Academy players playing in a bronze level tourney?

My son's classmates is an 08 for our local large club, and yes they handed out the DA patch even though they are just a 'pre-DA' team, whatever that means. Yes, she goes around saying she's "DA". No, I don't think she really knows the difference. Marketing.

My 2 cents...so much stupid drama goes on in club soccer it's not worth losing sleep over and you just need to accept youth soccer is really broken (or get out). On the other hand, for those of us working to improve the system, I get that this stuff is grating....after all, why bother having age group brackets if you aren't going to enforce the level brackets. I personally think that there should be restrictions on the amount of guest players and on players playing up or down more than 1 level for a tournament to be officially sanctioned by CalSouth....if that results in fewer tournaments, so be it.
 
Grace T. said:
My son's classmates is an 08 for our local large club, and yes they handed out the DA patch even though they are just a 'pre-DA' team, whatever that means. Yes, she goes around saying she's "DA". No, I don't think she really knows the difference. Marketing.

My 2 cents...so much stupid drama goes on in club soccer it's not worth losing sleep over and you just need to accept youth soccer is really broken (or get out). On the other hand, for those of us working to improve the system, I get that this stuff is grating....after all, why bother having age group brackets if you aren't going to enforce the level brackets. I personally think that there should be restrictions on the amount of guest players and on players playing up or down more than 1 level for a tournament to be officially sanctioned by CalSouth....if that results in fewer tournaments, so be it.
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Agreed
 
Cheaters gonna cheat. Sandbaggers gonna sand bag. Assholes gonna ass hole.

Pretty much every tournament that has 2 or more flights will have the 2nd, 3rd, and/or 4th flight won by a team that should have been playing in Flight 1.
Enjoy the 4 games in a weekend. Winning or losing a trophy really has very little to do with anything along the lines of "development".

Which is worse?
A team calling itself "DA" and wearing patches when that age group doesn't have that available yet.

OR

A team playing in one of these closed leagues (DA, ECNL, DPL, ENCL2) that has no business being at that level of competition?
 
timbuck said:
Cheaters gonna cheat. Sandbaggers gonna sand bag. Assholes gonna ass hole.

Pretty much every tournament that has 2 or more flights will have the 2nd, 3rd, and/or 4th flight won by a team that should have been playing in Flight 1.
Enjoy the 4 games in a weekend. Winning or losing a trophy really has very little to do with anything along the lines of "development".

Which is worse?
A team calling itself "DA" and wearing patches when that age group doesn't have that available yet.

OR

A team playing in one of these closed leagues (DA, ECNL, DPL, ENCL2) that has no business being at that level of competition?
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Totally agree! Point well made!
 
I remember being upset by this same situation as my kid was rising through the ranks. Teams with guest players, our stud defender missing a tournament to play basketball, and the ever favorite “Holy Crap! Did that kid drive here?” Then I figured once you are at the highest level all the excuses go away. I’ve seen skilled players get bodied off the ball for hanging on too long. I’ve seen a team full of big kids get beat by good combination play. I’ve seen 6’2” goalkeepers at 12 yrs old get scored on by passing, and making them move. The frustration you’re feeling is all part of the journey. Most ‘08’s in bronze level aren’t sure if soccer is their sport yet so be patient, and use this as an opportunity to have your kid train harder to lose the excuses. Once you find a team of likeminded players it gets a whole lot better.
 
2 things:
1. Many Academies collect uniforms at the end of the season. They aren't thrown away. We have seen a u9 girls team wearing DA patches for a club that does not have a girls DA and clearly not a U9 one... They were just the extras from the previous apparently small U12 team. So not every kid wearing a DA patch is DA. I doubt people went around checking player cards vs. their profile on www.ussoccerda.com.

2. DA players don't play HS with their friends. Many I know will jump in tournaments, regardless of the level, just to play with their friends.

Simmer down. Not all DA kids are evil glory hunters looking for that trophy for some rinky-dink tournament. Some of them are actually just kids who want to play and got a chance.... and we all know every coach would turn down a good player from playing with his friends because of principles and for the joy of the beautiful game... bah.
 
SoCal GK mom said:
Per US Soccer rules, US Soccer DA players are not allowed to play in any outside competition during the DA season, Aug 1- June 30, regardless of age group. So this is either a rules violation or it is not accurate.
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Not August 1st so yeah, expect DA kids bouncing around Surf Cup or putting themselves in the guest player pool on gotsport.

eh, Close... Read the waiver yourself at: https://ussoccer.app.box.com/s/3e5ipyfjgobggg66gvu766rwbvmbbxth/file/308847432545

Refers to the academy Season... the rules would state that the "DA Clubs may not permit any Academy Player to participate on a non-DA team during the Academy Season." The Academy Season is defined as "means the U.S. Soccer Development Academy competition beginning in September and concluding in July including the Academy League, Academy Playoffs and Academy Championships."

So, potentially teams that finished their games in mid-May and that age group didn't have a playoffs... they were done. Hence, clear to play for whoever they want.
 
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