You can always guest play, don't forget. |
No, I can't dispel your analogy, because it's essentially correct. US Soccer sucks at development precisely because of this. |
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I was field marshaling at a boys' game in higher level bracket of the Bethesda tournament 2 or 3 years ago (SOCA was one of the teams), and the field behind me had a top bracket matchup (Baltimore Celtic v. ??). The Georgetown men's coach and an assistant were watching the top bracket game, and an assistant for another college program was watching my field. They got to chatting about various players who were impressing them, and it was really interesting to hear their assessments. They definitely were evaluating kids other than those they'd come to see; at one point, the coach on my field went to find the team manager, who had a roster listing the boys, their graduation dates, contact info, and (maybe?) their GPAs, and he double checked with her to make sure he had the correct contact info for his prospects.
No clue if the Bethesda tournament is still attracting top teams, but there were multiple coaches all over the fields for the high level games. |