Post-match: San Jose Earthquakes - Houston Dynamo (Saturday, 4/14) postgame thread [R]

Yes, but by 21 you know if the guy has what it takes to be a pro, or if he should be cut. And 21 year olds in Italy, Germany, Moldova, or wherever are more experienced and have more training than 21 year olds in the USA.

That's the only point I've been trying to make. Our guys, at 21, 22, 23, are mostly a lot rougher than their Euro or Latin American counter parts.

Go Quakes!!

- Mark

 

Most definitely! Although I like the opportunities the colleges give student athletes in preparing for life, it’s not s great way to groom yourself into becoming a professional. There are some programs though that are in line with the USL like Stanford , UCSB , UCLA , Maryland , Creighton and maybe Indiana. As a rule though, the NCAA season is just too short. Teams play two or three months and their season is over. I still think though in this country anyway, it’s better for a kid to go to school than the USL. Even though that league is growing, I don’t see the lure to skip school for career in that league. The odds of making it in MLS are even smaller when you consider there are maybe only 650 roster spots including GK’s and foreigners.

 

It might be better for the kids individually, but it would be better for soccer development in the US if they went straight to the USL from high school.

I'm looking at this from a more macro level than worrying about what it would be for any given individual student.

Go Quakes!!

- Mark

 

Yes, but curiously, each individual player doesn't look at it like that

 

No, duh!

I think for some players though, it might make sense to skip college. If you were a good player and not so good a student, for example. If you made money playing USL and washed out, it would still be money you could spend on going to school. Assuming you didn't have to spend it all to pay your rent and keep seitan on the table.

Go Quakes!!

- Mark