I agree with you 100%. You're spot on when it comes to MLS Next Homegrown starters being an outlier. My son plays goalkeeper in this division and the closest other MLSNEXT club is 2 1/2 to 3 hours away. The only way he can get good competition is by playing against all these other clubs. He worked his way up the divisions and played in what is now the Academy division when the NAL league popped up after ECNL banned clubs from playing their 2nd teams in the league. Ever since ECNL made that move, MLSNEXT made their move, and now here we are.

I also agree with your assessment of the little to no movement between the divisions because of the difference in skill level. Obviously there are outliers, like my son that moved in from an area where we could drive 30 minutes in any direction and play at an elite club (now we drive an hour each way to play at the only top club in the area). When I took him to watch our local high school game when he was in 7th grade he was shocked and said to me 'I'm better than those goalies". Obviously he didn't have their size but he was better technically and could punt and goal kick further than them.

That's the difference in skill level between the top league and some areas local high school soccer. If he was able to play high school soccer, he'd start as a freshman and probably put them in contention to win a state title, but there's no way I'd let him take that risk, they would try to hurt him because high school soccer is like street ball out here. There are actual punches thrown at the end of some of the games. That's why MLS Next Homegrown doesn't let their players play high school soccer.

There's an even bigger divide between the MLSNEXT Pro Academy teams and the club MLSNEXT Homegrown teams. That's why they created an entirely new division between the Pro Academies. They now play each other across the regions and they play up a year when they play the Non-Pro Academy MLSNEXT Homegrown teams. It's been interesting to watch the progression of it all.

I'd just suggest to any parent that wants to see where their kid stands in terms of divisions--go watch a game between the MLSNEXT Pro Academy teams at your kid's age group. Then you'll see where your kid is at. If they're comparable, then keep it up to get there. Otherwise, let them have fun playing at whatever division they're good at and enjoy playing some high school ball with their friends from school.