Say bye-bye-bye to Girls and Boys DA

[Woobie06]

You make compelling arguments. But, I have a feeling that your analysis is superficial. I also think the mindset that you are advocating is part of the reason many get manipulated by slick talking coaches in track suits.

I think the “late bloomer” and “development” mindset is all part of the hussle. Unfortunately, parents have let dude in the track suit frame the issues and I’m not sure that we’ve thought critically on the issue.

On Netflix, look at the I am Bolt documentary. Beginning at aprox. minute 57.35 and ending at aprox. minute 56.10 Bolt gives his opinion on hard work and late bloomers. I agree with Bolt and challenge anyone to name a world class late bloomer!

So, if we can agree the late bloomer theory is bogus, what’s wrong with the Blues approach? If my kid played club and wasn’t being approached by a club like the Blues I’d be having a talk with my kid letting them know that they don’t have what it takes to play at a higher level. So is the problem the shady coach in the track suit or the gullible parent that thinks they have a late bloomer that just needs development in the right environment with the right coach?

Ummm...Michael Jordan...didn't be get cut from the high school basketball team? If that is true. We will find out in the ESPN special. Undrafted free agents in football that make it, 6th round Tom Brady. There are later bloomers. The are always exceptions, and the goal for most of these kids is that this helps them get into a good school. They don't need to be world class, just pretty good.

I'm all for not setting unrealistic expectations for you kid and being realistic and grounded in reality. But people/kids do develop at different rates. Sometimes the right coach and environment does make a difference. You see it all the time in to sports when a player has success in a different place from where they started. I think the Bolt example is a little unfair, just as the Brady and Jordan comparisons are. Those are outliers. Maybe some of your Goats are world class, mine certainly is not As long as she works hard and puts the effort in than I am good as gold. All you can ask for.

 

[methood]

And you’re illiterate and have poor reading comprehension. It doesn’t take elite club soccer to play in college. AYSO or something cheaper will do dumb ass.

Okay All knowing "soccer Dad" have fun living through your kid.

There is nothing wrong with having experience. Old is good. Also there is nothing wrong by recruiting the best most athletic players and having them compete with each other and play together. Isn’t that what all the best teams in sports do. Ask Barcelona why it pays to have the best play and train with the best. Nothing better for development than playing against the top competition and training with the best players and athletes. I played basketball when I was younger and I remember getting better by going to the park and playing with the best black ballers out there. As I became better they wanted me on their team.

Barcalona PAY MASSIVE transfer fees for PRO players. Can we stop looking at these 5013c clubs in south orange county like BARCALONA? lol. Your kids are not in Europe. You all pay for kids to play YOUTH SOCCER. Playing for a NON-PROFIT youth club is not an honor. The problem with this generation of parents is you all have no clue what you are talking about but act like you do. You use youre glory days playing basketball in the park as a way of making a point. 99% of you never played soccer but act like you know the sport. The funniest thing on these threads is repsonses like these. "look at barcalona! I played basketball!"

 

[MacDre]

I watched this guy play at RSM. He was not that good. WSU took a chance his Sr year in HS because they saw something and his dad was a good baller. This is a late bloomer...


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Not a late bloomer. He’s always had the potential. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His dad was one of the first professional athletes to make it off of the Island (Bahamas)
Just because you don’t “peak” in HS doesn’t make you a late bloomer.

 

[Dof3]

Believe me the mass exodus will happen. It did years ago when ECNL was created, it happend when GDA was created. Good players are going to get displaced by better players. It isn't a bad thing. As I have said for the last 10 years there are only about 25-40 elite players per birth year in SoCal and less in many other markets. All of these self styled "elite" clubs and teams have for the most part got good but not elite players. Dilution was the biggest problem since the leagues splintered years ago. There really should only be about 2-3 teams per age group at the top of the pyramid in SoCal but due to geographic restraints you might have to double that number. Lots of those players that aren't in the top 25-40 are mostly role players anyway.

The Purge is coming and it will be a good thing for everyone. If everyone is elite then nobody is. Reality checks are in the mail and a lot of people are going to like what they get.....

Agree, MAP, and that is primarily - not exclusively - but primarily a product of only a few things: natural athletic ability, personal drive/resilience and, to a lesser degree, coaching. You can only buy one of those and that one is the only one with ready substitutes. No kids will make it to a high level of any sport without all of them. Period. End of story. Doesn't matter how much money their parents spend or don't spend. If your kid doesn't look different on the field as a young kid and almost surely by the time they are 13-14 years old, then, sure, maybe your kid will be the late blooming Michael Jordan or Tom Brady. But almost all of the time the hoof beats you hear in Texas are horses or cows, not zebras. Why do people think that journeymen NFL players that most of us have never heard of DESTROYED school records in multiple sports at their high schools? Players you wouldn't have on your fantasy team are almost surely better athletes than you ever saw growing up. There are more deaths in the US every year from lightening strikes than there are starting quarterback spots in the NFL. Elite athletes are different than the rest of us. And no, there aren't nearly enough of them to make up 100 soccer teams in a given birth year in the entire country, much less 20 in Southern California. Not even close. If your kid is not participating in sports for the love of the game, the experience and the intangible life skills they acquire from team sports and competition, then your kid is either one of those 25-40 or they and you are misguided.

 

[SoccerGuru]

I personally think Beach, Legends, Albion and City SC will get into ecnl but further down the road once the mass exodus is done (and of course if they survive the rona) and they will have to rebuild and I think ecnl will use that as their punishment for not "playing ball" the correct way with them. In about 3-5 years we will have that ultra competitive SW ecnl league that everyone is talking about and the teams I just mentioned will be middle of the pack or lower by the time they get in but slowly the talent will begin to spread out again.

How will the DA clubs left out of ECNL retain top coaches? I foresee a mass exodus of quality coaches from those clubs.

Players will leave first, then coaches. The ex-DA non ecnl clubs will have nothing to offer and parents will want to get ahead of this and not be left with nowhere to go. It is unfortunate but that is youth soccer in America and the loyal ones end up getting screwed. The system is flawed but you have to play within the rules if you want to win the game. I hope everyone doesn't panic and makes a sound decision that they think is best for their DD not club, not coach, not parent.

 

[vegasguy]

Uh, no. All of those players were great youth athletes. Maybe not the best but still in the top 10% of their respective cohort.

And FYI, I grew up with Brady and he’s always been a good but slow athlete.

He was not great. He was good enough to get to Michigan not good enough to start but one year. MJ and Shaq were not four varsity lettermen in high school. Great at the youth level starts all four years. The difference is very good with drive to work into great.

 

[Ellejustus]

Ummm...Michael Jordan...didn't be get cut from the high school basketball team? If that is true. We will find out in the ESPN special. Undrafted free agents in football that make it, 6th round Tom Brady. There are later bloomers. The are always exceptions, and the goal for most of these kids is that this helps them get into a good school. They don't need to be world class, just pretty good.

I'm all for not setting unrealistic expectations for you kid and being realistic and grounded in reality. But people/kids do develop at different rates. Sometimes the right coach and environment does make a difference. You see it all the time in to sports when a player has success in a different place from where they started. I think the Bolt example is a little unfair, just as the Brady and Jordan comparisons are. Those are outliers. Maybe some of your Goats are world class, mine certainly is not As long as she works hard and puts the effort in than I am good as gold. All you can ask for.

I love this Great takes and honest. Most of the "late bloomers" also got passed over for many other reasons. You don;t know what is inside an athlete's heart and will until they have been battled tested. What comes from inside is what makes them a goat or not. Sometimes a coach only looks at the outward appearance. Rodman was 6 1' in HS and then grew 7 inches I think. He grew late, not a late bloomer.

 

[methood]

What causes envy and jealousy?
Jealousy also stems from feelings of inadequacy, though they are usually more conscious than with envy. However, whereas envy is the desire to possess what someone else has, jealousy is the fear of losing what we have. ...((Like our top goats? No one owns a goat BTW. I'm sick and tired of hearing how clubs think they developed the goat. No, the suits did not. They trained the Goat only. Goat must do the work and most importantly, have the physical tools to play at the highest goat level))

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LOL this guy... what joke. No one is jealous of a Goat, goats eat grass and live in barns. Kids play soccer not goats. Your kid is not a goat. Your kid is a complex human that is more than just a talented soccer player.

 

[MacDre]

He’s comparing apples to oranges. $10 a month may mean something in Mexico. Here in California one can wipe their ass with that, it’s what a pack of toilet paper costs. It’s not realistic for Cali

Funny. I have managed to acquire access to fields for free in the bay area. Nice fields too with lights. Working on volunteer coaches as we speak.

 

[SoccerGuru]

Also late bloomers in their sports... Michael Jordan.. Shaquille O'Neil.. Tom Brady... none were stand youth players going into high school. What they had they some early bloomers do not is drive. My son might have been considered a late bloomer. Think of the typical kid every dad coach puts in goal because they look less athletic and may be a little slower when we all.start.are.kids out playing. That kid is now 6'3" and one of the fastest on his squad. He can dunk two handed no problem and is having great conversations with schools looking for a keeper.

That is a great point but the only reason you hear about Brady, Jordan and Shaq is because they were late bloomers and that is extremely rare for them to be able to not just catch up with the rest of the pack but to also get to the front. Every situation is different but it is hard to base a belief off an outlier. For every Jordan and Brady there are thousands of kids who were never able to catch up. However, what it does teach kids is that the belief to never give up and keep working will serve them extremely well in sports and whatever they do after if they aren't able to catch up to the pack. I think that is the message you are sending and I fully support that. The personality traits they will gain from always being looked past for "johnny football" will lead him to something great in sports or out.

 

[dad4]

Once the good coaches leave for the ECNL, the good players will follow. This sounds like a death sentence for the DA teams left out of ECNL.

Some top players will change clubs, but only the rich ones and the ones who live close by.

Looking at norcal here. Oakland has some very good athletes. Clippers were near the top in state cup youngers for 2011 through 2009. 2011 lost by one to Palo Alto. 2009 lost by 2 to Santa Rosa. 2010 tied MVLA 7-7, and lost in PK. This is not a weak club.

What happens to those girls as they get older? Do they get to keep playing together? Not at that level. Santa Rosa and MVLA go to ECNL and refuse to play them in league play. The top 2 or 3 rich girls try out for Mustangs. But a low income kid from the flats can’t get to Danville 3 days a week. So she drops soccer and plays hoops.

Net result? Mustangs add one good player, and NorCal loses a good team. The rest of us pay money to fly to games, because we have ruined over half of the good local competition.

 

[Dof3]

Many of the youth coaches volunteer. The Olympic Development Center is funded by the government.
Childhood obesity is a problem and it’s cheaper to establish a healthy active lifestyle while young than deal with the health problems associated with physical inactivity. So, the mindset is that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

Funded by the government? Does that government have a special money tree hidden somewhere? That government is simply marshaling resources from the collective population and spending it on something that otherwise would not exist. Sort of like an interstate highway system. How much does that same government spend on volleyball? Tennis? Badminton? That culture prioritizes that sport and thus its government subsidizes that sport for the benefit of its citizenry. Great. I'm glad they do. This culture does not prioritize soccer and thus it falls to the participants to pay for the opportunity. So thank you for agreeing with me and reiterating my point.

 

[Butt-Head]

Okay All knowing "soccer Dad" have fun living through your kid.

Barcalona PAY MASSIVE transfer fees for PRO players. Can we stop looking at these 5013c clubs in south orange county like BARCALONA? lol. Your kids are not in Europe. You all pay for kids to play YOUTH SOCCER. Playing for a NON-PROFIT youth club is not an honor. The problem with this generation of parents is you all have no clue what you are talking about but act like you do. You use youre glory days playing basketball in the park as a way of making a point. 99% of you never played soccer but act like you know the sport. The funniest thing on these threads is repsonses like these. "look at barcalona! I played basketball!"

it applies to all sports in general not just soccer.

 

[dad4]

Funny. I have managed to acquire access to fields for free in the bay area. Nice fields too with lights. Working on volunteer coaches as we speak.

what age/team do you coach?

 

[Ellejustus]

Okay All knowing "soccer Dad" have fun living through your kid.

Barcalona PAY MASSIVE transfer fees for PRO players. Can we stop looking at these 5013c clubs in south orange county like BARCALONA? lol. Your kids are not in Europe. You all pay for kids to play YOUTH SOCCER. Playing for a NON-PROFIT youth club is not an honor. The problem with this generation of parents is you all have no clue what you are talking about but act like you do. You use youre glory days playing basketball in the park as a way of making a point. 99% of you never played soccer but act like you know the sport. The funniest thing on these threads is repsonses like these. "look at barcalona! I played basketball!"

Bro, I was so good at hoops but I was only 5 9'. If I was 6'5, I would have replaced Danny Ainge at BYU and been drafted by the Lakers and not the Celtics. My dd is going to play in the pro girls soccer league someday. Someone in my family needs to be a pro so my life can have purpose and accomplishment. I failed at making the NBA, MLB and the pro surfing circuit. I made one final pro baseball attempt with a semi pro team out in Upland. I got a base hit off a former MLB pitcher which was super cool. Lined one right up the middle. I was pumped and my dream of MLB came back when I was 18 years old. I ended up batting .310 in this league. Some scouts came but no one talked to me. I walked on at Fullerton JC and coach said I could red shirt at the JC. No thanks!!! My dream ended right there. So I set my sights on having kids and make sure they get developed because if someone would have developed me, I believe I would have been in the NBA like Scottie Brooks.

 

[Dominic]

I found this on www.azsoccertalk.com :

The false sincerity is funny. Two of the three signatures have ties to NCFC who went all in ECNL just before this went down. So ethics, zero; morals, zero; hypocrisy, limitless.

When that's the leadership and that's how they "openly" behave, who would trust these guys ever again.


" .. youth club North Carolina FC announced it would withdraw its top girls’ teams from the DA and move to the rival Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) for the 2020-21 season.

The significance: Wilson served on NCFC’s board of directors. Cindy Parlow Cone, U.S. Soccer’s interim president following Carlos Cordeiro’s March 12 resignation, is a NCFC youth director. And Steve Malik, who sits on federation’s Board of Directors, is NCFC’s owner and chairman."

 

[oh canada]

You make compelling arguments. But, I have a feeling that your analysis is superficial. I also think the mindset that you are advocating is part of the reason many get manipulated by slick talking coaches in track suits.

I think the “late bloomer” and “development” mindset is all part of the hussle. Unfortunately, parents have let dude in the track suit frame the issues and I’m not sure that we’ve thought critically on the issue.

On Netflix, look at the I am Bolt documentary. Beginning at aprox. minute 57.35 and ending at aprox. minute 56.10 Bolt gives his opinion on hard work and late bloomers. I agree with Bolt and challenge anyone to name a world class late bloomer!

So, if we can agree the late bloomer theory is bogus, what’s wrong with the Blues approach? If my kid played club and wasn’t being approached by a club like the Blues I’d be having a talk with my kid letting them know that they don’t have what it takes to play at a higher level. So is the problem the shady coach in the track suit or the gullible parent that thinks they have a late bloomer that just needs development in the right environment with the right coach?

Books are my preferred learning source vs. Netflix. And while Bolt is certainly the poster child for Nature over Nurture, the Late Bloomer theory is certainly alive and well. Many studies and books out there, here's a good one:

Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement: Karlgaard, Rich: 9781524759759: Amazon.com: Books

Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement [Karlgaard, Rich] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement

www.amazon.com

And if you want a few names--off the top of my head-- read the stories of Kurt Warner, Didier Drogba, and NBA's Anthony Davis.

Your last paragraph raises other issues that misinterpret my point about the dilemma of clubs recruiting vs. developing, into some sort of personal reflection on child rearing. To that I will only say that my kids have been taught to never measure their self worth by what others say or do.

 

[Ellejustus]

Not a late bloomer. He’s always had the potential. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His dad was one of the first professional athletes to make it off of the Island (Bahamas)
Just because you don’t “peak” in HS doesn’t make you a late bloomer.

I watched him live bro. His dad would have a hard time making today's NBA just like Klay would not have made the NBA in the late 70s. He got real good in college and UCLA has egg on its face for not seeing what you saw Great family and MT is funny and I like his takes

 

[MacDre]

Ummm...Michael Jordan...didn't be get cut from the high school basketball team? If that is true. We will find out in the ESPN special. Undrafted free agents in football that make it, 6th round Tom Brady. There are later bloomers. The are always exceptions, and the goal for most of these kids is that this helps them get into a good school. They don't need to be world class, just pretty good.

I'm all for not setting unrealistic expectations for you kid and being realistic and grounded in reality. But people/kids do develop at different rates. Sometimes the right coach and environment does make a difference. You see it all the time in to sports when a player has success in a different place from where they started. I think the Bolt example is a little unfair, just as the Brady and Jordan comparisons are. Those are outliers. Maybe some of your Goats are world class, mine certainly is not As long as she works hard and puts the effort in than I am good as gold. All you can ask for.

I agree but disagree. Just because an athlete doesn’t peak in HS doesn’t make them a late bloomer. Jordan has always been a great athlete with an insane work ethic. But just because you’re a great athlete doesn’t mean every coach is gonna like you or that you will make every team.
Tom Brady was identified young. He was the star quarterback at Serra HS that got a full ride to U of M! My best friend J’Juan Cherry was picked up in the supplemental draft by the Pats around the same time as Brady. Plus we all knew Brady from HS. Jarod Cherry received 3 super bowl rings with Brady. So, I’m personally familiar with Brady and he was not a late bloomer. Sure, he had ups and downs and didn’t “peak” until the NFL but he wasn’t a late bloomer.

 

[SouthBayFutbol]

Believe me the mass exodus will happen. It did years ago when ECNL was created, it happend when GDA was created. Good players are going to get displaced by better players. It isn't a bad thing. As I have said for the last 10 years there are only about 25-40 elite players per birth year in SoCal and less in many other markets. All of these self styled "elite" clubs and teams have for the most part got good but not elite players. Dilution was the biggest problem since the leagues splintered years ago. There really should only be about 2-3 teams per age group at the top of the pyramid in SoCal but due to geographic restraints you might have to double that number. Lots of those players that aren't in the top 25-40 are mostly role players anyway.

The Purge is coming and it will be a good thing for everyone. If everyone is elite then nobody is. Reality checks are in the mail and a lot of people are going to like what they get.....

I do not disagree with the number of truly elite players (aka Unicorns) at these age groups. But if you only include them to make up 2 or 3 teams who do they play for 10 months?

I thought the US ID Pool (or whatever US Soccer pulls out of their behind will call it) was for those types of players but they have to play year round against solid competition.

You know better than I that girls college soccer is made up of all levels of players, from unicorns to kick-ballers. There are only maybe a half dozen colleges that can boast a starting line-up of unicorns, that leaves a lot of spots open to some really great players that are just short of World Class. And not just the D1 sports powerhouse Colleges but some great academic schools that give opportunities to girls that play at a high level.

The teams that I listed, as currently made up and across all the ECNL age groups, would undoubtedly be competitive each and every weekend with College Coaches extremely happy with the product. And for the Unicorns they can get together every quarter for an extended period of time to test their progress against each other.