Ohio North costs over $800.00 for regional camp now. Each session costs upwards of $150.00. Other states cost 50, 60, 70, 80 % less than Oh-N. Still trying to figure this out.
Bingo! What other reason is there? I don't mind paying $2,500 (last year's expense) for attending Regionals, but the chance of my kid advancing beyond Regionals is very unlikely, especially against stiff competition in CA, WA, and OR. Think of the money I spent as a calculated risk for my son to obtain a college scholarship. If it doesn't work out that way, meh.. we had a good time of it anyway!
Nah, don't you know, ODP is a 501(c)(3), it's their mission to lose money no matter what fee they charge.
Ya' buddy, that's what were talking about. If you value it, you can evaluate it! Approach the selection process like a team of German engineers: Measure performance thru certain skill sets, athleticism, tactical, psychological, and other player criteria. Have a panel of ODP coaches sit down and figure out how to create a weighted evaluation system. The end product wouldn't be perfect, but it certainly would take a lot bias out of the current evaluation process. I don't know much about the Mitt Romney comment.
I wasn't thinking of the Academy system as I was typing. The Academy seems to work the same way as a state level ODP--lots of players in the pool and then collect some of them for competition. But one way in which the Academy is better is that there are rules to have all players who are on the roster (in the pool) play in actual games, since the Academy requires that all players start in at least 30% of the team's games. ODP expenses have also increased in our state this year and as my kids are getting older, I am starting to hear about their (older) friends who are going off to college. I know at least one who will play without ODP experience and one who was recruited without ODP experience. As the expenses mount, I start to wonder.
Rauwshan McKenzie from my kid's club (Sockers) did ODP a bit, but I think dropped it after being cut at Regional level. At any rate, he was a Michigan State scholarship recruit because of club, not ODP. He was drafted yesterday in MLS, too. Rauwshan is a 6' 1" with "great recovery speed" according to the pre-draft analysis, and a "very gifted athlete" according to his college coach. It may seem odd that coaches who seem to emphasize athleticism missed such a player. But Rauwshan was born later in the year and was not early to puberty. Meaning he was a skinny and not overly fast player when he did ODP, and was not considered a top athlete. Picking out 13 year old future athletes is a difficult task, not a trivial one.
Good piece Perf : I still think ODP is a dying program. However you raised an interesting issue on costs............$400,000k for insurance?.......Why not insist that all parents with kids participating sign an all encompassing waiver that covers everything from goalpost collisions to acts of God?
The $400,000 was not all for insurance, though a significant chunk was. There were ohter costs, such as arranging for scouting visits from National Team coaches, administrative support and so on. A blanket waiver would not suffice. First, a major portion of the insurance cost is for medical coverage. Policies arranged by State Associations very, but many provide $100,000 or more in medical coverage for injuries resulting from engaging in sanctioned events. The coverage is not primary, i.e., your health coverage comes first, but for many families it is the only coverage they have. Failure to provide this coverage that is basic in most registrations would have been a serious gap in the Academy program. Second, waivers in many States are are not bullet proof. Many States preclude waivers that are not bargained for or that involve culpability toward minors. No State allows you to exculpate your own intentional misconduct, such as sexually abusing a child. And even if you are in a State that will enforce a waiver, you can still be sued and have defense costs even if you ultimately win the case, costs which can be very large. You need the insurance.
Great post pantagruel. Thanks for taking the time. I could not have said it or organized my thoughts better, so I hope you don't mind if I quote you. As you mention, ODP has a secondary function that is, IMO, very important. It gives the better player in the area a chance to get together, play and train. For the younger players U13 and below, it is often the first time the better players have been together with other players like themselves. Regardless of the level you select, state, regional etc. the kids will eventually end up in a group of similarly talented players. They can see where they are in comparison to those players. Since we live in a geographically dispersed area, it is rare to get all the better players in one position together standing side by side. For my kid, I think that has been the best aspect of the program. As many have mentioned, there are pros and cons with any system and when you “fix” something in one area, such as creating more try-out sessions in smaller towns, you compromise another area, such as having a fair and efficient evaluation process. Around here, the coaches are almost exclusively club pros who essentially work as volunteers in the ODP program. They devote considerable time and energy in sometimes miserable weather to make the program work. While I don’t always agree with their player selection choices (that is for another post where I might go ballistic) they do the best they can to make the program work as affordably as possible. The place I disagree with you about is that the program should not eliminate the younger age groups at the state level. They should instead extend the program downward another year to U12 to further the mission of simply getting the better players together to play and train. So the bottom line I try to stick with is, is my kid a better player for participating in the program? I think he is clearly a better player after the process. However, if money was a primary issue would I still feel that way? Not sure but we are thankful we don’t have that issue. The primary lesson he has learned from participation: Focus on continuing to develop both technically and tactically. No matter how big and athletic you think you are, some kid will show up out of nowhere who is bigger and more athletic. That has been a particularly tough lesson for some of the participants we know.
John: Have seen this scenario many times as you've mentioned above. Perfect example is the recent player from our team, Steven Birnbaum, who just got added to the U20 MNT from the U18 Camp. He never made ODP in our state except as an "alternate" last winter season. He's also been scholarship recruited to Cal Berkley, and because of club, not ODP. So how could ODP have missed him all these years? I do not profess to know the game as well as the coaches or players, but it amazes me when I see players such as Steven beat other ODP player consistantly during the years. I have this theory that some coaches are good coaches and trainers, but they have a very hard time picking out talent. I can't put my finger on it, but I see it on the field over and over again, and results don't lie.
I have this theory that some coaches are good coaches and trainers, but they have a very hard time picking out talent. I can't put my finger on it, but I see it on the field over and over again, and results don't lie.[/QUOTE] While this is certainly true (there are a lot of varied skills in coaching. Some coaches are better tacticians, others better at teaching skills, etc) There are a number of other factors- There are more good players than spots on an ODP team- therefore very good players are not going to make it. People develop and grow at different stages Some players do not perform well in new environments- the player who looks great with their club ( or even state ) team does not do well when thrown in with a bunch of strangers in a pool game at Regional Camp I think the biggest thing is opinions- I heard someone (Anson Dorrance?) say if you had 50 coaches watch 50 players and ask them to pick a top 11 they would all pick the same 4-5 top players and then you would get 50 different lists. Different coaches like different thnigs. Doesn't make them right or wrong. Plus some coaches are ignorant, dishonest SOBs- same as any other field of work!