DA is like going to Harvard???

What happen with the USMNT isn’t simply a DA problem. It goes deeper then that. The talent is everywhere. The politics involved is what happened to the USMNT.
 
DA is one way to get exposure to some college coaches but there are limited opportunities to do so once you hit u16/17 with only 20 odd games, one showcase and playoffs for 1/4 of the teams . The more successful ones also play in a tournament or two so that can help.

Higher profile club teams play more games, tournments, national cup, regionals, etc and can get more exposure or looks compared to DA. We know club players who as sophomores had plenty of coaches following them and verbal offers evenutally.

Either way works so hard to say what's best but some DA teams say the Galaxy will have just about all their older players with college offers as a whole team, that doesn't happen as much in club but on normal da teams don't see that
 
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.
 
MA0812 said:
I know a few dozen kids that made the decision to turn down DA offers and or left DA in order to play for their high school. The talent pool is huge in SoCal. There are plenty of ECNL and flight 1 girls that would be starters on any DA team but chose not to go that route in order to play for their school and have a more flexible schedule.
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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.
 
jpeter said:
DA is one way to get exposure to some college coaches but there are limited opportunities to do so once you hit u16/17 with only 20 odd games, one showcase and playoffs for 1/4 of the teams . The more successful ones also play in a tournament or two so that can help.

Higher profile club teams play more games, tournments, national cup, regionals, etc and can get more exposure or looks compared to DA. We know club players who as sophomores had plenty of coaches following them and verbal offers evenutally.

Either way works so hard to say what's best but some DA teams say the Galaxy will have just about all their older players with college offers as a whole team, that doesn't happen as much in club but on normal da teams don't see that
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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.
 
Simisoccerfan said:
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.
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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.
 
jpeter said:
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.
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Thought so. Sounds like their are huge differences in the college exposure and opportunities between boys and girls.
 
jpeter said:
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.
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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.
 
espola said:
I gave often wondered if any of the geniuses who started DA played HS? Or attended an American HS?
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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.
 
focomoso said:
This is wrong on _soooo_ many levels.

First, Harvard (almost any school, really) is perfectly fine with students taking time off. From the Harvard site:



So the analogy fails on its face.

But second, and more importantly, the emphasis on letting your team down if you take time off points to exactly what is wrong with the DA system. The team is not going to college. The team is not going to play for the national team. The team should not matter at all. What matters are the players. If playing high school is better for the player (for any reason) then the DA should encourage it.

And lastly, my kid plays on a DA and let me tell you, it ain't no Harvard.
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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 said:
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.
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How many gridiron football scholarships do they award?
 
Simisoccerfan said:
Kick, you are completely wrong! She is the third of my kids to play HS soccer. HS soccer is great for the parents. Tons of fans in the stands, newspaper articles, online interviews, awards, lots of other people telling you how great your kid played. What parent wouldn’t like that? Not playing HS to play DA this year is strictly her choice. She was already committed prior to the start of this DA season so could have easily chose to return her senior year.
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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!!
 
mirage said:
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.
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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."
 
MarkM said:
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."
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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.
 
Simisoccerfan said:
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.
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Yup as a matter of fact I do! Not sure if that's good or bad but either way the fact still remains.
 
Simisoccerfan said:
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.
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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.
 
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