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[quote=Anonymous]Hi, I coach in the area and I attended one semester there of training after finishing college. at the time, I trained with their U19 boys team which was prepping for the Dallas Cup, and was aspiring to play on a PDL team that summer, which I ultimately decided not to do... but I was there for about 5 months.

It is not worth it, in my opinion. The reason is that all of the training is more "team focused" and at the older ages, which is most of the kids attending, the coaches focus on things like tactical formations, getting the teams ready for games, all 11v11 stuff. What I saw was players (on the boys and girls side) arrive with expectations that somehow IMG was the magic pill and they were going to become significantly better players.

If you aren't already a standout player by 9th-12th grade, start with taking a look at the player's technique and the speed of the technique. If they can't do every primary skill of the game with both feet at high speed and precision, then putting them in the IMG academy and focusing on team tactics will not make them any better. the technique breakdowns will still be there and hold the player back.

The players who did well at IMG were players who already came in with a complete skill set. Those players were basically "showcased" and many of them would have had success reaching the next level whether or not they attended the IMG academy.

For example there was a former MLS player, Michael Parkhurst who spent a year there before going off to play at Wake Forest, either taking a gap year or his senior year of high school. Then he made the olympic U23 team and then played in MLS.

Nowadays though there are USL 1 and 2 teams that aspiring players can play on. IMG used to be one of the only place that players could go to and their ticket in was just being at a minimum level and paying the fees.

In my opinion, let's say you live in the DC area... find a reputable trainer to train your son or daughter 2x a week, get touches on the ball every day, subscribe to Techne Futbol and spend hours with it each week, try out for the most competitive team you can get on, or if they are 18-19, join a competitive adult league.

There are also mens and womens amateur teams locally that you can try out for with former college players who still train and play at a high level. Go to sport and health, sign up for one of their EP (elite performance) sessions or get a coach, and you are doing more just by all of that than the IMG academy can do for you.

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