Dakota Edwards  University of Maryland

In your article yesterday regarding fast and furious commitments, you have Jennifer Wittick verbally committing to Southern University, she is actually committed to Georgia Southern University.  

It’s too bad the Academy in it’s myopic vision made a last minute rule change (January) that disallowed the boys in Texas from playing high school soccer thus baring many of them from being able to have the traditional NLI signing day at their high school with the Football, Basketball and Baseball classmates since they are no longer considered high school athletes. Shame on the Academy.

Thanks for the correction, we will fix it.

Congrats Dakota!

All Players should play high school. Its funny how it doesn’t hurt basketball-football or any other sport but soccer soooo different. Lets all remember that without soccer kids still go to college. Without high school there is no college. This kids need to learn to play for a institution before they go on to play for a college. Club is all about money! Soccer needs to get off its high horse and stop controlling players and parents with their BS.
College Coaches need to stop kissing club butt and start supporting the high schools. It amazes me how college coaches are so weak and lack character

Academy players can tell their clubs no! But the players and parents will act like sheep and follow. Please tell me in the long run what does the academy player get over the kid who just plays for a good club and high school??

comparing high school football/basketball to soccer is apples to oranges. The standard for soccer coaching in the US is terribly low, even at some of the “best” college programs simply because the decision makers(athletic directors) are completely ignorant to soccer. The Academies and the best of the non-academy clubs are really the only place where soccer people hire soccer coaches, therefore the coaching is significantly better.

Brooke Schocker, Goal Keeper, Schaumburg, Illinois. signs with Northern Kentucky University

Brooke Schocker, Goal Keeper, of Sockers FC Chicago, signs with Northern Kentucky University

According to this, Ben is not even close on the subject of other sports and high school play.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0201-college-recruiting-20120201,0,7455049.column

Brandon Kardos – Charlotte 49ers

Ignorant ramblings from a person who obviously has no idea about what they are talking about.  The reason kids should not play high school is because the standard of play is lower than club as well as the coaching.  As a college coach, I can go to one Academy game and see six to eight possible recruits or I can go to a high school game and see one…maybe.  Seems like common sense to me!

Gabby Rainoldi Reno nevada signs with Syracuse

The club versus high school argument for soccer is such an interesting argument.  I have three boys who have played club soccer since u8 and all play on very competitive premier teams.  All give everything they have to those clubs.  All starters and major contributers with my oldest (17) going on to play college soccer.  I attribute all of his opportunity to play college to his club team.  However, my biggest issue is the high school experience adds to his growth as a individual as well and we are only talking about a maximum three months a year to the high school.  He gives 75% of the year to the club.  Why can’t there be a compromise to allow him to represent his high school and still compete at the higest level in soccer for 9 months of the year?  I realize there is the less then 1% of soccer players that have the opportunity to play at the very highest level (Europe/MLS).  They will take care of themselves but the other 99% should not be forced by their club team to not be allowed to play high school and unfortunately that is where we are at.  The response “They can choose to not play club” is not a legitimate response!  Also, it is not about the college coach and conveience..  Today, with technology the coaches get so much information from club coaches and players from produced tapes and conversations with coahces that they have the ability to make those decisions and BTW we are only talking about threee months of the year!!

Ray, I totally agree  . . . I am a high school coach in Montgomery County Maryland and I think you hit the nail on the head with your statement about a young man representing his school and adding to his growth as a individual. When we struggle with dealing with the club team and our high school team we have to be consistant to everyone on the team which sometimes means putting pressure on players that have conflicts with club teams . . . often times they are very good players, but as we all know soccer is a team sport and one or two players do not make a team. I know we could all discuss this for quite a while but the thing I love to watch at the high school level is a player representing a school and the fans/students are outstanding . . . . very few times will a player get that kind of fan base at a club level and I think that experience counts for a lot with a young mans development. When a player represents his school it helps him understand that he is representing not only the team but also the student body and I think this lesson can be transferred when he moves up in levels of play . . .  college an even nationally. Any way just a thought  . . . I hope your boys have not only a successful college career and beyond but that they also have fun playing. 

All the best,
Coach from MoCo