When can GDA players officially tryout for other non GDA teams?
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Technically not until the team's season is officially over. In reality it happens all the time, especially players who have decided to leave or are getting cut. In the case of NYCFC they certainly weren't going to stop players from trying to find other homes. Trying out for another DA team requires approval from both clubs (good luck trying to get your current club to agree) but the prospective club has probably already seen you play in games or can send a scout.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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If MLS pulls out it will definitely become much more difficult for non MLS clubs. Even if you can't play for a MLS club (skill or location) part of the draw of BDA is you still get to play professional clubs. Having the professional affiliation is very appealing, along with the dream for some kids that maybe some day they might make it. Without MLS it's more like any other league but with more restrictions and in many cases similar cost. Giving up HS to play for free with an MLS club is a much easier ask than paying thousands to play for a mediocre non MLS club.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
GDA never had the professional affiliation as a draw. Not only was there was minimal pro team involvement, but there's a minimal pro league for women and there really is little desire for most girls to go pro. A few hope to make the NT, the rest just want to make a decent college team and maybe gets some money for it.Comment
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Yes that is appealing for a lot of kids. Club games get some parents and maybe a sibling that was dragged along. Daytime HS games are pretty spartan but night and weekend games get decent attendance and playoffs get even better. Many DA players would be the studs on their HS team which also is appealing. They're team captains, get their names in the paper. Sure plenty of HS soccer is poor quality. But kids like playing for their schools and playing with their friends. Ultimately you're talking about teenagers who think very differently than adults. 99.5% will never go pro or make the NT and they know it.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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I think this is the point that the adults posting on here don't grasp. The adults can't get past their HS glory, name in the paper, yadda-yadda. Lots of kids don't care about that, but the adults just can't accept that.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Everyone accepts it. Play HS or don't. No one cares other then the ussf and they don't even seem that concerned TBH.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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If your HS team is good, maybe it makes sense that a kid would want to play on the varsity team. You get exposure, it can help to a certain extent with recruitment if you make late round state playoffs, etc. If your HS isn't good and you know the players arent there, then maybe it isn't worth going out of your way to play on that team. There is no one size fits all answer. It all depends on the what the child wants as well as what the situation is with the club and HS teams at that specific point in time.Comment
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School sports are short and sweet. A week of pre season, play the season and that is it unless you are in play offs. It does not go on and on and on. Good or bad the end is always in sight.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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the kids love playing at their home High School stadium in front of all their friends and family and other members of the community. It's awesome trying to beat a neighbor in town who you have a rivalry with. As opposed to Nefc going down and thrashing the New York teams with one kid scoring 10 goals.... That doesn't even happen in high school!Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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I think we can all agree that if development were the #1 objective, then training with good coaches in a club is nearly always going to be better than the training (and overuse) associated with HS soccer.
However, many girls still want to play and be part of their HS team for reasons already stated.
The problem is that GDA, in its current form, has not created the critical mass of talent or club options that warrants giving up school sports for many. There are many kids playing in ECNL or other leagues that might have considered GDA if it was truly well executed. But the reality for many of us in NY-metro is that we don't have great choices:
- Coaches are not always great
- Facilities are not always great (or practically non-existent in the case of Fury/Albertson)
- Competition in the league is weak
- Teams often lack depth within player pool
- Some of the better players in GDA are still playing High School through the loophole of joining post-season which defeats the purpose and creates tension among teams
It's been said many times before, but GDA should have been much smaller and thus much more elite. If it were truly hard to make a team, then it might have attracted the very talent for which it was designed. But now everything is watered down and GDA appears to be getting worse instead of better. This isn't to say that ECNL is the answer either as that is flawed, but USSF created this mess and I do fault them for not executing it better.Comment
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It is all pay to play on the girls side.
On the boys side, DA players are not charged money so if they want to participate, they follow whatever rules are in place in order to access the free training, travel and competition.
The market of talented girls that want to pay top dollar for the DA is too small for the size of that league. There is a huge difference in the available market of players between pay-to-play soccer and free soccer.Comment
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"Some" kids may feel they need to justify their standing and development by playing in their home HS stadium; not all.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
"Some" kids look at it as playtime, and if they are serious with their development they want to play where that sticks the most. They've befriended those players in other towns and expanded their social circle in the process.Comment
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Agreed, and many of the "serious" players aren't as good as they (or their parents) think too and are quite full of themselves.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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