DC United Academy - aa strong academy or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congratulations to the kid and his family.
This must be a great positive day in their household

Only a few will know what its like.

Unfortunately, the envious, jealous and toxic people will appear from the swamps to flap their gums

This thread went silent when the old man called ya’ll out for being rich MF’s which stung like hell and made you go silent for a week.

Don’t go acting like ya’ll are really ready to ball and open up the market to ALL competition. As currently structured, the rich kids get private training which advances them through U14 and DCU does nothing but cater to that as they are “Ashburn-ites” themselves. We just saw how DCU and MLS operate with the “open” ID weekend and P2P invitations. Their process is in direct opposition to San Diego.

His family probably does not know what they are doing. I STILL HOPE HE IS TALENTED TO RISE ABOVE THE BS. Please note he is from VA Beach which is not affluent.

Great deal for DC United. They “control” a super talented player for 4 years. I hope the family is strong enough to navigate it.

- Sincerely, 2013 dad educated on my options for my child and able to afford training and not looking for free handouts.

Sad, toxic, despicable, pitiful, sad, angry and consistently envious

I wonder why you make an assumption this particular family is incapable of making intelligent decisions?

Sounds like you know something we all don't. DC owns him now for the next crucial 4 years. Tell us how DC will further develop this kid without a second team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCU must be trolling this feed to shut down the critics. Another homegrown pro player named: Oscar Avilez (15 yr old)

Another person that doesn't know DCU, their devious system and their ridiculous methodology to try and show progress with their academy without any real progress happening. And there is no chance you have actually seen this kid play. Because if you did you would understand that this move is about DCUs inadequacies as an academy, not player development.

He is a 2010 player and 15 years old. And as someone who has actually seen him and that entire 2010 squad at DCU, I can tell you first hand that there is NOT ONE player, including him, on that team that is ready for professional football, definitely not DCU first team minutes.

He is definitely a good youth player with potential for sure. But not developed enough for pro football.But DCU has a big problem on their hands. That problem is that they have an academy that isn't producing pro players and the MLS is asking questions because end of day this is about money and selling those players. Why you saw Gavin Turner signing a homegrown deal recently (but disappearing on the first team) and now this kid signing a homegrown deal. Both of them will probably never see first team.minutes. DCU only wants to try and boost their homegrown numbers in an effort to mask failures in their academy. And the new GM wants to also try and show some movement in the academy in his first few months in the job because he knows, as most people in the business know, the academy is actually the lifeblood of the club. Something that DCU as an organization doesn't understand or commit to (how he deals with that reality and the inept owners is a separate issue).

And it isnt a terrible idea if you're DCU. Homegrown deal requires absolutely nothing from the club really. It isn't "real" money they are spending on him in terms of salary as a homegrown deal doesn't count against the salary cap. They get the PR moment (which is all they want) and they also get to control this players future. It is all club benefit and almost no player benefit. It is a trap the MLS uses to lock up player rights so they can cash in at any moment that player is sold. Most families don't really understand this and are blinded by the concept of their son signing a "professional contract". Little do they know they probably have killed a college scholarship due to lack of amateurism (now on a pro deal) and now DCU has compete control of the player and what he does which is just a bad decision overall because they are incompetent.

This latest homegrown signing is only a PR move by DCU for boosting the perception of homegrown numbers. The player has potential, and his last call up to a USYNT camp gave DCU the credibility to make this move because it was the first they had in a LONG time and they wanted to try and leverage and capitalize on this. But, for me, this is not a good development for him and any good football advisor or agent would have told him that. But my guess is he didn't have one. He's 15 and most families aren't thinking this way at that those ages. And he is not ready for first team football or even second team football (if DCU had a second team)..

End of day this is business, but this particular deal is just not a good one for this kid mostly because he isnt ready for it developmentally and DCU just took a lot from him (free college and his ability to move as he wants) for their own selfish reasons. I do hope it works out for him but trusting DCU with your future at 15 years old is just a bad move all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congratulations to the kid and his family.
This must be a great positive day in their household

Only a few will know what its like.

Unfortunately, the envious, jealous and toxic people will appear from the swamps to flap their gums

This thread went silent when the old man called ya’ll out for being rich MF’s which stung like hell and made you go silent for a week.

Don’t go acting like ya’ll are really ready to ball and open up the market to ALL competition. As currently structured, the rich kids get private training which advances them through U14 and DCU does nothing but cater to that as they are “Ashburn-ites” themselves. We just saw how DCU and MLS operate with the “open” ID weekend and P2P invitations. Their process is in direct opposition to San Diego.

His family probably does not know what they are doing. I STILL HOPE HE IS TALENTED TO RISE ABOVE THE BS. Please note he is from VA Beach which is not affluent.

Great deal for DC United. They “control” a super talented player for 4 years. I hope the family is strong enough to navigate it.

- Sincerely, 2013 dad educated on my options for my child and able to afford training and not looking for free handouts.

Sad, toxic, despicable, pitiful, sad, angry and consistently envious

I wonder why you make an assumption this particular family is incapable of making intelligent decisions?

Sounds like you know something we all don't. DC owns him now for the next crucial 4 years. Tell us how DC will further develop this kid without a second team?

They won't. That is proven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wish I could pick his parents brain about their decision to sign with DCU, given the state that they are in. Signing with them means they own their kid for the next 4+ years. On every academy besides DCU, you sign and play on their second team. Where do signed DCU kids go? Might as well have tried out for USL teams and sign with them for the 2 years, then set eyes towards Europe with no one owning your rights.

Better strategy for sure. And to answer your question...they don't go anywhere because there is no developmental pathway at DCU. Why the signing is probably about as empty as it gets. I actually feel bad for the player especially if he doesn't understand the broader implications of his deal. If he does understand them, he has really bad people around him advising him on what to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congratulations to the kid and his family.
This must be a great positive day in their household

Only a few will know what its like.

Unfortunately, the envious, jealous and toxic people will appear from the swamps to flap their gums

This post is why the DMV will struggle to progress with DCU. In pure footballing terms, this isn't a great day for him. And the perception that it is, is what allows DCU to operate with no accountability or standards. A homegrown deal in isolation is not good for the player. It is just a way for the club to lock his rights. A homegrown deal with other contractual terms securing his future financially or other deals loaning him to other, better clubs for development, those are different scenarios. This isn't that. A homegrown deal with no plan for the player is not a great situation. And that is what this is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congratulations to the kid and his family.
This must be a great positive day in their household

Only a few will know what its like.

Unfortunately, the envious, jealous and toxic people will appear from the swamps to flap their gums

This post is why the DMV will struggle to progress with DCU. In pure footballing terms, this isn't a great day for him. And the perception that it is, is what allows DCU to operate with no accountability or standards. A homegrown deal in isolation is not good for the player. It is just a way for the club to lock his rights. A homegrown deal with other contractual terms securing his future financially or other deals loaning him to other, better clubs for development, those are different scenarios. This isn't that. A homegrown deal with no plan for the player is not a great situation. And that is what this is.

And being a home grown player at a MLS club with no second team (only two of those in the entire MLS btw and DCU is one of them) is just not smart strategy for a young player. Education about the realities of the system you're in, the club you're in and the broader implications of any contractual relationship need to be table stakes when it comes to youth players.. But more often than not, in a country with very little experience and success in the sport like the US, the MLS preys on this ignorance. Why we have homegrown territory rights giving rights to clubs for players they have never seen (a completely made up rule by the MLS that is legally very tenuous on its face) and no one is going crazy about it. They just don't know.

[Anonymous]

Homegrown contracts in the MLS, across the ENTIRE MLS, are generally not good deals for the players. Only good for the clubs. Sophisticated player movement is a concept that the US is just getting a handle on. If the clubs are just getting a handle on it, then you KNOW parents are mostly ignorant on it and the implications for their children. Why the MLS gets away with these homegrown deals and people think they are these amazing situations. Avoiding contracts before the age of 18 is the optimum path coming from the US. Unless real money is being offered. And when you're 18, sign a legit pro deal with real money if you have the level. These homegrown deals are pure bullsh#t and gives MLS real power over players. But the players aren't getting nearly as much value out of the contracts. Even if you're at a very good academy like Salt Lake or Philly or Red Bulls, homegrown contracts are still questionable because of the leverage the clubs have. But at least at those clubs there is a pathway for development with second teams and in house loans At DCU the homegrown route is about as dumb as it gets because there is no pathway and no commitment to player development. So basically you're just giving your rights away for minimal in return.

To make matters even worse, DCU has one of the worst first teams in the entire league and are in complete rebuild mode from top to bottom. The owners are too impatient to build from the bottom (which could give an academy player a chance). So academy players have no chance of getting real minutes because they want to win now. They will try and spend this off-season to get impact players and of course you may see a PR fueled signing or two. That is the playbook. But for a youth player, this is something you don't want to see because you know your chances of getting minutes are almost zero. This latest homegrown wasn't even playing all the minutes in the academy! 15 year old midfielder with no professional experience and only two years in a professional academy OR an established veteran who has a track record of being a pro (even if just in the USL). It's a no brainer.

When signing any deal you have to look at the totality of the circumstances you're in and the broader implications of your deal. The bottom line is that a homegrown deal at DCU, in its current state, flat out sucks for the player especially if he is not going to be a contributor to the first team..

European clubs bring their academy players in TO ACTUALLY PLAY in the first team. Not for PR and numbers. Manipulating this kids future for PR and numbers is about right for DCU.

[Anonymous]

And if you're an attacking player, CAM, winger, forwards, which this recent signing is in this category, you need to be especially skeptical of homegrown deals because at those positions, there is the most pressure to produce goals and clubs don't gamble that much on that in the MLS and these are the vanity positions where clubs are signing bigger names from.overseas. prime example from DCU...Kristian Fletcher singed a homegrown deal around the same time DCU signed Christian Benteke. How did that work out? Fletcher got practically no first team minutes because Benteke was in his position and as a result sought loans (that ultimately failed because he had minimal pro experience). A lot of variables need to be weighed on homegrown deals. Especially for a young player just starting his path. For all the reasons above, a homegrown deal at DCU is just a really bad option for a youth player.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda has produced more pro players from its system than DCU has. DCU is just not an acceptable professional outfit. You can think it is all you want but you're just living a lie. Just don't expect anyone else to live this lie with you. Just use DCU to boost your little Jonny's college resume so he can go to college. That is what it is about anyway.

Because the soccer scene in the DMV is dominated by rich, privileged families, the talent pool is flooded with mostly soft players that don't have the mentality to really compete at the highest levels of the game. DMV parents don't have perspective on what football is like in the rest of the world. It is a harsh, gritty and very demanding sport that isn't for the faint of heart. Who is going to win a ball, the kid from Landon who lives a lush lifestyle day in and day out or the kid from a third world country who sees football as his family's way out of poverty. 10 out of 10.times the latter.

DCU is not a player in the sport of football in this country. No one sees it as a player and no one with any credibility respects what is happening there. .in a region that prioritizes wealth over talent, DCU has a massive uphill battle just in getting the right players alone.

And if you're buying the narrative that the DMV is the best talent pool in the nation you're lying to yourself. It USED to be years ago because the rest of the country didn't care about the sport as much as the DMV region did. DMV also had a lot of good coaches. Currently, the there are many other metro areas that are just better than the DMV in terms of talent ..

overall, not a great state of affairs in the DMV v for football..crap MLS academy, rich parents manipulating the game from behind the scenes taking away opportunities from talented kids from less privileged communities, and just pure ignorance dominating the market. Not a great time to be in DMV football.

This man knows his stuff. I am in the rich privileged families category and his post is right on .Harsh, gritty and very demanding is right. 6-8 hours every day six days a week of practice at the professional level. Most rich privileged families have ruined soccer development in the DMV. They associate development with little Johnny accumulating cheap trophies and medals before age 15. And so they go on chasing the clubs and coaches who feed the hunger in exchange for money. The market will provide what the consumer wants. Demand and supply. Think of all the processed food McDonalds sells to poor consumers who get fat. It may not be good for you, but the demand is there baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And if you're an attacking player, CAM, winger, forwards, which this recent signing is in this category, you need to be especially skeptical of homegrown deals because at those positions, there is the most pressure to produce goals and clubs don't gamble that much on that in the MLS and these are the vanity positions where clubs are signing bigger names from.overseas. prime example from DCU...Kristian Fletcher singed a homegrown deal around the same time DCU signed Christian Benteke. How did that work out? Fletcher got practically no first team minutes because Benteke was in his position and as a result sought loans (that ultimately failed because he had minimal pro experience). A lot of variables need to be weighed on homegrown deals. Especially for a young player just starting his path. For all the reasons above, a homegrown deal at DCU is just a really bad option for a youth player.

This is very interesting perspective in addition to the prior posts about the problems with homegrown deals. I think everything that has been said about homegrown deals and dcus problems are all true. And I would add that in DCUs case, legitimately, where will this kid play??? If he signed a homegrown deal locking up his rights and continues to play in the academy, what good does the homegrown deal offer him?? He could play in the academy deal free and continue to explore his options elsewhere if that were possible. But he killed that with the homegrown contract and killed a college scholarship if he should get hurt or he doesn't pan out as a pro. Just not a good decision on so many fronts for a 15 year old. like the prior poster said, I actually feel bad for this kid because he clearly made a strategic error in signing this homegrown deal. Especially with a club that has no pathway for him like DCU. To me, this is sad because what I also know, is that DCU probably didn't explain all of the implications to him and his family. They don't have to really because it isn't their job to do so. But this deal really puts the player in a bad position. Hopefully, he can make something of it because throwing away a college scholarship for DCU at 15 is actually just really poor decisionmaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda has produced more pro players from its system than DCU has. DCU is just not an acceptable professional outfit. You can think it is all you want but you're just living a lie. Just don't expect anyone else to live this lie with you. Just use DCU to boost your little Jonny's college resume so he can go to college. That is what it is about anyway.

Because the soccer scene in the DMV is dominated by rich, privileged families, the talent pool is flooded with mostly soft players that don't have the mentality to really compete at the highest levels of the game. DMV parents don't have perspective on what football is like in the rest of the world. It is a harsh, gritty and very demanding sport that isn't for the faint of heart. Who is going to win a ball, the kid from Landon who lives a lush lifestyle day in and day out or the kid from a third world country who sees football as his family's way out of poverty. 10 out of 10.times the latter.

DCU is not a player in the sport of football in this country. No one sees it as a player and no one with any credibility respects what is happening there. .in a region that prioritizes wealth over talent, DCU has a massive uphill battle just in getting the right players alone.

And if you're buying the narrative that the DMV is the best talent pool in the nation you're lying to yourself. It USED to be years ago because the rest of the country didn't care about the sport as much as the DMV region did. DMV also had a lot of good coaches. Currently, the there are many other metro areas that are just better than the DMV in terms of talent ..

overall, not a great state of affairs in the DMV v for football..crap MLS academy, rich parents manipulating the game from behind the scenes taking away opportunities from talented kids from less privileged communities, and just pure ignorance dominating the market. Not a great time to be in DMV football.

This man knows his stuff. I am in the rich privileged families category and his post is right on .Harsh, gritty and very demanding is right. 6-8 hours every day six days a week of practice at the professional level. Most rich privileged families have ruined soccer development in the DMV. They associate development with little Johnny accumulating cheap trophies and medals before age 15. And so they go on chasing the clubs and coaches who feed the hunger in exchange for money. The market will provide what the consumer wants. Demand and supply. Think of all the processed food McDonalds sells to poor consumers who get fat. It may not be good for you, but the demand is there baby.

Correct. Also why when the talent pool at DCU actually goes up against real competition in the MLS pathway to pro league (meaning only other MLS academies), they can't compete. Most of those kids have been chasing trophies and wins before they got to DCU and measuring their development as players was less emphasized. So when they get to DCU their footballing IQ and fundamentals are super low and then they get into a system that doesn't know how to teaching them IQ or how to play (DCU). The first year in DCU they do ok because they are physically bigger but in the next year the dominance fades and in the last two years DCU is getting smashed by everyone. This is just what it is. We deserve better as families but at the same time we have to actually demand better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda has produced more pro players from its system than DCU has. DCU is just not an acceptable professional outfit. You can think it is all you want but you're just living a lie. Just don't expect anyone else to live this lie with you. Just use DCU to boost your little Jonny's college resume so he can go to college. That is what it is about anyway.

Because the soccer scene in the DMV is dominated by rich, privileged families, the talent pool is flooded with mostly soft players that don't have the mentality to really compete at the highest levels of the game. DMV parents don't have perspective on what football is like in the rest of the world. It is a harsh, gritty and very demanding sport that isn't for the faint of heart. Who is going to win a ball, the kid from Landon who lives a lush lifestyle day in and day out or the kid from a third world country who sees football as his family's way out of poverty. 10 out of 10.times the latter.

DCU is not a player in the sport of football in this country. No one sees it as a player and no one with any credibility respects what is happening there. .in a region that prioritizes wealth over talent, DCU has a massive uphill battle just in getting the right players alone.

And if you're buying the narrative that the DMV is the best talent pool in the nation you're lying to yourself. It USED to be years ago because the rest of the country didn't care about the sport as much as the DMV region did. DMV also had a lot of good coaches. Currently, the there are many other metro areas that are just better than the DMV in terms of talent ..

overall, not a great state of affairs in the DMV v for football..crap MLS academy, rich parents manipulating the game from behind the scenes taking away opportunities from talented kids from less privileged communities, and just pure ignorance dominating the market. Not a great time to be in DMV football.

This man knows his stuff. I am in the rich privileged families category and his post is right on .Harsh, gritty and very demanding is right. 6-8 hours every day six days a week of practice at the professional level. Most rich privileged families have ruined soccer development in the DMV. They associate development with little Johnny accumulating cheap trophies and medals before age 15. And so they go on chasing the clubs and coaches who feed the hunger in exchange for money. The market will provide what the consumer wants. Demand and supply. Think of all the processed food McDonalds sells to poor consumers who get fat. It may not be good for you, but the demand is there baby.

Correct. Also why when the talent pool at DCU actually goes up against real competition in the MLS pathway to pro league (meaning only other MLS academies), they can't compete. Most of those kids have been chasing trophies and wins before they got to DCU and measuring their development as players was less emphasized. So when they get to DCU their footballing IQ and fundamentals are super low and then they get into a system that doesn't know how to teaching them IQ or how to play (DCU). The first year in DCU they do ok because they are physically bigger but in the next year the dominance fades and in the last two years DCU is getting smashed by everyone. This is just what it is. We deserve better as families but at the same time we have to actually demand better.

This is not allowed as we are just parents of rejects if we have any demands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda has produced more pro players from its system than DCU has. DCU is just not an acceptable professional outfit. You can think it is all you want but you're just living a lie. Just don't expect anyone else to live this lie with you. Just use DCU to boost your little Jonny's college resume so he can go to college. That is what it is about anyway.

Because the soccer scene in the DMV is dominated by rich, privileged families, the talent pool is flooded with mostly soft players that don't have the mentality to really compete at the highest levels of the game. DMV parents don't have perspective on what football is like in the rest of the world. It is a harsh, gritty and very demanding sport that isn't for the faint of heart. Who is going to win a ball, the kid from Landon who lives a lush lifestyle day in and day out or the kid from a third world country who sees football as his family's way out of poverty. 10 out of 10.times the latter.

DCU is not a player in the sport of football in this country. No one sees it as a player and no one with any credibility respects what is happening there. .in a region that prioritizes wealth over talent, DCU has a massive uphill battle just in getting the right players alone.

And if you're buying the narrative that the DMV is the best talent pool in the nation you're lying to yourself. It USED to be years ago because the rest of the country didn't care about the sport as much as the DMV region did. DMV also had a lot of good coaches. Currently, the there are many other metro areas that are just better than the DMV in terms of talent ..

overall, not a great state of affairs in the DMV v for football..crap MLS academy, rich parents manipulating the game from behind the scenes taking away opportunities from talented kids from less privileged communities, and just pure ignorance dominating the market. Not a great time to be in DMV football.

This man knows his stuff. I am in the rich privileged families category and his post is right on .Harsh, gritty and very demanding is right. 6-8 hours every day six days a week of practice at the professional level. Most rich privileged families have ruined soccer development in the DMV. They associate development with little Johnny accumulating cheap trophies and medals before age 15. And so they go on chasing the clubs and coaches who feed the hunger in exchange for money. The market will provide what the consumer wants. Demand and supply. Think of all the processed food McDonalds sells to poor consumers who get fat. It may not be good for you, but the demand is there baby.

Correct. Also why when the talent pool at DCU actually goes up against real competition in the MLS pathway to pro league (meaning only other MLS academies), they can't compete. Most of those kids have been chasing trophies and wins before they got to DCU and measuring their development as players was less emphasized. So when they get to DCU their footballing IQ and fundamentals are super low and then they get into a system that doesn't know how to teaching them IQ or how to play (DCU). The first year in DCU they do ok because they are physically bigger but in the next year the dominance fades and in the last two years DCU is getting smashed by everyone. This is just what it is. We deserve better as families but at the same time we have to actually demand better.

This is not allowed as we are just parents of rejects if we have any demands.

🤣 I hear you. But the real problem is that parents are too willing to accept the status quo because 95 percent of parents in the DMV soccer landscape are conformists. Why soccer in the DMV has fallen off so drastically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda has produced more pro players from its system than DCU has. DCU is just not an acceptable professional outfit. You can think it is all you want but you're just living a lie. Just don't expect anyone else to live this lie with you. Just use DCU to boost your little Jonny's college resume so he can go to college. That is what it is about anyway.

Because the soccer scene in the DMV is dominated by rich, privileged families, the talent pool is flooded with mostly soft players that don't have the mentality to really compete at the highest levels of the game. DMV parents don't have perspective on what football is like in the rest of the world. It is a harsh, gritty and very demanding sport that isn't for the faint of heart. Who is going to win a ball, the kid from Landon who lives a lush lifestyle day in and day out or the kid from a third world country who sees football as his family's way out of poverty. 10 out of 10.times the latter.

DCU is not a player in the sport of football in this country. No one sees it as a player and no one with any credibility respects what is happening there. .in a region that prioritizes wealth over talent, DCU has a massive uphill battle just in getting the right players alone.

And if you're buying the narrative that the DMV is the best talent pool in the nation you're lying to yourself. It USED to be years ago because the rest of the country didn't care about the sport as much as the DMV region did. DMV also had a lot of good coaches. Currently, the there are many other metro areas that are just better than the DMV in terms of talent ..

overall, not a great state of affairs in the DMV v for football..crap MLS academy, rich parents manipulating the game from behind the scenes taking away opportunities from talented kids from less privileged communities, and just pure ignorance dominating the market. Not a great time to be in DMV football.

This man knows his stuff. I am in the rich privileged families category and his post is right on .Harsh, gritty and very demanding is right. 6-8 hours every day six days a week of practice at the professional level. Most rich privileged families have ruined soccer development in the DMV. They associate development with little Johnny accumulating cheap trophies and medals before age 15. And so they go on chasing the clubs and coaches who feed the hunger in exchange for money. The market will provide what the consumer wants. Demand and supply. Think of all the processed food McDonalds sells to poor consumers who get fat. It may not be good for you, but the demand is there baby.

Correct. Also why when the talent pool at DCU actually goes up against real competition in the MLS pathway to pro league (meaning only other MLS academies), they can't compete. Most of those kids have been chasing trophies and wins before they got to DCU and measuring their development as players was less emphasized. So when they get to DCU their footballing IQ and fundamentals are super low and then they get into a system that doesn't know how to teaching them IQ or how to play (DCU). The first year in DCU they do ok because they are physically bigger but in the next year the dominance fades and in the last two years DCU is getting smashed by everyone. This is just what it is. We deserve better as families but at the same time we have to actually demand better.

This is not allowed as we are just parents of rejects if we have any demands.

🤣 I hear you. But the real problem is that parents are too willing to accept the status quo because 95 percent of parents in the DMV soccer landscape are conformists. Why soccer in the DMV has fallen off so drastically.

Fallen off? Tell us when DMV was at its peak?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda has produced more pro players from its system than DCU has. DCU is just not an acceptable professional outfit. You can think it is all you want but you're just living a lie. Just don't expect anyone else to live this lie with you. Just use DCU to boost your little Jonny's college resume so he can go to college. That is what it is about anyway.

Because the soccer scene in the DMV is dominated by rich, privileged families, the talent pool is flooded with mostly soft players that don't have the mentality to really compete at the highest levels of the game. DMV parents don't have perspective on what football is like in the rest of the world. It is a harsh, gritty and very demanding sport that isn't for the faint of heart. Who is going to win a ball, the kid from Landon who lives a lush lifestyle day in and day out or the kid from a third world country who sees football as his family's way out of poverty. 10 out of 10.times the latter.

DCU is not a player in the sport of football in this country. No one sees it as a player and no one with any credibility respects what is happening there. .in a region that prioritizes wealth over talent, DCU has a massive uphill battle just in getting the right players alone.

And if you're buying the narrative that the DMV is the best talent pool in the nation you're lying to yourself. It USED to be years ago because the rest of the country didn't care about the sport as much as the DMV region did. DMV also had a lot of good coaches. Currently, the there are many other metro areas that are just better than the DMV in terms of talent ..

overall, not a great state of affairs in the DMV v for football..crap MLS academy, rich parents manipulating the game from behind the scenes taking away opportunities from talented kids from less privileged communities, and just pure ignorance dominating the market. Not a great time to be in DMV football.

This man knows his stuff. I am in the rich privileged families category and his post is right on .Harsh, gritty and very demanding is right. 6-8 hours every day six days a week of practice at the professional level. Most rich privileged families have ruined soccer development in the DMV. They associate development with little Johnny accumulating cheap trophies and medals before age 15. And so they go on chasing the clubs and coaches who feed the hunger in exchange for money. The market will provide what the consumer wants. Demand and supply. Think of all the processed food McDonalds sells to poor consumers who get fat. It may not be good for you, but the demand is there baby.

Correct. Also why when the talent pool at DCU actually goes up against real competition in the MLS pathway to pro league (meaning only other MLS academies), they can't compete. Most of those kids have been chasing trophies and wins before they got to DCU and measuring their development as players was less emphasized. So when they get to DCU their footballing IQ and fundamentals are super low and then they get into a system that doesn't know how to teaching them IQ or how to play (DCU). The first year in DCU they do ok because they are physically bigger but in the next year the dominance fades and in the last two years DCU is getting smashed by everyone. This is just what it is. We deserve better as families but at the same time we have to actually demand better.

This is not allowed as we are just parents of rejects if we have any demands.

🤣 I hear you. But the real problem is that parents are too willing to accept the status quo because 95 percent of parents in the DMV soccer landscape are conformists. Why soccer in the DMV has fallen off so drastically.

Fallen off? Tell us when DMV was at its peak?

Depends on how you look at it. In the 90s, the DMV had great coaches in the youth clubs. Former players that cared about the kids and knew what they were talking about. Bethesda was getting multiple kids in national team camps toward the end of the selection process and on the youth national teams. Bethesda had a great national level reputation for producing players and had multiple teams that were top in the nation. Obviously different landscape now but then it was top. Rise of MLS academies, the DA and fall of ODP in addition to those same good coaches getting older and aging out of the system and letting younger, crappier coaches to flood the zone and make the sport about the money in the DMV and not the love of .along players better, shifted the center of gravity toward other parts of the country where the sport became more popular and investment was happening at a much higher rate than the DMV.

So I would say 90s and early 2000s DMV was speaking with moderate success here and there after that. Now,.DMV is probably 4th or 5th best metro area behind, LA, NY metro, Philly metro, Miami metro and Dallas.metro...with some smaller markets like Utah, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago and Cincy catching up really fast.

And the main culprit of this continued downfall is DC United. All of these other metros have MLS academies that are making massive investments In their youth. DCU is just not. And the kids are suffering as a result.