Realistically, what’s the latest a kid can make the move to an MLS Next/ECNL team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fear. I hear a lot of fear and wishes of what current parents of these teams believe .

A kid can be dropped or added at any age. Rosters change frequently.

This is definitely true. I have observed everything from 50% of the kids getting replaced mid-season at one DA club to zero roster additions at the same club in a different age group. In general something like 3-5 kids getting added each year is probably "normal" for a team.

If they are adding, they are dropping too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

In addition, although your kid may grow into a better player against lower competition, existing players have been tested and have played against that stronger competition. Therefore, over time of playing top teams, the top players get even better.

Yes this is tough to overcome. It's certainly not impossible - but a kid who wants to break into one of these teams later has to be motivated enough to work a lot harder than everyone around him in order to not only catch up with, but overtake, kids who have a more favorable environment. It's unlikely to happen without a lot of effort.

LOL Dude, many of these kids are not catching up. They are coming from other places with better development and are able to start. Kids come from all over the DMV and other States (new to the area).

+100

These are basically regional teams. Kids are coming from outside the Club. If you are only looking in your present Club--you fail to realize there is a high caliber of kids at other Clubs too---many also play in the same leagues--mlsnxt/ecnl and upper divisions of EDP.

This is a transient area. New players move in and out of the region every year.