Reply to Stepping back from DA to play High School soccer as a senior

Forum Index » Soccer

Reply to "Stepping back from DA to play High School soccer as a senior"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=RantingSoccerDad][quote=Anonymous][quote=RantingSoccerDad]Plenty of kids do this. If your college coach doesn't like it, maybe it's a good time to shop around for another college.

Another way of looking at it: If you want soccer to be a job rather than something you enjoy, go pro.[/quote]

Plenty of kids committed to top 10 D1 college soccer programs quit DA to play HS their senior year? That scenario doesn't happen very often, IME, at least on the boys' side.  I certainly agree that you should play at a level that you enjoy, but it's kind of bizarre that you'd be ambitious enough to work to get recruited at that high a level and then stop caring about improving your game.  And I think it's entirely fair for a college coach to look with disfavor on that decision.[/quote]

"Top 10" is a fluid designation. Kentucky is in Soccer America's Top 10 now. UNC Wilmington was in the Top 10 earlier this year.

Would one season of high school ruin their career paths? It might actually help with the transition to college. DA games take place in front of family and scouts, and the results supposedly don't matter. The atmosphere at high school games can vary widely -- a big deal in some California schools, hit or miss around here -- but it's closer to a college experience than the DA can offer.

I've talked with an MLS club exec who thinks academies should really focus on U16 or U17. After that, they're either pro track (USL in many cases, direct to MLS in some) or college track. Players can still develop on the college track, but if the next step is scholastic soccer, why not prep for by playing ... scholastic soccer?

I've also encountered too many college coaches who get all high-and-mighty about "development." One coach did a presentation in which he pointed the finger at a bad, bad rival school that won a game on a long throw-in, which he claimed was bad for "development." The next day, I watched an EPL game, where an important goal was scored ... on a long throw-in. What level did the college coach think he was "developing" his players for?[/quote]

I'm the PP you are responding to, and here are my thoughts based on my experience with boys' DA.  I am assuming that OP was referring to a traditional "top 10" school, even if it's not in the top 10 at a given point in a season.  Those sorts of programs almost always have coaches who are very serious about putting together as strong a team as they can.  While I don't think one season of HS would derail anyone's career (barring the sort of injuries that I believe are more likely to happen in HS than in DA or club competition), I think dropping back down to a lower level for the year before you arrive at college sends a message to the coach that you are not as serious as the coach likely expected.  A player may want or need to throttle back from a DA level of intensity for any number of reasons, and it might be the right decision for them, but if they are committed to a serious college program, they should be realistic about how the decision will be viewed.

I don't think that playing in HS, regardless of the atmosphere, is going to be better preparation than DA for playing in a top D1 program.  From what I've seen--again, on the boys'/men's side--both former DA and HS players get pumped up in an atmosphere with great fans (like at Maryland or Wake Forest) and compete just fine at schools with less of a great soccer culture.  And most DA players have the experience of playing for more than just "parents and scouts".  You will have friends and random spectators at many home games, and tons of kids from other teams watching you at showcases and tournaments.  You'll play in front of hundreds if you advance to the playoffs, let alone the numbers that will see you if you are called in to the YNT trips.

I definitely don't agree that playing HS soccer is going to prepare you for playing top D1 college soccer.  Yes, you use the "scholastic" modifier for both, but that doesn't mean the soccer programs or expectations are in any way similar.  Your anecdote about the clueless college coaches aside, most D1 coaches of historically good programs do care about development (which is why most advocate for the 10 month college season) and they want to send as many of their players to the professional leagues as possible.  
  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics