Trying out for MLS is a no-no for high school soccer players

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Five boys soccer players in the Bay Area were recently ruled ineligible by the CIF state office after taking part in an MLS tryout, and there’s a chance more players were involved.

This likely will result in their teams having to forfeit games.

CIF Executive Director Marie Ishida ruled that the players, by participating in a tryout, had violated CIF Bylaw 213-D, which states that high school players cannot participate ‘in any tryout for a professional team in any CIF approved sport’ from Sept. 15 to June 15 unless the player has written approval from the school’s principal and the tryout has no more than five players.

Consider this a very friendly warning, folks, since Carson-based Chivas USA will soon be holding a tryout of its own. Expected to take place on Dec. 21, it is an invitation-only tryout for mostly college and high school players. If you’re a high school player who received an invitation, you might want to reconsider.

I predict more case like this, and potential problems with the Developmental Academy, will come up as soccer continues to grow.

One of the best parts about sports in this country is that they go hand-in-hand with school. That’s not the case in most of the rest of the world. As soccer attempts to keep up, especially youth soccer, more and more players will be faced with the questions: school or soccer? Word Cup gold or high school championships?

-- Jaime Cardenas

-- Image from www.soccer-game-information.com