DA to high school soccer-and back again?

Does anyone have any experience with their goalkeeper moving from Academy (part-time or full-time) and then to high school soccer on the "off" (age combo) years? I've seen it done at the high school where I teach (which has an excellent program). My son is currently part-time DA (06) and we are trying to figure out what he wants to do. Our high school coach said he would work with him if he decides to try and balance it all. Thanks!
 
Does anyone have any experience with their goalkeeper moving from Academy (part-time or full-time) and then to high school soccer on the "off" (age combo) years? I've seen it done at the high school where I teach (which has an excellent program). My son is currently part-time DA (06) and we are trying to figure out what he wants to do. Our high school coach said he would work with him if he decides to try and balance it all. Thanks!

Is his DA experience doing him any good? Training, exposure, competition, etc---
 
Our high school coach said he would work with him if he decides to try and balance it all. Thanks!

Without giving away that I know your son and what school your deciding on... I would 100% choose that high school over DA. I would also choose that coach and I'd even consider playing high school then joining the club team he's affiliated with rather than coming back to DA.

That would be unique advice knowing the context.
 
Does anyone have any experience with their goalkeeper moving from Academy (part-time or full-time) and then to high school soccer on the "off" (age combo) years? I've seen it done at the high school where I teach (which has an excellent program). My son is currently part-time DA (06) and we are trying to figure out what he wants to do. Our high school coach said he would work with him if he decides to try and balance it all. Thanks!

My son did this during his off year with DA (sophomore year). He was full time DA player at the time. Loved it and came back to play HS in his senior year leaving DA for good. Got offer to play in college playing with club team he joined after senior HS season.
If HS program is good - makes a lot of sense.
 
My son did this during his off year with DA (sophomore year). He was full time DA player at the time. Loved it and came back to play HS in his senior year leaving DA for good. Got offer to play in college playing with club team he joined after senior HS season.
If HS program is good - makes a lot of sense.
Did your son feel awkward with coming and going from the high school team? Were his team mates okay with it?
 
As long as the high school is at a high level then high school can be positive. However, if the training is mediocre and the other kids are out to just have fun then it can be frustrating for a highly competitive kid. Definitely have a talk about expectations very early on and then frequently thereafter.
 
I have a girl, so there are no more "off" years, but I do know that DA rules expressly prevent you from rejoining a DA team mid-season if you leave to play HS. As for part-time players, the rules are not at all explicit- I've read them and re-read them, but it is not clear. Some coaches would probably ignore the "outside play" for part-time players, but it's possible that an opposing coach could report your player for a rule violation.

One other caveat, if your child attends a private school and receives scholarship money to attend that school, he can get a waiver that allows him to play HS while also rostered on a DA team (full-time or part-time).

Here's a link to the rules: http://www.ussoccerda.com/doclib/2019-20 DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY RULES AND REGULATIONS.pdf
 
PT players may play high school. They can not be full time players, drop to PT status for high school and return to DA BUT a player could be PT in the fall, play high school and then be "promoted" to FT in the spring.

From the above link:

Part-Time Players Clubs may add up to an average of 10 Part-Time (PT) Players, averaged across all club’s age groups (U-13 through U-18/19), which will count against roster totals, according to the Part Time Player Policy. The 2019- 2020 policy is available at http://www.ussoccerda.com/administrative_resources.

A Part-time Player (PT) is a player who is rostered with a DA Club or their affiliate Club that is not ready to contribute at the Academy level full time. This player is not playing consistently and/or enough minutes in DA games to fully develop; therefore, the player is eligible to play games outside of the DA program.

The PT player consistently trains 3-4 times a week (depending on their age group) and must train with both teams every week. The PT player is required to train a minimum of 1x every week with the DA team, in addition to their non-DA team. For example, the player trains 1-2x every week with the DA team and 1-2x every week with the non-DA team. PT players can play in a maximum of 12 DA games. Note, at U-13 and U-14 age groups, any PT player added to the game day roster will count as a game played.

To supplement their Academy game minutes, the PT player is eligible to also play games outside the DA on a non-DA team within the club or in an affiliate club as part of his/her individual development plan. PT players must still follow the Academy play-to-rest ratio.

PT players may not be registered PT with any two different Academy clubs at the same time during the same Academy season (Sept-July). PT players may only change their status to full-time once during the Academy season and they may not return to PT player status. Furthermore, a PT player does not automatically garner 25 full-time status after participating in their twelfth game. The club must submit their intentions in writing to the Academy Office to move the player to full-time status. Players that have played in the maximum twelve (12) games, are not eligible to continue to play in Academy games, unless the club indicates the desire to move the player to full-time status and the player status has been updated to full-time by the Academy Central Office. Note, continued usage of a PT player after their 12th game could cause a club to forfeit games due to the use of an ineligible player. Additionally, PT players are eligible to participate in the Academy Playoffs or Academy Championships.
 
Rule is “no outside competition.”
There is no rule against playing other sports. Only outside competition in soccer is prohibited.

However, my DD has found with club training 3-4 days a week,HS games would conflict with club DA practice, so playing another HS sport has not been feasible for her.
 
Been there done it. If DA is for you and you still want HS Soccer too (what kid doesn't want it all), you can PT it or you can play DPL and HS Soccer and look to join top team after HS season is over. Another option is if the club has both DA and ECNL. Play ECNL first half, then HS Soccer then get the call up to the DA. WARNING: In all these options, be careful moving teams mid season. Most parents don;t like it when new parent shows up with goat half way through the season because someone's kid is going to lose playing time. Bad team chemistry imho most of the time.
 
PT players may play high school. They can not be full time players, drop to PT status for high school and return to DA BUT a player could be PT in the fall, play high school and then be "promoted" to FT in the spring.

From the above link:

Part-Time Players Clubs may add up to an average of 10 Part-Time (PT) Players, averaged across all club’s age groups (U-13 through U-18/19), which will count against roster totals, according to the Part Time Player Policy. The 2019- 2020 policy is available at http://www.ussoccerda.com/administrative_resources.

A Part-time Player (PT) is a player who is rostered with a DA Club or their affiliate Club that is not ready to contribute at the Academy level full time. This player is not playing consistently and/or enough minutes in DA games to fully develop; therefore, the player is eligible to play games outside of the DA program.

The PT player consistently trains 3-4 times a week (depending on their age group) and must train with both teams every week. The PT player is required to train a minimum of 1x every week with the DA team, in addition to their non-DA team. For example, the player trains 1-2x every week with the DA team and 1-2x every week with the non-DA team. PT players can play in a maximum of 12 DA games. Note, at U-13 and U-14 age groups, any PT player added to the game day roster will count as a game played.

To supplement their Academy game minutes, the PT player is eligible to also play games outside the DA on a non-DA team within the club or in an affiliate club as part of his/her individual development plan. PT players must still follow the Academy play-to-rest ratio.

PT players may not be registered PT with any two different Academy clubs at the same time during the same Academy season (Sept-July). PT players may only change their status to full-time once during the Academy season and they may not return to PT player status. Furthermore, a PT player does not automatically garner 25 full-time status after participating in their twelfth game. The club must submit their intentions in writing to the Academy Office to move the player to full-time status. Players that have played in the maximum twelve (12) games, are not eligible to continue to play in Academy games, unless the club indicates the desire to move the player to full-time status and the player status has been updated to full-time by the Academy Central Office. Note, continued usage of a PT player after their 12th game could cause a club to forfeit games due to the use of an ineligible player. Additionally, PT players are eligible to participate in the Academy Playoffs or Academy Championships.
That is super useful, thank you!
 
Thank you! I didn't even know you could play DA "part time". Interesting. But it also sounds like once you return to the DA, you can't go back to part time, right? So if you play DA, go part time to play 1 season of HS soccer and then return to the DA full time after that season, it sounds like you can't go back to part time status for the next season of HS. Am I interpreting that rule right?
 
Back
Top