With the Grande Sports Academy coming into the DA next season I don't foresee an MLS DA supplanting them any time soon. They'll still welcome MLS clubs down there for preseason and other ventures, but GSA is now the DA representative.
An important part of development is integration into the pyramid which proximity has alot to do with. Having infrastructure on location at the site of the 1st team is important. Having daily interaction and scouting and conversations keeping the youth teams close to the first team is very important. FCDallas emphasize youth teams training at the same time. Who's next?
Wouldn't be surprised to see them partner in some way with Phoenix Rising. In fact, I'd say the chances of that go up significantly if (predictably) Phoenix gets passed over for the #25 and #26 spots in MLS. They need to do all they can to beef up their application if they are truly serious about MLS.
One must assume they're going to continue to retain Arizona (and New Mexico) as a homegrown territory. So it will behoove them to form partnerships down there with affiliate clubs in the way SKC is throughout the midwest.
I'm trying to remember the map, but I recall Arizona being assigned to RSL as their recruiting territory.
MLS homegrown territories prior to Atlanta/Minnesota..................... I was wrong about New Mexico. That's Colorado.
It will be interesting to see a revised map after they've considered Atlanta and Minnesota. My guess is that Atlanta gets the state of Georgia and maybe another state or two (Alabama? Mississippi?) and Minnesota gets that state plus Iowa and maybe the Dakotas.
I could see Minnesota getting its state, but nothing else. I would think if Iowa and Wisconsin are fair game with Chicago in the league, then they'll probably stay that way with Minnesota coming in. For Atlanta, I think they get claim over GA and that's it.
Phoenix is one of the 12 MLS expansion bids, so RSL could eventually lose Arizona altogether from their homegrown territory. Vegas could get a team too, if the Raiders build a stadium. To be safe maybe they should look to Boise (is that Portland right now?) or Albuquerque instead... Edit: just saw the map
My understanding is that Grande is getting their own academy. The same guy is in charge of it. I'm guessing they'll be recruiting hard at the summer showcase and national league events. It will be very expensive--and harder to attract kids without the MLS draw.
The RSL U16 and U18 setup was excellent in terms of development. High quality coaching and lots of national level players. A+. The team really was not an AZ team, though. Justin Glad (Tucson) and Brooks Lennon (Phoenix) are two notable, recent exceptions from AZ. RSL this year and prior typically would invite AZ kids to tryout at age 14 or 15 and see if any could make their first team or elite team which usually was a year younger. Most RSL rosters had a few AZ kids on them. Normally the AZ kids will carpool from Phoenix or Tucson after school to attend training in Casa Grande. Tough commute. 90 to 120 minutes each way, depending on where they live exactly. The majority of RSL Academy players were from outside AZ and lived in the dorms there and went to school locally in Casa Grande. IMO, as good as RSL is as an academy, RSL really did nothing for the younger kids in AZ who should have been playing at a DA from U12 and U14. The RSL younger DA team or teams were kept in Utah. Even worse, because RSL was in Casa Grande, I suspect other DA teams were discouraged from starting something in AZ. AZ kids really have no DA that they can get to reasonably on a daily basis. It seems shocking to me that Phoenix does not have a DA. Huge metro area with lots of good players. Tucson is quite a bit smaller but over one million in Pima County area -- should have a DA. Regarding the new Grande Academy, I think that it will mostly be out of state players who live in the dorms. Families from CA, NY IL, etc. who have money might be able to foot the bill. In AZ, very few elite players have a lot of money to the best of my knowledge. AZ is a much poorer area with lower incomes, etc. I am hoping that the new academy thrives and can incorporate more AZ kids. Not sure what kind of model they will use. We shall see.
Another reason to like what Atlanta United are doing: Check out @ATLUTD's Tweet: Trio Who Fled Native Countries Excelling in Atlanta@AcademyATLUTD Spotlight 📝: https://t.co/q1KzPwey5m pic.twitter.com/QR0cAAlVJQ— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) March 9, 2017
Like everything else, we will see where it leads, but it is nice to see second division clubs showing some of the ambitions of first division clubs. There is an attitude among a bunch of cities that getting into MLS is an attainable goal. When they see all of the soccer specific stadiums full of fans, the professional broadcasts on Fox Sports and ESPN, a lot of people see that in Orlando or other places and say, "We could do that!" It is nice to see. Once MLS fills up, the only way to continue this ambition will be through promotion/relegation, but one thing is for sure - it won't happen with Don Garber as the commissioner of MLS. From what I hear, that might last all that much longer. I understand that he is looking toward an exit strategy for his time as commissioner. During the DC United stadium groundbreaking he hinted that he could retire once he got a stadium in New England. He listed that as his final item on his bucket list. Regardless, hopefully this hopeful attitude of many second division clubs will lead to more strong academies. We still have five to ten years of expansion in MLS before we need to switch strategies to keep minor league clubs ambitious. Also, promotion/won't start as it looks in Europe. It will probably start at the lower levels with just one team and will not lead to pressure on MLS until the second and third divisions have stablized themselves with their own form of promotion/relegation - that could take an additional ten years. Don't look for promotion/relegation soon. It is nice to see stories like this in the meantime.
Yeah, that is a tough one, but at least he is looking for a way out. No matter how good of a job a commissioner does, they are smart if they get out after 20 years at the most. The times, the game and the needs of the league always change - regardless of the sport.
U.S. SOCCER APPOINTS ALOYS WIJNKER, TONY LEPORE TO NEW SPORT DEVELOPMENT ROLES Wijnker is the guy who the USSF hired away from AZ Alkmaar, where he was academy director. This seems like a promotion for him. I wonder who fills his old position. More about the Talent Identification Department:
These announcements now make sense in light of residency ending. Scouting will be more crucial than ever. We know that the vast majority of players coming to YNTs come from DAs. However, there will still be the occasional player coming from outside the DA, like Cristian Roldan, so I hope that scouts will still be willing to scout these players. The YNT coaches have encouraged, some say coerced, non-MLS players to join DAs, and where possible, MLS DAs, so the non-DA outliers will decrease. We can argue about this, but this is the environment the Fed wants, so parents with promising players just have to accept their kids moving to DAs. I know that there are coaches who are trying to resist the DA, but they're probably fighting a losing battle, esp. in the long term.
We are developing that pyramid. Top club teams to non-MLS DA teams to MLS DA teams. Its not just about what the Fed wants its about logistics. If the goal is to get to First team minutes as soon as possible its only logical as to why it has to work this way. Its about resources and coaching. If more money is being spent by the DA and MLS they will be able to hire the top coaches, have the better facilities, have the best competition, ability to play overseas and so on. Two things we do need to do is to ensure through money or payments or some way to make sure non-DA teams are included and made to feel special because they play an incredible role for players from 5-13. We also need to make sure that non MLS professional teams including NASL, USL, etc need to play the same role as MLS for their regions and scout, recruit, train, trial and sign young players for their teams too.
Gary Bettman, NHL – 1993-Present Bud Selig, MLB – 1992-2015 David Stern, NBA – 1984-2014 Pete Rozelle, NFL – 1960-89 Clarence Campbell, NHL – 1946-1977 (league president, before NHL had a commissioner) Kenesaw Mountain Landis, MLB – 1920-1944 I think Garber could be around another decade. He's 59 and with Roger Goodell a year younger and seemingly in no danger, the NFL gig ain't likely gonna be there for Garber. So why would he step down?
The thing that happens to all commissioners is that they become less effective after about 20 years. Nobody forces them to step down though. I was encouraged by what Garber said because maybe he's willing to do so. You're right though it doesn't mean that he will. I was just glad that he was thinking about doing that. I've watched all those other commissioners stay on too long and it didn't help their leagues at all. I would love for Garber to be the exception. We really should start addressing some of the single entity problems now but we still have about 5 to 10 more years before the league will be forced to deal with a completely different set of problems - that will signal the beginning of the end of expansion. From listening to Garber for the past twenty years, I definitely don't think he has any idea of how to sustain the league once we stop expanding. That will demand a completely different mentality and a completely different skill set from our leadership.
I can see a case where MLS doesn't stop expanding and they add in their own promotion and relegation. I would hope they go to the dual season championship model since at that point there will be so many teams that they would get two chances a year to move up and down and get an MLS championship. Mixed in with US Open Cup which should be much bigger with scads more MLS teams and Supporter's Shield (could have one for each "season" and a grand one for the year) and CCL and maybe InterLiga again there should be plenty of silverware to plunder and a lot of movement up and down.
This sensational ⚽️ from @gbusio10 capped off a perfect weekend for the @SKCAcademy at @SwopeSoccer ➡️ https://t.co/2GEra7htVm https://t.co/21BvuWFpSs— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 21, 2017