I really don't accept your statement that "many of our best 16-18 year olds are not playing Academy."
Outside of the GSP area....that simply isn't true.
I can tell you that with 2 Academies in Charlotte, 1 in Greensboro and 1 in Raleigh...not to mention the two in Atlanta.....the vast majority of top players are in Academy. And my guess is....if you sat down and made a list of the top columbia area players and coastal players, 85-90% of them are playing for SCU.
Of course there is the odd straggler.....but if you knos the kids in those areas (Or Charlotte, Raleigh, etc) .....they are playing Academy.
GSP isn't......because CESA turned down an Academy slot and then wasn't able to get one because of regional saturation. If CESA had an Academy....trust me, no one would be making a statement like that because the Low country, Midlands, and Upstate would all be covered.
The CLint Dempsey story I'm sure is true. Also largely irrelevant. Again, if a kids goal is to play at a D1 level and hopefully progress on to a professional career at whatever level...if you look at the signings over the last 2 years they are dominated by Academy kids. Not many kids from.....Club x playing at the SC Classic level being recruited into a top tier D1 program or the professional ranks. Those kids.....are coming from Academy or non Academy clubs like CESA.
