# 2009 MLS Next



## JabroniBeater805 (Nov 10, 2021)

Figured I would make one of these threads to discuss 09 MLS Next since I didn't see this on the board.

Had a chance to catch the first half of Galaxy vs Santa Barbara this past weekend. Santa Barbara absorbed a lot of the Galaxy attack, stayed organized and their defense was top notch. Galaxy was definitely the superior squad with some special creators.

My local MLS Next squad is VC Fusion. I know they were looking for players a week or two before the season coming out to our local leagues trying to recruit so I'm not sure what's going on but 0-9 with 1 GF and 57 GA....ouch


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## Jar!23 (Nov 10, 2021)

Ouch indeed.  From a parent perspective, no point in playing for the bottom team that is not competitive at all even if it is MLS Next is there?


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## JabroniBeater805 (Nov 10, 2021)

Jar!23 said:


> Ouch indeed.  From a parent perspective, no point in playing for the bottom team that is not competitive at all even if it is MLS Next is there?


Right, when you're getting pummeled every game by all opponents I think that it's hard to find any positive takeaways.


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## Toe poke (Nov 11, 2021)

Jar!23 said:


> Ouch indeed.  From a parent perspective, no point in playing for the bottom team that is not competitive at all even if it is MLS Next is there?


my observation would be slightly different-- 09s= 12 year olds... how about the idea of good/ great coaching and developing players-- soccer at 12 should be all about this. I get the whole MLS Next blah blah blah, there was even a podcast yesterday (Dave Kerr)  with the concept of finding LA talent . VC Fusion U14 &15s seem to be holding their own and having good results.... how about grassroots development and support any 12yo that wants to love the game of futbal the way we love to discuss it...


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## NewUser27 (Nov 11, 2021)

bottom third of standing isn't holding your own bud.


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## Toe poke (Nov 11, 2021)

NewUser27 said:


> bottom third of standing isn't holding your own bud.


so lets give up on our 12yo's and any coach out there willing to put in the work with all the boys.. that's why u18 Brazil will continue to beat our up and coming U20s--


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## watfly (Nov 11, 2021)

Toe poke said:


> so lets give up on our 12yo's and any coach out there willing to put in the work with all the boys.. that's why u18 Brazil will continue to beat our up and coming U20s--


Toe Poke is right, what is happening with a club team at U13, winning or losing, is virtually irrelevant to what that same team will be doing at U15.  Development, player movement and puberty will dramatically impact what happens with that 09 team over time.


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## Dargle (Nov 11, 2021)

watfly said:


> Toe Poke is right, what is happening with a club team at U13, winning or losing, is virtually irrelevant to what that same team will be doing at U15.  Development, player movement and puberty will dramatically impact what happens with that 09 team over time.


From my experience in DA/MLS Next, very few of the players on a team that is 0-9 with 1 goal scored and 57 against will still be around in a couple of years, if they even last that long.  VC is geographically isolated, which slows competition some, but within a few years, as the funnel narrows and parents are willing to drive farther to place or keep their kids in the top league (especially given the waterfall effect of players getting cut from the MLS Academy teams), they'll likely end up replacing players rather than developing.  It's still development in a certain respect (giving a space for top players to congregate and improve speed of play and decision-making by competing with each other), but it only works if they have strong players and it sounds like VC Fusion took who they could get to field a team this year.


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## Jar!23 (Nov 11, 2021)

I agree losing at U13 doesn’t matter but teams should be competitive.  Why not play a different league, give the team time to develop and give them a fighting chance.  Isn’t that why we have different flights and leagues?


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## watfly (Nov 11, 2021)

Dargle said:


> From my experience in DA/MLS Next, very few of the players on a team that is 0-9 with 1 goal scored and 57 against will still be around in a couple of years, if they even last that long.  VC is geographically isolated, which slows competition some, but within a few years, as the funnel narrows and parents are willing to drive farther to place or keep their kids in the top league (especially given the waterfall effect of players getting cut from the MLS Academy teams), they'll likely end up replacing players rather than developing.  It's still development in a certain respect (giving a space for top players to congregate and improve speed of play and decision-making by competing with each other), but it only works if they have strong players and it sounds like VC Fusion took who they could get to field a team this year.


I don't necessarily disagree, but whether a team is 0-9 or 9-0, the roster changes are typically significant but largely unrelated to won-loss record at U13.  Typically though a core of 5-8 players remain at U15 from a U13 team.  Those are the kids being developed.

Many kids burn out by U15 and often choose to play High School soccer or other sports.  Non-MLS Academy teams get kids raided from MLS Academies.  Kids don't live up to their potential or new coaches have different preferences for players.

There will always be parents, or kids, that chase a winning record team, but that typically doesn't turn out well.  Does losing impact motivation 100% and its certainly an obstacle to overcome, and one for the VC team to overcome.  I always recommend that you don't look at the success of team at your age if a younger and look at the success and play of the older MLS or ECNL teams at the club.



Jar!23 said:


> I agree losing at U13 doesn’t matter but teams should be competitive.  Why not play a different league, give the team time to develop and give them a fighting chance.  Isn’t that why we have different flights and leagues?


Don't disagree; however, a team like VC Fusion just can't all of a sudden not field a team in MLS Next.  They have a commitment to field a team or likely lose their club membership in MLS Next.  Not ideal, but that's the reality.


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## NewUser27 (Nov 12, 2021)

I don't disagree with any of the statements above except that one that said they were holding their own.
Alot is going to change , theres prob a big divide between player and parents on that team, one of the teams at the age group mention above had a kid we played 4 different times on four different team in the last 18 month.  Talk about movement, his parent keep moving him around, I mean hes literally been on four different team in a very short time....
I hope their love for the game grows and they all have fun and competitive year ahead, but please dont lie to yourself and think that VC Fusion is competitive in the MLS next league.


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## BIGD (Nov 12, 2021)

There's nothing happening with any of these teams that actually has to do with the club developing players.  Don't be fooled by the club's record of younger or older ages as to think they are doing anything special.  Its just who they happen to have walk on their pitch in any given age group and what the other competition is at that age group.  The older ages cannot be compared to the lower ages or used as a guide to which club is better as there are so many other factors at play outside of the club's influence.  Also the older competition drastically changes as top players have moved on to academies or professional programs and others have quit playing, which sometimes benefits a smaller club in the older ages as the competition evens out.


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## JabroniBeater805 (Nov 12, 2021)

I think my kid would be miserable on a team that is 0-9 with 1 goal scored and 57 goals against. I would assume that they are hardly touching the ball and constantly sitting back absorbing pressure. This again is just my take and I don't know this to be fact. Would the boys on this team be better off playing on a CSL Gold or Silver Elite team? What is truly better for their development? Training obviously matters but at what cost?

@Toe poke @watfly


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## JabroniBeater805 (Nov 12, 2021)

Toe poke said:


> my observation would be slightly different-- 09s= 12 year olds... how about the idea of good/ great coaching and developing players-- soccer at 12 should be all about this. I get the whole MLS Next blah blah blah, there was even a podcast yesterday (Dave Kerr)  with the concept of finding LA talent . VC Fusion U14 &15s seem to be holding their own and having good results.... how about grassroots development and support any 12yo that wants to love the game of futbal the way we love to discuss it...


Are they developing players though or fielding new players? They just had turnover with a new coach/doc come in less than a month before the MLS next season start. At the U13 age group they were aggressively approaching top local teams saying "we have identified the players we want to come play for us, we'd like their parents contact info" and using the MLS opportunities as a main selling tool. I don't know how they fared in the 2 seasons they were in the DA. A quick look at Real So Cal's ECNL roster would tell me that the local talent that I at least knew of in the 08 age group is over there now. If I had committed to them under this guise I would have a huge problem ...


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## watfly (Nov 12, 2021)

JabroniBeater805 said:


> I think my kid would be miserable on a team that is 0-9 with 1 goal scored and 57 goals against. I would assume that they are hardly touching the ball and constantly sitting back absorbing pressure. This again is just my take and I don't know this to be fact. Would the boys on this team be better off playing on a CSL Gold or Silver Elite team? What is truly better for their development? Training obviously matters but at what cost?
> 
> @Toe poke @watfly


No doubt 1 vs 57 is brutal and discouraging.  Likely those kids or team would be better playing at a lower level, however, the reality is if your club is in MLS Next you just can't move in and out of that league depending on the quality of that team.

My sons MLS Next/DA team didn't win a game in two years.  Some games they were competitive, some games were blowouts.  They have a winning record this year and were undefeated through the first 5 games of the season, including a tie against the top team in the league, until they were decimated by injuries.  They did it by developing a small core of players and adding a few quality players.  Maybe my son's team is an anomaly.

I don't know VC Fusion's story, but some MLS Next clubs don't have very good "feeder" programs coming from their youngers so it takes sometime to develop a team (whether by player development or recruitment).  Not all clubs can have the luxury of having 6 teams per age group from U7 to U12 like some of the Uber clubs.

By U15 your MLS Next team should be competitive.  You're seeing that now in U15 Southwest where the vast majority of games have one goal differential or tie.


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## JabroniBeater805 (Nov 16, 2021)

Interesting turn of events...VC Fusion scored 6 goals for their first win of the season against Nomads 6-1


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