decision the last few seasons on which team to play for and each time he chose AV and when we asked why, he said (the owner) every time!!
Side note: its strange the above comment has facilities, web and tourny as low ratings, they have fantastic facilities, easy website and as you’ll see by my ratings, we are beyond satisfied with the entire club.
I gotta say that example doesn’t sound like the owner at all. I’ve been pissed about other club owners, but not this guy. He’s the real deal. Very happy with AV.
Folks you can believe what you choose to believe…unfortunately it’s reality for us and I put it out there as a datapoint for consideration so people are aware. Everyone should consider these reviews on balance, I’m merely sharing our experience.
Before this we were right with you, this has been a huge disappointment which has transpired over months of trying to resolve like adults…couldn’t even get a face to face discussion. I don’t question his philosophy or his passion for the game. Unfortunately passion for soccer doesn’t necessarily translate to caring for kids…or making the right decisions.
Wish you the best and hope your kids dont have to go through what mine are.
FAbulous coaches,training,programs
Emotions run deep on both sides on the virtues of total football so there are some great comments here!
You may find helpful a couple of articles I wrote here on MassClubSoccer that highlight Abbey Villa.
https://massclubsoccer.com/5-best-soccer-teams-in-mass/
https://massclubsoccer.com/is-total-football-effective/
Peter
The players this club develops are the ones who were standouts to begin with. Unless your child is phenomenal to begin with, don’t bother looking to this club because the coaches don’t have the talent to do anything more for them. No patience, lots of yelling.
I vehemently disagree with you, Jerry. If you ever truly had a child play for them, then you’d never write something like what you wrote. The coaches are nothing but patient…almost to a flaw. There is no yelling. Their focus is development, not winning at all costs. Pardon my assumption, but you sound like a troll who just likes writing negative things about clubs to make theirs sound better. Sad, really. I bet you wrote negative things about other clubs on this site, too. I’ll stick to what I know. My daughter has improved, hands down. She is happy with her training, and so am I.
Wow Maria, you “vehemently” disagree with every negative comment made? If I didn’t know better I’d say you have some stake in this club. Before you vehemently disagree with me and tell everyone your just a parent who vehemently disagrees with all AV detractors, don’t worry, we all vehemently understand.
Lol! You are funny. Nice name: “Vehement”.
No stake, just a parent who loves my kids & soccer. The fact that they are happy here seals the deal with me. What’s your motivation? I’d like to think it is the same for you, but your sarcasm leads me to believe otherwise. Do you even have kids? Or do you work for a rival club? Hmmm.
As I’ve written before, I can only speak to what I know. I base my opinions on my experiences. I’m neither being sarcastic nor belittling. I’m simply relaying my opinion in a truthful manner. If my experiences become negative, I’ll be sure to share it. Only time will tell, like I’ve said before.
Thanks for your attempt at comedy, though. Best of luck with your “children’s” club. 😉
Maria, you seem very passionate about this club as you write essays for each negative comment and seem to know a lot about this club. This leads me to believe that either you are a very bored mom with a lot of time, or maybe you do have something at stake. Just noticing as I was researching the page.
We love AVSC, our child has improved in confidence and skills.
Only one really competent coach here, and he’s a hot head. Focus of development quickly becomes just for certain players. Very expensive club for what you get. Too few tournaments, and the portion of the fee for coaches expenses is outlandish. The over all theme is to separate families form their hard earned money.
I saw your comment after adding to one of my previous comments, and I have to respectfully disagree with you, though I must admit I cannot speak to all of the points you have made.
What I can say is that every trainer I’ve seen working with my girls has been highly competent and skilled, and not one has been a “hot head.”
Secondly, from my observations, the focus of the club is to provide continuous technical development to ALL of their players in a fun way. That is why they accept everyone who has an interest in improving their soccer skills. Normally, you will get out what you put into it. I have found this to be a general truth of most things in life.
Thirdly, clubs are expensive. They are not “town” programs. One must compare apples to apples. As far as clubs go, I believe Abbey Villa S.C. falls somewhere in the middle on the spectrum of cost.
After quickly checking their site, it looks like they participate in plenty of tournaments. They have posted several pictures taken at tournaments, as well as have tournament updates under team news. How many more tournaments did you want the club to enter teams in?
I have no idea what “the portion of the fee for coaches expenses” might be. Where would one find out that information? I looked at their site and couldn’t find it. I’m a doubting Thomas by nature. I need to see it to believe it.
Finally, clubs are businesses, plain and simple, whether they are “non-profits” or not. Everybody knows that. They sell a service that people are willing to pay for. If not, then there wouldn’t be so many of them in the state of Massachusetts alone.
Clubs are not for everybody. We all have to make decisions based on what is best for our own families. What is good for mine may not be good for yours, and that is O.K. To each his own. 🙂
“I have no idea what “the portion of the fee for coaches expenses” might be. Where would one find out that information?”
Cost of tournament per team (always on tournament web sites) divided by the number of players is the base cost per player.
Take the amount per player charged by the club and subtract the base cost.
That will give you fee per player coach/club gets.
Thanks for the info. GC. I will look into it further now that you’ve mentioned it. You’ve peaked my curiosity. After I do the math, I’ll let you know whether or not I agree or disagree with you that “the portion of the fee for coaches expenses is outlandish.”
GC,
Again, I can only speak to what I know. The GU10 Valencia (B) team played in the Bandit’s Cup in Devens, MA, along with a few other AVSC teams. The U10 Valencia girls were NOT asked to pay a dime. AVSC covered the whole $575 U10 team fee.
The Valencia girls were later asked if they’d like to play in the 30th Columbus Day Nashua World Cup Tournament (2012) in NH, but most of the girls on the team had committed to play with their town teams in a tournament in Natick, MA. If they were indeed playing in that NH tournament, they would have been expected to pay $30 per player. If 12 players could have made it, that would come to a total of $360. (Even if they had been asked for $35 / player, it would still only bring the total to $420.) On the tournament’s website it said 6v6 = $375. 8v8 = $425. Using your (excellent) explanation of how to calculate the portion of the fee for coaches expenses, I still don’t see how you could possibly say AVSC’s cut is outlandish. In fact, I don’t see them making any profit here. They more likely lose money. Maybe I am missing something, but the math doesn’t support your claim. So far this season, the club has been nothing but fair.
Thanks for getting me to check it out, though, and for giving me that clear and concise explanation. Much appreciated! 🙂
I think you are both leaving out the most expensive cost for a club – field rental. The usual minimum price to rent a grass field to practice for an hour is $125. You change that to turf, it goes up, you move indoors for winter training and it doubles. And no team I know of practices for just an hour. Their fees are not outlandish, but they certainly aren’t “losing” money! Even a non-profit can’t go into something like this and be losing money – unless they have a fairy Godmother. They still aren’t the best club around but they aren’t bilking anyone either.
Neither one of us was leaving that out. We were talking about what we were talking about: tournament fees. So, yes, they probably lost money. Regardless, I have no idea what they pay for field rental, and I’m not going there. I really don’t care. People who have their children play for clubs know there is a cost attached…Period. We make a choice. Anyhow, I can agree with you that they aren’t “bilking” us. Regarding being the best club, that is a matter of opinion, now isn’t it? You think yours is the best. My daughter thinks hers is the best. You’re both right, because it is based on your personal experience. Even my young daughter grasps that concept. Again, to each his own.
If you actually sat down and figured the cost, it is not at all expensive. You pay 19.70 per hour for three hours of practice per week. This is not including the extra practices they had in August or the games. Try another sport, say gymnastics or dance and you are paying $20-$28 per hour/class. Do tyour homework and you will see that even though it is a bit costly up front you are getting a lot for your dollar.
I don’t think this club is too expensive. In fact, it’s more in the mid-range of Massachusetts clubs. Having said that, you get what you pay for.
So very sad, Jerry. Stick to writing great things about your own club, and leave this one alone. They see potential in every player. They have the ability to develop it. My daughter has improved, as have her friends. If a child has the will to improve their skills, they’ll do great. If you are just looking to win games, then their philosophy will not suit you. Their site is pretty clear. Everything is transparent. No surprises, which is nice.
I respectfully disagree. My daughter just attended one of their clinics, and she enjoyed herself very much.
Less parent involvement? Fewer tournaments?
How would that benefit your child?
My 8-year-old daughter attended Abbey Villa S.C.’s Summer Fast Feet Clinic in Northborough the week of July 23rd. She had a great time. The clinic was both challenging and rewarding. At the end of Day 1, she was exhausted, but happy. She welcomed the next day, and the next, etc. She had been to soccer camps / clinics through other soccer / football clubs before, but this is the first time she had taken an AVSC Fast Feet Clinic. Every summer she does 1 or 2 soccer camps / clinics. This year she just did this one.
She liked the trainers very much and felt accepted and welcomed by them and “the bigger kids” who also took part in the clinic. She said the group was very nice, and though she only knew a handful of the other attendees, she made friends quickly. She particularly admired the older AVSC “club” players and their excellent foot skills and unbelievable ability to maintain possession of the ball, even under great pressure. Though they were such good players, they were very down to Earth. My daughter commented on this more than once. They even encouraged her. I’m sure that helped her feel at ease. She was able to take risks and step out of her comfort zone, trying out new moves without embarrassment or hesitation.
She liked this clinic because it wasn’t “more of the same stuff” or a carbon copy of another club’s clinic. It was quite unique. She said it was tough, which she enjoyed. It kept her engaged and interested. It was very high energy. She diligently worked to improve her foot skills, and took pride in showing her father and I what she learned when she got home. She never once said, “I’m bored,” which is something I’ve heard her say about other clinics / camps.
Ultimately, we as parents just want our children to be happy. My daughter loves soccer and this clinic put a smile on her face. That, in turn, made me happy, which explains why I’m leaving this very favorable comment. I recommend this clinic highly. This club and its teaching of Total Football (peppered with tiki-taka) is a great resource for those looking for more in-depth soccer technique development.
I forgot to mention that my 4 1/2 year-old daughter participated in the AVSC Villa Soccer Mini’s Summer Clinic in Northborough. It was only for 45 minutes each day, which was perfect for her age and attention span. She was on the same field as her big sister, so she felt very proud, even though she was in the designated Mini’s section. She put forth maximum effort and enjoyed every minute of it.
Of course the trainers did not cover improving first touch or fast footwork or fluid passing with the Mini’s like they did with my older daughter and her peers. Instead, they worked on getting the children to practice good touches on the ball in a fun way, through age-appropriate games. She LOVED it!
On the last day of the clinic, she and I stayed after her session was over in order to observe the rest of her big sister’s session. During the final scrimmage the coaches involved her by naming her the ball girl. She was so happy! She got to get the balls that were kicked out in her area and bring them over to one of the coaches. I thought that was very nice of them. She was chomping at the bit to join in, and they picked up on that and found a way to include her. They were so easygoing and welcoming! Their actions impressed me.
She has taken AVSC’s Villa Soccer Mini’s classes at Hit Quarters in Shrewsbury before. She will continue to attend those Mini’s classes whenever they are offered. Her gross motor and direction following skills have improved so much since first taking part in these classes.
In the future, if she sticks with soccer, I would love to have her participate in Abbey Villa S.C.’s new Academy offering in Northborough for 6-9 year-olds. She would pick up such great skills if she did. What a great foundation that would be! We’ll see. She is her own person and she may or may not follow in her sister’s footsteps. Who knows what the future will hold? All I know for sure is that both of my girls have been very happy with their Abbey Villa S.C. experiences to date. 🙂
I could not be happier with Abbey Villa. My child has grown tremendously as a player since joining the club. They have a strong belief about how to develop soccer players and they stick with it in games and practices. The trainers are great and easy to deal with. Best of all, the players and parents are a joy to be around, which has not always been my experience with club soccer.