I too wondered why Koval was just starting dental school this fall, but Koval also mentioned in the article that his wife was trying to go to Physician Assistant school, so maybe they adjusted for her career as well. I thought Koval had a lot of potential. I doubt Koval is being a revisionist on why he didn't succeed in MLS. There are too many stories of players getting screwed by coaches at all levels of play, starting at U8. The worst are the old style coaches, with an eat s**t or die attitude, who demand player loyalty under the guise of teamwork. It takes a really strong character to prevail over a bad coach. Obviously I believed that article's veracity, or I would not have posted it.
Coaches could have something to do with it but I still retain lack of money or too little money not being offered to players is a factor on why many decide to retire early. From ages 17-23, it has to be thrilling to offered a pro contract but when you start turning 24-27, if you still don’t make the big time, I don’t blame players for giving up. Unlike Europe or in other parts of the world where clubs pay players living expenses, that won’t happen here. Therefore, I doubt many on the cusp MLS players can make a living on $50-$60k....
I think Doyle and Dom really liked JJ and felt bad about cutting him. They also tried him at various positions to see if they could find a good fit. I don't think it was a vindictive coach thing in this case. JJ also said he had lost passion for the game. That is the death knell. You've got to love it I think, to be good at it.
i thought in the article that Koval said things went really down hill after he asked for the transfer... but i'm too lazy to double-check. oh well if you contrast JJ's story to Wondo's, it would seem that the difference in MLS careers is how persistent you are, and how willing you are to wait for your chance to appear (mostly because the guy ahead of you gets hurt). We all know that Wondo is not terribly skilled nor fast, just like Koval. But Wondo seems to be incredibly determined.
One big difference is when you are a forward, and you know how to anticipate and get into spaces, a lot of your other weaknesses are forgiven. As a central midfielder, you can't be "meh", you need some specific qualities and skills. Koval said that his idol was Sam Cronin, and Cronin is arguably a journeyman player, but still better than Koval. So with Cronin as the ceiling, Koval really didn't have a place in MLS.
Easy! They don’t play soccer for a living , busting their rump ,training as a pro athletes, watch what they eat and drink and usually have more than one income paying for their house payments and rents.
All the article says about that is he "pushed for a trade, was rebuffed and then was released in February 2016." Perhaps the trade request was rebuffed because there was no team willing to trade for him.
I agree. He wasn’t flashy but he held his own for his position. Cronin was a player every team needs but no one ever talks about. The midfield could have definitely used a player like he was last night in the 3-2 loss at KC as he could have held the gaps between the defense and forwards. Also, back to comparing JJ Koval to “a normal person”, is like comparing apples and oranges. Not very many normal, blue collar people can boast they are Stanford graduates. In 2015, JJ made $60k with the Quakes. Getting released and playing in Sac for starters had to be a let down and secondly, I doubt he was making more than $40k, if that. As the article suggests, former student athletes who attended major universities, have other options. Graduating from a college like Stanford, I’m sure he wasn’t satisfied with being a third or second tier player for the next 2/3 years making peanuts and that is why he quit to become a dentist while he was still young enrough to go to school. I’m sure if he were making a great living playing the game, say earning over $150k+, he would still be playing. Making a salary of $40k or less , he said forget it and that is what he did. He was released from the Quakes at the end of February and retired from the game in December. Obviously, he must have reflected during those 8/9 months that a career as a professional soccer player wasn’t really the way to go. For him anyway, it was not a difficult choice make.
I think Falvo incapsulates perfectly why most U.S. players suck, they have other choices so soccer is rarely ever the only path to success. Compare to most other places in the world. That said, many players in Germany are in a similar "cushy" position in life yet they are able to become world class as the culture and coaching is there to support them.
Yes and even the youth team players , if you speak to them, they all aspire to go to a major school and I don’t blame them to other clubs. On a yearly basis there are only a select few players who get picked or moved up to the senior team. Unlike other parts of the world, North American clubs aren’t allowed or don’t for whatever reason sell off their youth team players. Therefore , there is no incentive for the club or the player to have them stay at the club and not go to school. This homegrown player thing is fairly new but we’ve yet seen any of the players really play for the first team. Nick Lima being a prime example. Even if he is a HG player , he still went four years to Cal. Most of the players will probably do the same thing. Again , unless they are offered tons of money which is not the case. Koval had a choice of using his degree from Stanford and going to dental school or continue to be an average lower division player making peanuts so he chose the former.
And if u read some of the stories, Germans face the same decisions: player or real job. Even Juergen Klopp gave accounting (I think) a whirl. Read “Das Reboot” for a good inkling of how Germany returned to the top of the World. They have been in WC finals for decades. They had culture & coaching, but Klinsmann changed the course of player development. That’s what brought Germany back to the top again. Now they’ve got it down to a science and rigorous processes. Plus, their Domestic leagues support player dev from bottom to top. The leagues are not just a biz, as with MLS.
I don’t know why this came up, but hubby and I started talking about JJ Koval. I wondered where he was practicing dentistry these days. But it turns out, he is still at Creighton dental school, learning to be a dental surgeon. According to LinkedIn, he retired from soccer in 2016 and has been in dental school from 2018 until now (I assume his education may have been significantly disrupted by the pandemic).
My dental practicioner took ten years to get where he's able to have his own practicing office. He's certainly not behind schedule. I absolutely think he could have had a future with us as a center back and I wish we would have tried him out there after a few initial successes. The game against Toluca really made me think he could fit there long term. Coach didn't think so though I guess.
What is the fastest you can become a dentist? BS/DDS programs, or “direct dental programs,” pair an undergraduate institution and a dental school, allowing students to gain acceptance to both straight out of high school. These programs typically take seven or eight years to complete, though there are a few that can be completed in as few as six or even five years.
Discussing dentistry would be a better use of this thread than whether Koval could've been a decent CB because of a few games
”He helped a local Omaha resident Levi Gipson reduce molar wear by recommending less popcorn kernel gnawing,” Ah yes, the glories of life after soccer!!