Not sure where this belongs so I'll drop it in a few as it has implications for both youth and senior team and FCD thread. https://3rddegree.net/the-fc-dallas-academy-is-great-heres-why Buzz Carrick who has covered FC Dallas/Burn since '97 writes about what he has witnessed watching the academy. I think it has implications on what Stewart and Berhalter are trying to do with the boys side of the national teams. Not sure if it will work but has been pretty successful at FCD.
I'm kind of amazed no one has piped in here to agree or disagree with Stewart about whether this can work on a national team level as opposed to a club team. The Dutch and apparently Uruaguay do this but is the US to wide spread with so many different styles at club to pull this off? If it does work than a player will know exactly what to do as they move up in levels and should in theory only look like all of our national teams who are trying to get this down at the first level they are called in for. After that and they should have the system down and be able to just play as they move up the ladder. Problems would be any player for the full team who never played with youth national teams would be at a big disadvantage over those who are already familiar.
I think FC Dallas has a good program that they run in MLS, but I'm not sure its as great as the author portrays. A year ago, they were still all talk and there's been a few problems this offseason with what they've been doing, namely the Gomez debacle and giving extensions to Ferreira, Pomykal and not selling Cannon yet. They had a good season, but I wouldn't anoint them yet for the program. Their academy is the best in the country. I don't think anyone doubts that.
FC Dallas is much like Ussoccer. They had a couple early bloomer players from their system (Acosta and Ulloa) and have a lot of great players coming through. They suffered from having coaches who were not very fond of playing HG's but now have the best coach in the MLS for this. They have 2-3 lineups worth of produced players who could do well in the MLS born in 1998 or younger.
I disagree with about 75% of that article and it seems like a propaganda piece from their marketing department. I had a kid in the academy for two years and from first hand experience it is much different behind the scenes than what is often portrayed. Look at how many kids are now turning down USL offers. FCD ONLY reasons for being successful are money on facilities and where it is located. North Texas and the main surrounding states is the hotbed of youth soccer. If FCD was in North Carolina and ran the same program, we wouldn't know their name.
Do you have specifics as to how it is the same as portrayed in the article and how it is different? - at least, according to your experience?
I have heard the same thing from parents and players inside the club. I will preface all of what I will say below with, this is all hearsay as I have no contacts that work for the club. First, and most obvious to anyone close to the soccer scene in DFW is the fact they aren’t really doing anything different than clubs in the past have done. Yes, they are the professional club, so they have first dibs to sign their own players, but this market has been producing high quality players for decades. Second, I hear from many parents that the club is extremely political. I think this is sometimes sour grapes and could be said about many organizations, but it is a reoccurring theme that has been told to me by more than a few people. Buzz does a great job with 3rd Degree, but in order to do what he does, he needs continued access to the club and pieces like this help with that. He doesn’t have a problem calling them out (he’s done it plenty of times), but the information to pen this article likely came from the club and not players or parents involved on a daily basis. They obviously are doing something right, so it’s difficult to be too harsh on them. But I’m not sure things are as great as everyone thinks.
Always be aware that a lot of parents will say things like that when in reality their kid isn’t good enoughZ. If he is there are plenty of other outlets to showcase your talent in North Texas. It isn’t FCD or bust
I'm going to defend Buzz here. I've known him a while (since a '97 Burn practice session with Dave Dir) and have never seen him take news from the club and run it as his own. He may interview someone and quote them on things. Now I also don't doubt that what you see every day in Academy is very different than what he sees when watching the main team play and practice and occasionally watching different age group DA or NTSC play. He, like the rest of us, doesn't always get a prospect right but he's watched since '97 and has seen tons of prospects and just sees them differently than parents or relatives who are seeing a certain group of players for years.
There is no reason to defend Buzz. I think he is fantastic and does an amazing job with content. He alone provides information to the masses on FCD and their Academy that is far above and beyond even what the club puts out. If what I said came across any differently, then I offer my apologies. My only point was that I think the Academy is viewed differently from the outside than it is on the inside. Given that, I don't think there will be any journalist close to the club to ever put out the other side.
Is North Carolina not a soccer hotbed too? I'm expecting the Charlotte academy to pump out quality pretty regularly tbh.
I know there is some of that out there, but I can say there are a lot of players that are definitely good enough to play for FCD, but like the freedom of playing for some of the other clubs in NTX. Being able to go to your Europe and not deal with the politics of FCD is a big factor. I think a lot of people feel if you are only thinking MLS go to FCD, but if you have any thoughts of Europe better to stay independent. With Solar winning the DA Championship last year, it proves there is a lot of talent in the area.
I just think it shows that MLS academy teams are now moving players up age groups because they are prioritizing development instead of titles. Pretty sure had FCD prioritized another U17 title then Pepi and company would have been there every game for that tournament. Of course no way to prove anything until at least five years from now when kids this age are starting for teams and we see how well they chose.
Not sure the point of your comment, did not say Solar was better than FCD, just said there is a lot of talent in the area. I would hope FCD could win if they cared with all of the resources available to them (also know that FCD brass was not happy to lose to a local team). There are just some players in NTX that want to try a different route, and FCD isn't the only option for them. It is obvious your are a big fan of FCD, and they do have a great program, but I know 2 players playing in Europe right now from the area that turned FCD down to take a shot over there. There are players at Solar right now in different age groups that have turned down FCD, for now. It doesn't mean they won't go there eventually and doesn't mean FCD will want them later. Point is, MLS Academies are not the answer for every youth player wanting to go pro. The fact that 2 non-MLS U17 DA teams made the finals proves there are other options for development. I certainly hope all the kids in this area do well, regardless of what club they came from. It doesn't really matter with the current HG rules, FCD owns them anyway.
I guess I thought you were implying that by winning it showed they had talent. I already knew other teams had talent. I do like FCD although my kids played for other clubs. I just see a lot of bashing at FCD and politics brought up. Every team of every kind in the world has politics. I would guess that FC Dallas has sent more kids into the professional ranks than any other in the nation the last ten years. Doesn't mean I think every kid should go there or are a fit. I wish there were more good teams in the metroplex and in the rest of the country as iron strengthens iron.
No club in the DFW area is without drama. My kid was at Solar for 8 years. Loved the club and he had great training. Had to leave because of new drama. Heard for years from Solar horrible things about FCD for years. We did the dirty deed and went to FCD and the rumors were only partly true. It was actually Luchi who verified some and dispelled the others. We appreciated the honesty. Refreshing. Good and bad with all the clubs in the area. It really depends on the goals of your kid. My kid was never looking to go pro etc. Really just looking for a scholarship. We felt he would get that at any club in DFW. He ended up going pro via FCD. Solar never once offered a path to pro or suggested that as an option. In fact he was going to be punished when he was invited to go to Benfica to train. Not saying FCD would have handled this better, however Solar had many instances of players being benched when going on ‘unapproved’ training/trials. If you are not a former player yourself you may not know how to leverage these situations. Glad now, 5 years that this is better situation for all young players. These coaches egos are something.