Looking for college that plays the beautiful game

I think if you ask them they will all say they do.

 

Very true. My advice would be to find videos of the schools you are looking at and decide based on your own viewing.

 

Barcelona is a once in a lifetime team. Last time I checked messi, Iniesta, David Villa, et al didn't play in the MLS, college or any other team. Everyone wants to be Barcelona just as every girl wants to be a supermodel. You good to play the hand you are dealt. Your son is not messi, Iniesta, etc.

 

I want a pony.

 

But they didn't fall out of the sky, either. As you probably know, Barcelona's player development grew out of a concerted effort to follow in the footsteps of Ajax. I see it as a proven model for success.

 

Probably the ones that can pronounce it as Bar-THE-Lona. Ummm...how about the University of Madrid, or better still, the Fighting Iberians of Valencia State University?

 

Ajax athleticism with Spanish flare ? Pretty good formula. Not happening in AYSO/Club/Academy/College/MLS in this decade.

Starter of the the thread suggested playing like Barcelona by picking smaller, SLOWER players? For all of Messi's magic, his pace with the ball is what makes everything work. Players have to back off of him because he can run by them, if then pressure he combines around. Great skill but RIDICULOUS pace!!! Same can be said for Cristiano - RIDICULOUS athlete!!! Some Barcelona players may be small but nothing slow or nonathletic about them.

 

This - watch schools and find one you like. Or dislike the least.

Or, better yet, have your kid look at schools and find one he likes. At the end of the day, he's the one who will be playing, and there's a whole lot more to college soccer than the style of play. His opinion on the matter is far more important than yours here, because at the end of the day, it's his life.

 

As mentioned, ridiculous athleticism.

https://twitter.com/#!/Carles5puyol/media/slideshow?url=http://yfrog.com/oblc7lkj

 

Crazy idea, but stick with me here:

Have your kid think about what he may want to major in. Then have him think about what size school he would like to go to. Then have him think about how far away from home and what area he would like to go to school in. Once that is narrowed down then start thinking about soccer.

 

Apologies for the knuckleheads, Pulaski. Start your search with Akron. Caleb Porter is the coach, was recently appointed the U23 Nat's coach as well. He's doing some fairly remarkable things at Akron (including taking them to the national title two years ago). Pretty consistent top 10-12 team nationally now, and depending on his recruiting class, often top 5.

His work with the u23s has been just as good, in a much shorter period of time. The u23s played excellent pressing, attacking soccer against Mexico's u23s recently and made them look very ordinary. I haven't been this excited about a US men's team in a long time. Night and day from the style of the full Nat's.

There are a couple other teams that play almost as well, and plenty that play decently and make beat Akron on an off day, but there's a reason Porter was given the U23 job.

People in the know are convinced he is future full Nat's coach. I have no dog in this fight (I only have daughters) but I know exactly what you're talking about as far as style/substance. Caleb's teams have it in spades.

Good luck. DM me if you want a link to a great blog site that can help you find the kind of soccer you're looking for. I'll take one point from one of the other comments above: I know exactly where you're coming from, but make sure this is important to your son to seek this out. If so, go for it.

 

Sure, Caleb likes slow, non athletic players.

 

Fwiw, the original poster's line was "slightly slower" not slow.

 

Point well taken. And there are always Zidane exceptions at every level.

 

Check out Messiah in PA. Excellent school and very good soccer program.

However, they look for a certain kind of player - spirtually speaking. Great crowds and play the game the way you are looking for.

 

Wouldn't this be just as knucklehead as you are are advocating looking at colleges solely based on the style of play of the soccer team?

 

You do realize that the "beautiful" game is not necessarily the Barcelona style. Your son is around my age and I am also doing the process of finding a college, but you need to be active and go to the colleges. Going to camps + playing well + communicating with coach = ??? Find a college your son likes then do some research to see if they have soccer. If you want to admit it or not the chance for any of us at this age to go pro and make a living is low. Don’t be miserable for 4 years because of some ridiculous desire that is nearly impossible to achieve.

 

Interesting that this hasn't been mentioned until now. Have you followed the other steps I discussed? Looking at the list of schools with a bio-engineering major he is going to have very few options of very high level college ball, so he needs to follow those steps. Or give up on college and go play 5th or 6th division in Europe, like you said.

 

If you really think your son didn't make regional pool (or any team for that matter) due to a lack of "speed" or "athleticism" you are kidding yourself. I know for a fact that the south-east is not like this and when we play other teams this is not true. If you are not fast then your other skills must overcome it. As Arsene said “To be good you must be good in everything and fantastic at something”. I am far from fast and yet have no issue of which you speak of. If you can run as fast in the 89th minute as you can in the 10th speed should not be an issue… But just to prevent me from being an ass look into Georgia Southern, Bradley University, and BSU. All three attempt to play “beautifully” as you say.