They're really good. When watching them you just don't see the type of magic you'd see from the Ferreira/Pomykal/Servania group that won the U16DA title. Back-to-back titles actually. They're just solid. When considering the FCD U17 team at the GenAd Cup its worth noting that both Thomas Roberts and Bryan Reynolds are still eligible for this team. Those two are still 16. I think if you put Thomas Roberts in the middle of the field next to Letayf, then you'd really start to see more possession-oriented play. Moving Roberts to the U19s for the Dallas Cup was a great decision as he clearly is ready for it, but it did leave a hole in the U17s. Actually there was this article a little while back about FCD coaches wanting to be more aggressive in moving younger players that can handle it up the ladder to the older squads. So we'll hopefully see more of that. I'd agree that FCD has a little bit of a long-ball style at the U17 level right now. But when you have a youngster like Ricardo Pepi, who's so good at that target forward role at this level, its hard not to use him.
Pepi's another one who doesn't start every game, so its not only about having Pepi. They don't play good football this year. I think they have the players to play it, but they don't. More than previous seasons that I've seen, they have this hierarchal structure where some of the best players on their team get such small roles because they are younger. I think Roberts and Reynolds would help (also Collodi as a back up keeper), but I think that all ignores the larger problem at FC Dallas. They aren't getting such great results either. They didn't do well at this tournament or the Dallas Cup, and then the first team obviously has the same problem, along with problems with giving their best younger players games.
Maybe with all these top teams we should start noting who the coach is so we can note when it seems the coach may be a problem or always does wonders. Peter Luccin apparently has done a good job with a younger group but who is in charge of the U17's? As with LAG it does make a difference and explain some things.
I don't agree with you. Their results this year at the youth levels are fine. They're currently in 1st place at both the U16 and U19 DA levels. At the U16 level they'd be the #2 seed if the playoff started today (after NYRB). . If we consider the GA Cup, they finished as the highest ranking MLS team after beating Monaco, Eintracht Frankfurt, NYCFC, and the LA Galaxy. That NYCFC team with Reyna, Scally, and company? FCD handled them just fine. They didn't advance at the GA Cup despite finishing tied for first place with the best goal difference. The chips just didn't fall their way. Their goal difference in their last 15 games DA games at the U16 level is +43. Think about that. They beat teams by an average of 3 goals. They've had only one loss (no draws) all DA season. That one loss was to NYCFC at the Winter Showcase. I'm not really worried about it. There's plenty of talent in the FCD pipeline. Maybe you just happened to see some of their games that weren't as good.
Scally and Reyna both didn't play in the game against FC Dallas. And I wouldn't say they handled them fine. It was a very dull match. FC Dallas won 1-0 because of an error by the goalkeeper trying to play the ball with his feet. And I don't think the benchmark should be the DA. They are clearly one off the best in the DA. They've been very underwhelming in the last round of international youth tournaments at the U-17 and U-19 levels, and the style of play I saw was pretty bad. Only my opinion though.
Guess I didn't notice. Was he the coach of last years champions? I know he's in charge of the whole academy but I haven't paid attention to what teams he's actually coaching.
He's been coaching the U16s for a couple of years, including DA national champions. One of the reasons tournaments like the GA Cup and Dallas Cup are so important is that kids can gauge themselves against their peers at Monaco, Frankfurt, Pachuca, etc. The U16/U17 DA Central Conference has become a bit of a cakewalk for FCD. In their last 4 DA games (against Lonestar, Real Colorado, Colorado Rush, and Dallas Texans)......................the combined score was FC Dallas 17 opposition 0. Its been that way now for years. How many years in a row has FCD won the U17/U16 Central Conference? I couldn't even tell you. Its almost irrelevant. I'm perfectly OK with a team of youngsters like the U17s (some of them are really young like Dante Sealy) going up against some more talented opposition than they're used to facing and not looking as dominant offensively. That's a great learning tool. Its great that the moves that so easily carve up the Dallas Texans (who they've beaten by a combined score of 11-1 in their two games this year) don't work against NYCFC or Monaco. Maybe against the Colorado Rush (who they beat 7-0) the kids fall back on long-ball tactics in the games because it just works so well against that level of opposition. They have to adjust against better opposition, and that's a great learning tool. What helps FCD in those cases is that they're typically very sound defensively and in goal at that level no matter who they're playing against: Monaco or Lonestar. FCD doesn't concede goals. That sort of defensive understanding is important for development too.
FCD with a new youth affiliate coming soon near Shreveport, Louisiana. The Dynamo already have an affiliate in Southwest Louisiana (Lafayette I think), so a little bit of coverage of the state is happening. Information on the new @FCDallas backed soccer academy coming to town. Meeting Thursday 4/12. pic.twitter.com/8FnBVgqnOL— TheTimFletcherShow (@FletchWorldWide) April 4, 2018 Will add to the following group:
This actually could prove to be a big deal. Louisiana has turned into a solid bed of football talent for college recruiters. There could be an opportunity to see some good players come out of the state as more kids pick/stick with soccer, especially with football participation in a nosedive.
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He's played with two different national teams, has a spot on the fast track to Atlanta United, and he's still in middle school. What's next for Vicente Reyes?STORY: https://t.co/v8F1jYzMMO pic.twitter.com/3xbZu9vF9K— FCN Sports (@ForsythSports) April 9, 2018
Well this is interesting... #NERevs Academy launches new talent development initiativeshttps://t.co/VaZ5aWRR0F pic.twitter.com/odyhiNSe4t— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 12, 2018
I think all MLS clubs should be doing this....................... Recognizing the important role alliance clubs play in nurturing young talent, the Revolution Academy is investing back in the soccer communities that develop Homegrown Players for the Revolution's first team and has established a scholarship program for Academy Alliance Partners. The scholarship will be awarded when a partner club’s former player signs a first team contract with the Revolution and is intended to recognize the role the alliance clubs provide in developing players who join the New England Revolution Academy. The Revolution Academy formed its U-12 Academy Alliance partnership with Bayside FC, NEFC, and Valeo FC in April, 2016 to expand the Revolution Academy's reach in discovering and developing talent in the New England region.
Guys, it's not training compensation, it's a "scholarship fund"! It's a nice policy for the Revs to have, although they obviously won't be paying out much - they've only signed four HGPs in their history.
Interesting local note: Adam Armour, U17 F from NCFC, is listed as an NYCFC player in the official U17 USMNT release. He's a forward/winger comfortable with both feet. 6 goals in 26 games, but he's a creator more than a scorer. It'll be interesting to see where he'll go from here. If they had a USL team I could see him making the jump there first.
Are you suggesting I jumped to conclusions based on extremely limited info? On BigSoccer? Unlikely. It’s probably a conspiracy.
Well, I'd say your conclusion wasn't crazy at all - it's not uncommon for U17 players at non-MLS clubs to be recruited to an MLS academy. Justin Garces, Akil Watts, and (I think) Tyler Shaver all joined MLS academies during the last cycle. Unfortunately, it's also not uncommon for the USSF to make typos or jump to conclusions in their press releases. I'm still wondering when Lester Dewee will break through at Marseille.
Ostensibly this means we may see the Revs start to recruit players from around the country. This coming fall, the @NERevsAcademy will start a host family program, per Bryan Scales.It will operate similarly to what #SportingKC has done with Gianluca Busio and others. Designed to get kids from outside the region into #NERevs youth development pathway. #MLS— Jonathan Sigal (@JonathanSigal) April 16, 2018
I didn’t expect anything to be done after the Dallas Cup game performances, good to see real actions.
I imagine that these changes were already in the works. It would be an awfully quick turnaround time from the GA Cup, unless these announcements are happening without any groundwork having been put into place.
I saw one of the Revs matches from the GA Cup. The result wasn't good, but they weren't as bad in the game I saw as the result would make you think.