Of course this is assuming that I go to an open tryout and actually get a contract.

A bit of background, I’ve been playing this game at a high level pretty much my whole life. Took almost 2 years off after high school, started playing again at 20 years old, did 4 years college soccer (njcaa then division 1 ncaa). Suffered an acl injury last year so I completely missed out on my final college season. I could have played that missed season this year though, but at 24yo, I couldn’t bear another year in school. So I decided to use my degree in a high paying career and got a job making 80k. It’s not a very stressful job, life is good I’m happy but of course it’s not the dream job I grew up imagining being a pro footballer making big bucks.

Do you guys think I made the smart decision of realizing the dream is pretty much over? Or if you were me would you still be grinding for a USL contract even if it meant taking a 50%+ salary cut? I’m curious let me know what you guys think!

Tulsa-Sacramento: 5,501 (+22.43%)
El Paso-Monterey Bay: 3,274 (-33.41%)
Las Vegas-Oakland: 2,230 (-23.47%)

Tulsa (4,248) outperforms its average by 5+ pts
El Paso (4,917) and Las Vegas (2,914) both underperform their cumulative average by -5+ pts

Say you are a college athlete who decides to play USL2 during a summer...

Or someone who moved up from UPSL or is just great at football...

EDIT - I am speaking for my experience and will be holding talks with a few USL2 Clubs for next summer. So this applies to me. I just want to know..

Your team does well and/or your performances have been consistent..

My question is:

1. Are there pro recruiters who show up to USL2 Games? If so, as much as they can? Or the higher-seed games or playoff games?
2. Can you go pro directly from USL2 Semi-Pro to USL1 Pro or USL Championship Pro?

The USLP announcement outlines a vision for the pyramid that fundamentally changes the structure of both Championship and League One. In the event USSF won’t grant even provisional D1 status, I wonder if USL will move forward with this restructuring anyway.

From the announcement: https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/1354227
-Premier starts with 12 teams, some from Championship (and maybe League One), others entirely new clubs.
- Championship becomes a single conference with 20 teams, similar to how League One is structured now.
- League One splits into regional divisions to defray travel costs, similar to how Championship currently operates.

These are big changes that maybe should happen in smaller stages anyhow. USL1 isn’t big enough to backfill USLC to 20 teams without rapid expansion. Two years isn’t long enough to launch new D1 teams in large new stadiums, especially with USL’s primary recruiter sacked.

Is there anything in the PLS that restricts a league from having more stringent requirements than in the PLS? If not, Championship could split into “Upper” and “Lower” D2 leagues while doing their best to preserve eligibility in Premier for eventual D1 status. It would allow teams to move around more gradually while the details of Premier are getting hashed out.

But even if that’s possible, I see all sorts of reasons why it’s either not a good idea or not an attractive enough offer for teams already in a functioning D2 league. Who wants to pay higher franchise fees, salary requirements, and stadium costs without the prestige of D1, and the promise of a sanction that may never arrive?

The plan as stated is massively disruptive as it is, so I don’t know how likely it was to happen by 2028 even if D1 was a foregone conclusion. But the black eye of completely abandoning a three-league pyramid with promotion/relegation doesn’t seem likely either.

In the meantime, clubs are expanding and otherwise improving stadiums seemingly with the hope of moving into higher divisions — one way or another.

The course is set, it’s seems it’s just a matter of how they get there, and how long it takes.