BS is BS

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If MLS pulls out of BDA, BDA will cease to exist. What would be the point of USSF continuing to run it?

IMHO, MLS and USL should start their own pro-sponsored academy league. The rest of the clubs, the vast majority of which are pay-to-play, should join the ECNL or another national league and focus on getting the kids to college.

Most USSF scouting should focus on the pro-academy league for YNT players - as that is where most all of the top talent will reside.

OW should be on the phone with Hartford Athletic (USL) about a hook up. Otherwise OW will be looking for a new league to play in....

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OW should be on the phone with Hartford Athletic (USL) about a hook up. Otherwise OW will be looking for a new league to play in....

too late, signed deal done with FSA

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OW should be on the phone with Hartford Athletic (USL) about a hook up. Otherwise OW will be looking for a new league to play in....

Who is going to fund who here with what money? There is no benefit to either side. Does Hartford Athletic gain rights to all of OW players if they pony up? What would OW get out of the deal, other than being associated with a very low-level pro franchise (that has not been terribly successful in their inaugural season)? Rick and Dave would love to work for someone else and not be the head honchos!! Please think before you throw out stupid associations and explain what each side would get out of this?

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Who is going to fund who here with what money? There is no benefit to either side. Does Hartford Athletic gain rights to all of OW players if they pony up? What would OW get out of the deal, other than being associated with a very low-level pro franchise (that has not been terribly successful in their inaugural season)? Rick and Dave would love to work for someone else and not be the head honchos!! Please think before you throw out stupid associations and explain what each side would get out of this?

OW: would get to stay in the DA, which would be composed of pro only clubs. Read the comments above for context.

HA: USL is launching an academy league (see recent press releases) and the assumption is that the USL academy will merge with the MLS academies to form an all pro academy system. HA would get a well-oiled academy program by taking in OW. Read the comments above for context.

[Unregistered]

Who is going to fund who here with what money? There is no benefit to either side. Does Hartford Athletic gain rights to all of OW players if they pony up? What would OW get out of the deal, other than being associated with a very low-level pro franchise (that has not been terribly successful in their inaugural season)? Rick and Dave would love to work for someone else and not be the head honchos!! Please think before you throw out stupid associations and explain what each side would get out of this?

Rick and Dave need to be thinking about a succession plan. They are not spring chickens....need a graceful exit.

[Unregistered]

Who is going to fund who here with what money? There is no benefit to either side. Does Hartford Athletic gain rights to all of OW players if they pony up? What would OW get out of the deal, other than being associated with a very low-level pro franchise (that has not been terribly successful in their inaugural season)? Rick and Dave would love to work for someone else and not be the head honchos!! Please think before you throw out stupid associations and explain what each side would get out of this?

In the next few years, maybe even sooner, USL and MLS will link together with USL being the farm league for the majors. MLS will no longer be in DA, leaving clubs like BS and OW looking more like ECNL. USL clubs can then run their own academies as a profit center (it won't be free but probably more affordable than other teams) and to find talent for their own teams. If that player moves up to the A team then the USL club gets a piece of the action.

[Unregistered]

In the next few years, maybe even sooner, USL and MLS will link together with USL being the farm league for the majors. MLS will no longer be in DA, leaving clubs like BS and OW looking more like ECNL. USL clubs can then run their own academies as a profit center (it won't be free but probably more affordable than other teams) and to find talent for their own teams. If that player moves up to the A team then the USL club gets a piece of the action.

Well summarized.

Many TS readers/posters and club owners are stuck in the moment. The youth soccer landscape is constantly shifting and clubs need to be looking at future scenarios and plan accordingly.

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Well summarized.

Many TS readers/posters and club owners are stuck in the moment. The youth soccer landscape is constantly shifting and clubs need to be looking at future scenarios and plan accordingly.

So do parents - part of it I get because all the changes have become tiring. But I always recommend a landscape review every early spring. Don't get caught unaware if your team or club or league blows up. It happens often and you can be left scrambling to find other options. Always have a backup.

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So do parents - part of it I get because all the changes have become tiring. But I always recommend a landscape review every early spring. Don't get caught unaware if your team or club or league blows up. It happens often and you can be left scrambling to find other options. Always have a backup.

having gone through it with a team imploding, I agree with OP. The signs of trouble are usually pretty clearly there even as early as late Fall, so don't ignore them.

[Unregistered]

In the next few years, maybe even sooner, USL and MLS will link together with USL being the farm league for the majors. MLS will no longer be in DA, leaving clubs like BS and OW looking more like ECNL. USL clubs can then run their own academies as a profit center (it won't be free but probably more affordable than other teams) and to find talent for their own teams. If that player moves up to the A team then the USL club gets a piece of the action.

A minor league to a minor league .... still not sure how this will work. You seem to think a merger of equals .... HA! MLS couldn't care less (this is all tremendously wishful thinking on the part of non-MLS academy clubs and USL). USL academy league will be second tier as they are this coming year ..... they will not get solidarity payments for the one guy that makes it to MLS. Again, merge together whomever you want .... they are rats fighting over very few, rotten scraps ..... and the hierarchy of the rats is still pretty clear. If any of these groups get into bed together, it is clear who is the side getting bent over.

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A minor league to a minor league .... still not sure how this will work. You seem to think a merger of equals .... HA! MLS couldn't care less (this is all tremendously wishful thinking on the part of non-MLS academy clubs and USL). USL academy league will be second tier as they are this coming year ..... they will not get solidarity payments for the one guy that makes it to MLS. Again, merge together whomever you want .... they are rats fighting over very few, rotten scraps ..... and the hierarchy of the rats is still pretty clear. If any of these groups get into bed together, it is clear who is the side getting bent over.

No one said it was a merger of equals. It's A and B leagues. MLS teams don't want to be in the DA, but they need more depth for player identification and development.

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No one said it was a merger of equals. It's A and B leagues. MLS teams don't want to be in the DA, but they need more depth for player identification and development.

They need a place to cherry pick replacements .... the problem for the B teams is that they will not be compensated for losing their top players. It is a model that simply can not work for long. A is implicitly strong than B .... then A takes the absolute top players from B and makes them even weaker to the point that A will not want to play them (kind of how DA works now). Players will stop going to the B teams from the outside when they have teams that can compete with them. Sorry, USL has no money to fund anything for free or even discounted. This can not work for long and it wont.

[Unregistered]

In the next few years, maybe even sooner, USL and MLS will link together with USL being the farm league for the majors. MLS will no longer be in DA, leaving clubs like BS and OW looking more like ECNL. USL clubs can then run their own academies as a profit center (it won't be free but probably more affordable than other teams) and to find talent for their own teams. If that player moves up to the A team then the USL club gets a piece of the action.

They are already linked up.

Red Bulls 2, Atlanta United 2......several MLS franchises have teams playing in the USL.

[Unregistered]

They need a place to cherry pick replacements .... the problem for the B teams is that they will not be compensated for losing their top players. It is a model that simply can not work for long. A is implicitly strong than B .... then A takes the absolute top players from B and makes them even weaker to the point that A will not want to play them (kind of how DA works now). Players will stop going to the B teams from the outside when they have teams that can compete with them. Sorry, USL has no money to fund anything for free or even discounted. This can not work for long and it wont.

Solidarity payments are coming. MLS needs a pyramid. They will look to minor league baseball. These minor league teams receive compensation from the Major league teams due to their affiliations.

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Solidarity payments are coming. MLS needs a pyramid. They will look to minor league baseball. These minor league teams receive compensation from the Major league teams due to their affiliations.

winner winner chicken dinner. changes are coming. as noted above, some clubs already have agreements but it will become the norm soon enough.