Beadling Soccer Question

[mike412]

In the last 24 hours, Beadling posted pictures on Twitter of 23 different members of its men’s and women’s soccer teams signing with colleges. Mostly women and mostly not big time programs, but an impressive number. And, there were at least 3 signings with major programs (WVU men, Michigan State and Kentucky women).

To me, that is a pretty impressive accomplishment. Have they always been that successful getting their players at least partial college scholarships? Does this signify the growth of youth soccer in Western PA?

Anyone know if Pitt was interested in any of these players?

 

[Fk_Pitt]

In the last 24 hours, Beadling posted pictures on Twitter of 23 different members of its men’s and women’s soccer teams signing with colleges. Mostly women and mostly not big time programs, but an impressive number. And, there were at least 3 signings with major programs (WVU men, Michigan State and Kentucky women).

To me, that is a pretty impressive accomplishment. Have they always been that successful getting their players at least partial college scholarships? Does this signify the growth of youth soccer in Western PA?

Anyone know if Pitt was interested in any of these players?

I would argue that the talent isn’t better. Beadling used to be the most dominant club locally because they were the only big fish in town. The problem was that there was the stigma that western pa soccer wasn’t any good. And due to geography, there wasn’t a clear path to the P5/P6 for local players. So the best players still went D1…just mid majors and not ACC/SEC/B1G.

When my 1st daughter came through, only the elite of the the elite were going to PSU, Virginia, WVU and to a lesser extent Pitt (before Waldrum). Yet, I truly believe that her Beadling team was one of the last 2 elite local teams to come through the area. The other team was Joe’s niece’s Beadling team. Both of those teams had 15-17 of 18 girls go Division 1. But a large majority of the girls on those teams went the mid major route. I contend that those two teams would have had several P5 players if ECNL/GA was around then. Those girls would compete and beat teams from other areas loaded with P5 talent. They were special groups who were more talented than the players now. But our girls were all underrecruited. Getting a scholarship to Duquesne, or a MAC school was a big deal. Those were the schools that could consistently scout those players. A perfect example of that would be Landy Mertz. She, like many of the top local players, went to a mid major. In her case it was Dayton. Then the waldrums arrived and brought her home to Pitt. Emily Yaple was one of the 5-6 most talented players in her age group and she committed to buffalo. The others went to mid majors. The waldrums arrived in town and flipped her. For whatever reason, they arrived in town without the bias about western PA that the rest of the soccer world had. The other players had an opportunity to play at Pitt too because the Waldrums were committed to the local talent, but Pitt was their only major offers due to bias and lack of exposure outside of Pittsburgh. They all went the mid major route (Waldrum was still trying to reset his roster that had too much money committed to Miller era players so players took more money elsewhere) so those other players went mid major. And now you see how Yaple and Mertz have had success playing in the ACC.

But now with the ECNL and GA, the showcases and pathways have changed because of the added exposure the teams and players are getting. Now the good players who were getting offers from the Mac and A10 are now getting offers from Pitt, Purdue, Mich St, Kentucky, etc.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

It is far easier for girls to get those big offers from P5/P6. Men, so much more difficult.
My daughter’s club in TN, that plays against Riverhounds ECNL, our commitments include, Tennessee 4, Kentucky 2, Arkansas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, ETSU 4, MTSU, Tennessee Tech 7, Butler, Dayton 2, Charleston, and many others
Our boys might have 2 D1.
Pittsburgh has had good soccer and with the impact of ECNL and GA exposure is huge. Riverhounds a few years ago sent an entire team to solid d1, and most recently a player to UNC. Pitt now hitting local clubs there more than ever.
Much easier for girls, glad my kid isn’t a boy trying to compete for pro or D1.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

It is far easier for girls to get those big offers from P5/P6. Men, so much more difficult.
My daughter’s club in TN, that plays against Riverhounds ECNL, our commitments include, Tennessee 4, Kentucky 2, Arkansas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, ETSU 4, MTSU, Tennessee Tech 7, Butler, Dayton 2, Charleston, and many others
Our boys might have 2 D1.
Pittsburgh has had good soccer and with the impact of ECNL and GA exposure is huge. Riverhounds a few years ago sent an entire team to solid d1, and most recently a player to UNC. Pitt now hitting local clubs there more than ever.
Much easier for girls, glad my kid isn’t a boy trying to compete for pro or D1.

I forgot about the UNC player. That’s a good example. Thats a girl who went there as a freshman and started. The big schools would have found her regardless. But these girls coming out now and going to Mich St, Kentucky, Purdue, etc., they’re nice players. I know, I’ve coached them and coached against them. But these girls if they came through 5-10 years ago, would have been playing at places like St Francis, or Ohio U, or Robert Morris.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

No. Every player on the top teams at Beadling and Century play college soccer and probably 5-6 play D1. Women's soccer is very good around here. On the boy's side, most also play in college but maybe only 1-2 per team play D1. Much harder to go D1 in men's soccer than women's, especially around here.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

et, I truly believe that her Beadling team was one of the last 2 elite local teams to come through the area. The other team was Joe’s niece’s Beadling team. Both of those teams had 15-17 of 18 girls go Division 1. But a large majority of the girls on those teams went the mid major route.

Yeah, my niece's team had only one or two players that didn't play D1, and they had a few that went to high majors. A couple of the players who went to mid-majors easily could have played at a higher level, given how their college careers went.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

Not to be the fly in the ointment, but D-1 soccer isn’t comparable to D-1 football in terms of quality. Yes, US soccer is improving, but there remains a quality gap between the teams playing a “higher level” D-1 schedule and other D-1 teams.

Anyone needing evidence of this can look at the rosters of the better D-1 teams and see the number of foreign players who are playing for those teams.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

@mike412 there is a thread on one of the pay boards about youth soccer, and it prompted me to look up the D1 signings for 2023.

From what I can tell, Beadling had 9, Century had 11, and riverhounds had 9. So a total of 29 it appears.

Used to be Beadling would have 90% of them, and that number would have been 14-20 for western PA total. Now the number has swelled to approx 30 with the arrival of Riverhounds on the local level and with the ascension of Century to essentially the same level.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

@mike412 there is a thread on one of the pay boards about youth soccer, and it prompted me to look up the D1 signings for 2023.

From what I can tell, Beadling had 9, Century had 11, and riverhounds had 9. So a total of 29 it appears.

Used to be Beadling would have 90% of them, and that number would have been 14-20 for western PA total. Now the number has swelled to approx 30 with the arrival of Riverhounds on the local level and with the ascension of Century to essentially the same level.

On the girls side only. I should have been clear.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

On the girls side only. I should have been clear.

Interesting. 29 girls. That seems like a lot but about what I figured. If you start for Beadling or Century, you are pretty much D1 (Riverhounds not as familiar with). What about on the boys side? I would guess 5.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Interesting. 29 girls. That seems like a lot but about what I figured. If you start for Beadling or Century, you are pretty much D1 (Riverhounds not as familiar with). What about on the boys side? I would guess 5.

You mean 5 total in western PA? That could be right.