Thank you all for the valuable information. I'm looking at 2023-2024 season. I'd like him to play HS soccer freshman year and see how well he juggles schoolwork, school soccer and club soccer, then he can decide if he wants to try out for the MLS next teams or ECNL teams. We also heard HS soccer can be very rough so top players would not risk getting injured playing HS soccer. But my son is looking forward to playing for his school and making some friends.

As I said we love the current club but we'd like more support from the club on college recruiting. I think from your posts I got the names of the clubs that will probably provide more exposures. Thank you again for your help.

When you say pick a club for next year, is that the 2022/23 year or 2023/24 year? If you already committed to a team, there could be financial repercussions to you switching teams.

Sounds like your son is an 08, but maybe he is an 07, so I will leave this generic.

MLSNext rules say no HS soccer, so that is out.

ECNL has 7 month clubs and 10 month clubs. The 7 month clubs front load their schedule to make it easy to play HS soccer. The 10 month clubs allow HS soccer, but make it as difficult as they can manage. Not only do they spread out their games to conflict with HS season, they add the Mid Atlantic Cup, which is basically playing the same teams they normally play an extra time.

7 Month clubs are Fairfax BRAVE, Loudoun, and Virginia Union. 10 month clubs are Arlington and VDA. I'd recommend going onto the ECNL website, which still shows the schedules and records from last year, but show the current roster. So if your kid is U15 this year, look up the U14 team. Some teams look like they have spots to fill, whereas others have 20 or more. A team with 20 or more may accept you, but only 18 can dress for a game, so that might mean your son is sitting at home many weekends.

Fiarfax BRAVE is BRYC and VYS combined. They haven't been strong the last couple years and their coaches left to go form youth teams for NVU. With that, most of their players left, either to NVU or other nearby clubs. So odds are they will be even worse this year. ECNL is a lot of traveling to lose badly every week.

You have to balance two things: Wanting to play at high level club soccer and wanting to also play for high school. So, automatically, MLS Next teams are out because that's against the rules. Do people skirt the rules? Sure, but you're spreading yourself too thing with 4 practices a week (as mandated by MLS Next league). So, your best bet really is to join a club that plays high level EDP (USYS National). Your best bets for that are Alexandria, Arlington, SYC, or Bethesda second teams. The second teams at these clubs are often very good, and several of the kids are good enough to play first team but want to play other sports or not spend 20 hours a week just on soccer. If your kid is a stand out, they will pull you aside and offer you a first team spot - at which point you will have to make a decision about what to do with high school soccer. You'll find that very few top players are doing high school soccer, which is unfortunately, but the nature of the current landscape. Good luck.

UnidentifiedFlyingOboe wrote:My 14 year old is just starting high school. He has always just wanted to play soccer and he definitely wants to play D1 soccer in college. We love our current club but we have some concerns. The club is in ECNL-RL and EDP. They only have practices twice a week. In the past the club sent few players to D1/D3 schools, and I haven't heard of those schools if they did. His team is pretty good though, beat several ECNL and MLS Next teams in the past. He is a strong player on his team. His obvious weakness is he is on the thin side (puberty hasn't kicked in yet), but he has been working out and taking in calories and proteins following a schedule he made himself.

My son wants to play high school soccer as well. His high school boy's soccer team is one of the best in this region. I would say he's likely to make varsity team in the spring based on several coaches' opinion. I understand MLS next players cannot play HS soccer, but I am not sure how strictly that is enforced.

Our goal is to play soccer for the best academically ranked colleges within his reach. He's determined he will do his best to get "A"s, and he will focus on soccer outside of school.

We live in Northern VA and can travel to practices within 40 min drive on the weekdays.

Can you suggest a club or team that will provide this kind of support for my son?

Thank you in advance!

OK. My guess is you live on the western side of NOVA and your son could play at either McLean/VA Union or Fairfax BRAVE if your son was sufficiently good to make those ECNL teams. I don't think your team has played MLS Next teams qua MLS Next teams - you played have played first teams at younger ages, but those teams can change quite a bit at U13/14, as do ECNL teams. Isn't the new season already underway? I think finding a spot on an ECNL or MLS Next team at this late point may be challenging. But you should always feel free to reach out directly to coaches and see if they'll take a look at your son. Good luck.

My 14 year old is just starting high school. He has always just wanted to play soccer and he definitely wants to play D1 soccer in college. We love our current club but we have some concerns. The club is in ECNL-RL and EDP. They only have practices twice a week. In the past the club sent few players to D1/D3 schools, and I haven't heard of those schools if they did. His team is pretty good though, beat several ECNL and MLS Next teams in the past. He is a strong player on his team. His obvious weakness is he is on the thin side (puberty hasn't kicked in yet), but he has been working out and taking in calories and proteins following a schedule he made himself.

My son wants to play high school soccer as well. His high school boy's soccer team is one of the best in this region. I would say he's likely to make varsity team in the spring based on several coaches' opinion. I understand MLS next players cannot play HS soccer, but I am not sure how strictly that is enforced.

Our goal is to play soccer for the best academically ranked colleges within his reach. He's determined he will do his best to get "A"s, and he will focus on soccer outside of school.

We live in Northern VA and can travel to practices within 40 min drive on the weekdays.

Can you suggest a club or team that will provide this kind of support for my son?

Thank you in advance!