Expect a bumpy ride for the next couple of years while this shakes itself out. However, this should not be a surprise to anyone. The GDA platform is flawed for 99.9% of the girls participating in it. It will flourish in So Cal though because 99.9% of the people here are vain enough to think their child will be the .01%. In most other places, sanity or common sense usually prevails. Just an example from this past weekend...after a game, I head over to get some dinner with another parent and he says to me that he thinks he (he says he, not his daughter) is going DA next year so I ask him what for what purpose as we both know his daughter is not the strongest on the team. He says better training and I say better training for what? He says that if his daughter is training anyway, he should get the best coaches and the best science behind the methods. I laugh and I see he gets irritated so I tell him that we (he knows a close family member of mine who played professionally-not MLS) didn't have science, we had passion. There is no substitution for passion. My kids all loved the sport and played at high levels beyond Club but they don't have the passion that I know it takes and they know it too so it is not a future for them. After I share this with him, he goes back to the "best training available since she is doing it anyway". He states that as a father, it is his responsibility to give her the best tools that he can in order for her to have the best chance for success. I look at him and say.....Did you know your daughter is getting a B- in algebra (as a sophomore)? Poor Bastard didn't even finish his beer. Got up and left. That is why GDA will continue to dominate the landscape here in So Cal.
