I have always found it strange that everyone feels that getting kids to play "national" level is so important. I played D1 baseball. To get there I had a great HS manager, a father who practiced with me(don't see enough of that these days) and I played travel ball in my region of the state. Two times in all of the years I played did I go out of state to play and that was when we were two games away from the little league world series. Once in a while it is a good idea to gather for a regional/national tourney, but consistant travel is in my opinion is excessive. For people involved in this you should be happy the soccer is not considered to be revenue generating in college or you would end up with the mess that AAU basketball has become. I am all for developement, I believe in competition, but you have allow the kids to enjoy their youth.
As for the coaching certifications I am not sure this is the best answer. There are plenty of coaches who could get certified and not be good at coaching(this could happen with any sport) At the end of the day a coach in any sport that cares will endlessly research and find ways to get better so he can improve his players, no matter what certification he has. We need to indentify those people and get them involved.
