Quote:

I was talking with a player recently about his team mate who was also giving up his senior year for academy. This young man was also considering trying out for academy, but he was being urged to do so by his father to help get opportunities to play in college. He heard an acquaintance was offered a spot by a college coach who had never seen him play, but signed him simply because he was on the roster for an academy team.



You mention "college" twice in your post. Academy is not about preparing players to play college soccer, it's about preparing them to become professionals. No secret that European clubs want kids when they are young. It's been stated many times that 15 or 16 is the age that separates "the men from the boys". In a perfect world, if all academy kids found a professional home by age 18, the colleges would be left with only recruiting RPL and classic/challenge players.

Would it be a terrible thing if the quality of American college soccer was suddenly "downgraded"?

Kids play sports because they find it fun. Eliminate the fun and soon you eliminate the kid.