Anonymous wrote:This is an easy one. Play ECNL. Plenty of good competitive teams in this area and they are supportive of not only HS but also college ID camps which MLs restricts

If your kid wants pro then stick it out with MLS or if they get into an academy as that is a step up than next - but otherwise it’s pretty interchangeable.

Alexandria and SYC aren’t any better than VDA and Arlington and college placement is similar for clubs in this area regardless of league.

Let your kid enjoy HS.

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Anonymous wrote:You only get one time in your life to play high school soccer. Do both this season and switch to an ECNL team for next year, they don't play at all in the spring due to HS soccer.

With only the parents in the stands

Bc there are so many fans at MLS Next games?

Then what makes HS better?

I heard the SJC-Gonzaga soccer game had more fans than the SJC-Gonzaga football game this year. HS soccer may not consistently get students attending, but they definitely come out for big games.

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Anonymous wrote:You only get one time in your life to play high school soccer. Do both this season and switch to an ECNL team for next year, they don't play at all in the spring due to HS soccer.

With only the parents in the stands

Bc there are so many fans at MLS Next games?

Then what makes HS better?

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Anonymous wrote:My oldest son played 4 years of varsity soccer while playing MLS next and now he is playing college D1 soccer. Now my younger son is trying to do the same but the coaches are threatening him if he does it again, he did it as a 9th grader. He never missed more than 1 practice a week and never missed a game. He has a 4.2 gpa and really enjoys the atmosphere of high school soccer. I do as well. As a 9th grader the pace of play at the varsity level is much faster than MLS next and being forced to play faster really helped improve his play last season. He is a 2nd best player on his MLS next team and other parents asked me how he got so much better this season and I told them high school really helped him and his confidence. We are not sure what to do but I’m thinking we are just going to play both again and see what happens there is very little college recruiting being done as 10th grade year. He could always switch clubs, we have about 6 of them in the area. Thoughts?

The only things HS soccer taught my 9th grade DS this past fall is that 1) he needed to work on strengthening his neck muscles so he could watch the ball fly back and forth over his head in midfield and 2) how to avoid getting his knees and ankles ruined by players who apparently think that HS soccer is in fact rugby.

Now, there can be HS programs out there that play quality soccer but that's maybe 1.5 out of every 10.

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Anonymous wrote:You only get one time in your life to play high school soccer. Do both this season and switch to an ECNL team for next year, they don't play at all in the spring due to HS soccer.

With only the parents in the stands

Bc there are so many fans at MLS Next games?

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Anonymous wrote:so OP - you came on here to complain about the rules you agreed to when you signed to your club and to brag that you are violating the rules because you don't think you'll be punished. got it.

I just wanted to see everyone's thoughts. Standing up to stupid rules is what makes people change the rules. Not allowing players to play more soccer is why our country will never win a world cup.

if you think violating rules you don't like is how to get people to change rules, you are mistaken. Same goes for complaining about it here.

Fair point. My son has decided to play for HS besides his NVA duties. If he is removed, he’ll join another MLS next club. I put the money down. NVA doesn’t pay my son to play for them.

Here's the deal. It's not a club rule. It's an MLS Next (HG/Academy) rule based on similar rules with overseas academies around exclusivity. It's no different than the way they own "training" rights if your kid wants to go overseas. None of those are negotiated points with a club, they're part of the charter for play and you inherit them when you accept the offer, whether you chose to read it or not. They delegate enforcement of high school to the clubs, which means that how much sway or influence a club has with MLS Next leadership to look the other way determines how strict they need to be on enforcement. In the DMV, it mostly means people stay quiet about it and the clubs don't look too closely. It can result in forfeits or other punishment by the national body, but generally nothing happens except a few kids each year having to quit high school ball partial way through the season.

True. I personally don't care if MLSN1 allows HS or not, what I hate is the blatant hypocrisy for how the current rule is set and 'enforced'. Either allow HS or don't but stop with the bullshit private school waivers and the complete lack of enforcement. It is a joke and makes the league look weak.

How many MLS Next HG players also play HS?
Should be an interesting number for sake of this dramatic emotional thread

Almost the entirety of Lightridge HS was MLS next. Hence why they’re current state 5 champions. It’s a lot simpler than you think it is. The squad was lightyears ahead of any other school.

Yeah this is true, along with riverside these are the only two decent Loudoun and I don’t think either of them would make it out of the division 6d region. This is why people in Loudoun hate on high school soccer. Fairfax is much better. The good news is they look on merging div 5 and 6 in the next few years and only have 4 divisions

I’m doubtful that it can deemed as ‘good news’. Furthermore, how do you suppose you schedule the 16-game season with an exorbitant amount of schools? Numbers don’t allow for a home and away format. Boom, there goes your equity. You also can’t schedule everyone once and you’d have some schools playing tougher competition and other getting easier matchups. Boom, another blow to equity.

Where did you hear this nonsense? Or are you really blowing some crazy loud?

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so OP - you came on here to complain about the rules you agreed to when you signed to your club and to brag that you are violating the rules because you don't think you'll be punished. got it.

I just wanted to see everyone's thoughts. Standing up to stupid rules is what makes people change the rules. Not allowing players to play more soccer is why our country will never win a world cup.

if you think violating rules you don't like is how to get people to change rules, you are mistaken. Same goes for complaining about it here.

Fair point. My son has decided to play for HS besides his NVA duties. If he is removed, he’ll join another MLS next club. I put the money down. NVA doesn’t pay my son to play for them.

Here's the deal. It's not a club rule. It's an MLS Next (HG/Academy) rule based on similar rules with overseas academies around exclusivity. It's no different than the way they own "training" rights if your kid wants to go overseas. None of those are negotiated points with a club, they're part of the charter for play and you inherit them when you accept the offer, whether you chose to read it or not. They delegate enforcement of high school to the clubs, which means that how much sway or influence a club has with MLS Next leadership to look the other way determines how strict they need to be on enforcement. In the DMV, it mostly means people stay quiet about it and the clubs don't look too closely. It can result in forfeits or other punishment by the national body, but generally nothing happens except a few kids each year having to quit high school ball partial way through the season.

True. I personally don't care if MLSN1 allows HS or not, what I hate is the blatant hypocrisy for how the current rule is set and 'enforced'. Either allow HS or don't but stop with the bullshit private school waivers and the complete lack of enforcement. It is a joke and makes the league look weak.

How many MLS Next HG players also play HS?
Should be an interesting number for sake of this dramatic emotional thread

Almost the entirety of Lightridge HS was MLS next. Hence why they’re current state 5 champions. It’s a lot simpler than you think it is. The squad was lightyears ahead of any other school.

Yeah this is true, along with riverside these are the only two decent Loudoun and I don’t think either of them would make it out of the division 6d region. This is why people in Loudoun hate on high school soccer. Fairfax is much better. The good news is they look on merging div 5 and 6 in the next few years and only have 4 divisions

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You only get one time in your life to play high school soccer. Do both this season and switch to an ECNL team for next year, they don't play at all in the spring due to HS soccer.

With only the parents in the stands

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Anonymous wrote:MLS fines club if your kid plays HS

I have never heard of a player being fined

its not the player its the club. And yes it happens. Just takes a person to tell the league and they investigate. And plenty of parents willing to turn them in. Want to play crappy HS play in a different club league.

Well every club in the area should be fined thousands of dollars immediately. They are playing and this notion that is crappy at least in liberty district is insane. College coaches actually prefer they play some high school soccer, it gives a different level of competitiveness and playing for a school. I’m sorry to tell you that MLS next is not this level of soccer you are being told about. Most of the MLS next are not even playing college soccer and almost none (non academies are going pro). The best soccer team in the area last year was Arlington’s top u-19 team, they beat all the MLS next teams they played. MLS next is this area is a complete money scam and the fact that we have so many of them should make this obvious to anyone.

1000% BS of the highest stench levels

No college coach prefers players who played HS
Utter nonsense

At U19, most the better MLS Next players have already moved on to college or semi-pro or pro
The U19s level in MLS Next is a crap shoot for game results

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Anonymous wrote:Play MLS Next AD and HS soccer and stop whining. You knew when you signed up for MLS HD you were foregoing playing for your HS.

We will continue to do both and allow our children to play as much as possible so they improve at a faster rate than others. If there is any punishment, which I strongly doubt, we will deal with it.

Hi volume of poorly coached bad soccer isn't improving anything, except apparently your tolerance and acceptance of low level soccer

As a club coach and former high school coach. I can tell you there is some very good high school boys soccer, not every team. But last years McLean, Westfield and Herndon are beat every MLS next team U17 in the area. And for a young player there can be significant benefit of playing high school. Is every team good, absolutely not. For girls soccer there is no reason for any top girls player to play except maybe the liberty district.

In which competition did the HS teams play against the MLS Next teams?

There is not but as a coach I can recognize talent and those teams had much more talent than any team at the u17(11th grade) mls next flex cup. High school games are available online. Watch them yourself. Don’t fall for the MLS directors narrative so they can raise fees on you every year.

Are you comparing HS Varsity teams to MLS U17s?

Why is this bad, the average age of a varsity team is probably 17. Obviously older mls next teams will be better and younger will be worse. I actually think players can benefit a lot playing on different teams for different coaches. Sometimes the dynamics just don’t work for your child and sometimes they do.

You know nothing about soccer if you think diversity of coaches is automatically a good thing
Kids are better off with no coach than a bad coach

The Geography teacher being a part-time HS coach vs the MLS Next U17 coach with high level playing experience and years of coaching experience

Not to mention the HS team with several part-time players taking time during a break from their primary sport

I told my son that instead of complaining about the level of play being below his club team, to instead use HS ball as a way to work on his communication and leadership skills on the field. Players can always find something to work on, regardless of the level of play

It’s pretty obvious you don’t play in the Liberty District. 9th and 10th grade MLS next players can’t even get decent playing time on the varsity team and many 9th don’t make the varsity team.

9th graders should not play on Varsity. They will get hurt. They should be on JV with kids they can physically match up with.

Kind of a blanket statement.

What if the kid has been active his whole life and doing body weight calisthenics for since he was 10. Would you still feel that way?

Most boys are still in peak growth spurt in 9th grade. It doesn't matter if they are in great shape and regularly lift weights, they can't and shouldn't be expected to physically compete with older boys who are basically fully grown adult men. Testosterone is a very powerful thing!

There are Freshman who are fully grown in terms of height and there are Juniors how are just hitting a growth spurt. Testosterone doesn't impact every single person the same way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so OP - you came on here to complain about the rules you agreed to when you signed to your club and to brag that you are violating the rules because you don't think you'll be punished. got it.

I just wanted to see everyone's thoughts. Standing up to stupid rules is what makes people change the rules. Not allowing players to play more soccer is why our country will never win a world cup.

no they were ECNL..

if you think violating rules you don't like is how to get people to change rules, you are mistaken. Same goes for complaining about it here.

Fair point. My son has decided to play for HS besides his NVA duties. If he is removed, he’ll join another MLS next club. I put the money down. NVA doesn’t pay my son to play for them.

Here's the deal. It's not a club rule. It's an MLS Next (HG/Academy) rule based on similar rules with overseas academies around exclusivity. It's no different than the way they own "training" rights if your kid wants to go overseas. None of those are negotiated points with a club, they're part of the charter for play and you inherit them when you accept the offer, whether you chose to read it or not. They delegate enforcement of high school to the clubs, which means that how much sway or influence a club has with MLS Next leadership to look the other way determines how strict they need to be on enforcement. In the DMV, it mostly means people stay quiet about it and the clubs don't look too closely. It can result in forfeits or other punishment by the national body, but generally nothing happens except a few kids each year having to quit high school ball partial way through the season.

True. I personally don't care if MLSN1 allows HS or not, what I hate is the blatant hypocrisy for how the current rule is set and 'enforced'. Either allow HS or don't but stop with the bullshit private school waivers and the complete lack of enforcement. It is a joke and makes the league look weak.

How many MLS Next HG players also play HS?
Should be an interesting number for sake of this dramatic emotional thread

Almost the entirety of Lightridge HS was MLS next. Hence why they’re current state 5 champions. It’s a lot simpler than you think it is. The squad was lightyears ahead of any other school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MLS fines club if your kid plays HS

I have never heard of a player being fined

its not the player its the club. And yes it happens. Just takes a person to tell the league and they investigate. And plenty of parents willing to turn them in. Want to play crappy HS play in a different club league.

Well every club in the area should be fined thousands of dollars immediately. They are playing and this notion that is crappy at least in liberty district is insane. College coaches actually prefer they play some high school soccer, it gives a different level of competitiveness and playing for a school. I’m sorry to tell you that MLS next is not this level of soccer you are being told about. Most of the MLS next are not even playing college soccer and almost none (non academies are going pro). The best soccer team in the area last year was Arlington’s top u-19 team, they beat all the MLS next teams they played. MLS next is this area is a complete money scam and the fact that we have so many of them should make this obvious to anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Play MLS Next AD and HS soccer and stop whining. You knew when you signed up for MLS HD you were foregoing playing for your HS.

We will continue to do both and allow our children to play as much as possible so they improve at a faster rate than others. If there is any punishment, which I strongly doubt, we will deal with it.

Hi volume of poorly coached bad soccer isn't improving anything, except apparently your tolerance and acceptance of low level soccer

As a club coach and former high school coach. I can tell you there is some very good high school boys soccer, not every team. But last years McLean, Westfield and Herndon are beat every MLS next team U17 in the area. And for a young player there can be significant benefit of playing high school. Is every team good, absolutely not. For girls soccer there is no reason for any top girls player to play except maybe the liberty district.

In which competition did the HS teams play against the MLS Next teams?

There is not but as a coach I can recognize talent and those teams had much more talent than any team at the u17(11th grade) mls next flex cup. High school games are available online. Watch them yourself. Don’t fall for the MLS directors narrative so they can raise fees on you every year.

Are you comparing HS Varsity teams to MLS U17s?

Why is this bad, the average age of a varsity team is probably 17. Obviously older mls next teams will be better and younger will be worse. I actually think players can benefit a lot playing on different teams for different coaches. Sometimes the dynamics just don’t work for your child and sometimes they do.

You know nothing about soccer if you think diversity of coaches is automatically a good thing
Kids are better off with no coach than a bad coach

The Geography teacher being a part-time HS coach vs the MLS Next U17 coach with high level playing experience and years of coaching experience

Not to mention the HS team with several part-time players taking time during a break from their primary sport

I told my son that instead of complaining about the level of play being below his club team, to instead use HS ball as a way to work on his communication and leadership skills on the field. Players can always find something to work on, regardless of the level of play

It’s pretty obvious you don’t play in the Liberty District. 9th and 10th grade MLS next players can’t even get decent playing time on the varsity team and many 9th don’t make the varsity team.

9th graders should not play on Varsity. They will get hurt. They should be on JV with kids they can physically match up with.

Kind of a blanket statement.

What if the kid has been active his whole life and doing body weight calisthenics for since he was 10. Would you still feel that way?

Most boys are still in peak growth spurt in 9th grade. It doesn't matter if they are in great shape and regularly lift weights, they can't and shouldn't be expected to physically compete with older boys who are basically fully grown adult men. Testosterone is a very powerful thing!