This subject has been addressed a lot before. In summary, I'd say that while college soccer is low quality for player development (as a general rule) compared to professional environments in Europe, it is nevertheless good that it gives so many players between the ages of 18 and 22 the opportunity to play and emerge as professional quality players. I've heard a lot of hope that the fledgling MLS youth academies and other such academy programs will start to take the best players away from NCAA soccer, because presumably a professional environment is better for the player who is already emerging at age 17 or 18. College soccer will remain as a chance for the less talented 18 year olds to emerge late. The only problems I have with NCAA soccer are that they limit practice time so much because they think of all sports in an American football context where just a little more practice time means huge amounts of injuries, plus the differences in weather mean an advantage for schools in warmer, dryer climates (an advantage that they wish to curtail). That is what it is however. I really wish the NCAA would bring more of its rules in line with FIFA rules first of all by using only three, maybe four subs. Any fixed amount of subs would be better than the take your whole team off, bring them all back on in the second half system that exists now. The clock and breaks between quarters aren't a big deal to me. The vital thing for college soccer is to get better referees and coaches. The more teams like UCLA that play good soccer and develop highly skilled players the better for US soccer. From the NCAA soccer that I've seen (which I admit is very little), the refs seem to allow way too much physical play. I think this hurts skilled players and ultimately hurts US soccer.
The issue with the NCAA and college soccer in general, is that it was never meant to be a feeder system to any professional sport. The evolution of basketball and football, and to the extent that even baseball in the last decade, have become the pipeline to the pro's is more about money than anything else. Soccer is a non-revenue sport, and therefore, mearly a means to an end for the education of the athlete. Whether it is good or bad for US Soccer is more of a recent development with the advent of the MLS. The question is, will soccer, over a period of time, become the same kind of pipeline that the major revenue sports have become. Highly doubtful, given the entire dynamic of the cost of a program. The NCAA is not that interested in what FIFA wants or doesn't want, and getting better coaches and ref's at the college level seems to be a problem at every level of US Soccer and is certainly not an exclusive problem to the college game. These things have been discussed ad infinitium on the college boards, and I'm sure, will continue to be.
Probably the single biggest problem with college soccer is that it's a summer sport tied to a fall-winter-spring academic schedule. I really think that if the natural season of the sport were more in tune with the academic calendar, the season would be significantly longer and there would be fewer complaints about the amount of practice time.
Soccer is a summer sport only in those countries that seem to think the game can be played in 80 and 90 tempatures, i.e., the MLS. Soccer at the college level is not a means to an end, never has been. In the Ivy League they only have 10 Spring practice days and 1 Spring game; you don't go to Harvard to be a pro player, if it happens, great, but it really isn't the point. If anyone thinks that the Western European game could be played at the same intensity in the summer that it is played from fall to spring is dreaming. IMO, the MLS would be a better league, and US Soccer would be in far better stead with the rest of the soccer world, if they abandoned the idiotic idea of playing games in the middle of summer.
Soccer is a winter sport only in those countries that have mild enough winters to play then, i.e. Mexico and western Europe.
Remembering, of course, that our summer is South America's, Africa's and Australia's winter. Most of Eastern Europe does not play in the summer either.
I said "western Europe" because I was thinking of Russia. I'm fairly certain the Russian league is a summer league, likewise Norway. I don't know the Brazilian schedule, but what with the reversal in seasons, Argentina is playing in spring-summer-fall, although they take a midseason break for their summer tournament. The ultimate point is that it's better to play in cool weather, but it's not practical to play when it's below freezing all the time, which writes off two to three months for the NCAA and MLS.
I think we are on the same page about the weather. Practical or not, playing in the mid-summer heat is not the best situation for soccer. The NCAA situation is a logistical nightmare, which is not enhanced by their Div 1 rules. The PDL League will hopefully evovle into a top-flight developmental league. I'll be at the Fire PDL game on Wednsday at the outer fields in Bridgeview.
Not sure if you are pro or anti impact that the NCAA has made but ... Off the top of my head: claudio reyna alexi lalas john harkes brian mcbride eric wynalda kasey keller brad friedel
I'm sure Sandon Mibut has this info somewhere in the back of his head; and I'm to lazy to look it up, but the list is extensive.
I am old enough to remember that NCAA soccer kept the sport alive for many years in the USA so it is hard for me to be anti!
UCLA: Guys that have been Nats: Freidel, J-M Moore, Cobi Jones, Boca, Eddie Lewis, Hejduk, Conrad, Chris Henderson, Ante Razov, Caligiuri younger guys: Feilhaber, Bornstein, Chad Barrett, Kamani Hill, Matt Taylor, Wynne Journeymen: Victorine, Vagenas, Reis, Hartman, Vanney
I thought we were talking about the weather. Oh well, yes it will, and will be what it once was, a place were most of the players received an education and sometimes moved on to the next level; which, actually, is what it always has been, with or wothout the MLS. So, maybe, no. nothing will really change at all
no, because there's always gonna be 1000s of kids for whom college soccer is the best/only option. not everybody can go to pro ball, nor do they want to. college baseball is doing OK in a very similar situation.
There will always be late bloomers for whom college soccer is the right path. That aside, NCAA needs to get rid unlimited subs. It needs to be soccer, not sprint to you puke then sub someone in.
Does the NCAA still prohibit players from participating outside the NCAA? THAT'S where the NCAA hurt soccer in this country. Although it's been a while since I've followed NCAA soccer closely, so the rules might have changed.
They're not allowed to play on a "professional team", and the definition of such is clearly stated in the rules, with exceptions for national team play. I don't think there are any other restrictions, and IIRC there are players who do PDL over the summer.