Why travel past NY/NJ/PA?

[Unregistered]

And the bulk of the content came from the poster calling out BTNT.

And yet another thread with blatant, deceitful denial from BTNT.

Honestly, I don't care if it is or isn't coming from BTDT. I read and respond to the content. Having you post "BTNT, BTNT" and claiming content is irrelevant due to your perception of the posters motivation just isn't helpful. please stop.

As far as the topic this what I learned
* Travelling beyond PA isn't really necessary, but it's expected and accepted
* Some think the travel situation sux lemons, others make it fun
* Some expect their Club/league will deliver ROI, others are thankful for the memories
* Some feel quality academics justifies all, others feel anything less than Top D1 is a fail

We are all in this for our own outcomes. Love your choices and your child and things will work out. No need to belittle others because their goals and perspectives differ from yours

[Unregistered]

You can't see the lunacy in you point of view. Those kids might be really smart but they certainly aren't very good soccer players. The boy's DA is an abject failure because its purpose was to create international grade players and instead what it is producing is a plethora of players that end up playing at the lowest level of the college game.

By what standard are they "not very good soccer players"? They are the top 2 or 3 percent of players that have the talent to play beyond high school. Maybe they are lacking one aspect of soccer that would make them d-1 material. Maybe they don't want the commitment of playing d-1. In any case these kids are incredible athletes with a skill level most will never reach. My child is too young to know where she will end up but if it is Tufts or the like I am good with that.

[Unregistered]

You can't see the lunacy in you point of view. Those kids might be really smart but they certainly aren't very good soccer players. The boy's DA is an abject failure because its purpose was to create international grade players and instead what it is producing is a plethora of players that end up playing at the lowest level of the college game.

Not a big fan of DA or the unnecessary travel and expense of ECNL, but lots wrong here. Boys DA is not a failure- the US youth MNT teams are doing better and DA has to get some of the credit. On the other hand, 95% of the DA boys don't have a shot at that level, but no one's figured out how to make the DA system work yet with less teams in such a big country. I suppose there are some people thinking their ECNL girls will get scholarships and then justify their D3 decision as being based on academics when the scholarship doesn't come through. But there are also ECNL people playing because that was the highest level available to them and they did because they had the time and money and their daughter wanted to (just like there are some boys parents who fly their boys down to FLA over Christmas break on the mistaken assumption that they'll get helpful "exposure", while others recognize their kid is likely going to Colby or Hobart but are willing to do it because they have the time and money and their kid wants to).

[Unregistered]

Honestly, I don't care if it is or isn't coming from BTDT. I read and respond to the content. Having you post "BTNT, BTNT" and claiming content is irrelevant due to your perception of the posters motivation just isn't helpful. please stop.

As far as the topic this what I learned
* Travelling beyond PA isn't really necessary, but it's expected and accepted
* Some think the travel situation sux lemons, others make it fun
* Some expect their Club/league will deliver ROI, others are thankful for the memories
* Some feel quality academics justifies all, others feel anything less than Top D1 is a fail

We are all in this for our own outcomes. Love your choices and your child and things will work out. No need to belittle others because their goals and perspectives differ from yours

YES. Thanks for all of that. Idk if it's BTNT or Perspective or any of the other trolls. Valid points all.

[Unregistered]

Not a big fan of DA or the unnecessary travel and expense of ECNL, but lots wrong here. Boys DA is not a failure- the US youth MNT teams are doing better and DA has to get some of the credit. On the other hand, 95% of the DA boys don't have a shot at that level, but no one's figured out how to make the DA system work yet with less teams in such a big country. I suppose there are some people thinking their ECNL girls will get scholarships and then justify their D3 decision as being based on academics when the scholarship doesn't come through. But there are also ECNL people playing because that was the highest level available to them and they did because they had the time and money and their daughter wanted to (just like there are some boys parents who fly their boys down to FLA over Christmas break on the mistaken assumption that they'll get helpful "exposure", while others recognize their kid is likely going to Colby or Hobart but are willing to do it because they have the time and money and their kid wants to).

I agree with all (DA is way too big but not sure what the solution is to that) of that except that if DA is supposed to raise the level of men's soccer, all those DA kids wouldn't be losing out on college spots to international players. These are international players, who despite also not being able to make it professionally, are far more skilled and better trained than ours. And while there have been baby steps to overall improvement, ten years in we're still light years away from achieving DA goals. USSF loves holding CP up as the shining light of what DA can accomplish but his success has little to do with DA.

[Unregistered]

Honestly, I don't care if it is or isn't coming from BTDT. I read and respond to the content. Having you post "BTNT, BTNT" and claiming content is irrelevant due to your perception of the posters motivation just isn't helpful. please stop.

As far as the topic this what I learned
* Travelling beyond PA isn't really necessary, but it's expected and accepted
* Some think the travel situation sux lemons, others make it fun
* Some expect their Club/league will deliver ROI, others are thankful for the memories
* Some feel quality academics justifies all, others feel anything less than Top D1 is a fail

We are all in this for our own outcomes. Love your choices and your child and things will work out. No need to belittle others because their goals and perspectives differ from yours

Thoughtful and logical posts are not allowed on this board. You must stop. :)

[Unregistered]

Honestly, I don't care if it is or isn't coming from BTDT. I read and respond to the content. Having you post "BTNT, BTNT" and claiming content is irrelevant due to your perception of the posters motivation just isn't helpful. please stop.

As far as the topic this what I learned
* Travelling beyond PA isn't really necessary, but it's expected and accepted
* Some think the travel situation sux lemons, others make it fun
* Some expect their Club/league will deliver ROI, others are thankful for the memories
* Some feel quality academics justifies all, others feel anything less than Top D1 is a fail

We are all in this for our own outcomes. Love your choices and your child and things will work out. No need to belittle others because their goals and perspectives differ from yours

Good post, and decent outline of how the pendulum swings on the issues you cited. A few corrections.

-- Not everyone calculates or conceptualizes "ROI" the same. There can be "ROI" that does not involve athletic money. The "thanks for the memories" is a little simplistic.

-- The argument about high level club in this thread focused on travel, but that is somewhat of a red herring, as even without travel, a certain person would criticize the crap out of kids seeking the highest level they can if they are not also seeking D1 money, the NT, or can make sure training for the top two players in the state is competitive enough for them. Put travel aside. There is nothing wrong with kids pushing themselves to max out their potential or come close EVEN IF they're not going to end up going D1 or getting D1 money.

-- There's constant assumption that if you go D3 that it's only for academics and that there is no need to push to max out of potential. It's as if the concept of actually wanting to get playing time at excel at the D3 level is foreign to some. Makes perfect sense to me.

-- D3 certainly can be about a blend of athletics and academics, but there are average students who play DA or high level club who aren't looking for an elite D3 on the academic front and just want to play. Believe it or not, there are kids who transfer to or within D3 because they really want to play soccer and even take a 5th or 6th year to exhaust all of their eligibility even at D3. You don't have to agree, but it's absurd to act like there is only one person in the world who understands this.

As for BTNT, sorry, that's not going to happen. Who is posting, esp in his case where he wanted to be known for years, exerted and still exerts tremendous energy to promote some things and to crucify others, wants us to know every detail about his kids but then says he doesn't, etc, etc deserves to be called out. Put another way, would it matter if you knew posts were written by Steve Bannon or David Gergen??? One is a madman with an agenda and the other is a sober, fair thinking person who has served both R and D administrations.