Understanding which youth soccer league is best for you in each age group is important. Please remember I am speaking to a national audience, so I’ll touch on most levels and ages from 6-17. U-10 is where many parents find out that youth club soccer is a bigger deal than they thought. The biggest problem for U10-13 is, many parents think that the highest level league is better for their kid. For some it’s a status or competitive thing, but the root is they are just not experienced or educated on this matter.
What is your end goal in soccer?
If your overall goal is to make the high school team or play at the college level, don’t worry about what league at age 7-11.
Yes, get good technical training, but you don’t HAVE to play in the “best” league this young.
The age 10-15 time frame is massive, when it comes to getting skills outside your club. Either private 1on1 or small groups.
Large groups of 12+ players make it hard to develop proper mechanics outside of what they do with their team.
I’ve seen age 10 playing rec or in a 3rd tier club league and end up playing college soccer… Not only that, but D1 starting as true freshmen.
From age 10-14 they really worked hard on their technical game, away from their club team.
It’s not like they all did private 1on1 lessons, but they did do small group training once a week for most of the year.
These same players continue to work with me when they come back from college… Therefore, they have that same desire to keep improving.
The best thing is that they were ready to compete at the highest level at age 15-16 years old when college coaches are recruiting.
Rec compared to club soccer ages 6-9
Most kids start out playing rec soccer. Of these families, many don’t know there’s a higher level.
Two ways people find out there’s club competition is from friends or coaches will recruit at the rec games…
Club is where you pay coaching fees and practice at least 2x per week totaling 3 hours. Average of 3 tournaments in addition to league play. The cost is around $1200-1500 per year at this age.
Rec soccer is usually a one hour practice per week during the Spring and Fall. Then one game on the weekends and a volunteer coach [mom or dad].
The crazy thing is, some of the rec coaches are better than the paid academy coaches…
Club has a mix of kids who are usually a lot more into soccer or their parents are. There are usually 6-12 different soccer leagues. This helps filter the level, but all leagues are watered down. Not all the best players play in the highest tier.
In rec soccer there are some players who are really talented, but either them or their parents don’t want to commit to club. Or they just don’t know about it. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.
For the players and parents who really want to be pushed to higher competition, then by age 8-9 you should move to club. The level of play on your team is the main advantage, even more than the competition.
Although, if you can get on a rec team that practices twice a week and trains some during the Summer and Winter you can really develop well.
Rec team beating club teams
COOL STORY! A few Winter’s ago about 8 girls from my daughters rec team[ages 10-11] signed up for a Indoor league…
There were 9 total teams, 7 were club teams. We ended up getting 2nd place. The 1st place team beat us by 1 goal in the last minute. Then there were playoffs which we lost in the semi-final to a team we beat earlier in the season.
I was very proud and happy for our girls because it proved they were developing and it boosted their confidence.
Of these girls, there are 6 of them that will train in a small group with me during the off-season.
Therefore, they have build up a skill set that is well above average and all of them could easily do well on a “club team”.
The KEY is training year-round [10 months out of 12]. Practicing at least 2 times per week [90 min each] during season. Then in the off-season do private 1:1 or small group skills and join a indoor league. This keeps the players sharp and improving.
Academy to select soccer ages 10-11
This is the year when parents learn that club soccer is no joke in terms of time commitment.
For most clubs it’s a business first.
This means you pack the roster full to get more money for the coach and club.
There is a big difference from the best players to the players who have not yet come out of their shell.
Due to natural athleticism, some kids age 7 – 10 you can just tell will always play on one of the best teams and leagues. Then you have players who are straight athletes, with no skill.
Last, the ones who have been getting good skills training, but might not be the best athlete.
Select soccer players ages 11-12
I can guarantee you that there are many players who are playing in the highest level league that won’t start in high school or get to the college level.
At the same time there are several kids at age 11 and 12 who are playing in a 2nd or 3rd tier that will develop later and end up being D1 and D2 college players earning scholarships.
The reason for the lopsided leagues is because there are kids who reached their peak at age 11.
Then there are those who have never had outside club training.
Also there are players who are in top leagues because they came from a team that all moved over together.
Other reasons are some groups of players/parents work a package deal where 2-4 players come to a team together.
Don’t worry if you or your child are only 11 or 12 years old and playing in a lower level youth soccer league.
If you like the coaching situation and the team you are on, then stay there.
Out of all the kids playing in the top youth soccer league at age 11-12, several of them will end up quitting soccer in a few years, or decide that they don’t want to play college soccer down the road.
In conclusion, if your goal is to play college soccer, don’t compare yourself or your kid to others.
Top tier youth soccer league for ages 12-18
From about 2017 – 2020 the “best youth soccer league” was DA (Development Academy) but they folded during cov-19. It’s said that lack of funds was the reason for folding. The day they folded the MLS Next had a new league for boys.
Every few years there are new leagues that come and go…
Boys:
- MLS academy
- ECNL
Girls:
- ECNL
- ECRL
- Girls Academy
Across the US, Girls from ECNL and GA end up going to a lot of the same colleges, BUT it also depends on the state…
Example: In Michigan GA is very strong with Nationals soccer club producing top players, while in Texas, GA teams are not producing the same because all of their top teams are ECNL.
The best thing is that you have a choice in which one you choose. If you’re in a big soccer city, you’ll have great opportunity in more than the “top league”.
Opportunity that MLS, ECNL and GA give you
MLS academy is more for the players who are trying to get on the US National Team or play pro one day.
Then there’s the players who simply want to compete in the “highest” youth soccer league.
As of late it seems US National Team is only going to pick players who play in their system, but with so many going abroad they’ll have to pick who’s the best eventually.
For the players who want to get extra training on top of club, they now don’t have much time to do that.
Then for the players who don’t want extra sessions, they are forced to do so with certain leagues.
Some teams even have what’s called a recovery session the day after games [usually Sunday] where you show up, jog and stretch and then go home.
A number of kids drive up to 1-2 hours just for that. CrAzY!
3 reasons top level players were choosing ECNL over DA
Back in 2020 some of the best players hands down are playing ECNL [Tier 2 at the time] for these 3 reasons.
1) so that they can play high school soccer. It’s said that the new MLS academy will allow HS soccer…
2) to have less “team trainings” to either rest OR train with a private trainer or solo
3) have time on Sunday’s for church and family.
Getting the same end goal
Players who play MLS Academy are signing for some of the same colleges as the ECNL players. Yes, overall MLS academy is a higher level, but ECNL has players who are better.
Example in North Texas ‘Lake Highlands D1 or Classic’ or in other states they call it something different. So you make the choice in which youth soccer league is best for you.
The “highest” isn’t the best for everyone.
If you are one of the best players in the state and you want to make the US National team do ECNL or MLS Academy.
It’s all about how you promote yourself, so don’t only depend on the club and showcase tournaments.
U-9 rec practice drills
My daughters U-9/10 rec team [I volunteer coach] is full of kids who really want to improve.
They love it and the parents are all like minded in the sense that they don’t want to commit to competitive leagues yet.
We do 1 practice a week for 90 mins…
A good drill we do is split the team in 2 groups like this and see which team can get 10 goals first… It’s great for every element [passing, turning while receiving, give and go, shooting].
In addition, during the off-season there are 4-5 of them who train in a small skills group with me.
Most important is they are getting the fundamentals down and enjoying soccer.
Why many talented kids ages 6-9 quit soccer
We all have natural gifts and different things we enjoy more.
I can tell you for a fact that many kids who are meant to play soccer long-term end up quitting is because they never learn the right skills to improve.
Think about how hard it is to control a ball with the feet, which by the way are the most uncoordinated part of our body.
You could get the most athletic pro basketball or American football player to dribble a ball and they will look so clumsy!
So if you get a coach who doesn’t have any college or pro playing background in soccer and they will not know how to teach skill to a player who’s new to soccer.
This can equals disaster!
The kid will get frustrated and think that soccer is not for them.
There is a difference of having a coach who is organized compared to a coach who knows how to teach each age group.
I have seen coaches who have coached rec soccer for 10-20 years and they have no clue how or what to teach.
They think they know and the parents might think they do, but they don’t.
Yes, everyone knows toe taps and tick tocks/bells, but that won’t make a player good at dribbling. Those drills will only help them with ball coordination at its most basic point.
The last reason many talented kids quit soccer is because it simply is not in their ‘DNA’ meaning soccer is not in their blood.
Maybe they like another sport better, or their parents don’t want to spend the money or time.
Soccer parents have to be almost as dedicated as the kids.
How much do the kids really love futbol
In the end it’s mostly about what’s inside the player and what training opportunities they are getting.
In other words, how much they really love the sport, how they can handle different coaching styles and how they were encouraged and taught along the way.
There are some players who have the natural ability or parents who get them private training, but they really don’t have what it takes to continue playing soccer through high school.
The key is that you know the kids don’t have to be super athletic to make a good high school or college career.
I can promise you that keeping the experience fun is key.
Everyday will Not be fun. You could have the best job in the world, but there will be some days that are not fun. This is normal life.
When you know soccer is not meant for your kid
Some parents think that having their kid do extra skills training will burn them out.
Honestly, if they don’t want to do extra training from ages 10-13 I would not even pay for club soccer.
This means they probably are not meant to play high school or college soccer.
Good news is you can stop paying all that money for club and just have them play for fun in a rec league.
Some people would say, ah they just need to be kids. Fair enough, but I disagree. Tell me how practicing 20 mins extra a week for 8-12 weeks at a time is not letting them be a kid.
Save your time and money, I’m telling you if they don’t want to practice and improve at this age they most likely are not meant to be soccer players.
Playing time over league status
Think about if you are living in a state that’s not big in youth soccer…
I’ll use Nebraska, New Mexico and Louisiana. I don’t hear about great youth teams coming from these three states [except Jason Kreis, former FC Dallas star from Nebraska].
Then think about Texas, California, Virginia, NJ, Michigan, Florida. These are all powerhouse soccer states, that are hard to compete in. If you are in one of these places, don’t get sucked in thinking you have to play top league.
Top ranked youth soccer states in America
Remember that it’s all about development and technical training.
Point is develop outside the club and play club to play and gain experience.
The best kids from smaller soccer states will still get college opportunity because there is talent everywhere, but mainly because they stand out in their state.
These same players moving to North Texas [Dallas/Fort Worth] would not stand out.
So if you are in a big soccer state, you have to not worry if you are playing in the #1 league or not.
Kids in the higher ranked soccer states have harder time both physically and mentally.
Reminding players ages 11-17 of this helps them to feel better about their situation.
Get my online soccer training program to get ahead
If you are wanting to know exactly what to work on with kids new to soccer have them first enroll in The Basics [online course].
Spend 1 month doing 10-20 mins per week, more if you want.
WHEN they become really good at my fundamentals lessons, get them the ‘advanced’ ball control course.
For already advanced level players [The Magic] will challenge you.
Some kids would really struggle at this one without me showing them in person, while others could pick it up.
Most kids won’t need the hardest one till they are 12+ years old, unless the child is one of those fast learning 6-8 year old’s.
For most kids ages 9-11, have them spend time on first the basic fundamentals and then add my advanced skills.
I promise this will have them controlling the ball better than kids paying thousands of dollars to academy clubs.
It’s really that simple.
Plus you can always send me a video of them. I love to give you feedback.
Understanding the weekly grind in soccer
Every soccer player will tell you that they have days that are not fun.
Either because their body hurts, tired from hot Summer and cold Winters. Or they are just having a bad season due to a team they didn’t gel with or even just poor play from lack of confidence.
Communicating these things to the players helps them mentally and emotionally…
This way when these times come, they understand that it’s normal to have these certain feelings.
If a kid thinks that every day should be fun, then they will think that the sport is not for them.
It’s a culture that you work hard each day to improve, but enjoy your time away from soccer too.
Have fun being a kid and don’t let soccer be your identity.
It’s a passion, but we have to learn to balance our life. This means knowing that there will be good days and bad days, so don’t let hard times control our emotions.
Don’t let others who are harsh to you bring you down.
“If your heart pounds when you drive up to the fields, then soccer is for you.”
US Youth Soccer and US Club Soccer
This is all confusing, even to club coaches who do it for a living.
Both US Youth Soccer and US Club Soccer fall under United States Soccer Federation [USSF].
Between and under these, there are so many new leagues popping up that I don’t even try to keep up.
For younger ages 6-9 US Youth Soccer is where most kids play, even the top club teams.
For ages 11+ US Club Soccer is more competitive in terms of quality, development and opportunity.
Now again, it continues to change, making it hard to know which youth soccer league is best.
Just remember there are good players in many of the different leagues… Not all the best players play in the “top league”.
Don’t burn bridges and end up blacklisted
There are cases where unhappy or even unlucky parents and players end up moving clubs multiple times in a short amount of time.
You have to be careful upsetting certain club coaches, because by age 15 there will only be about 5 options for a good team at the level you want to play.
This doesn’t mean be scared of a coach or team, just be respectful and don’t end up in a heated argument.
Keep your cool and always try to take time to think about your reaction in different situations. I’ve heard stories where coaches won’t play a certain kid all season, just for something that the coach and parent got into.
Play the game for you
In the end you never know when a kid will step away from the game.
I have seen the top players in the nation step down from soccer around 16-17 years old.
Most of them will tell you it’s because they got tired of certain coaches.
Others will tell you that they just didn’t want to go through the day to day grind, plus balance school, family and social life.
Some kids get tired of the stress in performing for someone.
This is why I remind my trainees, that you play for yourself first. If you do that you will in return play for your coach and team.
If you play for your coach or parents first, then to me that’s a problem. It’s not a selfish thing as long as you have a good attitude.
No matter what youth soccer league you find, Remember to enjoy the game.
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