Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like the MLSNext talent pool gets watered down as the top talent goes to the academies. So tier 1 and tier 2 are really tier 2 and tier 3. How is this supposed to be better quality than ECNL?

I don’t think one or two academies per metro area or region can absorb all top talent in their areas. Some top talent with EU or other passports are probably avoiding MLS academies as well and hoping to jump abroad.

Also random comparison with ECNL. ECNL would be tier 2 behind MLSNext 1.

Eh- not really. They sort of serve different audiences. The best Next teams might be better overall but the best ECNL clubs are better than the middling and low tier next clubs. Let's take VDA, Pipeline, and Richmond vs. WVA and Alexandria Achilles as just a few local examples

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

52 States
Hundreds of metro areas

About 26 MLS academies

52 States? Are we counting Greenland and Canada already?

Florida and South Florida
Virginia and Northern Virginia

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

52 States
Hundreds of metro areas

About 26 MLS academies

52 States? Are we counting Greenland and Canada already?

To the previous poster's credit - there might be 52 "state associations" eg. Eastern PA/Western PA are different regions (I think NorCal/SoCal are different as well). Not sure if there are more, but that makes 52!

Anonymous wrote:

52 States
Hundreds of metro areas

About 26 MLS academies

52 States? Are we counting Greenland and Canada already?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that MLS academies remain top tier but clubs aligned with USL teams will form the next tier in cities where this is available. (Loudoun, Richmond, Raleigh, Indy etc.) Everything else will be determined on a club by club basis. There are bad MLSNext clubs and bad ECNL clubs.

Fixed

Hopefully Loudoun can make this an attractive option but this will be more impactful in markets without existing MSL academies. Maybe DCU's incompetence will allow them to build something.

You're like an Adele breakup song on repeat

Hahahaha. Loudoun is a mess. They have 10,000,000 kids in football each year and field woeful, mediocre non-competitive teams year after year.

Partly because clown coaches call themselves ‘professional’ in their bios LOL

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Outside of the fully funded academies, what big purpose is there for the other leagues MLSNext/ECNL, other than rich families showing off a patch? This is a serious question. Can pay for play boys get a pro contract or scholarship to college? If not, is this just an expensive recreational youth sport?

I think it is sort of the only option for kids that will likely never be academy material but still want a higher level of competition. That said, parents I talk with are wising up to the situation and with the economy and high cost/time of travel, there is going to be a breaking point in the MLSN model. Some of the better players are passing up MLSN1for 2 or ECNL/RL for less travel and chance to play high school. MLSN becoming too exclusive and their player pool is going to become more of what you are talking about, we much don’t necessarily represent the best players but the ones with parents (and kids) that want and can afford all the fees/time/travel costs.

lol...this is funny and so American. The top players don't pay anything. The less than top players and their families are funding the top players. I don't foresee a shortage in DMV families looking for status. Sidwell, Maret, Bullis all have survived recessions before.

Good for those who play regionally if they know they are not national level talent. Smart choice that others should be making. Only a very small % of kids should be playing nationally to compete with other talent across the country. The rest should compete regionally and locally.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who are these MLSNext v ECNL people? Does it matter? If your player is talented and putting in the work and supported by coach and club, does it matter where they play?

Even “bad” MLSNext and ECNL clubs have talented kids. Being on the bench of a top MLSNext team doesn’t make you a better player than a top player on a “bad” MLSNext team or ECNL team. And even if a top MLSNext team has more star players than a “bad” team, doesn’t make the star players on good teams better than the ones on bad teams. Families pick club for certain reasons and likely most top players on MLSNext and ECNL teams can pretty much go wherever they want.

A coach told me that the truly talented with potential don’t seek opportunities, opportunities come to them.

Everyone gets a trophy and a medal

Exactly. If your player enjoys his team, coach, and is competing. Is a win/win.

Anonymous wrote:Outside of the fully funded academies, what big purpose is there for the other leagues MLSNext/ECNL, other than rich families showing off a patch? This is a serious question. Can pay for play boys get a pro contract or scholarship to college? If not, is this just an expensive recreational youth sport?

This is literally every travel sport league. The purpose is to provide a service that customers are willing to pay for. Just like all the non-sport activities out there that we spend money on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Outside of the fully funded academies, what big purpose is there for the other leagues MLSNext/ECNL, other than rich families showing off a patch? This is a serious question. Can pay for play boys get a pro contract or scholarship to college? If not, is this just an expensive recreational youth sport?

I think it is sort of the only option for kids that will likely never be academy material but still want a higher level of competition. That said, parents I talk with are wising up to the situation and with the economy and high cost/time of travel, there is going to be a breaking point in the MLSN model. Some of the better players are passing up MLSN1for 2 or ECNL/RL for less travel and chance to play high school. MLSN becoming too exclusive and their player pool is going to become more of what you are talking about, we much don’t necessarily represent the best players but the ones with parents (and kids) that want and can afford all the fees/time/travel costs.

I think it’s myopic to say that the players who continue to stay in MLSNext are not the best players just because players leave because of the fee/time/travel costs. Those who decide to drop down to a different level have done the cost benefit analysis (which families do regularly) where the fees/time/travel costs are not worth it because perhaps the player cannot keep up with the competition (not a lot of playing time for example) despite the time and effort put in, perhaps their goals have changed. Another reason is that their families are going a different way to get to academies and a pro career. The latter is more common in families where a parent or relative has had an accomplished soccer career alrdy (d1 and above) and know what to do to develop their kid and expose them.

Most families know what they’re getting into in MLSNext. Because it’s hard to get on a team in the first place! It can be a bit of a reality check especially for players who may have been at the MLSNext club and assumed that they’d get on the team but instead a whole lot of outsiders are selected. But there is a lot of development going on at small grassroots clubs.

But the purpose of MLSNext and ECNL is for academies to recruit from. Sure, there are recruits outside of these platforms but the majority are from these leagues. If your player is not one of the very few that the club is hoping to develop to get onto an academy, or not academy level as the PP says, it still make sense to stay if one wants to play in college (any level), it’s still the easiest gauge of skill level for college scouts and allows you to say, hey, I know you’re going to be at this tournament, I will be too, please come watch me bc I want to play for u, etc.

But yes, unless ur goal is academy or college, I don’t think MLSNext/ECNL is the best platform for u. Everyone on DS team and a goal of academy or college soccer.

I do think MLSNext2 is unnecessary, it’s rebranding of existing leagues that cater to those who don’t want the MLSNext investment or who can’t get into an MLSNext team just yet.

Anonymous wrote:Outside of the fully funded academies, what big purpose is there for the other leagues MLSNext/ECNL, other than rich families showing off a patch? This is a serious question. Can pay for play boys get a pro contract or scholarship to college? If not, is this just an expensive recreational youth sport?

I think it is sort of the only option for kids that will likely never be academy material but still want a higher level of competition. That said, parents I talk with are wising up to the situation and with the economy and high cost/time of travel, there is going to be a breaking point in the MLSN model. Some of the better players are passing up MLSN1for 2 or ECNL/RL for less travel and chance to play high school. MLSN becoming too exclusive and their player pool is going to become more of what you are talking about, we much don’t necessarily represent the best players but the ones with parents (and kids) that want and can afford all the fees/time/travel costs.

Outside of the fully funded academies, what big purpose is there for the other leagues MLSNext/ECNL, other than rich families showing off a patch? This is a serious question. Can pay for play boys get a pro contract or scholarship to college? If not, is this just an expensive recreational youth sport?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that MLS academies remain top tier but clubs aligned with USL teams will form the next tier in cities where this is available. (Loudoun, Richmond, Raleigh, Indy etc.) Everything else will be determined on a club by club basis. There are bad MLSNext clubs and bad ECNL clubs.

Fixed

Hopefully Loudoun can make this an attractive option but this will be more impactful in markets without existing MSL academies. Maybe DCU's incompetence will allow them to build something.

You're like an Adele breakup song on repeat

Hahahaha. Loudoun is a mess. They have 10,000,000 kids in football each year and field woeful, mediocre non-competitive teams year after year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that MLS academies remain top tier but clubs aligned with USL teams will form the next tier in cities where this is available. (Loudoun, Richmond, Raleigh, Indy etc.) Everything else will be determined on a club by club basis. There are bad MLSNext clubs and bad ECNL clubs.

Fixed

Hopefully Loudoun can make this an attractive option but this will be more impactful in markets without existing MSL academies. Maybe DCU's incompetence will allow them to build something.

You're like an Adele breakup song on repeat

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that MLS academies remain top tier but clubs aligned with USL teams will form the next tier in cities where this is available. (Loudoun, Richmond, Raleigh, Indy etc.) Everything else will be determined on a club by club basis. There are bad MLSNext clubs and bad ECNL clubs.

Fixed

Hopefully Loudoun can make this an attractive option but this will be more impactful in markets without existing MSL academies. Maybe DCU's incompetence will allow them to build something.

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that MLS academies remain top tier but clubs aligned with USL teams will form the next tier in cities where this is available. (Loudoun, Richmond, Raleigh, Indy etc.) Everything else will be determined on a club by club basis. There are bad MLSNext clubs and bad ECNL clubs.

Fixed