MLS Next creating issues for boys' soccer in Delaware

DOVER — It’s not difficult to see the disparity.

In Delaware high school boys’ soccer, 43 of the last 50 state champions have been from private schools.

That includes 22 titles won by Salesianum and 11 captured by St. Mark’s.

So when something comes along that seems to tilt the playing field even more in favor of the state’s private schools, public school coaches aren’t too happy.

That something is MLS Next.

The program is an initiative of Major League Soccer to provide clubs for elite young soccer players around the country.

The problem is that MLS Next’s policy is that the players on its top-level clubs can’t play for their high school teams.

There is one major exception, however.

Private school players can receive a waiver from their MLS Next club if their acceptance into the school was based upon them playing for the school’s team.

In a big state, where private and public schools don’t play for the same state championship, that might not be as big an issue.

But in a small state like Delaware, it’s a different story.

So when Sallies beat Cape Henlopen, 4-2, in the DIAA Division I state finals last November, the Vikings were missing one of their best players. He hadn’t played all season because of his MLS Next club commitment.

The Sals, on the other hand, were thought to have as many as five players in the contest who had been granted waivers by their MLS Next clubs.

Cape Henlopen coach Patrick Kilby isn’t saying the Vikings definitely would have won the game if they had their best players. But he believes both squads should have been playing by the same rules.

“The longer this goes on .... the rules just don’t seem fair,” he said.

‘All or none’

Other public schools have been impacted. Caesar Rodney coach Dwayne Lavender said he was missing three of his top players last fall because they were on MLS Next squads.

“It should be all or none,” said Lavender. “If that’s the stance they’re going to have, then no players affiliated with MLS Next’s top teams can play for any high school in the state of Delaware.

“If it’s not all or none, then it becomes a ‘have, have-not’ kind of thing. It just creates, I think, more of an unfair advantage for programs in the high school season.”

The situation isn’t always clear cut, though.

The DIAA’s stance has been that it can’t get directly involved because the players and their families are voluntarily deciding to play for MLS Next. Whether they can also play for school team is up to MLS Next.

But it gets a little trickier.

One of the reasons that private school players can be granted a waiver by their MLS Next club is if they are receiving financial aid from the school — and that aid is contingent upon them playing for their school team.

If players are admitting that they were accepted into a school and/or are receiving financial aid explicitly so they compete for the school, that could put their athletic eligibility in Delaware in question.

DIAA executive director Dave Baylor said there have been conversations about the MLS Next situation. But, so far, he said no one has come forward with any evidence of DIAA rules being broken.

“It’s something that we’re keeping an eye on,” said Baylor. “And it’s something that, if we receive the necessary information, we will hold those who are in violation accountable.”

The DIAA has already been asked by the state legislature to look into whether its state tournaments should be separated into private and public school tourneys.

Some coaches say the MLS Next policy should be one more reason to separate the soccer tournaments.

Tough choices for the players

The coaches say they understand the predicament that the players find themselves in. Asking a teenager to choose between his high school team and a potentially big opportunity with MLS Next isn’t easy.

The players still go to school and often still work out with their high school teammates.

“When I look at it from an American soccer coach’s standpoint, it’s like, who wouldn’t want to play for their hometown high school team?” said Kilby.

“There’s a lot of pride in that, whatever sport you play.

“And then when they say, you can’t do that, you can only do this, let’s face it, they’re kids. They’re going to be torn. High school is where you can play with your friends and the people you grew up with.”

“MLS Next creates a whole other opportunity for them, I get it,” said Lavender. “You’re showcasing top talent all across the country. If I’m a college coach and I can go to an MLS Next showcase or come watch a high school game in Delaware, I’m probably going to the MLS Next showcase and watch all the top players play against each other. I understand that.

“But it’s not about that. It’s about representing your school and your community and a sense of pride on building pride from where you went to high school. Kids are missing out on that and I don’t think that’s right.”

While Kilby said the players chosen for MLS Next deserve a lot of credit for their ability and work ethic, he said he thinks such a program will take its toll on high school soccer in the state as a whole.

“We’re such a small state that pulling the top 10% out of the high school programs, it hurts us,” he said. “It hurts more than just a handful of teams.”

With nothing really having changed since last fall, Lavender thinks the MLS Next issue will have an impact in Delaware again this season. He thinks more people in the state should be concerned about it.

“Me and some other coaches have talked about it,” he said. “We’re all like, ‘This isn’t right.’ It’s kind of got pushed to the side. I think we’re kind of back to where we were last fall.”