Anonymous wrote:The only local tournament with DA teams last weekend was the VDA Girls Showcase. https://www.gotsport.com/m/events/results.aspx?EventID=70391&Gend

From the results it looks like the teams only played 2 games, not 3, but anyway,...

Not surpising that ECNL teams would beat GDA teams. Old news.

The DA does not allow DA teams to play multiple games on the same day. That is why the DA teams only played 2 games.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

What tournament was last weekend? Oh, the jacket comment is hysterical!

The only local tournament with DA teams last weekend was the VDA Girls Showcase. https://www.gotsport.com/m/events/results.aspx?EventID=70391&Gend

From the results it looks like the teams only played 2 games, not 3, but anyway,...

Not surpising that ECNL teams would beat GDA teams. Old news.

And other than the U13 age group, not a single DA team went the weekend without at least one win. It is a nice narrative about the PP's plucky group of underdogs but it is pretty much fiction across the board.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

What tournament was last weekend? Oh, the jacket comment is hysterical!

The only local tournament with DA teams last weekend was the VDA Girls Showcase. https://www.gotsport.com/m/events/results.aspx?EventID=70391&Gend

From the results it looks like the teams only played 2 games, not 3, but anyway,...

Not surpising that ECNL teams would beat GDA teams. Old news.

There is another thread that has gone over this showcase and its results ad naseum. Unless your kid plays on a non-DA or ECNL team and you're arguing that your team is better, then we don't need to rehash the "Is the DA better than ECNL or not" conversation with points drawn against and for from a meaningless winter showcase. I'm pretty sure the ECNL teams also had fancy jackets though, so maybe you ARE arguing that? If so, tell us what club you are from.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

What tournament was last weekend? Oh, the jacket comment is hysterical!

The only local tournament with DA teams last weekend was the VDA Girls Showcase. https://www.gotsport.com/m/events/results.aspx?EventID=70391&Gend

From the results it looks like the teams only played 2 games, not 3, but anyway,...

Not surpising that ECNL teams would beat GDA teams. Old news.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

What tournament was last weekend? Oh, the jacket comment is hysterical!

It was a Virginia DA college showcase but yes they all had fancy jackets

http://events.gotsport.com/events/default.aspx?EventID=70391

Interesting that no teams played in 3 games in that showcase. And in U14 and above not a single DA team went without a win.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

What tournament was last weekend? Oh, the jacket comment is hysterical!

It was a Virginia DA college showcase but yes they all had fancy jackets

http://events.gotsport.com/events/default.aspx?EventID=70391

You know, that's funny because at that showcase there were lots of DA wins and each team only played 2 games. So I call BS on this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

What tournament was last weekend? Oh, the jacket comment is hysterical!

It was a Virginia DA college showcase but yes they all had fancy jackets

http://events.gotsport.com/events/default.aspx?EventID=70391

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The distinction is that there is no ability to get a waiver if you attend a public school. The waiver only exists for players in private schools. From the DA rules:

"Only players who have been granted a waiver by the League Office will be allowed to remain on their clubs Academy roster during the high school soccer season (waivers are not available for middle school). This waiver must be received by DA office before September 1, 2018, to be considered for the roster exemption. The waiver eligibility guidelines are as follows1) Players who receive consideration or financial aid to attend a private high school based on their participation with the soccer team are eligible . . . " (emphasis added).

If you are in a public school and want to play for your school team, then you have to quit DA.

Maybe your point is that this is a distinction without any practical difference. But if that is the case, then the rule for requesting waivers should either be deleted from the DA rules, or re-written to apply to both public and private schools.

Re the bolded, we have known a few kids who played for their public HS in the fall, and then played for a DA club in the spring--no waiver needed, because the kid is not rostered to the DA team until they join after the end of the HS season. This arrangement only works if kids have a good relationship with the DA program and have discussed their plans in advance. We also know several kids who played HS freshman and senior years, and DA sophomore and junior so they could get the benefit of the DA recruiting platform and have the fun of HS ball.

Yes, this is not materially different from those who attend private school but aren't being funded for it, which was the original point. US Soccer does not want any of these kids playing HS soccer. They have implemented a mechanism to allow waivers for those who receive financial assistance to attend a private school, which makes sense especially for those parents who need the financial help to attend a good school. Remember, there are many areas of the country that do NOT have the great public schools we do in this oasis around Washington DC. This is not a class issue, it's a common sense way to address the problem for those kids.

Now, there is the argument of whether or not HS ball helps or or doesn't with their development (my opinion is that it doesn't). But, there's no need to try to attempt to villify an exception that makes sense if you think about it in rational terms.

Anonymous wrote:The distinction is that there is no ability to get a waiver if you attend a public school. The waiver only exists for players in private schools. From the DA rules:

"Only players who have been granted a waiver by the League Office will be allowed to remain on their clubs Academy roster during the high school soccer season (waivers are not available for middle school). This waiver must be received by DA office before September 1, 2018, to be considered for the roster exemption. The waiver eligibility guidelines are as follows1) Players who receive consideration or financial aid to attend a private high school based on their participation with the soccer team are eligible . . . " (emphasis added).

If you are in a public school and want to play for your school team, then you have to quit DA.

Maybe your point is that this is a distinction without any practical difference. But if that is the case, then the rule for requesting waivers should either be deleted from the DA rules, or re-written to apply to both public and private schools.

Re the bolded, we have known a few kids who played for their public HS in the fall, and then played for a DA club in the spring--no waiver needed, because the kid is not rostered to the DA team until they join after the end of the HS season. This arrangement only works if kids have a good relationship with the DA program and have discussed their plans in advance. We also know several kids who played HS freshman and senior years, and DA sophomore and junior so they could get the benefit of the DA recruiting platform and have the fun of HS ball.

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

What tournament was last weekend? Oh, the jacket comment is hysterical!

Anonymous wrote:My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

And what age was this?

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there is a difference with boys and girls, and certainly there is probably one based on your HS (public vs. private, successful soccer program vs. not), but my daughter plays for a DA and is happy not to be playing HS soccer. Her observation on watching the HS team is that they are playing kick and run and rostering big but not necessarily well-rounded players. She would be frustrated and likely get injured, so having the decision on what to do off the table has been a good thing.

Not saying that's the same for everyone -- some schools are blessed with really successful area travel programs as strong feeders -- and I appreciate the desire to be involved in HS sports which are a great part of those years of youth, but just offering the other side of the coin.

This is a very fair point. I know many would tout the virtues of playing for your school, and they are not wrong. There are a lot of positives to playing for your school that cannot be replicated at the club level. Of course, there are also negatives, a couple of which you touch on. One of our friend's sons played on a DA team and received a scholarship to play college soccer. He left DA after the fall season of his senior year to play for his HS team in the spring, and then suffered a bad injury playing for his HS team, was never able to fully recover and, as a result, never played for his college team. Those friends are adamant about not letting their other, similarly skilled kids play HS soccer, because they think injuries are more likely to happen since some players are not used to the speed and skill level of other players, which results in late tackles and sometimes injuries. I appreciate that sounds like a snobby attitude by those parents, but I understand their perspective being heavily influenced by seeing one of their kids injured in just such a situation.

Not saying anything is right or wrong about HS soccer; just that there are pros and cons that one has to weigh.

Maybe there is a difference with boys and girls, and certainly there is probably one based on your HS (public vs. private, successful soccer program vs. not), but my daughter plays for a DA and is happy not to be playing HS soccer. Her observation on watching the HS team is that they are playing kick and run and rostering big but not necessarily well-rounded players. She would be frustrated and likely get injured, so having the decision on what to do off the table has been a good thing.

Not saying that's the same for everyone -- some schools are blessed with really successful area travel programs as strong feeders -- and I appreciate the desire to be involved in HS sports which are a great part of those years of youth, but just offering the other side of the coin.

My kid played in a tournament last weekend and 3 of the teams they played were academy teams, There was not a single stand out player and there wasn't a victory for either of the 3 DA teams.

Only difference I saw was they had winter jackets instead of hoodies.

The distinction is that there is no ability to get a waiver if you attend a public school. The waiver only exists for players in private schools. From the DA rules:

"Only players who have been granted a waiver by the League Office will be allowed to remain on their clubs Academy roster during the high school soccer season (waivers are not available for middle school). This waiver must be received by DA office before September 1, 2018, to be considered for the roster exemption. The waiver eligibility guidelines are as follows1) Players who receive consideration or financial aid to attend a private high school based on their participation with the soccer team are eligible . . . " (emphasis added).

If you are in a public school and want to play for your school team, then you have to quit DA.

Maybe your point is that this is a distinction without any practical difference. But if that is the case, then the rule for requesting waivers should either be deleted from the DA rules, or re-written to apply to both public and private schools.