Klinsmann could redefine U.S. Philosophy I read Grant Wahl's article the other day about the USSF hiring Klinsmann and he made a couple of "you can be certain" comments that I found somewhat surprising. Can we be certain that the guy who went on an on-air rant about youth development last year will be on the same "wavelength" as Reyna? How do we know he's not going to throw Reyna's curriculum out with the bath water? Klinsmann's "pay-to-play", "upside down pyramid", and "latin style of play" comments illustrate he doesn't know much about the Development Academy, why it was started, and what it has accomplished in its first few years of existence. You'd think that someone who was applying for the job would make a point of recognizing that the DA created an environment across the country where elite players don't have to "pay-to-play". If he had done a little research about the position he was applying for, he'd understand the average income of parents of DA players is a little over $30K and the clubs that participate in the DA have developed scholarships for those with financial needs. He'd also understand that the DA cleaned up that tangled web of ODP and State finals, and created a structure where elite players come together to play in front of league and national team coaches and scouts on a quarterly basis. Perhaps its because he lives in California, but if he attended one of the quarterly DA tournaments, I doubt very seriously that he would come to the conclusion that we are developing a "latin style of play". Yes, Klinsmann's comments were not limited to the scope of the DA; however, if I'm the HR guy listening to a guy make these disparaging remarks without so much as an honorable mention of the program my company has developed to address those issues, then yes, you can be certain I have some reservations about hiring this candidate. This seems like such a huge leap of faith that I laughed out loud when I read it. Wahl also tweeted something to the same effect. If Wahl knows something about the level of control Klinsmann will have, he doesn't allude to it in his article or elsewhere. Can we be certain that the guy Bruce Arena labled as the "another micro-manager in an organization full of micro-managers" will give Klinsmann any greater level of control than his predecessors? What is the most likely scenario? The three-headed monster known as The USSF/MLS/SUM decided to cave into Klinsmann's demands, or the guy with the floundering consulting gig at Toronto FC finally came to the conclusion that anything is better than this? Thoughts?
I appreciate Wahl's insight and you raise a number of interesting issues. First, without picking apart Klinsmann's observations, I think the bigger point he has made is that the US development system is not working if (here's the big if) the goal is to develop a NT that's capable of truly competing at the World Cup. We have no national style of play, our unique development system isn't producing world-class soccer players, and we're seeing indications that this current approach is reaching some limits. Since 1990, we've gone from a non-factor in soccer to a legitimate second-tier NT. That's a pretty amazing accomplishment and needs to be mentioned for those not old enough to remember US soccer in the 70s and 80s. The question now, however, is how do you go from good to great. I, and I think Klinsmann would agree, is that our current approach has to change if we're to take another step forward. Ours is a unique nation, and from "pay to play" to college soccer, our approach is different. The development academy is part of that system. I do think Klinsmann would like to have enough success to use the NT coaching position as a bit of a bully pulpit to change attitudes. That doesn't mean we throw out everything we're doing, but if he can help to improve our focus on technical skills and encouraging creativity, I don't think that anyone who loves the game would argue. I think he's going to get a bit more of a look behind the curtain and it'll be interesting to see how his views and opinions change. He's been an outsider, and a somewhat critical one, but I'm one who thinks we're not any closer to truly competing for a World Cup title now than we were a decade ago. That should be the goal of the federation. And if what we're doing isn't working, I'd like to think that anything and everything is on the table for discussion and revision.......
What do I think? I think Klinsmann isn't stupid. He's going to do his research before he makes any rash decisions. He's not going to just throw out the DA, and he's DEFINITELY not going to throw out Reyna's new curriculum. I don't know why people think he's going to come in and shoot first ask questions later. Klinsmann is German. German's don't do that, Americans do.
Yeah, it's Wahl's ascertion we can be certain that Klinsmann will be on the same wavelength as Reyna that seems like a stretch to me. I don't think we can be certain of anything when it comes to Klinsmann's relationship with Reyna. Unless the USSF/MLS/SUM actually gives up some control and resist the urge to micro-manage, it's going to be difficult for any coach (foreign or domestic) to do his job. I'm really looking forward to learning about how much more control Klinsmann is going to have over his predecessors. Given the USSF/MLS/SUM track record, I suspect it won't be much.
That's the million dollar question. Negotiations with Klinsmann broke down twice over the control issue and I can't imagine his demands had changed. How that shakes out in reality will be revealing, but I tend to think this won't become clear until next year, at the earliest. People will pay too much attention to these upcoming friendlies in an attempt to see what's changed. In reality, we might see some change in player selection and tactical approach, but the more meaningful adjustments will take time to settle in.......
What exactly has it accomplished in its first few years of existence? As it's only been a few years, I'd expect it's too soon to tell. The DA is a step in the right direction but perhaps Klinsmann rightly recognizes that the DA is but a drop in the bucket. College soccer and the more established pay to play clubs with their parochial, Balkanized mentality are still the primary source of national team players. In fact, I see Klinsmann's hiring as strengthening Reyna's philosophy, not weakening it.
Pablo, I've seen from a few of your posts that you care passionately about the DA's around the league. Even though I am a huge fan of MLS and the US National team, I have to admit I'm somewhat ignorant as to how the DA's opperate and whether they are "pay to play" or what they have accomplished or who they have developed to date or who is in the development pipeline. You clearly are heavily involved. Would you mind educating me on how they work, how it's different from what was there before and what you feel is at risk with Klinsmann's control and from his previous comments?
Like I said earlier, the biggest difference player development between 2006 and even 2010 to a much lesser degree are the MLS academies beginning to get up to speed. Having Jurgen come in 2011, when most of the franchises have an HG signing and a tiny sliver of experience in developing players with a great deal of stuff left to do is an ideal time for him to come in, he can help move it along in the kind of real time fashion that he wouldn't have been able to do earlier since it didn't exist years ago. If he had come in the earlier times like many people wanted, he would have been butting heads with a league in a much more financially precarious at the time who would have been balking at having each team chip in the million dollars it takes to run the reserve league alone, rather then one that's 4 years into it's effort and would be willing to lend an ear to whatever sage advise Klinsmann and Reyna have for them. I really don't understand why Garber doesn't really get much of a mention in these forums. He's a part of the USSF board, and my impression is that he has a decent amount of pull these days within that organization.
I know that Reyna went out to watch the DA tournaments and was very disappointed to see the style of play. We have a long way to go and this will not be a 4 year project but a 10 year project. I think Klinsmann is the right guy right now and a lot of things will have to be blown up in order to fix the whole system. The DA is a good structure but the style of play is horrendous.
Among its list of accomplishments, I would include: Replicating Bradenton exponentially across the country (currently at 78 clubs) Getting elite players in front of national and league coaches and scouts on a quarterly basis Placing an emphasis on player development and kicking out clubs that are only interested in collecting trophies It is a major step in the right direction and it's one of the few things the USSF/MLS/SUM got right. I'd also say that it represents much more than a drop in the bucket and we will definately see some talent on the US MNT roster in the next few years that may have otherwise fallen through the cracks. That is incorrect. The DA is the pimary source of national team players. By the end of 2010, over 250 players from 59 different DA clubs clubs were called into national team camps since the fall of 2007. I'd add that to the list of DA accomplishments.
Is there any reason to believe what Reyna has put in place is vastly different then what Jurgen wants?? More than anything, for them to implement any system they will need to be able to hold coaches and technical directors accountable, and this is a major problem that doesn't have an easy solution
Here is a link to an overview of the DA. The Development Academy It includes a presentation on the comprehensive review of youth development that was conducted prior to the establishement of the DA (see the link in the first sentence of the overview). This should give you a clear before and after picture. I don't necessarily feel that Klinsmann reprsents a great risk to the DA or youth development in general. I don't agree with Wahl's assertion that Klinsmann is certain to be on the same wavelength as Reyna, or that we can be certain that the USSF/MLS/SUM will give Klinsmann any greater level of control.
National Team coaches perform at least ten reviews of DA clubs on an annual basis. Clubs that don't meet training and other requirements have been booted from the program (2 clubs were dropped from the DA last year).
Many are underestimating Jurgen's intelligence; the guy has been living in Southern California for 12 years, has been all over...he knows the DA's are better than not having DA's, he also knows the style(s) of play emphasized there bear too much resemblance to the typical local elite/premier clubs that play a hockey-like version of unlimited subs on small sides games much of the year; where the spoils often go to the speediest not the kid with the best foot skills. If Grant is 'certain' it's because he heard directly from Claudio &/or Jurgen that they are in league with each other. Having DA's is better than not, but reality is they are just the tip of the pyramid and there are quality kids beyond the small numbers already in place - this is a big country and acting like '59' is a big number of clubs somehow attempting to get kids to next level - of course the vast majority will just be decent intramural players in future - is just silly. Good start, long way to go; and Jurgen is the guy to raise the bar on everyone.
Thanks for the link and the insight. So (looking from that link) the youngest age group in the acadamy is 15 ? Isn't that a little late development wise to groom top level players? How does this compare to the system in Germany that Klinsmann would be familiar with?
I'll admit I am not very familiar with the DA either but in your link it says It seems the DA is feeding a bulk of its players to college soccer. That may no longer be the case but if they were sending 85% of their players to college soccer in 2008-09 that number is probably still very high. So it would not be incorrect to say college soccer is still a primary source in those players transition to the next level. For all the good work the DA may be doing if players then transition back to a system with unlimited subs and a heavy emphasis on winning trophies over player development then something is still very wrong. You can't get players into a good development program and then send them back to one that you are trying to improve upon. It also hard not to call the DA just a drop in the bucket based on the fact that there aren't to many athletes involved for a country this size. It would be an understatement to say the DA couldn't really be relied upon to cover the whole country properly yet. Looking at the map their clubs are based in kind of drives that point home.
Academies sending players to college isn't new or a big deal, MLS academies routinely do the exact same thing to their kids until they're are ready. People forget that the washout rate for academy prospects is incredibly high, so it offers them a chance to be on a different track for a little while, which isn't a bad thing as long as they can get out of it when the time is right.
Yeah I know its not new its just counterintuitive to send your players back to a system who's philosophy of player development you view as flawed. Especially when your competing against other countries that appear to be far ahead of you in terms of player development by taking a more logical approach.
This is what the DA looks like on paper but it has a long way to go to develop players. I know some DA clubs in my area that don't play for "development" but play to get in the DA playoffs. If you think these clubs are about development right now, you have to be kidding me. I hope clubs are incentivised to get individual players in the National team pool instead of looking at the standings every week. This needs to change.
...but it would be incorrect to say that colleges and parochial pay-to-play clubs are the primary source of talent that makes it to natioanl team rosters.
To be fair about his comments about US development and whether he would get along with Reyna, Reyna was only just appointed and only articulated any changes to USA development in May before the world cup in June and the Klinsmann commentary. They have both said many of the same things about first touch, etc. We probably won't ever know what the contract says, but Klinsmann doesn't have to work for a living. I don't think he'd take the job without written assurances about the autonomy and control he'd get. Here's what he said the last time he turned the job down. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1XbkN-Erjc&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]Jurgen Klinsmann On Turning Down The USA Job ESPN Video ESPN2‏ - YouTube[/ame]
None of the clubs that are in the DA start their programs at U-15. As with many national youth development programs, when elite players get to this level the DA clubs must meet minimum training requirements and they must pass National coaching team evaluations if they want stay in the DA. Professional clubs in Germany are the primary source of youth national team development. Almost every MLS club participates in the DA now, and I suspect that as the DA matures we'll see more youth national team rosters being filled from the ranks of the MLS clubs in the DA.
Doesn't help. Messi was discovered at age 10, was in professional training in Argentina at 12, and was with Barça at 14, 15 is too late.
The clubs that recognize the DA program gives them an opportunity to recruit players interested in playing against the best competition in the country and in front of National team coaches and scouts, have already bought into the concept of making player development their number one priorty. They had to in order for their membership application to be accepted by the USSF. If you think the USSF will let any club participate, you'd have to ask yourself why only 6 out of 200 club membership applications were accepted for the 2009/10 season. The Schulz Academy (Boca Raton) and FC Portland were booted from the DA program last year. If they say anything other than they failed their evaluations, then they're lying. The DA is not an attractive option for clubs that are only interested in collecting trophies. DA clubs are only permitted to participate in Academy games. Participation in State Cup, Super Y-league, and U.S. Club Soccer is not allowed during the DA season (which takes up at least 8 months out of the year). This would make a significant dent in the number of tournaments and games a club could play, not to mention the trophies and dollars (entry fees, travel fees, administration fees, etc.) they could collect.