US Soccer launches 2018 Spring Men's College Soccer Program. CHICAGO (Feb. 07, 2018) – As part of its ongoing effort to develop world class players, coaches, and referees, U.S. Soccer is launching the Spring College Program in collaboration with six Division I Men’s Soccer programs. Starting in March, the six college programs will face one another over the course of seven weeks, culminating with an event at Wake Forest University on April 21. The six Division I Men’s Soccer programs participating are: Clemson, Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest. More here: https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...cer-launches-2018-spring-mens-college-program
Other than the substitutes, how is this different from a normal spring season? I mean, I admit I'm intrigued but I need to know this isn't just lipstick on a pig.
Looks like a good move in the right direction for college soccer and good to see US Soccer finally getting involved, even in this small bit. I'll be interested to see if and where this leads. At first glance it looks better than a typical spring season because NONE of those programs or anyone else in the country that I've seen would play that difficult of a slate of games to begin with. Also- looks like there's a championship or something on the line for teams to play for instead of 1-off games. This seems more like a real league with a championship at the end. It will be very interesting to see what happens to these games from a quality stand point when college teams are forced to deal with 3 subs. Gotta give the advantage to teams that have some depth in the spring! Regardless- good move by US Soccer and fortunate for those schools involved.
I initially thought the same thing. How is this different, or better, than a normal spring season? Reading what towart wrote, above, I agree about the level of competition for the games. Most schools would not otherwise be playing that grueling of a spring schedule. The advantages of this thing, as I see it: In the article it is mentioned that the program will provide "standards-based competition." I assume that this is something along the lines of what is implemented in the USSDA program. Another advantage is listed as being that US Soccer Scouts can observe matches and potentially expand the pool of the US Olympic and National teams. I'm not sure how big of an advantage that this is since scouts can just observe spring contests anyway. I guess that it could be argued that this will guarantee that the matches will be of a higher quality and level so therefore the observations will be more meaningful. The USSDA rules of a maximum game day roster of 18 and no reentry will apply. US Soccer will provide game day data analysis and coaching education. This program is to drive development in "Zone 3" (18+) as was addressed by US Soccer. I'm not sure hat that means but US Soccer has probably laid out some standards that are to be addressed. I want to be optimistic that this will be a good program but given the recent track record of US Soccer, I'm skeptical. It is stated that at the conclusion of the 2018 program that applications will be opened up for the 2019 program. If the program is successful I would like to see it expanded and some of the other top programs join in - Stanford, Indiana, Akron, etc. One disadvantage that I see with this pertains to the max roster size of 18 and the no reentry. Many programs use the spring season as a means to identify players for the next season. It seems that some players will get shorted playing time that they were counting on to make an impression.
For what it's worth, the article doesn't state that there is a limit on the number of substitutions, just that once you're out of the game, you stay out.
The article doesn't state that there is a limit on the number of subs but it does state: "It provides us with additional opportunities to identify more players for Youth National Teams and for the Olympic Team in an environment that mirrors the international game.” FIFA's Laws of the Game say explicitly that only three substitutes are allowed in any match played in an official competition organized under the auspices of FIFA. But in international friendlies, you're allowed up to six. Theoretically, since it is stated that there is a game day roster size of 18, there could be 7 subs.
Would like to have seen more conferences represented. Maybe that is for the future. Or possibly a yearly rotation by region (SE, NE, MW, W, etc.). Also, with a maximum game day roster of only 18, UNC will need two teams.
Maryland isn't involved and they are obviously an Under Armour school. I believe that Akron & Indiana are Adidas schools. Stanford is Nike so I guess they'll be accepted in 2019 if they want in. I hadn't yet drawn a conclusion about if the program was going to be good or not but if it constrained by some corporate/political crap then the value of it is diminished in my eyes.
It would be interesting if they had the winner of the spring tournament to have a automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. Then it is something to play for. It would be make the spring season a little different from the current spring season.
Nothing to see here. Just a "rebranded" spring season. Seriously, USSF/MLS is overselling this as more than what it is. Going by FIFA rules? 18-man gameday roster, cool. Most DI programs probably have roughly 18 players anyway in the spring. When I was coaching in college, the most I ever had was 21 for a spring. I know some area schools have less than 15. Ohio State has ALWAYS invited some of the OSU club players for extra bodies for their spring season. NCAA regulations still apply. Rules differences are nothing. Colleges can install whatever rules they want for their exhibitions, which is all the spring season is anyway. This is really a laughable reach by USSF/MLS in marketing this as something special.
So I'm curious about this whole U.S soccer spring program, why is it so hard to find results for games other than a tweet from the winning team. No breakdowns of games, no video. I'm not sure how this has better advertised the college game for the Spring season.
It's like any other spring...it doesn't matter to anyone. It's a made up "marketing" scheme to make it appear something is special. It's not. On another note about the "full year calendar" side of things, I talked with a former DI coach who was involved in proposals when he was coaching. He said EVERY year they brought it up for proposal and it was instantly shot down. DI programs don't even want the move themselves. Why? Because they know if they move to that schedule their soccer program will be cut instantly. Many programs share fields, AT staff, locker rooms, etc. No way will a move benefit those programs because it'd just be cheaper to cut soccer instead of increase funding, scheduling, maintenance, etc.
I agree with most of your points. But any joint venture between USSF, MLS and NCAA must generally be interpreted as a positive step.
How is a positive step? There's nothing different with it than any other spring setup. FIFA rules? That's a joke to say that's the "difference" in this. So, they have 18 man rosters, limited subs, count-up clock, etc. Anyone, anytime, anywhere can do the same in spring. Many programs don't even have 18 man rosters in the spring, so that's not even a rule that is important. I've seen it marketed. They "blew it up" when it was signed on. I saw the results from the first weekend. I saw highlights. It is a marketing scheme that this USSF "partnership" is actually meaningful.
This is not meaningful, impactful change that we would all want. But these three organizations mostly ignore each other. So, any sort of admittedly lame collaboration is something better than we had before. And it is something on which to build. Success is incremental.
Unless they change the weirdly restrictive practice rules (contact hours) for the spring, it doesn't matter how you dress up the 5 or so games played in the spring. It's the time span from December until May where the training is lacking that creates the lost years gap. Unless I haven't been keeping up. Isn't it like 2 contact hours a week that can involve the ball? Or maybe that has changed?
The Spring College Program, initiated by the USSF, has ended and North Carolina was the "champ" with a 1-0 win over Duke. The Washington Post ran an article yesterday and from early indicators it sounds as if the program went well. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...andards/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4e9b8c7c4d64