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Cmon Bear. No one has a gun to their head when deciding on this program or not. People can come and go as they please under the eyes of US Club and under policy(law) per SCYSA. I haven't heard of any lawyers getting involved in a player moving from one premier program to another for breach of the 'loyalty' contract although I think East Cooper has thought about it. lol. So I think everything is ok in that regard.



Cmon Sid. I agree no one is holding a gun to their heads. But there was very heavy pressure, with not much in the way of alternatives offered, if you wanted to play competitive soccer. I won't go into the details that I've heard about how it went down.

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I am guessing your child is playing at the South Carolina challenge level. Why wouldn't he want to put himself against the best and develop over a year(s) in the USSDA? I'm sure many would say b/c their child gets the same service playing in the current structure which is debatable at this point. But if that truly was the case then why would US Soccer bother with this program at all.



Where my child is playing is immaterial to this discussion. But since you've chosen to narrow the discussion to my child I'll respond accordingly. You're asking me to agree that the "best" are going to be in the academy somewhere in the united states, and he may or may not play them in one of the events. (After all, if he's on a 20 player roster, with an 18 player game day roster, he may not even be selected to go on the trip, let alone play.) I think where the best are going to be is yet to be determined. What I will say is, I really feel my child is getting better service where he is playing than he would get playing in the Bridge FA USSDA program.

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Is it the trainer or the talent? That is always the question in the parking lot. US Soccer says (and I agree) it's both.



I fully agree it's both. It's also personal dedication and commitment. Somewhere in there is a factor of trust also. I've always heard trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, and once lost, it's never fully earned again.