What's your opinion?

[Anonymous]

Just saw his question on another thread and wanted to know opinions. If your DS were choosing between mls next and second team at one of the mls next clubs in this area for U13 or U14. My son is in this bubble. How do colleges look at these kids down the line? Who is a more desirable recruit?

It begs the question would you rather be one of the top 5 guys on the 2nd team and play significant minutes w/ an sig role; or roster spot 14-25+ on the first team, we little to no PT and little role for the team on game days.

[Anonymous]

If the second team is getting the same level of coaching/training AND playing in a league/division that’s competitive enough to allow the player to continue to develop. No question. A third option (at least in a soccer-dense area like the DMV) might be to find a club with a top team in a good league that carries fewer on the roster but where the player would be more likely to get playing time.

[Anonymous]

Your son is YOUNG. I have a 17-year old rising Senior and they are still recruiting his class. He's still in touch with coaches and they are planning to come to a few of his Fall games.

At U13/14, all you want is your kid to train at a high level and play as many game minutes as possible.

By U16, your kid should transition to a top MLSNext or ECNL team. It gets really hard to do it after U16 because there is less roster movement.

AT U13/14, my sons were some of the smallest players which meant they weren't getting time on top team so opted for lower team. My oldest is now 6'0". He didn't grow until Sophomore year. THIS matters in the male age group and its why recruiting is much later than the girls' side. Yes, some true superstar players known nationally commit early--but the bulk of players do not. The teams aren't formed until end of Junior year/Fall Senior year, with some still adding a player or two spring of Senior year.

I just had two sons go through this. They did move Club teams a lot and were often not at the same Club because each coach/club was different depending on the birth year and each kid had different needs in their timeline of development. You need to look at your kid's INDIVIDUAL development and not get caught up in shiny badges on the jersey.

The speed of play becomes very important by age 15/16 and up for boys. By that age, they need to be playing in an ECNL or MLSnext league to get used to that speed. Each time my kid made the bump up it took a month or so for them to catch onto the speed of play. It meant getting rid of the ball almost as soon as it hit their foot--reading the field ahead of time because a player is on you in seconds. It was a bid adjustment even from the second team in a top Club.

but, again, your kid is so young in the scheme of college recruiting and it isn't what you should be focused on right now. Focus on good coaching, individual development and game minutes (not bench time).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just saw his question on another thread and wanted to know opinions. If your DS were choosing between mls next and second team at one of the mls next clubs in this area for U13 or U14. My son is in this bubble. How do colleges look at these kids down the line? Who is a more desirable recruit?

It begs the question would you rather be one of the top 5 guys on the 2nd team and play significant minutes w/ an sig role; or roster spot 14-25+ on the first team, we little to no PT and little role for the team on game days.

If my kid was on the top team but not playing at least 1/3 of the game minutes on a regular basis, I would consider making some sort of move.

I would probably try to see if he could move down to the second team but continue to practice with the first team (at least half of the practices) or something like that.

Game minutes are obviously important for many reasons—both from skills development and psychological perspective—but the intensity and skill development in practices is equally important in my opinion.

In the end, soccer should be fun—and it’s no fun for a kid to train and prepare and not have the opportunity to compete against an opponent in a game situation. (For a professional who is getting paid, it’s obviously different.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I would probably try to see if he could move down to the second team but continue to practice with the first team (at least half of the practices) or something like that.

Game minutes are obviously important for many reasons—both from skills development and psychological perspective—but the intensity and skill development in practices is equally important in my opinion.

In the end, soccer should be fun—and it’s no fun for a kid to train and prepare and not have the opportunity to compete against an opponent in a game situation. (For a professional who is getting paid, it’s obviously different.)

Good point, a lot of first teams around here practice 4 nights a week. What if the player is getting challenged developmentally during those practices and the coaching is decent? Does it make sense to give up 6 hours of good development per week for 45 mins more game per week? I agree that playing significant minutes with the second team while maintaining significant practice time with the first team would be the good solution, but you have to really thread the needle to get into that position. If you can't though, it makes the decision tough.

[Anonymous]

I’m a GK parent so I’d choose a 2nd team over a 1st if he wasn’t going to get significant playing time. All the GK training in the world can’t compensate for not playing. But I would also want to make sure that 2nd team is seeing good competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a GK parent so I’d choose a 2nd team over a 1st if he wasn’t going to get significant playing time. All the GK training in the world can’t compensate for not playing. But I would also want to make sure that 2nd team is seeing good competition.

+1 even for a field player. Imo practicing with your same 1st or 2nd team teammates is not the same as playing another team that you don't know their moves or strong side who will fight tooth and nail every second to win.