West Coast/Surf OC

You are so right!! This trend will continue for years to come. As long as you have middle and upper class parents who continue to drive the revenue stream, there is no way to stop this money grab. Irony is that the very people who fund this charade are, for the most part, parents with children who will NEVER make it to the big game. Only in Club Soccer do you see people buying into the whole "pathway to something..." bullsh*t. I have never seen a professional athlete from any sport that I am familiar with that needed someone else to provide them with a pathway to anything. Mostly just people or organizations getting in their way, on their way, to the big leagues. If there is one thing I have noticed over the years, it is that the unicorns make their own path and do their own thing. In fact, it is usually all the uptight do gooders screaming "don't be that parent" that are too blind to see that top talent doesn't need anyone to create a pathway for them.

There is so much broken with the system in the US that it is to the point where we need to scrap the whole thing and replace it with something completely different but I realize that won't happen.

In any sport only .001 percent 'make it' to the highest level. But that doesn't mean everyone should quit. Play until someone tells you that you are no longer good enough.
Every sport has a path. It is similar in baseball, basketball, hockey etc. Its travel ball. You play HS (but its because of travel) then if you are great you get drafted. If you are a step below you get to college. There are thousands of colleges that have baseball programs. It just matters where you fit in. So that is the path. No kid even knows what any of it means. The parents figure it out and get the kid on the right path. None of those guys are there just because they just showed up. They all have parents that helped them. I know for a fact. Soccer is the same. You have to have youth teams and many of them to create a pool of future players. There has to be competition. Every year the heard gets thinned out and the cream keeps rising. It the players that are talented and dedicated survive the next cut.
 
If you need someone to chart out a path for you, that generally means that you don't have what it takes to get there.
you don't know what you don't know. Is it just a natural instinct to wake up and know how to get wherever you are going? Id be very interested in finding a top level player that just knew. More than likely they got help.
 
I think bringing a power house club like WC and Surf together as partners will change the landscape of soccer in OC. We all know that both the Pats and Strikers could care less about their girls program unlike WC and the Slammers care a little bit about the boys but mainly the girls side. My club could care less about either !!!
I wouldn't be surprised to see this trigger other mergers in OC. I don't know how they would work it out on the boys side, but a merger of Pats and Strikers would seem to make sense on the girls side. Strikers are strong in ECNL but currently thin in the younger ages. Pats are struggling in girls DA and could benefit from a larger talent pool/budget. Together I think they might make a good dual DA/ECNL club. That might leave DPL in a lurch but I doubt that's the Pats' primary concern right now.
 
You are right, it isn't the same, it is better. If the goal is to be better as a nation at soccer, we need more kids playing soccer. The more kids that play soccer and develop a passion for a game the bigger the pool of talent.

The people who lament the current state of soccer versus times past are a curious bunch. Does somehow a kid that isn't great being on "club" soccer somehow diminish what you did 20-25 years ago? The "lets move everybody that isn't great to rec" angle is stupid. The kids are having fun. They are making friends. They are getting exercise and they are staying out of trouble. These are wins. More kids in competitive soccer, not less.
Those kids can do the same with rec soccer and high school soccer. But hey, lets line the pockets of the big clubs.
OC Surf will never give their tournament away !! Largest two day soccer tournament in the United States and directed by two fantastic people !! Love helping them with their event each year.
Texas ????
In any sport only .001 percent 'make it' to the highest level. But that doesn't mean everyone should quit. Play until someone tells you that you are no longer good enough.
Every sport has a path. It is similar in baseball, basketball, hockey etc. Its travel ball. You play HS (but its because of travel) then if you are great you get drafted. If you are a step below you get to college. There are thousands of colleges that have baseball programs. It just matters where you fit in. So that is the path. No kid even knows what any of it means. The parents figure it out and get the kid on the right path. None of those guys are there just because they just showed up. They all have parents that helped them. I know for a fact. Soccer is the same. You have to have youth teams and many of them to create a pool of future players. There has to be competition. Every year the heard gets thinned out and the cream keeps rising. It the players that are talented and dedicated survive the next cut.
So true, but oh so expensive! $$$$$$$$$$$$
 
I doubt a Striker/Pats merger would ever be a reality. DE would never relinquish or share control of the Strikers with the Pats. Too much bad blood between the two clubs.
 
I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when this deal was made. What was the sales pitch from either end? What was the real rea$on?

I'd also love to understand the "real" strategy from Surf. "Expand our brand and provide great soccer opportunities" is what we hear. But what do the top 2 or 3 people over there really think/want?
 
Rec lasts around 3 months. HS has a limited number of spaces. So we just write off all the other kids?
No, don't write them off. Take the money you would have spent on club and use it for private training, (skill development, agility and running training) and take them to some professional games, let them watch soccer on TV. You can do a lot with $1,800. plus! Keep playing rec particularly at the younger ages, futsal or indoor soccer, then move into club and high school soccer and if they develop, into ECNL or DA. They will still compete, still make friendships and they can still develop a love of soccer. Maybe clubs should look at a graduated pay/fee schedule. U8, U9, U10 - $500, U11, U12, U13 $1,000, U14, and older $1800.
 
Those kids can do the same with rec soccer and high school soccer. But hey, lets line the pockets of the big clubs.

Texas ????

So true, but oh so expensive! $$$$$$$$$$$$
Chops tell me what isn't expensive. Those top players have to play against other top players. The only place to get that here is through club. Steel sharpens steel.
 
“Strength through unity” is the universal motto for Fascists throughout history - the fact that these buffoons thought this was a great title for their press release is friggin hilarious.
its a motto for very many unions. mine included and no we aren't facist.
 
No, don't write them off. Take the money you would have spent on club and use it for private training, (skill development, agility and running training) and take them to some professional games, let them watch soccer on TV. You can do a lot with $1,800. plus! Keep playing rec particularly at the younger ages, futsal or indoor soccer, then move into club and high school soccer and if they develop, into ECNL or DA. They will still compete, still make friendships and they can still develop a love of soccer. Maybe clubs should look at a graduated pay/fee schedule. U8, U9, U10 - $500, U11, U12, U13 $1,000, U14, and older $1800.
Some clubs already have the fee structured on the age and level of play.
 
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