Where does it all begin?

So now you are probably asking, where does this journey from college to the pros begin? There is a simple answer, youth club soccer. I don't care who you are or where you grow up, if you want to get seen in our current developmental system you've got to be playing on a solid club side. High school soccer is nice, but the coaches are often poorly if not untrained. High school gives the kids additional competitive games but the real action goes down during the club season and on the weekends. The big youth soccer clubs have big budgets, highly trained coaches and draw kids from entire regions. To get into a good college program, the Olympic Development Program (ODP), or the US National Team Residency program, you've got to play on a competitive soccer club...and you better start at a young age to make sure you learn all you can.

Soccer America publishes a ranking of the top clubs in the country. Here they are for 2006:
1 Chicago Magic (Ill.)
2 Dallas Texans (Texas)
3 Sockers FC (Ill.)
4 Arsenal FC (Calif.)
5 FC Delco (Pa.)
6 Scott Gallagher (Mo.)
7 So Cal United (Calif.)
8 Casa Mia's Bays (Md.)
9 FC Greater Boston (Mass.)
10 Washington FC Premier (Wash.)
11 Sereno SC (Ariz.)
12 Crossfire Premier (Wash.)
13 Nomads (Calif.)
14 HC United (Fla.)
15 CASL Elite (N.C.)
16 Irvine Strikers (Calif.)
17 Concorde Fire (Ga.)
18 Solar (Texas)
19 Potomac SA (Md.)
20 Colorado Rush Nike (Colo.)
20 Pateadores (Calif.)