How’s the 2025-2026 season going?

Carlsbad7 said:
It's not about what's available now. Its about what will be availabe 5-10 years from now. AI will get better and once its 90%+ correct on capturing stats it will be easy to grade/rate players and coaches.
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Who cares about 5 years from now. My kids will have aged out by then and all the youth soccer buffoons will be in the rearview mirror. By the way, subjectivity will never go away in soccer evaluation. Top pro leagues have all the stats and more on players today. But it comes down to their gut feel and instinct on a player. Soccer is not baseball, golf or bowling...soccer is not a numbers/stats game. There are so many intangibles that a player can do to help the team that don't show up on a stat sheet.
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
Who cares about 5 years from now. My kids will have aged out by then and all the youth soccer buffoons will be in the rearview mirror. By the way, subjectivity will never go away in soccer evaluation. Top pro leagues have all the stats and more on players today. But it comes down to their gut feel and instinct on a player. Soccer is not baseball, golf or bowling...soccer is not a numbers/stats game. There are so many intangibles that a player can do to help the team that don't show up on a stat sheet.
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I said AI being "90% correct on on capturing stats" to account for intangibles. Yes, there will always be subjectivity but overall AI will be able to grade / rank player and coach ability just by watching a game.

How it will work is 10 players will all be considered for a spot on the team because of AI defined grading / ranking. The coaches job will be to decide which one of the 10 players AI defined do they want to offer a spot to. For coaches AI will be able to tell their style of play, if the play favorites, etc. If you have enough data you'll be able to know if a coaches style will be successful. You could probably tell if a coaches style would be successful against specific teams as well.

You say that soccer isnt a numbers game. I think that is untrue. AI defining actions without subjectivity will enable it to become a very numbers driven game.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
I said AI being "90% correct on on capturing stats" to account for intangibles. Yes, there will always be subjectivity but overall AI will be able to grade / rank player and coach ability just by watching a game.

How it will work is 10 players will all be considered for a spot on the team because of AI defined grading / ranking. The coaches job will be to decide which one of the 10 players AI defined do they want to offer a spot to. For coaches AI will be able to tell their style of play, if the play favorites, etc. If you have enough data you'll be able to know if a coaches style will be successful. You could probably tell if a coaches style would be successful against specific teams as well.

You say that soccer isnt a numbers game. I think that is untrue. AI defining actions without subjectivity will enable it to become a very numbers driven game.
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No subjectivity in U.S. youth soccer sounds like an oxymoron. AI is already reshaping professional soccer games, just look at how underdog clubs like Brighton and Brentford use AI and data to challenge giants like Manchester City in EPL.

But in US youth soccer, personal connections still outweigh performance metrics. Coaches favor players who attend their clinics, have well-connected parents (incl. team managers), or other siblings in the club. On and on and on... You all know many of these. Even if some players are noticeably subpar, they might still earn a spot while AI screams otherwise. Unfortunately, no robust algorithm can override these dynamics in US youth soccer.

The real issue isn’t whether AI can meet the standards. For sure, it can. The question is whether youth coaches and clubs actually care.
 
John T. said:
No subjectivity in U.S. youth soccer sounds like an oxymoron. AI is already reshaping professional soccer games, just look at how underdog clubs like Brighton and Brentford use AI and data to challenge giants like Manchester City in EPL.

But in US youth soccer, personal connections still outweigh performance metrics. Coaches favor players who attend their clinics, have well-connected parents (incl. team managers), or other siblings in the club. On and on and on... You all know many of these. Even if some players are noticeably subpar, they might still earn a spot while AI screams otherwise. Unfortunately, no robust algorithm can override these dynamics in US youth soccer.

The real issue isn’t whether AI can meet the standards. For sure, it can. The question is whether youth coaches and clubs actually care.
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I agree

This is why I keep saying that AI will be able to grade / rank players AND coaches. Coaches might be able to avoid the AI performance spotlight at first but eventually it will call them out if they're not at the same level as their piers.

Imagine an equivalent app to the soccer ranking app but for coaches. Once this type of info is available for parents and players its game over for the coaching buddy system.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
I agree

This is why I keep saying that AI will be able to grade / rank players AND coaches. Coaches might be able to avoid the AI performance spotlight at first but eventually it will call them out if they're not at the same level as their piers.

Imagine an equivalent app to the soccer ranking app but for coaches. Once this type of info is available for parents and players its game over for the coaching buddy system.
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I genuinely applaud your effort! But what you're tackling may be as challenging and complex as solving world hunger. I only wish there were a magic wand to turn your vision into reality, because I truly can’t stand the buddy-buddy coaching culture that plagues our youth soccer here in the US.
 
Who cares about AI in the future. Can we get back to the current season and these awesome teams .

Thoughts on some colleges turning into prep for pro soccer instead of building a team , community and earning degrees. How long can one possibly play soccer
 
Fieldsofgold said:
Who cares about AI in the future. Can we get back to the current season and these awesome teams .

Thoughts on some colleges turning into prep for pro soccer instead of building a team , community and earning degrees. How long can one possibly play soccer
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Also everyone is talking about all this “data” ai is going to use. Where is this data coming from? Parents inputting stats? Everyone wearing trackers? Everyone on video? We are far away from all that data being available and trustworthy for the youth level.
 
Is everyone ready for league? Anyone want to take a stab at the final 8 making it to Nationals? Going to be a crazy year for 2010’s. This time next year we should see the cream of the crop accepting verbal offers. Going to be a wild year!!!
 
SuperSoccerStar said:
Is everyone ready for league? Anyone want to take a stab at the final 8 making it to Nationals? Going to be a crazy year for 2010’s. This time next year we should see the cream of the crop accepting verbal offers. Going to be a wild year!!!
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Here's my Top 8 prediction:
1. HBK (no surprise here, individually really good athletes)
2. SD Surf (could we see some changes after their early exit?)
3. Legends (3rd time's a charm?)
4. LA Breakers (New coach, added really good depth and looked good at Surf Cup)
5. Blues (Will they score goals? Tied tons of games last season and still finished 6th)
6. Slammers (Strong finish toward the end of season and the only team to challenge the eventual Champs)
7. Beach (Lost a few players but will still be strong)
8. Eagles, Pats, LAFC, SD Legends, LV Surf... just my humble opinion.
 
Culer said:
Here's my Top 8 prediction:
1. HBK (no surprise here, individually really good athletes)
2. SD Surf (could we see some changes after their early exit?)
3. Legends (3rd time's a charm?)
4. LA Breakers (New coach, added really good depth and looked good at Surf Cup)
5. Blues (Will they score goals? Tied tons of games last season and still finished 6th)
6. Slammers (Strong finish toward the end of season and the only team to challenge the eventual Champs)
7. Beach (Lost a few players but will still be strong)
8. Eagles, Pats, LAFC, SD Legends, LV Surf... just my humble opinion.
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I don’t know about Beach and Blues. Beach was pretty gutted. I would add them in your list of 8 and spots 6-8 are up for grabs. Looking at what breakers are trying to do and what legends did a couple years ago it is possible to just break in and have an immediate impact in league. It will also be interesting to see if the recruiting year does anything to any of these teams. Play tends to get selfish around this time.
 
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Teddy_Olive said:
Opening weekend. What happened to Surf, Legends and Koge? Thought they would be much better. Breakers looking like the top dogs
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Some teams were active over the summer and some that had deeper playoff runs took time off for recovery. I’d assume these scores are a reflection of that. Can’t speak about Surf or Koge specifically but I can say Legends had plenty of chances, they just couldn’t find the back of the net.

On the RL side,

Slammers RL is on the decline. Their only 2 offensive pieces left to Slammers NL and their saviors on the defense are no longer with the team. One is changing their focus to flag, the other went to a rival club. New coach also wants to put his own stamp on it and is moving players into positions they’ve never played and are getting rid of the remaining core of AM. They lost to Blues 2-0 who are this years soccer rankings league favorite to start the season.

Blues picked up some of the old sporting RL players and Slammers RL squad and 1 from Legends RL which have made an impact for their team over the summer.

Most of the role players from last years Slammers RL are finding themselves transitioning to the Koge RL team. That team was quiet all summer. I’d expect them to have a rough start before they figure out their new identity.

Eagles RL couldn’t field a team so Oxnard United has assumed the role for the season. They tied Koge RL 0-0

Breakers RL is continuing their strong offensive season campaign winning today 4-0 over the newly appointed Sporting RL team based out of Fontana.

Beach RL seems to be a shell of themselves after the exit of KK and some of their top performers.

Surf RL picked it up over the summer showing beating both Az RL teams at Blues cup and bringing in the momentum beating LAFC RL.

LAFC RL has been inconsistent over the summer season. I expect they’ll turn it around the second half of the season coming in strong into playoffs.

Legends RL played up most of the summer with the only goal being to prepare for League and no focus on actual results of summer tournament matches. They’re this years sleeper pick to run the table maintaining most of their roster except 2 bench players and picking up one of Slammers RL marquee players. They’ll be tested in back to back games in 2 weeks when they face off against Koge RL and then Blues RL.
 
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Teddy_Olive said:
Opening weekend. What happened to Surf, Legends and Koge? Thought they would be much better. Breakers looking like the top dogs
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Not too sure but several surprising scores on the NL side to kick off the new season.

LV Heat Surf 7 - Utah Royals FC AZ 0

LAFC So Cal 2 - SD Surf 1

Legends FC 0 - Rebels SC 0

Eagles SC 0 - Koge 0

Sporting CA USA 0 - LA Breakers FC 6

So Cal Blues 0 - Slammers FC 1

Legends FC SD 4 - Pats 3

Phoenix Rising - Beach FC (CA)--- Not showing any score on the app.
 
JustaSpectator said:
Not too sure but several surprising scores on the NL side to kick off the new season.

LV Heat Surf 7 - Utah Royals FC AZ 0

LAFC So Cal 2 - SD Surf 1

Legends FC 0 - Rebels SC 0

Eagles SC 0 - Koge 0

Sporting CA USA 0 - LA Breakers FC 6

So Cal Blues 0 - Slammers FC 1

Legends FC SD 4 - Pats 3

Phoenix Rising - Beach FC (CA)--- Not showing any score on the app.
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Beach won 1-0 vs Rising..
 
What’s going on with Surf? Back to back losses with Surf losing to heat 0-1 and LAFC last week? Did they have some player turn over? Injuries? New coach?
 
Some more good matchups this weekend….not least Legends play Koge….first time the big 3 are meeting each other….will be interesting to see the early returns…..the other giant surf has to turn the ship around
 
futboldad1 said:
Some more good matchups this weekend….not least Legends play Koge….first time the big 3 are meeting each other….will be interesting to see the early returns…..the other giant surf has to turn the ship around
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yeah the Koge Legends game was a NO contest. 6-1 Koge. Koge worked them from start to finish. They let up for one minute the start of the second half and gave up the 1 goal.
 
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SuperSoccerStar said:
yeah the Koge Legends game was a NO contest. 6-1 Koge. Koge worked them from start to finish. They let up for one minute the start of the second half and gave up the 1 goal.
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This year is one of the toughest for any player since its recruitment year. At the highest levels of girls’ soccer, talent is a given, but what separates players this season is mental toughness. Every practice, every game, every touch of the ball is an opportunity to show resilience, focus, and hunger. College coaches aren’t just watching skills; they’re watching body language, attitude, and how players respond to adversity.

That’s why being mentally ready is just as important as being physically prepared. The pressure will be there, the competition will be fierce, and mistakes will happen but the strongest players rise above it. They step onto the field with confidence, push through the hard moments, and let their mentality elevate their performance.

This year isn’t just about getting recruited. It’s about proving to yourself and to others that you have the mindset, drive, and toughness to succeed at the next level. This is the year when you either keep pushing forward, or quietly hang up your cleats.
 
Luis Andres said:
This year is one of the toughest for any player since its recruitment year. At the highest levels of girls’ soccer, talent is a given, but what separates players this season is mental toughness. Every practice, every game, every touch of the ball is an opportunity to show resilience, focus, and hunger. College coaches aren’t just watching skills; they’re watching body language, attitude, and how players respond to adversity.

That’s why being mentally ready is just as important as being physically prepared. The pressure will be there, the competition will be fierce, and mistakes will happen but the strongest players rise above it. They step onto the field with confidence, push through the hard moments, and let their mentality elevate their performance.

This year isn’t just about getting recruited. It’s about proving to yourself and to others that you have the mindset, drive, and toughness to succeed at the next level. This is the year when you either keep pushing forward, or quietly hang up your cleats.
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As the girls get older at the highest levels, the focus on winning gets slightly reduced in importance as national team commitments can reduce attendance of key players at critical times, and competing interests can be a distraction for the kids, especially after college commitments are made.
 
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