A regional/national summer league...like ODP, it's a bit hit and miss as to how well its run and the competition level (ymmv)...
Super Y ( http://www.sylsoccer.com/ ) was, in the one season my son has done it so far, all over the place in terms of quality. He liked it and the regional team he was on (made up of players from five different clubs) was competitive, well-coached, ... So he's doing it again this summer. But he had friends on other teams from the same set of clubs whose parents decided once was enough because their teams weren't at all competitive. The travel for his team also was essentially compressed into two weekends (one in suburban Chicago, about 2.5 hours away, and one in Michigan, which isn't a bad drive). Some of the other teams had more travel dates and some farther away. The big benefit from my point of view was good coaching from coaches my son isn't accustomed to and regular practices over the summer. He came into last fall a better player.
I'll "ditto" the above comments. Our son did it two years, I think. Maybe three--it's all a blur anymore! It was OK--better than not playing competitive soccer at all, at the time--but once he got to HS and developed a bit physically I think having the summer off was more beneficial. But as a middle schooler it was fine.
Honestly as a parent, the only unfairness I would complain and wouldnt mind being vocal about is when my son doesnt get his fair share of playing time. All other stuff, like many others commented, really dont matter for this age. He is U10.
Our futsal sessions are over and outdoor practices start in a couple weeks. Here is a recap of session 2 (which prompted this initial thread): The five teams regular season: Host A went 6-0-1 Host B went 5-1-1 Our Team went 3-4 Team4 went 1-5-1 Team5 went 0-6-1 We played Host B in the "playoff" and beat them on PKs. It was 2-2 through regulation. We were actually up 2-1 and then they scored late in an unusual fashion. I think our team/coach thought the ref signaled our ball, then next thing you know the ball is being played in by the other team and the capitalized. I am not complaining, we played pretty well and there were more than a few signalling type issues (kids not sure if the ref called a goalie kick or corner). It felt the girls really played hard and put it together that game. Then we played Host A in the "final" which we lost 1-4, though I thought there were some positives and we got a 2nd place medal! Despite our wins over Host B (below) I think the standings accurately reflected the talent/skills of the team. Our record through 10 games (9 that counted in the standings) would have been 5-5-0, though technically 4-5-0: vs Team5 1-0-0 6-1vs Team4 2-0-0 (note only one win counted for us in the standings) 4-2, 5-3vs HostB 2-2-0 3-1, 2-7, 4-7, 2-2 (2-0 in PKs)vs HostA 0-3-0 1-2, 1-6, 1-4 I think I will miss some of futsal, but definitely ready for the outdoor session. We won't have to see the host teams as they actually play in a higher division than we do. Thanks for allowing me to vent a little, which helps me learn a lot more.