US is playing catch up once again. Even some euro countries have gone to SY. Chaos will begin in November. If these clubs were smart communication letters should go out September 1st on direction.
Get ready folks
- Thread starter soccer4us
- Start date
outside!
DA
Smart? When has that entered into the youth soccer environment?
FlintDempsey
BRONZE
I love sports and youth sports, soccer especially. I keep thinking the bubble is going to pop with each change made at the NCAA level, but keep gettign disappointed. On the men's side in the US, MLS is getting closer to the dream which is that every halfway decent prospect is in a club academy or MLS-Next Level 1 thru 452. That is where the men's side is headed and college soccer will be even more irrelevant (single tear running down my cheek as a former community college and NCAA player). However, the women's game isn't quite to that level yet. NWSL hasn't yet "cornered" the youth market racquet and all of the various leagues clamor for their slice of the pie. What I keep hoping is that the pro leagues will become so dominant that the rest of the youth systems outside of that can have more "common sense" and can't even claim to be a pathway to McDonald's let alone college or the pros. Let's make the very top of the pyramid hyper competitive and survival of the fittest. But let's make it more fun and less confusing (i.e. the alphabet soup of leagues) for the vast majority of players out there. Wishful thinking, but a guy's gotta dream right?!?
Ummmm the girls top of the pyramid is not confusing at all. It’s ECNL and only ECNL at the top. What’s the confusion? It is hyper competitive. Nothing gets more competitive than girls soccer in the Southwest Conference of ECNL. Everything you’re asking for is already there.
The current girls pyramid is set up for college ONLY.
What about the girls who want to play professionally? There needs to be an academy system that takes American politics out of the equation (this means parents & their $$$$$ completely) and focuses on soccer development. These girls who put the sport before anything else should be pooled together and their primary focus should be all about becoming the best footballers they can be.
In 2019, I asked the same question on here. I was attacked by elite parents, lying Docs who play pay for play with rich parents and coaches who take kickbacks and look to sleep with mommy to insure playtime. Not all Docs and coaches, just a few cheaters and liars. I even got threats to "STFU, we know where you live, so it's best to STFU or else." These are ruthless selfish pigs, man who only care about the bottom-line, which is your money and time. Youth Soccer is controlled by the elites and college is the prize. Trinity Rodman was mocked for going pro. The elites on here said she wasn't smart enough to attend Big U and that's why she chose to be the #2 pick in NWSL draft in 2021. ECNL is 100% about college and that's ok. The problem with this is the pressure they put on girls to be true Unicorns. A player could be a goat at soccer but a dope in school and then gets yelled at to get better grades or leave. That's how the elites play. They add SAT, GPA and each girl must be a "goody goody two shoes" and basically be a perfect human to be a true soccer player in our country. Rodman opened the flood gates and got others to join, like Olivia, Alyssa (#1 pick), her sister and many, many others that have now gone pro before college.
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JeterwastheBEST
SILVER ELITE
Remember we live in one of the more ethically and morally challenged areas of America- SoCal. The DDs attending Harvard Westlake get preference... That's what the SoCal grift- $$$$$$$$ is ALL about.
The really difficult part of this whole organizational mess is it effects the girls negatively; it makes them as greedy and mischievous and soulless and entitled as their parents... Gone are the days where we need to save money for DD's college and now must pray, we get sports welfare (i.e., "Scholarship" (often, frequently a "partial scholarship)) so parents $$$$ contribution to education is that much less- intentionally. I truly believe these parents believe they will get a medal
when it's all over after commuting 10000s+ of miles and being obnoxious for the better part of a decade...These new acronym leagues ensure one thing- gas
companies keep getting richer, kids spend more ass in car
seat time, kids spend less time studying
or going to the movies
or volunteering or going to birthday parties
, etc., etc... It exists solely to make the organization more money. The game is over, dust in the wind....Crush baby- it's "ensure" and not "insure"
Thanks for the spelling correctionRemember we live in one of the more ethically and morally challenged areas of America- SoCal. The DDs attending Harvard Westlake get preference... That's what the SoCal grift- $$$$$$$$ is ALL about.
The really difficult part of this whole organizational mess is it effects the girls negatively; it makes them as greedy and mischievous and soulless and entitled as their parents... Gone are the days where we need to save money for DD's college and now must pray, we get sports welfare (i.e., "Scholarship" (often, frequently a "partial scholarship)) so parents $$$$ contribution to education is that much less- intentionally. I truly believe these parents believe they will get a medal
These new acronym leagues ensure one thing- gas
Crush baby- it's "ensure" and not "insure"
Douche canoe, baby - it's "affects" and not "effects". And that's just the beginning.Remember we live in one of the more ethically and morally challenged areas of America- SoCal. The DDs attending Harvard Westlake get preference... That's what the SoCal grift- $$$$$$$$ is ALL about.
The really difficult part of this whole organizational mess is it effects the girls negatively; it makes them as greedy and mischievous and soulless and entitled as their parents... Gone are the days where we need to save money for DD's college and now must pray, we get sports welfare (i.e., "Scholarship" (often, frequently a "partial scholarship)) so parents $$$$ contribution to education is that much less- intentionally. I truly believe these parents believe they will get a medal
These new acronym leagues ensure one thing- gas
Crush baby- it's "ensure" and not "insure"
You're the LAST person to correct someone else's writing.
and these girls should be going to college. How many have seriously made it in professional sports and skipping college? NWSL is not the NBA. These girls skipping are not getting life changing money. If you have like the one lets say like Trinity that doesn't come around very often. What's the average NWSL salary? I just don't see why you would bypass college if your on the girls side.
edit: ok looked it up. In 2025 its 65K. Up from 45K the previous year and 36K the year before that. I also don't see why there would need to be some separate professional pathway. You play ECNL and if your good enough (and you want too) you get offered a contract by the NWSL and you go do that. ECNL is the professional pathway. If you want even more soccer i.e. you don't want to go to school there are plenty of these soccer schools around. Or you can be home schooled like some do. Wasn't there some academy being built in San Diego? Players were going to stay there and play soccer and it was supposed to be a free direct pro pathway?
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Skipping college to play professionally is the youth equivalent of holding your kid back in school so they can be the biggest one on the team. Its not a direct 1to1 but the jist is that once one player does it and is successful others will follow doing the same.
NWSL is making ok money for young girls these days. If you're a superstar or media favorite its great money.
For boys because theres more money in the contracts often what they do is package the price of paying for college into the pro contract. What ends up happening is it makes more sense to play pro than do college becuase either way college is paid for. Eventually girls will get to this level as well if their pro game continues to evolve.
(Since the draft has been removed) It may be best to still go to college and let them find you at that level. Also the league is doing better every year so contracts have been increasing. Women's pro soccer is still on the ground floor at the moment.
whatithink
GOLD
College is for sure the best choice. There are only 14 NWSL teams, carrying a roster of maybe 25 players. To break into a team, you need to knock out an existing pro. Its elite level. Keep in mind, there are thousands of girls playing college soccer. At the last (& final) draft a total, which was a record, of 56 players were chosen. That's it - about 0.5% of D1 players (only).
I wonder of how many drafted are still around 4 years later.
I wonder how many kids that went to college through a soccer door are still playing in college? Look man, let's just have a top soccer league in SoCal that is just about one thing, soccer. If you want to continue playing after High School, go Pro or play in college.
I don't get the obsession with the pro pathway for female soccer. This isn't men's soccer or the NBA or (insert any sport with big $$$). To structure an entire ecosystem for the masses that is centered around a pro pathway just so a dozen or so female soccer players can make $1M+ is just crazy.
As mentioned above, the average NWSL salary is $65k. The average NBA salary in 2025 was $11 million (minimum is $1.1M). It's apples and oranges.
As mentioned above, the average NWSL salary is $65k. The average NBA salary in 2025 was $11 million (minimum is $1.1M). It's apples and oranges.
Why compare women's pro soccer and men's pro basketball?
Just an FYI, NBA attendance averages 18k and 82 games per seaon. NWSL average attendance is 11k and 26 games per season.
I don't get the obsession (Well, I kind of know why) with youth soccer being the pathway to college. Like I said before many times, the top youth soccer league in our country is obsessed with youth soccer + college soccer. I have experience and watched how girls that were ok players jumped the line and play time over better soccer players because they were better students and had 4.5 GPA and insanely high SAT scores. Now the best players are not playing as much (some sat on da bench to watch the better student take over) because it's all about college. That sucks, moo!!!
Compare to men's soccer then. Quick google search (correct my numbers if off)...average MLS salary is $600k. Average premier league salary is £8.2 million.
The point isn't the sport itself. The point is the $$$ just isn't there in women's soccer to justify the narrow focus on the pro pathway.
The money to pay players comes from ticket sales (attendance) and the leagues ability to sell the product to TV media companies which use the games to sell advertising in the form of commercials.
If the product leagues produce is low quality then there wont be big media contracts. Half the people in the world are women and soccer is a very popular sport for women to play when they're young. These people should be able to be converted into pro soccer fans as long as the games are fun and exciting to watch. When this happens the amount players get paid will go up.