Marcos: The initial SYL schedule is put together so that it is completed by the time college players must report for the start of the fall seasons. The same is done for high school players who compete in the fall and who have even more time before the start of their respective seasons. Just as American Legion baseball allows players to compete in the summer months, so will the SYL, which provides an opportunity for top players to sharpen their skills before the regular fall soccer season begins.

But we take this opportunity to emphasize that, as America becomes more entrenched with developing soccer as we are seeing now, players like the rest of the world, there will come a time when elite level youth players must make a choice between playing scholastic soccer and preparing for a professional career. As top-level youth players are identified at an earlier age, parents of serious players who have the opportunity to train at higher levels, must help their youngsters think through the benefits of playing on a scholastic team vs. entering the early stages of a professional career. Ultimately, the player will have to choose between these diverging pathways of opportunity.

Weibe: There is a heavy focus on scholastic soccer in this country at the high school level. In some cases, a player will chose their scholastic team over their National Team. Most clubs agree that scholastic soccer is not the best environment for the elite level player. Club programs have proved to be the best outlet to develop players. There are few coaches in any college and professional program who are scouting high school games to recruit players. If they are looking for players, they are watching the club level teams and networking with the coaching staff of these clubs. Through our resources and internet capabilities, we will establish a very strong coaching network system between collegiate, amateur and professional organizations. We will work in 2003 on developing a parent and player education guide on player development and the difference between scholastic and club programs. I'm not saying get rid of scholastic soccer. It serves a purpose, but not for the elite level player.