Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 18:15     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.


It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.


Adding to this - however it is true that the change in ECNL this year to include Maryland and drop South Carolina has weakened ECNL.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 18:14     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

Thanks. Sorry to hear about the relative lack of organization. Our son had a fantastic experience playing DA, and we were impressed by both how smoothly everything ran, especially since it was cheaper than non-DA travel soccer.


Yes - DA was very well run. MLS Next struggled last year - I think because it had to be put together in such a hurry in the middle of lockdowns. The consequence was that a lot of teams didn't get nearly as many games as they would have ideally liked especially early on. Still - things improved over time, and hopefully everything will be smoother this year. It will help that local clubs now have all age groups which will mean more games - although many of them (the older age groups where the new clubs don't really have competitive teams) will probably be a waste of time for the better clubs for the next two or three years.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 18:09     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.


It's closer than you think. MLSNext is probably stronger because PU and NYRB are the two strongest clubs on the east coast - period. But the mid-Atlantic ECNL division contains a LOT of very strong clubs (mostly ex-DA) who are absolutely a match for any of PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, and Bethesda. Arlington, Richmond, VDA, NCFC, Charlotte SA, Wilmington, CESA, and Charlotte Independence would play those clubs very competitively. The weaker teams in ECNL probably drag it down a bit - but then again MLSNext contains some pretty weak clubs too. SYC, Alexandria, PA Classics, TSF, and Achilles would not currently compete well in ECNL.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 17:48     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The PP claiming mls next replaced DA is high on something. Every da club in Virginia went to ecnl.


The above is totally false. But, it is easy enough to google the teams that were DA and those that are now MLSNext and see for yourself. Some went ECNL, some went MLSNext.


I'm notb the PP - but it's actually totally accurate. The VA DA teams were VDA, Arlington and Richmond. Every single one went to ECNL. Most (all?) of the North Carolina DA teams did the same.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 17:41     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.


Wasn't some of the Virginia teams that went to ECNL, it was all.


Addition by subtraction and then addition. Have fun playing McLean and BRYC and going down to Charlotte to play whoever.


Have fun with only two real age groups U-15 and U-17.


Seriously. Or playing CCL at U16. As for the whoever comment, the Carolina teams are strong, especially at 2006. Three of them made the ECNL Final 8 that will play next week in St. Louis.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 17:24     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.


Wasn't some of the Virginia teams that went to ECNL, it was all.


Addition by subtraction and then addition. Have fun playing McLean and BRYC and going down to Charlotte to play whoever.


Have fun with only two real age groups U-15 and U-17.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 17:19     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.


Wasn't some of the Virginia teams that went to ECNL, it was all.


Addition by subtraction and then addition. Have fun playing McLean and BRYC and going down to Charlotte to play whoever.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 17:17     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.


Wasn't some of the Virginia teams that went to ECNL, it was all.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 15:26     Subject: MLSnext

Regardless of whether some ex-DA Virginia teams went to ECNL. The old DA league was taken over by MLS as evidenced by core members like DC United, Bethesda, Baltimore Armor and the entire group of pro MLS academies across the country.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 12:42     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The PP claiming mls next replaced DA is high on something. Every da club in Virginia went to ecnl.


The above is totally false. But, it is easy enough to google the teams that were DA and those that are now MLSNext and see for yourself. Some went ECNL, some went MLSNext.


They stated every former boys DA club in Virginia went to ECNL. That is a true statement. What former DA club in Virginia do you claim is now in MLSNext?
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 12:37     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The mid Atlantic of mls next is Virginia to New York. So if you are in VA, you play Red Bulls, Union, PDA, Delco, Armour, DCU, Bethesda, and others. I don’t think you can begin to compare the encl mid Atlantic from Virginia to Carolina as competitive.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 12:18     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.

Thanks. Sorry to hear about the relative lack of organization. Our son had a fantastic experience playing DA, and we were impressed by both how smoothly everything ran, especially since it was cheaper than non-DA travel soccer.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 08:45     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The PP claiming mls next replaced DA is high on something. Every da club in Virginia went to ecnl.


The above is totally false. But, it is easy enough to google the teams that were DA and those that are now MLSNext and see for yourself. Some went ECNL, some went MLSNext.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 07:36     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The PP claiming mls next replaced DA is high on something. Every da club in Virginia went to ecnl.


Nobody really cares that VDA left or that Arlington (which did not have full age group membership) is gone. Just like nobody cared when Loudoun and McLean lost DA status. Bethesda, DCU and Armour were and are the core members in this area. Would have been nice to keep Richmond, which is always strong. SYC and Alexandria joined, and despite some who said they would never get all age groups, they just did. And these teams are all playing teams from here to NY, including other MLS club academies. So it looks like they weeded the garden and are pretty well organized.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2021 06:26     Subject: MLSnext

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do youth leagues get same exposure if they are on MLSnext or EDP? what opportunities does you child even get with MLSnext?


MLS Next is the highest league, therefore it will get the most exposure from college coaches. A big percentage of players at D1 schools come from MLS Next league (old DA) rosters. It also offers the highest level of competition. It has Showcases that attract every major D1-D3 coach.

If the player wants to play college, play out of the country, or go pro (MLS or USL), it is the best option. Otherwise, the negatives would outweigh the positives. The negatives are:

1. Big chance player will get cut at any time including during the season.
2. Must compete with the best players in the area for playtime. Typically the starting 11 play the majority of the games. Very strict substitution rules.
3. 4 days a week practice which is hard to juggle with school.
4. Expensive and lots of travel.
5. Only a few clubs in the area have MLS teams so travel to practice may be extreme.
6. Can't play high school soccer or really do any thing else for that matter.

Np. Thanks for providing a thoughtful answer. I have a follow up for you. My oldest played DA a few years ago on a decent team. He’s playing D1 now along with most of his DA teammates; a few of his friends in DA went pro. Is MLSNext basically the same as DA in terms of exposure for pro or D1 recruiting? My youngest is a couple years away, and I haven’t kept up.


Sort of. Not all the DA clubs went MLS Next. This tended to vary region by region so there are areas of the country - perhaps most notably the mid Atlantic from VA to GA - where ECNL is now stronger than, MLSNext. And MLS Next is not (yet) nearly as well organized as DA was. Hopefully it will improve considerably this year.


The PP claiming mls next replaced DA is high on something. Every da club in Virginia went to ecnl.