College and high school posibilites

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by Ruben Rivas, Nov 21, 2017.

  1. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    This is a random question but how possible or realistic is it to change both to 8 months season?

    Is that even an option?

    Like many people have said, they have the resources for lower class kids but with short seasons there isn’t much that can be done.

    Thanks
     
  2. Elninho

    Elninho Member+

    Sacramento Republic FC
    United States
    Oct 30, 2000
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The top college coaches have all been lobbying for an extended season. If they get it, it would help a lot. One of the biggest problems with college soccer is trying to cram so many games into such a short time; there's basically no time for real training other than preseason because once the games start almost every training session is either pre-game prep or post-game recovery.
     
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  3. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    Too many foreigners too I think.

    What about high school? Any chance that we can change this too? That would be great.
     
  4. puttputtfc

    puttputtfc Member+

    Sep 7, 1999
    Too many high schools already face a budget crisis. Extending the soccer season wouldn't work especially in schools where soccer is a second rate sport to begin with.
     
  5. HScoach13

    HScoach13 Member+

    Nov 30, 2016
    Club:
    Atlanta
    #5 HScoach13, Nov 22, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2017
    No other sport at the hs level has that long of a season. Pointy football does 7v7 passing leagues in the summer. This allows their coahes to have more time working with players. The player/coach coaching time is not equitable in regards to soccer coaches vs. Pointy football at least in my state.
     
  6. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    High school, no. But I don't think that's a problem, since clubs teams go year round.
     
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  7. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    Clubs are expensive, high school is not
     
  8. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They're not expensive for really good players. They're free.
     
  9. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    The point is to develop more and better players
     
  10. bustos21

    bustos21 Member

    Aug 13, 2004
    NJ
    Club:
    CA Boca Juniors
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    If parents are willing to shuttle there kids all over for pay for play why couldn't they do it for an extended high school season. The problem with high school is the coaching mostly suck and they wouldn't know how to properly develop the kids. The freshman coaches usually are guys that don't know how to kick a ball properly.
     
  11. HScoach13

    HScoach13 Member+

    Nov 30, 2016
    Club:
    Atlanta
    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You just tightened the funnel.
     
  12. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    I'd hope that many would reconsider their position as kids like Keaton Parks break thru. Keaton didn't play for a development academy team, but for Liberty High School down the street from FC Dallas. He just debuted for Benfica.

    What we need to do is develop the pathway for all players to the professional MLS (or otherwise) level. The talent is out there in high school. So any ideas to improve the training/development opportunities for high school players around the country should be considered. Most kids around the country don't live within driving distance of a Development Academy. I know that's obvious, but sometimes needs to be reiterated. Keaton could have played for FC Dallas, or Solar or the Dallas Texans, etc. etc. But what about the kid that lives in Waco or El Paso....................or Nacogdoches :))?

    We have to broaden the size of the funnel and provide opportunities for as many kids as possible to travel down the funnel as possible (should they show the ability level).
     
  13. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    Which makes my point stronger, making the high school and college seasons 8 months will be huge for soccer in this country, with the right coaching, a lot of kids will be literally ready to go pro after high school.
     
  14. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Year round HS soccer likely wouldn't help much.

    I'm a big advocate for HS soccer. But it's not a great resource for high-level training.
     
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  15. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    Street futbol created Fat Ronaldos
    Academies created Cristianos

    Hopelly our high schools and colleges can create more Donovans and Mc Brides that will help our pool to be bigger.
     
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  16. chrome_vapors

    chrome_vapors Member+

    Oct 15, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That’s a big claim. Who is going to provide the right coaching?

    Who’s going to work with these players eight months out the year to such effect that they’re pro ready at 18yo?

    And they’re going to be compensated on a school district budget? I don’t see it.

    You’re talking about professional caliber coaches who will need to be compensated accordingly.

    Facilities and fields are another issue. Most American high schools have one athletic field - particularity high schools in our underserved communities.

    The collegiate game has to be fixed, but I don’t see high school soccer as a real solution to any of our problems at the youth level.

    Year-round professional youth development delivered for free by our secondary education centers sounds great, but it completely ignores the existing financial realities we currently face in education and in soccer.
     
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  17. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A lot would have to change for HS soccer to "create" much of anything in the way of elite players.

    What it can do is create more of a soccer culture. My son played travel club for over a decade, but it was through MS & HS soccer where he made the friends and connections that led to pickup soccer on his own time.

    Our system not only does a bad job of identifying talent and developing it, it also chases away anybody deemed inadequate for our immediate needs (i.e., winning the Memorial Day U-12 Cup, etc.). You can't have street soccer and such if there aren't a lot of kids out there who enjoy playing and do it for fun.
     
  18. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    An increased reliance on HS soccer--aside from all the fiscal and logistical challenges you rightly note--would possibly also exacerbate rather than mitigate the inequities built into our system, given the inequities in funding and so forth.
     
  19. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    I don't think anybody here thinks just a high school setting is ideal for the development of professional soccer players.

    Professional development, thru MLS or USLPro, is the ideal scenario for youngsters in this country. Those are the organizations with revenue streams that will allow them to continue improving their programs thru investment. That's what the top youth coaches should funnel into, and where the facilities are going to be the best.

    MLS clubs are building up their spider webs of affiliates around the country, which is primarily a scouting and player identification exercise. Sporting Kansas City, just as an example, has 15 affiliates throughout the midwest. The youngsters are also coached in the "Sporting Kansas City" way, and the coaching staff of those clubs are developed. The idea is to identify kids in those programs to bring to their DA programs in Kansas City.

    But many kids can't make the commitment to that move or don't have access to the travel options required to train at a club team. I think we all remember the story of Clint Dempsey, who had to drive 2 hours both ways to train with the Dallas Texans. Most families wouldn't make that commitment. I can give lots of examples in Texas. Jose Francisco Torres didn't play for a powerhouse club team. He played for Longview High School, where he was a real stoundout. Pachuca identified him after his sophomore season and brought him down to Mexico. Edgar Castillo, down at the Texas/New Mexico border, played for Mayfield High School. He led them to two state championships, but was never provided opportunities to play professionally in the US. I could go on and on and on and on and on with other examples from Texas. The Funes Mori brothers (now at Monterrey and Everton) played for Arlington High School. When Rogelio won MLS Sueno, he did spend a year at the FCD academy. (think they may also have played a season for ASG, a now defunct club team that Kellyn Acosta also played for as a youngster).

    So if there are any ways to improve training opportunities for kids in those high schools, they must be considered. But the naysayers on this thread are exactly right, the resources available to these programs are really limited. The options are limited.
     
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  20. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    @chrome_vapors has it right. At this point in time, we have nowhere enough quality coaches for your idea to work. My daughter as on her middle school tam last year, and I’m 5 times as good of a coach as the one she had. And you wouldn’t want me anywhere near a potential pro player.

    This is in Raleigh, which has a pretty strong soccer culture.
     
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  21. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My son's MS coach used to stand on the sidelines shouting "Come on you guys, score a goal!" At least she wasn't teaching them BAD tactics...
     
  22. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    I think you guys are being a little too harsh with the idea.

    Realistically speaking, it will take time to implement but in 5-10 years we could see something good coming out of it.

    In no way I’m saying all high school kids will be ready to play pro ball if the seasons are 8 months but it will def help the few high school players that have the dream, the desire and the work ethic to turn into pro.

    I know it sounds like an unrealistic dream but I do think is a good idea if we somehow can make it happen.

    Coaching will get better with time, 10 years ago, a lot of high school coaches used to be former high school football players, now; slowly high school coaches are former pay to play clu players, eventually the quality of coaching will be rising to the point where high school coaches will be former pro or semipro players... we have to be optimistic.
     
  23. nobody

    nobody Member+

    Jun 20, 2000
    I think one of the biggest problems we have with players is being able to identify players from all corners of this spread out country. To do so takes a large infrastructure. We can go the current path of attempting to build a new one and hopefully we'll get there is several more decades, or we could try to work with a huge already in place infrastructure. Seems like a no-brainer to me. But, I also know that getting people in any established organization to change their ways and give up total control to share with others is a big ask that seldom actually materializes. And in this case, you'd have the High School people not wanting to give up anything and the US Soccer people not wanting to give up anything.

    I'd like to think that at least people in US Soccer could see the examples given above in this thread of good players who play at school and exist outside the system that turned out to be solid, professional level players and understand that at least having some people scouting school systems makes sense. But, from the immediate negative reactions everyone seems to have even mentioning high school players, I'm not so sure they do.
     
  24. Ruben Rivas

    Ruben Rivas Member

    Madrid
    United States
    Apr 1, 2017
    Miami
    If anything high school and college soccer will be huge for the lower divisions and for growing the soccer culture faster, there will always be high school super stars making it to the pros and the more we can help to make this happen, the better it is.
     

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