# Mexican/Latin Leagues



## dafutbol (Dec 14, 2018)

What do people think about the local Mexican/Latin leagues?

Good?  

I have heard about some in the LA and OC area.

Can anyone suggest a good league?


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## Sheriff Joe (Dec 14, 2018)

dafutbol said:


> What do people think about the local Mexican/Latin leagues?
> 
> Good?
> 
> ...


No.


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## Nagini (Dec 14, 2018)

dafutbol said:


> What do people think about the local Mexican/Latin leagues?
> 
> Good?
> 
> ...


You'll likely get a lot of responses in the negative. The reason is that these leagues are often a little less organized than what we are used to and the rules at followed Lucy goosey.  You'll see children who are clearly a year or two older, but no body will question them more.  The fields aren't always the best kept and side line coaching is a norm. 

All that said, there is talent at these leagues. Many of the families cannot afford or are not familiar with club soccer and they take their kids to these leagues.  There are coaches that take their teams to these leagues during the off season to challenge their own teams and even look for new players.  I think the playing style in is more like street soccer. 

I have only seen the Mexican league in the Escondido area, but they have great talent on lots of those teams.


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## jpeter (Dec 14, 2018)

Not just a Latin league anymore but for OC the PSSLU winter league  is normally good 

https://events.gotsport.com/forms/app/Default.aspx?eventid=70006


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## ferbert (Dec 14, 2018)

dafutbol said:


> What do people think about the local Mexican/Latin leagues?
> 
> Good?
> 
> ...


Vast quantity of skilled players in DA LA. Started at these leagues. They are good as introduction for the soccer environment. Lot of raw talent. Like a street soccer on big fields. Highly recommend this experience for a short term, too much fun in everygame, lot of soocer passion. 
Enjoy your experience. 
FYI: Be careful calling them "Mexican leagues" lot of sensitive Euro/Americans at these forums.


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## 66 GTO (Dec 14, 2018)

highly recommend Playing Mexican league 
Yes is more than a bit disorganized,Fields can be crappy(sometimes) some teams may down play kids (which also happens in club soccer )There is alot of talent in these mexican leagues that comes out of them. Players learn to be more physical, also they tend to get loose without the robotic coaching. My kids started there and are now playing DA and I know a vast amount of players that have gone to play top level soccer out of these UN organized Mexican leagues


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## Not_that_Serious (Dec 14, 2018)

Latin leagues are fine but get crazy at older ages due to testosterone and parents who hype the kids up with crazy yelling. Many of the good players I know still play in Sunday leagues. Some of the families try to bring that environment over to club environment- if it’s allow to slide too long things can get out of hand. These leagues are probably the best to develop lils. Rec is terrible. Thin San Juan Cap has a decent sized league that plays in south oc


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## Not_that_Serious (Dec 14, 2018)

Boy typo master in previous post. Most teams, as mentioned, are created loosely. Usually friends and word of mouth - teams often change weekly. At younger ages it’s more stable as kids aren’t doing club. 

http://missionfutbol.com/programacion/


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## SoccerFan4Life (Dec 14, 2018)

jpeter said:


> Not just a Latin league anymore but for OC the PSSLU winter league  is normally good
> 
> https://events.gotsport.com/forms/app/Default.aspx?eventid=70006


Psslu is a great league for teams that want some strong competition.  It does get ugly once they hit 14 years but this league is better than playing all those random tournaments  over the summer.


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## espola (Dec 14, 2018)

I have watched a few games in the adult teams.  They are fierce and entertaining, as long as you don't really care who wins.


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## coachrefparent (Dec 14, 2018)

espola said:


> I have watched a few games in the adult teams.  They are fierce and entertaining, as long as you don't really care who wins.


If you don't care who wins, you are not at such a league. 

Winning is not everything, it's the only thing.


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## Josep (Dec 14, 2018)

Santa Ana has some leagues for youth.  Mix of boys and girls.  I think it’s $25 for the season plus ref fees.


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## espola (Dec 14, 2018)

coachrefparent said:


> If you don't care who wins, you are not at such a league.
> 
> Winning is not everything, it's the only thing.


It is obvious the player care.  I was referring to a spectator viewpoint.


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## StrikerOC (Dec 15, 2018)

Not_that_Serious said:


> Latin leagues are fine but get crazy at older ages due to testosterone and parents who hype the kids up with crazy yelling. Many of the good players I know still play in Sunday leagues. Some of the families try to bring that environment over to club environment- if it’s allow to slide too long things can get out of hand. These leagues are probably the best to develop lils. Rec is terrible. Thin San Juan Cap has a decent sized league that plays in south oc


We had a kid from on our team come from the San Juan Cap league and he is a really talented player. He was a "bull in china shop" when he first got to our team but the coaches have worked with him and now he is a goal scoring machine as our striker.


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## Kante (Dec 15, 2018)

would recommend it. the teams have a good sense of family, better than the clubs, and take the new kids, as long they can play, under their wing. relative to club, it's going to be more physical but also more creative. 

if possible, find a league where they play on decent fields, or at least close to full size fields. also, emphasize to your player that they need to keep working on good technical/tactical habits, eg, checking shoulders, so they don't lose those good habits


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## MWN (Dec 15, 2018)

Positives: Some good soccer, played by passionate kids, creativity on the field and inexpensive.
Negatives: Many families live for the games, its the highlight of their week.  Super passionate sidelines that get out of hand.  Leagues operate outside formal US Soccer structure ... inadequate to no insurance for all participants (referees, coaches, players, etc.)


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## espola (Dec 15, 2018)

MWN said:


> ...  Leagues operate outside formal US Soccer structure...


That's not necessarily a bad thing.


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## timbuck (Dec 15, 2018)

Saw this on Twitter the other day:

“My observation after playing, coaching, refereeing, and watching for 20+ years:


I can't remember a time from my childhood, or as a boys soccer coach and referee when a Hispanic player wasn't the best player on the field.”



Thinking back to games I’ve seen where there is a Hispanic player on the field-  I don’t think he’s wrong.


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## jpeter (Dec 15, 2018)

MWN said:


> Positives: Some good soccer, played by passionate kids, creativity on the field and inexpensive.
> Negatives: Many families live for the games, its the highlight of their week.  Super passionate sidelines that get out of hand.  Leagues operate outside formal US Soccer structure ... inadequate to no insurance for all participants (referees, coaches, players, etc.)


Your results may vary but the one I posted about is acutally a cal south league and is covered for insurance purposes and others like HPFL (see below) are also.
https://events.gotsport.com/forms/app/Default.aspx?EventID=71160.   

Most of these don't go beyond u14-15 as noted due to several reasons. 

Timbuck.. have you seen these types of games/leagues?  there are a variety of players from all different backgrounds & nationality and I've seen plenty of players of the game from different nationalities, just saying.


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## coachrefparent (Dec 15, 2018)

espola said:


> It is obvious the player care.  I was referring to a spectator viewpoint.


So was I. It's like the parent/family/friends' NFL+MLB+NBA+PREMIER LEAGUE+LA LIGA. See MWN's post (#16) above.  The players primarily engage in individual play, and have fun.


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## javiecua03 (Dec 16, 2018)

Yes they are organized some are not ,that why you do your homework before plays in one.  It’s better than a ref league or Ayso where they get babied. Kids actually enjoy theyselfs , built good skills develop a bit faster due tend to pick bad habits. But hey I send some southbay clubs play in league of these and get their butt handed to them.


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## ChrisD (Dec 17, 2018)

My son enjoys it, but as hes getting older, its about the balance of "how much soccer is too much soccer" so I opted him out this year (he still plays a few pick up games in San Juan and Anaheim here and there)
*Its fun BUT you get what you pay for , $35 a yr vs $3500 a yr--  *

Everyone there loves the game
Family environment
Refs let the games go , not many fouls get called.
Age's are all over the place-Co ED too.
Ive had more than a handful of teams just never show up with no notice.
no practice's .
I recommend it.


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## espola (Dec 17, 2018)

ChrisD said:


> My son enjoys it, but as hes getting older, its about the balance of "how much soccer is too much soccer" so I opted him out this year (he still plays a few pick up games in San Juan and Anaheim here and there)
> *Its fun BUT you get what you pay for , $35 a yr vs $3500 a yr--  *
> 
> Everyone there loves the game
> ...


For a couple of years, I played adult pickup every Sunday at 8AM.  We played with no set teams, just half of whoever showed up on each side, with "trades" if one side was clearly ahead of the other.


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## Soccermom4 (Dec 17, 2018)

I can't believe I hadn't seen this thread. My kids played in these leagues a lot before going to any club.  I'll come back tonight and post a response.  (posting so I don't forget)


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## dafutbol (Dec 19, 2018)

Thanks for the replies.


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## BVB09 (Dec 20, 2018)

dafutbol said:


> What do people think about the local Mexican/Latin leagues?
> 
> Good?
> 
> ...


My gringito  has played club while playing for 2 Mexican league teams over the past 4 years.  This has been huge for his development and he is at a really high level right now with many accomplishments under his belt. 

His north Orange County league team is filled with ballers he met while playing for TFA. These are kids with huge passion for the game and come from everywhere to play. Pumas, Anaheim FC , TFA, AC Brea, Legends, Irvine Strikers are all together on one team. It’s like a traveling rock star show. There are academy kids out there too who aren’t technically supposed to play but do so when they can fit it in. 

Anyway, my take aways are: tons of  time playing and getting touches on the ball. These teams always play and since my son plays for u14 and u12 teams in Saturday , Sunday and Friday leagues, the number of games one can get is crazy! He sometimes has 7 or 8 games a week when you add in the occasional club game. Yes it’s overkill for many, but you can tweak it to what you need. My son is a freak for playing and training he loves it and the Mexican leagues keep him sane because he can always play. 

Club can’t offer so much time on the ball. These guys practice constantly and don’t take the usual breaks that club does. Plus there’s the value and bang for the buck factor. For about 40 bucks a month to cover refs and training your child can up his or her game big time. Compared to the thousands of dollars demanded by clubs this is an amazing bargain. 

The skills learned in the Mexican league aren’t something practiced by most club teams. LA Galalaxy and LAFC have already pulled 7 players from this one age group I’ve been watching.  In general they overlap, they step over the ball better,  they play with their heads up and look for the channels better. Of course this varies from team to team but the top teams in these leagues always have flair and passion that isn’t seen as much at club where a bunch of non ballers can infiltrate because their parents can pay the fees. There are some really bad teams as well but as players get better they tend to migrate to the better ones. 

It isn’t all perfect: there are some really belligerent parents and coaches ( not many though) but club has the same problems. 

What I truly admire about the Mexican leagues is the dedication of some of the coaches. My son has played for academy, many excellent flight 1 teams, and his school. The fact is that he has a couple of coaches in Anaheim and Buena Park Mexican leagues that are flat out better coaches and soccer minds and who are hugely passionate about moving their best players along for a chance to play in college one day. These coaches talk to the boys about becoming better players, people and students.  It’s an urgency that isn’t needed for many club kids but it’s an edge that has hugely benefitted my son.  

Well that’s a long sprawling post but the gist of it is that I’m incredibly grateful that some of my son’s buddies and parents from early club days invited the gringo out because it has brought him to a higher level and toughened  him up playing against kids who sometimes are 2-3 years older. It also helped his skill level explode.  I’d recommend that all club players who are serious find at least a Sunday league team to enhance their skills and soccer IQ... and get more touches. 

The North Orange County league is in Anaheim and you can get the info over at Pla sports in Anaheim on Harbor. The other one  we’re in is called the Buena Park league I think? I don’t know if they have any social media or websites. They are kind of more word of mouth it seems. I know that the Orozco family is involved in another one as well - maybe Stanton?
 Research it and check it out. The uniforms aren’t as fancy ( usually just a pro team knock off)  and the kids won’t get backpacks but there is a lot of quality to be found.  Plus you’ll meet some wonderful people and characters!


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