Another article about DCU academy standout Collin Martin. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club...id-collin-martin-ready-for-next-step_aid24195 Also, an article by TDS about the future of plans of some key academy players for SKC, Kendall, and Gallagher. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer-articles/boys-recruiting-insider:-april-23_aid24193
Having watched Collin play with DC United's under 18 team several times, I would say that this quote pretty much nails how they use him.
Do you worry at all that he's going to Wake Forest a year early to sit on the bench? I do. As it says in the article: This fall, the challenge is then to crack the lineup at Wake, something that might take some time. “It’ll depend on how quickly Collin will adapt to our style of play and the athleticism at the college level, the speed of play, classes and everything else he’s going to have to balance,” Vidovich said.
Great weekend to come as the Casa Grande a rare double header of RSLArizona versus LA Galaxy with both age groups playing twice . In the u-16 it is 1 against 2 and in the 18s 2 and 3. It feels like a mini playoff series with 4 great games in two days. I wont be able to go down but if anyone does please give a report should be some great futbol.
I think that Vidovich's comments pretty much sum it up. None of us know how well he will do. My experience with kids graduating a year early, not just in soccer but in general, is that the personal maturity issue is usually a bigger obstacle than they anticipated. This is where turning pro is almost easier because all the kid has to is focus on soccer and functioning. In college, the kid has a lot more going on other than soccer and functioning like grades and the college social life. We will see how Collin balances it all along with the increased level of play. Collin has plenty of athleticism despite his skinny build - I'm not worried about that part of it. There are just a lot more factors at play here. It will be interesting to see how he does. The ability is definitely there for him to start as a freshman. He is very, very good from a strictly soccer perspective. Will that happen? Anybody's guess is as good as mine, but I wouldn't be surprised if it took some time while he matured personally.
Games both days are at 10:00 (U18s) and 12:30 (U16s). Why don't they move them to 8:00 and 10:30? The forecast calls for low '90s both days. The USSDA should also set earlier game times for other predictably hot locations (Texas, e.g.) once we reach late April.
US Soccer has decided that the ideal place for the playoffs/showcase is Dallas at the end of JUNE with games played all day. It is predictable that a large part of the results will depend on managing the heat rather than the actual skill of the teams involved. Not going to hold my breath on them changing game times for regular season games.
"a large part of the results will depend on managing the heat rather than the actual skill of the teams involved." Ummm, the most skillfull teams will be able to maintain possession and as such deal with the heat effectively. Those that can't possess the ball to mitigate the heat are not the most skillfull teams and can't use "heat" as an excuse for losing at that level.
I guess that is why soccer is played in the cooler seasons everywhere else in the world. In the end, a terrible choice for obvious reasons.
^Except for, you know, Copa America, Euro Cup, World Cup, Confed Cup.....minor competitions. Soccer is played in the "cooler" seasons because, like most sports, it began not as a career but as something folks did when they weren't at their regular job and wanted to maintain the summers for farming (or vacation if they were rich back in the day).
Must be from the 2022 Qatar World Cup committee. But why do even they feel the need to cool the stadia? Because 100 degree heat is not conducive to good soccer, nor is it smart from a health standpoint. I still think Dallas in late June is one of the worst places you could pick for a high level tournament.
The average temp in Dallas in June is about 80-90. FYI. http://www.climate-zone.com/climate/united-states/texas/dallas-fort-worth/ Not exactly Qatar there.
Average high June 27-30: 94F. Source weather.com. Ask anyone who was there last year what it was like.
Grootscholten to leave Vancouver http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2012/04/richard-grootscholten-moves-whitecaps-fc-residency-program
So which web site is more accurate? Weather Zone or Weather.com??? ps-WHOA! Groot must have received an offer somewhere ...... wow!
so is the nature of the world of pro futbol. coaches come and go but the philosophy curricula has to be consistent from top to bottom. VWC is developing a great tradition unparalleled in the mls system in terms of being a pro residency program managed by the club producing players to make first team or sell.
its not only the heat though, im not sure about dallas but i know where i live (northern virginia), it not only gets really hot, is also gets really humid which makes it even worse
Dallas ain't humid. It'll just bake the skin off of you. The facilities and personnel are so accomodating in Frisco, that the USSF wants to use them. However, even I criticized them for having the DA playoffs there last summer. The perfect time for a youth competition down here is when they have the Dallas Cup. Well, except when tornados run thru town.............
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer-articles/development-academy-rewind:-april-21-22_aid24196 Academy update from TDS: Of note from the U18 division................. 1) With a 2-0 win over Solar Chelsea SC, FC Dallas U18 clinched the Texas Division crown with five games remaining on the schedule. FC Dallas is 21-2-3 on the year overall, and 17-1-1 in division play with an impressive plus 56 goal differential. 2) LA Galaxy U18 is on a roll. In the last four games, Galaxy has notched four wins and 17 goals, while only conceding two. On Saturday, the MLS Academy benefitted from a weakened Surf roster and cruised to a 5-0 victory. Home Grown players Jack McBean and Jose Villarreal combined to score three times in the win. 3) Vancouver Whitecaps U18 clinched a spot in the playoffs over the weekend with a pair of 3-2 wins over De Anza Force and Santa Cruz Breakers. Caleb Clarke notched his 20th goal of the season in the win on Saturday against the Force. Caps only need three points from the final four games to seal the division crown for the Vancouver club. 4) Colorado Rapids U18 suffered its first loss of the season in a 2-1 loss to local rival Colorado Rush. Rapids remain in the top spot, but Shattuck-Saint Mary’s and Rush are closing in on the MLS Academy. 5) Chicago Fire U18 breezed past Crew Soccer Academy (4-0) and Internationals (3-0) over the weekend. Albert Keaton, Andrew Oliver, Jesus Medina, and an own goal saw the Fire past the Ohio MLS academy. 6) Baltimore Bays Chelsea U18 pushed the undefeated run to 10 games with wins over Albertson SC and FC Westchester. Michael Gamble and Yaw Amankwa scored for the Bays in the victory. 7)The race in the U18 Atlantic Division is heating up, as the North Carolina clubs make up games on the Virginia clubs. CASL and Charlotte Soccer Academy are leading the charge for the NC clubs. CASL U18 ran its shutout streak to three games with a 2-0 win over North Meck on Sunday. Olofson and Diego Rodriguez scored for CASL in the victory. Charlotte SA U18 also claimed a 2-0 win on Saturday, and closed the gap on McLean Youth Soccer to only six points. CSA faces CASL in a showdown between two of the three undefeated teams in the division.
What is funny is then they follow it up with the generations adidas in late july with all the MLS Academies. Very hot . The problem might be that all the very best soccer complexes tend to exist in places that are warm because part of the idea of making money on them comes from having the ability to host big tournaments in the winter when all the clubs and parents will love to come to dallas, or phoenix , or Vegas. Not as easy to rationalize such a big complex in an area that is cold in the winter. What are the best complexes in areas not so hot in the summer? My best thoughts are maybe Somewhere close to the coast in California . I thought the Far West regionals went pretty well up in Boise Idaho?
It gets quite hot in Boise during the summer. Pacific NW (Western Washington and Oregon) has ideal summer weather.
Whitecaps u16 striker, Brody Huitema, has been offered and accepted a full scholarship to Stanford University. Though I expect him to become part of the national program and spend no more than 1 year in university before going pro - though he has a very stable family and he's a smart kid so maybe he'd want to finish university and then try his luck at pro...who knows. He's still a young guy, so TBD.
http://www.baltimorebohemians.com/news/ Bohs sign on as D.C. United Development Partner Non-academy club affiliates with DC United. The Bohemians do have a PDL team, though.