By the way, the team already announces how some of the youth teams are doing on their facebook and twitter postings.
The system and surrounding players explain some of his poor form, but definitely not all of it. A porous offensive line caused many of his problems. However, I had season tix this year and watched him one-hop, or over-throw, the ball to plenty of receivers in the flat when he was under no pressure at all. He didn't look anything like the player I was hoping he'd be and I'm glad he was benched. He's a gracious and classy pro, but he was hurting the Redskins. If he's still here next year (which I doubt very much) I hope he can show us all that 2010 was a total anomaly.
The Redskins, as a corporation, are something well less than fully in control of their 'hype machine'--because 99% of it doesn't actually work for them. At rock bottom, they are the one team this town really cares about. So what if the hockey team has perhaps the best player on the planet, the second string right guard stubbed his toe!! DC United doesn't usually have this problem. . . except when they sign the youngest player in 100 years in any sport. When it comes to Adu, I'm not saying the team comes off clean, but sober reflection never really stood a chance. Now, as to the topic. . . I guess when kids get close to the first team, I'm all for the Crash Davis lesson in How to Talk to the Media Without Saying Anything.
Not sure it belongs here, but I doubt it deserves its own thread D.C. United inks youth news syndication partnership with Potomac Soccer Wire
I'm not sure how I feel about it appearing that the FO is doing things crazy people on the Internet want.
More coaching changes in the academy. Has anyone heard of Sonny Silooy doing anything for the club or the academy (besides the "official" listing of him as an assistant coach)?
He comes to all of the games and sits on the bench with the coaches. I have no idea what happens with practices.
Watched the under 18s and under 16s both beat McLean Youth in practice matches today - both scores were 3 - 0. My observation is that the quality of play of the academy teams have dramatically improved since Sonny Silooy has joined the club. He is out at every match talking to players, coaches, parents. My thinking is that players have a much better shot at achieving their potential in the environment that he has set up. There will always be an element of recruiting in any MLS Academy, but there also needs to be a culture of continuous improvement. I can't tell you how the recruiting is going, but the culture of continuous improvement is thriving - at least as best as I can tell from observing both official and practice matches.
Their support and passing is really purposeful and much more decisive. In addition, they have a much better understanding of when to keep possession of the ball and when to try to penetrate. When they penetrate or possess, it is done as a team and it is done with committment and coordination. Honestly - they look like a team being trained to play like professionals. One of the things that I have noticed is that the players play a high line of defense and attempt to compress the field which means catching the other team offsides. This can really backfire at the youth level and isn't necessarily what you do if you want to win championships at that level, but it is great for teaching kids the principles of playing defense. The players on both teams have gotten better at it and are pressing teams the minute that they lose the ball - causing a lot of problems. I thought this process was a lot more painful for them in November. They have always had talented players and had success at the DA level but, at least in my opinion, their play is much more purposeful and coordinated than it used to be. Sonny Silooy isn't technically coaching any of the teams, but I think his influence is definitely there. At the youth level, setting an environment of continuous improvement is only one part of the puzzle. I think that DC United have a long way to go to catch up with other MLS teams in the area of recruitment. FC Dallas, Philidelphia and LA Galaxy are far ahead of us in that area with their scouting and DA affiliates, but at least we are outstanding at one important part of the puzzle. Just my opinion.
thanks for the info I think DC has a problem in the large number of competing academies and the transportation issues in the DC area. The DA's make it too easy for a player to decide they really don't want to make that commute 4 or 5 times a week. I think eventually DCU will need to have 4 or 5 academy locations if they really want to pull in all the best players in the area. Something like a stadium location augmented by satellite locations in Bethesda/Rockville, Arlington, College Park, and Alexandria/Oxon Hill
DCU doesn't have that problem as bad as Dallas and LA do. They could solve it a number of ways, one being being to work with a local school or school system to allow kids to go to school near where they play (this is what Dallas has done), another to provide bussing themselves (Bayern Munich does this, getting around having to provide residency for all but a few of the academy players). Another is to just absorb a local powerhouse as an affiliate, as a number of MLS teams have done.
Working with local schools would be hard because you are dealing with three different states (if we treat the district as a state). Busing to and from strategic locations might work. Building a network of affiliates might work but one challenge to that is that Baltimore Bays Chelsea is the only DA in the region that has a high DA rating. I don't think that an affiliated club has to be a DA. Here is an article about Kellen Gulley that describes Chicago's strategy: http://www.mississippifirejr.com/Portals/170/docs/Growing Up Gulley.pdf
Good point. You'd probably have to find a school in each, and that would likely be more trouble than it's worth. To be fair, they don't have to start out that strong. The academy FC Dallas took over as their main academy started out as a distant third place behind the two dominant powers in the Metroplex. The presumption is that after affiliation the parent club puts some money in to strengthen the program. Yeah, there's no rule on that. In fact, for RSL, only the affiliate club is DA. The home club in Salt Lake City isn't.
I've long wondered whether DC could develop a residential academy in the Germantown, MD area that could use Soccerplex and send the kids to one of the high schools nearby (Seneca Valley and Quince Orchard, I think).
Is Soccerplex confirmed for U23 PDL games? Anybody knows? I read on another thread about an article saying DCU U23 would not be in the same group of Real MD, etc. but in a different one. I think that would be a shame.
This is a point I was making in my B&RU piece on why teams will really need to step it up with Academy players to fill out the rosters. When you see a player like Junior Flores Playing for McLean, it emphasizes for the Academy the need to offer more localized options. Something out in Loudon and/or Fairfax, something out in Montgomery and maybe something out in Howard Counties. If this could be done without ruffling too many feathers with the established local clubs, that would be ideal -- but, the team doesn't want to lose out on the area's best players.
Frankly, there's no need to worry about the established local clubs, the big clubs have no qualms trying to poach players from each other and smaller clubs. Force majeur - there's a bigger fish in the sea now. What are they gonna do, play their games at secret locations? Most of the coaches themselves would jump at an opportunity to work for DCU. Closest HS to the soccerplex is Northwest, btw, wouldn't have to reach an agreement if they live in the district I would think.
Congratulations to those heading off to D1 schools to play soccer! http://www.dcunited.com/press-relea...icially-announces-2012-university-commitments
It's funny how if you are going to a real college, you don't have to have your picture taken 10 guys commit to schools - 8 are pictured, but not the ones for Wake or UVA my main question: Radford has a soccer team? The only people I have known who went there (none recently) went for the partying and because their grades were too low to go anywhere else down I-81
Soccer is one of the few things Radford has since they still brag about being undefeated in football for so long.
perhaps. I always liked Dante Washington, became a fan of his when he played for Your Washington Warthogs - I actually have his autograph on my 1996 Inaugural game season ticket - he sat right behind me. I once worked with a lady who went to RU when it was a girls-only school
Well, I can think of 2 players off the top of my head, Brian Gwanzura and Iyolia A (something or other). Wasn't one of these taken in the supplemental draft this year. Gwanzura is a rangy unrefined central midfielder and Iyolia A (something or other) is a lightning fast forward with quickness....
Short item at the bottom of this Post article about U18 academy player OJ Porteria, who scored five goals in a high school game last week: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...-church-boys/2012/03/28/gIQA1jT6gS_story.html