Girls Development Academy

All US Soccer has to do to permanently relegate ECNL to T2 status is to stop selecting kids for National Teams from non-DA clubs. Pretty simple.
And what a winner for thinking it is a good idea to hurt kids. DA is not geographically and financially available for everyone.
 
Interesting to get the perspective of someone who has been part of Boys DA experience.

https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...ns-on-the-development-academys-flaws-the.html
What a great article. Too bad he did not succeed Sunil.

I have a suggestion for improving GDA (and possible DA, but I have no experience on that side of the fence). On game day, a club's GDA teams play in age order at the same facility. It is nice since it makes it easy to see some of the other ages play against the same club. This is not a problem most of the time, but towards the end of the school year this causes many problems for the older players since 4:00 or 5:00 PM games interfere with things like Prom. The older players have already paid their dues, especially the seniors. GDA (and Cal South and any other youth soccer organization) need to be more cognizant of the needs of the older players. Just reversing the game order during the months that have Homecoming and Prom would help.
 
The commitment of a club to its players and teams can often be judged by how quickly they make adjustments and put their coaching staff together for the following season. From what I have heard, this is the second year in a row that the LA Galaxy Girls Academy is still undecided on age group coaches going into the second week of May, and have told some it may be June before their staff is set. There really is no such thing as a free lunch.
They know who the coaches are. Just have not announced. I would say all the parents with players on the teams know too.
 
Can people give opinions on how you think DA landscape will change for Youngers particularly 2005-2008 age group as far as which clubs would be the best clubs to try to go for .... particularly LA Galaxy Southbay vs. Beach. vs. Slammers. ??? Right now for the older it seems LA Galaxy SB doesn't seem to do well ... but maybe things will change as the Youngers start coming in? Any opinions?
LAGSB youngers from 09-06 have some talented players. If they decide to stay and play DA they will have a solid core.
 
Assuming Slammers holds onto DA rather than push it off on LAFC directly, I would bet....
3. LA Galaxy (with 10 years of DA experience and a MLS parent team, has yet to demonstrate any ability to develop talent)
Can not argue with you on the boys side. Lots going on there. But I would say let the girls side and those that run it chart their own course and see how it looks 1-2 years from now.
 
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While a bit difficult to get my point across at times, I have repeatedly made the same points here on this board. What is interesting is that here in California, his findings are magnified. With 2 boys and 2 girls, I agree girls feel the effect much more and I don't know the words to express it but Gans said it beautifully, you don't get to share, and nobody knows anything about the 1 thing that defines a lot about who the girl is. In my own experience, and with few exceptions, the one thing that I noticed about DA after the glow of being DA wears off, is that you are left with two groups. The people that are there for free and they have boys that are ballers that came from Mex leagues and other clubs that can't pay big club fees and want more than Mex league exposure and the second group is the group that have boys that don't have the chops and out classed and may or may not know it but are happy to fill out the spot by paying and/or to have bragging rights. What was sad is the majority in it don't know that it is not the pathway as described to them but rather it is more like the bridge to nowhere. It really is sad.
It realllly depends on where you want to go. Two can play the game.
 
It realllly depends on where you want to go. Two can play the game.

Let's see this is a soccer forum so I would assume that he is talking about going somewhere with soccer. It is clear you have no idea about the difference between the elite boys track and the elite girls track.

Keep on buying the snake oil..
 
Either is ECNL for that matter.
I agree. That is why I have always felt that the ECNL clubs and now the DA clubs should be awards to clubs based on geography. Spread them out so the largest percentage of kids have a chance to play. I don’t care about club records of producing talent. That is all garbage that means they attract the best talent. Find clubs that have good fields, make sure they have good management and are required to high solid coaches. It pains me to see 3 DA clubs practicing at the Great Park.

At U13 the best player on my son’s team moved to the Midwest for the military. They lived equal distance between the base and the only DA team anywhere near them. His drive was still 2 hours. Needless to say he stopped playing entirely.
 
I agree. That is why I have always felt that the ECNL clubs and now the DA clubs should be awards to clubs based on geography. Spread them out so the largest percentage of kids have a chance to play. I don’t care about club records of producing talent. That is all garbage that means they attract the best talent. Find clubs that have good fields, make sure they have good management and are required to high solid coaches. It pains me to see 3 DA clubs practicing at the Great Park.

At U13 the best player on my son’s team moved to the Midwest for the military. They lived equal distance between the base and the only DA team anywhere near them. His drive was still 2 hours. Needless to say he stopped playing entirely.

Agree. Why does it bother you that multiple clubs train at a good facility?
 
And what a winner for thinking it is a good idea to hurt kids. DA is not geographically and financially available for everyone.

Typical lies from Fact. Show me where I said I thought it was a good idea. It will happen, though. The DA was created to exert control over the top players. Control their coaching, their environment, their opportunities. That's the whole point of this exercise. I would be shocked if any ECNL kids called into national teams are not told to move to a DA club, unless there just isn't one around.
 
Let's see this is a soccer forum so I would assume that he is talking about going somewhere with soccer. It is clear you have no idea about the difference between the elite boys track and the elite girls track.

Keep on buying the snake oil..
That is exactly what I meant. People think their paths are so different but I might add the reality for the boys is that 90% will never amount to much in soccer in the professional world like so many of them think they will. We know the girls have no future with soccer, at least financial. Maybe the elite boys should play the "game" and use it to get into college so they have a future. Even for the few who play in the MLS or the even fewer who play in Europe, it will all end, for some sooner than later. When it ends they had better have an education to fall back onto.
 
That is exactly what I meant. People think their paths are so different but I might add the reality for the boys is that 90% will never amount to much in soccer in the professional world like so many of them think they will. We know the girls have no future with soccer, at least financial. Maybe the elite boys should play the "game" and use it to get into college so they have a future. Even for the few who play in the MLS or the even fewer who play in Europe, it will all end, for some sooner than later. When it ends they had better have an education to fall back onto.

You can always go back to school to get an education after you are no longer able to play soccer.
 
That is exactly what I meant. People think their paths are so different but I might add the reality for the boys is that 90% will never amount to much in soccer in the professional world like so many of them think they will. We know the girls have no future with soccer, at least financial. Maybe the elite boys should play the "game" and use it to get into college so they have a future. Even for the few who play in the MLS or the even fewer who play in Europe, it will all end, for some sooner than later. When it ends they had better have an education to fall back onto.

You are still missing the point. Let me spell it out for you slowly. TRULY ELITE boys are in the DA for a short time and usually are firmly on a pro track. There are many less college soccer opportunities for boys (there are about 100 more D1 women's programs than men's). TRULY ELITE girls are on track to go to college and maybe the Alarcorn among Unicorns goes to the full WNT. Anyone else is making less money than they could using their degrees. Boys have many more opportunities to be professional and girls have many more college opportunities (thank you Title IX). Treating boys and girls as if they are identical ignores a million years of evolution and the realities of our own society.

That's it.
 
You are still missing the point. Let me spell it out for you slowly. TRULY ELITE boys are in the DA for a short time and usually are firmly on a pro track. There are many less college soccer opportunities for boys (there are about 100 more D1 women's programs than men's). TRULY ELITE girls are on track to go to college and maybe the Alarcorn among Unicorns goes to the full WNT. Anyone else is making less money than they could using their degrees. Boys have many more opportunities to be professional and girls have many more college opportunities (thank you Title IX). Treating boys and girls as if they are identical ignores a million years of evolution and the realities of our own society.

That's it.
Of course they are different! If you believe that your future is MLS and you make it, how long will you play? How many players start college in their thirties? Just saying, There are over 200 Men's D1 programs out there. Maybe some of those players should use the "game" to get into college. Surely there is one school out of the 200 that would fit a player. You were missing my point. But then I guess so many believe they are the next great player. More power to them, barring injuries, coaches, politics , money, health, yep there will be a few who make it.
 
You are still missing the point. Let me spell it out for you slowly. TRULY ELITE boys are in the DA for a short time and usually are firmly on a pro track. There are many less college soccer opportunities for boys (there are about 100 more D1 women's programs than men's). TRULY ELITE girls are on track to go to college and maybe the Alarcorn among Unicorns goes to the full WNT. Anyone else is making less money than they could using their degrees. Boys have many more opportunities to be professional and girls have many more college opportunities (thank you Title IX). Treating boys and girls as if they are identical ignores a million years of evolution and the realities of our own society.

That's it.

Don't mean to intrude, but I would offer one caveat to your assessment. Title IX has certainly provided more opportunities in college for women, but that's not the reason that they have more opportunities than men. The NCAA arbitrarily limits the number of men's scholarships in soccer, which has really nothing to do with Title IX. There should be a much bigger discussion and push by schools to get rid of the artificial caps placed on men's sports, particularly soccer. You get rid of those caps, development (and talent) on the boy's side would look a whole lot different.

In sum, it's the NCAA fault.
 
Don't mean to intrude, but I would offer one caveat to your assessment. Title IX has certainly provided more opportunities in college for women, but that's not the reason that they have more opportunities than men. The NCAA arbitrarily limits the number of men's scholarships in soccer, which has really nothing to do with Title IX. There should be a much bigger discussion and push by schools to get rid of the artificial caps placed on men's sports, particularly soccer. You get rid of those caps, development (and talent) on the boy's side would look a whole lot different.

In sum, it's the NCAA fault.
Those limits aren’t arbitrary. Men’s and women’s athletic programs must have the equivalent amount of scholarships. With men’s foootball teams taking up 80 scholarships, they have to limit the scholarships available to other men’s sports in order to keep women’s and men’s scholarships equal, which is why men’s soccer teams have a smaller allocation of scholarships by NCAA mandate than women’s soccer.
 
Those limits aren’t arbitrary. Men’s and women’s athletic programs must have the equivalent amount of scholarships. With men’s foootball teams taking up 80 scholarships, they have to limit the scholarships available to other men’s sports in order to keep women’s and men’s scholarships equal, which is why men’s soccer teams have a smaller allocation of scholarships by NCAA mandate than women’s soccer.

What about schools without football? Say UCI or UCSB? Why shouldn’t they be able to give out 15 soccer scholarships as long as they meet Title IX proportionality requirement?

Football gets 85. Why 85?

FYI - limits were put in place before Title IX was even enacted.
 
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