High School Soccer

[Grace T.]

Thanks for these clarifying replies. Sadly, the cannon fodder argument seems the most logical explanation. MLS Next has 15,000 players for the 23/24 season. That's 15,000 kids walled off from the many social/psychological/personal benefits of high school soccer, all so that a couple dozen (??) can be developed for professional contracts and the national team. Compare that to basketball, which also has a dominant, talent-driven club system, but which encourages high school competition, which is awesome all across the country, and which doesn't ruin any player's development. Imagine how awesome high school soccer could be if US Soccer and the MLS invested in it. If the best club coaches also coached in schools. If the most talented generation of teenage soccer players actually played for their schools. You want to grow the game at home? You want fans at MLS games? You want NCAA soccer to feel relevant? Start by filling the stands at high school games, with an exciting product on the field. Give teenagers something to care about and cheer for. What a strange missed opportunity by the people in charge of developing soccer in this country.

You'd have to either kill football or get the fields by pushing out the triple alliance of baseball (dying)/track & field (also in remission but USATF still has a lot of clout because of the Olympics)/lacrosse (unusually dominant in the East).

I've also gotten a peek at life in gridiron football at the top 25 SoCal high schools (almost all overwhelmingly private or parochial). Soccer ain't got nothing on the shenanigans going on there. Everything from scholarship money being thrown and transfer window abuse (people literally renting out places to say they changed zip codes), steroids (my guess is 25% of the athletes are on them), cheating when it comes to grade limits in which teachers are actively involved, and abuse. Scary...high school sports in general aren't like when you were growing up (even if you are a later day Millennial). Still, I get your point...the reason football despite all the political issues and concussion concerns is alive and kicking is because of the high school experience.

 

[crush]

Thanks for these clarifying replies. Sadly, the cannon fodder argument seems the most logical explanation. MLS Next has 15,000 players for the 23/24 season. That's 15,000 kids walled off from the many social/psychological/personal benefits of high school soccer, all so that a couple dozen (??) can be developed for professional contracts and the national team. Compare that to basketball, which also has a dominant, talent-driven club system, but which encourages high school competition, which is awesome all across the country, and which doesn't ruin any player's development. Imagine how awesome high school soccer could be if US Soccer and the MLS invested in it. If the best club coaches also coached in schools. If the most talented generation of teenage soccer players actually played for their schools. You want to grow the game at home? You want fans at MLS games? You want NCAA soccer to feel relevant? Start by filling the stands at high school games, with an exciting product on the field. Give teenagers something to care about and cheer for. What a strange missed opportunity by the people in charge of developing soccer in this country.

I said all this and some 5 years ago. I played basketball and baseball in high school. All Freeway League First Team hoops my senior year. I was a way better baseball player but failed to master hitting the curve ball. My dream was to play for the Dodgers. I was a lot like David Eckstein. I brag because I loved high school sports, and it was the only reason I even went to high school. I was an orphan so to speak until one of my lovely Guardian Angels adopted me after I was born. Sports was where I shinned and had confidence. I was teased as a child for stuttering when I was in my youth. My big complaint with the failed GDA and now this MLS+, is why top docs tell kids they better stay & pay to play against the top 1%. The Girls League offered parents and their child 25% guarantee starts if they paid over $10K aa year. All the other top sports in high school say, "yes" to high school sport. Laguna beach's top water polo players do club and high school. Both and. Alyssa Thompson did both and that was dangerous. I would advise any top, top potential pro player (lees than 1%) to skip high school soccer because it's super dangerous. +, the refs don't call a tight game, so kids get hurt. If you not going pro an also want to ball in college, do reg club and hs. My wife's nephew is quitting MLS because he's not good enough for the Pros and he knows it. He's 15 and he's a good little player but not Pro. He will get scholarship for sure because his GPA is 4.4 and just a great human. We should have a top top league for only the few and the best and the rest play rec soccer, high school and then college ball.

 

[watfly]

You'd have to either kill football or get the fields by pushing out the triple alliance of baseball (dying)/track & field (also in remission but USATF still has a lot of clout because of the Olympics)/lacrosse (unusually dominant in the East).

I've also gotten a peek at life in gridiron football at the top 25 SoCal high schools (almost all overwhelmingly private or parochial). Soccer ain't got nothing on the shenanigans going on there. Everything from scholarship money being thrown and transfer window abuse (people literally renting out places to say they changed zip codes), steroids (my guess is 25% of the athletes are on them), cheating when it comes to grade limits in which teachers are actively involved, and abuse. Scary...high school sports in general aren't like when you were growing up (even if you are a later day Millennial). Still, I get your point...the reason football despite all the political issues and concussion concerns is alive and kicking is because of the high school experience.

My favorite is, claim you're homeless (sorry, unhoused) pick any school you want and move in with the coach. I haven't heard much in the way of steroids, but my son's team only won two games and that might be why!