MLS NEXT NEW TIER - SOUTHWEST

[Grace T.]

Yes, they currently have an in-season MLSN team (sort of), but they've recently seen an exodus of players. The issue started when they began the season training in one area, then replaced the coach and moved the practices to Santa Monica. The commute became too much for parents, so many left the team. I thought they were holding tryouts to bring in a few players to help rebuild the roster, but it turned out to be tryouts for their EA or MLS Next 2 team, which ended up being a waste of time.

Oooofff...would be terrible to be a family on one of those teams: hour+ added commute you didn't bargain for, you may not speak English as your primary and the coach may not speak Spanish, you are basically trying out for your position with a new coach, and you have to learn a playing style which is 180 degrees different than the one you were playing....GKs in particular are in for a rough time.

Mass tryouts are never a good way to get onto the top fully formed team. Find the coach and email footage instead. The sole exception for mass tryouts is if the team isn't fully formed (e.g., first year).

If regular MLSN really cared about the proper development and placement of players, they'd require each club to have a placement director that would be in charge of overseeing tryouts and the placement of players at the appropriate status (core/futures/reserve/bio) and level (MLSN, MLS2, EA). Coaches could still have a say on the placement of their teams, but it would lead to a more meritocratic sorting like the academies. It would eliminate problems like coaches playing favorites or not wanting send players down, players on the 2nd team not getting promoted because the top team is full, and the difficulties in how biobanding is working. The placement director would be responsible for receiving periodic reports from the coaches, and attending games and trainings. As it is, the regular MLSN still operate like little fiefdoms. If I have a December born 2010 player that I want to get biobanded into the 11s, there's no real mechanism right now...I'd have to apply to the 10s, the 10s coach would have to have the 11s look at him, they'd have to come to an agreement, and then agree to bio band...instead I should be able to apply to the placement director who would take the first pass at evaluating the player and then look to place them appropriately....the 11 would only get bio banded right now if the 11's coach scouted him and wants to use him to swing the team's performance in their favor by bringing in an older player.

 

[TheMountie]

Oooofff...would be terrible to be a family on one of those teams: hour+ added commute you didn't bargain for, you may not speak English as your primary and the coach may not speak Spanish, you are basically trying out for your position with a new coach, and you have to learn a playing style which is 180 degrees different than the one you were playing....GKs in particular are in for a rough time.

Mass tryouts are never a good way to get onto the top fully formed team. Find the coach and email footage instead. The sole exception for mass tryouts is if the team isn't fully formed (e.g., first year).

If regular MLSN really cared about the proper development and placement of players, they'd require each club to have a placement director that would be in charge of overseeing tryouts and the placement of players at the appropriate status (core/futures/reserve/bio) and level (MLSN, MLS2, EA). Coaches could still have a say on the placement of their teams, but it would lead to a more meritocratic sorting like the academies. It would eliminate problems like coaches playing favorites or not wanting send players down, players on the 2nd team not getting promoted because the top team is full, and the difficulties in how biobanding is working. The placement director would be responsible for receiving periodic reports from the coaches, and attending games and trainings. As it is, the regular MLSN still operate like little fiefdoms. If I have a December born 2010 player that I want to get biobanded into the 11s, there's no real mechanism right now...I'd have to apply to the 10s, the 10s coach would have to have the 11s look at him, they'd have to come to an agreement, and then agree to bio band...instead I should be able to apply to the placement director who would take the first pass at evaluating the player and then look to place them appropriately....the 11 would only get bio banded right now if the 11's coach scouted him and wants to use him to swing the team's performance in their favor by bringing in an older player.

It's really bizarre how club soccer is managed right now. Ideally, I would like to find a new team for next season, but I don’t want to end up at a club that operates more like a business. Not to be harsh, but there are plenty of cases where kids may not be at an ECNL or MLS Next level, but their parents can afford to pay the full fees to 'lock' in their roster spot. And how can the club say no? I’ve spoken to coaches who’ve told me that they often hope kids who aren't performing well and don't play much decide not to re-register for the next season because the club is hesitant to move them down. If a kid is demoted after the parents have paid for the new season, there’s a good chance the parents will pull their child from the club and demand a refund via charge back. Essentially, clubs can’t cut or demote players anymore, which really undermines the whole purpose of having a competitive club system. I remember growing up playing NJB and our basketball team was super competitive, you weren't promised a spot if a better kid tried out for the team for your position.

 

[Carlsbad7]

It's really bizarre how club soccer is managed right now. Ideally, I would like to find a new team for next season, but I don’t want to end up at a club that operates more like a business. Not to be harsh, but there are plenty of cases where kids may not be at an ECNL or MLS Next level, but their parents can afford to pay the full fees to 'lock' in their roster spot. And how can the club say no? I’ve spoken to coaches who’ve told me that they often hope kids who aren't performing well and don't play much decide not to re-register for the next season because the club is hesitant to move them down. If a kid is demoted after the parents have paid for the new season, there’s a good chance the parents will pull their child from the club and demand a refund via charge back. Essentially, clubs can’t cut or demote players anymore, which really undermines the whole purpose of having a competitive club system. I remember growing up playing NJB and our basketball team was super competitive, you weren't promised a spot if a better kid tried out for the team for your position.

What you're describing only occurs at not as desirable clubs/teams. With more desirable teams coaches could review/session a player a week because everyone wants to play on their team.

If a club is more focused on money than performance it will show in the results.

 

[Grace T.]

What you're describing only occurs at not as desirable clubs/teams. With more desirable teams coaches could review/session a player a week because everyone wants to play on their team.

If a club is more focused on money than performance it will show in the results.

It depends what you mean the "more desirable teams". On the boys side those are the SoCal academies, Strikers, Barca in AZ, and maybe 1-2 teams highly performing in the applicable age group. On the other MLS teams there are some teams with 30+ kids (a substantial chunk as reserve players that should be getting their play time on the second team) with coaches refusing to let people go: the player will walk if sent down to the second team, club doesn't want to lose the money, but there are also a ton of boys out there who will gladly take the space....problem then is you have to justify to everyone why you have 31 players now on the team, a big chunk of which are getting no play time. There's a loss bias: it's easier to add someone than to subtract, hence why they are hoping MLS2 resolves the problem (but whispers..."it won't, because until you have a placement director coaches will still be reluctant to form their teams based purely on merit"....see the Moneyball film and book).

 

[Mosafie]

There are MLS Clubs who drop down 5 to 7 players every year. They keep the core 11-13. Then they sign players from outside the club to the MLS Next team. It's easy to find playes for the MLS Next teams.

Many of these new players are not as good as the players they moved down. Most of the kids they move down stay in the club because they are on the bubble and the club gets extra revenue from the new players. The new players mostly sot on the bench.

The teams never have any continuity so they never get better. The club makes money and ultimately that's the whole point of club soccer.

 

[fatdad]

Here is a visual of how all the Leagues stack up in Southern California. This was originally created using a California League Comparison done by Soccer Rankings. Some of the recent league name changes were plugged in for current verbages of those teams leagues. This is not for some specific team that is "performing with xyz league", so save your breath. This is a comparison of the average team strength in a league vs. the average team strength in another league. I don't have any skin in the game; I don't make any money from youth sports. I post this to help parents understand the soccer landscape and help them make informed decisions.

View attachment 26122

Maybe the data does not back it up, but from the players I know going to MLSN2 vs ECRL teams next season, MLSN2 definitely looks to be a cut above ECRL. Just my 2 cents.

 

[marioz]

No, they are Albion LA now. The supporters of LAUFA were big Hispanic leaders (Rocky Delgadillo) in the Los Angeles community. Then there was this gem below. However, after COVID, the funding ran out and the largely Latino parents of secondary teams (which were the financial support for the first teams that had a lot of success and were very generous with scholarships) couldn't afford the rates anymore with the Great Inflation. They also tried to build a girls program which wound up being a failure. It reached the point where the club stopped paying some people (like the GK and some assistant coaches) and some teams stopped paying their dues. Albion took over and renamed it Albion LA. Albion then took over Santa Monica Surf. There's a marriage going on between Albion Santa Monica and Albion LA where a lot of teams have been sent over to the westside to practice including some of the MLSN teams. The westside has more affluent families capable of financially supporting the organization and there are the new facilities the city of Santa Monica are going to build in the airport. LAUFA always struggled to find practice space particularly for the secondary teams and the facilities it used down in Long Beach like the community college are very expensive. Though it's unclear right now how deep that marriage is going to go (for example, in 4-5 years will Albion LA cease to exist and just be absorbed by SM or will it be vice versa depending on where they put the MLS2 teams physically).

LASC is entirely different organization....for one year they were touch and go too but then they got MLSN which was a huge lifeline.

The EA players at the Albion clubs in particularly are in for a challenge because not only will they have to deal with the MLSN first team players being sent down (and some of the LAUFA teams are huge), but Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Santa Ana and England FC will be combining into 1 team and 3/4 of them will likely have a much longer drive. The play styles are also very disparate though the talent pool is greatly expanded. The Latino teams tend to play Mexican physical style with a low block and having the GK pegged into the box. SM prided itself on teaching a possession based style. The two are incompatible so it will be interesting to see what style, if any, Albion imposes on the organization. They seem to be focused on we'll deal with the youngers first approach.

Rick Caruso: Parents left confused after soccer club meeting turns out to be a mayor promotion event

A Los Angeles youth soccer club held a meeting that turned out to be Rick Caruso promotion event. Parents were confused, and you might be, too. An honest mistake or a deceitful plan? Who knows? Tyler Pak and Matthew Tsai have the story.

www.uscannenbergmedia.com

Wow, how do you get all this information? Impressive.

Curious, based on my reading, Alion Santa Ana EA will then convert to what? (not their EA2 team).

 

[Grace T.]

Wow, how do you get all this information? Impressive.

Curious, based on my reading, Alion Santa Ana EA will then convert to what? (not their EA2 team).

I knew the gk coach and some of the coaches brought over to build the girls side. Shame. Laufa had a physical club house which was cute.

Albion Santa Ana has also been using the Long Beach facilities for things like games so your guess is as good as mine. Los Angeles technically has the award. Santa Ana seems to be the most robust right now. And Santa Monica has had the most advanced style, technical direction and access to facilities. So what they’ll do who knows.

 

[Full90UTD]

Wow, how do you get all this information? Impressive.

Curious, based on my reading, Alion Santa Ana EA will then convert to what? (not their EA2 team).

I remember being so mad when it turned out to be a political event and it was mandatory.

 

[Full90UTD]

Well it’s just as surprising as oaks fc (which didn’t even have ea only ea 2 before this) jumping over SoCal elite (which has had quite a bit of success with some teams). It also can’t be just facilities…one of the problems with conejo valley teams getting letter league traction has been facilities…ayso controls the big field up there…and the y’s turf field is small and other clubs use it.

Oaks had EA for the 2024/2025 season with their 2014 and 2013 teams, same coach. These two teams played a crucial role in helping Oaks secure EA 1 status and now MLS Next 2. Season 2025/2026 will have bigger milestones as things will completely change within Oaks/VCFC.

 

[Grace T.]

Oaks had EA for the 2024/2025 season with their 2014 and 2013 teams, same coach. These two teams played a crucial role in helping Oaks secure EA 1 status and now MLS Next 2. Season 2025/2026 will have bigger milestones as things will completely change within Oaks/VCFC.

Oaks has had the same difficulties as Laguna and the former Santa Monica Surf or Eagles ECRL boys side. Easier to put together strong teams at the younger ages, but things tend to fall apart at the older ages without access to MLS Next or ECNL on the older ages because the best players tend to migrate and you can't bring down the MLSN players to help out. Hence the question: If MLS2 is intended like NDL on the East Coast to provide a place to more freely transfer players up and down between MLS, why bring in non-MLS clubs.

But what's this: "things will completely change within Oaks/VCFC"....inquiring minds want to know....some rumor?

 

[Futbol2dmaxxx]

Yes and no. The communities Laufa drew from can’t afford $3500 a year….less so even more now if a recession is looming after the Great Inflation. The reality is a lot of the teams couldn’t or didn’t want pay the dues needed to carry the next teams. The other factor in the decline of the teams you mentioned was less scholarships to go around.

So without a shift in locations, I don’t see how Albion la makes a go of it long term. That means less options for those in disadvantage communities in the downtown triangle. It’s why ecnl doesn’t have a presence there. And I can’t see sm families long term agreeing that they’ll finance the lower level teams and their kids either don’t get a shot or have to drive to Downey or Long Beach to get a crack at the top team (there’s already a ton of bad feeling there about mls2). One or the other isn’t going to survive this and my bet is on the one with the money and if Santa Monica city comes through facilities. Short term it’s a ton of disruption for families in all 4 Albion clubs: La Santa Monica Santa Ana and England fc.

But at least they aren’t SoCal elite which got a demotion through no fault of the teams so perspective.

While it was one of the more affordable Elite Academies, mismanagement of sponsorship funds and the redirection of resources to other projects, such as La Academia (now the Santa Monica chapter), contributed to its financial difficulties. This ultimately led to the transition to Albion LA. Additionally, since the Pre-Academy teams were unwilling to move and pay the $35,000 fee, they ultimately disbanded.