2017 USL - RGVFC Toros

I'm glad James Clarkson is coaching, he's developed so many guys for the Dynamo!!

http://www.houstondynamo.com/post/2017/01/16/premier-development-league-soccer-headed-brazos-valley

 

Nothing says "grassroots soccer development" like charging $130 to tryout for a PDL team

Got what it takes for our new @USLPDL team?

Here's your shot: https://t.co/tIZ6UwlBmo pic.twitter.com/Ag1pmgMqdD

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) January 17, 2017

 

You beat me to it.

Have fun playing in orange in College Station!

But seriously, this has to be considered a demotion. A passive aggressive one at that, but a demotion nonetheless.

 

No, he's still the Head of Youth Development.

Don't see Clarkson as the problem. He's done a lot with historically little support and resources. Also has no control over the senior side developing the talent given to them.

 

http://www.houstondynamo.com/post/2017/01/16/premier-development-league-soccer-headed-brazos-valley

The Houston Dynamo continued to strengthen the club’s development pipeline on Monday when the Clutch Entertainment Group announced that the Brazos Valley will have a franchise competing in the Premier Development League for the upcoming 2017 season.
Brazos Valley will be an affiliate of the Dynamo, the first time an affiliated team will be in the area in over 60 years. The team will have a multi-year agreement with the Dynamo. Houston will have a hybrid affiliation meaning they will be responsible for selecting players and coaching staff. The hybrid affiliation is the first of its kind in the PDL. Clutch Entertainment Group, which owns the Brazos Valley Bombers, will handle the day-to-day operations of the club.

 

College Station is a poor choice for locating a PDL team. Out of major urban areas and no college NCAA team on the men's side to feed it. I can speculate on marketing/branding reasons to be sprinkling these teams all over the state but in terms of practical effectiveness -- which we are short on -- I don't get why you want a PDL team for poor college kids 2 hours from everywhere, except for people on a TAMU club team few of whom you probably want.

I mean, if I am home from college for the summer in Houston or Austin, this would be a huge drive for practices and games. If I go to HBU, the one D1 program in this part of the state, it's hundreds of miles away and I am a poor college kid who may need to be working for next year's college bill.

In terms of Clarkson running it, it saves money to re-task an employee without specific portfolio, not unlike when we made Barrett interim instead of looking outside. Maybe he's paid the same or maybe a slight raise, and just add that to the job. Easier on the budget.

I do see where it could be a test of sorts. System under him doesn't create first team effective players. Apologia: "no control over the senior side developing the talent given to them," as voiced above by one credulous supporter. Response: "Ok, I call your bluff, we are creating a PDL team and you get to manage your people through U23 now. No more excuses." Also has the virtue of placing him in responsibility over a team where his individual coaching value can be assessed. "He's done a lot with historically little support and resources?" Well, he gets to run the system, and he's not responsible for any one age group where his own "resources" are judged. I do wonder what the quality of the coaching beneath him is, but we are about to see what his coaching contribution is. This could be considered a lack of confidence vote.

 

Seems odd we aren't the Houston team. Look, I'd bet a $100 we shopped this idea around until we found an owner willing to do this on their own nickel for running the club so that the Dynamo didn't have to. Just like RGV.

I do agree that Bryan makes little sense - I thought most PDL teams were in areas with local college teams or native college players.

 

Having the team in a college soccer city solves a few problems. Housing. If they are in the dorms for summer school, voila. If they are in an off campus apartment working, voila. If they are home with mom and dad in that city, they can stay.

The core of the team is often from the college (or one of the colleges in a bigger town). They might mix in impressive opposing players with other players people know will be in town. But the core is the people already in town for college.

As a result, if you have a handful of out of town recruits, maybe they can stay with someone. Nobody drives 2 hours for practices and games.

You put it in College Station and the only people convenienced and taken care of are local youth players or people playing for a dead end TAMU club team. The Dynamo academicians not going to TAMU have to drive 2 hours if they live in Houston, or move to College Station for the summer.

I say dead end club team because anyone playing TAMU club has basically decided they are content getting a degree and a real job and just playing amateur soccer for the balance, and don't have big ambitions. Opposite of what you want on a pro PDL team.

Also, in a normal arrangement the college may provide the practice and game fields. You don't worry about Rice going out of business. I'd be a little concerned in some arrangement with a fly by night summer league baseball team because who knows if it lasts. But I think we are too cheap and brand-minded to care.

 

Nature of the beast with a team in a city that doesn't really have a mainstream soccer program is it will be "imports." However, in a more college team-rich environment, one simply draws upon the college teams and if someone else they can get is better, maybe they bump locals out.

For example, Anibaba went to UNC and played for Carolina Dynamo. Randi Patterson from that same team that drove us nuts, went to UNC Greensboro. etc. etc.

Sometimes the USL coach is even the college coach. Texas Lutheran's coach a while back was the coach for either SA or Austin. So the most obvious candidates for a team like that are "his own kids," people he plays against, and the people they know.

OKC isn't a big college soccer town, but they are trying to establish a pro team, so that is probably more like a holding pattern set of players they might want on the minor league team. PDL last season, ones they like back for this year.

 

Interesting that the trialists include a mix of the technically "out of contract" RGV people and people who were optioned by RGV. Curious whether that says anything about Casner and Malki.

 

I'm waiting for the Dynamo to tell us why College Station is a better fit than Houston.

 

Still no word wether or not Casner has been signed to RGV

 

These games still being streamed online?