Sorry - I could have written that part more clearly. I'm very well informed on exactly what MLSN-Academy Division is and actually joke to my kid that he is essentially still an Elite Academy player - only thing that has changed is the branding.
Meh...don't feel bad....MLSN HG isn't that different unless you are an academy player with HG status. The chief difference is regular MLSN get a shot a college on the boys side, but otherwise they are essentially playing rec too (a handful of non academy teams/programs excepted).
This is what ChatGPT suggested:
System-Level Solutions
- True Promotion/Relegation Within Youth Leagues
- Create a merit-based ladder across MLSN, ECNL, ECRL, NPL, etc., where clubs must move up or down based on performance and player development, not just brand or politics.
- This aligns incentives: develop talent or risk sliding down.
- National Standards & Audits
- U.S. Soccer (or MLS Next leadership) should require consistent technical, tactical, and coaching standards across clubs, then audit performance annually.
- Right now, “MLSN Academy” means very different things depending on geography.
- Cost Controls & Subsidies
- Fund scholarships (from MLS clubs, sponsors, or federation grants) so the best players aren’t filtered out by finances.
- A kid’s zip code or parents’ wallet shouldn’t dictate their ceiling.
- Regional Training Centers
- U.S. Soccer could re-establish regional centers where the best players (regardless of club) train together periodically.
- This would balance out the disparities you see from team to team.
Club/Parent-Level Solutions
- Club Transparency
- Clubs should embrace “player movement up/down” without stigma — making it clear that mobility is a sign of progress, not rejection.
- Parents then see that being shifted isn’t punishment, but part of development.
- Parent Education
- Workshops/webinars for families on the structure of the pyramid, pathways to college/pro, and the real differences between Flight 1, ECRL, MLSN, etc.
- Most “low information” decisions come from not knowing how the system works.
- Shared Player Pools
- Local clubs could collaborate on joint training environments, where high-potential players across multiple teams are brought together weekly.
- This reduces the “silo effect” and spreads top talent across regions.
Chat GPT as usual is dumb and doesn't know the background
-pro/rel makes the problem worse, not better. It creates the SoCal Elite situation.
-supposedly they have those standards now. The problem is the $$$ to afford technical directors to go in and audit/train/punish non performing clubs. Europe doesn't do this for rec. The market speaks for itself in Europe.
-cost controls run contrary to the standards it wants to set up in 2, and we have free rides already for gifted players at both professional academies and regular MLSN teams. That's not the issue.
-regional training centers are big $$$. Requires staff, real estate, admin including HR, and insurance. There's a reason those opps are limited to potential USMNT and USWNT players. To get people to buy in you also have to give them something if you are going to charge, otherwise you are just rebuilding the old ODP.
-mobility up and down is the most hilarious suggestion. They walk if you move them down. Of course it's a rejection and you aren't going to convince people otherwise so long as there's real opportunities like pro selections, academies and college tied to it. It works in Europe (somewhat) only because there are low stakes and if you are talented you will get spotted and placed appropriately even in 7th level.
-parent education. Another bureaucratic layer like concussion training???? Whose going to want to do that? Might be useful for parents at U8 U9 who have not had kids go through the system but you can put up the how tos on youtube which would be a good idea.
-Shared player pools would be an excellent idea. I've long advocated for it. Players would be moved around based on their level by independent assessors. I think even having placement directors (instead of coaches) make selections at tier 1 clubs (MLS/ECNL) would go a very long way. But again it's $$$, and for shared across clubs, you'd have to dismantle the independent club system and put them under a national authority (like the old AYSO) because it's in the clubs $$$ interest not to share players or give them opportunities to leave.
The biggest issue is our objectives are not defined. What do we want: a system to build pros (we know what works....see Europe), a system that builds college athletes (which is what we have now), a system that gets wide participation (which is what we had with AYSO), a system that's competitive and offers kids a chance at a trophy like little league used to (which is what we had in the early days of club in the 90s). You can't hit all your targets. If you aim for all of them, you'll hit none of them.
