It's on www.topdrawersoccer.com Wow, I never saw this coming and I know him personally. I'm honestly really proud of his choice. He's always come across as smart and very mature to me, I'm really happy for the kid.
I'm not sure to be honest. I'm also sorry Mods for not posting in the thread already about players going pro or college below, I didn't see it at 1st
IMO that sucks, he seems to be a really good goalscorer. If he goes to College i hope he only stays 1 or 2 years and signs P-40.
What sucks? That a kid 16 chose a great education and very up and coming college over P-40. I feel even better about his choice than ever after seeing your post. Being on the inside and having insight to this, I think he made a great choice and one he believes will help attain his goals and dreams. You have noticed the U20 camp had like 30 college players invited out of 40 right?
awesome. and remember that he's a year younger than his peers so 4 years at Duke would be like 3 years for the non-Bradenton players. Duke hasn't had a p40 yet IIRC. The basketball team until 1999 never had a player go pro early. It's a great fallback in case he has other aspirations in life. Even if he only stays 2 years, he'd be going pro at 19 y/o and with p40 could come back and finish his degree later. Duke should be a top power the next 3-4 years. They seem to have a good hanful of commitments though I haven't heard much about them except Grella.
Nice and Grella was one of the players he was excited to play with and help be pushed by to get better. People need to remember he won't hit Duke until late 2005 after all of the U-17 stuff is done. I too believe it's awesome and that degree will be valuable like you say.
no worries... you misread my thread title (which i did a poor job with) that is about youth national team players (who are at bradenton or college) who are going pro not where they are going to college or pro (mls, foreign, a-league, i mean usl)
This is where im confused? When does he graduate from HS/Bradenton? From the above link The end of 2005? Does he graduate in December? Or right after the u17 world championship assuming we qualify? If so wouldnt that mean that he has missed a large amount of school already? Will he even play college soccer next season?
I wonder if any other commitments are in a similar situation? Double checking the list of '86s I notice that the one born late in the year (Jimenez) didn't start playing until 2004 (similar timing). Since he joined 1 semester after some of the other 86s it makes sense. That'll mean he starts playing at Duke when the rest of his (non-soccer) age group does. Besagno is 6 days older and started with Zimmerman so is he graduating before the MLS draft in 2 weeks? Very few freshman matriculate in the spring at Duke (most everyone enters together in the fall) - not saying it's not possible. Any word whether he said he plans on staying 4 years?
Oh, I was wondering why he wasn't going pro, obviously he can't if he's not graduated. This makes so much more sense now.
As long as MLS pays rookies what it does, you can't be surprised when kids choose college, especially good and expensive ones like Duke that are offering free rides, over Project 40. Just the reality of the situation. Having said that, a LOT can happen between now and the time Preston is due to take the field for Duke in the fall of 2006. If he blows in qualifying and/or the World Championship, the offers will come in, maybe even a better one from MLS that will get him to give up the free ride to Durham. Best of luck, kid.
Just to make sure you have all the facts http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562134198 the better rookies usually get 40-50k if not more (Adu and Szetela 6 figures), plus a college scholarship (that's what p40 is) when they want to go to school. That's not too bad a deal for a 18 year old. I think it's financially comparable to a Duke scholarship (only a few playerse per team get a full scholarship anyway at the college level). Going p40 isn't a huge windfall and college has it's benefits, but it's not the strict 24k and nothing lelse for every rookie.
the younger guys have the most control p-40 or college scholarship it's the rookies that come to mls after 4 years that have zero control and don't forget that p-40 offers a college scholarship on top of what they pay you... i would imagine that most p-40's make above minimum salary as well... hell, didn't bradley get at least 40k a year?
that's why I posted the above link. the p40s from 2001-3 that haven't extended their contract, you can subtract 5% each year and find their salary. most all the p40s are 30-40k to start. one of the few exceptions is Magee who second-hand I've read that he went to Europe and found no offers and I guess MLS felt they could get him for about the minimum. it is the 4 years guys that can get in tough contracts for 4 years (though usually MLS will give a raise for an extension - Twellman, Ralph).
I know all of you hate when I say this, but his goals are these. Play in europe Play for the Men's National team. MLS isn't out, but it's obvious it wasn't what he was looking for. Yes he had options to go P-40, he didn't think they were best for him. He took a un-official visit to Duke, it was one of his only choices of colleges that he wanted to attend. He loved the school, facilities, and coaches, and the team being so young and talented. From that day on in his mind he had other options than turning "pro" at 16...no small feat. He'd like to do well at qualifying and the world championships. We all know this will bring attention from outside of our country if he does well. He didn't want to sell himself short and go too early to the MLS. Being on a practice squad didn't seem like a better choice than a quality college team and getting an education that is easily worth that 40k a year. I think he made a great choice. He's much smarter and grounded than many know or give him credit for. He's definitely one of the more gifted and intelligent players I've been around. He's also doing what he thinks is best to achieve his goals, which to me is the most important part of this equation.
I think most of us would be disappointed if those weren't his goals. It's just that at some point a lot of us would like to see him play week-in, week-out at hom and help to grow the game here. Beasley will tell you that you can reach both of those 2 top goals while starting in MLS. But if he values an education at this point in his life, then most of us are happy for him and Duke is a great choice. Some of us have concerns that 4 years in college is too long and can stunt/limit a players development (Ali Curtis?). At this point in his life it is a tough choice, but there really isn't a wrong decision. Some players will benefit from the year-long intense focus that is pro training. Others want the college experience. I'm hopeful the college game will escape some of the sillier NCAA regulations and will become a better 4 year option (like football and basketball). I'm certainly happy with his decision if you look over to the left under "team" on my profile.
I saw that in your profile, and trust me your school is getting a great player and person. There isn't one time I can remember I've called him and got his answering machine, that I don't get a call back and an apology for missing the call. He's absolutely an outstanding person. Anyone that's met him feels this way about him. I'm guessing Roberts article was glowing for a few reasons on topdrawer. One of those being the way he plays and finishes, the second being when he interviewed him and saw what a great person he is. Duke is getting more than just a soccer player, hope you enjoy having him as much as our club enjoyed the times he's spent/spends with us.