No High School Soccer in 2012?

Discussion in 'Youth & HS Soccer' started by respecthegame, Dec 10, 2011.

  1. respecthegame

    respecthegame Member

    May 1, 2010
    Club:
    Everton FC
    I am told this letter went to Matchfit Chelsea parents (a USSDA team in New Jersey). Looks like this will mean academy kids cant play high school next year...


    Dear Match Fit 1997-1993 Players/Parents,

    We are writing this letter regarding the participation in high school soccer and United States Soccer Federation Development Academy (USSF DA) teams. As some of you are aware there has been discussions regarding the USSF DA season going from a five month to ten month season. Furthermore there have been questions regarding how this will affect a player’s ability to participate in high school soccer.

    Following a conference call with all USSF DA clubs and US Soccer representatives the following has been put in place by the federation:

    - The USSF DA U16 and U18 season will begin in September and end at the beginning of July, following the play offs.

    - No player will be permitted to play in both high school and USSF DA play at the same time.

    - Players receiving aid towards their schooling will be able to be added on a waiver at the end of the high school season (Nov 1st). There will be a limit to the amount of players being able to be added at the end of the high school season and will be at the discretion of the club. No player without a waiver can be added to a roster following Sep 1st.

    A supporting letter from Claudio Reyna and the USSF DA is attached with this letter. As a USSF DA club we support the initiatives of the federation in attempting to create an environment where the top percentile of players in the area are treated as professionals and thus given a greater chance to break into US Soccer’s youth teams. The current climate is that the players play too many games.

    We do recognize however that high school sports are an important part of the players social growth and therefore we are cognizant of the fact this is a cultural change for all involved. As a club we are here to help in any situation we can but the rules are stringent and will not be broken in any way by us. The fact remains that those players participating in the USSF DA program are recognized as the top percentile of players and at any time can be identified by US Soccer to graduate into their teams. In addition the USSF DA program is still the primary outlet for collegiate coaches to recruit and scout players and thus the value of being involved is twofold. We put value in our current group of players at the 1997-1993 age group and hope that all look to continue in the club moving forward
     
  2. SUDano

    SUDano Member+

    Jan 18, 2003
    Rochester, NY
    Cultural change and increased standards. Choices need to be made.
    Good thing for the overall standards of soccer skill in the country. More good players training more and getting more touches on the ball.
    If things didn't change we'd still be driving buggies, have no central heating, Dr's using leeches, and teachers with limited educational standards.
     
  3. SheHateMe

    SheHateMe Member

    Feb 14, 2011
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seems to address the private school kids who are there on scholarships with waivers, or am I reading that wrong?
     
  4. nandoal28

    nandoal28 Member

    Feb 22, 2004
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think its a great sign for the development of soccer in this country.
     
  5. socfan60

    socfan60 Member

    May 6, 2001
    anyone have a link to the "supporting letter from Claudio Reyna and the USSF DA"?
     
  6. Bobby R

    Bobby R New Member

    Nov 15, 2011
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    In my opinion this sucks. If the kids didnt enjoy hs soccer they wouldn't play and now the adults are making this choice for them. Let's face it it's more about clubs making money then getting moe "quality" touches
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. england66

    england66 Member+

    Jan 6, 2004
    dallas, texas
    Nailed that....and repped.....for many kids getting "quality touches" at age 17 is getting "quality" touches about 6 to10 years too late....
     
  8. england66

    england66 Member+

    Jan 6, 2004
    dallas, texas
    I don't.
     
  9. soccerthree

    soccerthree New Member

    May 15, 2007
    Does this only apply to Full Time (FT) players or Developmental (DP) players as well?
     
  10. so1mio

    so1mio Member

    Jan 10, 2007
    Lake Zurich
    Club:
    FC Kaiserslautern
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    So what really is the purpose of this idiotic edict? So we can become the world soccer power? And how many kids will really benefit from this? Stupid beyond measure. But what did I really expect from the idiots that run the ussda?
    Development takes back seat to winning. We are still using big and fast rather than skill and smart. winning is numero uno in da. we all know that.
     
  11. scoachd1

    scoachd1 Member+

    Jun 2, 2004
    Southern California
    Funny how those with little to no experience tend to think this is the greatest thing since the ipad while those who have been around a while and actually experience in the game have a lot of reservations. I don't think it was very well thought out personally.
     
  12. bettermirror

    bettermirror Member

    Jul 17, 2008
    Fraser Valley
    I completely agree with this for many reasons.

    1. DA is going to a 10 month season. So the kids need REST & RECOVERY. They also need social time.
    2. DA costs loads (even for the free MLS academies in terms of time and driving etc). Why risk that $$ playing HS soccer - no way I'd be giving a refund as a DA club.
    3. DA is the best place to play in terms of seeking out D1 scholarships and of course MLS draft (amongst other pro moves), so why risk that by playing HS soccer as well?
    4. HS soccer would lose what.....probably a few kids per school district at the very most in a very small number of school districts? There are 78 DA clubs, but how many thousands of school districts? Just do the numbers. A school might lose....1 or 2 DA kids? A district might lose 10? How many schools per district etc etc....the impact will not be a big deal. If the kids want to be a part of their HS team so they can have social/fun time with their friends then be the team manager.
    5. Kids can't have everything they want. It's a great life lesson. I don't know any adults that get to do their favourite job for 8 months, and then say "ya, I am outta here and am going to do my favourite job for the next 4 months. See ya." I realize work and paying-to-play are different.

    Now, the one thing I'd point out is that so long as they are paying-to-play the kids, and their parents, are in a way the "employers" and should be able to set the expectations - to a degree. Part of that may be "we are signing on for a 8 month season and for 2 months after that we are playing HS soccer." The club, in turn, can only respond by saying "we've moved on to a 10 month schedule, which USSF says can't include HS soccer. Agree to those terms or go play for another club."

    In the end, it is up to each family to decide what works best for them.

    Play for a 10-month no HS soccer DA club or don't. This decision won't have any impact on American society or losing fans etc etc.
     
  13. UofIneedssoccer

    Nov 3, 2009
    Club:
    Rochester Rhinos
    I agree my son is a sophmore has played 2 years of hight school, all-area, all state this year sort of done with high school. Yes is it fun playing with his school friends, will he miss it yes. Now they will not cram all the games into the spring it should be a more enjoyable season for family and players
     
  14. y.o.n.k.o

    y.o.n.k.o Member

    Jan 12, 2010
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    In theory, the kids still have a choice - play HS or play DA. In reality, their parents will still make the choice for them, in most cases as usual.

    How many kids will benefit from playing HS soccer? How many have benefited in the past? What kind of players has HS system produced or helped produce?

    There will still be enough kids playing DA and others who play HS. Not all HS players play in DAs anyway.

    Even though the coaching at the DAs is still not at the level of what it needs to be, though it is improving, it is still better than in majority of HS's.
     
  15. socfan60

    socfan60 Member

    May 6, 2001
    I think you are looking at the numbers backward.
    It is not "there are so few kids it wont effect the HS"
    It is "How many kids in any given year go pro/are added to a National team"

    Lets say it is 50 (which I believe is high)
    78 DA teams x a roster of at least 18 (Usually carry 20-25 but...)
    That's 1404 players
    That leaves 1354 who , I believe, lose more than they gain from being pulled from HS.

    College Scholarships?
    They are already the elite and getting id'd in an 8 month season
    Injuries?
    Can get hurt stepping off a curb and, if we really care about this and you ask any Excercise Physiologist, they should be adding more variety to their activities but I don't see the DA suggesting they all play a different sport for 8 weeks

    What do they loose by missing HS?

    How many are leaders in their DA team?
    I bet they are all among the best on their HS teams- learning to be a leader and "carry " a team is important.
    How many DA games matter in any emotional sense?
    One of the problems with US kids is they play tons of games-none of which really matter. Learning to play in games of high emotion (and what ever the standard you got to admit there is emotion in HS games) is important and an area US players struggle with
    Life skills
    Playing with kids not as talented as they are?
    Playing for a coach who does not know the game as well as you do?
    Fitting your goals into a group whose aims may be different?
    Those sound like real life to me. How many of you work for/with an idiot? I would rather kids learn this lesson as kids rather than when it really matters.

    We continue to set our soccer standards:
    a) for the elite 1/10 of 1%
    b) using the "They will need to do this at the next stage so we might as well do it now" approach.
    This hurts the game in the US

    Rant over
     
  16. y.o.n.k.o

    y.o.n.k.o Member

    Jan 12, 2010
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Since you are ranting so much, does this mean your kid will play HS soccer and not DA?
     
  17. NHRef

    NHRef Member+

    Apr 7, 2004
    Southern NH
    I don't have a dog in this fight as my kids are off to college already.

    All this does is punish the "average" DA player so the top 5% get looked at for college.

    Most DA players are NOT D1 college bound, they may be D2 or D3 college bound and soccer can be the mechanism that lets that happen. That comes through HS teams more than DA.

    This is 100% DUMB and will do nothing to help progress soccer in the US. In fact it might actually hurt DA programs as parents and players decide HS is a better option for their family.
     
  18. bettermirror

    bettermirror Member

    Jul 17, 2008
    Fraser Valley
    what facts do you have to support that D2/3 are looking at HS more than DA???

    If players and parents choose HS/club over DA that's their choice. The purpose of elite leagues is for it to have players that most seriously take soccer as their #1 priority to achieve university or pro status. DA is obviously the way to get there re: PRO, as for university I'd be interested to see a chart re: where kids played youth soccer prior to getting or when they received the offer to play university via scholarship.
     
  19. SheHateMe

    SheHateMe Member

    Feb 14, 2011
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How do you think this will play out when some kids just say they're going to play HS and rejoin an academy team in November, whether the club likes it or not? they'll just quit the academy and come back in November. Some dominant players are in high demand and would be welcomed back with open arms at any DA. Who are we kidding? You really think any DA would not take a top player from one DA to another in a heartbeat? Especially players with a track record.

    I really think that these kids will not respond like a bunch of lemmings and will do what they want.. they're old enough to be calling the shots for their own soccer futures and not their parents anyway. The players with the resume and the grades are better off cashing in on the education.
     
  20. bettermirror

    bettermirror Member

    Jul 17, 2008
    Fraser Valley
    Well the club would have to decide what they value - potential W's or player committment? Even then, how well over is it going to go if a kid comes and goes as they please with the boys who stay committed to the cause??
     
  21. Werdman89

    Werdman89 Member+

    May 27, 2008
    Boston, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    These are probably the worst points I have ever heard criticizing the rule change.

    You really think becoming a leader is correlated to their high school soccer team...really? It has so much more to do with personality that goes far beyond the soccer field. You don't think leaders emerge on Barcelona or Aston Villa or Pachuca youth teams...just because they don't play high school soccer? Being able to raise your game above your teammates already high level is actual development, not being content with your talent and skills and being the de-facto leader of the team.

    You don't think DA games matter in emotional sense...come on. You don't think Danny Garcia's elation of keeping FC Dallas' undefeated streak alive is real emotion...or LA Galaxy's games against Chivas USA against two teams who play on the same fields. These kids are competitive, they don't need an arbitrary high school name to add emotion to their game.

    This...oh man this. I don't even know where to start. You talk about life skills, but these aren't examples of ways to learn these life skills you're alluding to. As far as I'm concerned, if a student is old enough to have leveled classes, they should be old enough to handle leveled soccer. You're basically saying that if a student is smart enough to take AP and Honors classes, they shouldn't because they should learn "life skills" by being with students that are not as intelligent as they are and hold back the class, like in soccer they hold back their development. Again, by this time, these life skills are already learned, and it's certainly not soccer's job to teach them these skills. Soccer-wise, playing with lesser talented kids will only negatively affect their development, except for mayyybe some small increase in confidence by being so much better than their competition. Frankly, I'd rather them gain confidence by being better than their already talented teammates and opponents in the DA.

    Sorry to break it to you, but all US Soccer cares about is the best 1/10 of %1 who want become pros/want DI scholarships(college isn't going anywhere). They're looking to find the best players who're talented and dedicated enough to play and contribute to US Youth/Full National Teams. Eventually there will probably be numerous MLS Residential Academies, giving players a visible ladder to the professional game in an optimally focused soccer environment, made up of the best 1/1000 of 1%, and that will only help soccer in the US.
     
  22. NHRef

    NHRef Member+

    Apr 7, 2004
    Southern NH
    A D2 and D3 coach who scouted my son. Both said they ignore DA and focus on local HS.

    Anecdotal, yes, but accurate in my case.
     
  23. y.o.n.k.o

    y.o.n.k.o Member

    Jan 12, 2010
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Regardless of what you say, it does look like you have a dog in this fight. D2/D3 coaches can say one thing to you and another to someone else. I've heard that many college coaches look at the DA players first and then eventually at HS soccer.

    The truth of the matter is that HS soccer does nothing beneficial for the elite players and that is/should be the focus of the DA program. There may very well be a case when some elite players choose to play HS instead of DA and that is fine. In that case some "average" DA players will be given opportunities to step up and maybe become elite players themselves. But most likely, majority of the elite players will choose to stay with DA ignoring HS soccer. In that case, the "average" DA players will still be playing HS soccer.

    Like I've said, there are enough players for both programs, DA and HS. The rule change is intended to seed out the elite and serious soccer players from the rest. The truth is that the DA program can help them more than the HS program can.

    BTW, this rule change will also be beneficial to non-DA clubs, as players who choose to play HS will go to them after the HS season is over.
     
  24. england66

    england66 Member+

    Jan 6, 2004
    dallas, texas
    Bullshot....."elite" players my ass...
     

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