JustaSpectator
SILVER
Thank you for the correction, you are right.
How’s the 2025-2026 season going?
- Thread starter TeamDadJokes
- Start date
davidnunez
SILVER
The Soccerwire articles are hilarious. Literally written by moms and dads - they give you their email address to email the article on their website. Please don't do this to you and your kids - it's embarrassing and reeks of desperation.
Fieldsofgold
SILVER
Pretty sure top drawer has a section for submissions . People can submit standouts and highlights , top moments from a given weekend . I do agree that soccer wire is hilarious and so clearly parent submissions . Top drawer and prep soccer seem more legit from what I can tell. But it’s still all a bit over the top
SoccerFolks
BRONZE
It's all money grabs - https://socalsoccer.com/threads/paying-for-media-coverage-prep-soccer-soccerwire-tds.21589/
Again that's soccerwire. If you can do that on Top Drawer then show it. Here is what you can do on Top Drawer from what my research can find.
Submit Content to TopDrawerSoccer.com | High School Soccer News
Find out how you can submit different content to TopDrawerSoccer.com.
www.topdrawersoccer.com
You can submit anything you want to top drawer but it doesn't mean its going on their site.
yes what rainbow unicorn said about the sites is straight on. Saying only ones that pay get any shine is not true though. The sites are what they are. I never heard about Exact though. Don't forget about the new one as well, NextUpGameChangers on IG. If you don't make their list you better have your kids hang up their boots!! "Only the Elite make the Cut".
Fieldsofgold
SILVER
I don’t actually care , nor do I pay for any of these. So cal is filled with so much talent that whoever gets a shout out is probably a good player . I dont think it’s good to rank kids , regardless of the website .Again that's soccerwire. If you can do that on Top Drawer then show it. Here is what you can do on Top Drawer from what my research can find.
Submit Content to TopDrawerSoccer.com | High School Soccer News
Find out how you can submit different content to TopDrawerSoccer.com.
You can submit anything you want to top drawer but it doesn't mean its going on their site.
I have a question regarding how the parent's player is ranked with TDS. Does GPA and SAT have any weight in the rankings for the player? I never paid for this service, but I know a few parents who did and they were asked to submit information. What information? Basically, who the hell decides who the top 50 players are? In my daughters age group, we all knew who the best player was and now she is balling for Chelsea. After her, it was not that easy to rank 2-49. I would love to do some digging on this. Good luck to all the players playing the great game today
As you know ranking is subjective. It's like trying to explain to someone why 50 shades of blue is somehow different than 60 shades of blue. What I've seen is really good grades opens all kinds of doors. You have to remember that the top teams probably have hundreds of players they can pick from for every roster spot. Anything that helps you to stand out is helpful. Good grades, SAT scores, coach connections, willingness to travel for college ID camps, the youth club you played for, ability to drop a huge donation on the school, black native American left handed gay agriculture major, famous. Whatever gets your foot in the door. I would also suggest not being so uptight about the obviously corrupt individuals with their hands out. They might have a connection that moves your kid to the front of the line. Sad and disgusting to participate in that type of thing but it happens and might end up being cheaper and easier in the long run.I have a question regarding how the parent's player is ranked with TDS. Does GPA and SAT have any weight in the rankings for the player? I never paid for this service, but I know a few parents who did and they were asked to submit information. What information? Basically, who the hell decides who the top 50 players are? In my daughters age group, we all knew who the best player was and now she is balling for Chelsea. After her, it was not that easy to rank 2-49. I would love to do some digging on this. Good luck to all the players playing the great game today
“I’ll make sure your kid does not get into the college she wants”
King Midas"No Kings" in youth soccer“I’ll make sure your kid does not get into the college she wants”
Southwest teams are taking a hit this year. Only 4 Southwest ECNL teams in the top 20 of the nation. 1 in the top 5 (bonkers!!!), 3 in the top 15, Pretty surprising. Talent in this age group is really smoothing out with the rest of the country. It showed up in playoffs last year but now its showing up in league. 2010 Southwest used to really dominate the nation but no more!!
It’s been a while since I posted on here, I’m now in Texas. But yes you are right. If you look at the 2 older age groups just 2 teams from SoCal in the top 20. SoCal girls’ soccer teams dominate when they’re young because they train year-round, have tons of talent, and face top competition early, which makes them sharper and more technical than most. But around age 15, players from other states catch up physically, mentally, and tactically. Many SoCal players also burn out or stop improving because they’ve been pushed so hard from a young age, while others across the country are just hitting their stride. Add in recruiting moves, kids switching clubs dilutes team talent, and other regions learning to counter SoCal’s style, and by then, everyone’s on a more even playing field.
Welcome back. I love Texas. Age 15-18 in SoCal has so much to offer the goats and some goats get burned out because daddy goat pushes his baby goat to be great at one thing, soccer. It's soccer and more soccer and some girls have had enough by this age. The SoCal grind is not easy for young players. To be great at soccer in SoCal from age 15-18 takes dedication unlike most goat futbol teens around the world trying to be their best. We make the best young players become Unicorns. Unicorn= Top player that is 100% dedicated to play soccer only. No PARTIES allowed. Boys, no!!! It's total focus on soccer and going home to do homework and study and then practice and then come home to study for SAT scores and get 5 hours a sleep. It's basically a triangle of commitment that can only be done by a true Unicorn.
futboldad1
PREMIER
Back on topic…legends beat breakers in the big game of the day with a last second fast break after a goal kick for a 2-1 final score….my little birds told me it was a back and forth battle….koge kept rolling winning 5-2 over sporting….
Love the “Daddy Goat” visual. Somewhere right now a dad in flip-flops is yelling “first to the ball!” while holding a Starbucks and Venmoing another $800 for private training.I think you are spot on. SoCal has a PhD program in burnout. By age 15 these girls have done more 1v1s than a FIFA beta test. The survivors? Those are the real Unicorns. The rest of the country finally catches up physically and mentally while Socal kids are already on their second pair of knees.
Socal raises baby goats into Unicorns at the cost of sleep, social life, and probably a few ACLs. Still, nothing beats SoCal Futbol sunshine, turf burn, and eternal tryouts.
Another way of saying this is...
I think you are spot on. SoCal has a PhD program in burnout. By age 15 these girls have done more 1v1s than a FIFA beta test. The survivors? Those are the real Unicorns. The rest of the country finally catches up physically and mentally while Socal kids are already on their second pair of knees.
Socal raises baby goats into Unicorns at the cost of sleep, social life, and probably a few ACLs. Still, nothing beats SoCal Futbol sunshine, turf burn, and eternal tryouts.
- Socal favors early developers
- The rest of the nation (maybe excluding Texas and Atlanta) favors later developers.
I've seen this myself where the early developer is 5'1" before everyone else and scores goals at will up until u13. Then around u15 when they're still 5'1" they get pushed off the ball constantly and rarely score. In Socal this type of player is on the top team and generally stays there. In other parts of the country they might be on the top team when younger but as they get older coaches select bigger and faster to develop. This is because high level competition doesnt start until an older/later age.
Not much Socal parents can do about it other than acknowledge coaches favor early developers out here.
It hurts with their development spin if the one they developed falls behind and makes coach, Doc and club look bad. It's sad!
another problem is having some kids on a team dedicated like that and the rest not.
What I've seen is clubs/coaches/doc pick who they think will be a winner and throw all their resources at them. This happens around u13. By u15 when the early developer hasn't got any bigger and its obvious that its time to shift gears they choose to dig in and keep developing them. US National teams seem to do the same thing. Its almost like an ego thing that coaches pick the ones they like and no matter what they'll stick with them to prove they were right. This same type of mentality probably happens at east coast and other not Socal geographies. Its probably just delayed a bit so you dont see as many early developer burnouts.