In this instructional video, the host outlines the four-tier youth soccer pyramid in Southern California and explains how each tier relates to college soccer recruiting. Tier 4 consists of the SoCal Development League (with divisions Discovery, Champions, Flight One, Flight Two, Flight Three) and the Coast Soccer League (Premier, Gold, Silver Elite, Silver, Bronze). Players at this level receive little to no attention from college coaches; they must proactively seek exposure through college ID camps, showcases, and by moving to higher tiers. Tier 3 includes the ECNL Region League and the Boys Elite Academy League, which still offer limited visibility on paper. Tier 1 comprises ECNL and MLS Next, the primary talent pools that college coaches scout. To be considered for Division I, a player must be on a top‑level ECNL or MLS Next team and ideally have youth national team experience. The video stresses the importance of early recruiting efforts, personal outreach (emails, calls), and strategic planning to increase scholarship chances. The host also offers personalized services to help players develop a plan to move up tiers, navigate ID camps, and communicate effectively with college programs.
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To play Division I, you need to be on the top level girls or boys ECNL team, or you have to be at the top level MLS NEXT team. Welcome back to Zev Football TV, where I help you become a college soccer player. So today what we're going to talk about is the youth soccer pyramid that we have here in the United States, specifically in Southern California. So there are 4 main tiers, and I'm going to start from the bottom to the top and explain why you need to know these tiers in order to play college soccer. So Tier 4 is SoCal Development League and Coast Soccer League. Starting with SoCal Development League, there are tiers within this league. The top tier is Discovery, the second tier is Champions, then you have the third tier which is Flight One, fourth tier Flight Two, and fifth tier Flight Three. That is in the SoCal Development League. You then have Co-Soccer League, and here you have the Premier Division, Gold, Silver Elite, Silver, and Bronze. What you need to understand is if you're playing in these leagues in Southern California, but this can also relate, of course, if you're playing outside of California because there are other tiers just like this. What you need to understand is that if you want to play college soccer, these teams are not being viewed at by any college teams. They're not coming to watch you. They don't really care if you win or lose at this level. Maybe if you're the top, top team in the Premier Division or the Discovery Division, but really, even then, College coaches are not coming to watch you if you play in these divisions. Now, on paper, if you play in these divisions, not only are the college coaches not coming to watch you, they have determined that you are not good enough for Division I and most likely Division II college soccer. If you're playing in Discovery or the Premier Division, perhaps there's an opportunity at Division III. Now, remember what I just said there. I said on paper. So it does not mean that you are not capable of playing even Division I college soccer, but on paper, according to the system, you're not a college soccer player. And the reason this is is because there are so many players, college coaches don't have the means to go to every single level. So of course they go to what the system has deemed the top level in order to pick their talent. And of course that does make sense just from a time perspective. Now, if you play in this Tier 4 section here, SoCal Development League or Coast Soccer League, the way for you to play college soccer is you have to move up to the tiers I'm going to talk about in this video, and you need to get yourself, either your teams to college showcases, which is very difficult if you play in this tier, or I should say and/or playing at college ID camps. College ID camps are really important, and I have another video if you click here that talks about the importance of college ID camps. I want you to understand that if you play at this level, the colleges are not coming to you. You have to go to them. You have to go to college ID camps, and most importantly, you really need to leave this division. This is also why I talk about starting the college soccer process early, because by the time you're 16, you need to be out of this level. If not, you're going to be having a very difficult time finding a college soccer team of any level, including Division I, II, III, and NAIA. Now to the next tier, we then have girls and boys ECNL Region League. Region is a keyword there. These are considered to be in the elite club regional league. Now you also have boys elite academy league. I know it's complicated. I'm here to make it simpler. This is Tier 3, Tier 2 in this section here. If you're playing in this league, it's still very unlikely that you're going to be playing college soccer on paper. Doesn't mean you're not good enough, but on paper, college teams are not coming to consider you if you're in the ECNL Region League or Boys Elite Academy League. This is just the nature of the beast here. In the US soccer system. So what I really want you guys to understand is it's so important to get to what we're going to talk about now, which is Tier 1. Tier 1 consists of ECNL and MLS Next. These teams are what colleges are looking at. And to be even more specific, this— if you're playing ECNL or MLS Next, on paper you have a chance to play Division 3. That's what that means. It doesn't mean you have a chance to play Division 1. To play Division 1, you need to be on the top level girls or boys ECNL team, or you have to be at the top level MLS Next team. If you want to go to the best schools in the country, the UCLA, the Wake Forest, the Maryland, the Stanfords, of course you need a great GPA as well, but you need to be playing for the youth national team, or at the very least one of the best MLS Next academies or best ECNL academies in the country. Otherwise, they are not only not coming to you, even if you go to them and you say I'm playing MLS next, they still won't necessarily consider you on paper. This is why I find it so important that you take in charge of your college soccer recruiting process because you need to reach out to them. You may be Stanford level, you may be UCLA level, but unless you play well at the right time in front of the right coaches, you are not going to be seen by any of these teams. Yes, the College ID Camp is not a perfect system, either are the showcases, but you don't have a choice. This is how it works. Now let's say you've seen this video and you go, wow, I'm still playing at the 4th tier. I'm playing in SoCal Development League, Coast Soccer League, and you've determined I really want to play college soccer. That's when you give me a call. That's where I help you figure out a plan so we can make it possible for you to move up the ranks to play for higher level teams. And also, when you go to the college ID camps and you go to the showcases, I can help you either draft an email, make a phone call, and figure out a game plan to best increase your chances to get noticed by these college soccer teams. Now, if you're playing in the second tier, The same rule applies because they're not really looking at you, and you're going to need a plan, a specific plan. Lastly, if you're in Tier 1 and you're playing ECNL and MLS NEXT, I can help you the most if you're at this level because at this level, on paper, you are deemed college soccer potential. Not college soccer ready, but college soccer potential. So now when we contact schools with the strategy I hope to develop with you, we can be sure to get answers from schools so that way we can attract as much attention as possible and then hopefully earn you a full scholarship. This is very important in the college soccer system. Thank you guys so much for listening to this video. Please like and subscribe, like the video, because it really helps me and more importantly we all love Dialgo and we all do it for Dialgo. Thanks guys, talk soon.
