Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weston McKennie comes to mind. He's definitely world class. Of course, the US is so far behind, and its problems are ongoing, but eliminating high school soccer in favor of year round development is one of many needed moves.

No need to eliminate HS soccer. People have a choice now and eliminating choices to serve the few is not the answer. While HS soccer may not
be for the elite of the elite it is fun for a large segment of our youth. As far as having better men’s national teams the only changes that matter are more money, an increased US culture Interested in pro soccer careers, and better coaching / coach development. Only then will we have hope of competing with top echelon of countries.

I meant eliminating high school soccer from the top tier of players. It serves a good purpose, and I think all soccer programs have their place, from top to bottom. I should have been more clear. Thank you for the qualification.

Choosing to play HS soccer is a choice. Those kids are choosing not to play top level soccer. Making that choice is a factor regarding how you challenge yourself. US Soccer won’t pick those kids to invest in. Do you get mad at Harvard who does not pick your kid who choose to not take the hardest classes? It’s the same thing.

Yes, we are saying the same thing and are in complete agreement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weston McKennie comes to mind. He's definitely world class. Of course, the US is so far behind, and its problems are ongoing, but eliminating high school soccer in favor of year round development is one of many needed moves.

No need to eliminate HS soccer. People have a choice now and eliminating choices to serve the few is not the answer. While HS soccer may not
be for the elite of the elite it is fun for a large segment of our youth. As far as having better men’s national teams the only changes that matter are more money, an increased US culture Interested in pro soccer careers, and better coaching / coach development. Only then will we have hope of competing with top echelon of countries.

I meant eliminating high school soccer from the top tier of players. It serves a good purpose, and I think all soccer programs have their place, from top to bottom. I should have been more clear. Thank you for the qualification.

Choosing to play HS soccer is a choice. Those kids are choosing not to play top level soccer. Making that choice is a factor regarding how you challenge yourself. US Soccer won’t pick those kids to invest in. Do you get mad at Harvard who does not pick your kid who choose to not take the hardest classes? It’s the same thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weston McKennie comes to mind. He's definitely world class. Of course, the US is so far behind, and its problems are ongoing, but eliminating high school soccer in favor of year round development is one of many needed moves.

No need to eliminate HS soccer. People have a choice now and eliminating choices to serve the few is not the answer. While HS soccer may not
be for the elite of the elite it is fun for a large segment of our youth. As far as having better men’s national teams the only changes that matter are more money, an increased US culture Interested in pro soccer careers, and better coaching / coach development. Only then will we have hope of competing with top echelon of countries.

I meant eliminating high school soccer from the top tier of players. It serves a good purpose, and I think all soccer programs have their place, from top to bottom. I should have been more clear. Thank you for the qualification.

Anonymous wrote:Weston McKennie comes to mind. He's definitely world class. Of course, the US is so far behind, and its problems are ongoing, but eliminating high school soccer in favor of year round development is one of many needed moves.

No need to eliminate HS soccer. People have a choice now and eliminating choices to serve the few is not the answer. While HS soccer may not
be for the elite of the elite it is fun for a large segment of our youth. As far as having better men’s national teams the only changes that matter are more money, an increased US culture Interested in pro soccer careers, and better coaching / coach development. Only then will we have hope of competing with top echelon of countries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer is making it very clear that for many, the first and possibly only look that a player will get will be in DA as they are starting to ignore ECNL all together.

Yikes. That is a brilliant move by US Soccer. The older elite players are fairly evenly split between DA and ECNL still. Ignoring half the population to prop up their league. Wonderful.

If it is a true split and all things being equal, why not pick the player in the league with the format that is more suited to higher level development?

Besides, this is was an anticipated move. They did the same thing on the boys' side before, so I was actually surprised they didn't do this sooner.

How many world class players did DA develop? We can all talk about formats, ratios, but the lack of the high level end product makes these discussions meaningless.

It is the same clubs doing the developing just like when ECNL was the only game in town. The only thing that is now different is the league is now the gate keeper. But most of the DA clubs were former ECNL clubs.

^Josh sargent.

Tim Wear is another. And there's Josh Agent.

Weston McKennie comes to mind. He's definitely world class. Of course, the US is so far behind, and its problems are ongoing, but eliminating high school soccer in favor of year round development is one of many needed moves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer is making it very clear that for many, the first and possibly only look that a player will get will be in DA as they are starting to ignore ECNL all together.

Yikes. That is a brilliant move by US Soccer. The older elite players are fairly evenly split between DA and ECNL still. Ignoring half the population to prop up their league. Wonderful.

If it is a true split and all things being equal, why not pick the player in the league with the format that is more suited to higher level development?

Besides, this is was an anticipated move. They did the same thing on the boys' side before, so I was actually surprised they didn't do this sooner.

How many world class players did DA develop? We can all talk about formats, ratios, but the lack of the high level end product makes these discussions meaningless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer is making it very clear that for many, the first and possibly only look that a player will get will be in DA as they are starting to ignore ECNL all together.

Yikes. That is a brilliant move by US Soccer. The older elite players are fairly evenly split between DA and ECNL still. Ignoring half the population to prop up their league. Wonderful.

If it is a true split and all things being equal, why not pick the player in the league with the format that is more suited to higher level development?

Besides, this is was an anticipated move. They did the same thing on the boys' side before, so I was actually surprised they didn't do this sooner.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer is making it very clear that for many, the first and possibly only look that a player will get will be in DA as they are starting to ignore ECNL all together.

Yikes. That is a brilliant move by US Soccer. The older elite players are fairly evenly split between DA and ECNL still. Ignoring half the population to prop up their league. Wonderful.

The message is clear, go to DA if you intend to play or be considered part of the National Team player pool. Even if they like a player in ECNL they will be strongly encouraged to join a DA. If the player stays with their ECNL club US Soccer will then determine that the player is not interested and is in fact a part-time player in how they are approaching their development.

Kids with no DA nearby might get some slack cut but at the end of the day US Soccer is not interested in players who want to play Rec High School Soccer.

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer is making it very clear that for many, the first and possibly only look that a player will get will be in DA as they are starting to ignore ECNL all together.

Yikes. That is a brilliant move by US Soccer. The older elite players are fairly evenly split between DA and ECNL still. Ignoring half the population to prop up their league. Wonderful.

US Soccer wants their players in year round training and programming for in game substitutions, 4 days training per week, training to game ratio, recovery standards between games, etc.

US Soccer is making it very clear that for many, the first and possibly only look that a player will get will be in DA as they are starting to ignore ECNL all together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok I misread. Thought it was the same Arlington PP going after MU from before. Yes DA is gaining traction over ECNL. No question.

Based on?

The top players in US picking DA versus ECNL and HS soccer option. US Soccer backing it by scouting DA first. It make trend that puts DA on top of pyramid. ECNL still good option for some. For some places with no DA like Richmond ECNL is still tops. But even Richmond, some players drive 2 hours away for DA. That says a lot.