US Youth soccer pyramid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BOYS

1) MLS NEXT - because of brand, no legitimate proven track record due brevity of existence. Implementing QoS for U14 and below because we parents are crazy chasing wins and trophies for social media posts over genuine development of players (see DCU, BETHESDA, SYC, ALEXANDRIA)

2) ECNL - because has always been lauded as the top until MLS came and started squashing their club base little by little (see ARLINGTON, FVU, MCLEAN)

3) EDP - because they’ve held their own in the eastern seaboard for years being above NCSL and other glorified rec leagues in their respective states

4) NAL - where clubs that paid to use mls next brand have their so called MLSN-2 teams. No real affiliation to mls but they can in turn dupe unsuspecting parents (see VRSC, TSJ)

4) NCSL - because it’s a glorified rec league that allows all clubs in DMV to make three, four, or five teams per age group to keep the cash coming.

GIRLS

1) ECNL - because there genuinely isn’t a better league for females

2) GA - because they’re essentially two-three years old and if it weren’t for that odd ‘partnership’ with mls nobody would even consider them. They’re like the cheap tacky neighbor to extinct and defunct-due-P2P DA

3) who cares?

You need to get out more.

Like you? With an empty post? Laughable at best

lol, you made my point with your reply. What an otaku!

[Anonymous]

All boys parents think boys soccer matters over girls. Yet the reality is, US boys are years behind other nations and US men’s soccer is laughable at best with no chance of catching up any time soon.

So let’s all pretend that any of the leagues that OP spent time typing about will produce anything of quality. Who cares?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All boys parents think boys soccer matters over girls. Yet the reality is, US boys are years behind other nations and US men’s soccer is laughable at best with no chance of catching up any time soon.

So let’s all pretend that any of the leagues that OP spent time typing about will produce anything of quality. Who cares?

The reality of women’s soccer. Let me know when your ready for that…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a complicated landscape for new parents or those in the throes of helping find their child's potential level. Would love to see some constructive discussion (criticism or affirmation) of the original poster's list. Would also be worth considering how much to weight these distinctions against travel time to practice and games, differentials due to individual coaches, and at what age it matters.

It is complicated. I would suggest you ask a few questions and I will give you some straight answers.

In general, before 11v11 and really age 14-15, NONE of it matters. The best player in my son’s age group in the DMV is tiny and his squad did win not a game last season. He will get picked up by an academy in the next two years though unless he chooses to stay where he is.

If your kid is playing multiple sports and enjoying themselves, sit back and relax and ignore the pyramid. If they have ambitions of playing at higher and higher levels, my suggestion would be to attend a club neutral training session and start there:

False8, Futstars and HP Elite are few off the top of my head in VA.

Next Star, Ballerz and Limitless are a few out of MD.

From there, you can assess where you are, check out the badges on the backpacks and then start to make decisions on where to go. If your kid drowns in these environments, paying attention to the pyramid means nothing. Some clubs “win” but don’t develop. Some clubs develop but don’t “win.”

I will tell you plain and simple. Most of these DCUM parents focused on rankings and leagues will tank their kids career, especially before 11v11.

Development starts with you, the parent. Find a neutral training environment and then you can begin to learn where you child is on their development journey. If your kid is at the top of the food chain, find the best coach regardless of the league and club.

People worry about leagues when their child can’t take the ball out of the air, juggle 200+ times, pass, dribble and shoot efficiently with both feet or execute a Croqueta. I would figure out how to get your kid doing these basic things before I would worry about a league. Ask any questions though. I will weed through the snarky comments to give an honest opinion as I was once an overwhelmed newbie.

This is the biggest American scam.

The “multiple sports” scam. It is so misunderstood by parents and abused by sports and coaches to make parents believe by putting their kid in 2, 3 or 4 sports until 14 they’re “building a champion.”

All the players i know with injuries sidelining them for months play multiple sports and never let their body rest, because they are told multiple sports will prevent injuries. Can't make this stuff up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a complicated landscape for new parents or those in the throes of helping find their child's potential level. Would love to see some constructive discussion (criticism or affirmation) of the original poster's list. Would also be worth considering how much to weight these distinctions against travel time to practice and games, differentials due to individual coaches, and at what age it matters.

It is complicated. I would suggest you ask a few questions and I will give you some straight answers.

In general, before 11v11 and really age 14-15, NONE of it matters. The best player in my son’s age group in the DMV is tiny and his squad did win not a game last season. He will get picked up by an academy in the next two years though unless he chooses to stay where he is.

If your kid is playing multiple sports and enjoying themselves, sit back and relax and ignore the pyramid. If they have ambitions of playing at higher and higher levels, my suggestion would be to attend a club neutral training session and start there:

False8, Futstars and HP Elite are few off the top of my head in VA.

Next Star, Ballerz and Limitless are a few out of MD.

From there, you can assess where you are, check out the badges on the backpacks and then start to make decisions on where to go. If your kid drowns in these environments, paying attention to the pyramid means nothing. Some clubs “win” but don’t develop. Some clubs develop but don’t “win.”

I will tell you plain and simple. Most of these DCUM parents focused on rankings and leagues will tank their kids career, especially before 11v11.

Development starts with you, the parent. Find a neutral training environment and then you can begin to learn where you child is on their development journey. If your kid is at the top of the food chain, find the best coach regardless of the league and club.

People worry about leagues when their child can’t take the ball out of the air, juggle 200+ times, pass, dribble and shoot efficiently with both feet or execute a Croqueta. I would figure out how to get your kid doing these basic things before I would worry about a league. Ask any questions though. I will weed through the snarky comments to give an honest opinion as I was once an overwhelmed newbie.

This is the biggest American scam.

The “multiple sports” scam. It is so misunderstood by parents and abused by sports and coaches to make parents believe by putting their kid in 2, 3 or 4 sports until 14 they’re “building a champion.”

All the players i know with injuries sidelining them for months play multiple sports and never let their body rest, because they are told multiple sports will prevent injuries. Can't make this stuff up.

Multiple sports can be an advantage IF they're not played at the SAME time. That's the problem. A generation ago, you'd see the top athletes play 3 sports in HS and focus on THAT sport in THAT season. The problem now is every sport these days is year-round and gives no breaks, so if you're a multi-sport athlete, yes, you're doing too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a complicated landscape for new parents or those in the throes of helping find their child's potential level. Would love to see some constructive discussion (criticism or affirmation) of the original poster's list. Would also be worth considering how much to weight these distinctions against travel time to practice and games, differentials due to individual coaches, and at what age it matters.

It is complicated. I would suggest you ask a few questions and I will give you some straight answers.

In general, before 11v11 and really age 14-15, NONE of it matters. The best player in my son’s age group in the DMV is tiny and his squad did win not a game last season. He will get picked up by an academy in the next two years though unless he chooses to stay where he is.

If your kid is playing multiple sports and enjoying themselves, sit back and relax and ignore the pyramid. If they have ambitions of playing at higher and higher levels, my suggestion would be to attend a club neutral training session and start there:

False8, Futstars and HP Elite are few off the top of my head in VA.

Next Star, Ballerz and Limitless are a few out of MD.

From there, you can assess where you are, check out the badges on the backpacks and then start to make decisions on where to go. If your kid drowns in these environments, paying attention to the pyramid means nothing. Some clubs “win” but don’t develop. Some clubs develop but don’t “win.”

I will tell you plain and simple. Most of these DCUM parents focused on rankings and leagues will tank their kids career, especially before 11v11.

Development starts with you, the parent. Find a neutral training environment and then you can begin to learn where you child is on their development journey. If your kid is at the top of the food chain, find the best coach regardless of the league and club.

People worry about leagues when their child can’t take the ball out of the air, juggle 200+ times, pass, dribble and shoot efficiently with both feet or execute a Croqueta. I would figure out how to get your kid doing these basic things before I would worry about a league. Ask any questions though. I will weed through the snarky comments to give an honest opinion as I was once an overwhelmed newbie.

This is the biggest American scam.

The “multiple sports” scam. It is so misunderstood by parents and abused by sports and coaches to make parents believe by putting their kid in 2, 3 or 4 sports until 14 they’re “building a champion.”

All the players i know with injuries sidelining them for months play multiple sports and never let their body rest, because they are told multiple sports will prevent injuries. Can't make this stuff up.

That's because urban myths and legends replace science these days

Single sport real athletes with professional guidance for sustainable healthy fitness train using different movements and drills for adversity and injury prevention.
They do ice skater jumps, not compete at ice-skating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a complicated landscape for new parents or those in the throes of helping find their child's potential level. Would love to see some constructive discussion (criticism or affirmation) of the original poster's list. Would also be worth considering how much to weight these distinctions against travel time to practice and games, differentials due to individual coaches, and at what age it matters.

It is complicated. I would suggest you ask a few questions and I will give you some straight answers.

In general, before 11v11 and really age 14-15, NONE of it matters. The best player in my son’s age group in the DMV is tiny and his squad did win not a game last season. He will get picked up by an academy in the next two years though unless he chooses to stay where he is.

If your kid is playing multiple sports and enjoying themselves, sit back and relax and ignore the pyramid. If they have ambitions of playing at higher and higher levels, my suggestion would be to attend a club neutral training session and start there:

False8, Futstars and HP Elite are few off the top of my head in VA.

Next Star, Ballerz and Limitless are a few out of MD.

From there, you can assess where you are, check out the badges on the backpacks and then start to make decisions on where to go. If your kid drowns in these environments, paying attention to the pyramid means nothing. Some clubs “win” but don’t develop. Some clubs develop but don’t “win.”

I will tell you plain and simple. Most of these DCUM parents focused on rankings and leagues will tank their kids career, especially before 11v11.

Development starts with you, the parent. Find a neutral training environment and then you can begin to learn where you child is on their development journey. If your kid is at the top of the food chain, find the best coach regardless of the league and club.

People worry about leagues when their child can’t take the ball out of the air, juggle 200+ times, pass, dribble and shoot efficiently with both feet or execute a Croqueta. I would figure out how to get your kid doing these basic things before I would worry about a league. Ask any questions though. I will weed through the snarky comments to give an honest opinion as I was once an overwhelmed newbie.

This is the biggest American scam.

The “multiple sports” scam. It is so misunderstood by parents and abused by sports and coaches to make parents believe by putting their kid in 2, 3 or 4 sports until 14 they’re “building a champion.”

All the players i know with injuries sidelining them for months play multiple sports and never let their body rest, because they are told multiple sports will prevent injuries. Can't make this stuff up.

That's because urban myths and legends replace science these days

Single sport real athletes with professional guidance for sustainable healthy fitness train using different movements and drills for adversity and injury prevention.
They do ice skater jumps, not compete at ice-skating

Wait ur sayin dudes can’t menstruate and give birth? What a bigot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BOYS

1) MLS NEXT - because of brand, no legitimate proven track record due brevity of existence. Implementing QoS for U14 and below because we parents are crazy chasing wins and trophies for social media posts over genuine development of players (see DCU, BETHESDA, SYC, ALEXANDRIA)

2) ECNL - because has always been lauded as the top until MLS came and started squashing their club base little by little (see ARLINGTON, FVU, MCLEAN)

3) EDP - because they’ve held their own in the eastern seaboard for years being above NCSL and other glorified rec leagues in their respective states

4) NAL - where clubs that paid to use mls next brand have their so called MLSN-2 teams. No real affiliation to mls but they can in turn dupe unsuspecting parents (see VRSC, TSJ)

4) NCSL - because it’s a glorified rec league that allows all clubs in DMV to make three, four, or five teams per age group to keep the cash coming.

GIRLS

1) ECNL - because there genuinely isn’t a better league for females

2) GA - because they’re essentially two-three years old and if it weren’t for that odd ‘partnership’ with mls nobody would even consider them. They’re like the cheap tacky neighbor to extinct and defunct-due-P2P DA

3) who cares?

thanks for your lukewarm take.


Srsly

[Anonymous]

Its amazing how someone will put together a list like this, others will take shots at it and complain, but NO ONE is mentioning outcomes and what matters most based on what your CHILD is trying to accomplish.

That's it. That's the scam. Parents throwing money at a club or playing for a badge and some perception of clout without even considering the kid's goals and whether any club, team or league will or won't help you get there.

[Anonymous]

There is no US Youth Soccer Pyramid. Instead there is a US Youth Soccer Thunderdome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a complicated landscape for new parents or those in the throes of helping find their child's potential level. Would love to see some constructive discussion (criticism or affirmation) of the original poster's list. Would also be worth considering how much to weight these distinctions against travel time to practice and games, differentials due to individual coaches, and at what age it matters.

Will address the last part, "at what age this matters." From what I have heard at the bus stop, it seems to matter to parents yammering about their kid when the parent is about late 30s. But the older parents, say in their mid-40s know that this discussion is for clowns and don't partake. In summary, it matters to parents for about 5 years starting in their late 30s then most start to wise up to the scam.

Part of it is reality setting in. A 30 something parent probably has younger kids and is filled with unrealistic hopes and dreams. When the kids start to get to U15 or so many realize that maybe little Johnny isn't going to be going D1 or turning pro. You can see it in the crowds at games. The younger ages have larger crowds and parents who are overly enthusiastic. The older kids have smaller crowds and the fans are often more subdued.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a complicated landscape for new parents or those in the throes of helping find their child's potential level. Would love to see some constructive discussion (criticism or affirmation) of the original poster's list. Would also be worth considering how much to weight these distinctions against travel time to practice and games, differentials due to individual coaches, and at what age it matters.

Will address the last part, "at what age this matters." From what I have heard at the bus stop, it seems to matter to parents yammering about their kid when the parent is about late 30s. But the older parents, say in their mid-40s know that this discussion is for clowns and don't partake. In summary, it matters to parents for about 5 years starting in their late 30s then most start to wise up to the scam.

Part of it is reality setting in. A 30 something parent probably has younger kids and is filled with unrealistic hopes and dreams. When the kids start to get to U15 or so many realize that maybe little Johnny isn't going to be going D1 or turning pro. You can see it in the crowds at games. The younger ages have larger crowds and parents who are overly enthusiastic. The older kids have smaller crowds and the fans are often more subdued.

Having gone through this exact process, both the PP and above poster are spot on. The amount of enthusiasm for my DC at U7-U12 was above the clouds. They were going somewhere and doing it big time. Now that I have gained wisdom in this shit hole called youth soccer, reality does really set in (also in my mid 40's). With a couple of years left of club soccer, the focus has shifted to really trying to soak up whats left of my DC's time together. Car rides become relaxed instead of talking up all these strategies or post game discussions. Practice, which was so scared and could never be missed, becomes less important than making sure my DC is prepared for an upcoming test. It just becomes different and while I feel bad for what my two older kinds went through (shit system, overly enthusiastic parent), my younger DS will surely benefit as i now see what youth soccer here is all about. Go out and have fun! Learn, fail, win, and set realistic expectations.

[Anonymous]

Dam bro. You need more sex. Feel sorry for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dam bro. You need more sex. Feel sorry for you.

You might want to ask your mom about my libido

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All boys parents think boys soccer matters over girls. Yet the reality is, US boys are years behind other nations and US men’s soccer is laughable at best with no chance of catching up any time soon.

So let’s all pretend that any of the leagues that OP spent time typing about will produce anything of quality. Who cares?

The reality of women’s soccer. Let me know when your ready for that…

Ouch... Yeah. And the silence after this is deafening