2011 Boys

[Guest]

PDA will be be below their reputation level next year. It's when it all changes because the talent goes to them and every MLS Next club. Kudos to FA as a club team and players for staying together that long but with out a doubt the best ones will be leaving with in the next year or two to a MLS Next Club/RB or Philly U.
I think MLS next is the best league to play in if your child is getting playing time. If he's on the bench more than on the field I don't think he should stay there. But players will be playing against the highest level next year and that's where you want to be if you're good enough, it's plain and simple. If you're not it's fine too everyones path is different and doesn't mean you can't do anything that someone in MLS next will do.

On another note, my son may not be good enough for MLS Next because we have yet to get an offer. I keep reading that PDA gave offers and CSA Newark? Is this true? CSA Monmouth gave me an offer but the level of kids that tried out was worrying honestly so I don't consider that an MLS next club YET. They will get ran through next year and I hope they prove me wrong.

CSA Bergen offers are out as well, at least for E64 and MLS Next

[Guest]

Ignorant haters are going to hate... The positive side is they can play in Jeff cup again next year, while the MLS teams will play there league games and watch the videos of other kids playing twice as many games.

I just wish the FA defenders also stopped acting so ignorant. USYS league, where FA plays at u13, plays maybe 8 games X 2 seasons = 16. FA does play many tournaments. Probably 20 games in those, possibly more. MLSN Plays 24 league games. They typically play 15-20 MLSN friendlies as well as MLSN events. There really isn't a difference in the number of games. Some of the MLSN teams also train 4x a week vs 3x.

Once teams hit 11v11 and go into their respective leagues, FA loses the advantage of playing multiple top flight leagues simultaneously every season like EDP/USYS/ACELA. It doesn't stop them from being great teams u13 and below, but they will be limited until they gain membership to a real league. If they keep their strong teams as they get older and eventually make USYS regional and nationals, they should gain that in another 2-4 years. I think everyone agrees it will happen eventually. Then we can just hate on each other for normal reasons.

[Guest]

I just wish the FA defenders also stopped acting so ignorant. USYS league, where FA plays at u13, plays maybe 8 games X 2 seasons = 16. FA does play many tournaments. Probably 20 games in those, possibly more. MLSN Plays 24 league games. They typically play 15-20 MLSN friendlies as well as MLSN events. There really isn't a difference in the number of games. Some of the MLSN teams also train 4x a week vs 3x.

Once teams hit 11v11 and go into their respective leagues, FA loses the advantage of playing multiple top flight leagues simultaneously every season like EDP/USYS/ACELA. It doesn't stop them from being great teams u13 and below, but they will be limited until they gain membership to a real league. If they keep their strong teams as they get older and eventually make USYS regional and nationals, they should gain that in another 2-4 years. I think everyone agrees it will happen eventually. Then we can just hate on each other for normal reasons.

Are you making this stuff up? My son plays MLS Next. They will play 26 total league games. They have played 10 games in tournaments on top of the league schedule. I think think they have played 5 friendlies total. 41 games in total is a fair amount of high quality games.

take the 2010 FA team as an example. USYS Mid Atlantic has 10 teams. 9 games a season for the spring. In the Fall they played 8. That’s 17 games. The 2010 FA team has played 25 games so far this year over 7 tournaments. Not sure if they have more or not, but I bet they have more. Add in up to 5 more state cup games in the Fall. If they also played 5 friendlies that brings their total up to 52 games for FA vs 41 for MLS Next Clubs. A difference of 11. If they play in another tournament or 2 that could be 14-18 more games in a year.

you can argue the quality of competition and all the other factors till you are blue in the face, but use facts.

[Guest]

Are you making this stuff up? My son plays MLS Next. They will play 26 total league games. They have played 10 games in tournaments on top of the league schedule. I think think they have played 5 friendlies total. 41 games in total is a fair amount of high quality games.

take the 2010 FA team as an example. USYS Mid Atlantic has 10 teams. 9 games a season for the spring. In the Fall they played 8. That’s 17 games. The 2010 FA team has played 25 games so far this year over 7 tournaments. Not sure if they have more or not, but I bet they have more. Add in up to 5 more state cup games in the Fall. If they also played 5 friendlies that brings their total up to 52 games for FA vs 41 for MLS Next Clubs. A difference of 11. If they play in another tournament or 2 that could be 14-18 more games in a year.

you can argue the quality of competition and all the other factors till you are blue in the face, but use facts.

Just sharing info.... My son plays MLSN. 24 league games. They will play about 15 games in tournaments and MLSN Flex event. Easily they have played 10 friendlies so far this year, but thats conservative. Its about 50 games plus they train 4x a week during fall and spring. We have friends at all the MLSN clubs in NJ and some play a little less. We also have friends at FA and they seem to play about the same number of games. 50 games of 11v11 is a lot and It seems that FA does a nice job keeping up with the number of games through tournaments. The level of play seems about equal relatively speaking between FA and MLSN teams.

[Guest]

Have fun driving 6 hours round trip so your kid can play 30 mins. MLS Next is the best ...

[Guest]

Have fun driving 6 hours round trip so your kid can play 30 mins. MLS Next is the best ...

Genuine question to these parents: aside from the clearly top top players, is the reason to be on the PDAs/Mlsnext teams bc you are striving for D1/pro? If you aren't a starter on one of these teams, what are the chances to make it that far? Isn't all the training time etc so your kid can play games? I'm just scratching my head bc I just don't understand why ppl are satisfied with minimal game time at 11 years old...isn't the whole point to play soccer? Im not trying to be snarky I'm trying to understand

[Guest]

FA will bring on average players at best to fill in the 11 v 11 roster. It’s will be B team kids from other programs who’s parents think they should be on an A team.

They will struggle to compete. That’s why they were spreading rumors about joining MLS.

Although I don’t think they will be irrelevant, I think the clock will strike midnight next year and it back to reality. Jeff Cup was just the beginning of the end.

Yes, Jeff cup was definitely an interesting result but has anyone mentioned that FA 2011s just beat Philly Union 4-2 in an Acela league game? That makes it 3 times in a row that they beat Philly Union.

[Guest]

Yes, Jeff cup was definitely an interesting result but has anyone mentioned that FA 2011s just beat Philly Union 4-2 in an Acela league game? That makes it 3 times in a row that they beat Philly Union.

So what you’re saying is that there were no tears after that game b/c they won?

[Guest]

So what you’re saying is that there were no tears after that game b/c they won?

Anyone notice how the FA team is held to the high standard that they have to win every single game and tournament but other teams are not. These kids are only 11 years old. No team is perfect.

[Guest]

Genuine question to these parents: aside from the clearly top top players, is the reason to be on the PDAs/Mlsnext teams bc you are striving for D1/pro? If you aren't a starter on one of these teams, what are the chances to make it that far? Isn't all the training time etc so your kid can play games? I'm just scratching my head bc I just don't understand why ppl are satisfied with minimal game time at 11 years old...isn't the whole point to play soccer? Im not trying to be snarky I'm trying to understand

It's a great question and it all comes down to what kind of kid you have honestly.
And as a parent you have to put your son in the best position to succeed and that looks different for every kid. Some kids strive off making an MLS next team and not starting ( as in a motivation to work on their game and work hard) some kids don't, it can make their moral or self esteem down... it's that simple.
At the end of the day each of our kids as of right now want to play college ball whether it's D3 or D1. It's not an easy task at all but as parents we support them. I don't think anyone would join this forum or even care if their son as of right now doesn't want to play college ball so you put them in a league or club that will help them get there while knowing how your child is. I have 2 boys 2 years apart and they are completely different and excel in different enviorments.

Some will agree or disagree, but this forum should help each parent guide their kid to picking right league and ect. For instance this whole FA issue. I have personally never seen them play but on paper and stats they are clearly a good team. Some of those players will excel stay put where they are playing majority of the game and even be better than MLS Next kids. Just like some FA players would excel and benefit playing in an MLS Next where maybe they don't shine as much and could use that motivation to be even better. I don't think anyone is bashing FA and if you are get away from this forum ( do yourself and everyone a favor) I think some parents including myself find it odd ( not in a bad or a good way) that a team like FA stays together and not even some of the core players haven't decided to go to a RB or a Union where they can easily make the team and will have to work harder and a change of atmosphere which is all life learning lessons. But like I said everyone knows their kids and is doing it to put them in a better position to where they want to get so I respect it.


SOO much changes on a 11 v 11 field, everyone who played can relate and understand so next year will also be a big year for the boys. My husband and I played college soccer and we both had different paths getting there. Just my input as a soccer mom!

[Guest]

It's a great question and it all comes down to what kind of kid you have honestly.
And as a parent you have to put your son in the best position to succeed and that looks different for every kid. Some kids strive off making an MLS next team and not starting ( as in a motivation to work on their game and work hard) some kids don't, it can make their moral or self esteem down... it's that simple.
At the end of the day each of our kids as of right now want to play college ball whether it's D3 or D1. It's not an easy task at all but as parents we support them. I don't think anyone would join this forum or even care if their son as of right now doesn't want to play college ball so you put them in a league or club that will help them get there while knowing how your child is. I have 2 boys 2 years apart and they are completely different and excel in different enviorments.

Some will agree or disagree, but this forum should help each parent guide their kid to picking right league and ect. For instance this whole FA issue. I have personally never seen them play but on paper and stats they are clearly a good team. Some of those players will excel stay put where they are playing majority of the game and even be better than MLS Next kids. Just like some FA players would excel and benefit playing in an MLS Next where maybe they don't shine as much and could use that motivation to be even better. I don't think anyone is bashing FA and if you are get away from this forum ( do yourself and everyone a favor) I think some parents including myself find it odd ( not in a bad or a good way) that a team like FA stays together and not even some of the core players haven't decided to go to a RB or a Union where they can easily make the team and will have to work harder and a change of atmosphere which is all life learning lessons. But like I said everyone knows their kids and is doing it to put them in a better position to where they want to get so I respect it.


SOO much changes on a 11 v 11 field, everyone who played can relate and understand so next year will also be a big year for the boys. My husband and I played college soccer and we both had different paths getting there. Just my input as a soccer mom!

Great post! My son plays MLSN and is a 2010. We did not start at his current club. He started out in town rec, then town travel when he was 5-8 years old. Then he went to one of the big 3 letter clubs on a B team, then worked his way to the A team over a few years and then we moved to our current MLSN club. Our son was always part of the decision, we would never have made a move if he wasn't in agreement (present him options, let him decide). MLSN didn't exist pre-covid so I can't say it was always the goal. We have never felt we were chasing the badges, but rather the level of competition combined with coaching and the quality of teammates. We have always made it clear to our son that if he wasn't happy or didn't like the amount of travelling, the sacrifices of personal time, etc... we could change gears whether that meant another sport or even a less competitive team. The only requirement we ever made to any of our kids is that they remain active. He loves soccer and excels at being challenged so we support that.

I'll preface to provide perspective that son starts and/or plays a lot... currently. This was not always the case and may not be the case sometime in the next year. he worked and pushed himself to get there, but he has also steadily grown in height/weight over the year. MLSN do have larger rosters than other leagues. I agree its important to play, so it depends on your child and how they react to challenges. I have seen during this current 2022-2023 year, that kids that work hard AND develop will see more minutes while those that don't work as hard will see less minutes. I make an intentional distinction here of AND develop. Unfortunately just working hard will not mean you play more or play at all. I have seen great kids, work extremely hard but just not develop as fast as others and often see the gap increase no matter what they do. The hope is that they do hit the growth spurt or something else clicks, but a few will be demoted or leave for a different opportunity.

As for doing this to play Div 1? I don't think playing MLSN vs ECNL vs USYS vs High School dictates what happens in 5-6 years. Each of our kids is different. There is no set "pathway to pro" or anything like that in my opinion.

[Guest]

Wow some big clubs got frozen out from the new NAL league. Is it just for mls next teams or can you be in ecnl and this new league.

Very interesting to see how it matches up with ECNL. Clubs like STA have their whole program based off ECNL success. Can they become part of this new league? Did FA at least try to join? If so and they are not allowed in, is that the final straw to have parents jump to a new team just in time for tryouts?

[Guest]

Wow some big clubs got frozen out from the new NAL league. Is it just for mls next teams or can you be in ecnl and this new league.

Very interesting to see how it matches up with ECNL. Clubs like STA have their whole program based off ECNL success. Can they become part of this new league? Did FA at least try to join? If so and they are not allowed in, is that the final straw to have parents jump to a new team just in time for tryouts?

Pretty sure its just for current MLS Next clubs for their b teams, a MLS Next II. A lot of the northern mls next teams play in the North East Academy League which folds in to this now. My understanding is that MLS Next clubs that currently also have ecnl like pda, fc delco and sporting delaware will be leaving ecnl (Per mls next forcing them) on the boys side and this new league will be their b team. This will create opportunities for new clubs to join ecnl. Maybe FA can apply there.

[Guest]

Pretty sure its just for current MLS Next clubs for their b teams, a MLS Next II. A lot of the northern mls next teams play in the North East Academy League which folds in to this now. My understanding is that MLS Next clubs that currently also have ecnl like pda, fc delco and sporting delaware will be leaving ecnl (Per mls next forcing them) on the boys side and this new league will be their b team. This will create opportunities for new clubs to join ecnl. Maybe FA can apply there.

Another new league???!!! You gotta be kidding me!

[Guest]

Another new league???!!! You gotta be kidding me!

Another league Fa can't join lolololol