Out of Control vs. Opportunity

[Unregistered]

As I have read some of the threads on TS it has become apparent that youth soccer in this country is growing like wildfire with DOC's, Clubs, League officials, National Councils....etc etc all trying to expand in different directions.

I am not sure if this is out-of-control expansion or increased opportunity for youths to play soccer and be seen. Without including all the individually club/business-sponsored tournaments that are out there, the following is a quick list of leagues that Massachusetts teams/players have an opportunity to play in.

For Massachusetts boys there are a multitude of leagues within the state

In-Town Leagues
Mass Youth Soccer Association lists 12 leagues within the state
http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/default.aspx#
.....which then also lists the
Presidents cup
http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/tournam...dents_cup.aspx
....and Kohls America Cup.....which I have no idea what this one is...
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/america...ring_Schedule/

For select teams there are a number of other options outside of the state:
National Premier leagues:
http://www.nationalpremierleagues.com/Leagues/
New England Premier leagues:
http://www.nationalpremierleagues.com/NEPL/index_E.html
Northeast Premier leagues
http://www.nationalpremierleagues.co...L/index_E.html
Region 1 Competition with the US Youth Soccer
Development Academy: US Soccer
http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/Develo...y/Academy.aspx

and....there is the National League (but Mass teams do not appear part of this one)
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/national_league/

Oh.....and then for select players, there is the Olympic Development Program
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/program...opmentProgram/

Have I missed any??
How much is all of this adding to the training of soccer players, or should parents just sit back and find a local coach running a decent team in a competitive league.....and shell out a mere 1500 to 3000 dollars just to play locally???

[Unregistered]

Awesome ... more NEP propaganda. It must be so disappointing to start a league that you think will be "premier" to find out that for the most part it is significantly worse than the league you left. What else could explain your constant attempts to elevate NEP on this board. Seriously, just give it a rest. No one cares anymore.

As to the over-saturation issue, this is just big club BS. There is a demand by parents to join clubs. So if small clubs weren't around, than Stars, MPS, NEFC, etc... would have 7 or 8 teams per age group. The playing field would not be any different. The only difference is that big clubs would get all the money. And please don't talk to us about the training being better at big clubs. The coaching that big clubs give most 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams right now is terrible because to big clubs these kids are pure revenue.

P.S. - don't reply that you were just asking an innocent question. If, as you claim, you've read posts on this board than you would not accidentally leave out ECNL, Maple or even MASC from your silly set of lists.

[Not the OP]

Awesome ... more NEP propaganda. It must be so disappointing to start a league that you think will be "premier" to find out that for the most part it is significantly worse than the league you left. What else could explain your constant attempts to elevate NEP on this board. Seriously, just give it a rest. No one cares anymore.

As to the over-saturation issue, this is just big club BS. There is a demand by parents to join clubs. So if small clubs weren't around, than Stars, MPS, NEFC, etc... would have 7 or 8 teams per age group. The playing field would not be any different. The only difference is that big clubs would get all the money. And please don't talk to us about the training being better at big clubs. The coaching that big clubs give most 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams right now is terrible because to big clubs these kids are pure revenue.

P.S. - don't reply that you were just asking an innocent question. If, as you claim, you've read posts on this board than you would not accidentally leave out ECNL, Maple or even MASC from your silly set of lists.

Why so angry? Why can't you be civil? If you think the OP is trolling, then just ignore it. As you say "Seriously, just give it a rest"!!!

[Unregistered]

Why so angry? Why can't you be civil? If you think the OP is trolling, then just ignore it. As you say "Seriously, just give it a rest"!!!

Angry because these types of posts are a daily occurance by the NEP crowd in almost every thread on this board. I ignored it for a long time, but enough is enough. It would be nice to just read a conversation about youth soccer that didn't digress into my league is better than your league...

[Unregistered]

Angry because these types of posts are a daily occurance by the NEP crowd in almost every thread on this board. I ignored it for a long time, but enough is enough. It would be nice to just read a conversation about youth soccer that didn't digress into my league is better than your league...

I forgot to add, what really bothered me about this post is the elevation of NEP and its related leagues is hidden in a post that asks a BS question.

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=Unregistered;840738]As I have read some of the threads on TS it has become apparent that youth soccer in this country is growing like wildfire with DOC's, Clubs, League officials, National Councils....etc etc all trying to expand in different directions.

I am not sure if this is out-of-control expansion or increased opportunity for youths to play soccer and be seen. QUOTE]

Out-of-control expansion is a figment of your imagination. See the facts as outlined in a recent article on Demosphere blog:

http://www.demosphere.com/demosphere...declining.html

Soccer is losing numbers, speculation says to the rapid growth of lacrosse. Your premise doesn't hold water.

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=Unregistered;840819]

As I have read some of the threads on TS it has become apparent that youth soccer in this country is growing like wildfire with DOC's, Clubs, League officials, National Councils....etc etc all trying to expand in different directions.

I am not sure if this is out-of-control expansion or increased opportunity for youths to play soccer and be seen. QUOTE]

Out-of-control expansion is a figment of your imagination. See the facts as outlined in a recent article on Demosphere blog:

http://www.demosphere.com/demosphere...declining.html

Soccer is losing numbers, speculation says to the rapid growth of lacrosse. Your premise doesn't hold water.

Plus I have witnessed over half of the kids are dropping soccer for other girl sports like Field Hockey. So reality is Soccer is growing but to what extend is the talent. If mid tier player realizes they are not going to remain competitve and move to another sport then that leaves a opening a player before might not of been able to get.

I'm at least seeing this at the U13 and up levels.

[Unregistered]

Awesome ... more NEP propaganda. It must be so disappointing to start a league that you think will be "premier" to find out that for the most part it is significantly worse than the league you left. What else could explain your constant attempts to elevate NEP on this board. Seriously, just give it a rest. No one cares anymore.

As to the over-saturation issue, this is just big club BS. There is a demand by parents to join clubs. So if small clubs weren't around, than Stars, MPS, NEFC, etc... would have 7 or 8 teams per age group. The playing field would not be any different. The only difference is that big clubs would get all the money. And please don't talk to us about the training being better at big clubs. The coaching that big clubs give most 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams right now is terrible because to big clubs these kids are pure revenue.

P.S. - don't reply that you were just asking an innocent question. If, as you claim, you've read posts on this board than you would not accidentally leave out ECNL, Maple or even MASC from your silly set of lists.

You are a dingbat. How in anyway is the OP boasting about the NEP. The OP essentially lists all the leagues that Massachusetts are involved in including Region 1 which is open to any of the leagues in Mass that participate in the State Cup or Region 1 play.

The OP is not even asking which league is better. The question is whether or not this is overload.

[Unregistered]

You are a dingbat. How in anyway is the OP boasting about the NEP. The OP essentially lists all the leagues that Massachusetts are involved in including Region 1 which is open to any of the leagues in Mass that participate in the State Cup or Region 1 play.

The OP is not even asking which league is better. The question is whether or not this is overload.

Please... stop blowing smoke up our arses. You know exactly why this post is NEP BS and it doesn't need explaining. The OP doesn't "essentially list" all of the leagues in Massachusetts. He selectively lists leagues and just happens when he talks about "select teams" to only highlight those that NEP is involved with and DAP.

[Unregistered]

Please... stop blowing smoke up our arses. You know exactly why this post is NEP BS and it doesn't need explaining. The OP doesn't "essentially list" all of the leagues in Massachusetts. He selectively lists leagues and just happens when he talks about "select teams" to only highlight those that NEP is involved with and DAP.

Sorry fell asleep reading the replies to this post. Obviously someone is sensitive this morning to the Maple vs NEP thing this morning posting on allot of different threads.

[Unregistered]

Please... stop blowing smoke up our arses. You know exactly why this post is NEP BS and it doesn't need explaining. The OP doesn't "essentially list" all of the leagues in Massachusetts. He selectively lists leagues and just happens when he talks about "select teams" to only highlight those that NEP is involved with and DAP.

You need help! You're anger towards NEP has you seeing things that don't exist. Check in now before you go blind!

[Unregistered]

Please... stop blowing smoke up our arses. You know exactly why this post is NEP BS and it doesn't need explaining. The OP doesn't "essentially list" all of the leagues in Massachusetts. He selectively lists leagues and just happens when he talks about "select teams" to only highlight those that NEP is involved with and DAP.

I am the OP and all I was doing was listing all the leagues that Mass Boys teams participate in. If you disagree and have knowledge of other leagues, then please educate me. these were the only ones that I could find.

[Unregistered]

Awesome ... more NEP propaganda. It must be so disappointing to start a league that you think will be "premier" to find out that for the most part it is significantly worse than the league you left. What else could explain your constant attempts to elevate NEP on this board. Seriously, just give it a rest. No one cares anymore.

As to the over-saturation issue, this is just big club BS. There is a demand by parents to join clubs. So if small clubs weren't around, than Stars, MPS, NEFC, etc... would have 7 or 8 teams per age group. The playing field would not be any different. The only difference is that big clubs would get all the money. And please don't talk to us about the training being better at big clubs. The coaching that big clubs give most 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams right now is terrible because to big clubs these kids are pure revenue.

P.S. - don't reply that you were just asking an innocent question. If, as you claim, you've read posts on this board than you would not accidentally leave out ECNL, Maple or even MASC from your silly set of lists.

Great points.