Latest news with #MLSNEXT
Yahoo
26-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLS NEXT game takes place in Austin
Major League Soccer's All-Star week is in full swing across Austin. On Monday, the MLS NEXT game took place with 44 of the best youth prospects from the U.S. and Canada went against each other.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Philadelphia Union prospect Jamir Johnson scores 87th-minute winner, East defeats West in thrilling MLS NEXT All-Star Game
East beats West 4-3 in MLS NEXT ASG Five goals scored in second half Late penalty kick seals win WHAT HAPPENED? The East defeated the West 4-3 in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game Monday night, with MLS All-Star week kicking off in outstanding fashion. Though it was a 1-1 stalemate at halftime, both teams unlocked their attack over the final 45 minutes. Philadelphia Union prospect Jamir Johnson scored an 87th-minute winner to secure victory for the East. It was the first match of All-Star week in MLS, with festivities continuing Tuesday and Wednesday. THE BIGGER PICTURE The West went up early in the first half, with St. Louis CITY SC attacker Lorenzo Cornelius setting up a dime of a pass to see a teammate slot home in a tight space. The East then responded in first-half stoppage time through New England Revolution academy player Cristiano Oliveira to draw level. Then, to kick off the second half, Orlando City academy midfielder Gustavo Carballo came out of the break to give the East a 2-1 lead, bagging from distance with a blistering effort. The West then responded through FC Dallas's Steel Cook to draw level at 2-2. That's where things really started to heat up. Columbus Crew attacker Prince Forfor followed up to restore the East's lead to make it 3-2, before the West responded nearly immediately, with Vancouver Whitecaps academy forward Tyler Brown drawing level. Brown rounded the goalkeeper with ease on the counter and dribbled it into the net. However, the East were once again on the attacking foot, and were awarded a penalty kick just five minutes later. Up stepped Johnson, who finished clinically, to give the East a thrilling victory. DID YOU KNOW? For the fourth-straight year, the team that conceded the opening goal won the MLS NEXT ASG. WHAT NEXT? All-Star week continues Tuesday with the Skills Challenge as well as Goalie Wars, featuring shot-stoppers from the MLS NEXT Pro level. The All-Star Game will be played Wednesday night, MLS vs Liga MX.
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
MLS turns 30: Where does your youth player fit into its ecosystem?
Alfonso Mondelo was 13 years old when he arrived in the United States from Spain in 1971. "Soccer was almost nonexistent," he tells USA TODAY Sports. "You had to go chase it." Your desire to see the sport might take you to New York's Felt Forum, the then-named auditorium at Madison Square Garden where Mondelo watched the 1974 World Cup on a closed-circuit television, or to movie theaters. Even by 1990, Major League Soccer's longtime technical director says, when the U.S. men qualified for the tournament in Italy, you went to a bar with a satellite dish to watch them. "If there was a baseball game, you had to fight with the baseball people to keep the soccer game on," Mondelo says. "So this has gone to where this is the country that consumes probably the most soccer in the world. Right now, you can turn on a TV on Saturday morning at 7 o'clock, begin to watch European games and continuously watch live soccer until probably 12:30, 1 o'clock in the morning, when MLS finishes. "It's a sport that you can play forever. Every day, there are more American-born fans, and I would say under the age of 40 in this country, most players have played it at one level or the other." Mondelo, 66, spent time on the pitch in Spain's second division while he was in the U.S. Air Force and later became a coach. He got his start as a coach in MLS with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the late 1990s. He moved to his position in the league's front office in 2004, when teams had no youth programming. Today, there are 40,000 kids participating in its MLS GO recreational program and almost 18,000 enrolled in its elite MLS NEXT platform (raising to 40,000-plus with a new competition tier), which runs from the U13 to U19 levels. As of June 15, according to MLS, 93% of the players on U.S. youth national teams are coming from MLS NEXT. This year alone, the league also has invested more than $125 million in player development, according to Mondelo. "It's the greatest sport in the world," says Mondelo, whom we interviewed upon the 30th anniversary of MLS. "Once you start playing it, you get hooked on it. If you speak soccer, you can engage conversations in any country in the world. I think the Americans are catching onto it. … "Now there is a direct pathway, so a young player who begins to play the game and has a passion for it can see a direct pathway from youth all the way to a professional team. Now, in a lot of the markets, they have a professional team that they can go see and they can aspire to be part of." The league realizes, of course, the overall percentages of becoming a professional player are very small. It's constantly seeking ways to get more kids access to the game, hoping to create fans at the grassroots levels who will attend MLS matches. Where might your son or daughter fit into MLS' youth ecosystem? Here are the opportunities it provides: MLS GO: Finding a lifelong love of the game When we place our kid in a sport at a young age, a goal is they enjoy it and want to come back for another season. "We're not trying to create world-class players from the time of 5 or 6 years old," says Kyle Albrecht, the general manager of MLS GO and MLS NEXT. MLS GO is designed to teach fundamentals to boys and girls from 4 to 14 – sometimes playing in games together – in a community setting. It's in 47 states and Washington D.C., and, if you're in an MLS market, tickets to a pro game might be included with your entry fee. Albrecht says the median age of an MLS GO player is 7 or 8 but it's open to beginners throughout its age groups. "It also gives that opportunity at the higher end of the spectrum," Albrecht says. 'Let's say that individual player is not ready to go into the youth travel environment (with) more competitive aspects that we know have a tendency to drive kids and families out of the game." MLS GO, Albrecht says, was born in 2023 out of data that registered soccer participation wasn't really growing over the past 20-plus years. "There was a real intentionality about the push to travel too early, (the) cost growing so high at young ages. How do we build a program to combat that negativity with the game becoming too intense for that recreational audience?" Albrecht says. COACH STEVE: Is it worth it? 10 questions athletes should consider if they play on a travel team MLS NEXT: Seeking your highest potential Kids with more ambitious sports aspirations can try out for clubs within MLS NEXT starting at the U13 level. There are 29 MLS academies and 238 elite academies within the 267 clubs (including the second tier of competition) that make up MLS NEXT. MLS NEXT academy teams compete in high-level events such as Generation Adidas Cup. The GA Cup began almost two decades ago as a gauge to evaluate how MLS academy teams were developing across the country and then started to bring in international competition. "When we first started there, it was hard to compete," Mondelo says. "The foreign teams were beating us; we got a draw, we felt that that was a positive result. And over the last 10, 15, years, we're seeing that the MLS teams in some age groups are dominating the competition, so we are getting to be close to a world-level par in player development. "Also, the interest of international clubs on the players that are being developed domestically has risen tremendously. So they've seen the American player as a viable option to bring into top-level clubs worldwide." MLS NEXT came about in 2020, taking over when the U.S. Soccer Development Academy ended operations. There are 130 NEXT players who have matriculated to MLS. They include Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF), Alex Freeman (Orlando City SC), Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC) and Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union). MLS NEXT top-tier players agree to forgo participating simultaneously in both MLS NEXT and high school soccer, according to an MLS spokesperson, though clubs can submit a high school waiver and play. Players in the other tier will be allowed to play it. "Our objective from a player development strategy is to develop the next generation of talent that will affect the pro game, and the pro game includes Major League Soccer, it includes national teams," Luis Robles, MLS NEXT's technical director, told USA TODAY Sports in January, when laying out the parameters of the second tier. "But within that object is another sub tier of, 'How does that play itself out?' We saw an opportunity to deepen the player pool, to give more families that experience. … So it is the aspirational athlete, but it's also just the athlete that wants to continue to play soccer with their friends. So it is a combination of everyone." The 29 lead academies offer scholarships, housing and schooling, but players at the non-MLS academies, which MLS refers to as elite academies, are given looks and opportunities to move up within the organization. These chances include trials at MLS academies, talent ID camps or sometimes guest appearances for the clubs at competitions like the GA Cup. There are coaching and travel costs associated with elite academies, though Albrecht says MLS NEXT clubs try and look at providing financial aid where it might be needed. "We try and get every player in MLS NEXT to reach their highest potential," Albrecht says. "That may mean it's Division 1 or Division III college. We're hosting our MLS NEXT Fest event in December and that's going to be the biggest college recruiting event in youth soccer." COACH STEVE: New MLS NEXT youth soccer rankings emphasize development over wins MLS NEXT Pro: Completing the path MLS determined as it began to build its youth programs that it lacked qualified coaching compared to other parts of the world. It started working with the French Federation to develop courses. In addition, all 30 MLS clubs have state-of-the-art training facilities where their MLS NEXT academy teams train. (San Diego FC academy is just getting off the ground and not competing in MLS NEXT yet.) "Without a doubt, I think in the next few years, we're going to see a world-class player emerge here that will be comparable to what's coming out of any other country in the world," Mondelo says. MLS NEXT players who advance along the path toward MLS might also get the chance to participate in MLS NEXT Pro, a men's league in the USA and Canada. MLS NEXT Pro might also include international players, older collegiate graduates and others who may not have played in MLS NEXT. Since the launch in 2022, MLS teams have signed more than 160 players from this polishing stage. More opportunities for girls MLS NEXT is a boys competition but member clubs can invite girls to play on their teams. USWNT players Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, for example, played on an U19 MLS NEXT team. MLS NEXT announced in December it had formed an alliance with the Girls Academy. According to MLS, the Girls Academy has 114 clubs and more than 16,000 players (including 48 clubs that have a boys team in MLS NEXT) from the U13 to U19 age groups. "We're in very regular contact with the leadership team at Girls Academy, just in terms of what are those touch points that we can add value – whether it be through events, through different coaching education initiatives, things we can do to really align that development," Albrecht says. The GA Cup, which Mondelo spearheaded for MLS, had a girls division for the first time in 2025. Girls Academy Red beat Girls Academy Blue in the U16 final. Their division also included FC Bayern (Germany) and Manchester City FC (England). Initial plans, Albrecht says, have looked at expanding the girls division to allow for additional Girls Academy teams as well as international teams. "I would not be surprised if we start seeing some of our (professional) clubs begin to develop the youth academies on the women's side," Mondelo says of MLS. The future: 'Best is yet to come' According to MLS, MLS NEXT players have represented 32 different youth national teams around the globe in 2025. Players from 56 MLS NEXT clubs (277 players in all) have been called up to youth national teams this year. Albrecht predicts a half-million-plus players participating in MLS GO in the years following the 2026 World Cup next summer. Five decades ago, Mondelo says, it was strictly immigrants who would go out and watch soccer. During the most recent men's World Cup (held in Qatar in 2022), he noticed in New York City the bars were not only full, but people were outside on the street looking inside to try to see the game. "Americans want to be winners and want to have a team that wins," Mondelo says. "So as our national team goes, I think we're very nationalistic. That will also continue in this constant growth of the sport. … "I think a lot of credit has to be given to the ownership groups in MLS, the investment that has been made in these facilities, not only for the first team, for the pro team, but for these academies, has really brought us to the next level. "The reward will be when we start seeing these American players becoming the mainstay of MLS clubs. So ideally, the mid-level players and above will be domestically grown players, and then the influx of the internationals will be truly the superstars that will elevate this league. Major steps have been taken in 30 years, but the best is yet to come." Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here. Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Top youth talents to shine in Austin at 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Game
Top youth talents to shine in Austin at 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Game The next generation of soccer stars from across the U.S. and Canada will take center stage on Monday, July 21, as the fourth annual MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate kicks off at Parmer Field, home of Austin FC II. The match, featuring 44 of the top youth players in a classic East vs. West format, will begin at 7:30 p.m. CT and stream live on MLS' YouTube channel and Admission is free with registration. Advertisement Among the selected players are several rising talents already making waves at the professional level. Homegrown signings like Gustavo Caraballo (Orlando City SC), Robert Turdean (Chicago Fire FC), and Kaedren Spivey (San Jose Earthquakes) headline a list of players expected to follow in the footsteps of former All-Stars such as Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union) and Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF). Nearly 65% of past MLS NEXT All-Stars have gone on to sign pro contracts, showcasing the match's growing importance. 'This is a celebration of the elite talent and dedication within our MLS NEXT academies,' said Luis Robles, MLS NEXT Technical Director. 'These 44 players are among the most promising prospects in North America.' The East team will be led by Javier Carrillo (Orlando City SC), who guided his U17s to a Generation adidas Cup win earlier this year. The West team will be coached by Jason Shackell (Austin FC), fresh off a strong season with his U16 side. Advertisement The All-Star Week experience goes beyond the pitch, with players taking part in training sessions, community events, the All-Star Skills Challenge on July 22, and the MLS All-Star Game on July 23. Fans can register for free tickets and access more information here. 📍 WHEN: Monday, July 21 | 7:30 p.m. CT 📍 WHERE: Parmer Field, Austin, TX 📺 WATCH: MLS YouTube & 🎟️ ADMISSION: Free with registration © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
USA Today
02-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
MLS Next rolls out new U13, U14 rankings to emphasize development over wins. How it works
When we win a game in a team sport, what does it mean for our individual development, especially when kids are still growing and maturing? It's a question youth sports parents ponder, and it's one Major League Soccer has wrestled with during the five years its MLS NEXT youth program has existed. "If we just have a bunch of dominant 13- and 14-year-olds that don't end up being dominant 18-year olds, I think that's a huge miss on the return on our investment,' said Luis Robles, MLS NEXT's technical director and a former USMNT goalie. "So this is why we have to tinker with different ways to evaluate players.' The organization will announce Wednesday a pilot program to evaluate its U13 and U14 age groups that looks beyond traditional results of games, focusing on complete performances of individuals. Its Quality of Play Rankings move away from wins, losses and draws to measure progress of teams based on their players' offensive and defensive actions, including their off-the-ball movements in games we sometimes don't see. This is the first time MLS Next will have a list of standings for teams in these age groups, but they will be ranked on this new metric rather than records, according to Robles, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports prior to making the new rankings public Wednesday. "We know that this is different," Robles said in an exclusive interview. "This is new. It could come off in the launch as gimmicky, but when you start to pull back and understand why we're doing it, it's a massive investment. But this is worth it, because then Major League Soccer and the national teams, long term, stand to gain the most. Our hope is that we're developing better professionals.' Robles spoke with USA TODAY Sports about what the move means for your player and the dramatic effect it could have on the youth soccer landscape. Why is MLS NEXT making the change to Quality of Play rankings? The program supplies about 90% of players to youth national teams, according to MLS NEXT GM Kyle Albrecht, and has never kept standings for these age groups. Robles said they want to lean more heavily on player progression without the added pressure of trying to win. "The question we try to answer is, 'What role does competition play in player development?'" Robles says. "It should play less of a role. It should be more about the training sessions, the technical ability, the formation of the player, helping them understand the game, solving the game with soccer." But if MLS wants to develop future national team players, Robles said, it must acknowledge how well players do in game-time situations. 'Part of development is competing,' he said, "What we saw with US Soccer, and all the cynicism and criticism towards the players and the coaching and the results, you can't help but admit that sometimes what it comes down to, it is just how well you do in a competition.' How do MLS NEXT's Quality of Play rankings work? Analysts with TAKA, a video tool that takes a panoramic view of the field, will spend about 4 ½ hours on each game looking for significant offensive and defensive actions. Each player will be scored for attack, defense and overall quality of play. Team rankings will be compiled based on players' overall scores, which MLS hopes will more completely represent their overall caliber of play than the result of the game. If you're a weak-side defender and the ball is on the other side of the field, for example, it might seem insignificant when you adjust your position. But new rankings will allow off-ball intelligence that could be scored. Positive tactical intentions will be encouraged, even if the execution isn't perfect. Robles said that in presentations to MLS NEXT academy directors, an example play was shown from a "very, very significant global, international" with the vision to make a pass. "The end result was it was a turnover, but everyone wanted to find a way to say that is what we want to see our players doing,' Robles said. 'We want them to have the courage to make that pass, because if the pass comes off, you're going to get immediate gratification in the form of a shot or goal. But because the pass doesn't come off, that play could lose meaning, even though it was a significant play, and that's what we're trying to capture, and that's what quality of play is. "It's just the aggregate analysis of significant moments, whether offensive, defensive, good or bad.' What happens if a team tops MLS NEXT's Quality of Play rankings? While U13 and U14 teams in MLS NEXT previously had no year-end competitions, the top two or three teams per division (Robles hasn't decided yet) will be invited to compete at MLS NEXT Cup. The U13 and U14 age groups have eight divisions. The rankings will be adjusted based on quality of opponent, rewarding significant actions against better teams. "We don't want it to be that this player is such a great attacking player when they play the minnows,' Robles says. "We want it to be that they're doing it across the board. We want to see that the team consistently playing well. Traditional standings isn't the whole picture because the team could be mid-table, but it's because they beat all the teams that they were expected to beat, but couldn't beat a team that was above them.' How much do stays and wins factor into MLS NEXT's Quality of Play rankings? "Zero,' Robles says. "Naturally, if a team is scoring more goals, they probably have more significant moments on the positive. If a team is giving up a lot of goals, they're going to have more significance in the negative. But what weight does it have in our decision making process? Zero.' Why is MLS NEXT adding Quality of Play rankings specifically to U13 and U14? There are just over 5,600 U13 and U14 players registered in MLS NEXT, more than 1/3 of the organization's 16,000 players across the U.S. and Canada. They are the two most malleable age groups. Robles referenced the book, "Outliers," in which author Malcom Gladwell tracked how American hockey players born in the first three months of the year were more likely to go pro. They had been bigger and stronger when they were younger, and thus placed into a top-level national pipeline because they were fortunate enough to be born in January, February or March. "If you're born in January, as opposed to someone that's born in December in the same year, it's 10% of muscle development,' Robles said. 'You're not even sure which direction that's going. We have to find ways to be able to mitigate that." While Brazil's Cristiano Ronaldo was born in February and identified early, Robles said, so was France's Kylian Mbappé, a December baby who was fast but small. He ended up growing to be one of the world's fastest players. MLS NEXT seeks to find more late developers, even ones who are playing down an age level to develop their technical skills before they catch up with their age group from a physical standpoint. 'Are we picking players that are dominant at 13 and 14 that don't end up becoming great at 17 and 18?' Robles says. 'I think yes.' COACH STEVE: How youth hockey brings out the worst in youth sports Will Quality of Play rankings improve scouting? Robles said the rankings will enable MLS Academy kids to "confidently" know they're being evaluated at all times through TAKA, and not just when they're in front of scouts. 'Growing up, I would see a U.S. Soccer scout at one of my games wearing the badge and was there for 12 minutes,' Robles says. 'How do they know if I'm a good goalkeeper after watching me for 12 minutes, right? Right? Because it's just not enough. "And now what we're hoping is that more players that are already in our system are getting seen by MLS Academy scouts to get more opportunities.' There are 29 MLS academies and 122 elite academies within the 151 clubs that make up MLS NEXT. While MLS NEXT strives to develop players to compete on national teams, it's new second tier of competition has opened up an opportunity for those who want to play at a high level but don't necessarily view that goal as realistic. But what about playing in college? Robles said college coaches, if they register with MLS NEXT, will have access to every player in the TAKA database. COACH STEVE:What does MLS NEXT's expansion meanyou're your youth soccer player? What is the end game with MLS NEXT's Quality of Play rankings? Over time, MLS will be able to look back and track growth of players who ultimately achieve an elite level. 'You can now take that information, extrapolate it across the entire player pool, and start to identify more Aidan Morrisons, Benjamin Cremaschis," Robles said. "We use those examples because they went through the full cycle, where they were at an elite academy. So when you look at a player who might have been in an elite academy first, who makes the move to an MLS Academy, who then goes the pathway of the homegrown and is now playing for the first team, you start to pull back those layers and look under the hood, and we haven't been able to do that." MLS' U15, U16, U17 and U19 players will continue to be ranked by traditional standings. 'We still want to prioritize developing those players to be better professionals over just developing teams that win trophies,' Robles said. 'I want more of those players to be in college with the prospect of going pro. I want more of those players getting a chance to represent our country at the national or international level.' Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.
