Sorry, probably an obscure reference for anyone under 50. Hadji was a character from an animated series from the 60's.
Aaaahh! Memories! That was my favorite show! Of course I could only watch when the power lines weren't knocked over by herds of brontosaurus.
Trey Miller and Justin Rennicks make the USSDA U16 Eastern Conference Best XI http://www.ussoccerda.com/2016-EOY-Awards
Good article about the status of our Academy. And for once, I agree with the Revs on this ... "Patience is key." Only thing I will say that I disagree with, or am disheartened by, are their choices in the partnerships, or how they're using them.
So New York was too far away to have a "meaningful partnership," but Ra-cha-cha is "fulfilling the purpose?"
Of course it is fulfilling the purpose. The purpose is to cheaply satisfy the league requirement that all teams operate or affiliate with a USL team. Boom! Matt Turner has actually been getting games on loan with the Richmond Kickers (which is understandable, you want to find a team that has a weakness at GK and that doesn't appear to be Rochester). There's gotta be some team in the USL that could use Jordan McCrary, though. It's wasteful that he's not getting games.
Yes, McCrary is a strange one. A first round draft pick who can't get minutes with a USL side, let alone the MLS club that drafted him, which has plenty of defensive issues. Ouch.
It was an interesting article, but it did make me wonder if they are being too conservative? At this point, it looks like they are 3/3 in academy products becoming useful MLS players (maybe I'm getting ahead of myself on Herivaux, but he has me convinced). Maybe if they gave more kids the MLS opportunity they'd be 4/6 or 5/8 - and isn't it worth a couple of misses for more hits?
No, that's the point. Either the Revs are afraid to send him, or the Rhinos don't want him. He went on a one-game loan in April, played 70 minutes, and hasn't been back since (nor has any other Rev since April).
He was sent to Rochester on a short term loan in early April, but I don't know his status now. http://www.thebentmusket.com/revolu...s-2016-jordan-mccrary-loaned-to-the-rochester
Who would the misses be, though? If a player is good enough, he'll still garner interest in the draft (if NE passes on an HG deal) or in the USL or something. The only player who comes to mind is Mitch Taintor, who has been a regular starter for Toronto II in the USL this season. No idea if he has the potential to progress beyond that level, though. I think the number of Revs academy alumni who have gone to third-rate NCAA programs tells the story. I don't think the Revs have been missing the boat w/r/t academy contracts. The talent hasn't been there. There may be some in college or in the academy right now who can buck the trend. We'll see.
I always think it's a mistake thinking we know all the options, particularly when it comes to a black box operation like the Revs. I can think of two other reasons that I think are the most likely explanations: - they want him available as an option for MLS/USOC game-day rosters. - they feel, at this point, that training with the Revs is more valuable to his development than the game time he would be getting in Rochester. Not sure, I don't follow it that closely. I think maybe one guy I was wondering about was one of the (the older?) Machado brothers?
Most loans have flexible recall options, so if he's on loan and there's a red card or injury crisis, it shouldn't be hard to get him back. If Rochester doesn't have room for him, there's plenty of other places in this country to loan him. Players need games and I think the Revs have been negligent with McCrary. Although they both played for the Revs and went to Providence, I don't think they are brothers. Fabio is from Leominster and Dominik is from Attleboro. In any case, you're probably right that Fabio was one of our top NCAA performers to not get a look in the pros. When the Revs didn't offer a HG contract, he was invited to the MLS Combine and his name was thrown around as a possible low-round pick. He ended up on trial with Rochester, but I don't think he ever signed anywhere. He's probably one of those many guys who was good in the NCAA and didn't quite have enough for the next step. I'd guess that Dominik will be another edge case unless he takes another step forward his senior year.
Okoli has really benefited from regular playing time this season, btw. He has 11 goals in 22 games for FC Cincinnati and is tied for third on the USL scoring chart.
He's a good example of a guy who can be a stud in the USL under the right conditions but just can't make the leap to MLS - at least not here. You see it all the time in other sports, guys that tear up minor league baseball or hockey but for whatever reason can't replicate it in the majors or NHL.
It's certainly possible that that's the case. But we'll never know if he could have kicked his career trajectory up a notch if he hadn't wasted the first two years of his career languishing in Seattle and then in NE. If Seattle had had a USL team at the time, he could have had ~60 career USL appearances going into 2016 and maybe could have developed a bit more.
An academy side note: Orlando City B gave a debut to Isaque Couto on Wednesday. He is a '98 who switched from the Revs academy to Orlando's academy this year and played with their U18s. He's just an academy kid getting a call up and not a pro signing, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Great point about development. Heaps lacks the ability or experience to develop young players. Okoli, Donnie Smith, Neumann, even McCrary and Mullins, etc. Guys like Farrell and Rowe are top 5 picks and have been successful but were closer to the finished product because of their natural talent. That said, I think both still could vastly improve with a better coaching and development staff.
U18 #USMNT XI v Russia: Douglas, Real, Gruno, Maher, Jones; Paoli, Pomykal, Servania; Perry, Dorsey, Brewer - US advances to Final w/ W or T— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) August 19, 2016 That's the Revs Daniel Jones listed.
If that is their logic, then the fact the EVERY OTHER MLS TEAM is developing talent at the USL level, would suggest that their logic is fatally flawed...