Us Soccer Uk is reporting that the MLS is heading towards reserve teams. For training purposes, it obviously makes sense. Build up the home grown, roughhewn (there's that word again) talent. If the Rev's had a reserve team that played in the PDL, would you attend these matches? What if the matches were played before each Rev game? What if the Rev's went a step further and had a Super Y(youth) league squad? Would you support a junior Rev's team? Are reserve teams supported at all in the other leagues around the world? I know JMM played for the Everton reserves more than the first team this past year.
I think it's going to happen for the Revs, but the full reserve team might be the last piece in the puzzle. From last month's Soccer New England: The New England Revolution have recently announced plans to expand their youth academy and camp programs. After kicking off in 2001, Academy Director and Revolution assistant coach John Murphy has worked up a long-term plan that will extend the Revolution’s influence well beyond their Gillette Stadium training complex. As part of the first phase of the Revolution Academy rollout, Murphy’s aim was to establish camps and clinics as a viable business. There were issues of profitability to consider, but he also recognized early on that entering the player development business in eastern Massachusetts meant walking softly so as not to create direct conflicts with established soccer businesses throughout the area. Goals for the first phase of the Revolution Academy were to: 1) develop recreational players 2) identify and train elite players 3) spearhead coaching education and 4) orient parents who might not be familiar with soccer. “Our hot issues in the first year were really tip-toeing through the minefield of established camps and clinics and not taking interest in our services for granted,” says Murphy. “We’re not trying to replace any of the great programs that are already up and going in this area. We’re trying to augment what they’re doing. At the same time, we’re a professional soccer club. We have to take the time to develop a quality curriculum that represents our club ideals and shows parents that their kids are getting professional education.” The second phase of the Revolution’s master plan involves establishing a year-round academy, one that integrates the summer program and focuses on the most-motivated players, not necessarily the most talented players. “We want kids that love the game and want to learn from the pros, not kids who are talented but not committed,” says Murphy. The Academy will kick off in September at the Gillette Stadium Complex training facilities and will be comprised of three, six-week sessions (fall, winter & spring) for boys and girls U-10, U-12, U-14 & U-16. Kids will pay to play and will have to agree to stay with their club team while they attend the Academy in an effort to allay club organizers’ concerns that the Revolution sponsored sessions might serve as a recruiting source for other ambitious clubs. The players will be encouraged to do all three sessions with twenty kids in each age group for each gender. At the end of each session there will be an additional two-week session for the top players that will feature guest speakers and special training. “We really want to build in value for the elite players,” says Murphy, “and we have the connections and resources to do just that. Future plans include bringing in foreign coaches to work with the kids or do some sort of cooperative training with some of the other top programs in the area. The idea is to bring people together and inspire the kids.” By 2004/5 the club plans to expand the Revolution Academy program to the north, central and southern parts of the state, as well as establishing a presence in Boston. At this stage he envisions the two-week extra sessions uniting all the academy sites at Gillette Stadium, so that the expanding training facilities there become a home base for the top players in the program. He also anticipates fielding youth teams eventually, but just as the Revolution are taking a slow and steady approach to building this program, they are in no rush to throw teams together. “We really feel it’s important to integrate all our programs and assess the quality of our work before we start putting kids in competitions. This is about doing it right and making sure we’re doing the best things for area soccer, rather than just branding a bunch of teams with the Revolution logo and going through the motions as some sort of marketing exercise.” “The soccer community here is smarter than that,” he continues, “and they expect professionalism from us. So we’re going about the process of setting up an Academy that improves New England soccer and that takes time. Meanwhile there are some very good groups already doing this work, and we want to support them as well.”
I'd go. I'd love to see how the bench guys could perform. Rather than watch them double-up at Revs games, I'd rather see them plan it as a low-cost, easily accessible alternative. Maybe they could set it up on the Revs practice fields with a few bleachers. Or play at Bowditch or someplace like that. Once again, the young guys on the bench are stagnating for lack of competitive action. I. Kante, JaMoore, Leonard, Reis, Singer are not getting the work they need - how could they ever supplant a starter who continues to get great game experience every week?
I applaud the REVs forward thinking in establishing a youth program and maybe Murphy is the right person to head it up but he is the wrong person to be training kids. My kids went to one of their camps the first year and came away scared to death of John. I have seen him working with kids and his style may be better suited for older players.
What about Lusitano Stadium. They easily draw crowds from 2k to 3k for the PSL team. I would certainly go to games there.
Singer stops PK to rescue game for Phantoms Well, actually, as I noted in a couple of other threads, Singer has definitely been getting work, and I. Kante too, with the Phantoms of New Hampshire (USL PSL=D3). Singer has played every game for the Phantoms since Memorial Day, and Kante was in one game that I'm aware of. And today's New Hampshire Sunday News has an article about last night's game against the Stallions in New Jersey (unfortunately, not one of the articles available on-line). Apparently the game went into overtime (USL plays two 10-minute golden goal overtime periods) and looked to be lost when the Stallions were awarded a penalty kick--but Singer saved it! and the Phantoms went on to score the golden goal. I'm not suggesting that this replaces the need for a real reserve team at some point, but since it looks like that isn't going to happen right away, it's an alternative for at least some of the bench-sitters.
Reserve teams in the UK are often quite different from reserve teams in other countries. In England, with the monster senior squads, players who don't make the 16 man travel team turn out for games on that same day in a reserve league. So if West Ham is playing Aston Villa at Villa Park on a Saturday, the Villa reserve squad is at Upton Park and so on. Essentially, the reserve team is a "B" team, made up of senior professionals. In a number of other countries the reserve teams are youth teams. In an extreme example, Boca Juniors have teams going all the way down to U-12 (or lower). The top kids team plays before the senior team and the games are often better, or at least more fun to watch. But the thing to remember is that everywhere else professional soccer is the only game in town. There is very little, if any school football in most countries and nothing at all like the huge US Soccer infrastructure for development. there are amateur teams and "non league" teams but they are for adults. Kids go into the club "centers of excellence" academies. In fact some clubs, like Argentinos Juniors or Crewe Alexandra, survive almost completely by selling on kids to bigger teams. Professional outfits are going to have to battle the entrenched, established amateur systems like MAPLE and/or the Super Y League who essentially groom kids to get college offers. While this is, in itself, a laudable thing in many ways, it is a significant obstacle to developing professional players, who need year round developmental training. I, for one, would love it if there were a true Junior Revs but only if there is enough money involved to guarantee that kids who have none can take part. the future lies with that group, not with the folks looking for an edge to college admittance. Harsh words, but true. JIM DOW
A reserve side's a great idea, much like pro baseball's minor league system. In fact, I was just thinking about the downtime some of these guys have. Last weekend [or weekday], for example, would have been a great time to for the Revs to have an exhibition match [Portuguese Second Division side Chaves was in town for a week]. How else can the Kantes, Marshalls, Singers, and Reises of world can get more/some work and still expect them to perform when you finally ask them to perform when they're actually needed?
A little action for Rusty, Shalrie, and JMM before we stuck them back in the lineup would have also helped...
Reportedly the Revs had a great week in training after their post KC layoff. Just goes to show training ain't games, that's for sure. I totally agree re. Rusty, Joe Max and Shalrie. In the first half they (and everyone else) looked like they were tranq'd. Normally these three are amongst the most "stuck in," to use an AngloScottish descriptor. JIM DOW
I'm sort of stunned to say the least. While I certainly can't attest to what happens elsewhere, John Murphy and staff have garnered nothing but glowing reviews from kids that have attended his camps/academies. In fact, our kids are begging from the Revs to return to S.E. Mass. John's direct and to the point, and perhaps those who are predesposed to being on the sensitive side may not resonate with Murphy & Co.
Aren't those about the same numbers that have been showing up recently to watch the First Team at the Boro?
I'm surprised by this considering how in tuned you normally are with all things Rev. The reviews posted on these very boards last year on the Revolution youth camps were decidedly very mixed. Everything from a complete waste of time to a lot of fun. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
[A] Thanks - I think - and, don't believe the hype. I must have missed that thread because I honestly don't remember reading anything about the camps/academies. [B1] My commentary is predicated on feedback that I've received directly from those who participated in them.