U14 Academy and Highschool soccer.

Been hearing alot of chatter and things being told to players and parents about the U14 Academy League allowing it's players to play highschool soccer.  This is NOT true.  ALL acdemy players will not be allowed to play highschool and this includes the U14.  This is all over the website and also in the u14 webinar presentation.  Just to be sure I was able to get hold of Melissa Biniewicz the Development Academy Program Manager and her direct quote was "All Academy players will need to make a choice as to play Academy or high school this season" I think its a fair choice but it should also be an informed one. To anyone who has been misled I would start to question what else I had been misled on

GO, we were originally told that for the DA, including U14, you could not play highschool sports, period. This caused some turmoil amongs some of the multi-sport players. Subsequently we have been told that the DA changed their minds and for U14 only, players could play "other" highschool sports but NOT soccer, as long as there were no conflicts with soccer which is to be the priority.

ah yes she did not specify other sports as I did not ask. I do wonder how that would work with a 10 month season and the Academy soccer being the priority. I think I will double check with her on this just to be sure though.

Axxman wrote:GO, we were originally told that for the DA, including U14, you could not play highschool sports, period.  This caused some turmoil amongs some of the multi-sport players.  Subsequently we have been told that the DA changed their minds and for U14 only, players could play "other" highschool sports but NOT soccer, as long as there were no conflicts with soccer which is to be the priority.

This is what we heard as well.

Marmaduke wrote:

Axxman wrote:GO, we were originally told that for the DA, including U14, you could not play highschool sports, period.  This caused some turmoil amongs some of the multi-sport players.  Subsequently we have been told that the DA changed their minds and for U14 only, players could play "other" highschool sports but NOT soccer, as long as there were no conflicts with soccer which is to be the priority.

This is what we heard as well.

i also understand that there will be a distinction between full time players and developmental players at the u14 level.

full time players will not be able to play high school soccer but can play other high school sports. as i understand it developmental players will be able to play classic and high school soccer along with other sports but they cannot play more than 10 da league games or they lose their dp status and become ft players and then have to give up classic and high school soccer.

I thought that DP status was 5 games not 10. And the DP status applies to the older academy teams as well

go99 wrote:I thought that DP status was 5 games not 10.  And the DP status applies to the older academy teams as well

i think that's another one of the main differences between the u14 and the u16/u18 da teams. remember this whole u14 thing has several differences from u16/u18.

for instance there wont be as much travel as u16/u18, more clubs were given teams, and the cost structure is different except for fcd which continues to be totally free. giving dp's 10 games and being more flexible with the outside soccer at u14 may keep more kids on the fringe until u16 rolls around. taking a hard stance like u16/u18 may cause them to lose some talent early on.

if it affected my bb i would call to verify. 5 vs 10 games is a pretty significant different when there's only about 28 games in the season.

yes I would also verify that information before I signed. I didn't see that distiction anywhere on the website or any of the materials.

go99 wrote:yes I would also verify that information before I signed.  I didn't see that distiction anywhere on the website or any of the materials.

you're correct, it wasn't on the webinar, faq's or anywhere on the website. it's just what i heard second hand, so it could be incorrect information. i would highly recommend anyone going into this to confirm with ussf. if what i heard is right it may be a good option for someone not wanting to fully commit yet.

Seems so stupid, telling kids how much soccer they can play.

they aren't telling you how much anything you can play. Academy League is not and was never meant for every kid. You do not have to play in the academy league and the reality is most should not.

Freeatlast wrote:Seems so stupid, telling kids how much soccer they can play.  

It's not about how much soccer they play. It's about playing at a higher level and being dedicated to that higher level.