MLS NEXT IS A FUCKING PYRAMID SCHEME FOR SOCCER PARENTS - The American Dream if the Dream Was a Pay-to-Lose Scam

[shirivelli]

Call it “don’t hate the player, hate the game,” or maybe we’re all just sipping the same Kool-Aid. Either way, the structure of youth soccer in the U.S. isn’t changing anytime soon. As long as parents keep paying and kids keep playing, the system keeps churning with the same playbook, same status quo.

I’ve hated it so much I seriously considered pulling my DD out, despite being a standout player. It’s maddening. I genuinely despise what the youth system represents and how far it’s strayed from the spirit of the game.

It’s like being trapped at a rundown taco joint (aka youth soccer) staffed by has-been chefs charging top dollar for mediocre meal. And just to rub it in, they serve it up with that smug, “Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?” stare. No alternatives. No escape. Just overpriced disappointment on a plate.

 

[TopesWin]

Call it “don’t hate the player, hate the game,” or maybe we’re all just sipping the same Kool-Aid. Either way, the structure of youth soccer in the U.S. isn’t changing anytime soon. As long as parents keep paying and kids keep playing, the system keeps churning with the same playbook, same status quo.

I’ve hated it so much I seriously considered pulling my DD out, despite being a standout player. It’s maddening. I genuinely despise what the youth system represents and how far it’s strayed from the spirit of the game.

It’s like being trapped at a rundown taco joint (aka youth soccer) staffed by has-been chefs charging top dollar for mediocre meal. And just to rub it in, they serve it up with that smug, “Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?” stare. No alternatives. No escape. Just overpriced disappointment on a plate.

I think this is my favorite analogy ever on this board. Both the creativity and accuracy!

 

[Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr]

Call it “don’t hate the player, hate the game,” or maybe we’re all just sipping the same Kool-Aid. Either way, the structure of youth soccer in the U.S. isn’t changing anytime soon. As long as parents keep paying and kids keep playing, the system keeps churning with the same playbook, same status quo.

I’ve hated it so much I seriously considered pulling my DD out, despite being a standout player. It’s maddening. I genuinely despise what the youth system represents and how far it’s strayed from the spirit of the game.

It’s like being trapped at a rundown taco joint (aka youth soccer) staffed by has-been chefs charging top dollar for mediocre meal. And just to rub it in, they serve it up with that smug, “Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?” stare. No alternatives. No escape. Just overpriced disappointment on a plate.

Preach. And there are no better taco stands within days of travel, and you don't even have a (non-e) bike.

 

[Jamisfoes]

Call it “don’t hate the player, hate the game,” or maybe we’re all just sipping the same Kool-Aid. Either way, the structure of youth soccer in the U.S. isn’t changing anytime soon. As long as parents keep paying and kids keep playing, the system keeps churning with the same playbook, same status quo.

I’ve hated it so much I seriously considered pulling my DD out, despite being a standout player. It’s maddening. I genuinely despise what the youth system represents and how far it’s strayed from the spirit of the game.

It’s like being trapped at a rundown taco joint (aka youth soccer) staffed by has-been chefs charging top dollar for mediocre meal. And just to rub it in, they serve it up with that smug, “Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?” stare. No alternatives. No escape. Just overpriced disappointment on a plate.

Being on a mls next team is like a tourist visiting Los Angeles for the first time, you have to go visit the Hollywood walk of fame just so you can say you have done it. By the time your kid is 13, you would have already know that there is very little college scholarship money to be had . I don’t understand why would anyone feel they are trapped.

 

[NewUser27]

Being on a mls next team is like a tourist visiting Los Angeles for the first time, you have to go visit the Hollywood walk of fame just so you can say you have done it. By the time your kid is 13, you would have already know that there is very little college scholarship money to be had . I don’t understand why would anyone feel they are trapped.

d1 offers are 20-50%

 

[Jar!23]

Correct. $4,500 just for dues. That did include tournament and play day entry fees but another $150 or so for uniforms and like $50-$75 to try out. So you're easily at $5k before you even play a game. Same stay-and-play bullshit as soccer. You pay $250 for a room anyone else gets for $190, parking, etc. My favorite was the, "hey... we didn't qualify for nationals in Chicago so does everyone want to go to Florida instead? They call it the same thing but you qualify just by paying the entry fee."

Fuck you.

Nationals in Orlando! No need to qualify. What is the spectator fee? Socal tournament was like $90/person. Choose which parent gets to go to watch their kid. Paying for both parents and sibling to go support? No way. Tryout fee. Then before you tryout, you are "encouraged" to go to open gym dates. Each open gym involves a fee. Slunks! Expensive volleyball shorts for boys are a must have.

 

[JeterwastheBEST]

“Overdribbling”.

Little game theory here. Assuming both players are equally matched, there is no universe where an attacking player should be able to get around by dribbling and score on two similarly skilled defending players (one of them being a goalkeeper). If that’s happening, there’s a mismatch with one of the two defending players. And at the mlsn level, especially once the puberty advantage is wiped away, so are those easy advantages since everyone has gotten to the highest level. You can’t shoot over the gk anymore. You can’t trick the defender with something like a step over. That’s why so few goals at the mlsn levels are just shots from the top of the 18. It’s going to be rare for an attacking player to get free and have the time and place it in a corner where the gk can’t get it. It’s why most of the goals come from things like corners, cutbacks, creative 1v1s, creative dfks, pks and mistakes building out of the back. So the best you can hope on the dribble is to gain some micro space to pass it creatively. If you dribble it you will eventually lose it. And the more times you do it the more turnovers you will be responsible for. Creativity at that level is mostly seeing the creative passing that breaks lines and off ball movement. So in making your case you have inadvertently undermined your position by pointing to the one factor coaches usually should bench you for. And unlike size, it’s one the player actually has total control. Youth soccer is littered with attackers who break into the first years at the higher letter leagues and then don’t perform to expectations because they find they can’t dribble the ball and shoot over the gks head and be the superstar they were on their f1 team. The u13 and u14 ages are where every position (eg the big gk who used to be a truck but now is too out of shape to learn to dive, the striker who could outrun everyone over the top, the cdm who used to hide as a redundant player) fafo. Adapt or die.

Coaches rarely if ever pull girls for blatant mistakes, they usually condone it if it's their favorite players...I've already posted how Silverlakes is a pigeon shooting gallery on most days...

 

[KingMI]

Coaches rarely if ever pull girls for blatant mistakes, they usually condone it if it's their favorite players...I've already posted how Silverlakes is a pigeon shooting gallery on most days..

The female coaches of girls teams are most likely to pull another girl player for mistakes in games. It's the male daddy figure coaches who allow this crap.

 

[SuperSoccerStar]

Coaches rarely if ever pull girls for blatant mistakes, they usually condone it if it's their favorite players...

not true at all

 

[Slobodan]

Nationals in Orlando! No need to qualify. What is the spectator fee? Socal tournament was like $90/person. Choose which parent gets to go to watch their kid. Paying for both parents and sibling to go support? No way. Tryout fee. Then before you tryout, you are "encouraged" to go to open gym dates. Each open gym involves a fee. Slunks! Expensive volleyball shorts for boys are a must have.

Right? And you HAVE to attend the "pre-tryout" gym dates because, as you learn after the first year, that's where they decide what 3-4 outsiders are going to get offers before the actual tryout.

 

[Jar!23]

Right? And you HAVE to attend the "pre-tryout" gym dates because, as you learn after the first year, that's where they decide what 3-4 outsiders are going to get offers before the actual tryout.

The worst part? Players have to work games. At least when my kid refs a soccer game, he gets paid.

 

[JeterwastheBEST]

not true at all

OK, false

 

[Slobodan]

The worst part? Players have to work games. At least when my kid refs a soccer game, he gets paid.

Yep. Forgot about that. And the only thing worse than your exhausted kid having to ref someone else's game after playing all day is watching 3 girls, from another team, look at their phones and grab-ass rather than actually do the job of keeping score, noting rotations, etc.

 

[Socal-Soccer-Dad]

It's a 'vacation" when it's just me and my wife and sometimes an even better vacation when I go alone."

This part rings truer I get older... LOL.

A trip with the whole family is an obligation. Sometimes enjoyable obligation but an obligation nonetheless!

A trip with just the wife is a little nicer but still gotta cater and see if she's happy.

A vacation is a gambling/golf/fishing trip with the boys... but as I got older... sometimes being by myself is a nice vacation...

 

[crush]

This part rings truer I get older... LOL.

A trip with the whole family is an obligation. Sometimes enjoyable obligation but an obligation nonetheless!

A trip with just the wife is a little nicer but still gotta cater and see if she's happy.

A vacation is a gambling/golf/fishing trip with the boys... but as I got older... sometimes being by myself is a nice vacation...

100% brother. The older I get; the vacation is all about me and myself only

 

[aong cangkol]

I think some people get emotional because they think MLS Next, ECNL, Volleyball, etc is really trying to discover and develop talent. This is a commercialized recreational industry so the goal of youth soccer clubs and leagues are to maximize revenue.
There is no incentive to lower price until participation drops. Finding the next Pulisic for Socal Reds is really not their business model.
The fact that we have 6+ leagues now show that their business model works. MLSNEXT 2 is just starting, soon there will be MLSNEXT 3 lol

 

[sigmabody]

I think some people get emotional because they think MLS Next, ECNL, Volleyball, etc is really trying to discover and develop talent. This is a commercialized recreational industry so the goal of youth soccer clubs and leagues are to maximize revenue.

Absolutely. And to add to this, nowhere near enough parents think about the off-ramp for their kids, which is a testament to how successful this industry is in perpetuating the myth that your kid is special and if you just pay enough, they might be the next international soccer star.

I've noted elsewhere on this forum that my son is starting HS this year, and absent some objectively significant large improvement in his ability, this will possibly be his last year playing club soccer. In my perception, that's around the age where you have "made it" or you haven't, and he's not even playing on the highest level team in his club, not to mention playing as a good player on an actually high level team. The only decision point next year will be whether or not his enjoyment playing with friends is worth the huge ongoing cost for club soccer (and if we were in a less secure financial position than we are, this would not even be a debate).

 

[Scrub It Kook]

Try competitive dance. Its the same cost as soccer but nobody scores which means wins all come down to the judges discretion. (Everyone is paid off) Also the mom's are all failed stage parents living though their kid.

My friends daughter is in competitive dance. He says his sons club soccer is a rounding error compared to the cost of his daughters dance.

 

[Grace T.]

My friends daughter is in competitive dance. He says his son’s club soccer is a rounding error compared to the cost of his daughter’s dance.

ballet is the worst of worst (worse than cheer, modern dance that you can use on a school dance team, or competitive ballroom), at least for girls at the highest levels. Pointe shoes at $80 a pop for some mediocre ones that last less than a week. Summers at fancy academies in places like Scottsdale to break into professional and top college academies. Private lessons at $100 a pop. Costumes that can run in the hundreds of dollars. Makeup in the $1000s. Cut throat competition that you have very little control over depending on how you come out of the puberty lottery. Friends daughter is out to one of those academies this summer….my jaw hit the floor but one of the girls from the academy last year did make a lead dancer with the royal swedish ballet and won u18 euro fest. Your reward is a short ballet career and then you get to teach little kids.

 

[Grace T.]

ballet is the worst of worst (worse than cheer, modern dance that you can use on a school dance team, or competitive ballroom), at least for girls at the highest levels. Pointe shoes at $80 a pop for some mediocre ones that last less than a week. Summers at fancy academies in places like Scottsdale to break into professional and top college academies. Private lessons at $100 a pop. Costumes that can run in the hundreds of dollars. Makeup in the $1000s. Cut throat competition that you have very little control over depending on how you come out of the puberty lottery. Friends daughter is out to one of those academies this summer….my jaw hit the floor but one of the girls from the academy last year did make a lead dancer with the royal swedish ballet and won u18 euro fest. Your reward is a short ballet career and then you get to teach little kids.

Ps the boys on the other hand are an entirely different story. If you are tall enough and hit the gym and take your creatine to build biceps you’ll be very in demand even with little talent, your equipment is inexpensive, your physique develops pretty quickly into the male ideal, some parents will pay you to dance with their daughters, and if you swing that way you get to handle the girls all day long. The leadership positions are all held by men so if you do have talent and drive you can make a career out of it.

 

[Socal-Soccer-Dad]

There is no incentive to lower price until participation drops.

100%.

And there's nothing wrong with it... from a willing provider of a service... to a willing buyer of that service...

I get it. We can all complain a little bit. More tongue in cheek than anything else. And it builds a bit of camaraderie among parents as we sit around and complain about getting up early and paying all these fees... but I think most are reasonable and know that we do it because our kids enjoy it and deep inside, we enjoy it too...

No one is forcing anyone to enroll their children in travel sports...