Along with being signed to an extension as the Nats coach through 2018, Jurgen Klinsmann was named as the US Soccer Technical Director. http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/12/klinsmann-appointed-technical.html Anyone want to hazard a guess as to whether he'll be able to effect change in the youth ranks or whether he'll be frustrated by the entrenchment of the old guard?
Well, there is an actual youth technical director that was just installed into that position. That was Tab Ramos. http://www.ussoccer.com/news/federa...named-us-soccer-youth-technical-director.aspx I suspect Klinsmann will have a hand in things, but he'll mostly leave the youth aspects to Tab and company.
I'm sure the youth technical director will report to the overall Technical director. Day to Day ops will go to Tab but Jurgen will have a big role in overall direction, scouting, infrastructure, development decisions that Tab and his minions will implement. He's the type to have influence over the old guard, but for me the old guard won't change until influence gets shifted to the new guard. And that is a USSF MLS partnership where Klinsman convinces MLS that investment in youth development with coaching and forms of residency is a great investment in future on the field talent. That is my wish during this Christmas season.
I am interested to see how this works out. I am really sure what kind of influence JK will really have. Let's just say I am skeptical for now.
Of recent note ... http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ey-assistant-general-manager-academy-director
http://soccer.si.com/2013/12/13/jurgen-klinsmann-sunil-gulati-us-soccer/?eref=sihp Beyond the senior national side, he is passionate about reshaping American soccer at its foundation, from coaching education to youth player development. Klinsmann said Friday that he wants youth coaches, especially those at the elite level, to undergo more rigorous licensing and education and to “never be satisfied with anything.” He also wants to work more closely with MLS on finding playing opportunities for young pros. “How do we make sure these kids continue to play 40-50 games a year, which they badly need in order to grow and reach their highest potential one day,” he asked.
Let's hope that's a warning shot to those entrenched in the youth coaching profession. We've seen player talent bubble up in different places now we need the coaching talent.
This really doesn't change much. The only major positive movement towards youth development in this country is going to come from, or through Major League Soccer. Until Major League Soccer makes youth development a priority we're going to keep moving forward at a snail's pace. That being said, I think MLS has made major movement towards youth dev recently and it will continue.
Would take him as U-17 coach in a second. Would also be interesting to see what he could do with U-23's.
Great read from Graham Hunter's upcoming book on Spain. This excerpt includes how Spain approaches talent identification for youth national teams: http://www.theguardian.com/football...tory-of-la-rojas-historic-treble-book-extract Here's a quote from Ginés Meléndez (who sounds like Ramos' equivalent):
i admittedly know very little about this stuff, but that doesnt seem like a particularly sophisticated approach
Apparently it works. Keep in mind I have no pro scouting experience but it seems that scouting is more about having a group of smart guys, well spread out, watching a lot of games. Getting more MLS teams and US Soccer becoming more connected through the USSDA is going to help this IMO.
It does seem straightforward, but two things jumped out for me: 1) Each month, the youth players leave their clubs for three consecutive days to train at a national level. This seems to eliminate (or at least mitigate) club v. country conflicts. 2) The consistency of style of play. Same general exercises and style of play for the U-15s as the U-21s. As players progress, there is an inherent familiarity. Also, if new players join the team, the vast majority of the squad can help demonstrate the desired way to play.
"I explain to them precisely what I´m looking for." We can do that even more precisely: a beast with wheels.
It sounds as if they select their U15 squad three years in advance, and don't change it from there. Seems surprising to me, especially that young, but I guess it works.
If they have 57 scouts in 19 regions how many should we have? If Spain is about 5.122% the size of the U.S. we would need around 1150 scouts in like 375 regions if my math is correct.
In an effort to compare sports I asked my friend who works in the Red Sox front office how many full time scouts there are in the organization. He said between scouts and scout crosscheckers there are about 80... then I thought about how many full time scouts the Revs have. If each MLB team has 80 full time scouts (though I would assume not all teams have that many) that's 2400 pro MLB scouts scattered across the US and internationally.
Very dubious. How many of Spain's senior players were at the top of their fed's radar as a U12? Lots of them were in good academies, of course, but that's the value of having plenty of good academies.
For further context, each MLB team has 7 or 8 affiliate teams, which I guess roughly means each organization actually employs about 300 players in the States. That gets you to something like (shorthand here) 4 players per scout. If you over-count the number of American pro outdoor teams at 50, and given them 30-man rosters, that gets you to 1,500 players total. Fewer than the total number of baseball scouts!