We're still a few years away, but I was wondering if there is anyone here who has made this decision. Let's say your child (or you) can be very sure of playing division 1 soccer, but is unlikely to get a homegrown contract. Would it be worth chasing a pro career first by trialing with leagues such as USL or 2nd divisions in Europe or 1st divisions in smaller countries abroad or is going the college route safer even though in soccer years 21 and 22 is "old"? (I get that for life purposes, a college degree is by far the more sensible choice, I'm asking for pure soccer reasons) I know about the Taylor Buchanans and Henry Kesslers and I don’t know....Daryl Dikes and every year there's a handful of players who make it out of college, but most don't. Would trialing for a year before or after college make more sense? Thanks
I look forward to hearing the answers, and I know that there is at least one poster who has a child who made the decision to play in lower leagues for awhile, but you already know that the answer is going to be "it depends," right? The way I see it, being a good five yearsish from my son having to make that decision, and with as much as can happen in five years it's silly speculation for me, is that there is a pretty narrow window of life to go pro in sports, and a much bigger window to go to college, which would push me towards the pro route. But if the question is really "try to go pro or try for D1 in the hopes that that leads to pro," I think that more lends to facts like what kind of network is the player in to be able to access trials at the pro level and what professionals have said is the realistic chance the player has of catching on at the professional level. Would the seasoning of college help? Depends on the kid. But if the player decides to trial, succeeds to some extent and thereby loses his NCAA eligibility, and then goes to college, while the player wouldn't be able to play for the college, there are still leagues like UPSL where the player can play and continue the dream.
It depends, are you saying that he needs more time to develop in order to get a homegrown/MLS spot and which avenue will allow him to develop to that level - USL/Europe/etc vs College/D1? Or are you saying that USL level will the highest level he'll ever get to whether he goes straight there or plays in college first? I think if he needs more time to develop then go with the highest and best option available, which sure if he can get a lot of minutes on a USL team would be a good option. Some players play in college and get a homegrown like Aiden Morris who played a year at Indiana and now is a starter on Columbus Crew, but I'm guessing that's quite rare. There's always the superdraft but that's also a crap shoot, you'd have to be the best college player; it looks like they take 70-90 players out of what, a thousand or so who would like to enter that draft?
+1 on "it depends" IMO, whether or not there's been involvement with an MLS Academy to date would be a decent factor. If yes, and he ends up not moving up to MLSNP or whatever, I'd probably go college and kick the can down the road a bit. If not, I think it would then mainly depend on what the opportunity is - USL-C? Yeah I'd probably give that a go. Romanian 2nd division? Hard pass. Anywhere overseas is going to be more lifestyle-weighted (does he like to travel, is living in X country appealing, etc.) than it will with whether it's the best pathway to whatever level league he'd eventually be happy with.
Does he speak a foreign language? Do you have relatives in Europe or is he a dual citizen? I think it will be very competitive wherever you go. You could also look to switch academies if he's not getting the minutes at his current club. He needs minutes to develop. I know its cool to be at a big club but he needs minutes. My neighbor's kid was at a pro club academy (USL), then he pulled him out to a small local club, then he did well at a tournament and got scouted to a bigger club (MLS). He also went kind far in the US national trainings. So... it seems you have to do well at the big tournaments (namely the ones in Maryland, Florida, Dallas, SoCal) and/or garner some interest by the US national team. But nothing wrong with playing in college and having fun!
On our MLS academy, my son gets a good amount of playing time and starts most games but I wouldn't say he's one of the team's main priorities. It's hard to tell what the ceiling will be because a lot depends on the development over the next few years, but D1 college soccer would be a realistic expectation. The player who made me think of this question is Kenan Hot, who seemed like a sure-fire pro straight out of an MLS academy. He did just about everything to make it as a pro after high school: USL, MLS Next Pro, trials abroad, and then he still ends up at Duke. He could have definitely played at least in the USL, why go to Duke? Then there's Diego Luna who went from MLS Academy to USL to MLS first team. Although I'm asking about the pro route out of curiosity, most likely the decision will be made for us depending what happens over high school. And the probable result will be college, which would great also. Like a lot of soccer parents, I spend too much time thinking about hypothetical situations. Thanks for responses
Why do you think Kenan Hot didn't make it to MLS? I checked out his Duke highlights. He looked good but didn't show much footage under much high pressure. Also just about every clip he uses his right, and a couple times it looks like using the left foot would have created a better pass. It's so competitive out there and I'm no expert. I'd be curious what a pro coach would say about him. Maybe he doesn't have enough speed? I can't see him out playing his competitors at Arsenal, AS Roma where he trialed. He would just have to be better from what I can see. Quicker and with better passing. His passing is good but a bit bouncy with side spin when it doesn't have to be (he seems to do the same type of pass very frequently). But again, not an expert, and only watched one highlight reel.
If your son doesnt get offered a contract with your team's Next Pro team playing in the US can be difficult. Championship and League One teams like players with experience. A 19 yo kid without a pedigree would have to some stand out skills, mostly athletic, to get a longer look. Teams will be reticent to pay a kid they don't trust. And they won't trust him because he has no experience. College players enter those leagues with experience. At least that is the way Championship and L1 view them because they've played adult soccer. Teams are generally not going to want to invest 20 to 25 thousand plus housing on someone they won't play very often. There not going invest 4 years of that for the player to develop. College will do that for them for free. Diego Luna had some YNT experience. Jonathan Gomez from Dallas Academy was a mainstay on the YNT prior to joining Louisville. Josh Wynder and his brother both played in Louisville's academy so they had an in. Most of the youngsters who get in C or L1 clubs played in the clubs academy. That said, tell your kid to keep grinding cause you don't know how things will be in 3 years. Hope I wasn't too negative.
There's a guy who plays in the Premier League who played at Wake Forest. Jack Harrison. I saw his college high lights and they really popped. Whereas when I watched Kenan Hot's high lights it was more like yeah he looks smooth and composed on the ball... but he didn't necessarily have that wow factor. I think also he would have to have a handful of assists to be really on the radar. Midfielders need to be generating assists.
Considering that I busted my ass academically so I could go to a school like Duke, and now I see how much of an admissions advantage athletes get, I'm definitely going to argue for college!
I remember Jack Harrison from his NYCFC days (before Man City and Leeds). Even though he's not that old, if he was coming up now, he probably would've been signed to homegrown deal and spent a year at MLS Next Pro (and then get promoted to 1st team) rather than going to college. The end result might ve been the same, but teams seem much more willing to sign prospects now than they used to be. However, even those academy kids abroad end up in our univetsities if they don't make it, so they're facing the same decision. Play in something like League Two or the National League or use soccer to get that college degree. I agree that Jack Harrison is good, maybe the best you can hope for with a player that played college soccer. There's also an interesting case, Matteo Ritaccio from a local New York non MLS club who ended up on Liverpool U21 somehow. Not sure if he's going to make it, but is four years on Liverpool academy better than going to college? He's unlikely to ever play for Liverpool but could get into a lower league.
I'd never heard of him so I Googled him. Looks like he's aged out of Liverpool's U21 team and is without a club this year, maybe? I'd love to know more about someone who has enough of whatever it is that Liverpool saw but isn't snapped up by a club in USL, MLS, a team in a mid-level European league, ..., when they toss him overboard. Unless he just decided he's had enough.
From a pure soccer perspective, it makes sense to trial a year or two before college if one wants to keep the dream alive, no? I have no idea if that keeps the scholarship eligibility alive or not... If one, for example, trials and plays in lower leagues in Europe... if D1 offer still stands in the US... I think trialing before graduating HS is also an option. A kid our family knows did that. He wasn't on an academy but was on one of those nationally recognizable big name clubs and did very well in MLS Next. Had D1 offers sort of locked. So during summer and winter breaks, he - with a help of a coach/scout - had trials at lower divisions in Europe. In the end, none were promising so committed to the D1 offer. But that helped him and the family decide to commit to the college path.
If you can afford a gap year, and have the ins…why not try it? It’s not easy. But, can be worth it if a kid/family has the capabilities. Homegrown deals aren’t always worth it OR valuable. Americans like Josh Sargent, Weston, Pulisic, etc. stayed away from homegrowns because MLS owns you. USL is an easier avenue to have control of your future. But, MLS homegrowns have a terrible history in the League and moving beyond the League.
Jack Harrison is English, played in the Manchester United youth academy for over 6 years, until he came to the US to a boarding school in the northeast, a school that recruits soccer players aboard, for his last two years of high school. He was known as a top player in the England, from my understanding he could have made his Premier league debut before he was twenty if he had stayed in England. Because of his background, he may not be the best example of the type of players this thread is discussing.
Haji Wright and Jonathan Gomez went the USL route initially for that reason, didn't they? Wright's career path is wild, a soccer nomad who made good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haji_Wright To your knowledge, has MLS done anything to make that path more player-friendly in the past 6-8 years, to avoid more McKinneys coming through MLS academies and then the clubs essentially getting nothing more than bragging rights for the guy's development?
TLDR; MLS used to not comply with the global system for training and solidarity payments, until 2019, when they realized they are leaving money on the table. I believe they've incorporated language into the MLSNext player agreement that makes it clear if the kid goes pro elsewhere they get a cut, and I think they've even extended it to tipping their cannon-fodd....MLSNext affiliate teams that aren't attached to an MLS Club if one of their kids does the affiliate -> MLSNExt -> Foreign Team path. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/sour...y-payment-weston-mckennie-transfer-juventus-t
No. I think it’s gotten worse. They’ve started MLS NEXT PRO as just another way to dupe players (and families) that it’s a good outlet for the young player. They get them to sign “pro” deals for $15,000 and some food/lodging. Then, that player may make it 1-3 years on their contract and then gone. MLS has had their academies since 2008, and we’ve yet to produce players that truly are taking the USMNT to the next level. Pulisic and Sargent never came through any MLS Academy. Our goalkeeping pool has been the weakest in years. We’ve not been able to produce even another Dempsey in this timespan. Weston was destined for Virginia before he lucked out going abroad, that’s how castaway he was at Dallas.
Just a guess here but perhaps the family truly valued a Duke education while also being able to play MLS afterwards…Most ACC kids are making instant impacts when they get to the MLS. This kid is a balller and could have done whatever he wanted but clearly prioritized college first.
There’s tons of data that suggests saying “most kids…” is wrong. MLS has historically done a horrible job with playing the kids. And, even more data to suggest college players-to-MLS is a horrible success rate.
I can agree with this correction, my point was the for this guy to suggest that Kenan Hot has failed as a player in any way is ludicrous. Probably some hater parent whose son will never have the options that this kid had. He determined the college path and a Duke education was the better path. How can we or anyone question this????
Yeah, I mean going to a school with tuition higher than what your USL C salary would be seems a no brainer. Coming out of Duke he'll still have plenty of time to play in USL.
I dont think I'm a hater dad. I brought up Kenan Hot because I tend to keep track of kids from the area who have already traveled down the post high school path. I was wondering what people's thoughts were on going straight to college or trying to go pro first. Hot is an interesting example because it seemed like he did both. He's not the only post MLS academy player that has signed academy contracts with USL clubs to retain college eligibility. I was asking for the soccer reasoning while also noting that the college degree is the obvious better life choice for most people. Not sure if my kid will have these options. I'll know in a few more years I guess.