It does seem like it has popped up before, might be worth making a sticky of some form out of it just to be polite. I personally get a little offended that people think because it's America they can just waltz in and try out for an MLS team because they are European. However, if they want to try their wares here stateside then awesome! I'm not a fan of trying to give someone a breakdown of the whole structure of US soccer, which is why I pointed him in the direction of the MLS website. It's certainly usefull for that but also off of at least two team sites, the Burn and DC I believe, there are dates listed for open try outs. It should be noted, as it is in the other thread that if you're not good enough to play professionally at any level in Europe you're probably going to have an even more difficult time doing so here. The problem is that we simply don't have as a developed lower division where many people can make a living off of being a soccer player. However, someone like the original poster might have much better luck trying for a collegiate scholorship if they're looking to eventually play pro in the US.
Maxim-1: Dont take offence because i am not one of those who thinks i can just waltz in and try out for an MLS team because iam European. Not at all - quite the opposite actually. Like i said i have played at a professional level but travelling became too much as i was only young. I have a lot of respect for the way soccer is being played in America at the moment and i think that in say 5 or 10 years time it will be as big as other sports over there. My main problem is i dont know where to go in America - simply because it is so god dam big! and also what we call towns / citys - over there you all have states and districts etc - which i dont fully understand! The thing is i want to start afresh in another country and America appeals to me so i thought why not try and play whilst iam there. I am planning a trip this summer and so am starting my preperatiions early. collegiate scholorship? - What exactly is that? How would i go about doing it and any suggestions on possible locations? Sorry if iam being a bit vague guys, just trying to know exactly whats what beofre i make any decsions so any help you can give me is much appreciated. Thanks for the feedback so far.
Liked maxim-1 has said, if you are not good enough professionally in Europe, it will be hard to break into MLS because the issue of foreign allotement. I also suggest college soccer. ... years ago, I actually read an article from the Independent(UK newpaper) talking about about some American colleges held tryouts in UK for players from youth teams who could not break into professional soccer. It was a sad article since most of the players interviewed had only one option left.... for some of them, it was not about playing soccer anymore. They wanted that college degree.
Yeah i understand that the MLS is probably a bit out of my reach but like i said in an earlier post, i am also interested in looking into the lower divisions. Not necessarily to earn a living because i understand they dont pay to well but just for the sake of playing at a decent level. I am also looking into a scholarship if any of you know any information about it. Cheers
Well, basically the simple version is... Collegiate sports is very big in the country, bigger than most lower division sports. Where as in the UK small clubs were formed throughout history and now play in the lower divisions of soccer the same thing essentially happend with colleges. Most if not all schools in the US have athletics programs in just about every sport. Some of the bigger schools, have very very high profile programs, earning the schools massive recognition and millions of dollars. However, that type of profitability is almost exclusively with basketball, football, and to a small degree hockey and baseball. Basically athletes get to play on these teams in exchange for a free college education. The twist is that with most soccer programs these scholorships aren't as widely available as in other sports. Many of the top collegiate athlets will sue it as a way to then turn into a professional athlete. For example, the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and MLS all have drafts where teams select the best collegiate players from that previous year. Although in soccer it's not the most ideal situation when compared with European youth development many of our best players in MLS and on the US National team have gone this route to great success. Here's one link that I kow of simply because there was an American kid playing at the school that wound up getting a try out with Crewe Alexandra. If you do some ermsaearch you'll find that 90% of their team is players from the UK. They just recently won the Division II College (NCAA) championship.) http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/chestertownjuniors/page33.phtml Other than that. If that sounds like a route that might be interesting to you then I'd suggest going to a search engine and typing "College recruiting soccer" and you'll definately come up with plenty of information on what to do and who to contact. You also might want to try to ask about this on the On The Feild boards. There's people there who are far more involved with the actual process of this than us.
If you do wind up comign over to here and starting a soccer career, there is a catch. You have to naturalize so that you could potentially be available for national team duty. I know that seems like it could be the longest of long shots, but that's how things work around here. Bigsoccer advice is not free.
The college option may not be available in this case - I believe that once you've played profesionally you are disqualified for college sports. Also, the poster didn't give his age; if he's not around 18 then it probably wouldn't work for that reason either. I think the PDL or A-League might be a more feasible option. However, summer is the middle of the season for American leagues, so you would want to be trying out now, rather than next summer...
I don't think that's true. One of my teachers back in junior high played for the Brooklyn Knights of the PDL for several years. He graduated from Southern Connecticut St. being teammates with DC United defender Mike Petke. He then went back to Southern Connecticut St. and played there again after playing with the Brooklyn Knights.
I don't think PDL is a pro league, so that wouldn't matter. If he had played for the A-League or MLS or a European pro league then I think the case would be altered.
billward - I played professional but never actually signed a contract. Over here you are on trial for 3 months and then get offered a contract if you are good enough. I didn't get to the end of that period due to problems with travelling even though i was a regular in the team. I have just turned 20 years of age and so am just getting all of the information i can. Any other info just let me know Cheers
To my knowledge that wouldn't make you inelligiable to sign with an NCAA team. There are different rules however for Division I vs. Division II schools. This thread has a breakdown of some of those. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60303&perpage=15&pagenumber=6 As someone suggested to a previous poster inquiring about the exact same thing, that contacting Chris Bergin of UKsoccer might be a bood idea, he's has himself out there to do this kind of thing specifically. However, if you wind up signign a contract with him as an agent, or any other agent that WOULD make you automatically inelligiable from ever playing in college.
They used to run ads in World Soccer magaizne offering scholarship to college in USA. I do not know anything about those agency(could be a scum). Anyway, I used to know a guy from in my college team used to play for a lower divison team in Spain, but could not break into the starting lineup. I think he sat out a year.... that was 10 years ago.
maxim - cheers for that. i have been in contact with him and he has given me some advice. Mainly that i should try and get noticed on this forum! from someone who has contacts with lower league teams! Cheers
Bergin just suggested coming onto these forums and asking? Maybe he's as usefull as an agent as he is a journalist... but anyways... You should really go poke around the USL forums here, and the USL discussion board off of their site. They'd probably be able to have a better chance of giving you a contact name and number. On the other hand, look at the individual MLS team websites, three teams that I know of. N.E. Revoltion, D.C. United, and the Dallas Burn are accepting applications for an open try out. Like we said with your level of expierence might be a bit of a stretch but why not ya know? Basically just keep poking around there's threads I believe too about open A-League, USL try outs... so ya never know.
Cheers maxim - might give them a call and see whats what. Shame its in March though!! Thanks Any other info then just let me know - aprreciate it
How do I get into an MSL or USL Team?? Hey ... I hope someone can help me here. Im from ireland and im looking to get set-up with a club here in the united states.. I am an extremely good player..i have played with the likes of colin healy and liam miller who both played with Celtic -- miller now at manchester united..anyway..im 23 and I have won 2 national college leagues with my college...what would my chance be if i wrote to all the clubs in the MSL and The USL?? Would I get a trial?? if anyone has any ideas on how to get a trial and not an Open trial where there would be 1000's!! I would be estremely grateful... Also a matter of interest..what are the wages for a professional soccer player in the states like?? anything in comparison to the EPL ?? Thanks a million...
Lookin to play pro It's unfortunate that the US doesn't look for raw talent elsewhere . They only look toward colleges. They should hold forums around the Us and see raw talent off the streets I've seen better players on the streets than in the MLS. I also want to go pro but for the MLS u need connections. So if anyone has any hook us up. #21
Like I said before in regards to the, 'They only look at colleges' issue. Which is ill informed but not entirely not off the mark, go look at the MLS Expansion: Chivas US forum, they held open try outs for players in the community, mostly ethnic based a couple of months back, hoping to address from at least a public relations perspective the very point you bring up. Again, just read this thread and follow the advice and links.
Re: Lookin to play pro You are not realistic. If you want to make your way in organized soccer, you cannot expect to start with the top division. Go to a PDL or a PSL tryout (a Harrisburg PA team just held some tryouts recently). If you catch on with one of those teams and play well, you have an excellent chance of being seen by an A-League scout. If you do an excellent job in A-League, you have a great chance of being seen by an MLS scout. And with the possibility of expansion coming along, there will soon be lots of opportunity for the top 10% of A-League players. But for you to think that MLS should go to a lot of trouble to scout you (on the merits of a couple good years with an amateur side in Brooklyn), you are being unrealistic. After all, there are a fair number of international quality players (CONCACAF) even in the A league!
I just wandered onto this board randomly. Brilliant summation of the "Why are you here?" question and a classic rebuttal for all the naysayers. Well done.
Organization designed to help Euro kids get US Scholorships I just found this link from a UK story decrying the practice of Euro kids playing at American Universities. I don't know what their track record is, or what kind of set up they have. However here's the link. http://www.firstpointusa.com/ First Point USA has established itself as the world's leading sports scholarship consultants, dedicated to assisting the world's talented sportsmen & women in their search for scholarships to Colleges & Universities in the USA.
For anyone looking to catch on to an American Club, be it pro or otherwise, I would first suggest doing a search on Google to see what comes up. Here is a URL for A-League: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=A-League Also here is a good URL for PDL with links to the A-League, the W-League, the Super Y-League, etc... http://pdl.uslsoccer.com/ College Soocer in the US is unheralded compared to other College Sports here. Getting into the PDL is a good start, even look at trying to get into one of these leagues and then hit the Indoor scene with MISLII. Preki played a long time in the Indoor Game here and he has done well for himself in the Outdoor Game once MLS came along.