A Day at MLS Next

Much has been said about MLS NEXT and the impact it will have on future generations of players coming out of the United States. While the benefits might only be visible years down the line, photographer Cody Cervenka went to the MLS NEXT Flex youth tournament at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, MD to see what the hype was all about. 

What was it like to cover such a big event? How many teams were there, and how many kids?

I think there were 256 teams, and they had about 24 different fields open for these games. It was five days long, and there were five time slots each day – except for one day that had four. They were running games on each field at every time slot, so there was a lot of soccer being played. It was U-15 through U-19, and this tournament was the deciding factor going into the MLS NEXT Cup which will be in a couple of weeks at the end of June.

Did you cover every team?

Yeah, the goal was to cover every team at least once, so I was definitely very busy during the week.

Since you got to photograph every age group, did you see any progression in terms of quality as you climbed up the groups?

I think side-by-side, there’s definitely a difference. At that level of youth soccer, though, the technical part was the same across all ages. The only thing that separated them in my opinion was just their size and their speed. Everybody was unbelievably technically proficient. It was surprising how entertaining the soccer was and how high the standard was set. It wasn’t only about playing, though, but also about how they interacted with their teammates, the coaches, and the refs. It was like watching pro soccer.

With the introduction of MLS NEXT, there’s been a lot of questions about what the development of these players will look like and whether it will be a good path for youth players to follow. After seeing this tournament, what do you think?

I don’t want to act like I’m an expert when it comes to this stuff. But we all know how the pay-to-play system has typically marginalized a lot of good players that could be coming out of our country. For this type of tournament, I’m not exactly sure what the barriers of entry are, and the logistics behind participating in MLS NEXT. As far as the level of soccer, though, these kids are very, very good. I’ve shot a lot of soccer since I started photography – from professional to semi-pro to amateur, youth, and rec, and everything in between – and honestly, I don’t remember enjoying the soccer as much as I did at this tournament.

How did the kids feel in that environment where it seems like everything is more professional, and they’re even getting their photos taken to go all over social media?

One of the best things to see was how emotionally invested all the kids were. As soon as they’d see me with my green pennie, they knew where I was and would always go over to get celebration shots or photos with their teammates. They were very involved and super comfortable in front of the camera. It’s maybe this new generation that has grown up with social media. They knew where the camera was, and they embraced it. They’re stars in the making.  

What was the overall atmosphere of the tournament? What did you think of how it was organized and the whole vibe of the event?

I think this could be considered one of the premier youth tournaments in America. You can tell MLS is doing its best to make the atmosphere feel that way. They had MLS NEXT boards around all the fields, the corner flags had the MLS NEXT logo, and they had branded canopies over the all benches– there was just a lot of branding. They even had a merch station too. It was still a youth tournament, but because of the money and the effort that was put into the organization, you could tell that it was just a prime event. Logistically, it also worked out really well, and I think everything ran smoothly throughout those five days.

One thing I also appreciated was that there was not really any fighting, time-wasting, or consistent fouling. The kids clearly just wanted to play and let the ball do the talking, which was great to see. They just wanted to be there and play.

Was there one moment from that whole week that stood out to you?

Honestly, the very last game I shot was very cool. It was Inter Miami against the Colorado Rapids, and they tied so they went to penalties. For context: at the tournament if the score was level at the end of regulation, they would go straight to a shootout, winner of the shootout getting two points and the loser taking one point. So in this case, they went to penalties, and the Inter Miami lower age groups were watching the game from the sidelines. They started taking their kicks from the spot, and it went down to the last penalty kick. The Miami keeper saved it, and all the kids went wild. The ones from the lower age groups stormed the field and started throwing water bottles in the air and running up to me for photos. It was super fun to capture that moment and see them get so hype. It was awesome to see all of the age groups celebrate together under one badge and take that to heart.

What are your final takeaways from the tournament?

I was just surprised at the level of soccer and the level of professionalism that they held themselves at. In the past, I’d never considered or inquired about shooting an academy match or attending as a fan, but the product on the field is entertaining enough for that to happen. You think they are just kids and you compare them to the pros and might think it won’t be as fun, but it definitely is. Yes, they are kids, but in the end, you get the feeling that many of them are gonna go pro and do incredible things at high levels, and most of them are at least going to be getting good DI offers. It’s exciting to see all that talent because we have the World Cup coming soon, and there’s so much hope for the future. Soccer is in good hands.

Photography by Cody Cervenka.