The Question: Is This the Beginning of the End for High School Soccer in Maine?

The United States Soccer Federation provoked reactions throughout American youth soccer circles late last week, when it announced that clubs participating in its U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USDA) will be transitioning to a 10-month schedule beginning this fall and that players participating in the USDA will no longer be able to play for both their USDA clubs and their high schools.

Amid the various debating points and virtual arguments, though, one thing is clear: High school soccer throughout the United States will look different beginning this fall. The question is, How different will it look here in Maine?

From my perspective, not much different--at least in the short-term.

That's because if a Maine soccer player were to participate in the USDA, he would most likely play for Seacoast United. As of today, though, neither the U-16 nor the U-18 Seacoast United Development Academy teams have a Mainer on their rosters. So--for this fall at least--there don't appear to be any upperclassmen here in Maine who will be forced to choose between playing for club or for city.

In the long run, though, the USDA's new 10-month schedule will no doubt have an effect on high school soccer here in Maine.

Obviously, the conflict will become more apparent when Mainers represent a USDA team at that level. However, a more subtle--but consequential--point: Even though the USSF's new policy applies only to the 78 club teams participating in the Development Academy, I wouldn't be surprised if other competitive premier clubs not affiliated with the USDA adopt a similar policy of exclusivity. And its these ripple effects that could cause the shift of some of the better players in the state playing exclusively for his club side.

So, even though the short-term impact of the new policy seems neglible and pretty small, the long-term impact could be a big one for high school soccer in Maine. The complementary relationship between high school soccer and club soccer has been debated for about the last decade now, and last week's news could very well signal the end of that symbiotic relationship.

- John C.L. Morgan

The Question

The Question: Should Maine High School Soccer Adopt a Promotion/Relegation Format?

As most of us know, the classification of high school soccer teams (and other high school sports) in Maine is based on the various high schools' enrollment numbers, instead of the strength of a soccer program at a particular school.

The question to debate, then, is this: Should high school soccer adopt a promotion/relegation system so that the classification of programs has more to do with the strength of a soccer program than it does the number of students enrolled at a school?

To put this hypothetical question into concrete terms, the 16-team Western Class 'A'* classification would relegate two teams** per season to Western Class 'B,' and Western Class 'B' would promote two teams to Western Class 'A.' Based on results from this year, for example, Bonny Eagle and Biddeford would drop to Western Class 'B,' while the two regional finalists from Western 'B'--Falmouth and York--would be promoted to Western 'A.'

What are the pros and the cons of such an idea? What would the promotion and relegation format look like exactly? And if the pros overwhelmingly outweight the cons, what are the chances for something like this actually ever happening?

- John C.L. Morgan

* Cape Elizabeth and Greely, two teams that are included in the Western Class 'A' Heal Points rankings and tourney despite playing a Western Class 'B' regular season schedule, have been inserted into the Western Class 'B' Heal Points rankings for the sake of this thought experiment.

** The number of teams relegated and promoted is based on the Barclays Premier League's policy of 15% (or 3 of 20) of its teams being relegated to the Championship League.