By treating Rennicks this way are the Revs more or less likely to pick up highly rated and ambitious prospects.....................? Also, what's the point of suspending him? Does that help or hurt his further development as a future Revs signing? Either boot him out altogether or retain him fully in the fold (after a slap on the wrist) While I do understand that MLS academies are investing a lot in their kids, and expect loyalty......................they also have to be understanding when it comes to these training/trialing opportunities at European clubs. And the more the academy directors come across as having the best interests of the players in mind, the more they'll be able to recruit and grow. If you're gonna have a good academy, you're gonna have to expect your good prospects to be sought after. Gotta have a plan for it. And suspending the players is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
These players are signed and registered as amateur players for the NE Revolution. He has a professional obligation to notify his 'employer' of training stints. Rennicks is not a victim in this situation. Its not about blind loyalty its about clearly ignoring clearly stated policy. If Rennicks had approached NE in a proper humble way to explain his training opportunity they would have probably ok'd it. For some reason we think MLS teams should solely be in the charity business of training players for free then helping them to find employment elsewhere recouping nothing in return. Having the best interests of the players is fool's gold. They should also have the interest of the organization in mind too. Its a business and players have responsibilities in this business relationship. The suspension is debatable but I come from the side that you choose the behavior you choose the consequences.
Agree with this, but no doubt that this hinders the Revs ability to sign Rennick while also hampering his development, which is a negative for the Revs organization. Revs likely think it will discourage others from doing the same in the future, so they suspended him. Length of suspension seems a bit harsh though for sure. If Rennicks went to the Revs and asked to go to train with a team in Germany and the Revs were dicks about it then the Revs are being unreasonable. Organization has to be able to balance the business side of the equation with the human side of the equation especially with players that are not signed to pro deals.
If Revs say no then Rennicks leaves the club the right way then pays his way at another club. Does seem this length of suspension seems counter productive with no way he ever plays for them. We also can't think Rennicks and his support system are some babes in the woods, didn't know it was wrong. He went hoping to get an offer or never be caught. You can't expect a MLS club to pay for everything for many years and then have you sneak a training stint in Europe and not be pissed. Come to us, let us set it up and if we say no then do what you have to do. No amateur player in Europe sneaks around training with other teams without the present team knowing about it.
I think what we can agree on here is that according to that TDS article, the Revs let Rennicks know that if he went on the training stint in Germany................he'd be suspended. And then the kid went anyway. So he knew the penalty was coming. I juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust don't understand the Revs position on this. You know an U18 that went on a training stint in Germany before signing a homegrown deal? Kellyn Acosta. I'm sure folks could list a whole bunch of other examples. How is allowing a player to go train in Europe during the lengthy DA winter break a bad thing? Clubs should actually encourage it. I understand that MLS clubs are paranoid about losing their players to foreign clubs. But C'mon! I feel this is just as lame as Dan Hunt saying he was hesitant to start FCD II because he didn't want his academy kids to be in the "shop window" for foreign clubs. Whether its Justin Rennicks or Jesus Ferreira, these kids are already being scouted and evaluated. Do what's best for the player's development FIRST AND FOREMOST. And what is the point of having an elite DA player that you've suspended from games? You're not aiding his development at all. You're just trying to make an example of him so that other kids don't do...............what? Seek development opportunities? WTF? They're always going to do that. And, of course, whether Rennicks plays another game for the Revs academy team or not..............................the Revs still hold his "homegrown rights." Meaning only two parties are being hurt by this suspension. The Revs and Justin Rennicks. If you're running a chemistry company, would you suspend a chemist in your flock if (on his own dime) he went to Germany to attend a chemistry conference? Of course not. You'd think "holy hell, that guy is committed to developing his skill set. We as a company are going to benefit from this."
And what if he didn't go? What if he just trained with NE until he turned 18 and then signed in Germany anyway? How is that any different? The Revs still spend all the money to train him and still lose him. The academy system is no different than colleges spending hundreds of hours recruiting players or developing underclassmen only to have them transfer or go pro. It's just a reality of the business that has to be accepted. Do you think Barça is going to cry if a player leaves their academy to come to MLS? If you don't like it, create an environment that kids want to stay in or develop so many players that it doesn't hurt you to lose a few. I doubt anyone is in favor of putting price tags on 10-17 year olds, and that seems like the only other alternative. Suspending the kid just further separates him from the team and tarnishes the Revs' reputation among other academy players. There's obviously a disconnect between the two for the kid to decide to go in the first place. To me, the whole situation just makes everyone look like amateurs. The Revs seem like babies for suspending him. He seems like a baby for going behind their backs. Even MLS looks bad for allowing the suspension.
While there's a lot to agree with in your post I think you're missing 2 major points. He didn't go to a chemistry conference he went to another chemistry company looking for a job offer. NE Revs had every right to say no. Unfair or not its the way the world works. He's committed alright, committed to looking for another team. The other point is it seems you want the team to always error on the side of the player's development without a care about their own needs as a business. While I agree with you what's it really going to hurt? I also see it from NE's standpoint. They have to stop showcasing their players as some charity organization and make it known that our needs also take precedent. The suspension does seem harsh considering the overall negatives. If you wanted to look for another company to work for told your present company then got suspended or fired its not your fault?
And what if he didn't go? What if he just trained with NE until he turned 18 and then signed in Germany anyway? How is that any different? The Revs still spend all the money to train him and still lose him. That's the right way for it to occur. He's a member of NE Revs and he can quit their team any year to go to Europe. Or wait until he's 18. There's a right way or wrong way to do things. The academy system is no different than colleges spending hundreds of hours recruiting players or developing underclassmen only to have them transfer or go pro. Colleges are not for profit organizations that don't exist for profit. They don't exist to sell players for profit nor do they play players to earn a profit. Academy system and Colleges are distinctly different. Do you think Barça is going to cry if a player leaves their academy to come to MLS? They aren't going to cry, but they aren't actively encouraging their top prospects to go to MLS or any other team.
I understand what you are saying, but I think the strategy that you and the Revs advocate backfires because it overplays the strength of the hand that the Revs have. I think young players everywhere are attracted to the allure of the Bundesliga and other top leagues. I think that the best strategy is to work with kids and attempt to adjust their path rather than stymie them entirely. A club like FC Dallas has lost some really good players from their academy like Emerson Hyndman and Weston McKennie. That is very frustrating. At the same time, they have worked really hard to demonstrate to all academy players that youth development is valued at the club and that young players will be given opportunities as soon as they are ready. Because they have instilled that sort of culture at the club, you have guys like Pomykal, Ferreira, and Reynolds signing pro deals even though they would quite likely have overseas options as soon as they turned 18. No club in MLS is the top of the food chain. The best way to run youth development is to acknowledge this reality and acknowledge that your best players have bigger dreams. That ambition is a good thing. So instead of creating punitive rules, you need to work to convince players that the path to realizing their dreams goes through your club. The Revs are trying to take a shortcut by keeping players on a short leash with punitive rules. I don't think it's going to lead them down the path to the sort of organizational culture they need. And evidently, it's going to lose them guys like Rennicks.
The academy system is no different than colleges spending hundreds of hours recruiting players or developing underclassmen only to have them transfer or go pro. Colleges are not for profit organizations that don't exist for profit. They don't exist to sell players for profit nor do they play players to earn a profit. Academy system and Colleges are distinctly different. [/QUOTE] Guy I know is friends with a college defensive back. When he was in high school, the kid was the top db in the country. He went on his recruiting trip to an sec school. The colleges are allowed to let him use a jacket on the trip. His jacket had $10,000 in it. He went on another trip and they gave him multiple jackets, hats, etc. If you think players aren't being paid, then you need to do far more research into how corrupt the NCAA is. If you think schools aren't for profit, you need to look at how much money is spent on football compared to every other sport at every major school. You're right, the kid did it the wrong way. But the punishment was nonsensical. "You are thinking about leaving us so you can't play at all." Why not just release the kid?
I do think they were overly punitive but if @Clint Eastwood is correct and NE Revs said no and Justin Rennicks went anyway how respectful is the player to the team at that point. A good argument can be made that NE should have let him and not have been so punitive how do you answer the question if team says no and player goes anyway what should the team do then. Nothing?
There's no question that the Revs painted themselves into a corner. If they have the rule, they have to follow through. My issue is the rule in the first place. I get the impulse behind it, but the Revs need to think bigger and more long-term.
The rule is pretty dumb. It's basically the team saying, "we don't care about you or your career, we care about our organization and our own success." I understand the rule is to try to get guys to stay after they turn 18, but to me it's counter-productive. I'm of the opinion that you should be creating an environment where kids WANT to be there. If you don't, then it's your own failure as an organization and it shouldn't be taken out on the kids. With all of that being said, they had to discipline him since they had the rule. They should have suspended him a few weeks or a month. Suspending him the rest of the season is just counter productive in all ways, IMO
Now this was pre-Weston saga. FCD allowed my kid academy player to go to Benfica to trial twice. I will say. They were nervous. Went through a lot of hoops to make sure he would not miss key games and we got the okay after a lot of back and forth between clubs. I think it has more to do with the relationship of the player with the club. FCD was nervous about it at the time. We were not. Then the whole Weston thing happened ....I don't see them being as open now as they were then. I can tell you this was one of the reasons we left our former club Solar and went to FCD. Solar told us if he went...he would be benched for an unspecified length of time. It had happened to other players. THis does not exactly draw you in if you have other options.
While as a player you don't like it, did you and your kid at least understand where they were coming from. They pay your kid to play for free then don't like that you can leave for free.
Absolutely.... We felt we owed FCD full disclosure and communication. We got it. Felt like Solar had no right to punish my kid for something when we were paying. At the time Solar was not free yet they still were punitive if you went for a trial. This was not right.
I agree with you. Solar and Dallas FC have different goals. Solar shouldn't be so restrictive, FC Dallas on the other hand. Thanks for sharing the infor.
Heck...................my personal opinion is that Solar should be understanding if their best prospects seek trials with FC Dallas (much less overseas). See, Reggie Cannon. Paxton Pomykol came from the Texans. Kellyn Acosta moved to FCD from ASG, which I think merged with Andromeda. The list goes on. Kids don't exit the womb as members of an MLS academy. The vast majority of kids are recruited from somewhere. And where are many of these kids identified? At tournaments like the Dallas Cup............................ As far as the Rennicks case goes, we're mostly on the same page. I just don't understand the point of a "suspension." Particularly for a kid that's a 2017. As far as I can tell, suspending him for this "semester" means he's basically done with their academy. I wonder if the Revs would forfeit his rights if they expel him from their academy. But they want to retain his MLS rights, so they're just "suspending" him. There's probably some sort of self-serving nonsense involved.
You would think clubs like Solar would be pumped about one of their players getting a trial at a pro club. Wouldn't that be the ultimate accomplishment for a club with no pro team to produce talent that ends up signing at the highest level?
Hard to say but I believe Solar was started or run by an English guy so maybe they want their prospects going there like Kenny Cooper did with ManU? It must be tough to have high hopes for your club and spend years developing only to be raided. I know from the player's side it may be in their best interest but can't be great for the non-MLS clubs to brag about their best players moving to the local MLS club. Many parents would wonder why not just go there now.
The facts of this case certainly are interesting. If in fact NE Revs said no and Rennicks went anyway some sort of punishment is appropriate but a full remaining season. Then what options does Justin Rennicks have. He could certainly push the 'reserve' clause of MLS and go to another pro academy. There certainly are MLS proximity rights involved that some player has to try to challenge. He could leave for a non MLS academy in the Boston area. His amateur signing with NE Revs shouldn't hold him to NE forever. That's a court fight waiting to happen.