The state of the U.S.’s current Academy system is very hard to explain and learn. However, I have studied youth and college soccer for the past 3 years…primarily for myself although I have come to terms with myself and am willing to use it for the better good of developing soccer.

Here goes: Thus far, the U.S. has a complex academy system. In Europe, pro teams sponsor and develop their own academy players. I have other posts on this so I won’t go into big details. The difference between our current (what you could call) academy system is like the difference between Privatized Insurance and say Universal Healthcare… get the difference? Ok…the only reason why these clubs get these kids’ parents to sign them over to the club is because the club promises many things such as food, a safe environment, some form of schooling, housing, and anything else…possibly a pro career.

The current U.S. academy is like playing for a club except you travel a lot and just being on the team is very expensive.

But this is not my argument…My main point here is: Should you(as parents) put your kids on a U.S. Academy team or just put them on a regular club or even cheaper put them on a city league team?

A U.S. Development Academy is technically sponsored by USSF(United States Soccer Federation), however there is only money involved when you make it to the finals of the entire system or you prove your mettle. Either option is not easy. Here is what to expect from this type of team:

• Major exposure at a price: A player can/should expect to go to all the big U.S. tourney’s(Blue Chip, Dallas Cup, Disney, Nomads, Surf Cup, etc. etc.) But a cost…each trip to these tournaments will cost anywhere from $500-anything with 000 at the end and a different number than 0 in front. See my point.
• Besides paying travel expenses, a player will most likely pay for his/her uniform and all other gear. Now some teams pay for this…but these clubs rarely have the money for this.
• Club fees: There are many of these…a club will get away with charing you anywhere from $200-thousands for fees such as: Coach Travel expenses, insurance, travel costs, tournament fees, grounds fees, etc. etc.
• However, with all the money mentioned…a player can also expect to get college recruitment from all this…not a bad trade off.

Now a city-league team/ regular club may have some of these perks however at a much cheaper cost:

City-League: I would recommend playing city league as well as playing for a club or academy team but that’s just a side-note. City-league will not get anybody noticed unless there is an active 4-year college in the immediate area. Fees are minimal and sometimes local cab companies-no honestly-sponsor the team. So sometimes its all about car expenses as this team will not be traveling more than 200 miles, probably not even 100. They are a good way to play against top talent, grow, and play a different type of soccer that you will not find in club/ academy/ anywhere else except here.

Club: To compare the current U.S. Academy and club soccer is pretty hard. And to be honest, the comparison between some clubs and academies are so far apart, somebody might think I’m making a cheap joke right about now. The perfect comparison to playing at the academy level and club level is playing club on any State Premier League team. Premier is the top class and is just about the only comparison. W/o further ado, club pros/cons:

• A player will get less exposure unless the team goes to a lot of tournaments. Now I’m all for Premier clubs, but they must go to a lot of tournaments. So, if you live in California like I do…Surf Cup, Newport Surf Cup, and Nomads are the ones that a team needs to attend. This will have higher costs but definitely cheaper than hopping on a plane and going to Florida from California for a tournament.
• The level of play will obviously be good, but it will be less than playing at the academy level. Put it this way, in the current U.S. academy system, the best clubs are the academies.
• Costs, considering that most clubs really don’t go all that far, except in-state and maybe 1 or 2 (which is pushing it) will be out of state. However, the costs will be lower.

So lets put everything into prospective. Overall, if a player and his family has the money to burn or can get some type of scholarship or financial aid from the team…then by all means play Academy. However, a cheaper route is to find, the best club team in your area even if that means driving an hour one-way…it will still be cheaper.