Yes good isn’t always free. But free isn’t always bad, which seems to be the presumption in some of these posts. It’s way too early to assume it’s a choice between fully funded on the one hand and player development and quality coaching on the other. To be fair, the inaugural Galaxy DA teams are far from bad, more like middle of the pack overall. Going forward, starting with the 2005 group entering DA next season, players from the very successful LAGSB younger teams developed by SD and DS will form the core of Galaxy DA teams, and will continue to be coached by the same key staff that developed them this far, so any knocks on Galaxy DA coaching staff compared to other clubs are premature to say the least.
Much of the past challenges for the older LAGSB teams seem to have been a result of losing their best players to ECNL powerhouses to the south. Now that the playing field has been changed with DA and a fully funded status for Galaxy, it will be interesting to see if Galaxy can hold onto the talent they developed at the younger ages. And much of that will depend not so much on cost, but on whether Galaxy DA can build a reputation for quality coaching and college placement. Time will tell!
On a personal note, we drive to Stub Hub from mid-city LA and it’s usually about 30-50 minutes, which seems only a little bit insane.
We pass no decent clubs on our way. It was 100% my daughter’s decision to play DA and stay with Galaxy. She chose to do DA because she wants to continue to play soccer at the highest level, and be challenged by quality teammates and quality opponents, right now, today. If it helps her get into college, great, if she gets attention from USWNT scouts, cool, but the future is less of a concern for her. She chose Galaxy because she loves her teammates and the way they play the game. Free is definitely nice, but cost was secondary in our family’s decision making process.