Follow up article on the Academy's "Pathway to the Pros" concept/reboot. Lots of interesting tidbits in here... https://www.soccerwire.com/blog-pos...s-and-thoughts-on-dc-uniteds-new-p2p-program/
To be fair my reading was this was only true at the younger, pre-DA age levels. But yeah, I think the concept is they stay mostly with their clubs and come in for 'supplemental' training and evaluation with United.
The story of a Northern Virginia teenager seeking opportunity in the Pacific Northwest with @TimbersFC #rctid #mls #dcu @AlexandriaSoc https://t.co/CtwgAYWUP3— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) September 22, 2018
I don't have access to The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/516093/2018...ntent&campaign_id=WillParchman&source=fbadsbc My guess is we're #18
15 - but he wished that he could have ranked us lower because of how much the players are charged to participate. That we are not ranked lower is more of a statement about the deficiencies of the other academies than about the strengths of our own. Just giving you the gist.
Ive been to a handful of u-19 games. Why dont we have ball boys? Every time the ball goes out and kipp, we have to wait forever for play to resume. Highly irritating, especially because of the easy fix of using u17 down to u9 players as ball boys. Or at least leave balls all around the pitch.
DC United academy CB Michael Edwards signs with VFL Wolfsburg. Have to wonder if this guy is good enough for a BL Contract then why wasn’t he on the first team when CB is our biggest need.
Signing a BL contract is not the same as being ready to play today. Now, if he's playing in the BL by the end of the year and we dropped the ball that's a problem. Cos also be that he had zero interest in either MLS or DCU.
Jared Jeffrey was in a BL program. Doesn't mean you are starting caliber. Just means you are a prospect. Think of this like he signed with the Nats and was assigned to Potomac. Might make it to the bigs, but then again......
I had forgotten about that. And so were Canouse... and Pulisic. Three very different outcomes. I do think Canouse should eventually make the US National Team if he continues to progress though... so the final outcome might still be pretty good for him.
Is there an Academy Alumni thread Big week for former @DCUyouth & Freestate (@MDUnitedFC_Boys) Standout @mikeeyseaton_ as he signs a contract extension for @orangecountysc after scoring a hat trick in the teams 4-0 win over St.Louis in the @USL Western Conference quarterfinals!#RepDMV📰| https://t.co/A3y1NqS0NC pic.twitter.com/ZZ51DHWURK— DMV Soccer (@DMVSoccer96) October 25, 2018
Or Ribery - a guy who never made an impression at the youth levels but who kept on advancing while others plateaued out
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/10/30/houston-dynamo-sign-homegrown-center-back-eric-mccue-2019 Another DCU whiff.
Why would you sign with a team where you ride the pine all the time. And maybe the scuttlebutt on Wolfsburg is that their academy is just so-so.
Once the new training facility is done it will take us a few years to build any sort of strong youth pipeline. I don't know how the new club agreement is working, but we all know there is a lot of great talent in the area. DCU just needs to figure out how to get it on board. I think the new agreement can work.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...ng-goals-saving-frogs/?utm_term=.56b9195afa50 Sign him up. He just let his team to the national title. 4 shutouts in the final 4 games!
I think the question there is 'how does DC not pick up on the potential of a guy in their own back yard well before a club 4,000 miles away gets wind of it?' It's definitely fair that the true hits are in the distinct minority. What I've observed, though, is that the 'huge whiffs' are somewhat greater, but also a minority; the 'close but no cigar' guys are at least as common as either. And if you're a 'close but no cigar' guy for the Bundesliga, you should be a pretty valuable player to MLS. That's what Canouse is (unless he has a Ribery-ish later career arc).
Hearing @MLS is seriously considering a U19 league with all MLS Academies starting next season. If that’s the case all @MLS Academies would pull out of the U19 USSDA league and join the new league. Private academies would still likely play in USSDA League. This is only for U19s.— Tony Marinaro (@TonyMarinaro) December 13, 2018
I already don't understand the relationship between DCU and the affiliated academies. I know the affiliated academies put together some kind of super team that competed in the same tournament with DCU and won it all. I can see the benefits already..? This just sent my brain into a flaming meltdown. Somebody draw me a diagram.
Id prefer they leave the u18's and start a u21 league instead. Really there should be a u17 league and a u21 league, then the ussda should take care of the school boys and girls from u15/16 down.
Where does the academy structure top out now, and do we know how kids are going to trickle up? Can kids play with LU without wrecking their NCAA eligibility? I thought the rule was you can play against pros, but not alongside them...
Im assuming the academy kids who are now in college, will not play for Loudon Utd. If they are in college, that means they are either not good enough to play for DC United or not ready. I think, or at least I hope Griffin Yow is a candidate to play for LU.