Anonymous wrote:It blows my mind that a fully funded MLS Academy isn't the #1 team for desirability in a given area or rapidly becoming it.

For boys who want to go pro it's a clear and obvious path AND for parents everything is covered which is a massive savings.

Desirability not being the same thing as the actual best team at a given moment in time.

They don't have a U13 or U16 squad. You have much closer options with arguably just as much talent or close to it. Many kids have to drop out of regular school because of the travel to and from practice and games. And, while the training is free, they're not paying for Mommy & Daddy to tag along to the road games in Toronto and further. Plus, the track record for turning out pros is not great. So color me unimpressed.

It blows my mind that a fully funded MLS Academy isn't the #1 team for desirability in a given area or rapidly becoming it.

For boys who want to go pro it's a clear and obvious path AND for parents everything is covered which is a massive savings.

Desirability not being the same thing as the actual best team at a given moment in time.

Think PP is correct. And seems we are talking about the Academy teams (i.e. MLS club affiliated teams). If you look at the New York Red Bulls, Philly Union, and DC United...the bulk (not all) of the kids are much larger than the average U13, U14 kid. At U15 it may even out because they've already stopped growing and others have caught up. But kids are being brought into the system, in part, because they are more physically developed than their counterparts. And this hurts the actual development of a talent pool because the smaller, more technical kids have been passed over. And then you're stuck with a bunch of early bloomers with mediocre skills.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mediocrity is what happens when you pick huge, seemingly athletic kids with little consideration given to soccer skills, IQ, attitude, or desire. You'd think American academies would have learned after a few decades. They haven't.

Oh stop it. The U15 team is pretty small, and they're one of the best in the country.

+1 I’m seeing a diversity of sizes on the teams.

Seems like PP is griping that their small kid was passed over.

But for parents who have kids on MLSNext teams in the area (BSC, Alex, Achilles, Armour, etc.), can you verify whether your children’s teams are filled with big kids with no skill or IQ?

My kid has played against top teams and we’re just not seeing large kids dominating top teams. We still see kickball style of play so technical skill is still not great across the board.

Anonymous wrote:Mediocrity is what happens when you pick huge, seemingly athletic kids with little consideration given to soccer skills, IQ, attitude, or desire. You'd think American academies would have learned after a few decades. They haven't.

Oh stop it. The U15 team is pretty small, and they're one of the best in the country.

Anonymous wrote:Mediocrity is what happens when you pick huge, seemingly athletic kids with little consideration given to soccer skills, IQ, attitude, or desire. You'd think American academies would have learned after a few decades. They haven't.

THIS. The overwhelming emphasis on boys who are huge for their age can really hurt the overall team if they don't have the skills or aren't given extra training. DCU isn't unique in this, it seems pretty widespread that teams are quick to take a U14 kid who looks like he drove himself to practice because he's gigantic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is DCU's academy fully funded?

Yes

Does someone know what is included? How many team practices? Do they provide individual and strength sessions? How long are practices?

The distance to Segra is significant for us. Does anyone know where the shuttle picks up?

Ask. DC. United. Yourself.

Mediocrity is what happens when you pick huge, seemingly athletic kids with little consideration given to soccer skills, IQ, attitude, or desire. You'd think American academies would have learned after a few decades. They haven't.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1149273.page#25560402

Here's a recent thread about the DC United logistics. If your son is invited to play with DCU the best way to find out these details would be to ask the coaches.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is DCU's academy fully funded?

Yes

Does someone know what is included? How many team practices? Do they provide individual and strength sessions? How long are practices?

The distance to Segra is significant for us. Does anyone know where the shuttle picks up?

Anonymous wrote:Is DCU's academy fully funded?

Yes

Is DCU's academy fully funded?

Some of the DCU kids from last season left for Armour bc the commute to Segra (even with the shuttle) was too long and their parents didn’t think DCU was worth it.

Maybe they’re on to something? Maybe not. But DCU isn’t the gold standard some think it is.

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on DCU14? Saw them play this past weekend, not very strong MLS Next team compare to Baltimore Armor.

I haven’t seen them play but perhaps you’re expecting too much? Isn’t that a completely new team with kids scouted from area clubs? It’s the coaching and training together that’s going to make them a good team. So it’ll be interesting to see whether DCU’s coaching has gotten better or not.

Any thoughts on DCU14? Saw them play this past weekend, not very strong MLS Next team compare to Baltimore Armor.