MLSnext

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?

MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.

Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.

It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.

I will not and cannot disagree. I really don’t know. The pipeline for the MLS Next affiliates looks stronger in this area and I think that continued affiliation will give a recruiting edge longer term. End of day, you are probably right. I don’t think it matters for most players in either league. For top players, it does and will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?

MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.

Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.

It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.

I will not and cannot disagree. I really don’t know. The pipeline for the MLS Next affiliates looks stronger in this area and I think that continued affiliation will give a recruiting edge longer term. End of day, you are probably right. I don’t think it matters for most players in either league. For top players, it does and will.

Not really sure what you mean. If by pipeline you mean pipeline to DC United, then about half the teams in DC United's feeder system are ECNL and the other half are MLS Next, so don't agree that top players are at a disadvantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?

MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.

Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.

It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.

I will not and cannot disagree. I really don’t know. The pipeline for the MLS Next affiliates looks stronger in this area and I think that continued affiliation will give a recruiting edge longer term. End of day, you are probably right. I don’t think it matters for most players in either league. For top players, it does and will.

Not really sure what you mean. If by pipeline you mean pipeline to DC United, then about half the teams in DC United's feeder system are ECNL and the other half are MLS Next, so don't agree that top players are at a disadvantage.

The younger teams at mls affiliates are consistently outperforming the encl affiliates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.

Wasn't some of the Virginia teams that went to ECNL, it was all.

Addition by subtraction and then addition. Have fun playing McLean and BRYC and going down to Charlotte to play whoever.

Have fun with only two real age groups U-15 and U-17.

Seriously. Or playing CCL at U16. As for the whoever comment, the Carolina teams are strong, especially at 2006. Three of them made the ECNL Final 8 that will play next week in St. Louis.

You missed the memo. None of these teams or their players need to play ccl at U16. And hey, I am sure these Carolina teams are so good that MLS will undoubtedly just plant their new expansion teams down there and put all encl players on their teams. I don’t think they are weak, but let’s not get carried away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?

MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.

Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.

It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.

I will not and cannot disagree. I really don’t know. The pipeline for the MLS Next affiliates looks stronger in this area and I think that continued affiliation will give a recruiting edge longer term. End of day, you are probably right. I don’t think it matters for most players in either league. For top players, it does and will.

Not really sure what you mean. If by pipeline you mean pipeline to DC United, then about half the teams in DC United's feeder system are ECNL and the other half are MLS Next, so don't agree that top players are at a disadvantage.

The younger teams at mls affiliates are consistently outperforming the encl affiliates.

What metric are you using? Look at the youthsoccerrankings.us rankings for MD and VA for the 2008, 2007, and 2006 age groups. Except for DC United itself, the top ECNL teams are ranked above the top MLS Next teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.

Wasn't some of the Virginia teams that went to ECNL, it was all.

Addition by subtraction and then addition. Have fun playing McLean and BRYC and going down to Charlotte to play whoever.

Have fun with only two real age groups U-15 and U-17.

Seriously. Or playing CCL at U16. As for the whoever comment, the Carolina teams are strong, especially at 2006. Three of them made the ECNL Final 8 that will play next week in St. Louis.

You missed the memo. None of these teams or their players need to play ccl at U16. And hey, I am sure these Carolina teams are so good that MLS will undoubtedly just plant their new expansion teams down there and put all encl players on their teams. I don’t think they are weak, but let’s not get carried away.

Actually, MLS did just that. They gave an expansion team to Charlotte. It is well-known that kids actively get recruited to their academy from ECNL clubs like NCFC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?

MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.

Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.

It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.

I will not and cannot disagree. I really don’t know. The pipeline for the MLS Next affiliates looks stronger in this area and I think that continued affiliation will give a recruiting edge longer term. End of day, you are probably right. I don’t think it matters for most players in either league. For top players, it does and will.

Not really sure what you mean. If by pipeline you mean pipeline to DC United, then about half the teams in DC United's feeder system are ECNL and the other half are MLS Next, so don't agree that top players are at a disadvantage.

The younger teams at mls affiliates are consistently outperforming the encl affiliates.

What metric are you using? Look at the youthsoccerrankings.us rankings for MD and VA for the 2008, 2007, and 2006 age groups. Except for DC United itself, the top ECNL teams are ranked above the top MLS Next teams.

Pipeline meaning age groups not yet in either league heading to those leagues in the next three years. Yes, things change, but that’s where the recruiting edge, if there is one, maintains what we see in all of the younger groups. Let’s see how all these teams do after a full recruiting cycle. In other words, let’s talk again at the end of the 2021-22 season. I am sure it will be close at the younger age groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?

MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.

Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.

It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.

I will not and cannot disagree. I really don’t know. The pipeline for the MLS Next affiliates looks stronger in this area and I think that continued affiliation will give a recruiting edge longer term. End of day, you are probably right. I don’t think it matters for most players in either league. For top players, it does and will.

Not really sure what you mean. If by pipeline you mean pipeline to DC United, then about half the teams in DC United's feeder system are ECNL and the other half are MLS Next, so don't agree that top players are at a disadvantage.

The younger teams at mls affiliates are consistently outperforming the encl affiliates.

I don't actually think that's true either. Richmond, Arlington, VDA and Loudoun between them have the top teams in VA at U13 and U14 as well as the older age groups.

And Richmond and Arlington in particular have strong pathways to MLS academies and USL teams.

That said - MLSNext may well give the other clubs a recruiting edge over time, so things could change. Equally the MLS clubs could well increase their separation from the other MLSNext clubs - playing more games against each other and internationally as they have long wanted to do - in which case that might not materialize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.

Wasn't some of the Virginia teams that went to ECNL, it was all.

Addition by subtraction and then addition. Have fun playing McLean and BRYC and going down to Charlotte to play whoever.

Have fun with only two real age groups U-15 and U-17.

Seriously. Or playing CCL at U16. As for the whoever comment, the Carolina teams are strong, especially at 2006. Three of them made the ECNL Final 8 that will play next week in St. Louis.

You missed the memo. None of these teams or their players need to play ccl at U16. And hey, I am sure these Carolina teams are so good that MLS will undoubtedly just plant their new expansion teams down there and put all encl players on their teams. I don’t think they are weak, but let’s not get carried away.

Lol. That's pretty funny - because that's basically exactly what the new MLS franchise in Charlotte did. A big chunk of their rosters came from NCFC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?

MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.

Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.

It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.

I will not and cannot disagree. I really don’t know. The pipeline for the MLS Next affiliates looks stronger in this area and I think that continued affiliation will give a recruiting edge longer term. End of day, you are probably right. I don’t think it matters for most players in either league. For top players, it does and will.

Not really sure what you mean. If by pipeline you mean pipeline to DC United, then about half the teams in DC United's feeder system are ECNL and the other half are MLS Next, so don't agree that top players are at a disadvantage.

The younger teams at mls affiliates are consistently outperforming the encl affiliates.

What metric are you using? Look at the youthsoccerrankings.us rankings for MD and VA for the 2008, 2007, and 2006 age groups. Except for DC United itself, the top ECNL teams are ranked above the top MLS Next teams.

Pipeline meaning age groups not yet in either league heading to those leagues in the next three years. Yes, things change, but that’s where the recruiting edge, if there is one, maintains what we see in all of the younger groups. Let’s see how all these teams do after a full recruiting cycle. In other words, let’s talk again at the end of the 2021-22 season. I am sure it will be close at the younger age groups.

I don't really know much about the U12 and younger age groups, so you may be correct. My guess though is that this will depend on coaching. It's not clear to me that any of the VA MLSNext clubs has the coaching strength in depth to develop their kids every year. Alexandria probably comes closest and may well make it work. I'm skeptical that Achilles and SYC will pull this off though. Just being in DA wasn't good enough to guarantee good teams in the past (there were perenially weak clubs like Lehigh Valley, PA Classics, TSF), and MLSNext won't guarantee it in the future - but only time will tell.

[Anonymous]

No doubt that currently the top ECNL teams are as strong if not stronger than the non-pro MLS clubs, however the pro-MLS clubs are certainly the best in the nation. No team in ECNL could come close to Philly Union, the New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution, or any other pro Academy. Even DCU is pulling the best players from the top DMV teams. They have tons of money and are able to pull the best players due to name recognition and free fees.

Add to that the fact that MLS did a pretty good job with the league considering it was the first year and during a pandemic. The MLS Next Cup was as first class production with the best the country has to offer.

Over time, MLS Next will steal players from ECNL if only because of the name and the opportunity to play other pro-MLS clubs. It will also be able to pull the most college scouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No doubt that currently the top ECNL teams are as strong if not stronger than the non-pro MLS clubs, however the pro-MLS clubs are certainly the best in the nation. No team in ECNL could come close to Philly Union, the New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution, or any other pro Academy. Even DCU is pulling the best players from the top DMV teams. They have tons of money and are able to pull the best players due to name recognition and free fees.

Dallas, Philadelphia, NYRB, RSL and a couple of others are very good.

But there are plenty of pro academies, including DCU, that are not as good as the best non-MLS clubs. Arlington/Baltimore/Richmond are all as good as or better than plenty of MLS clubs for example - including DCU. In this area DCU certainly has the most talented rosters - but they don't get the most out of the kids. In other areas the clubs don't have the talent pool to pick from that we do here, and they're just not as good.

Add to that the fact that MLS did a pretty good job with the league considering it was the first year and during a pandemic. The MLS Next Cup was as first class production with the best the country has to offer.

Over time, MLS Next will steal players from ECNL if only because of the name and the opportunity to play other pro-MLS clubs. It will also be able to pull the most college scouts.

I think you are probably correct here - but it does depend on the MLS clubs continuing to commit to the league and the non-MLS clubs in it. As a current youth soccer player I would want to be in MLS Next. But as a club I'm not so sure I would want to stake my future on the MLS clubs remaining committed to the league.

[Anonymous]

Stop using the word “steal”. Clubs should be happy if a player is moving from their club to a MLS club. It’s okay for players to leave. NCFC has plenty of players that go from their top ECNL team to MLS Next team in Charlotte FC, they are okay with it. It will be interesting if NCFC tries to go MLS Next as they were DA and they had DA as top team and ECNL as second team and Wake FC just got MLS Next. As a league, on the boys side MLS Next is stronger the issue is MLS academies only go up to u17

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop using the word “steal”. Clubs should be happy if a player is moving from their club to a MLS club. It’s okay for players to leave. NCFC has plenty of players that go from their top ECNL team to MLS Next team in Charlotte FC, they are okay with it. It will be interesting if NCFC tries to go MLS Next as they were DA and they had DA as top team and ECNL as second team and Wake FC just got MLS Next. As a league, on the boys side MLS Next is stronger the issue is MLS academies only go up to u17

Agreed on steal. It's the same here with Arlington. I think 10 kids are leaving for MLS academies (most, although not all, for DCU) next year. That's a good thing for the club.

On your second point I'm pretty sure all the ex-DA clubs were offered MLS Next again this year, but in this region (VA and NC) none of them took it. I think they are gambling that they can preserve their advantage as long as they stick together and keep the local ECNL league on a par with MLS Next.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop using the word “steal”. Clubs should be happy if a player is moving from their club to a MLS club. It’s okay for players to leave. NCFC has plenty of players that go from their top ECNL team to MLS Next team in Charlotte FC, they are okay with it. It will be interesting if NCFC tries to go MLS Next as they were DA and they had DA as top team and ECNL as second team and Wake FC just got MLS Next. As a league, on the boys side MLS Next is stronger the issue is MLS academies only go up to u17

Agreed on steal. It's the same here with Arlington. I think 10 kids are leaving for MLS academies (most, although not all, for DCU) next year. That's a good thing for the club.

On your second point I'm pretty sure all the ex-DA clubs were offered MLS Next again this year, but in this region (VA and NC) none of them took it. I think they are gambling that they can preserve their advantage as long as they stick together and keep the local ECNL league on a par with MLS Next.

^ Oh - and most MLS academies don't stop at U17. That's just DCU which runs the minimal program it can get away with and still comply with league rules.