D1 = international

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So I watch d1 closely. Yes I played. In the next 5 years, 90% of d1 scholarships will be international. Better players. Quotas. For all reading, *every* d1 coach will be watching and pursuing players from all over the world. It's a good thing for quality and will change the college and MLS game. It's a global sport. Can't wait.

Meh, I played D3 25 years ago and 2/3 of the team were from outside the US. One Swede, 2 Brits, Bermuda, Montreal, 2 from France.

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Meh, I played D3 25 years ago and 2/3 of the team were from outside the US. One Swede, 2 Brits, Bermuda, Montreal, 2 from France.

Right, coming to America for college has always been attractive to internationals. Chance to play and get an education at a good price? Almost a no brainer.

[Unregistered]

So I watch d1 closely. Yes I played. In the next 5 years, 90% of d1 scholarships will be international. Better players. Quotas. For all reading, *every* d1 coach will be watching and pursuing players from all over the world. It's a good thing for quality and will change the college and MLS game. It's a global sport. Can't wait.

Yeah, let's outsource our D1 college athletics. Mine as well, we outsource everything else.

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Good to hear. Perhaps now more college roster spots will be open to those highly skilled technical players who had been previously overlooked for big, strong players, as they will now fit in better on those teams with internationally trained players.

don't count on it

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Good to hear. Perhaps now more college roster spots will be open to those highly skilled technical players who had been previously overlooked for big, strong players, as they will now fit in better on those teams with internationally trained players.

No it just means fewer spots for ANY players.

Most boys do DA because they want good training and a chance to play in college (most are smart enough to know they won't be going pro). Lessen the odds of college soccer and more may question the need/risk of doing DA. I have to agree with another poster that if the players being trained in our "top" boys league can't compete against foreign players w t f is DA doing then? No wonder our men's NT hasn't moved the dial.

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Completely agree. I watched Dartmouth play BC this fall. I want to say that both had 8 different countries represented on the roster. D1 will become less viable across the board. Good for quality but bad for the brand as a lost output. Then again, maybe our youth clubs will finally respond positively and really develop players

BC did not play Dartmouth.

[Unregistered]

No it just means fewer spots for ANY players.

Most boys do DA because they want good training and a chance to play in college (most are smart enough to know they won't be going pro). Lessen the odds of college soccer and more may question the need/risk of doing DA. I have to agree with another poster that if the players being trained in our "top" boys league can't compete against foreign players w t f is DA doing then? No wonder our men's NT hasn't moved the dial.

Just taking a quick look at results listed for U15-U18 NTs, I see some wins against countries such as Germany, Belgium, England, Netherlands, etc. (and, yes, some losses against these countries, too, but not blowouts). Most of these NT players are training at DA clubs, so I wouldn't say the DA is doing terribly.

There are 74 U17/U18 DA teams across the county, some of which are not that competitive (due to various reasons, such as population and climate, to name a few). Most of these DA teams have at least some players who are not yet graduating seniors, and some of these players who are graduating may not have the grades to get into the top schools. There are over 200 men's soccer teams at the D1 level alone, leaving plenty of roster spots available for well trained international players. Just because we are seeing international players on college rosters doesn't equate to a failing DA program.

BTW, college is the reason our Men's NT quality hasn't moved on the dial. Very few 18 year olds are ready to go pro, whether in the USA or abroad. This means that most of the DA graduates end up in college, where development is stifled. International players who develop through a club academy system can move onto their club's B or reserve team if they are good enough and continue developing. The DA is almost pointless if we just continue dumping the majority of graduates into college programs. It needs to be extended to an age at which players have had a reasonable amount of time to developed enough to go pro.

[Unregistered]

Just taking a quick look at results listed for U15-U18 NTs, I see some wins against countries such as Germany, Belgium, England, Netherlands, etc. (and, yes, some losses against these countries, too, but not blowouts). Most of these NT players are training at DA clubs, so I wouldn't say the DA is doing terribly.

There are 74 U17/U18 DA teams across the county, some of which are not that competitive (due to various reasons, such as population and climate, to name a few). Most of these DA teams have at least some players who are not yet graduating seniors, and some of these players who are graduating may not have the grades to get into the top schools. There are over 200 men's soccer teams at the D1 level alone, leaving plenty of roster spots available for well trained international players. Just because we are seeing international players on college rosters doesn't equate to a failing DA program.

BTW, college is the reason our Men's NT quality hasn't moved on the dial. Very few 18 year olds are ready to go pro, whether in the USA or abroad. This means that most of the DA graduates end up in college, where development is stifled. International players who develop through a club academy system can move onto their club's B or reserve team if they are good enough and continue developing. The DA is almost pointless if we just continue dumping the majority of graduates into college programs. It needs to be extended to an age at which players have had a reasonable amount of time to developed enough to go pro.

Totally agree on the last part - college soccer isn't where you go if you want to turn pro or are NT level. It just ends at 18, then what? I'm not sure what the best option is because it would be very difficult to convince players to walk away from scholarships for lousy pay and an uncertain future. Go pro at 20 in the NBA o NFL you could make some ok money. That isn't the case in soccer unless you can compete at a decent level right away in Europ.e

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Totally agree on the last part - college soccer isn't where you go if you want to turn pro or are NT level. It just ends at 18, then what? I'm not sure what the best option is because it would be very difficult to convince players to walk away from scholarships for lousy pay and an uncertain future. Go pro at 20 in the NBA o NFL you could make some ok money. That isn't the case in soccer unless you can compete at a decent level right away in Europ.e

Wait until the Chinese discover D1 college soccer.

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Wait until the Chinese discover D1 college soccer.

There'll be a ton of 5 foot 80lb soccer players taking all our scholarships?

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Right, coming to America for college has always been attractive to internationals. Chance to play and get an education at a good price? Almost a no brainer.

Don't forget the access to pretty girls and cold beer

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Don't forget the access to pretty girls and cold beer

Can't drink here - they can at home at age 18. You also need to either be getting a athletic or academic package (because there's no financial aid for non US residents) or your parents better be loaded, because a US education cots many times more than one back home.

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Can't drink here - they can at home at age 18. You also need to either be getting a athletic or academic package (because there's no financial aid for non US residents) or your parents better be loaded, because a US education cots many times more than one back home.

So US college kids don't drink?

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BC did not play Dartmouth.

Oh my bad. Last year. Whatever. Game sucked anyway. Dartmouth barely scraped by HC this year. In ot.

[Unregistered]

So US college kids don't drink?

Legally. Hard to go from being able to buy/drink anywhere to having restrictions. Oh wait, athletes aren't supposed to drink right? :)