Hurst, BD--I certainly don't disagree with what you are saying, especially in context of the perspective from which you are saying it. Any disagreement, I think, comes from use of broad, generalizing statements that may not apply equally to all programs in all situations.
Please understand that I am not trying to equate the average MS or JV team with a high-quality club experience. It's hard, looking at a question from a place where club is a natural part of development and taken for granted within the high school soccer culture, to see the effect other options can have if club play is not an option for many players. For a well-developed program where the players and parents take club ball as a matter of course in development and a full team of club players can be fielded, I would agree that middle school and even JV programs would have a minimal effect, and at least MS could be dropped with little if any adverse effect on the varsity team, because the serious players (who would end up making the varsity cut and probably squeezing out most of the MS team players in the long run) would be playing at their clubs at that point anyway.
For the many programs in the state that don't operate under these ideal situations, however (read: you can't outsource; either develop 'em yourself or you don't get 'em), middle school and JV teams, if done right with competent, conscientious staff, would make a heck of a lot more impact on the development of a varsity team than the clubs many of their players can't afford the time and money to invest in, and in hard times, a free option through the school is more likely to gain parental support than telling them they have to come up with hundreds and even thousands of dollars per year in order to hope to make varsity. Sometimes it's only after getting involved in the sport through a free option at a young age that a player realizes the desire and aptitude to get better; it's then that they (and their parents) can be convinced to invest that money and effort in club development. I agree that 7th and 8th graders can participate on JV teams without the need to fund a separate middle school team when times are tough...all of our 7th and 8th graders play on an equally-unfunded JV squad.
Again, I know these arguments don't apply to schools where club is simply a part of the culture and goes without saying, but for those who don't have a strong base of club players to pull from, development means using every option at your disposal to get the job done at home--and that means getting as many students playing and learning at as early an age as possible. Maybe a team in that situation won't ever win state--but it shouldn't be from a lack of using every tool at their disposal to make it happen, and that means placing importance on development through the school programs for those who can't afford to get it somewhere else.
