Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can a kid be selected for an MLS Next team in August, but only play on that team in the spring so that he can play high school soccer in the fall? Assume a waiver does not apply -- is this allowed under the MLS Next rules?

I don’t see why not but the more relevant question is whether the kid is good enough for the MLSNext team that they’ll let you keep a spot for just half a year. I don’t think they can have more than 24 or 25 on the team.

More relevant is how much the kids that miss Fall season for HS soccer get —and it adds up over time. The older U17/18/19 mlsnext years are pretty critical and going to play subpar ball with zero game competition 5 days/nights a week for 3 months instead of mlsnext—-I’ve seen kids over 2 years get considerably worse and not progress

You can’t give 80% to one team and 20% the other or even 50% and 50%. The team gets short changed. At that level there are too many committed mlsnext caliber players to come in and take that spot away…unless of course you are one of those clubs that is less about talent and more your connection/relationships.

You're right. But this club is unusual -- the coach for the MLS Next team owns the club and also is the head coach for a high school team. Many kids from the high school team play on his MLS Next team. Huge conflict of interest.

westsidesoccer wrote:

Size5Balls wrote:The only people I would see caring about this are either MLS Next coaches who don't want their players getting two-footed buy some rec kid or parents whose kids are on the bubble of making varsity. Having some MLS Next kids on the HS team would probably help the overall aesthetic of the game. They might actually try to play soccer instead of the usual kick and run garbage that 95% of HS games devolve into.

That’s just stupid. A third group might be ECNL kids who felt like they made a sacrifice by playing in a lesser league so they could play for their school. Your imagination and probably a lot of other qualities are limited.