Another little twist that some DA observers may have missed - some boys playing on DA teams and thus sacrificing their HS opportunity, who have committed to a college by HS Senior year, will drop from their DA team as HS season starts and play a year in quest of HS glory. HS team schedule usually includes 5 days a week of practice or games (sometimes 6 if their tournament schedule includes Saturday games), and in the usual situation the ex-DA player is going to be a starter, thus getting lots of playing time (and HS rules have a liberal substitution policy, which can help in player development if the coach is any good). The gap between the end of HS season in March and college team reporting time (August) can be filled by hooking on to a good Cal South team during their National Cup run.
DA is like going to Harvard???
- Thread starter coachsamy
- Start date
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
How many is a few? 3? More? So you claim to know at least 36 girls that actually turned down DA or left DA teams for the sole reason to play HS? I say BS. I know 2 girls that left to DA to play HS and that likely was more about saving money. I know several girls that tried out for DA and did not make the team. I know half a dozen girls that left DA because they were not playing much (which I think was a smart choice). Now I do agree that plenty of ECNL players would start and to a lesser degree some Flight 1 and Premier girls too.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
Jpeter, are you referring to boys or girls? I just looked and was surprised that the boys don’t have a Spring Showcase and they also play less league games.
jpeter
PREMIER
Yep boys been like that going on two seasons now. We don't see many college types unless it's at a showcase or the playoffs.
We've had more interest via foreign scouts from Eupore or Mexico than college ones on my son team acutally. The college exposure thing might not really be a advantage for some da players depending on the club / team.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
Thought so. Sounds like their are huge differences in the college exposure and opportunities between boys and girls.
USA_SOCCER_1
BRONZE
Yes it’s called Title IX
In what way?
just a quick perspective on your statement. At least for the boys side.
In the fall, college coaches are still in their own season. Showcase in December is the first real chance to see the DA players that they've already taken interest in and any new. Also its worth mentioning that the convenience of having all of them in the single location.
In the winter and spring, you'll see more of the regional college coaches come to games as they are going through their recruiting wall and prioritizing their needs.
The final playoff/showcase in June identifies their candidates for the subsequent recruiting season.
Well, you might have forgotten but DA used to break for HS until Claudio Reyna, of NYCFC, then in charge of USSFDA decided to to goto 10 months schedule. I think it was in 2011-ish (or thereabout).
The rationale was that the players lost their training rigor and style, as well as picked up undesirable habits from HS games. Wanted to consistency throughout the year.
So we shouldn't compare students taking a gap year between HS graduation and starting college by doing something else. The article comparison is closer to doing a foreign study for a semester during one's normal college years.
Unfortunately, we have come to equate DA=College Soccer, when in fact the primary purpose of DA is not college soccer. Its the USNT. The only reason college is bantered about on DA teams is to attract parents and players.
USA_SOCCER_1
BRONZE
That there are huge differences in college opportunities between boys and girls? My alma mater for example has NCAA teams for women’s equestrian, water polo, soccer and lacrosse, but doesn’t have men’s soccer. But it’s all because of Title IX.
How many gridiron football scholarships do they award?
Kicknit22
GOLD
No, Simi, HS sports are not for the parents. Do I love it? Hell yeah! But I am one of those people that loved my own HS experience. I loved being a student athlete. So, I come from a good place in knowing how much it can mean to a kid in HS. So, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching both my girls excel in HS while playing the sports they love. Just watching them interact with their teamates (and classmates in the stands rooting for them), brings back very fond memories for me. The same, I can imagine, they will look back fondly upon. DA is my DD’s choice too. She, unlike yours, is very sad to sacracfice HS. I can tell you this for certain, she won’t be sacrificing her senior year. I truly believe that the majority lies in this favor. JMO. Best of luck to your DD. Maybe if mine had the same attitude as yours, it would be easier to go along with the program. But, I’d still have the same opinion no matter. Mahalo!!
The purpose of sports should never be about college, nor should any league in which a sport is played. It's sad that we conflate academics with sports. It ruins both. The best academic school systems in the world don't have sports and the best sports programs in the world don't involve schools. Even in the US, there is an inverse correlation between sports programs (particularly football) and the strength of the college. There are, of course, exceptions, but the best schools, the Ivies, the little Ivies, Cal Tech, Harvey Mudd, MIT, John Hopkins, Pomona, Chicago, (even Georgetown) etc., are all range from bad to blah in sports.
If the purpose of a kid playing soccer is to get into school, why do kids play once they get there? There is nothing at a little Ivy that requires a student to play at all once he or she is accepted. I would submit it is the reason that these kids keep playing soccer (vaguely defined as the "pursuit of excellence") is the "primary purpose" for our kids to participate in sports. It's the reason they started playing and its the reason that keeps them playing. All of this college exposure non-sense is really sad reflection on our culture. Somehow colleges were able to recruit players before all of these national leagues. In our collective race to the bottom, we've managed to make it about "exposure."
Of the schools I'm familiar with, the answer would be zero.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
Go ride your high horse off into the sunset! Princeton is ranked 24th in the latest poll and Penn has a very strong program. Georgetown is ranked 4th in D1!!!! Cal Tech just started a D3 program this year. Little ivy Williams College is 2nd in the nation for D3!!!! John Hopkins is ranked 4th in D3. Little Ivy Amherst is ranked 15th in D3. UCSD is ranked 10th in D2 and has won multiple National Championships. Duke’s average SAT is fricking 1475 and they are ranked 8th in D1.
Next time before you post, check your facts.
MA0812
SILVER
Yup as a matter of fact I do! Not sure if that's good or bad but either way the fact still remains.
I believe MarkM is referring to men's program, which I am familiar with as a grad of one of the schools he lists.
That said, I believe, the statement is an over generalization. There are some conference rules that prevents some of these schools to excel at sports. Take Ivy for an example. They have an agreement in the league that mandates the student athletes to be amongst the general cross section of their respective universities. In other words, these student athletes, while may not be at the upper end of the university, must be good enough to be competitive with those accepted into the school without being being recruited. Clearly, they have the resources to recruit anyone they wish, if all they focused was winning and building the best athletic program.
Its the last statement, that perhaps MarkM is getting at. Without knowing the framework, it is a logical and intuitive conclusion to say athletics and academics compromise each other. Beyond the Ivys, some of the upper D3's have much higher student athletes percentage than D1 or D2 as the total population of their student body (per NCAA). And amongst those competing in D3, there are Olympic athletes as well as national team athletes. So again, the image one gets at a glance is not necessarily accurate. The point is its easy to over generalize this situation.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
So these 36 plus girls were on DA teams and solely left for HS or were actually offered DA and turned it down? More likely you know girls from Blues where they decided to keep their top team in ECNL or girls on other ECNL teams that could have made DA if they had chosen to. Just saying...
More likely?
younothat
PREMIER
DA has been very good for my player but saying the program is like going to Harvard is crazy 
In General many people get hyped up to either get into or be apart of DA for the first season, after the new car spell wears off the reality it is not that much different or necessarily superior to other things in the overall scheme of things. Being on a good HS, club team, with quality coaches & comps and maybe some outside work should be good for most players. You can play up on other teams, club pass, in tournaments and the like so look at the overall picture not just the DA title.
Some High Schools both public and private have some very good coaching, demanding, competitive programs where its sometime can be more difficult vs the DA track considering your player can be competing vs others 2-3 yrs older. My son as a Sophomore played HS on a permit / exception and he really enjoyed the season, playoffs, and overall experience. The double practice days(s) for a while (until the season started late Nov) where really tough on him with the overlap so he decided on doing other sports in HS while continuing on with DA.
This may not be popular but the 4 days a week thing is overkill IMO for the majority of players; 3 days a week is sufficient and the 4th should be optional IMO; light training, watching film, strategy or tactics. With all the on-line tools we have available a shared presentation can be attended virtually so families don't have to necessarily travel the extra day.
DA has been reducing the number of league games, showcases, events for the boys the last 2-3 years where its getting to the point where some are questioning the program where you spend 10 months for 20 odd games, one winter showcase if your past U15 (none that age) and the playoffs or summer showcase if you don't qualify. Sure you get the flexibility of playing some out of league competitions but its a expensive proposition and not that may clubs can afford to send a team to Europe or mexico to play internationally.
I would like to see the DA restructure and change the program and I've talked about pro/rel for the teams before so I wont go into a again but the competition can be very uneven and it doesn't seem to change from year to year so I don't see the progress, sure the individual players are getting more skilled each year but the teams not as much. There is a lack of qualified coaches on the boys side, there is not that many A & B types around and those that are often have to handle multiple teams so this is one area that needs a lot of work IMO.
In General many people get hyped up to either get into or be apart of DA for the first season, after the new car spell wears off the reality it is not that much different or necessarily superior to other things in the overall scheme of things. Being on a good HS, club team, with quality coaches & comps and maybe some outside work should be good for most players. You can play up on other teams, club pass, in tournaments and the like so look at the overall picture not just the DA title.
Some High Schools both public and private have some very good coaching, demanding, competitive programs where its sometime can be more difficult vs the DA track considering your player can be competing vs others 2-3 yrs older. My son as a Sophomore played HS on a permit / exception and he really enjoyed the season, playoffs, and overall experience. The double practice days(s) for a while (until the season started late Nov) where really tough on him with the overlap so he decided on doing other sports in HS while continuing on with DA.
This may not be popular but the 4 days a week thing is overkill IMO for the majority of players; 3 days a week is sufficient and the 4th should be optional IMO; light training, watching film, strategy or tactics. With all the on-line tools we have available a shared presentation can be attended virtually so families don't have to necessarily travel the extra day.
DA has been reducing the number of league games, showcases, events for the boys the last 2-3 years where its getting to the point where some are questioning the program where you spend 10 months for 20 odd games, one winter showcase if your past U15 (none that age) and the playoffs or summer showcase if you don't qualify. Sure you get the flexibility of playing some out of league competitions but its a expensive proposition and not that may clubs can afford to send a team to Europe or mexico to play internationally.
I would like to see the DA restructure and change the program and I've talked about pro/rel for the teams before so I wont go into a again but the competition can be very uneven and it doesn't seem to change from year to year so I don't see the progress, sure the individual players are getting more skilled each year but the teams not as much. There is a lack of qualified coaches on the boys side, there is not that many A & B types around and those that are often have to handle multiple teams so this is one area that needs a lot of work IMO.