Jay Heaps after 5 years: still the right guy for the job?

Some interesting quotes from that article:

Good to find out that Heaps has his A License already...

Another participant in the class:

 

I also thought this was interesting:

Later in the year, US Soccer coach educators will visit Pro Course participants in their particular coaching environments to observe their work before tailoring customized programs for each.

Per a conversation on SiriusXM, Oscar Pareja had to devote quite a bit of time to this, so Heaps is going to be busy throughout the year.

 

So that means even less time for scouting new players.... Ah, who needs new guys, we're on the CUSP!

 

Interesting that it says the course is only open to domestic participants and yet it will become a USSF requirement at some point for MLS, USL, etc. clubs. Isn't that effectively shutting out foreign coaches?

 

They'll probably be phased in; it is only year two or so if the program. Including foreign coaches in this mix brings in some visa issues that they probably wanted to avoid in year one. But they'll likely have to open it up eventually.

 

I'm all for further knowledge and education. But realistically, does the US have the best soccer program in the world? Ah, No! So this idea that these Pro courses are going to help fix your short comings is kind of laughable. Gaining additional knowledge is great, but it's what you do with that knowledge is much more important.

My example of the ussf courses is the time when I was getting my "D" license; we were having a discussion of drills to help players control the ball. I said that I liked soccer tennis. A player has to control a ball that is not played on the ground and quickly play the ball over "the net". I was told in so many words that that was a stupid drill. A couple of years ago I was watching a program; they were at Barcelona's training camp. There was Messi, Neymar, and a couple of other players doing a soccer tennis like drill. I hollered at the tv, hey don't you guys know that that is a stupid drill.

 

But we are about the equivalent of the Earthquakes right now in terms of product on thne field. But they have a nice stadium and just hired a GM with qualifications and connections, so it's reasonable to think they'll get better.

Yeah, the "Popeye Theory." But why do they have to build a stadium in order to take the team seriously? There are aproximately 12,482,487.2 thigs they could be doing right now that don't cost a lot of money or take a lot of ambition that can make a difference while we are sitting around waiting for the new stadium to be built.

 

Kraft already owns the stadium and revenue stream---there is no "one day" to start spending money as with renters D.C. or the Quakes pre-Avaya.

 

Grading the coaches in all 22 MLS clubs. @caitlinmurr: https://t.co/6mcwjifwt1

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 20, 2017

Oh, boy. Via @FOXSoccer #NERevs pic.twitter.com/dw7GTVILzr

— Julian Cardillo (@JulianCardillo) January 20, 2017

 

Well, apparently a D+ is good enough to keep your job as long as you're a Kraft loyalist. Competence? That's for losers. Sad!

 

like to see someone rate the FO

 

And D+ is very lenient -- I blame grade inflation. If it took you 1/2 a semester into a class (season), you finally figure something out that everyone in the class already knew (let's say, that our talent mix required a two-striker formation, or how to do long division) would you get a passing grade?

 

Last night on CounterAttack with Brian Dunseth and Tony Meola on SiriusXM - Kyle McCarthy did a preview on the Revs and he echoed a lot of what has been said on this board.

The "jury is out" was his quote. Concerns that there are no real reads on the 4 new signings since 2 of them have been injured and have not really participated in preseason.

In addition, the discussion also centered around the fact that this is an important diamond (GK - 2 CB's - DM) and part of the spine. All are new players in a new league to them and still "a lot of question marks".

He used the phrase "the Revs are quietly hopeful" - again there is my note that I keep seeing the word "Hopeful" from multiple sources in talking about the Revs (feeling anxious again......)

Tony Meola asked Kyle at the end of interview if Jay is under pressure this year. Kyle said Heaps has to produce. He said they have to be good or they are going to have to ask some hard questions.

 

Ask him some hard questions?

All I can think of was an old cartoon in "When Saturday Comes" where they were making fun of some of the typical cliches in English football. "They are asking questions of the Leeds defence" and there was Rio Ferdinand behind a game show podium being asked, "What is the capital of Abysinnia?" His response was "Err..."

Maybe they should have asked him those questions a year ago.

A while back when I dropped my car off for service, I saw none other than Jonathan Kraft. At the time I said hello and asked a polite enough, yet somewhat pointed question like "When are the Revs going to sign a top player to stay competitive?" and he just kind of laughed and muttered something about how they were going to be good this year, etc.

I brought it in today, and was hoping I'd see him again (no luck), but this time I was going to ask him why Heaps and Burns still have jobs. He prolly would have been stunned for several reasons: 1) some plebe actually confronted him with a non-fanboy question, 2) he actually encounterd a Revs fan in a random public place, 3) I did not acknowledge the Pats SB win, 4) someone cares enough to have a strong opinion about the Revs (even if it's "wrong"), 5) someone is holding his people more accountable than he is.

 

Sure, the Kraft's care. They care about winning, and they care even more about the bottom line.

 

There is a difference between "caring" and "caring."

Sure, the Krafts "care" in that they are happy when the team wins, happy to see a good crowd on hand, happy to see the league as a whole doing well, happy to glad-hand the players and all that. Are they absolutely gutted when the team lost in any of the 5 finals? Disappointed, sure. But gutted, where it is still bothering them a week later? Gutted to the point that they can't watch a replay of the game?

Do they have a "Patriots-level" of caring about the Revs? I'm not saying they should spend the same kind of money, but I am saying that if they had the same level of "caring," they would have someone on staff who knew the MLS rules (both written and unwritten) inside and out, and was always looking for the loopholes that no one else could find that would give the Revs even the slightest edge. Like having a full roster. Like having a USL team. If only we were allowed to do those things... Even if you want to run yourself as a "moneyball" team, that means it is that much more important to have people like that, because you can't go out and buy a player for a bajillion dollars.

Teams can be big spenders and lax on the litle things, or they can be budget concious and make up for it in other ways. The Revs are a combination of both, kinda like what JFK once said about Washington DC a long time ago: The combination of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.

So sure, the Krafts "care," as long as it doesn't take any effort or money, but they don't "care" enough to actually do the "little" things that don't always take a lot of money or work, but actually can make a difference. Why bother? It's just... [rest of the sentence not spoken, because it takes too much effort to say "too much effort to do all that."]