A response to Klinsmann?: US Reversing Backward Player Development System

Pretty good article. Glad to see this stuff starting to get recognized outside of BS.

 

This is why I didn't get all excited by Klinsmann's comments like a lot of people on BS did. Those comments would have been accurate a few years ago, but this academy system does a lot to fix the problems, imo. Obviously it will take another 5-10 years to see if it's a success, but the last thing we need is Jurgen coming in and tearing up what's been put in place because he wasn't paying attention.

 

The hell are you talking about, Klinsmann coming in and tearing up what's been put in place. A lot of people are excited by Klinsmann's comments because someone, anyone, finally talked about this upside down system on national television. You honestly think Klinsmann would come in and tear up something that is new and working in the right direction toward proper youth development? You are absolutely mad and probably just a Klinsmann hater.

 

I agree the academy system is a fantastic step forward. I see it working with DC united with the signing of Najar and Hamid; 2 players who have the potential to excel.

However, I think the academy system is recruiting more than developing players. The academy system does the polishing in making them pro players.

The USSF would, IMHO, be better off spending money in developing coaches for the youth. Regardless of how much a youth player pays to play, that player should be able to get adequate coaching.

 

I fell in the trap as well. Understanding Klinsmann's comment requires a lot of thinking, digesting and fact finding. He made it sound like our youth system is utter crap.

 

Klinsmann kept harping on young players playing "for a college scholarship". This simply is not the case anymore with the vast majority of our best youth players. This would have been accurate even 4 years ago, when he was last being considered for the position, but now with a direct path from MLS academies to the pro teams, and many more youngsters heading straight to the academies of foreign clubs every year, the system has changed a whole lot. Not to mention that the top 5-10 programs have also improved tremendously to the point where they recruit players on the basis of developing them as pro prospects.

 

I agree that we need better coaching. One specific change I hope to see is more focus on individual skills. With the exception of maybe Adu and Dempsey, no players in the Natl team pool have impressive on-the-ball skills, and those two honed their skills outside of the "system" that's in place. A big part of the problem is that many youth clubs are so results oriented that they play a flat, direct style from a young age, and that ends up churning out a bunch of guys that can run all day, but run in a straight line, play a lot of square passes, and often rely on brute athleticism (as opposed to to technical skill) to break down the opposition.

Kids jump to 11v11 way too early. This means they don't get nearly enough touches on the ball to develop individual skills. My biggest hope is that as the first generation of professional American soccer players joins the coaching ranks, we'll see more and more focus on improving the individual rather than the team, at least at the U-17 level and below.

 

From my experience as a high level youth player, results were always a necessary evil. My coach was always focused on developing our games and getting us to college or academy programs, not so much on winning. But to get invited to the college showcases or to qualify for the certain high level tournaments/leagues where we could be spotted by coaches, we needed to win, so it left him between a rock and a hard place.

 

I played pretty high level youth as well, and I spent half of my year with a premier club and the other half with my high school team. Playing with my high school team was a waste of half the year; we only focused on winning, and we could do so with speed and long balls, so that's what we did. I'm pretty sure I regressed as a player during each high school season.

 

Again it does take time. I graduated from high school in 1991, played soccer and then played college soccer at a DIII. I was on the border between low DI and very high DIII soccer. I NEVER played club soccer. I played town soccer. I only had my dad and/or another VOLUNTEER parent coach.
We have come a long way and still have many miles to travel. It is when people my age(37) that have playing experience that begin to coach as professionals that we will improve our coach. My first year out of college was the initial year of the MLS. For every person I played with and against, none of us thought of soccer as a career, that has now changed. Our coaches need to be paid to get the very best coaching for our players. It's always good to have new ideas and people to turn a system upside down to figure out the best solution for dvelopment. At least now we see our youth teams playing 3v3/4v4 and 6v6 games at the younger levels.
I respect Klinsman because he has seen our system first hand. Our country is a beast to get a hold of in any sport. Conversations, education, trial and error is a way forward for our teams. We have also seen a professional league survive when a league which much more talent failed in our country.
I am sure I fell off the tracks of this discussion, somebody reel me back in.