Private Prep Schools in Development Academy?

Personally, I would find this a step in the (continued) wrong direction…I don’t see how a handful of elitist, private, prep schools joining the DA does a damn thing to or for the “run of the mill” high school soccer landscape…it just continues the trend and perception that soccer is an elitist, closed, segregated sport…

 

I agree, I would love to see High School soccer lengthen their season and become more developmental focused/friendly…I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the DA being the catalyst in regard…

 

Here in North Carolina we do have state Championships in high school. We play in the fall and play from August until November. The girls play in the spring. There are many very good soccer players that live in the rural areas that never get looked at, they don't have the money to play for some of these big organizations.

 

I've said it before, I still think you utilize the ODP model... every state (large states split into two) has open tryouts. Then you have trainings and games against other states (similar to "international" duty). You have weekends where the ODP teams are playing no more than one game per day and scouts (first region, then national) can be exposed to a lot of kids.

Key to get kids (and parents) involved is there should be zero cost (aside from travel), move the trainings around the state (so kids don't always have 3 hour drives to get to training), and pick the better coaches to do the training.

Will there still be kids that slip through? Sure. But how do athletes get into the NFL, the NBA, or the MLB?

 

There is a much larger scouting/recruiting network in football, basketball, and baseball than there is in soccer.

Money is there. Efforts are there. And, the history is there for those sports to really help identify and push to higher levels. There just isn't enough time or money with the current structure for soccer to scout. When staffs are only 1-2 coaches deep (full-time), there are just not enough eyes on players. Football has massive coaches working on identifying talent. Baseball and baseball too.

MLS/college hardly scout in their own cities to identify talent. Their networks are even smaller because they think they need to "win now" in order to be successful and grow their brands. The USMNT has only had one full-time scout for years! There's some part-timers, but do we really think that's enough? The US has major catching up to do with player identification.

 

And, like everything, it all comes down to $$$. When MLS or US decide it's beneficial (or "worth it") to have more/better scouts, it will happen.

So, let's make things easier for the scouts... one weekend/location where they can see a lot of good (if not great) players.

 

It's not just on MLS or USSF (although, a lot of it is). It's down to investors. It's down to sponsors. That's what shot every other sport to the forefront. Media was a big driver in all of them.

There are tons of "one weekend/location" events. Whether it's been the CASL Showcase, Disney, USSDA events, ECNL events, etc. None of it is truly "new." They are all regurgitated events that have taken place, just renamed and promoted differently.

It would help if there was a set timeline or calendar that was chose to operate on. HS soccer is played at different seasons throughout the country -- and the genders too. It's hard to navigate the calendar, and fit it in the schedule of the scouts. I don't necessarily have an answer, I'm just saying that it's all been done before and is being done again. It wouldn't be a bad idea to come up with a new system to identify talent and promote talent -- i.e., promotion/relegation is one of the biggest talking points for this now.

 

As someone who has been to CASL and Disney, I will say the competition level greatly varies. That's why I'm suggesting weekends with "all star" state teams. Take the best players from each state. That doesn't necessarily mean the best team.

How does promotion/relegation (I'm assuming you're talking professional) have anything to do with talent identification?

 

Sorry for the delay, meant to respond earlier, but got caught up.

"Best team" is relative.

I get into this discussion quite regularly with coaches, parents, players, etc. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Not every player will be identified properly and through the same channels. It doesn't matter if it's HS, club, ODP, USSDA, ECNL, or SAY. Development can happen, and will happen through all stages. Player identification can happen, and will happen through all organizations. The player pathway is definitely muddy waters, and hard to navigate at times. But, each player and family has the ability to pick an avenue that fits for the individual(s).

Think of it like this: there are 30,000 teams in the German pyramid. There are roughly 60 in the US "pyramid" (edited both numbers, just to nice whole/round numbers). In the German pyramid, players and teams are moving constantly based on competitive ability. Clubs are nearly generational (offer U5 to O40 programming). Clubs are also VERY open, youth players are consistently around their senior clubmates. It's a 360-degree learning experience for all players in a club.

International systems aren't age-restricted. You able to compete at U18 as a U14, you do it. Sign pro at U15, okay! In the US, this is often frowned upon and players are "forced" to play with their friends (or however it wants to be labeled). How often are kids identified in any city to play at a higher level? Very, very, very little.

But, imagine if there was a pro/rel pyramid in the US that allowed for anyone to have a senior team and play against others in local, state, regional, and national leagues as they moved up/down. We could instantly have 100x more teams than we already do. Players will NOW stand out. They will be identified. They will be pushed to higher levels of competitive abilities, not just forced to play in an age group (or one higher). There is now more incentive to scout, train, and develop.

 

Frowned upon? There are plenty of stories of kids "playing up". And the only ones "forcing" kids to play with their friends/neighbors would be the parents. Kids have always been able to move to be on a more competitive team.

Three(?) years ago, one of DS's teammates and his older brother (and mother) moved three hours away to be part of the Crew Academy.

This year, one of DS's former teammates (from before the birth year switch) got sent to boarding school in Minneapolis to play for an academy up their. The team he left? State Champs, Regional semi-finalists, and National League this year.

I think you've got this backwards. A pyramid won't bring the teams, you need to the teams to make a pyramid even possible. Do I wish there was more emphasis in youth sports? Part of me says yes. But as we've discussed in many other threads, where does the money come from? Players ARE standing out now. They are the ones who have a love for the game and keep playing. Kids are dropping out for a variety of reasons, most of which work for that child/family. Maybe it's money, pressure, time commitment, skill level, other interests, or a variety of other reasons. But if the kids aren't there, the teams aren't there, and if the teams aren't there, then you have no pro/rel pyramid.

FWIW, every league DS has been in has had pro/rel at the end of each season.

 

Sure, some kids/families play up and there's no issues. It's not the regular, in my history in the game. Heck, I just had a chat with a coach about their club kid graduating HS in December to join the DI school early. Coach didn't like it. Says it's forcing kids to "grow up earlier than what they should."

This can be the sentiment. But, how can teams exist IF they have no upward mobility? What incentive for investment is there? Why are American investors investing in international soccer clubs more than they are domestically?

It's been stated numerous times by potential owners, it is easier and more worthwhile investing internationally than domestically. It's $150m to buy into MLS. On top of that, the Professional League Standards that USSF has adopted does prevent true ownership by anyone. Here's an example of clubs bought by Americans internationally:

• Mallorca – $21 million
• Aston Villa – $90 million
• Sunderland – $86 million
• Millwall – $7 million
• Le Havre – $10 million

That includes EVERYTHING. It's not $150m to buy the "rights," only to have additional investment (stadium, training, academy, etc.).

Are kids really standing out how they could? You see the 2018 domestic stats for MLS? 44% of the players in 2018 MLS were born in the US, they played 39% of the minutes. Domestic players accounted for 20% of goals scored and 25% of assists. Taylor Twellman even did a rant of his at the start of the season as the international breakdown of the league has increased (domestic has decreased) for the 4th straight year.

Could the retention be solved IF there wasn't the glass ceiling for players? They can see how and where they can move to. They no longer have to navigate through all the different leagues, organizations, and such to find a way to be scouted in chasing their dreams of being pro.