Being emotionally attached doesn't mean that you know them personally or benefit in any way from their success. You just see them in a different light. I'm getting emotionally attached as well probably, but the first I don't have long lists, the second I don't care about anybody below U-16 period, as being early developer creates optical illusions of being skilled, fast, etc., and the third I assume that professional coachess and scouts know more than me or anybody else on this board, so when Vermes, Almeyda, or Curtin say something I'm listening.
I’ve followed the sport in this country long enough that I don’t have much trust in the authority figures that are trotted out for us.
Couldn't agree more. I think the 02's are the youngest class for whom we can even speculate how good a class it will be. Things change so quickly. A year ago Kerr was talking about someone in the '05 class as being being of the best prospects we've ever had, and in the same tier as Pulisic and Reyna. Now he describes the 05's as "no one emerged in the star tier yet." Which is not meant as a criticism of Kerr at all. At most of these ages we're all just making vaguely informed guesses.
I think Clarke is somewhere in the same region at that age as Pulisic, Carleton, Nyeman, and some of the more hyped players we’ve had at that age. I will agree with that statement. Reyna was a tier lower IMO. He improved a lot a year or two later to become a top player now. The recent players we are producing are better than what we’ve produced in the past, so it’s not unlikely that the best player in any given age group will be better then that of prior age groups from 20 or 30 years ago. You can add in guys like Adu and Donovan that were big names from an early age, but a lot of the best players we are going to have at 14 or 15 or 16 will be recent.
Yup. Listen, I liked guys like khf too! but he’s not playing soccer currently, nor has he for the last what 6 months? He also wasn’t playing lb. he objectively, is behind George bello right now and perhaps always. But that’s where some on this site get too carried away “ranking” 14-15 year olds! It’s all a bit ridiculous to do so at that age. But fun to look at the larger list of players at that age and see how they develop as 17-18 year olds!
And Pulisic was 13 when he was being hyped & identified. He wasn't and early physical developer then either. Far more eyes scouting/scouring the U.S. now compared to then. You'd like to think our country and those scouting in it, are better suited to identify a player for attributes beyond being bigger, faster and stronger at the younger ages. They've been doing it all over the world at younger ages for a long time. We just haven't been very good at it here.
Nati Clarke was the only one I held in the same regard as Pulisic and Reyna a year ago. Honestly I still rate Nati very high but he has had a rough time in SKC’s academy since covid started. There is no reason that a USL level right back should be playing at the u17 academy level as a center back. I also do not understand Gage Akalu barely even playing unless he’s been hurt. Those two have easily had the most disappointing downward trend since the start of Covid. Everyone I talked to unanimously viewed Nati as a starter for the 2004’s u17 YNT as an 05. A year later and he is struggling to even get minutes with SKC’s u19 team, I don’t get it I do think that covid did impact a ton of player trajectories from a year ago. You can tell who the kids are who worked their asses off to improve and the ones who coasted during the downtime
Kobe’s height isn’t much of an issue, but he hasn’t developed the pace as a left back. But him being converted to a 6 really interests me. He has a good ability to win duals, he understands how to read the play and make tackles like Tyler Adams, and he has one of the best passing range’s among all our 6 prospects regardless of age groups. If Kobe can get just a tad bit more athletic (mostly pace) I think he could end up being an excellent 6 But Kobe being at Wolfsburg is an immediate stock down. That is a club that has proven to not be a good environment for young Americans trying to break into a first team
I really liked Gio at a young age. He had technical and tactical abilities that no other kid possessed. His attitude and treatment of teammates was a major red flag for me as a youth player but he’s slowly but surely improving here. When Gio came into the 2018 Nike friendlies after his 4 month break from NYCFC that was the first time he looked like a clear can’t miss prospect, it was just obvious how much more talented he was compared to everyone else
No idea what’s going on with Akalu because I haven’t seen him play in more than a year. But having watched a number of SKC u17 games I understand why Clarke has not been moved up. He has had trouble playing at the u17 level. Technical and tactical ability just isn’t high enough. Without harping on the kid, I think he unfortunately stood out because as an early developer his size/strength/speed advantages masked his pretty significant deficits in technical abilities and tactical understanding.
What always impressed me pre covid was that his technical abilities were way ahead of the other 05’s, disappointing to see
I have never seen that to be honest. His first touch was never above average. He could run fast with the ball, but beyond that I haven’t ever seen high level technical abilities. I hate to post negative stuff about a kid, but having seen him play for years he was never technically superior. Physically he certainly was, which bought him extra time and an ability to cover his mistakes. I would love to see video of what you mean though because I definitely haven’t seen all his games.
Khf will be 19 next week. We aren’t talking about a 16 year old anymore. He won’t magically get more athletic. He is who he is at this point, in that regard lol. also the skc kids might look different now as prospects, Bc they are, ya know, children.
I always wanted him to play DM as there is no such thing as a slow FB, but he was hyped beyound believe, and wasted a lot of development time playing LB, so we don't know how well he reads the game, and that ability is critical for #6.
*wasted a lot of development time playing CB I watched him a lot over the years and I never really found him to be slow as a LB. He was just always very calculated and patient as a CB. But he showed some quickness and aggression in the tackle, and that’s why I always liked him as a potential DM. He had trouble keeping that intensity up for 90 minutes because as a CB, Galaxy youth held possession pretty consistently. He struggled with positioning and tracking players as they ran past him, but his passing ability and ability to break up a play were very good. At this point, who knows where he is in his development? I’ll be happy if he re-emerges, but I don’t think we can really count on him. Especially with Honduras strongly pursuing.
For your 2006 roster, looks like an early bloomer list, do you spend enough time to watch the late bloomers with the high talent? The players in 06 age are in the puberty now and some late bloomers with hight talent just started his puberty now. I am a soccer dad and I heard from one of friends - a senior soccer dad whose kid attended the 06/07 age Philly YNT id center in April, and he told me after the session that there are many good players, but nobody is very impressive and shining. There are quite a few players in your 06 roster who attended that id center in Philly and some players in your 06 roster even not selected to that YNT id center. So, your 06 roster is not very convincing because it represents the early bloomers instead of talents, hold on your 06 roster until next year and spend more time to watch the late bloomers' performance with high talent, you will get a more fair roster next year when most of the 06 late bloomers finish their puberties.
@ussoccer97531 @David Kerr How high are Corocan, Estrela, and RBW's ceilings, who do they play like, are either of them candidates to be on the 2026 squad as McKennie or Dest-level talents?
I have not seen Estrela play yet. He always seems to be injured or moved to a different team when I’ve watched the NYRB academy and USL teams. The other two, they could absolutely be USMNT players in 2026, but it’s too early to know if they will. RBW is box to box. Not flashy, but he runs a lot, he wins challenges on the ground and in the air, and he’s a pretty good passer for such a high energy player. I go back and forth on his ceiling because it doesn’t look like it should be high, but I think a player whose already playing MLS games at 16 is capable of adding some more flair to how he plays the game. Corcoran is a #6 IMO, but some believe he could play higher up the field. I don’t see the dribbling or offense for that. He’s good at just about every part of the game, and his passing range may be very good, but he’s another player whose not that flashy or has the most untapped potential IMO. That’s not to say he won’t improve. He’s currently very good for a player his age, which is why he can contribute in USL L1 at age 15.
Yeah.................its really too early for us to say. Kids develop in unexpected ways. Some completely surprise us. Also of note is that we keep building up our pools so much that even if a youngster like Corcoran is ready for the 2026 cycle, there will be a ton of competition for places.
I think one of the pieces that's least discussed is how these young men develop off of the field. We can't really talk about it since we know so little about this part of their life but soccer doesn't happen in a vacuum. Players can hit rough spots due to physical, tactical, and club issues but I think we forget they can have the same thing happen with the rest of their life. Maybe they don't focus on soccer enough to tap into their talent, maybe their home life is a wreck, maybe they develop an ego that limits what they are capable, etc etc. It's one reason I think college age players have done well in MLS compared to the younger age players (foreign or domestic) because they have a couple years more of maturity to handle the riggers of life and soccer.
You know as much as we bash college soccer if it was treated the same way as football and basketball it could be a huge bonus for the US. If really great coaches had the guys and they trainers as much as the reserve teams and played packed games? The very best would still go straight to Europe (Dortmund-cough, cough) at 16 if able and others at 18 but laying at a Alabama type atmosphere with the pressure and also them growing up away from home thing could be huge. Won’t ever happen though and too far gone down different paths now. Soccer is more on the baseball model.