Guttman apparently signed with Celtic. He won the Hermann award this year for best college player. He is a left back so definitely a prospect. Somebody like that could have been in the draft (altho in his case he was technically "homegrown") https://sbisoccer.com/2019/01/report-mac-hermann-winner-fire-academy-product-gutman-joins-celtic
Yedlin, Trapp and Morris could've also been in the draft, if you forget that they are from MLS academies. There are a few good players that play college soccer, but most of them are from MLS academies.
Then what happens to the players that don’t go to academy teams? DA teams aren’t everywhere and even those who are close to them can be hours of a drive. What happens to those players that can’t complete that commute? Will the Roldan’s of the world no longer have a route to the pro’s? I wish the MLS academies were enough but they aren’t. Our country is so big it doesn’t work that way.
There are plenty of players that don't play in the DA, but they don't develop as well. Almost all of them will not go into a professional environment when their peers around the world are. They'll attend college and they might be one of the best players in college soccer, but in almost all cases it won't matter. They won't turn into NT level players. There are very few Dempsey's, Besler's or Cameron's anymore. Look at the make up of our NT. Almost all of them came through the academy system. The good players that don't are at such a big disadvantage that the players in other countries that aren't playing for one of the 50 best academies in their home country from 13-18 aren't. They get astronomically worse development, so the odds of them making it are a lot worse than if they were in a better development system. Most with talent don't make it to begin with and then you consider that players that don't play in the DA are on average less talented than their peers who do play in the DA, and you only get the occasional Parks or Roldan. The total number outside the DA doesn't matter. You aren't working with a huge pool of talent to begin with, and most of the talented ones have their potential wiped out by our bad system.
Alternatively, the most talented players generally go through the new system. Few talented players come up through the old system because few through the system now.
Depends on the scouting. Not being with a big youth club meant few eyeballs were on Roldan. Development wasn't the issue. He lucked out in the end, though. His story is interesting and illustrative.
Privaleged? Yes, but does not live with his parents. He signed with FCD, bought a Honda Civic and moved out after he got 3 paychecks from FCD while his parents were on vacation and he had enough money for the deposit and no need for parents to co-sign. On his Minimum salary after 1 year, he saved enough to buy his own condo in Dallas with his own money. It can be done with a “minimal” salary in the MLS.
Nobody is eliminating college soccer. Getting rid of the draft wouldn't do that. College soccer existed before MLS. Any players in college that wanted to sign with a pro team in any country or any level could do so without a draft. The draft only limits the options of college players, it does nothing for them.
This is changing rapidly. It is only since 2012 that the DA was really up and running on all cylinders. A kid that was U13 in 2012 would be U20 now. We are just seeing the first wave of players that have been developed in the professionalized DA. Adams, Ledezma, Carleton, Mendez, Sargent, etc. So, while there are still players in the USMNT pool that never were in the DA, that will probably not be the case in 10 years as players born before 2000 age out.
The problem still exists. Just for approximations (and I don't know the exact numbers on this), 80% of the best talents play in the DA, 60% of those playing for the pro clubs in the DA. We are still losing a huge chunk of talent that doesn't get lost in England, France, Germany. The ones that play in the DA for non-professional clubs often are caught up with the same problems. Sargent and Taitague weren't in professional academies. They had to wait until 18 to sign pro contracts. Far from ideal. Some players get lucky, like Pulisic, having an EU passport. Most players do not. Thats on top of the non-DA players whose chances of careers at high levels are nearly finished by 15 or 16. There is the occasional Parks. Most of them have success in college soccer, but received terrible development in the important years and will never be able to be anything other than low-level MLS players. Pulisic had 100 pro games at 20 years ago, Adams has 74 pro games and counting prior to turning 20, Glad had 57 pro games prior to turning 20. This is a huge advantage. They are 2-3 years ahead before you even consider the talent they possess. If 40% of our best talent can't even get pro contracts prior to this age (in the overwhelming majority of situations) due to the way the system is set up, we are significantly limiting our potential. A lot of the best players end up being the best players at U-17, U-18, U-19 level who can get a pro-contract in any league they want, but its still not a big enough percentage that we should be discounting the late developers. Late developers in the USA means 22, 23, 24. Thats another problem. In France or Germany, its 18 or 19. These late developers are not playing half seasons, like the American kids play. They are full season professionals, albeit at a lower level. Its a big difference.
Frankie Amaya selected first overall by Cincy , let’s see what his playing times like Callum Montgomery should have s good shot at game time with Dallas at central defense
FC Cincinnati looks they are positioning themselves well to be initially respectable but still probably not make the playoffs and quickly decline to a bottom feeder for a couple years while they rebuild. So a moderately more attractive Minnesota, who after a few weeks when they were getting clobbered, acquired Cronin and Burch to stabilize. Need savvier, less myopic owners on average in this league, especially in the small markets if we want to develop a fruitful domestic base.
Depends on how you live. I’m a New Yorker, not a professional athlete, and did it on less salary than minimal current MLS salaries and know others that are currently doing it living in Manhattan!
Hedges came into the league in 2012 and has 210 appearances in 7 seasons. That is 30 games average per season. That excludes post season playoffs b.t.w. I wonder how many cb's have averaged 30 games per season over their first 7 years in the league. I'm not sure I can think of anybody