I was field marshaling at a boys' game in higher level bracket of the Bethesda tournament 2 or 3 years ago (SOCA was one of the teams), and the field behind me had a top bracket matchup (Baltimore Celtic v. ??). The Georgetown men's coach and an assistant were watching the top bracket game, and an assistant for another college program was watching my field. They got to chatting about various players who were impressing them, and it was really interesting to hear their assessments. They definitely were evaluating kids other than those they'd come to see; at one point, the coach on my field went to find the team manager, who had a roster listing the boys, their graduation dates, contact info, and (maybe?) their GPAs, and he double checked with her to make sure he had the correct contact info for his prospects.

No clue if the Bethesda tournament is still attracting top teams, but there were multiple coaches all over the fields for the high level games.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remember....the Dortmund scout was sent to watch Haji Wright on the US youth team, but came back raving about some kid Christian Pulisic instead.

More on topic though, I'm an assistant coach at a college, and this happens all the time...we go to watch one player, and end up recruiting another.

Don't get me wrong, hoping someone sees you is not a good recruitment strategy, but it happens A LOT.

Can you Dispell my AMWAY analogy? I understand that the rich folks can more easily pay to be on these top teams and go to the ID Sessions. But kids whose parents don't have the $$ for these events or teams get left in the cold. Where can they go to be seen?

I still fail to see why kids need to pay to be seen to get jobs. There are more of us (I would assume?) who can't pay for such luck-fests than those who can. Seems like there are a bunch of kids you are passing on and you just need an avenue to find them. Or am I just wrong.

Given that this forum seems to be based in McLean and Arlington, I'm not sure most truly face my dilemma.

No, I can't dispel your analogy, because it's essentially correct.
US Soccer sucks at development precisely because of this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remember....the Dortmund scout was sent to watch Haji Wright on the US youth team, but came back raving about some kid Christian Pulisic instead.

More on topic though, I'm an assistant coach at a college, and this happens all the time...we go to watch one player, and end up recruiting another.

Don't get me wrong, hoping someone sees you is not a good recruitment strategy, but it happens A LOT.

Can you Dispell my AMWAY analogy? I understand that the rich folks can more easily pay to be on these top teams and go to the ID Sessions. But kids whose parents don't have the $$ for these events or teams get left in the cold. Where can they go to be seen?

I still fail to see why kids need to pay to be seen to get jobs. There are more of us (I would assume?) who can't pay for such luck-fests than those who can. Seems like there are a bunch of kids you are passing on and you just need an avenue to find them. Or am I just wrong.

Given that this forum seems to be based in McLean and Arlington, I'm not sure most truly face my dilemma.

This is OP and we are in the same boat. We are trying to find the most efficient way for our kids to play in front of the most college coaches.

You can always guest play, don't forget.