Early this year California voted out high school soccer for Developmental Academy players. Texas now has done the same. Starting next year (soccer year - August) any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy (FC Dallas, Solar, Andromeda?, Texans) will not be allowed to play high school soccer. A new deadline has been decided for adding players, which is December 31st. No players can be added to a roster after December 31st.

soccergrinder wrote:Early this year California voted out high school soccer for Developmental Academy players. Texas now has done the same. Starting next year (soccer year - August) any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy (FC Dallas, Solar, Andromeda?, Texans) will not be allowed to play high school soccer. A new deadline has been decided for adding players, which is December 31st. No players can be added to a roster after December 31st.

Whats the thinking behind it?

BAFANA BAFANA wrote:

soccergrinder wrote:Early this year California voted out high school soccer for Developmental Academy players. Texas now has done the same. Starting next year (soccer year - August) any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy (FC Dallas, Solar, Andromeda?, Texans) will not be allowed to play high school soccer. A new deadline has been decided for adding players, which is December 31st. No players can be added to a roster after December 31st.

Whats the thinking behind it?

Obviously High School Activities have ruined our National and World Cup teams.

FCD just stepped up in stature by quite a bit as the other clubs allowed HS play but required player payment. Now, they are even with the small, cough, cough, exception of FCD being free.

Very strange to make that a mandate - wondering if the coaches/clubs begged for such.

BAFANA BAFANA wrote:Whats the thinking behind it?

USSF thinks HS Coaches are inferior, don't train well, and the kids get injured more when they play HS.

USSF and its academy affiliates want 100% of your time, allegiance, and money going to them. HS causes the kid to choose between club and HS games in case of conflict.

Because we all are so enraptured by the Academy and its vague promises of Something Wonderful (scholarship? MLS Gig? Higher/better level of play? Other pies in the sky?) we just mindlessly say YES and kids drop out of HS soccer.

(We don't have to, btw.)

Another good reason to stay on a good club team. The players I know love High School soccer for the social, fraternal aspects and visibility they get playing for their school with girls and fans. They get to play their club team mates in district play. They get to talk smack about each team, who's the best, who's going to win district etc.

There is serious injury risk in High School soccer which is a major concern for a serious player and their parents but they are young men only once in their life. To deny them playing for their High School team is a big hit. Now with that being said, High School soccer poses alot of risk to prospective college soccer players during Junior/Senior years when they need to be shining and at their best in college showcases. These injuries can pose a significant risk to a young recruit's prospects.

The best aspect of High School soccer is some coaches can inspire young men to be part of something bigger then them, their school tradition and pride. This is a good experience for the players in my opinion as long as they do not get injured.

Another aspect of HS sports.
Practice;
Club- Drive to practice twice a week
HS- practice everyday after classes- just like college
Games-
Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college
Travel-
Club- once again usually with mom and dad
HS- on bus with coach and team- more like college.

The quality may not always be there but the atmosphere is more like what they will get in college. Food for thought.

Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college


LOL! I have been to HS soccer games where the attendance was..... mom and dads and siblings and maybe a friend or too, if you you are trying to act as if HS Soccer is friday night lights, that is laughable......kick and run at its finest lol

soccergrinder wrote:Early this year California voted out high school soccer for Developmental Academy players. Texas now has done the same. Starting next year (soccer year - August) any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy (FC Dallas, Solar, Andromeda?, Texans) will not be allowed to play high school soccer. A new deadline has been decided for adding players, which is December 31st. No players can be added to a roster after December 31st.

Is that correct? ANY club member of a club that has a DA team, even if they aren't on the DA? Or just the ones on the DA team?

Good job USSF. You just made Classic League stronger and your academy program weaker. Classic League thanks you I'm sure.

Most players don't play HS for the "development" aspect. They play for the fun of playing with their friends, the pride of playing for their school, and the satisfaction of showing their skills in front of their school peers.

As my2cents said well, they are only young once. It might be one thing to keep a kid out of HS soccer who was playing with the U20 National Team, but....whatever.

Good job USSF. You just made Classic League stronger and your academy program weaker. Classic League thanks you I'm sure.

Most players don't play HS for the "development" aspect. They play for the fun of playing with their friends, the pride of playing for their school, and the satisfaction of showing their skills in front of their school peers.

As my2cents said well, they are only young once. It might be one thing to keep a kid out of HS soccer who was playing with the U20 National Team, but....whatever.

Say that again Woodwork!

Just another reason for more of our multi-sport star athletes to pick other sports over soccer.

This will make for a more interesting 2012 high school season. Might see a changing of the guard for high school programs.

anselansel wrote:Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college


LOL! I have been to HS soccer games where the attendance was..... mom and dads and siblings and maybe a friend or too, if you you are trying to act as if HS Soccer is friday night lights, that is laughable......kick and run at its finest lol

I reread what I wrote a few times and don't see that in there. But whatever. Did not say it was not kickball. I will spell it out more clearly. It is a comparison of the environments, not of the quality of the games. The HS games are obviously not like friday night lights but they are also nothing like classic league either. Much more lively and emotional and in that aspect more fun for the players thus the appeal.

my2cents wrote:

anselansel wrote:Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college


LOL! I have been to HS soccer games where the attendance was..... mom and dads and siblings and maybe a friend or too, if you you are trying to act as if HS Soccer is friday night lights, that is laughable......kick and run at its finest lol

I reread what I wrote a few times and don't see that in there. But whatever. Did not say it was not kickball. I will spell it out more clearly. It is a comparison of the environments, not of the quality of the games. The HS games are obviously not like friday night lights but they are also nothing like classic league either. Much more lively and emotional and in that aspect more fun for the players thus the appeal.

Agree w/2Cents. BTW, no aspect of soccer (classic, USSF, Disney, you name it) compares to Friday Night Lights (HS Football in Texas).

Our high school games, have friends, family, students with drums and standing the whole game, girlfriends, school administrators, etc. Comparable to football; not even close. More support than other soccer venues; absolutely. Sorry that the high school games you go to Assenal are so poorly supported.

Oh the nut sack has chimed in. Means the topic has grown stale and the bottom feeders have found it.

Freeatlast wrote:

soccergrinder wrote:Early this year California voted out high school soccer for Developmental Academy players. Texas now has done the same. Starting next year (soccer year - August) any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy (FC Dallas, Solar, Andromeda?, Texans) will not be allowed to play high school soccer. A new deadline has been decided for adding players, which is December 31st. No players can be added to a roster after December 31st.

Is that correct? ANY club member of a club that has a DA team, even if they aren't on the DA? Or just the ones on the DA team?

Freelast,

I didn't write any member of the club, I wrote "any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy". Geez.

soccergrinder wrote:Early this year California voted out high school soccer for Developmental Academy players. Texas now has done the same. Starting next year (soccer year - August) any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy (FC Dallas, Solar, Andromeda?, Texans) will not be allowed to play high school soccer. A new deadline has been decided for adding players, which is December 31st. No players can be added to a roster after December 31st.

Interesting. Do you have a link to further inofrmation on this?

I know this was decided a few weeks ago, but I have not seen any press on this.
There was a write up when California made this move.


I know of lots of injuries and tired bodies going into Dallas Cup- I'm sure that didn't help.
Interesting that the vote was taken at the end of High School season.

futbolnutt wrote:

my2cents wrote:

anselansel wrote:Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college


LOL! I have been to HS soccer games where the attendance was..... mom and dads and siblings and maybe a friend or too, if you you are trying to act as if HS Soccer is friday night lights, that is laughable......kick and run at its finest lol

I reread what I wrote a few times and don't see that in there. But whatever. Did not say it was not kickball. I will spell it out more clearly. It is a comparison of the environments, not of the quality of the games. The HS games are obviously not like friday night lights but they are also nothing like classic league either. Much more lively and emotional and in that aspect more fun for the players thus the appeal.

Agree w/2Cents. BTW, no aspect of soccer (classic, USSF, Disney, you name it) compares to Friday Night Lights (HS Football in Texas).

Our high school games, have friends, family, students with drums and standing the whole game, girlfriends, school administrators, etc. Comparable to football; not even close. More support than other soccer venues; absolutely. Sorry that the high school games you go to Assenal are so poorly supported.

To expound on that point, College soccer games and MLS games, at least in most places, do not even compare to Friday Night Lights in Texas.

TheFarPost wrote:
I know this was decided a few weeks ago, but I have not seen any press on this.
There was a write up when California made this move.


I know of lots of injuries and tired bodies going into Dallas Cup- I'm sure that didn't help.
Interesting that the vote was taken at the end of High School season.

Actually this was not decided a couple of weeks ago. It was discussed a couple of weeks ago. Then a 10 day stay was inacted. A final vote and passing just occured.

Don't see the big deal here. If highschool sports is that important to your BB the just don't play academy. But in the meantime a few kids will not be in the highschool system that will allow some of the players behind them to step up and shine. Hopefully get their chance to be seen

soccergrinder wrote:Early this year California voted out high school soccer for Developmental Academy players. Texas now has done the same. Starting next year (soccer year - August) any player playing for a local club who is part of the Academy (FC Dallas, Solar, Andromeda?, Texans) will not be allowed to play high school soccer. A new deadline has been decided for adding players, which is December 31st. No players can be added to a roster after December 31st.

Is this a league wide vote or Solar, Texans , Andro?, joining FC Dallas with this policy change? All I could find on California was that 6 of the top clubs had banned high school soccer.



On top of that the California equivalent to our UIL bans playing both when the seasons overlap . It looks like their is even less co-operation in California between the high School ruling bodies & club soccer than in Texas. I don't know if the rules have changed out there as this was an article from 2009 I read.

THE NEEDLE wrote:

futbolnutt wrote:

my2cents wrote:

anselansel wrote:Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college


LOL! I have been to HS soccer games where the attendance was..... mom and dads and siblings and maybe a friend or too, if you you are trying to act as if HS Soccer is friday night lights, that is laughable......kick and run at its finest lol

I reread what I wrote a few times and don't see that in there. But whatever. Did not say it was not kickball. I will spell it out more clearly. It is a comparison of the environments, not of the quality of the games. The HS games are obviously not like friday night lights but they are also nothing like classic league either. Much more lively and emotional and in that aspect more fun for the players thus the appeal.

Agree w/2Cents. BTW, no aspect of soccer (classic, USSF, Disney, you name it) compares to Friday Night Lights (HS Football in Texas).

Our high school games, have friends, family, students with drums and standing the whole game, girlfriends, school administrators, etc. Comparable to football; not even close. More support than other soccer venues; absolutely. Sorry that the high school games you go to Assenal are so poorly supported.

To expound on that point, College soccer games and MLS games, at least in most places, do not even compare to Friday Night Lights in Texas.

That is true, but a lot of the audience at Friday night lights is contrived. The band is forced to be there, take that away and the numbers drop. Same for dance teams, cheerleaders, etc... Then you will find that most of the adults that are there are parents of the band, dance teams, cheerleaders, etc..

eagle wrote:

THE NEEDLE wrote:

futbolnutt wrote:

my2cents wrote:

anselansel wrote:Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college


LOL! I have been to HS soccer games where the attendance was..... mom and dads and siblings and maybe a friend or too, if you you are trying to act as if HS Soccer is friday night lights, that is laughable......kick and run at its finest lol

I reread what I wrote a few times and don't see that in there. But whatever. Did not say it was not kickball. I will spell it out more clearly. It is a comparison of the environments, not of the quality of the games. The HS games are obviously not like friday night lights but they are also nothing like classic league either. Much more lively and emotional and in that aspect more fun for the players thus the appeal.

Agree w/2Cents. BTW, no aspect of soccer (classic, USSF, Disney, you name it) compares to Friday Night Lights (HS Football in Texas).

Our high school games, have friends, family, students with drums and standing the whole game, girlfriends, school administrators, etc. Comparable to football; not even close. More support than other soccer venues; absolutely. Sorry that the high school games you go to Assenal are so poorly supported.

To expound on that point, College soccer games and MLS games, at least in most places, do not even compare to Friday Night Lights in Texas.

That is true, but a lot of the audience at Friday night lights is contrived. The band is forced to be there, take that away and the numbers drop. Same for dance teams, cheerleaders, etc... Then you will find that most of the adults that are there are parents of the band, dance teams, cheerleaders, etc..

LOL! this may be the single most ignorant thing I have ever seen posted on this site (and that is saying something). I go to HS football games on a regular basis. For the most part they are packed with thousands of people. That is why Allen is spending millions of bling on a new stadium because no one but band members and their parents show for the games, LOL. Go to Tyler, Corsicana, Nacadoches, Athens, Big Spring, Blanco, Italy, Sherman, Odessa, Alpine, Glen Rose, Longview, Lubbock, etc. on a Friday night and try to find someone. You know where they will be, at the football game. IF soccer had even 1/20 of the interest that football has the sport would be huge. However, I would say it is more like 1/100..if that.

I would agree but what else is there to do in those p ant towns on Friday anyway?

anselansel wrote:I would agree but what else is there to do in those p ant towns on Friday anyway?

Well, to answer your question. The more important soccer is in HS equals to more people that will follow the sport. Colleges then take notice and open up soccer to more D1 schools (more people then of course follow the sport). Do I really need to break this down for you?

I don't know Hooker, there's a good point made. Take out the rah rah factor of your tackle games and you're down to parents and friends. I agree with the point. Force the band and ancillary school supporters to a soccer match and the crowd volume changes considerably. Down, set, hut...

College soccer is probably going to get worse for boys at least as most of the successful players will start bypassing college all together. Pro teams have already spoken on most colleges ability to develope any player of value. The draft has almost become a farce. I think highschool soccer can be a great place for kids to enjoy the game and school. Taking the academy players out only opens it up to ther kids

hookem wrote:

eagle wrote:

THE NEEDLE wrote:

futbolnutt wrote:

my2cents wrote:

anselansel wrote:Club- in front of mom and dad
HS- in a stadium, announcers, with crowd of peers and frinds- more like college


LOL! I have been to HS soccer games where the attendance was..... mom and dads and siblings and maybe a friend or too, if you you are trying to act as if HS Soccer is friday night lights, that is laughable......kick and run at its finest lol

I reread what I wrote a few times and don't see that in there. But whatever. Did not say it was not kickball. I will spell it out more clearly. It is a comparison of the environments, not of the quality of the games. The HS games are obviously not like friday night lights but they are also nothing like classic league either. Much more lively and emotional and in that aspect more fun for the players thus the appeal.

Agree w/2Cents. BTW, no aspect of soccer (classic, USSF, Disney, you name it) compares to Friday Night Lights (HS Football in Texas).

Our high school games, have friends, family, students with drums and standing the whole game, girlfriends, school administrators, etc. Comparable to football; not even close. More support than other soccer venues; absolutely. Sorry that the high school games you go to Assenal are so poorly supported.

To expound on that point, College soccer games and MLS games, at least in most places, do not even compare to Friday Night Lights in Texas.

That is true, but a lot of the audience at Friday night lights is contrived. The band is forced to be there, take that away and the numbers drop. Same for dance teams, cheerleaders, etc... Then you will find that most of the adults that are there are parents of the band, dance teams, cheerleaders, etc..

LOL! this may be the single most ignorant thing I have ever seen posted on this site (and that is saying something). I go to HS football games on a regular basis. For the most part they are packed with thousands of people. That is why Allen is spending millions of bling on a new stadium because no one but band members and their parents show for the games, LOL. Go to Tyler, Corsicana, Nacadoches, Athens, Big Spring, Blanco, Italy, Sherman, Odessa, Alpine, Glen Rose, Longview, Lubbock, etc. on a Friday night and try to find someone. You know where they will be, at the football game. IF soccer had even 1/20 of the interest that football has the sport would be huge. However, I would say it is more like 1/100..if that.

Hook is 1000% correct. I have lived in several of those places he names and several others like them. It isn't just moms, dads and the band. Hell, there was a time when you would see scalpers at the Midland Lee v. Odessa Permian games. Football stadiums are big enough that they hold a lot more than parents and the band and lots and lots of stadiums are sold out on a regular basis. Many have season ticket holders. In many places it is truly a religious event. There is nothing "contrived" about it. In towns without a football playing university it is easily the biggest event in town. And it is not just soccer that plays second (or third or fourth or fifth) fiddle to football, it is every other high school sport. There aren't any fans at baseball, volleyball or track either. In Texas, football is king. I agree that there are some people that don't come for the football, but they come for the show. My daughter could care less about the guys with helmets on but she isn't going to miss the cheerleaders and the drill team. It is a social event, a sporting event, a community event all wrapped up in one. Soccer (of any kind, HS, College or Pro) will not be replacing football in Texas anytime soon. It is a cultural fact. That may be bad, that may be good, that may not matter, but, that is the way it is.