Hoping a moderator can pull some relevant posts out of the following threads: - Nick Sakiewicz on KYW News Radio podcast - Trade and Acquisition Rumors - Links and Highlights If not, this thread can serve as the location for discussion of Union youth development initiatives, youth player analysis, and results going forward.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread It is actually 12 months, according to this article by Brian Lewis: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/soccerblog/mls_expands_roster_loosens_academy_ZMR4yz1khl7pKIAykE3wXN The money quote: "Now, players registered for at least 12 months in an MLS youth program become eligible to sign a professional contract with that team without entering the MLS SuperDraft. That's a significant loosening of the rule..."
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Here's the lineup for the game against Columbus in the SUM U-17 Cup: Philadelphia Union -- Zack Steffan, Jonathan Wenger, John Kumher, Benhamin Kennel, Joseph Raymond, Zack Shiposh, Mike Gonzalez, Jimmy McLaughlin, Zach Pfeffer, Melvin Snoh, Chris Sommerville. Subs: Christian Kascheck 50, Ryan Bertrando 51. Philadelphia scored an early goal through Melvin Snoh, gave up a late goal, and lost in penalty kicks. Full recap available here: http://www.houstondynamo.com/news/2010/07/sum-u-17-cup-day-1-recap
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Not sure. Perhaps he's been injured. He's certainly been listed in all the previews for the tournament as one to watch, which makes sense given his national team experience. One example (http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2010/07/union-u-17s-set-kickoff-sum-u-17-cup): "Headlining the squad is Alex Shinsky..."
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Good to know--pretty sure it used to be 24 months. I wish these regulations were actually published somewhere.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread I'm pretty certain you're correct. It would be nice if we can piece together some of these rules because I doubt we'll get something comprehensive any time soon.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Young Zolo's lost to Seattle 2-1. Jimmy McLaughlin is playing well. Melvin Snoh scored. http://www.houstondynamo.com/news/2010/07/sum-u-17-cup-day-2-recap
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Thanks for the link/update. Slight correction. Snoh scored in the first game. Colin O'Neill had the Union goal in this game.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Apparently, this young fellow is highly regarded. He is listed as the second best collegiate prospect on Top Drawed Soccer for what that is worth. Hopefully, this is someone that we can have with our academy for 12 months and claim as a homegrown player. FC Delco claims to be the 10th ranked youth soccer club in the nation, and there are a number of Delco players in Top Drawer Soccer's list. Great feeder club for the Union.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread It is a top notch facility with professional coaches, so that isn't cheap. Maybe there is a way that quality players can earn scholarships through Philadelphia Union if they can't afford the fees. They could allocate money to needy players to put them on the best travel programs local to them. By doing this, they might be able to lock them into some kind of right of first refusal for their U17 squad.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Some tidbits to keep in mind from this article about recent changes in the league structure: http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2010/04/12/the-sweeper-home-grown-profit-in-mls/ - MLS teams have 24 roster spots with 2 additional spots for homegrown players signed from the youth academy. If we don't sign players to fill these spots, we'll likely have less depth than our competitors. Given our current open roster spots, maybe the team doesn't see this as a big deal. Obviously a team competing deep in the Open Cup, Concacaf Champions League, and playoffs needs more depth. - 3/4 of the transfer fee for homegrown players who are sold will now be kept by the team that developed the talent. 1/4 will go to the league. From another article: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-...e-from-24-to-26-to-promote-home-grown-players - MLS clubs are required to offer at least one U-16 and one U-18 team within the Development Academy League. Don't know how long the team will have to comply with this requirement. Frankly, it makes Nick's comments about the team not planning to field teams in the USSDA even more confusing.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread And this is one of the major problems with the current youth soccer setup in our country. It's one of the major areas in which I am hopeful that MLS teams setting up academies can help remedy.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread dulliwhig, I understand what you are saying. It's just that the last kid I knew on FC Delco had to pay 100s of dollars in non-training equipment: kit bags, jackets, etc. That kind of stuff is not essential to learning to play.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread The Chicago Fire are the first MLS team to win USSDA national title: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/commentary-chicago-have-formula-academy-success
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Not like the academy league title has been contended all that long, so no wonder it's the first MLS team to win it. More impressive to me is that Columbus Crew Jr's became first MLS youth team to win the U19 National Championship. Unfortunately for Union fans they won that at the expense of FC Delco.
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Per the twitter feed, the youth team beat FC Dallas 1-0 and finished in third place in their group (behind Columbus and Seattle): https://twitter.com/Union2010
Re: Union Youth Development Thread Recap for the 3rd game in the SUM Cup now available. Darius Madison scored on a feed from Jimmy McLaughlin. http://www.houstondynamo.com/news/2010/07/sum-u-17-cup-day-3-recap
Re: Union Youth Development Thread The Philly Juniors program is run at the moment by Rich Graham out of his complex at YSC, and I believe he is funding the entire operation. Before the Union jump into the USSDA I would not be surprised if the first start to build camps, tournaments etc to try to make it self-funded and not a financial lodestone on the neck of the mothership.