Is Maple worth it?

You hear from this site and parents about kids playing in Red Bull League,DAP, Super Y League, Subregional and Regional League.
So to put it out there, why even play in Maple??? If the goal is to play in these other leagues for the top teams for both boys and girls,why do Maple??? I mean teams like Scorpions, MPS, Stars use Maple and then leave, so why even do it in the 1st place. I mean if you can't have your best teams play in the "top" league in your own state, doesn't it devalue the league?

Not everyone wants the high cost, both in dollars and time, that playing in those other leagues require.

Maple is watered out, it is quantity over quality. Look on the Maple page of clubs, do we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state. I don't thinks so. Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc. Not to mention letting teams from other states in. If a club truly wants to compete on a regional or national level they need to play in higher level leagues against better opposition on a weekly basis.

Maple is watered out, it is quantity over quality. Look on the Maple page of clubs, do we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state. I don't thinks so. Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc. Not to mention letting teams from other states in. If a club truly wants to compete on a regional or national level they need to play in higher level leagues against better opposition on a weekly basis.

Maple is the new Masc

Maple is watered out, it is quantity over quality. Look on the Maple page of clubs, do we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state. I don't thinks so. Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc. Not to mention letting teams from other states in. If a club truly wants to compete on a regional or national level they need to play in higher level leagues against better opposition on a weekly basis.

"we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state"

Too many unqualified coaches for the number of players.

"Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc"

If roster continuance was a requirement, your top teams would be excluded from the league.

"Not to mention letting teams from other states in"

Those out of state teams help improve the level of soccer in the league.

Maple is watered out, it is quantity over quality. Look on the Maple page of clubs, do we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state. I don't thinks so. Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc. Not to mention letting teams from other states in. If a club truly wants to compete on a regional or national level they need to play in higher level leagues against better opposition on a weekly basis.

"we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state"

Too many unqualified coaches for the number of players. Gotta agree with you on this one!!! Only 3/4 good coaches for each gender at each age level (and that may be pushing it)

"Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc"

If roster continuance was a requirement, your top teams would be excluded from the league.Maple accepts anyone in period...that is the issue...although they get better (beginning the Spring of U13), still they pad the play at lower age groups and many teams get trounced, or get the false sense that they belong in Maple and in Spring U13 when only a much smaller group in Maple D continue on the kids (and parents are scrambling to teams to try to get little Mia or Little Landon to play div 1 or 2.)

"Not to mention letting teams from other states in"

Those out of state teams help improve the level of soccer in the league. Again, some teams are worthy to play in MAPLE some are not. In States like RI and NH where there is currently a lot less premiere play I see them coming to Maple for more "quality" play. But some get slammed while others may do well, but this is generally only in an age group and not throughout the system, so Maple is happy to take the good team, but other poor teams from the club come into it as well (again, watering down the system)

You hear from this site and parents about kids playing in Red Bull League,DAP, Super Y League, Subregional and Regional League.
So to put it out there, why even play in Maple??? If the goal is to play in these other leagues for the top teams for both boys and girls,why do Maple??? I mean teams like Scorpions, MPS, Stars use Maple and then leave, so why even do it in the 1st place. I mean if you can't have your best teams play in the "top" league in your own state, doesn't it devalue the league?

I am a father of a child that has played in each of the aformentioned venues (Maple, MPS and now one of the 'elite, national quality' teams. The fair answer to your question will be determined by an organization's desires, expectations and competitiveness. Each venue has its strengths and weaknesses. Many/most Maple teams have coaching that is 'hit or miss' and as a result, offers a mixed experience. The level of competition is SUBSTANTIALLY less than that seen in RedBull/Stars or the 'National league'/Scorpions or DAP but it can provide an athlete a good entry point for soccer. MPS has good training and cohesiveness, travels a bit and can offer a serious athlete a chance to play pretty good soccer (and also will allow one to be a multi-sport athlete). I believe it to be a 'step up' from most MAPLE programs but it can not compete 'at a national level' like the DAP, National league, & Red Bull teams.

By competing at a national level, against teams from the West (most East-coasters have no idea how talented these teams from CA, TX, etc. can be) the player, who has decided to focus on soccer, hoping to play at your better-collegiate programs, can better themselves. Unfortunately, to play at this level demands a serious commitment!!

Thus, when deciding on which opportunity is appropriate, I think one needs to be honest with the following questions:

1. How talented is the team?
2. What are their expectations/desires? Is soccer a 'social' endeavor for them? Do their athletes hope to play another sport? Is playing on a top team with pressures of playing time/travel/missing their school opportunities, etc worth it?
3. What kind of commitment the team ready to make? Money? Time? Travel? Practice schedule & location?

Again, each venue has its benefits. Your question addressed the 'value' of playing MAPLE. I think MAPLE has its place but not for the better teams....you just can't find sufficient competition (if one desires to be a top team) if you stay in the state; it's really that simple. MAPLE is used only by the 'B' and 'C' teams for organizations like Bolts, Stars, Scorps, etc....the 'A' teams are playing on a national level.

You hear from this site and parents about kids playing in Red Bull League,DAP, Super Y League, Subregional and Regional League.
So to put it out there, why even play in Maple??? If the goal is to play in these other leagues for the top teams for both boys and girls,why do Maple??? I mean teams like Scorpions, MPS, Stars use Maple and then leave, so why even do it in the 1st place. I mean if you can't have your best teams play in the "top" league in your own state, doesn't it devalue the league?

I am a father of a child that has played in each of the aformentioned venues (Maple, MPS and now one of the 'elite, national quality' teams. The fair answer to your question will be determined by an organization's desires, expectations and competitiveness. Each venue has its strengths and weaknesses. Many/most Maple teams have coaching that is 'hit or miss' and as a result, offers a mixed experience. The level of competition is SUBSTANTIALLY less than that seen in RedBull/Stars or the 'National league'/Scorpions or DAP but it can provide an athlete a good entry point for soccer. MPS has good training and cohesiveness, travels a bit and can offer a serious athlete a chance to play pretty good soccer (and also will allow one to be a multi-sport athlete). I believe it to be a 'step up' from most MAPLE programs but it can not compete 'at a national level' like the DAP, National league, & Red Bull teams.

By competing at a national level, against teams from the West (most East-coasters have no idea how talented these teams from CA, TX, etc. can be) the player, who has decided to focus on soccer, hoping to play at your better-collegiate programs, can better themselves. Unfortunately, to play at this level demands a serious commitment!!

Thus, when deciding on which opportunity is appropriate, I think one needs to be honest with the following questions:

1. How talented is the team?
2. What are their expectations/desires? Is soccer a 'social' endeavor for them? Do their athletes hope to play another sport? Is playing on a top team with pressures of playing time/travel/missing their school opportunities, etc worth it?
3. What kind of commitment the team ready to make? Money? Time? Travel? Practice schedule & location?

Again, each venue has its benefits. Your question addressed the 'value' of playing MAPLE. I think MAPLE has its place but not for the better teams....you just can't find sufficient competition (if one desires to be a top team) if you stay in the state; it's really that simple. MAPLE is used only by the 'B' and 'C' teams for organizations like Bolts, Stars, Scorps, etc....the 'A' teams are playing on a national level.


Fantastic post!! Thanks for your view, its nice to see some positive and informational info on this site every once in a while.!!!

Maple is watered out, it is quantity over quality. Look on the Maple page of clubs, do we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state. I don't thinks so. Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc. Not to mention letting teams from other states in. If a club truly wants to compete on a regional or national level they need to play in higher level leagues against better opposition on a weekly basis.

"we really have that amount of "premier players/clubs" in the state"

Too many unqualified coaches for the number of players. Gotta agree with you on this one!!! Only 3/4 good coaches for each gender at each age level (and that may be pushing it)

"Maple accept anyone in without requirements for fields, number of teams, roster continuance etc"

If roster continuance was a requirement, your top teams would be excluded from the league.Maple accepts anyone in period...that is the issue...although they get better (beginning the Spring of U13), still they pad the play at lower age groups and many teams get trounced, or get the false sense that they belong in Maple and in Spring U13 when only a much smaller group in Maple D continue on the kids (and parents are scrambling to teams to try to get little Mia or Little Landon to play div 1 or 2.)

"Not to mention letting teams from other states in"

Those out of state teams help improve the level of soccer in the league. Again, some teams are worthy to play in MAPLE some are not. In States like RI and NH where there is currently a lot less premiere play I see them coming to Maple for more "quality" play. But some get slammed while others may do well, but this is generally only in an age group and not throughout the system, so Maple is happy to take the good team, but other poor teams from the club come into it as well (again, watering down the system)

Don't seem to understand your point. What is the goal for the league? What is your goal? Where do they differ?

Depends on the club................no way are there 96-100 premier teams out there........you have to chuckle when you see all these different clubs on the website.

It's not just a matter of what your expectations are as a player (and a parent trying to find the right level of play and commitment for your child), but also a development process. You can't play on a team that gets to regional and national play before U13 effectively. You have to play "club" soccer in MA somewhere in order to get to a team that by U13 is going some place else/better to play. Yes, several clubs take kids at U11 and/or U12 out of state to some great tournaments and you get some great sense of what soccer is like outside of our region, but the key is you need to be on a Club team in MA in order to do that. That leaves MAPLE, MASC and MPS SOE program for kids at these ages. At U13 there's Super Y added and Regional League and as ages go up there's DAP on the boys side and Red Bull, etc.

For some players this is a starting point, playing in MAPLE, SOE or MASC. For MOST players this is as far as it is ever going to go, with some out of state tournaments added in. But face facts, most clubs in MA do not go outside of New England for even tournaments. As an earlier poster noted you learn about what high level soccer is when you go play teams from around the country. Add many midwestern states (Ohio and Illinois) and southern states (FL, the Carolinas, Virginia) to his list of great soccer locations and you see a different world. As players and teams get better the options are almost endless - but there really are only three clubs that can compete at this regional and national level from MA on the girls side and the same number of clubs on the boys side.

There are pluses and minuses in each of the available options. As was stated, anybody can form a team and place it in MAPLE, or MASC. Playing in MAPLE doesn't make you a good team.

Development of a player and a team happens when the player and the team is challenged. If your child is interested and ready for a challenge get them on a good club team with good coaching. If they develop beyond what that club has to offer, go to a club that provides better coaching and offerings. BUT it is NOT about winning. It is about developing and opportunities to develop and get the best coaching. There is a bent in this forum to WIN and to talk about exposure to college opportunities. Reality is winning means very little other than expanding some opportiunities to compete against teams from outside of the area, but any club CAN go to Virginia or New York or Las Vegas or Florida to play in tournaments, you don't need to win State Cup to go accross the country. Exposure to college coaches in big tournaments also means little to all but the best players on the top handful of teams in the state. A part time player on a mid level MAPLE team is not going to be watched by some college coach outside of MA/NE D3. A top player on a top team in MA that is doing well in regional and national tournaments and leagues MAY be watched by a top D1 college coach, but there's far more to the process than being on that team that won State Cup and maybe even Region 1. Great players are seen.

Like anything in life there's a pyramid that gets tighter and tighter on the way up and only a few hit the top. Be realistic about how competitive it really gets. Start where its comfortable for you and let the Club you choose decide what level of competition is good for your kid's team. Just keep in mind where the clubs development progression actually goes and how successful they are at developing kids and how much fun the kids arre having. Picking wise at an early age makes a huge difference, but mistakes are easily fixed and player movement happens. Where the club plays at U10, 11, 12 and 13 makes almost no differnce provided there's a progression of where the club plays tournament wise (and don't be fooled by the discussions here about local tournaments and "showcase" tournaments - look at the reality of frequency and quality of the games these teams are getting elsewhere and you'll only get that by asking parents on those teams at various ages). The coaching and the visable development of your child should determine where he/she is playing. The rest discussed regularly on this forum is silliness and ego and jealousy.

My daughter has participated in club soccer for many years. What has changed is that five years ago the best teams in Massachusetts still played in MAPLE. They may have added other competition as well but there was not what it seen now as a Mass exodus of "top" teams at U14/U15. This doesn't mean MAPLE is "bad" or not worth it, so much as there are other choices available that were not before and the very elite teams are making those other choices.

It may also be that Massachusetts soccer is better than it used to be and player development here is better than it used to be (In addition to the sisters there have been players of both sexes in and out of the NT pools over the last few years, with little attention here). Bolts (with their older teams), Scorpions and Stars have broken the glass ceiling on New England teams at regionals and nationals. The result is more concentration of the "elite" players (at least those from the eastern part of the state) on these teams, greater competition, more premier level tournaments in State (it used to be Needham and Bandits Cup were the only game in town - Stars has passed them both on the girls side in terms of quality and attracting teams from a distance to earn a premier Gotsoccer rating).

MAPLE is still worth it, but it is not the same MAPLE as before. At U13-14, the very elite players are choosing the very elite teams in order to position themselves for these other choices in the future. The remaining players who would have been role players on the former MAPLE teams are having the opportunity to be the big dogs which I would assume is a good thing.

The number of qualified coaches and competition for them remains an issue here and everywhere.

Is MAPLE still worth it? Yes for most players - but it's not the same old MAPLE.

Hopefully DAP for girls will start soon, so some of the truely elite and commited girls can play in the proper setting, and the rest of the excellent players in the state can just play soccer in a local competitve league without the yapping and bragging of coaches claiming how superior they are to not play in a lowly local league.

It's not just a matter of what your expectations are as a player (and a parent trying to find the right level of play and commitment for your child), but also a development process. You can't play on a team that gets to regional and national play before U13 effectively. You have to play "club" soccer in MA somewhere in order to get to a team that by U13 is going some place else/better to play. Yes, several clubs take kids at U11 and/or U12 out of state to some great tournaments and you get some great sense of what soccer is like outside of our region, but the key is you need to be on a Club team in MA in order to do that. That leaves MAPLE, MASC and MPS SOE program for kids at these ages. At U13 there's Super Y added and Regional League and as ages go up there's DAP on the boys side and Red Bull, etc.

For some players this is a starting point, playing in MAPLE, SOE or MASC. For MOST players this is as far as it is ever going to go, with some out of state tournaments added in. But face facts, most clubs in MA do not go outside of New England for even tournaments. As an earlier poster noted you learn about what high level soccer is when you go play teams from around the country. Add many midwestern states (Ohio and Illinois) and southern states (FL, the Carolinas, Virginia) to his list of great soccer locations and you see a different world. As players and teams get better the options are almost endless - but there really are only three clubs that can compete at this regional and national level from MA on the girls side and the same number of clubs on the boys side.

There are pluses and minuses in each of the available options. As was stated, anybody can form a team and place it in MAPLE, or MASC. Playing in MAPLE doesn't make you a good team.

Development of a player and a team happens when the player and the team is challenged. If your child is interested and ready for a challenge get them on a good club team with good coaching. If they develop beyond what that club has to offer, go to a club that provides better coaching and offerings. BUT it is NOT about winning. It is about developing and opportunities to develop and get the best coaching. There is a bent in this forum to WIN and to talk about exposure to college opportunities. Reality is winning means very little other than expanding some opportiunities to compete against teams from outside of the area, but any club CAN go to Virginia or New York or Las Vegas or Florida to play in tournaments, you don't need to win State Cup to go accross the country. Exposure to college coaches in big tournaments also means little to all but the best players on the top handful of teams in the state. A part time player on a mid level MAPLE team is not going to be watched by some college coach outside of MA/NE D3. A top player on a top team in MA that is doing well in regional and national tournaments and leagues MAY be watched by a top D1 college coach, but there's far more to the process than being on that team that won State Cup and maybe even Region 1. Great players are seen.

Like anything in life there's a pyramid that gets tighter and tighter on the way up and only a few hit the top. Be realistic about how competitive it really gets. Start where its comfortable for you and let the Club you choose decide what level of competition is good for your kid's team. Just keep in mind where the clubs development progression actually goes and how successful they are at developing kids and how much fun the kids arre having. Picking wise at an early age makes a huge difference, but mistakes are easily fixed and player movement happens. Where the club plays at U10, 11, 12 and 13 makes almost no differnce provided there's a progression of where the club plays tournament wise (and don't be fooled by the discussions here about local tournaments and "showcase" tournaments - look at the reality of frequency and quality of the games these teams are getting elsewhere and you'll only get that by asking parents on those teams at various ages). The coaching and the visable development of your child should determine where he/she is playing. The rest discussed regularly on this forum is silliness and ego and jealousy.

Great Post! I hope that this discussion can continue to move forward without some of the nastiness we have seen on some of the other topics posted on this forum. Thank you.

Another way of putting this question is, "Should your kid quit if they are ONLY Maple-level, or if they are not even Maple-level?" Lots of posts on this forum are about things being crap or worthless or a joke....almost entirely from the perspective of parents being in the chase for their children still elevating or parents being desperate about whether their child is elevating in the NATIONAL picture, or at a minimum, being in line for D1 or at least D3 college attention.

When we're not feeling bitter and enraged about the smug arrogance of the proponents, most of us wish the best for the kids who are rising in the "pyramid" and landing in DAP and Red Bull and other similar scenarios. It will be a joy to one day see a kid on a national team that your own kid played against.

On the other hand, other kids can still enjoy and benefit from soccer. To take on just one example, there are countless posts about the horrors of high school soccer and what a waste of time it is for the elite players, and these folks can't help insinuating that it is simply a waste of time, period. There are some kids who stick with it, who never even played Maple, who make varsity their junior or even senior year, and who end up being a contributor or maybe just sit the bench. It is still valuable to them. Some kids like this go to the same or even better colleges than those who are living as though soccer is the end-goal, and 10 years from now it likely will not matter at all whether a kid went to BC and did not play soccer or whether he or she went to BC and played for a year or two or even played for 4 years and made an All-American team.

Another way to ask the question would be this....Should only the kids who get into Harvard go to college? Should all of the rest simply not attend college? Now that sounds sort of ridiculous, doesn't it?

R U frickin kdding me. World depression and you think the demand for high travel high cost u13 thru u17
youth soccer is not falling faster than relatively local soccer. These red bull tEAMS WILL BE A BEGGIN FOR YOUR AVERAGE maple player to commit to the cost in a few years.

Interesting couple of posts.

First I agree with the poster that essentially said there is a place for MAPLE, as few kids are playing at a level to get to college soccer, national teams, etc. One of the great things that the soccer landscape has provided in MA and in other states is that therre is a place for every kid to play regardless of their level of play and intensity. That's why there are divisions in MAPLE and the higher regional and "national" leagues, and there's still town soccer as well.

The last poster talking about the economy and the spending on soccer is quite wrong. Yes some players may drop out. But the overwhelming evidence is that we spend whatever we need to spend to keep our kids active in what they love and are devoted to. And that is not just because of the desire of playing college soccer and the quest for greatness. That is because we want the best for our kids and confidence and to keep them focused and out of trouble as well. The evidence to date in this economic downturn is that we parents are going to fewer of the tournaments with our kids who are doubling and tripling up in rooms and we are spending less on eating out and the like, but we spend on our kids and our sports. It's a simple matter of life in America. And many clubs will help with scholarships as well.

I was talking with a parent from California this week who has a college freshman going to a D1 school in the Midwest (and playing for her college team). Her club team in california as seniors in high school now have 17 of the 18 girls on that team last spring playing D1 college soccer this fall. And some at the very top programs in the country (consistently in the top 25 and some in the top 5 regularly, even some NCAA championships schools in the past 5-10 years). That is an incredible record. That simply does not happen in MA. Some of the top clubs in MA may have the same percentage of kids playing college soccer, but it will be spread through out D1, D2 and D3. But be realistic, that is a far higher percentage including D1, D2 and D3 players than what the typical MAPLE team will produce in any given year. So lets remember the club soccer scene in MA is not about getting to play college soccer or getting a scholarship - it is about playing soccer and developing as an athlete and as a person. As someone also said above it is a very small percentage of our kids who will play college soccer at any level.

I was talking with a parent from California this week who has a college freshman going to a D1 school in the Midwest (and playing for her college team). Her club team in california as seniors in high school now have 17 of the 18 girls on that team last spring playing D1 college soccer this fall. And some at the very top programs in the country (consistently in the top 25 and some in the top 5 regularly, even some NCAA championships schools in the past 5-10 years). That is an incredible record. That simply does not happen in MA. Some of the top clubs in MA may have the same percentage of kids playing college soccer, but it will be spread through out D1, D2 and D3. But be realistic, that is a far higher percentage including D1, D2 and D3 players than what the typical MAPLE team will produce in any given year. So lets remember the club soccer scene in MA is not about getting to play college soccer or getting a scholarship - it is about playing soccer and developing as an athlete and as a person. As someone also said above it is a very small percentage of our kids who will play college soccer at any level.

I'm not sure why you even included the comparison between Cal and Mass in your post. One minute you say it's not about playing college soccer, yet you seem pretty impressed with the placement record of the Cal team. And you are comparing apples and oranges here. Some of those top 25 D1 schools may not even be as strong as the D2 and D3, academically or athletically.

Are you kidding me? Portland, Northwestern, Stanford, Santa Clara - not as good soccer or academically as D2 or D3? Yeah, right.....

The comparison was relative to what results in MA are compared to another state. Posters on this site like to focus on college soccer, but very few of our players go to play D1 and we don't even have full rosters of virtually any club, let alone a second tier club, sending this kind of percentage of players to college soccer at any level.. That was my point. Trying to put soccer in MA into perspective for the person who asked the original question and for the intelligent discussion that most of this thread has been.

Are you kidding me? Portland, Northwestern, Stanford, Santa Clara - not as good soccer or academically as D2 or D3? Yeah, right.....

The comparison was relative to what results in MA are compared to another state. Posters on this site like to focus on college soccer, but very few of our players go to play D1 and we don't even have full rosters of virtually any club, let alone a second tier club, sending this kind of percentage of players to college soccer at any level.. That was my point. Trying to put soccer in MA into perspective for the person who asked the original question and for the intelligent discussion that most of this thread has been.


If you are suggesting that soccer in Cal is better then soccer in Mass, I'd probably agree, but your assumption seems to be that kids from Mass want to go to schools like Portland, Northwestern, Stanford, Santa Clara and couldn't make it there. IMO there are more and more kids from Mass that are capable of attending these school, but there just isn't the interested in traveling cross country with all the options available to them in the Northeast. Look at the schools that bolts and Stars are choosing to attend. Only a small percentage choose to go outside the Northeast. Is that because they can't or they don't want to?

You've named 4 universities. I’ll name a few too: Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Colgate, UPenn, Penn State, Rutgers, Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Bates, Barnard, Colby, Connecticut, Hamilton, Haverford, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Brandeis, Bryn Mawr, Franklin and Marshall, Providence College, Boston College, Boston University, MIT, Smith, Wellesley, Wesleyan, UConn.

Most of this list represents the top academic schools in the country. The top 9 of 10 are all in the Northeast, with 4 in Mass. alone. Cal has 1. Looking at the Top 100, 43 are located in the Northeast, basically a 5 hour ride or less for Mass kids, fifteen of those are right here in Mass but only seven are in Cal. This is why I said it's apples and oranges. Assuming kids' first priority is an education, the kids from Cal have a limited choice of top schools to attend which forces them out of state if attending a top school is their goal. Kids from Mass can do so within a reasonable drive.

What you also have to take into account when you are looking at the out of state clubs is that their structure is typically a lot different than ours. Here the clubs are more like mom and pop operations. In other places they are more like the leagues we have here. A club like the Rush controls the competitive venues for the athlete from the micro leauge up to the premiere level. The teams you probably are referring to are akin to taking all of the best players from BAYS league and pushing them into 1 team. Without starting a bash war, the only thing remotely resembling these clubs around here is MPS.

As far a MAPLE being worth it, the crux of the issue revolves around the relative competitive strength of the league. In years past there were not as many playing options so the best soccer players stayed in MAPLE, now they have lots of options so they don't. One point that should be made is that the current crop of elite level players (ages 15-17) all go their start in MAPLE and it is not clear that pushing the envelope with the younger age kids really benefits them.

>> "Is Maple worth it?"

Worth it for what?

Jeff Larentowicz plays for the Revs and makes $33,000 a year (http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/8_12_08_salary_info_alpha.pdf) -- ouch. Almost no one gets a full scholarship to a major college to play soccer, and because of NCAA rules, college soccer players are prevented from playing enough to be competitive with like-age pros from other countries. So, what does "worth it" mean? IMHO, if you think playing in the Red Bull league or the DAP is going to get fame or fortune for little Landon or little Mia, guess again.

On the other hand, I think there's lots of fun to be had at any level of soccer. Go watch some kids about 3-4 years younger than your own play in a Maple game or a town league. They look so little and the level of play seems so primitive that you can't believe that you were as wrapped up in the whole affair as you were. Once you realize that this is just supposed to be a fun activity and an opportunity to make some friends it is too late. Find a level that makes your kids happy and that you can afford (in time and money) and stop worrying about this so much.

>> "Is Maple worth it?"

Worth it for what?

Jeff Larentowicz plays for the Revs and makes $33,000 a year (http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/8_12_08_salary_info_alpha.pdf) -- ouch. Almost no one gets a full scholarship to a major college to play soccer, and because of NCAA rules, college soccer players are prevented from playing enough to be competitive with like-age pros from other countries. So, what does "worth it" mean? IMHO, if you think playing in the Red Bull league or the DAP is going to get fame or fortune for little Landon or little Mia, guess again.

On the other hand, I think there's lots of fun to be had at any level of soccer. Go watch some kids about 3-4 years younger than your own play in a Maple game or a town league. They look so little and the level of play seems so primitive that you can't believe that you were as wrapped up in the whole affair as you were. Once you realize that this is just supposed to be a fun activity and an opportunity to make some friends it is too late. Find a level that makes your kids happy and that you can afford (in time and money) and stop worrying about this so much.


Well put!!!!!!!!!!! Absolutely brilliant response.

>> "Is Maple worth it?"

Worth it for what?

Jeff Larentowicz plays for the Revs and makes $33,000 a year (http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/8_12_08_salary_info_alpha.pdf) -- ouch. Almost no one gets a full scholarship to a major college to play soccer, and because of NCAA rules, college soccer players are prevented from playing enough to be competitive with like-age pros from other countries. So, what does "worth it" mean? IMHO, if you think playing in the Red Bull league or the DAP is going to get fame or fortune for little Landon or little Mia, guess again.

On the other hand, I think there's lots of fun to be had at any level of soccer. Go watch some kids about 3-4 years younger than your own play in a Maple game or a town league. They look so little and the level of play seems so primitive that you can't believe that you were as wrapped up in the whole affair as you were. Once you realize that this is just supposed to be a fun activity and an opportunity to make some friends it is too late. Find a level that makes your kids happy and that you can afford (in time and money) and stop worrying about this so much.

Remember you are paying for these coaches to make a living..........


Well put!!!!!!!!!!! Absolutely brilliant response.

Is Maple worth it?

Very simply........It depends what you're expecting to get out of it. Have realistic expecations, and you won't be disappointed. Don't expect that your kid will jump from his/her Maple D team to the National Team.

Is Maple worth it?

Very simply........It depends what you're expecting to get out of it. Have realistic expecations, and you won't be disappointed. Don't expect that your kid will jump from his/her Maple D team to the National Team.

Then forget it, I want the fast track for my little Abby Waumbach!!!

Then forget it, I want the fast track for my little Abby Waumbach!!!

How soon we forget Mia. :smt085

Then forget it, I want the fast track for my little Abby Waumbach!!!

How soon we forget Mia. :smt085

She's still better looking! :)

She's still better looking! :)

Then forget it, I want the fast track for my little Abby Waumbach!!!

How soon we forget Mia. :smt085

She's still better looking! :)


they are both rather manly and they both dine at the Y