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    Uh oh MLS Academy league

    https://www.boysecnl.com/2020/07/atl...ins-ecnl-boys/

    Not a lot of talk about the MLS super league they are creating. It's has been pretty quiet since there is no high school (I don't care, but plenty of teams do and 50 some non MLS teams sure do). Most MLS teams I would guess will be playing their 17's up and some including your beloved Sounders are dropping U-19 all together. Going to be tough to go to Sounders knowing that you will likely be cut by 17 or sign a Pro contract for the very few who do and forego college.
    With all of the Covid news this has gone by quietly, understandable of course. I am waiting for the Xfire bashers laughing at their choice to go to ECNL to come by, but I won't hold my breath. Hopefully I will be on the sidelines watching with them if we are lucky enough to have a season.

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    https://www.boysecnl.com/2020/07/atl...ins-ecnl-boys/

    Not a lot of talk about the MLS super league they are creating. It's has been pretty quiet since there is no high school (I don't care, but plenty of teams do and 50 some non MLS teams sure do). Most MLS teams I would guess will be playing their 17's up and some including your beloved Sounders are dropping U-19 all together. Going to be tough to go to Sounders knowing that you will likely be cut by 17 or sign a Pro contract for the very few who do and forego college.
    With all of the Covid news this has gone by quietly, understandable of course. I am waiting for the Xfire bashers laughing at their choice to go to ECNL to come by, but I won't hold my breath. Hopefully I will be on the sidelines watching with them if we are lucky enough to have a season.
    Former Sounders parent here: I don't know about the MLS League as a whole, but Sounders is always quiet after playoffs are done in the summer and the boys always get a full 4-6 weeks or so off until fall.

    I think the Sounders program will be fine. The likelihood that any player gets cut by age 17 has always been high. It's not for every kid -- it's very competitive and a lot of pressure, but if your child wants that kind of environment to prepare for college or pro soccer, or just for the challenge, it can be a positive experience. The club is exceptionally professional and well run. Parents have to be willing to step back though -- unlike many clubs, it's not a place where parents will have a lot of opportunities to make friends with other parents with team dinners, volunteering, travel together etc It's going to be your kids' thing

    I have another kid at XF and that program feels similar in terms of professionalism and organization, though there are more opportunities for parental involvement. In my opinion both clubs are great. If a family has to choose, figure out what's best for your kid, like always

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      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      Former Sounders parent here: I don't know about the MLS League as a whole, but Sounders is always quiet after playoffs are done in the summer and the boys always get a full 4-6 weeks or so off until fall.

      I think the Sounders program will be fine. The likelihood that any player gets cut by age 17 has always been high. It's not for every kid -- it's very competitive and a lot of pressure, but if your child wants that kind of environment to prepare for college or pro soccer, or just for the challenge, it can be a positive experience. The club is exceptionally professional and well run. Parents have to be willing to step back though -- unlike many clubs, it's not a place where parents will have a lot of opportunities to make friends with other parents with team dinners, volunteering, travel together etc It's going to be your kids' thing

      I have another kid at XF and that program feels similar in terms of professionalism and organization, though there are more opportunities for parental involvement. In my opinion both clubs are great. If a family has to choose, figure out what's best for your kid, like always
      Would you send your son there with no U-19 academy? I guess that is the question.

      Comment


        #4
        If the MLS is going to align with the balance of the soccer world, while expanding the platform to ensure adequate national coverage beyond the current franchises, it may make sense for clubs to drop the U19 bracket.

        Male players, by U19, from a professional level are likely ready for the first team exposure or reserve team exposure. Keeping them for a U19 team would be more about setting those players up for the collegiate experience, which would not be a valuable use of resources (see money) for professional clubs.

        Overall, going forward, the collegiate draft will become more and more unneeded as colleges (for males) cannot adequately develop the professional player. Sure there may be a few exceptions, but the number is going to get very low.

        So the quick answer is: I'd be happy if my son was able to play for an MLS academy team, at any point. But I'm realistic that the opportunity to make the final jump to professional soccer is highly unlikely. If they cut him back to his local club at U19, I doubt he'd have many problems finding a 'soccer' college should he want to continue playing.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          Would you send your son there with no U-19 academy? I guess that is the question.
          If he is a January through August birthday there is a good chance they will finish their u17 season after their junior year. If your kid is not going pro but can play at that level they will have opportunities for discovery by colleges through their junior year. That is a big help. If they are good enough to go pro then that will be an option as well. So most of the recruiting will be finished for them before they switch to an ECNL local club for their senior year. I believe the Sounders had 3 kids already committed to colleges before next years u19s were scuttled. They may have or may not have gotten the same visibility through local ecnl clubs.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Would you send your son there with no U-19 academy? I guess that is the question.
            I think it depends. If your son is selected for the program, that means Sounders sees enough potential to invest in them & your kid gets their shot if that's what they want/you think is best for them. You also don't pay. As others have said, a player coming out of the program would have no problem finding a u19 spot at another club. My son played through U19 with them but might have been a kid who got cut at that stage if U19s didn't exist. He will be playing for a top D1 school, which was always his goal, so it all worked out. If you don't want your kid to have to change programs senior year, than maybe XF is a good option. There were some boys cut before U19s this year in the regular program. I'm sure that was hard, but I'm guessing they still valued time at Sounders for the training, opportunities for paid travel to regular season games and intl tournaments. Soccer may look different for awhile due to COVID19, so that's another consideration, since kids probably aren't going to Tokyo to play anytime soon.

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