Cincinnati Elite FC

★A. M. Smith

Not organized. My son’s CEFC ECRL team often played games with no subs or a player down. The team had multiple coaches and multiple practice/game cancellations. We had him finish the season and it was painful.

★Brian Vickers

We used to be members of this club and left because of poor management and a lack of trust. They have a tendency to play kids against much better competition than they are ready for and put players on teams than they know will not succeed while providing poor training/coaching. Our entire u11 team left this club due to poor coaching and management. It looks like things haven't changed. We played their u15 team this past week. They sent a bunch of poor 7th graders to play us as their u15 team. We beat them 13 - 0 after benching starters and telling the team to play conservatively when the score was only 5-0. It was not enjoyable. Our team gained nothing. The Cincinnati Elite players were decimated and we were reminded of how it was when we were there. What a shame....

★Jack

If you’re considering Cincinnati Elite for development of your young athlete, don't. In my experience, this club is far more focused on collecting fees than actually developing players. The costs are among the highest in the area, but the return in terms of player growth just doesn’t match up. The club promotes things like “multi-sport friendly” and ECNL RL opportunities, but the execution falls short. Development pathways feel unclear, and there doesn’t seem to be a consistent philosophy that actually helps players improve over time. To make things worse, the director is constantly declaring things will be different next year. It never is. Home of the Brave, their home outdoor training facility, is absolutely terrible quality. Nothing more to be said about that. No development or game readiness happening when the club is splitting 1 turf field between 8 teams at a time for the entire preseason in February. Club is too cheap to spend your fees on adequate facilities and resources. The marketing also feels outdated and unpolished, which reflects a broader lack of professionalism in how the club presents itself. For a program at this price point, you’d expect a much higher standard across the board. There are some truly excellent coaches here who clearly care and do their best for the players. These coaches are the only thing that has kept us with the club for so long. Unfortunately, they seem limited by the overall structure and direction of the club. Bottom line: there are better-run, more development-focused clubs in the area that provide stronger value. I would strongly recommend exploring other options before committing here.

★Kelly

Horrible club. My child played with this club for 2.5 years and it just got worse and worse. The director of the club doesn’t care about the kids and is truly only in it for the money. Some coaches are good, but the lower teams get crap coaches or coaches that are coaching several teams and they are spread way too thin. My child got minimal to no training and stalled in his development as a player. It is one of the most expensive clubs and we got absolutely nothing for that money. The greedy director wants his club to look great on paper, so he makes the teams play in higher leagues. The result is a season full of embarrassing and demoralizing losses against teams that are just so much better. Rather than letting kids play at a level they can compete in, they’re forced to be annihilated every weekend and lose their love of the sport. When parents ask questions, the director places blame on everyone but himself. RUN from this club as fast as you can.

★Ed Buehler

Our experience with Cincinnati Elite Soccer has been frustrating and disappointing. From the beginning, communication with the organization has been inconsistent and unclear. The coaching quality varies greatly depending on the team. While a few coaches seem genuinely invested in developing the players, others are unengaged and lack the structure or professionalism you'd expect from a competitive program. For a club that markets itself as “elite,” the organization and overall experience feel anything but. There are definitely better-run programs in the area that prioritize player development and parent communication. We won’t be returning. We played for 2 years and weren’t very good either year. Year 2 we were moved up to a level we didn’t belong at. It was demoralizing to the kids and frustrating as parents watching them be embarrassed on the field every game. As you can see in the picture the lowest of the low was a 19-0 loss with the leader of the organization on the sideline with the kids.