MLS NEXT NEW TIER - SOUTHWEST

[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.

 

[Socal-Soccer-Dad]

Our club is dropping EA2. Moving EA to MLS2 and EA2 to EA. In addition to MLS Next.

EA2 is easy to get into as a club. With enough teams most clubs are accepted.

This pretty much sums up the whole thread.

Just pin this to the top and let's move onto the next topic.

 

[Grace T.]

This pretty much sums up the whole thread.

Just pin this to the top and let's move onto the next topic.

Yes and no. It really only works that way if your club has 1 ea team that got moved up and an mlsn team that isn’t dragging a lot of reserve players

Some got demoted for no good reason (SoCal elite), some like Albion or La surf are going to be forced to consolidate, some got unexpectedly promoted and there’s a chunk that went to mls2 despite having no mlsn team, and some in that group are new anyways and still consolidating (bulls/lasc). So it works that way probably for less than 50% and on the mlsn tier you are really safe only if you are 1-11 or first off the bench. It also has trickle down effects on the new ea and ea2 levels including relative to SoCal league which is becoming a league mostly for Youngers since the net result is more letter leagues (yay!). The SoCal league olders are rapidly heading towards what happened to coast since like SoCal league before it the standards are loose in ea2 but not that loose. And if you care about balance it’s going to disrupt the balance on the mls2 (where clubs still putting together like the bulls or the new clubs play against clubs bringing down mlsn players) and ea levels (where the strikers ea2 teams and SoCal elite teams will sit not to mention the remainder of Santa Ana).

In short, it’s a illustration of how fundamentally broken the boys game is and unless you are 1-11 or first off the bench at the highest tier (or in the much smaller on the boys side ecnl system) this impacts you.

 

[Socal-Soccer-Dad]

Some got demoted for no good reason (SoCal elite)

I don't know the guy personally but I think they did David Oh wrong...

In short, it’s a illustration of how fundamentally broken the boys game is and unless you are 1-11 or first off the bench at the highest tier (or in the much smaller on the boys side ecnl system) this impacts you.

What I want to see on the boys side:

- Have USL teams enter the youth scene in markets without MLS academies with their own fully funded programs, maybe subsidized by MLS and compete in MLSN starting U13
- We don't really need "EA" to be rebranded as "MLS Next 2" for these clubs with MLSN and EA... Keep EA... top teams will move to MLSN in U13... 2nd team can play EA... and continue to play EA...
- Do away with EA2... just keep it local and continue to play SoCal League...
- I don't mind doing away with the letter leagues altogether in U11 and U12... SoCal league just need a different bracket for U11 and U12 (not North, South, East, West but top 10-15 teams in all of SoCal). Right now the top teams are split up between PreECNL and PreNPL and EA...

 

[aong cangkol]

I don't know the guy personally but I think they did David Oh wrong...



What I want to see on the boys side:

- Have USL teams enter the youth scene in markets without MLS academies with their own fully funded programs, maybe subsidized by MLS and compete in MLSN starting U13
- We don't really need "EA" to be rebranded as "MLS Next 2" for these clubs with MLSN and EA... Keep EA... top teams will move to MLSN in U13... 2nd team can play EA... and continue to play EA...
- Do away with EA2... just keep it local and continue to play SoCal League...
- I don't mind doing away with the letter leagues altogether in U11 and U12... SoCal league just need a different bracket for U11 and U12 (not North, South, East, West but top 10-15 teams in all of SoCal). Right now the top teams are split up between PreECNL and PreNPL and EA...

Essentially you want to have one structure like most people want.
For boys:
1- MLS
2- EA
3- Socal F1,2,3

Scrap ECNL, ECRL, EA2, E64 and everything else out there.
Let's see if this can be implemented when our grandkids start playing.

 

[sandiegofutbolguy]

Essentially you want to have one structure like most people want.
For boys:
1- MLS
2- EA
3- Socal F1,2,3

Scrap ECNL, ECRL, EA2, E64 and everything else out there.
Let's see if this can be implemented when our grandkids start playing.

That'd be nice. Two years ago we played NPL and it felt like too much travel for that level.
This season our club has been added to the new MLSnext tier and if we don't get an influx of talent it is going to be a giant waste of time and money.

 

[sigmabody]

Essentially you want to have one structure like most people want.
For boys:
1- MLS
2- EA
3- Socal F1,2,3

Scrap ECNL, ECRL, EA2, E64 and everything else out there.
Let's see if this can be implemented when our grandkids start playing.

I'd take out #2, personally (not sure why EA gets special treatment in this eval). My "wave a magic wand" structure would be:
1. MLSn
2. Socal F1, 2, 3 (maybe rec level also, and maybe NPL at the top)

MLSn gets special treatment because it would be presumably subsidized by the MLS teams, and represent the level most likely to be on a pro track. Everyone else could just go up and down within Socal, with top players going between MLSn and F1/NPL every year (depending on development).

That's not likely, of course, with all the other various leagues competing for parental money, but on the other hand, if we enter a national depression soon (as is trending), that would presumably also put a heavy squeeze on discretionary spending, and we could see a pretty significant contraction of the club soccer space. Normal people are going to have a lot less disposable income in the next few years, I think.

 

[Grace T.]

I'd take out #2, personally (not sure why EA gets special treatment in this eval). My "wave a magic wand" structure would be:
1. MLSn
2. Socal F1, 2, 3 (maybe rec level also, and maybe NPL at the top)

MLSn gets special treatment because it would be presumably subsidized by the MLS teams, and represent the level most likely to be on a pro track. Everyone else could just go up and down within Socal, with top players going between MLSn and F1/NPL every year (depending on development).

That's not likely, of course, with all the other various leagues competing for parental money, but on the other hand, if we enter a national depression soon (as is trending), that would presumably also put a heavy squeeze on discretionary spending, and we could see a pretty significant contraction of the club soccer space. Normal people are going to have a lot less disposable income in the next few years, I think.

In poorer areas of the city, we've already seen that due to the Great Inflation. It was one of the factors that wound up bringing down Laufa...the rates used to be affordable and suddenly they weren't. So there's already been quite a bit of that in the barrios of the city, and Latino league has been robust as a result.

The issue with MLSN is that only the academies and a handful of other clubs really have any shot at the pros. Everyone else is there just as fodder as scrimmage partners for the academy teams, and in the early years, as a recruitment proving ground for the academies.

 

[ItaloC8no]

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.

https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2...turns-out-to-be-a-mayor-promotion-event/[/URL

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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

Just adding a logistical note. Albion LA EA and MLSN2 2011's and other age groups practice in Torrance HS Zamperini field.

 

[ItaloC8no]

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.

So are the EA and MLS2 kids practicing in Torrance a mix of the SM team as well? I thought that was a mix of STEEL?

 

[Grace T.]

So are the EA and MLS2 kids practicing in Torrance a mix of the SM team as well? I thought that was a mix of STEEL?

The Albion la mls2 teams are a mix of kids taken from Albion la (including sent down from the La mls next team which for the olders are the old Laufa side), Albion Santa Monica, Albion Santa Ana (which has some steel and some players/teams from this year) and maybe an England fc player or two. Because of the driving distance and just the location (basically the Long Beach area) I wouldn’t be surprised if the former steel is heaviest in the mix. Some of the younger Albion mlsn1 teams have been moved to Santa Monica for practice (that’s all in traffic…those mostly Latino parents were not happy). Albion Santa Ana ea had been playing some games at Long Beach city college, which is where Laufa was based after it left Sotomayor hs near the old Laufa clubhouse. Is Albion la even going to have an ea team or is that going to stay with just Albion Santa Monica and Santa Ana? Is Albion Santa Ana ea even practicing at all down there or just in Torrance/Long Beach???? And I don’t understand how people are supposed to pick teams if like the kids sent to Santa Monica they are suddenly going to add an hour plus commute mid season?

 

[ItaloC8no]

The Albion la mls2 teams are a mix of kids taken from Albion la (including sent down from the La mls next team which for the olders are the old Laufa side), Albion Santa Monica, Albion Santa Ana (which has some steel and some players/teams from this year) and maybe an England fc player or two. Because of the driving distance and just the location (basically the Long Beach area) I wouldn’t be surprised if the former steel is heaviest in the mix. Some of the younger Albion mlsn1 teams have been moved to Santa Monica for practice (that’s all in traffic…those mostly Latino parents were not happy). Albion Santa Ana ea had been playing some games at Long Beach city college, which is where Laufa was based after it left Sotomayor hs near the old Laufa clubhouse. Is Albion la even going to have an ea team or is that going to stay with just Albion Santa Monica and Santa Ana? Is Albion Santa Ana ea even practicing at all down there or just in Torrance/Long Beach???? And I don’t understand how people are supposed to pick teams if like the kids sent to Santa Monica they are suddenly going to add an hour plus commute mid season?

From what I can tell at the Torrance practices there are 2010, 2011, 2012s. There's a 2008 EA that also practices there. 2011 looks to have both EA and MLS2 fully enrolled. There home games are at PMA in Downey.

 

[Grace T.]

From what I can tell at the Torrance practices there are 2010, 2011, 2012s. There's a 2008 EA that also practices there. 2011 looks to have both EA and MLS2 fully enrolled. There home games are at PMA in Downey.

Yes but are those EA teams officially all Albion LA or Albion Santa Ana teams? For example, the higher level Albion LA teams practicing in Santa Monica are still all officially Albion LA teams (which got some of the EA and lower teams booted to much worse fields like Venice HS or DW). Albion Santa Ana for example was playing at least a chunk of their games at Long Beach City College.