No threads on Landon’s Kristian Fletcher signing for Dortmund?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Almost no one in this forum knows who Kristian Fletcher is, nor Bryang Kayo or any other young American playing in Europe who is less famous than Christian Pulisic or (maybe) Gio Reyna. Almost none of them could even name the homegrown teens playing for DC United. Head over to the youth national team forums on Big Soccer if you want that level of conversation.

Thanks for posting about Kayo my kids played with him. Good to see him successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He was the W Post All-Met player of the year and deservedly so. He's on another level. Some of the W Post All-met picks were good, others were puzzling. Makes one wonder where the W Post beat writer gets his info. E.g., WJ crushed St Albans, yet St Albans has 2 first team all-mets? They didn't even win the IAC tournament.

St Albans was top of the table in the IAC, ahead of Landon and the POY...so somebody on that team must have been good.

[Anonymous]

I think the reason it isn't big news is that it hasn't really been announced. All the talk I can find is backed by one tweet from Keith Costigan; and it didn't help that he first said it was Bayern Munich (oops!) and only corrected it ten hours later. So it's a rumor, mainly from one (initially confused) dude. Now, he has been on trials in Europe since obtaining a passport, from what I understand. And Kristian is an awesome player; so it is entirely possible this will happen (has happened?). But it is not an indictment of anyone here that there isn't more fanfare over something so thinly sourced. One would think either Dortmund or Kristian would announce it if it were true.

Finally, I would say that it is borderline-unfair for a player like Kristian to play for Landon. Knowing him and the level of competition in that high school league, you almost have to ask "how did he ONLY score 29 goals?!" I'm still not sure why he was playing there -- maybe for the scholarship? But I guess a semester of toying with poor high school teams didn't hurt him too much if he's in the mix for big clubs in Europe. Best of luck to him!

[Anonymous]

There was a long time before anyone knew Christian--even when he was at Dortmund. Then since he was the first real big breakout star (nobody at the high a level prior) he started to garner attention.

I don't think it's because Kristian is black. Very happy for him and showed the Post selections to my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a long time before anyone knew Christian--even when he was at Dortmund. Then since he was the first real big breakout star (nobody at the high a level prior) he started to garner attention.

I don't think it's because Kristian is black. Very happy for him and showed the Post selections to my kids.

Yeah it wasn't until Pulisic was 18 that he became on the radar. I remember talking about him and people were like 'who?" Also--the clubs tend to keep it hush-hush as the kids are developing. There is a 'don't know how this kid will turn out', let's keep him modest and working hard.

REMEMBER WHAT A HUGE FUSS was made about Freddy Adu (also black) when he was only in 8th grade. See what happened there. There is a reason to delay talking the hype.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the reason it isn't big news is that it hasn't really been announced. All the talk I can find is backed by one tweet from Keith Costigan; and it didn't help that he first said it was Bayern Munich (oops!) and only corrected it ten hours later. So it's a rumor, mainly from one (initially confused) dude. Now, he has been on trials in Europe since obtaining a passport, from what I understand. And Kristian is an awesome player; so it is entirely possible this will happen (has happened?). But it is not an indictment of anyone here that there isn't more fanfare over something so thinly sourced. One would think either Dortmund or Kristian would announce it if it were true.

Finally, I would say that it is borderline-unfair for a player like Kristian to play for Landon. Knowing him and the level of competition in that high school league, you almost have to ask "how did he ONLY score 29 goals?!" I'm still not sure why he was playing there -- maybe for the scholarship? But I guess a semester of toying with poor high school teams didn't hurt him too much if he's in the mix for big clubs in Europe. Best of luck to him!

Private schools allow more flexibility for top athletes--fit their training in. Then, there is the top education as well. He's not the first soccer player from a private HS in the DMV to go play in Europe--but in a better league than the ones I know off the top of my head.

[Anonymous]

Who?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a long time before anyone knew Christian--even when he was at Dortmund. Then since he was the first real big breakout star (nobody at the high a level prior) he started to garner attention.

I don't think it's because Kristian is black. Very happy for him and showed the Post selections to my kids.

Is there something about the name C/Kristian that makes them superior players ? That was my first thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the reason it isn't big news is that it hasn't really been announced. All the talk I can find is backed by one tweet from Keith Costigan; and it didn't help that he first said it was Bayern Munich (oops!) and only corrected it ten hours later. So it's a rumor, mainly from one (initially confused) dude. Now, he has been on trials in Europe since obtaining a passport, from what I understand. And Kristian is an awesome player; so it is entirely possible this will happen (has happened?). But it is not an indictment of anyone here that there isn't more fanfare over something so thinly sourced. One would think either Dortmund or Kristian would announce it if it were true.

Finally, I would say that it is borderline-unfair for a player like Kristian to play for Landon. Knowing him and the level of competition in that high school league, you almost have to ask "how did he ONLY score 29 goals?!" I'm still not sure why he was playing there -- maybe for the scholarship? But I guess a semester of toying with poor high school teams didn't hurt him too much if he's in the mix for big clubs in Europe. Best of luck to him!

Private schools allow more flexibility for top athletes--fit their training in. Then, there is the top education as well. He's not the first soccer player from a private HS in the DMV to go play in Europe--but in a better league than the ones I know off the top of my head.

He played for bsc also.

[Anonymous]

Explain more on the passport. As long as you apply and your kid has a passport, they can trial (if requested) for these teams?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Explain more on the passport. As long as you apply and your kid has a passport, they can trial (if requested) for these teams?

First, if you're over 18, it's different; you could potentially get a work permit or some other kind of visa to play in Europe. Under 18...in theory, you don't need the passport to *trial* (it's only a few weeks long). But you would need it to stay and join their team; so what's the point of the trial if that's not possible? It's also possible to join a European team under 18 if your parent(s) move to Europe legitimately for work (i.e. not *just* for you to play there -- hard to police). But younger players with a European passport have a lot more options and leverage than US-only players, who really only have the MLS academy/homegrown system until 18. Kristian also never joined an MLS academy, so none of them have any claim of compensation; that probably makes it simpler for a Dortmund, if they want him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He was the W Post All-Met player of the year and deservedly so. He's on another level. Some of the W Post All-met picks were good, others were puzzling. Makes one wonder where the W Post beat writer gets his info. E.g., WJ crushed St Albans, yet St Albans has 2 first team all-mets? They didn't even win the IAC tournament.

Um remember colleges recruit players not teams. St. albans according to you, must have a good overall team but no standout players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it because he’s black?

Huge signing. Also did a search and he has never been mentioned on here? Wtf?

Yes, it’s because he’s black. Shut up dad!

[Anonymous]

It does seem likely that this was posted by a relative of young Kristian (congrats to him!) or the OP would have known that all we do around here is trash girls’ clubs, teams and coaches. The percentage of people here who care about the sport globally is tiny compared to that of people scheming for their DD’s advancement toward the college recruiting goal and leaving a trail of toxic fumes behind them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It does seem likely that this was posted by a relative of young Kristian (congrats to him!) or the OP would have known that all we do around here is trash girls’ clubs, teams and coaches. The percentage of people here who care about the sport globally is tiny compared to that of people scheming for their DD’s advancement toward the college recruiting goal and leaving a trail of toxic fumes behind them.

There's instagram and twitter accounts that follow these players. A lot of local soccer players follow these accounts and are happy to see local kids do well.