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[QUOTE="upstater, post: 3519189, member: 153"]
I never disagreed that the MLS academies draw players away from other clubs, DA and non-DA. The MLS clubs are totally free tuition, as far as I know. That will draw players. And yet some kids preferred to stay at their DA, like Crossfire, rather than travel crosstown to play for the MLS Sounders.

My argument is that when you have a smaller pond, then the MLS DA's misses are going to become all the more glaring.

Players being drawn to MLS clubs is already happening, but I still see the non-MLS clubs holding their own.

Also, I don't see the radical shift you mentioned at U15. I still see a lot of non-MLS clubs holding their own.

I can't link the SI article, but in it the Crossfire Premier coach mentioned that US Soccer deliberately downgraded Crossfire in order to boost the Sounders, precisely because Crossfire had been beating them with better players. Maybe this is what caused the rift, for MLS clubs to be losing to non-MLS clubs, and now US Soccer is tipping the scales in favor of MLS, which is sending the best players from clubs like Crossfire to the Sounders. I don't think this is good in the long run.
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