Competitive Soccer 
The Land of Premier and Select

The Backdrop

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In the United States, historically, soccer was played by kids at the preschool, kindergarten and lower grade school ages -- often as part of an after school or summer program, recess, or even as a rotating PE class.  As the kids grew up, they would normally change their athletic focus to another sport -- football, baseball, basketball, even taking on lacrosse or wrestling over soccer.  The best athletes (often because of media, or their parents or friends' interests) just simply chose to play other sports. 

 

But, with the US hosting the World Cup in 1994, soccer was made relevant to America again (at least since Pele was here in his twilight years, soccer was no longer just a European or South American game).  After the American NASL folded in 1984, and the US was left without a true top tier league, FIFA required the creation of a national division one soccer league as a condition of receiving the 1994 World Cup bid.  As a result, the MLS was formed in 1995 and began play in 1996 with 10 teams -- growing in 1998 to 12 teams. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Major_League_Soccer

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Although different parts of the US took hold of soccer more quickly (either due to economics, or immigrant soccer playing communities, or communities with active parent/coaches who had played competitively in HS or college), soccer was becoming more prevalent US wide.  Still, into the 2000s, soccer still lagged far, far behind the other three major American sports (Football, Baseball, Basketball).

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But, beginning in 2002, despite poor play in the MLS (and the league shrinking to 10 clubs while consistently losing money and consistently failing to gain a foothold), the first of FIVE rather unexpected things happened...

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First, at the World Cup (2002), the United States suprisingly made the quarterfinals (after wins against Portugal and Mexico).  This led to a renewed domestic attention to soccer, which in turn resulted in the 2022 MLS Cup setting an attendance record of 61,316 spectators (at Gillette Stadium to watch the LA Galaxy win their first MLS Cup). (This was the second-highest attendance number in domestic American soccer, after the 74,901 who watched the 1978 NASL championship game at Giants Stadium, a [NY] Cosmos' win)  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer_Bowl_%2778)

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Second, in 2007,the most famous soccer player in the world (at least to Americans), David Beckham, joined the LA Galaxy from Real Madrid. This provided instant visibility and (at least some) credibility for the MLS to the world -- but more importantly, it made Americans want to tune in and watch (well, watch the Galaxy at least).  It was also a 2 for 1 as America got Posh Spice!(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Beckham) 

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Third, in 2007 and 2008 MLS added expansion teams (Toronto, Seattle) with record crowds and season ticket purchases.  The enthusiasm was palpable.  This expansion excitement (adding Vancouver and Portland) helped carry attendance so much so that by 2024, the MLS was in the top three leagues in the world (https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/major-league-soccer-completes-record-setting-regular-season).  And, three MLS teams averaged more than 30,000 fans a game -- Atlanta United FC at 46,831, Charlotte at 33,383, and Seattle at 30,754. Yes, those aren't NFL or college football numbers, but to give you some perspective, Atlanta FC would have placed 8th in the 20 team EPL, Charlotte 11th and Seattle 14th. (https://www.worldfootball.net/competition/co91/se74714/attendance/#google_vignette)

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Fourth, was the 2012 (former) players' lawsuit against the NFL establishing the link (in the public's mind) between CTE and football.FN1 Practically speaking, parents stopped sending their kids to peewee helmeted football (flag football even became more common) and swore off their kids future football involvement (fun to watch, but not my kid).

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And Fifth was YouTube! Yes, YouTube has brought us soccer highlights, soccer celebrations, soccer great's personalities/interviews and training tips (very very helpful tips) which has decreased the time and investment that it could otherwise take to develop skills.  No more waking up at 6am to watch an EPL game or find that you don't have access to watch it anyway (and the EPL is ruthless about taking down videos on social media platforms).

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These five events turned the tide towards the resurgance or growth of American soccer. And since then, Beckham's involvement with Miami, Lionel Messi's titanic move to Miami (and the MLS) and then the World Cup returning to the US in 2026 all further solidified the emergence of soccer as America's 4th major American sport. (And it'll only continue to grow)

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Current Youth Soccer Climate

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At some point, US Soccer realized that we as a country lagged far far far behind other countries in terms of youth soccer development.  Some MLS programs began their own developmental academies and US Soccer began to help communities build soccer facilities.  We still lag far behind European countries in resources devoted to youth soccer development but we are getting better, and most importantly, some of our best athletes are choosing soccer over the other three sports.

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So what are you youth soccer choices?  It can be confusing with State sanctioned clubs, US Club sanctioned clubs, county based leagues, clubs not recognized by anyone and playing, local clubs, pick up games and others.

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Beginning at an early age (preschool/micro) you'll find lots of programming around introducing kids to soccer.  You'll see these through parks or city programs, a school or the community center. This is broadly speaking "recreational soccer" which is what we play at recess and what you'll see many soccer clubs focus on. (Anyone can play recreational soccer, youth, adult, co-ed).

 

But, even for kids at age six (i.e. Under 7 (U7)) and seven (Under 8 (U8)) you can start to see foundational soccer skills develop and you start to see some kids developing faster than other kids. (I know, I began coaching at U7).  While many or most clubs won't start "selecting" out the most talented of these kids (and many clubs push back on anyone trying to group talented kids together), many youth soccer clubs (or coaches) are self-selecting kids onto their teams or into programs to fast track their (or their team's) development.  You'll especially see this for end of season (or winters season) tournaments (combining teams at least in part). And by U9 you start to see Select and Premier soccer teams.

 

So what is "select" and "premier".

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For select, the basic principle is that there was a tryout and kids were "selected" to be on the team; whereas with recreational soccer, kids are placed on a team by the club's registrar without regard to skill (though returning players often get priority for placement to return).  The idea is twofold: 1st, you want to group kids together that are ready for more advanced skill training; and second, you want them facing similar skilled competition.  Select also means that the registrar isn't simply placing kids on your team regardless of skill.

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In Washington state, our generally accepted "select" league is the North Puget Sound League (NPSL: https://www.northpugetsoundleague.org/)  The NPSL usually has a Division 1-4 (with Division 1 being the highest/most competitive).

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So what about "premier"?  Well, another really basic way to think about "premier" is that it is "select, select". That is, you take your club's select teams (at or around the same age) and you select the best of those select players to form the best of the best.  Now, not all clubs field select and premier teams, and some families register directly at a Premier Club (which often also host/field recreational teams but have a Premier division) in hopes that their child is good enough to go straight to the top.  Well, not always.  Often premier clubs will accept your child and place them on a "premier" team at a lower classification. Maybe it's the "B" team (which they don't often call the #2 or "b" team becuase of the potentially negative connotation, but which they call, maybe for example, "white". Now the "b" team often isn't bad (it really depends on the club). Larger clubs with 100s of tryouts per age group can field strong teams at A and B (and maybe even C, D and E).  Other, smaller clubs will have a HUGE dropoff from A to B and especially B to C.  My select teams have beaten the A and B teams of some premier clubs, but then have been crushed (e.g. 7-1, or 5-0) by the B teams of other clubs, but can turn around and crush the C and D teams of those same clubs that handed us lopsided losses (we've had scores of 15-0, 7-0, 7-1 and 5-1 against "premier" teams at BU9 and BU10). And, at U14 last year, the best team in the State came from NPSL (select) (not premier).

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In Washington, the three premier leagues that are perhaps the most well known (or known to me) are the RCL (https://www.rclwashington.com/regular-season), WPL (https://wpl-soccer.com/) and Elite Academy (https://eliteacademyleague.com/) (which is on the newer side to me and may be the precursor to a new "MLS Next 2nd tier developmental league). The RCL can may have as many as 5 divisions, with NPSL 1 teams being as good as many RCL 2 teams. [We should hold an NPSL 1 vs RCL 2 tournament with the RCL teams not being able to borrow any RCL 1 players and see how it shakes out]

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Nationally, the ECNL (elite club national league) reigns supreme. https://usclubsoccer.org/ecnl/  There is also a more regional ECNL https://theecnl.com/sports/ecnl-regional-league-boys/​​

Washington has a limited list of clubs that play in these two leagues.

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What this all Means for You

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Well, let me say that you don't need to run out to try and join an ECNL club tomorrow. Sure, that would be great.  But let your child develop and while some steering is good, let's also see where the sea takes us.

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Tips. 

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Find a program near your home.

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Find a "more" affordable program (as "select" runs from $500 for the year to maybe $2000 plus uniforms and travel while premier runs from about $1500 for the year to around $4000 plus uniforms and travel).  

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Find a coach you like and that has adequate soccer knowledge or skill (for your child). Sometimes that coach will have skills (from his/her own background) or will have acquired knowledge or is a good teacher or good inspiration or all of the above!

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Find a team you like (not all players, or parents get along, but it's usually just a few conflicts, but those are enough to say, ok, let's switch...just don't switch too much)

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Find the right skill level competition. (You don't want to win 10-0 or lose 1-7)

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Follow your child's development.  You'll be able to see if they are better than everyone else out there and need to age or level up.  If they are "clearly" better than everyone, then ask your club if they can play on the "a" team. If they're already on the "a" team, then either they need to go up in competition (league or club) or in age.  Remember, kids can always play up, they just can't play down (ages).  There's nothing wrong with a U10 player playing U11 or even a U9 player (that is physically ready) to play U11 (we've seen plenty of kids succeed in that range).  We've seen U14 kids play U16 and U15 kids play U18.  If you're not sure, have your child go out and practice with the teams and see.

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There's no one size fits all or perfect answer to where your child should be (or belongs).  You want them to enjoy soccer and not push them too hard (though some pushing, um, encouragement is fine). 

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But remember that burnout is a real thing: one of the best youth players I ever saw has all but given up soccer by High School. I hope he gets the fire back...but he's 2 years into a 4 year journey and zilch.

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At the same time, not giving your kid a chance is also a real thing: one of the best (if not the best) young adult soccer player I've ever seen never got a shot at Division 1 (he didn't play any organized soccer as a youth, no club, no H.S. scoccer as his parents were a work first mentality) and then injured his knee at his one shot at a community college tryout/practice. ​So give your child a chance but don't push too hard. 

 

Every day at practice is a positive soccer development day.  Will it result in playing H.S. soccer (I hope so), or a college scholarship?  That would be the goal, right?  But beyond that, let's be realistic -- there are thousands of kids (just in Brazil) who know their only shot out of the slum and out of poverty is through soccer and who play/practice everyday (and when we see Brazilian exchange students here, who are often far more advanced than similarly aged soccer kids here, they are quick to tell us how average they are back in Brazil).  But maybe your kid is the next David Beckham, Tim Howard or Christian Pulisic. You won't know unless you give them a chance.

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Also, it's not always the program your child is in but the desire they have inside.  Often that desire, that drive, tha will to succeeed is more powerful than the strongest pedigree. 

 

And, something else to remember: In a given year, of the approximate 450,455 male HS soccer players, only about 1.4% (6,306)FN2 go on to play NCAA D1, but about another 10-12% go on to play some level of college soccer (D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO)

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The numbers are a little better for girls, as from 377,838 female HS players, about 2.8% (10,579)FN2 go on to play Division 1, while about 12-14% go on to play some form of college soccer (D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO).

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Not everyone is getting a scholarship (but team sports also has a HUGELY positive impact on youth development---for most kids, because not all kids have a positive experience)

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I played both football and baseball in college and then played DIII, JUCO and DII football, and DIII baseball (with the ability to have played D1 outside a power conference). While I was on a summer (select) baseball team during H.S., I didn't do much else for football (1 year of  peewee) or baseball (2 years of little league) outside of the season, exept running/lifting.  And my parents had almost zero involvement.  Today with parents' support, kids have nets up, rebounders and other practice assistance (in and outside their homes).  We've finally gotten the memo.

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Hope to see you out on the pitch!

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N D

WA Select Soccer Coach

 

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FN 1.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concussions_in_American_football) In April 2011, attorneys Sol H. Weiss and Larry E. Coben from the Philadelphia law firm of Anapol Weiss filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Ray Easterling, Jim McMahon and five other players. Thousands of former NFL players have since filed lawsuits against the League after suffering repeated concussions throughout their careers.

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The multidistrict litigation (MDL) titled In re: National Football League Players' Concussion Injury Litigation (MDL 2323) was filed on January 31, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge Anita B. Brody presides over the matter.[61] The master administrative long-form complaint, filed by Plaintiff's Co-Lead Counsel Sol Weiss and Christopher Seeger on June 7, 2012, alleges the League "... was aware of the evidence and the risks associated with repetitive traumatic brain injuries virtually at the inception, but deliberately ignored and actively concealed the information from the Plaintiffs and all others who participated in organized football at all levels." The master complaint argues the NFL knew or should have known players who sustain repetitive head injuries are at risk of suffering "... early-onset of Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, depression, deficits in cognitive functioning, reduced processing speed, attention, and reasoning, loss of memory, sleeplessness, moods swings, personality changes, and the debilitating and latent disease known as Chronic traumatic encephalopathy ('CTE')."

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In April 2012, Easterling was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his home.[62] An autopsy report concluded Easterling's brain had evidence of CTE, a degenerative brain disease associated with frequent blows to the head.[63]

One month later, former San Diego Chargers player Junior Seau also died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and a brain autopsy showed he suffered from CTE.[64]

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FN2 https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/research/pro_beyond/2023RES_ProbabilityBeyondHSFiguresMethod.pdf

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