MLS next

[Anonymous]

is it worth the hype?

[Anonymous]

Please be specific in defining "hype"

[Anonymous]

NP here / if I have a 12 year old son on his club’s ECNL team is the level of training, competition, etc that much better? Curious if it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here / if I have a 12 year old son on his club’s ECNL team is the level of training, competition, etc that much better? Curious if it worth it?

All coaches aren't the same. Clubs have different philosophies. Teams vary.

'Worth it' is personal to you and your kid and kinda subjective.

[Anonymous]

The recruiting will be vastly better if he is able to stick with it through HS.

[Anonymous]

I think you first have to share what the goal is for your kid for you to determine whether it’s worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The recruiting will be vastly better if he is able to stick with it through HS.

If they are interested in college soccer and/or want to play at a high level then MLS Next is likely worth it. If they enjoy soccer and want to play competitively but not past high school then I would say it depends on the MLS Team, its coaches and the feel of the team.

[Anonymous]

Super helpful - thank you! DS’s goal (not mine!) is to play in college. It sounds like if it is possible then DCU would be the top and then Bethesda, Armour, Achilles MLS Next teams are still better for his goal then ECNL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Super helpful - thank you! DS’s goal (not mine!) is to play in college. It sounds like if it is possible then DCU would be the top and then Bethesda, Armour, Achilles MLS Next teams are still better for his goal then ECNL.

There are plenty of kids that are recruited from ECNL. Unless there is also an added hope of going pro, I’d leave him in ECNL if that is the most logistically simple option. Alexandria and SYC has MLSNext btw altho that may be too far if u were only looking at MD.

Those clubs are quite different in coaching style so make sure your kid can adapt. Finally, I don’t think MLSNext is worth it (honestly, even ECNL) if your kid is not getting a lot of playing time (at least half) so make sure your aware of where he falls on that spectrum should he make the team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super helpful - thank you! DS’s goal (not mine!) is to play in college. It sounds like if it is possible then DCU would be the top and then Bethesda, Armour, Achilles MLS Next teams are still better for his goal then ECNL.

There are plenty of kids that are recruited from ECNL. Unless there is also an added hope of going pro, I’d leave him in ECNL if that is the most logistically simple option. Alexandria and SYC has MLSNext btw altho that may be too far if u were only looking at MD.

Those clubs are quite different in coaching style so make sure your kid can adapt. Finally, I don’t think MLSNext is worth it (honestly, even ECNL) if your kid is not getting a lot of playing time (at least half) so make sure your aware of where he falls on that spectrum should he make the team.

You don't think 4 days of good training with strong players and good coach is worth it because he may play less than a half on Saturday?

hint: training is more important

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super helpful - thank you! DS’s goal (not mine!) is to play in college. It sounds like if it is possible then DCU would be the top and then Bethesda, Armour, Achilles MLS Next teams are still better for his goal then ECNL.

There are plenty of kids that are recruited from ECNL. Unless there is also an added hope of going pro, I’d leave him in ECNL if that is the most logistically simple option. Alexandria and SYC has MLSNext btw altho that may be too far if u were only looking at MD.

Those clubs are quite different in coaching style so make sure your kid can adapt. Finally, I don’t think MLSNext is worth it (honestly, even ECNL) if your kid is not getting a lot of playing time (at least half) so make sure your aware of where he falls on that spectrum should he make the team.

You don't think 4 days of good training with strong players and good coach is worth it because he may play less than a half on Saturday?

hint: training is more important

Sure, I don’t disagree but a kid needs to play matches too. If they can find other ways to play games elsewhere even informally, playing time on their team wouldn’t matter as much I guess.

It still has to be fun for a kid to keep putting in the work and what’s fun is playing actual games.

In addition, how is a kid going to get enough exposure for college if they’re not playing on their club team? That’s what OP’s ultimate goal is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super helpful - thank you! DS’s goal (not mine!) is to play in college. It sounds like if it is possible then DCU would be the top and then Bethesda, Armour, Achilles MLS Next teams are still better for his goal then ECNL.

There are plenty of kids that are recruited from ECNL. Unless there is also an added hope of going pro, I’d leave him in ECNL if that is the most logistically simple option. Alexandria and SYC has MLSNext btw altho that may be too far if u were only looking at MD.

Those clubs are quite different in coaching style so make sure your kid can adapt. Finally, I don’t think MLSNext is worth it (honestly, even ECNL) if your kid is not getting a lot of playing time (at least half) so make sure your aware of where he falls on that spectrum should he make the team.

You don't think 4 days of good training with strong players and good coach is worth it because he may play less than a half on Saturday?

hint: training is more important

Sure, I don’t disagree but a kid needs to play matches too. If they can find other ways to play games elsewhere even informally, playing time on their team wouldn’t matter as much I guess.

It still has to be fun for a kid to keep putting in the work and what’s fun is playing actual games.

In addition, how is a kid going to get enough exposure for college if they’re not playing on their club team? That’s what OP’s ultimate goal is.

If you can't get off the bench at your club team, you seriously need to examine why instead of looking ahead to higher goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super helpful - thank you! DS’s goal (not mine!) is to play in college. It sounds like if it is possible then DCU would be the top and then Bethesda, Armour, Achilles MLS Next teams are still better for his goal then ECNL.

There are plenty of kids that are recruited from ECNL. Unless there is also an added hope of going pro, I’d leave him in ECNL if that is the most logistically simple option. Alexandria and SYC has MLSNext btw altho that may be too far if u were only looking at MD.

Those clubs are quite different in coaching style so make sure your kid can adapt. Finally, I don’t think MLSNext is worth it (honestly, even ECNL) if your kid is not getting a lot of playing time (at least half) so make sure your aware of where he falls on that spectrum should he make the team.

You don't think 4 days of good training with strong players and good coach is worth it because he may play less than a half on Saturday?

hint: training is more important

Sure, I don’t disagree but a kid needs to play matches too. If they can find other ways to play games elsewhere even informally, playing time on their team wouldn’t matter as much I guess.

It still has to be fun for a kid to keep putting in the work and what’s fun is playing actual games.

In addition, how is a kid going to get enough exposure for college if they’re not playing on their club team? That’s what OP’s ultimate goal is.

If you can't get off the bench at your club team, you seriously need to examine why instead of looking ahead to higher goals.

This is a simplistic view. There are kids on benches at MLS Next clubs who could be and will be starters at D1 schools.

[Anonymous]

ECNL has some really good players and some have moved on to D-1 but you have clubs in the MLS-Next in this region that consistently put 3/4 of its players each year in D-1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super helpful - thank you! DS’s goal (not mine!) is to play in college. It sounds like if it is possible then DCU would be the top and then Bethesda, Armour, Achilles MLS Next teams are still better for his goal then ECNL.

There are plenty of kids that are recruited from ECNL. Unless there is also an added hope of going pro, I’d leave him in ECNL if that is the most logistically simple option. Alexandria and SYC has MLSNext btw altho that may be too far if u were only looking at MD.

Those clubs are quite different in coaching style so make sure your kid can adapt. Finally, I don’t think MLSNext is worth it (honestly, even ECNL) if your kid is not getting a lot of playing time (at least half) so make sure your aware of where he falls on that spectrum should he make the team.

You don't think 4 days of good training with strong players and good coach is worth it because he may play less than a half on Saturday?

hint: training is more important

Sure, I don’t disagree but a kid needs to play matches too. If they can find other ways to play games elsewhere even informally, playing time on their team wouldn’t matter as much I guess.

It still has to be fun for a kid to keep putting in the work and what’s fun is playing actual games.

In addition, how is a kid going to get enough exposure for college if they’re not playing on their club team? That’s what OP’s ultimate goal is.

If you can't get off the bench at your club team, you seriously need to examine why instead of looking ahead to higher goals.

This is a simplistic view. There are kids on benches at MLS Next clubs who could be and will be starters at D1 schools.

The current tier structure of players Starting and on D1 Rosters are International Players, MLS Club Academy Players, MLS Next Players then the rest.
If you're not a strong MLS Next player, the odds of being a D1 Starter is a very very slim one.