# 2003/2004 Boys. Standings, games of the week etc...



## R2564952

New season, how is everyone doing? Are the rosters complete at your sons team? Does the team look stronger than last year? Which teams do y'all reckon will top the table in 2019/20?  Galaxy has a few 03’s playing with “Los Dos”... I’m sure they will bring them down to play the tougher teams to help with standings, playoffs and generations cup.


----------



## R2564952

FcGS vs LAFC should be a good game. The FCGS 03 boys have always been dominant.  Let’s see how the LAFC’s 04’s  
My prediction is 3-2 for LAFC


----------



## jpeter

DA cup games going on for positions at the winter cup in Dec.   Almost like preseason since the league standings are only for regular season games with teams & players getting situated.

GSA vs LAFC at San Bernardino so that's a advantage for GSA.  Can the GSA defense manage to contain LAFC?  That's the difference in the Game IMO, that and if the two offensive players who mostly train & play with the 18's start for this game?


----------



## True love

Who won today game?


----------



## R2564952

2-2 good game. LAFC was up at half 2-0 FCGS came back for tie. 
Lafc missed penalty in second half
Very aggressive game


----------



## True love

R2564952 said:


> 2-2 good game. LAFC was up at half 2-0 FCGS came back for tie.
> Lafc missed penalty in second half
> Very aggressive game


Thanks for the info.


----------



## fla$hgordon

R2564952 said:


> New season, how is everyone doing? Are the rosters complete at your sons team? Does the team look stronger than last year? Which teams do y'all reckon will top the table in 2019/20?  Galaxy has a few 03’s playing with “Los Dos”... I’m sure they will bring them down to play the tougher teams to help with standings, playoffs and generations cup.


Do you know anything about the Strikers 03 DA? I'm sure LAFC, Galaxy, and GS will be amongst the top contenders for best standings. I reckon Arsenal and Strikers will have some trouble.


----------



## A Board

Strikers not doing well. Have not won a game. Young coach. Best midfielder is playing up. They seem to lose the ball in the midfield and play the ball back- way too much.


----------



## fla$hgordon

A Board said:


> Strikers not doing well. Have not won a game. Young coach. Best midfielder is playing up. They seem to lose the ball in the midfield and play the ball back- way too much.


Too bad for Strikers, I hear because they are a pay to play academy, the talent is scarce and not many come to try out.


----------



## Chizl

fla$hgordon said:


> Too bad for Strikers, I hear because they are a pay to play academy, the talent is scarce and not many come to try out.


I assume your son was cut from Strikers?


----------



## fla$hgordon

Chizl said:


> I assume your son was cut from Strikers?


Assumption is incorrect, I’m just asking and making an observation.


----------



## True love

fla$hgordon said:


> Do you know anything about the Strikers 03 DA? I'm sure LAFC, Galaxy, and GS will be amongst the top contenders for best standings. I reckon Arsenal and Strikers will have some trouble.


Its seems like Real Salt Lake U-16/17 
is the real deal in the south west division, blowing out some of the better MLS teams so 
far. Real Salt Lake next 4 games.

Sat Oct 19 home vs Pateadores 

Sat Oct 26 home vs Albion 

Sat Nov 9 home vs LA Galaxy 

Sat Nov 23 road game against LAFC


----------



## jpeter

DA cup standings
http://www.ussoccerda.com/boys_dacupstandings

5 out of 8 teams advance to winter cup from top group
http://www.ussoccerda.com/sam/standings/ss/schedule.php?v=3&divisionID=NDQxMDM5

GSA, Pats, Quakes appear to be playing for the last couple of spots so there next couple games are must wins.  Going to need about 10 or more points to finish top 5 and make it to the winter cup.   Going all the way to Florida for just a showcase would be a disappointment for those that don't qualify IMO.

RSL is going to make it tough to finish top 3 in regular SW league so the cup offers another chance for playoffs via wildcard for top 8 finishers


----------



## jpeter

LAFC vs. Galaxy this weekend should be a good one.

Galaxy going with the 03's since the 04's on the road to Croatia and that could be the difference,  Galaxy 03''s  with the experience advantage especially those that have been training & playing with the 18's.   Will they roster & start these players?

LAFC always up for the Galaxy games and they may have a few surprises in store including a new 03 attacking player that might make the roster by deadline time.  This is the game where we might see some of those attackers get going, if so LAFC could take this game that they need for the DA cup points.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this weekend (10/4). home team is listed first. 

caveat #1: only includes matches where both teams have at least four games in 2019-20.

caveat #2 : most teams have fairly large team rosters but can only roster 18 for the game so a fair amount of potential variability is present. 

eg, LA Galaxy are sending their 04s to Croatia and they won't be available this weekend. looking at the numbers, LAG will actually be giving some goal scoring if they're sending all the 04s, but will get better defensively. the predict incorporates these changes.

*SoCal Matches*
LA Galaxy 1 vs LAFC 1 (edge to LAG; algo has it LAG 1.30 vs LAFC .82) 
San Jose Earthquakes 2 vs FC Golden State 2 (edge to FCG; algo has it SJ 1.52 vs FCG 1.76)

*non-SoCal Matches (for DA Cup reference)*
Colorado Rapids 4 vs Real Colorado 1
De Anza Force 1 vs Sacramento Republic 2
Portland Timbers 3 vs Vancouver Whitecaps 2

again, teams not listed above are playing in matches where at least one of the teams has not played at least four games to date.


----------



## jpeter

LAG 4 or 5? to 1 over LAFC

LAFC scored on a nice rebound header off a corner #4 but  Galaxy took over after 2-1 HT.  Dominate 2nd half, almost all the action in the LAFC half, several shots, crosses, goals evenutally, 2-3 more as the Galaxy looked like they could score at will while LAFC struggle to get anything going or play out the back under the pressure.

Galaxy should get a high seed in the DA Cup and might be one favorites while LAFC faces a must win vs Quakes to just make the Cup, a early knockout for one it looks like.


----------



## 3leches

Galaxy dominated second half . The squad was mostly 2003’s


----------



## Fishme1

3leches said:


> Galaxy dominated second half . The squad was mostly 2003’s


I would think LAFC would make better decisions on their line up.


----------



## jpeter

Fishme1 said:


> I would think LAFC would make better decisions on their line up.


There is always the generations addidas cup next week to regroup and try something different.   

Galaxy really dominated and almost toyed with LAFC at times, there game plan, tatics, teamwork, skills, style was just much better on this day.


----------



## jujusundae

Fishme1 said:


> I would think LAFC would make better decisions on their line up.


Apparently LAFC is more focused on developing their 04’s and that may be the reason why they haven’t added many 03’s. While that’s understandable, what they need to realize is that part of development is not only playing against the best, but also playing WITH the best. I believe all the 03’s they added are strikers and one keeper. But what about the defense? I believe they need help in that area. Also, what good are the forwards if the midfield cannot get the ball to them. I’m a fan of LAFC, hopefully they’ll make some adjustments and get it together.


----------



## Keeper3114

Fishme1 said:


> I would think LAFC would make better decisions on their line up.


What could they change in the line up?  According to the roster they have 22 boys and only 4 are 03's.  The rest of the team is playing up.


----------



## lafalafa

Was there 2nd half, almost like two teams playing from different flights or something?  Was not even close, total domination by the Galaxy.

The notion that 04's are playing up in 16/17 is not really the case in this league.  LAFC's decisions to go for the best calendar year players and not really move them around or really play them up like the Galaxy did last year, this year or the Strikers for example: 05 that plays u16/17 or u18/19 would be a example of really playing up. 

Without a u18/19, USL, or other teams LAFC has its hands tied and not having players with enough experience shows vs the better teams like this time. Short term they might not have a quick fix but long term they can.  The LAFC 05's are a perfect example, do they continue to beat up teams or do some of them get to really play up?


----------



## Kante

lafalafa said:


> Was there 2nd half, almost like two teams playing from different flights or something?  Was not even close, total domination by the Galaxy.
> 
> The notion that 04's are playing up in 16/17 is not really the case in this league.  LAFC's decisions to go for the best calendar year players and not really move them around or really play them up like the Galaxy did last year, this year or the Strikers for example: 05 that plays u16/17 or u18/19 would be a example of really playing up.
> 
> Without a u18/19, USL, or other teams LAFC has its hands tied and not having players with enough experience shows vs the better teams like this time. Short term they might not have a quick fix but long term they can.  The LAFC 05's are a perfect example, do they continue to beat up teams or do some of them get to really play up?


agreed, particularly the point about LAFC going for "best calendar year players". Have seen numbers that indicate the age gap between LAFC's 04s and most 03s is not nearly what it is for other 04s on other teams.

Also, where you write "LAFC has it hands tied". would change this to "LAFC tied its own hands". It's been LAFC's choice to roll-out age groups for their academy step by step. 

TS has been saying since his interview that LAFC published last year that the primary goal of their academy is to produce 1st team players. 

while rolling out an older team each year has definitely helped the LAFC academy in some areas, producing first team players likely is not one of those areas.


----------



## SBFDad

Kante said:


> agreed, particularly the point about LAFC going for "best calendar year players". Have seen numbers that indicate the age gap between LAFC's 04s and most 03s is not nearly what it is for other 04s on other teams.
> 
> Also, where you write "LAFC has it hands tied". would change this to "LAFC tied its own hands". It's been LAFC's choice to roll-out age groups for their academy step by step.
> 
> TS has been saying since his interview that LAFC published last year that the primary goal of their academy is to product 1st team players.
> 
> while rolling out an older team each year has definitely helped the LAFC academy in some areas, producing first team players likely is not one of those areas.


100%. It helped short-term results and brand recognition. A number of their 04s show real potential, but LAFC really has no proving ground to see who’s really ready and good enough for a contract. Yesterday’s game was a good litmus test for this team that seemed to have their way with most in their own age group for the past couple of years. More games like that over the past 2 seasons would’ve served them well from a development standpoint, but probably not from a marketing standpoint.

This problem really only exists for their 03/04 age group (let’s not forget that they added 03s that may not have a place to play next year). Their 05s and younger have it better in this regard, although 6 games in and we still haven’t seen many of the youngers playing up.


----------



## soccerstud

So what was the final?


----------



## SBFDad

soccerstud said:


> So what was the final?


4-1. The game was more lopsided than that, especially in the 2nd half. LAFC looked like they ran out of gas.


----------



## soccerstud

SBFDad said:


> 4-1. The game was more lopsided than that, especially in the 2nd half. LAFC looked like they ran out of gas.


Thank you, KUDOS to Galaxy


----------



## Fishme1

Keeper3114 said:


> What could they change in the line up?  According to the roster they have 22 boys and only 4 are 03's.  The rest of the team is playing up.


Like SBFDAD mentioned on the bottom post. LAFC started off pretty good first half. Second half they appear to have run out of gas. In my opinion the coach took too long to make the substitutions. I also noticed players playing new spots after the late substitutions. You can’t do that with a seasoned team like LAG.


----------



## messy

Fishme1 said:


> Like SBFDAD mentioned on the bottom post. LAFC started off pretty good first half. Second half they appear to have run out of gas. In my opinion the coach took too long to make the substitutions. I also noticed players playing new spots after the late substitutions. You can’t do that with a seasoned team like LAG.


Whoever was #24 on Galaxy he was awfully good.


----------



## SBFDad

messy said:


> Whoever was #24 on Galaxy he was awfully good.


JP. Best player on the field that day.


----------



## messy

SBFDad said:


> JP. Best player on the field that day.


An 03, I assume?


----------



## SBFDad

messy said:


> An 03, I assume?


Yes. Younger side of the year.


----------



## True love

The Galaxy come really stocked for that special game against LAFC, first time in a long time, the Galaxy using up all the good 03 to play. And lots of respect for the Galaxy Academy newest coaching staffs. The Galaxy 03 is very dangerous this year.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts vs actuals for this last weekend (10/4). home team is listed first.

caveat #1: predicts only included matches where both teams have at least four games in 2019-20.
caveat #2 : most teams have fairly large team rosters but can only roster 18 for the game so a fair amount of potential variability is present. eg, LA Galaxy sent their 04s to Croatia and thus the 04 LAG players weren't available this weekend against LAFC, only 03s. 

*SoCal Matches*
predict: LA Galaxy 1 vs LAFC 1 *Actuals: LA Galaxy 4 vs LAFC 1*
note: by most accounts, LAG was dominant on the day, particularly in the 2nd half. 

Having said that, per the game report, LAFC scored first (AL for the goal) but LAG got one back to tie 1-1 going into the half. 

But LAG then scored almost immediately after the 2nd half started at the 41st minute, and, per SBFdad, Fishme1, and Messy (thank you!), it sounds like was all LAG after that with two more goals around the 65th minute, and in particular #24/JP was a standout LAG player with two goals and one assist. 

predict: San Jose Earthquakes 2 vs FC Golden State 2  *Actuals: San Jose Earthquakes 0 vs FC Golden State 1*

*non-SoCal Matches (for DA Cup reference)*
predict: Colorado Rapids 4 vs Real Colorado 1 *Actuals: Colorado Rapids 2 vs Real Colorado 0 *
predict: De Anza Force 1 vs Sacramento Republic 2 *Actuals: De Anza Force 3 vs Sacramento Republic 2*
predict: Portland Timbers 3 vs Vancouver Whitecaps 2 *Actuals: pending*

again, teams not listed above are playing in matches where at least one of the teams has not played at least four games to date.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this weekend (10/19). home team is listed first.

*SoCal*
Albion 3 vs Arsenal 2
LAGSD 2 vs SD Surf 3
Real Salt Lake 4 vs Pateadores 1
Real SoCal 1 vs LAFC 2
Strikers 4 vs Nomads 1

*Non-SoCal*
Breakers 0 vs Ballistic
Crossfire Premier 2 vs Barca 3
San Jose Earthquakes 1 vs Sacramento Republic 1 (congrats, btw, to Sacto on new MLS status)
Seattle Sounders 1 vs Vancouver 0
Silicon Valley SA 3 vs De Anza 1


----------



## Kante

here's predicts vs actuals for this weekend (10/19). home team is listed first.

*SoCal*
predict: Albion 3 vs Arsenal 2 *Actuals: pending - does anyone have score here?*

predict: LAGSD 2 vs SD Surf 3 *Actuals: LAGSD 0 vs SD Surf 4*
*note: any commentary/insight into how this match went?*

predict: Real Salt Lake 4 vs Pateadores 1 *Actuals: Real Salt Lake 3 vs Pateadores 3*
*note: any commentary/insight into how this match went?*

predict: Real SoCal 1 vs LAFC 2 *Actuals: Real SoCal 1 vs LAFC 1*
*note: any commentary/insight into how this match went?*

predict: Strikers 4 vs Nomads 1 *Actuals: Strikers 1 vs Nomads 2*
*note: any commentary/insight into how this match went?*

*Non-SoCal*
predict: Breakers 0 vs Ballistic 4 *Actuals: Breakers 2 vs Ballistic 3*

predict: Crossfire Premier 2 vs Barca 3 *Actuals: Crossfire Premier 4 vs Barca 0*
note: interesting result here. last match, it was 2-0 xfire. the algo says Barca should be doing better but xfire may just have their number. *any commentary/insight into how this match went and how these teams actually match-up?*

predict: San Jose Earthquakes 1 vs Sacramento Republic 1 Actuals: *San Jose Earthquakes 3 vs Sacramento Republic 0*

predict: Seattle Sounders 1 vs Vancouver 0 *Actuals: Seattle Sounders 0 vs Vancouver 1*

predict: Silicon Valley SA 3 vs De Anza 1 *Actuals: Silicon Valley SA 1 vs De Anza 0*


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this weekend (10/26). home team is listed first and games are listed in home team alpha order.

*SoCal*
Arsenal 0 vs SVSA 2
Barca 1 vs Real SoCal 2 - *match to watch*
Crossfire Premier 4 vs Strikers 2 
LAGSD 1 vs Nomads 3 
LAGSD 1 vs San Antonio FC 0
LAFC 0 vs San Jose Earthquakes 1 - *match to watch*
Pateadores 2 vs FC Golden State 2 - *match to watch*
Real Salt Lake 4 vs Albion 0
San Diego Surf 1 vs LA Galaxy 1 - *match to watch*

*Non SoCal*
De Anza 1 vs Portland Timbers 2
De Anza 0 vs Seattle Sounders 0
Sacramento Republic 1 vs Seattle Sounders 1
Sacramento Republic 2 Portland Timbers 3


----------



## SBFDad

Surf 1 vs LA Galaxy 2


----------



## Fishme1

LAFC  2 -  3  Earthquakes


----------



## R2564952

lafc Looked superior in first half, two penalties for sje in second half , one was a possible flop and other was outside of box. Not sure why lafc is dropping off on the second half. Seems like they can compete in first half.


----------



## jpeter

R2564952 said:


> lafc Looked superior in first half, two penalties for sje in second half , one was a possible flop and other was outside of box. Not sure why lafc is dropping off on the second half. Seems like they can compete in first half.


LAFC is going to need some help or luck to make the DA winter cup with only 8pts in 7 games and -3 GD.   I dunno if any other MLS clubs are going to miss out on the DA cup but LAFC is sitting on the outside in 6th place.




__





						U.S. Soccer Development Academy
					






					www.ussoccerda.com


----------



## Cibo

jpeter said:


> LAFC is going to need some help or luck to make the DA winter cup with only 8pts in 7 games and -3 GD.   I dunno if any other MLS clubs are going to miss out on the DA cup but LAFC is sitting on the outside in 6th place.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> U.S. Soccer Development Academy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.ussoccerda.com


FC Golden State also has 8pts in 6 games and +2 GD. They would need to lose big vs Surf this weekend for LAFC to have any chance to sneak in to 5th place. Top 5 are pretty much set with 2,3 & 4 positions to be decided this weekend. I saw the LAFC/EQ match this weekend. 

1st half was fairly evenly matched with the edge going to LAFC due to the two goals scored. LAFC's first score on a turnover from a poor pass back from a SJ midfielder and LAFC capitalizing with numbers on offense for the goal. The second goal was an excellent team goal down the sideline passing and cross to the middle for the score. 

2nd half it was either substitutions/adjustments from each team or if LAFC just ran out of gas. SJ's first goal was off a breakaway down the side with a clear foul inside the box when the LAFC player kicked through the SJ player missing the ball completely. Second goal was from individual play of a SJ defender dribbling through LAFC chipping over the GK. The 3rd goal came on another break away and clear foul from behind right at the 18. Ref could have called PK or placed outside the box. Should have been a straight red (Denying an Obvious Goalscoring Opportunity) but the ref chose to issue a yellow which may be why he called it a PK instead of placing it outside the box.


----------



## Kante

Here's predicts for this coming weekend (11/9). Got busy last week, so apologies for missing. 

The algorithm is starting to settle down with the other age groups and accuracy is going up. Will see if this is the case this weekend w/ u17. 

Best of luck! Home team is listed first, and order is alpha by home team. 

*SoCal*
Arsenal 1 - Real SoCal 2
Barca 4 - Albion 1
FC Golden State 1 - Nomads 1
LAFC 2 - LAGSD 2
LAFC 3 - Strikers 2
Pateadores 3 - LAGSD 1
Real Salt Lake 1 - LA Galaxy 2
San Diego Surf 3 - Strikers 1

*Non SoCal*
Breakers 1 - SVSA 8
Crossfire Premier 2 - Seattle Sounders 1
De Anza 3 - Sacramento Republic 3
San Jose Earthquakes 2 - Ballistic 1


----------



## bigkick

Kante said:


> Here's predicts for this coming weekend (11/9). Got busy last week, so apologies for missing.
> 
> The algorithm is starting to settle down with the other age groups and accuracy is going up. Will see if this is the case this weekend w/ u17.
> 
> Best of luck! Home team is listed first, and order is alpha by home team.
> 
> *SoCal*
> Arsenal 1 - Real SoCal 2
> Barca 4 - Albion 1
> FC Golden State 1 - Nomads 1
> LAFC 2 - LAGSD 2
> LAFC 3 - Strikers 2
> Pateadores 3 - LAGSD 1
> Real Salt Lake 1 - LA Galaxy 2
> San Diego Surf 3 - Strikers 1
> 
> *Non SoCal*
> Breakers 1 - SVSA 8
> Crossfire Premier 2 - Seattle Sounders 1
> De Anza 3 - Sacramento Republic 3
> San Jose Earthquakes 2 - Ballistic 1



Real Salt Lake 3 - LA Galaxy 0


----------



## Kante

Here's predicts vs actuals for this last weekend (11/9). The algorithm is starting to settle down with the other age groups and accuracy is going up, but still working on u17... large rosters w/ a mix of ages makes it tough. will keep plugging away...

Home team is listed first, and order is alpha by home team.

*SoCal*
predict: Arsenal 1 - Real SoCal 2 *actuals: Arsenal 1 - Real SoCal 3*
predict: Barca 4 - Albion 1 *actuals: Barca 2 - Albion 0*
predict: FC Golden State 1 - Nomads 1 *actuals: FC Golden State 1 - Nomads 3*
predict: LAFC 2 - LAGSD 2 *actuals: LAFC 3 - LAGSD 1*
predict: LAFC 3 - Strikers 2 *actuals: LAFC 2 - Strikers 2*
predict: Pateadores 3 - LAGSD 1 *actuals: Pateadores 7 - LAGSD 3*
predict: Real Salt Lake 1 - LA Galaxy 2 *actuals: Real Salt Lake 3 - LA Galaxy 0*
predict: San Diego Surf 3 - Strikers 1 *actuals: pending - anyone have the score here?*

*Non SoCal*
predict: Breakers 1 - SVSA 8 *actuals: Breakers 3 - SVSA 1*
predict: Crossfire Premier 2 - Seattle Sounders 1 *actuals: Crossfire Premier 1 - Seattle Sounders 2*
predict: De Anza 3 - Sacramento Republic 3 *actuals: De Anza 2 - Sacramento Republic 1*
predict: San Jose Earthquakes 2 - Ballistic 1 *actuals: pending - anyone have the score here?*


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this weekend (11/16). home team is listed first and in alpha order.

*SoCal*
LAFC 4 - Arsenal 1
LA Galaxy 2 - Pateadores 2 - *match to watch

Non SoCal*
Ballistic 2 - De Anza 2 - *match to watch*
Crossfire Premier 1 - SVSA 2 - *match to watch*
note: w/ fairly steady improvement on both sides of the ball (except for last week where they may have underestimated the Breakers), SVSA is not ranked nationally by TDS but probably should be. This weekend will have two good matches to see where SVSA is at.

Crossfire Premier 3 - Sacramento Republic 2
Vancouver 1 - Sacramento Republic 1
Vancouver 0 - SVSA 2 - *match to watch*
note: w/ fairly steady improvement on both sides of the ball (except for last week where they may have underestimated the Breakers), SVSA is not ranked nationally by TDS but probably should be. This weekend will have two good matches to see where SVSA is at.


----------



## Kante

Usually would post something like this in the Soccer Nerd thread - https://www.socalsoccer.com/threads/going-full-soccer-academy-nerd.17391/page-2#post-297541 - but today is different. Today, the USMNT is playing Canada in the second leg of the Nations Cup. Coverage for the USMNT vs Canada starts at 4pm pst on ESPN2, Unimas and TUDN.

Why does it matter? 

The stakes are high for the match this evening in a way they haven't been for the USMNT since last WC qualifying, and we all know how that went.

Because of new FIFA rules, Canada must win today to have a 100% shot at qualifying for the 2022 WC.  Last match, they beat the US 2-0 with the best Canadian team - and best Canadian coach - in a generation. Worse, the US looked really bad in the loss, and most thought the 0-2 scoreline was generous to the US.  If Canada draws, they have 50/50 shot at getting a chance to qualify for the WC and if they lose, there's only a small possibility.

On the flip side, after the 0-2 loss, the USMNT coach, Greg Berhalter - went on the public record as saying the second US v Canada match was a " must win." US Soccer GM Earnie Stewart this week walked that statement back a bit, saying one result would not determine the fate of Berhalter but...

For background, here's one the best articles on the current state of the USMNT is below. Here's the article - https://theathletic.com/1379646/2019/11/15/no-country-for-usmnt-fans/

(One point that is missed a bit - is that at the youth level - the window for the kids is small, and waiting out the US Soccer dysfunction, the way one might wait out a pro sports team's run of poor performance, is not really an option imo.)



View attachment 5638


----------



## jimbohonky

Anybody know how the Galaxy U16/17s did this weekend?


----------



## Endgame

LA Galaxy 0 - Pateadores 4 , Galaxy played with mostly 04's.


----------



## jimbohonky

Much Obliged


Endgame said:


> LA Galaxy 0 - Pateadores 4 , Galaxy played with mostly 04's.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts vs actuals for this last weekend (11/16). home team is listed first and in alpha order.

*SoCal*
predict: LAFC 4 - Arsenal 1 / *actuals: pending* - *anyone have the score here?*

predict: LA Galaxy 2 - Pateadores 2 / *actuals: LA Galaxy 0 - Pateadores 4*
note: interesting result. Pats were up 2-0 at ht and then a quick one at start of 2h to make it 3-0, and then one last one at the 73rd minute for the 4-0 final score. However, a comment on the board - LAG played mostly 04s - peaked interest.

(insert soapbox here...)

per the game report, LAG started nine 04s, four of whom went the full 90. Three 04s and two 03s were subbed in in the 2h for five 04s. Pats played three 04s. And the average dob of LAG players on the field was Feb 3, 2004. The average dob of the Pats players on the field was Sep 7, 2003. 

So, on average, the Pats players were about five months older than the LAG players. 

The age difference doesn't seem like that much, but even at this older age group, the CDC says that - comparing boys who end up at the average height and weight - while a five month age difference at u17 accounts for only about 1/2 inch difference in height, the age difference also accounts for about 10 pounds difference in weight, almost all of which is muscle. 

So, running the numbers and putting this in terms of grown men playing, the age difference this weekend was like two teams of 5'10" players but while the Pats on average weighed about 166 pounds, the younger team - LA Galaxy - weighed in, on average, at 155, with that 11 pounds being almost entirely muscle, per player across the board. 

Tough handicap, and the algo says it's worth about +4 goals for the Pats.

(stepping down from the soapbox now...)*

Non SoCal*
predict: Ballistic 2 - De Anza 2 / *actuals: Ballistic 0 - De Anza 1*

predict: Crossfire Premier 1 - SVSA 2 / *actuals: Crossfire Premier 4 - SVSA 0*
note: this match was a good test to see where SVSA is at. the u15s and u17s are hard to predict because the DA Cups generally grouped like for like teams, so, based on DA Cup results, good teams generally don't look as good as they really are, and not so good teams also don't show as much for the same reason. from the results this weekend, SVSA, despite some decent past results, has work to do.

predict: Crossfire Premier 3 - Sacramento Republic 2 / *actuals: Crossfire Premier 3 - Sacramento Republic 4*

predict: Vancouver 1 - Sacramento Republic 1 / *actuals: pending - anyone have the score here?*

predict: Vancouver 0 - SVSA 2 / *actuals:  Vancouver 2 - SVSA 1*


----------



## SBFDad

Kante said:


> here's predicts vs actuals for this last weekend (11/16). home team is listed first and in alpha order.
> 
> *SoCal*
> predict: LAFC 4 - Arsenal 1 / *actuals: pending* - *anyone have the score here?*
> 
> predict: LA Galaxy 2 - Pateadores 2 / *actuals: LA Galaxy 0 - Pateadores 4*
> note: interesting result. Pats were up 2-0 at ht and then a quick one at start of 2h to make it 3-0, and then one last one at the 73rd minute for the 4-0 final score. However, a comment on the board - LAG played mostly 04s - peaked interest.
> 
> (insert soapbox here...)
> 
> per the game report, LAG started nine 04s, four of whom went the full 90. Three 04s and two 03s were subbed in in the 2h for five 04s. Pats played three 04s. And the average dob of LAG players on the field was Feb 3, 2004. The average dob of the Pats players on the field was Sep 7, 2003.
> 
> So, on average, the Pats players were about five months older than the LAG players.
> 
> The age difference doesn't seem like that much, but even at this older age group, the CDC says that - comparing boys who end up at the average height and weight - while a five month age difference at u17 accounts for only about 1/2 inch difference in height, the age difference also accounts for about 10 pounds difference in weight, almost all of which is muscle.
> 
> So, running the numbers and putting this in terms of grown men playing, the age difference this weekend was like two teams of 5'10" players but while the Pats on average weighed about 166 pounds, the younger team - LA Galaxy - weighed in, on average, at 155, with that 11 pounds being almost entirely muscle, per player across the board.
> 
> Tough handicap, and the algo says it's worth about +4 goals for the Pats.
> 
> (stepping down from the soapbox now...)
> 
> *Non SoCal*
> predict: Ballistic 2 - De Anza 2 / *actuals: Ballistic 0 - De Anza 1*
> 
> predict: Crossfire Premier 1 - SVSA 2 / *actuals: Crossfire Premier 4 - SVSA 0*
> note: this match was a good test to see where SVSA is at. the u15s and u17s are hard to predict because the DA Cups generally grouped like for like teams, so, based on DA Cup results, good teams generally don't look as good as they really are, and not so good teams also don't show as much for the same reason. from the results this weekend, SVSA, despite some decent past results, has work to do.
> 
> predict: Crossfire Premier 3 - Sacramento Republic 2 / *actuals: Crossfire Premier 3 - Sacramento Republic 4*
> 
> predict: Vancouver 1 - Sacramento Republic 1 / *actuals: pending - anyone have the score here?*
> 
> predict: Vancouver 0 - SVSA 2 / *actuals:  Vancouver 2 - SVSA 1*


Biggest X-factor at this age group is the 2004 and 2003 mix and which teams decide which players to play and against whom. The algo is gonna be jacked up all year. It’ll be much easier if they split the age group next year.


----------



## Kante

SBFDad said:


> Biggest X-factor at this age group is the 2004 and 2003 mix and which teams decide which players to play and against whom. The algo is gonna be jacked up all year. It’ll be much easier if they split the age group next year.


yup, will be a challenge. typically, teams have patterns that they settle into and the algo is able to pick it up. looks like LAG has a lot more 04s than most teams, so they'll be the toughest. will see. 

also be interesting to see, albeit after the fact, the impact of the different ages on outcomes.


----------



## chule

theres all ways excuses when galaxy losses !!!!!!!!!congrats pats on a great win


----------



## Cibo

With the age discussion of the PAT's vs. LA Galaxy going on I thought it would be interesting to look at the California DA Cup Teams number of 2003 and 2004 rostered players.

LAG 17-2003 and 18-2004
Pats 17-2003 and 5 2004
SDS 21-2003 and 3 2004
SJEQ 13-2003 and 12-2004
FCGS 21-2003 and 8-2004
LAFC 4-2004 and 18-2004
DAF 21-2003 and 3-2004
SR 13-2003 and 12-2004

LAFC has gone with mostly 2004's which should put them in a strong position next year. LAG seems to have two full teams on their roster of 2003's and 2004's but if the DA adds the U16 age group they will also be in a strong position next year. SJEQ and SR have balances rosters between 2003's and 04's. PAT's, SDS, FCGS and DAF are all top heavy with 2003's. 

These numbers tell me The MLS Clubs have an easier time recruiting and can concentrate on development with less pressure to win than the non-DA clubs. Whether anyone likes it or not, if your not a MLS Club, you have to win to recruit.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this weekend (11/23) home team is listed first and order is alpha by home team. 

a quick note: a number of u16-u17 (which is really u17) have a fair number of 04s on their roster. this make predicting outcomes challenging. Even at this age, even a several months difference in age makes a big difference in physical development (easier to quantify) and mental development (harder to to quantify). 

Cibo (thank you!) just went thru some of the rosters to ID some of the teams w/ a lot of 04s as well as a lot of 03s. These teams' predicts will vary significantly for longer than usual because the algo has to pick up on their roster patterns but it will get there. 

in the meantime, it's a really interesting experiment comparing predicts to outcomes and then looking at the relative average age of the two teams to see what the estimated impact of the age difference is. 

here's some of the teams w/ a heavy mix of 03s and 04s (thx again to Cibo!). Below this list are the predicts for this weekend.

LA Galaxy 17-2003 and 18-2004
SJ Earthquakes 13-2003 and 12-2004
FCG 21-2003 and 8-2004
Sacramento Republic 13-2003 and 12-2004
here's predicts: 

*SoCal*
Barca 4 - LAGSD 1
FC Golden State 2 - Arsenal 1
LAFC 1 - Real Salt Lake 2 - *match to watch*
Pateadores 3 - LA Galaxy 2 - *match to watch (bring the popcorn!)*
note: Pateadores just beat last weekend LAG 4-0. But, LAG played mostly 04s while Pats played mostly 03s. Looked at the DOBs and Pats players, and, on average, the Pats were about five months older than the average LAG players. 

per CDC numbers, even at this age, that five month age difference accounted, on average, for about an advantage of about ten pounds of muscle per player for the Pats over the average LAG player. algo had predicted 2-2 result last week but actual result was 4-0 Pats. Will et you do the math on that.

Now, a rematch and the numbers algo is super stoked to what happens. best bet is that LAG comes w/ the 04s to play to win the match. whatever happens, it will be a really test case to what happens. downside is that while the algo is doing its best, predicting the outcome of this match is almost impossible. but it will be to watch and to review after the fact. 

San Diego Surf 2 - Albion 0

*Non-SoCal*
Ballistic 2 - Portland Timbers 3
Sacramento Republic 3 - SVSA 2
SJ Quakes 3 - Portland Timbers 1
Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - Seattle Sounders 1 - *match to watch*


----------



## Cibo




----------



## Raggamufin

Cibo said:


> With the age discussion of the PAT's vs. LA Galaxy going on I thought it would be interesting to look at the California DA Cup Teams number of 2003 and 2004 rostered players.
> 
> LAG 17-2003 and 18-2004
> Pats 17-2003 and 5 2004
> SDS 21-2003 and 3 2004
> SJEQ 13-2003 and 12-2004
> FCGS 21-2003 and 8-2004
> LAFC 4-2004 and 18-2004
> DAF 21-2003 and 3-2004
> SR 13-2003 and 12-2004
> 
> LAFC has gone with mostly 2004's which should put them in a strong position next year. LAG seems to have two full teams on their roster of 2003's and 2004's but if the DA adds the U16 age group they will also be in a strong position next year. SJEQ and SR have balances rosters between 2003's and 04's. PAT's, SDS, FCGS and DAF are all top heavy with 2003's.
> 
> These numbers tell me The MLS Clubs have an easier time recruiting and can concentrate on development with less pressure to win than the non-DA clubs. Whether anyone likes it or not, if your not a MLS Club, you have to win to recruit.


Golden State 4 -5 03 who are PT players. They were added a few weeks ago because of injuries and emergency. 
They are allowed to play 12 games but I don’t think they will use unless there is another emergency .


----------



## Cibo

Kante said:


> *SoCal*
> Barca 4 - LAGSD 1 - *actuals Barca 3 - LAGSD 1*
> FC Golden State 2 - Arsenal 1 - *actuals FC Golden State 4 - Arsenal 1*
> LAFC 1 - Real Salt Lake 2 - *actuals LAFC 0 - Real Salt Lake 3*
> Pateadores 3 - LA Galaxy 2 - - *actuals Pateadores 1 - LA Galaxy 1
> Non-SoCal*
> Ballistic 2 - Portland Timbers 3 - *actuals Ballistic 1 - Portland Timbers 5*
> Sacramento Republic 3 - SVSA 2 - *actuals Sacramento Republic 1 - SVSA 3*
> SJ Quakes 3 - Portland Timbers 1 - *actuals SJ Quakes 6 - Portland Timbers 1*
> Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - Seattle Sounders 1 - - *actuals Vancouver Whitecaps 0 - Seattle Sounders 1*


Nice predictions Kante correct on 5 of 8. 

LAG went with an even mix of 2003s and 2004s which may be the difference with the previous week using mostly 2004s. With half the season over and so few matches in league play, the Southwest looks like there will be a lot of movement in the standings and who makes the playoffs after the break. Northwest also has many matches to play, but looks much more predictable than the Southwest.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts vs actuals for this weekend (11/23) home team is listed first and order is alpha by home team. Happy Turkey Day!

*SoCal*
predict: Barca 4 - LAGSD 1 *actuals: Barca 3 - LAGSD 1*

predict: FC Golden State 2 - Arsenal 1 *actuals: FC Golden State 4 - Arsenal 1*

predict: LAFC 1 - Real Salt Lake 2 *actuals: LAFC 0 - Real Salt Lake 3*

predict: Pateadores 3 - LA Galaxy 2 *actuals: Pateadores 1 - LA Galaxy 1*
note: last weekend, Pateadores beat LAG 4-0. But, LAG played mostly 04s while Pats played mostly 03s. Looked at the DOBs and Pats players, and, on average, the Pats were about five months older than the average LAG players. 

This time around, LAG brought a more even mix of 03s and 04s but still averaged out at a relatively young average DOB of 10/29/03. However, Pats' 03s are also relatively young and their roster average DOB was 9/16/03, about a week younger than last week.

And, shockingly, LAG, with an average player DOB of 10/29/03, playing a Pats team with an average player DOB of 9/16/03 i.e. giving up only about six weeks in age, resulted in a tie score of 1-1. 

As opposed to a 4-0 loss when LAG gave up about five months in age. 

So yes, at least in this instance, player age at u17 - even just five months difference - seems to matter, a lot. Given that this is age advantage is not exactly a state secret and pretty easy to consistently document, seems like US Soccer might generate more significantly more talent for the SR USMNT (the cup doesn't exactly runneth over right now) by normalizing for this age advantage as players develop in the USSDA. just saying.

any other comments or insights on this match - either for post or DM?

predict: San Diego Surf 2 - Albion 0 *actuals: rescheduled

Non-SoCal*
predict: Ballistic 2 - Portland Timbers 3 actuals: Ballistic 1 - Portland Timbers 5
predict: Sacramento Republic 3 - SVSA 2 *actuals: Sacramento Republic 1 - SVSA 3*
predict: SJ Quakes 3 - Portland Timbers 1 *actuals: SJ Quakes 6 - Portland Timbers 1*
predict: Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - Seattle Sounders 1 *actuals: Vancouver Whitecaps 0 - Seattle Sounders 1 *

Reply
Select for moderation Report


----------



## messy

So yes, at least in this instance, player age at u17 - even just five months difference - seems to matter, a lot. Given that this is age advantage is not exactly a state secret and pretty easy to consistently document, seems like US Soccer might generate more significantly more talent for the SR USMNT (the cup doesn't exactly runneth over right now) by normalizing for this age advantage as players develop in the USSDA. just saying. 

Suggestions like the above are,welcome and needed. While you effectively delve into the "micro" of our younger DA teams, the macro is that we are not developing players who can compete effectively among top soccer nations in international play. Obviously, we are failing at the combination of training, development and Player ID...and these are the problems that must be solved. One major reason is the overall weakness of US Soccer as an organization. It's a non-profit with no authority over the clubs. And its self-perpetuating staff needs better international training.


----------



## SBFDad

messy said:


> So yes, at least in this instance, player age at u17 - even just five months difference - seems to matter, a lot. Given that this is age advantage is not exactly a state secret and pretty easy to consistently document, seems like US Soccer might generate more significantly more talent for the SR USMNT (the cup doesn't exactly runneth over right now) by normalizing for this age advantage as players develop in the USSDA. just saying.
> 
> Suggestions like the above are,welcome and needed. While you effectively delve into the "micro" of our younger DA teams, the macro is that we are not developing players who can compete effectively among top soccer nations in international play. Obviously, we are failing at the combination of training, development and Player ID...and these are the problems that must be solved. One major reason is the overall weakness of US Soccer as an organization. It's a non-profit with no authority over the clubs. And its self-perpetuating staff needs better international training.


Where’s the old “winner” button? 

Well said there Messy.


----------



## Cibo

Top 8 in DA Cup has no SoCal or Texas teams. LAG lost the tie breaker with Sounders due to yellow cards. Sounders and EQ are the only two West Coast teams to Advance. 

1. Chicago Fire  vs   8. Sporting KC 
2. SJ Quakes  vs   7. Inter Miami CF
3. Chicago Sockers  vs   6. Seattle Sounders
4. Philadelphia Union  vs   5. Montreal Impact


----------



## full90

So what does that mean for the so cal teams who weren’t top 8? Do they go to the spring showcase as well or is spring showcase just for these 8 teams?


----------



## SBFDad

Cibo said:


> LAG lost the tie breaker with Sounders due to yellow cards.


Yep, true story. Tied up across all published tie-breakers (points, goal diff, goals scored, and head-to-head). LAG lost 4-3 on yellows. The worst part, the 3rd and 4th yellows came in the 86' and 90'. Wasn't there, but was told it was time-wasting. Don't think anyone knew what the 5th tie-breaker was.


----------



## Cibo

full90 said:


> So what does that mean for the so cal teams who weren’t top 8? Do they go to the spring showcase as well or is spring showcase just for these 8 teams?


"Teams that did not advance to the Winter Cup will also attend Winter Showcase and play three games that will determine their place in the final DA Cup rankings." found this here https://ussoccer.app.box.com/s/41nteo134p4k0hvs0hrhq4u3gn6v1bmk

It does not say that for Spring Cup in Kansas City, so, I assume its just the 8 teams that advanced.


----------



## Kante

u17 YNT camp announced from Feb 15th to Feb 20th w/ friendly matches vs Denmark, France and England.


----------



## younothat

Kante said:


> u17 YNT camp announced from Feb 15th to Feb 20th w/ friendly matches vs Denmark, France and England.


US Soccer wants coaches. It's a shame the feeling isn't mutual...








						US Soccer wants coaches. It's a shame the feeling isn't mutual
					

Raphael Wicky is the latest coach to defect from a job at US Soccer to MLS. It’s a worrying trend as the federation attempts to rebuild itselfEarnie Stewart already had a busy 2020 in store when news broke at the end of December that Raphael Wicky had been hired as the Chicago Fire’s new head...




					sports.yahoo.com
				




"Earnie Stewart already had a busy 2020 in store when news broke at the end of December that Raphael Wicky had been hired as the Chicago Fire’s new head coach. Wicky had only been the United States’ Under-17 men’s national team boss since March but the Swiss still decided to jump ship, leaving Stewart with yet another position at US Soccer to fill heading into the new year.

In fact Stewart, US Soccer’s sporting director, has no fewer than five head coach positions to fill. The United States’ men’s soccer programme currently has vacancies at U-20, U-19, U-18, U-17 and U-16 level with Gregg Berhalter and Jason Kreis the only two head coaches on the books at this moment. The landscape is much the same on the women’s side, with five head coach positions also to be filled in the youth ranks.

US Soccer is currently a shell and Wicky’s departure continues a trend that should worry Stewart. The federation is finding it increasingly difficult to keep its coaches from the clutches of Major League Soccer clubs with Tab Ramos also recently leaving his long-term role as USA U-23s head coach for a job with the Houston Dynamo."


----------



## messy

younothat said:


> US Soccer wants coaches. It's a shame the feeling isn't mutual...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> US Soccer wants coaches. It's a shame the feeling isn't mutual
> 
> 
> Raphael Wicky is the latest coach to defect from a job at US Soccer to MLS. It’s a worrying trend as the federation attempts to rebuild itselfEarnie Stewart already had a busy 2020 in store when news broke at the end of December that Raphael Wicky had been hired as the Chicago Fire’s new head...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> sports.yahoo.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Earnie Stewart already had a busy 2020 in store when news broke at the end of December that Raphael Wicky had been hired as the Chicago Fire’s new head coach. Wicky had only been the United States’ Under-17 men’s national team boss since March but the Swiss still decided to jump ship, leaving Stewart with yet another position at US Soccer to fill heading into the new year.
> 
> In fact Stewart, US Soccer’s sporting director, has no fewer than five head coach positions to fill. The United States’ men’s soccer programme currently has vacancies at U-20, U-19, U-18, U-17 and U-16 level with Gregg Berhalter and Jason Kreis the only two head coaches on the books at this moment. The landscape is much the same on the women’s side, with five head coach positions also to be filled in the youth ranks.
> 
> US Soccer is currently a shell and Wicky’s departure continues a trend that should worry Stewart. The federation is finding it increasingly difficult to keep its coaches from the clutches of Major League Soccer clubs with Tab Ramos also recently leaving his long-term role as USA U-23s head coach for a job with the Houston Dynamo."


Earnie needs to go to Cordeiro and get a travel fund with which to go to Europe and South America and scout the best youth coaches. I’m sure he also has local contacts.
So many want to live in the US.
Then he needs a healthy compensation package to offer to each of them, along with family moving expenses.
He also needs to permit them to live somewhere other than Chicago, e.g. Florida or Ca. 
That’s one tip of the many-tipped, multi-iceberg problems facing Earnie.


----------



## Kante

in the interview w/ AO, Stewart is clear that he's not open at all to having YNT coaches not in Chicago. 

so, it's a bad combination of YNT coach gig requiring a high level of expertise/experience/success that's likely not matched by the combo of relatively low comp plus relocation to Chicago plus uncertain longer term career path. 

btw, correction/edits on u17 camp. Camp goes Feb 15th thru Feb 25th in the UK. Word on twitter is that Larry Sunderland (from FC Cinncinnati) will be the new U17 coach, and will also have some/lots of influence on/management of the YNT teams/coaches down to u14 NDP (implied by Stewart in his AO interview - caveat: reading btw the lines here...)


----------



## younothat

U.S. U-20 men's national team coaching hire met with derision...

Anthony Hudson was anything but successful in MLS. ... 








						U.S. U-20 men's national team coaching hire met with derision
					

In contrast to new U-20 women's coach Laura Harvey in the NWSL, Anthony Hudson was anything but successful in MLS.




					www.socceramerica.com
				




Corderio and Stewart decisions on coaching selections have left a lot to be desired so far








						USMNT: Serious questions regarding Anthony Hudson hire
					

Former Colorado Rapids head coach Anthony Hudson was appointed as the USMNT under-20's head coach. It is a curious decision, to say the least, and serious ...




					mlsmultiplex.com


----------



## Kante

here's predict for this weekend (1/25/20). home teams are listed first.

San Diego Surf 3 - LAGSD 1
Arsenal 0 - LA Galaxy 2
Barca 2 - FC Golden State 2
Nomads 3 - Pateadores 2


----------



## Kante

so credit where credit is due. 

LAFC, in a first team friendly on 1/25 at the Banc of California stadium in front of almost 20,000 fans against top Uruguayan side - Penarol, gave five u17 academy players a decent number of minutes playing w/ the first team. The academy players were: 

*Erik Duenas* - entered match in the first half as one of two of the first  academy players off the bench (with Christian Torres) and played 31 minutes. By way of background, Duenas started less than 1/3 of the matches in 2017-18 w/ LAFC's u14 team, played down an age group w/ the u14s in 208-19 in five matches as a biobanded player (mid-October dob) but emerged as an every match starter at u17 in the 2019-20 season. Duenas has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.

*Christian Torres* - entered match in the first half as one of two of the first  academy players off the bench (with Erik Duenas) and played 31 minutes. Over the course of his academy career, Torres has started just in just over 80% of his academy matches played and is averaging about .6 goals per game. Torres has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.

*Tony Leone* - entered the match at the beginning of the second half and logged 23 minutes. Leone is a top defender of the u17 academy team and has started 58 out of 59 academy matches played since 2017-18. Leone has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.

*Diego Rosales - *entered the match at the 68th minute for Tony Leone and logged 22 minutes. Rosales is a top defender with the 05/u15 academy team and has started close to 90% of the nearly 50 academy matches he has played. Rosales has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17 and is a November dob 05.

*Armando Avila* -  entered the match at the 83rd minute. Avila plays w/ the u17s and has started 56 of 61 academy games played since 2017-18. Avila has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.


----------



## jpeter

Kante said:


> so credit where credit is due.
> 
> LAFC, in a first team friendly on 1/25 at the Banc of California stadium in front of almost 20,000 fans against top Uruguayan side - Penarol, gave five u17 academy players a decent number of minutes playing w/ the first team. The academy players were:
> 
> *Erik Duenas* - entered match in the first half as one of two of the first  academy players off the bench (with Christian Torres) and played 31 minutes. By way of background, Duenas started less than 1/3 of the matches in 2017-18 w/ LAFC's u14 team, played down an age group w/ the u14s in 208-19 in five matches as a biobanded player (mid-October dob) but emerged as an every match starter at u17 in the 2019-20 season. Duenas has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.
> 
> *Christian Torres* - entered match in the first half as one of two of the first  academy players off the bench (with Erik Duenas) and played 31 minutes. Over the course of his academy career, Torres has started just in just over 80% of his academy matches played and is averaging about .6 goals per game. Torres has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.
> 
> *Tony Leone* - entered the match at the beginning of the second half and logged 23 minutes. Leone is a top defender of the u17 academy team and has started 58 out of 59 academy matches played since 2017-18. Leone has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.
> 
> *Diego Rosales - *entered the match at the 68th minute for Tony Leone and logged 22 minutes. Rosales is a top defender with the 05/u15 academy team and has started close to 90% of the nearly 50 academy matches he has played. Rosales has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17 and is a November dob 05.
> 
> *Armando Avila* -  entered the match at the 83rd minute. Avila plays w/ the u17s and has started 56 of 61 academy games played since 2017-18. Avila has been w/ LAFC's academy since their initial u12 team in 2016-17.


Good recap just some minor corrections, Pollo (AA) has been with LAFC since U15 last year played with LAUFA prior to that from u12.

Great atmosphere at the banc last night and experiences for the players.


----------



## Kante

here's predict vs actuals for this last weekend (1/25/20). home teams are listed first.

predict: San Diego Surf 3 - LAGSD 1 / *actuals: pending
does anyone have the score for this match?*

predict: Arsenal 0 - LA Galaxy 2 / *actuals: Arsenal 0 - LA Galaxy 4*
note: per game report, was only 1-0 LAG at ht, but LAG put in three more, including two late goals in the last ten minutes for the 4-0 win. VV had a double.

predict: Barca 2 - FC Golden State 2 / *actuals: Barca 1 - FC Golden State 3*
note: interesting result. Barca scored first but FCG tied at the very end of the second half for 1-1 tie score going into 2h. FCG seems to have owned the 2h, with goals at the 65th and 81st minutes for the 3-1 final score. MG had a double for FCG.

Barca is no slouch of a team overall, and is a +55% better team and -74% better defensive team playing at their Casa Grande, AZ home field. So, the algo expected a bit more from them in this match (although FCG is solid)

*anyone have comments/insight into this match, either for this post or DM?*

predict: Nomads 3 - Pateadores 2 / *actuals: Nomads 2 - Pateadores 2*
note: per the game report, Pats went up early in this one with goals at the 7th minute and then in the 2nd half at the 52nd minute for 2-0 lead. However. Nomads scored twice in the last five minutes of the game for the tie, with IV getting a double (and then a yellow - presumably for a celebration). Looks like a fun one to watch but the algo expected a better performance from the Nomads.

*anyone have comments/insight into this match, either for this post or DM?*


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this weekend (2/2/20). home team is listed first.

Albion 1 - LAFC 2
FC Golden State 4 - LAGSD 1
LA Galaxy 1 - Nomads 2 - *match to watch*
note: LA Galaxy and the Nomads are two of a small number of u16/u17 teams that rosters about about the same # of 04s as 03s on their u16/u17 team roster (counting players w/ >1 game, LAG has 13 03s vs 14 04s, and Nomads have 8 03s and 11 04s). 

In addition, LAG plays the 04s in about the same # of u16/u17 games as they do the 03s (their 04s have averaged 6.9 u16/u17 games played per 04 player this season vs the 03s have averaged 6.8 u16/u17 games played per player). To be fair that may be because LAG play the 03s up but still. 

And the LAG 04s also average about the same u16/u17 games started (4.9 u16/u17 games started per 04 player) than the 03s (5.4 u16/u17 games started per 03 player).

The Nomads have tended so far to play their 03s more than LAG, with their03s playing on average about 11 games played per player vs about 8 games games played on average by 04s. Nomads also tend to start their 03s at a higher rate with the 03s having started about 8 games per player while 04s have started about 5 games on average per player.

Net net, good on both LAG and the Nomads for playing the kids.

Will be interesting to see how this one turns out since it's the part of the season where - if a club cares about making the play-offs - wins now matter. Nomads are .33 pts per game off a playoff spot while LAG is a full one pt per game back from a play-off spot.

Barca 2 San Diego Surf 2 - *match to watch*
Arsenal 1 - Pateadores - *maybe an opportunity for the Pats to play the kids...*
Strikers 1 - Real SoCal 2


----------



## 3leches

Christian Torres started was with Galaxy, U12(2004/2005) year then U14.


----------



## Kante

Sorry. Don't type fast enough.

Arsenal 1 - Pateadores 5.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts vs actuals for this last weekend (2/2/20). home team is listed first.

predict: Albion 1 - LAFC 2 / *actuals: Albion 0 - LAFC 5*
predict: FC Golden State 4 - LAGSD 1 / *actuals: FC Golden State 3 - LAGSD 1*
predict: LA Galaxy 1 - Nomads 2 / *actuals: LA Galaxy 0 - Nomads 0*
predict: Barca 2 - San Diego Surf 2 / *actuals: Barca 4 - San Diego Surf 1*
predict: Arsenal 1 - Pateadores 5 / *actuals: Arsenal 1 - Pateadores 4*
predict: Strikers 1 - Real SoCal 2 / *actuals: Strikers 1 - Real SoCal 1*


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this coming weekend (2/8/20). home team is listed first.

*SoCal:*
Arsenal 1 - Albion 1
LAGSD 2 - Pateadores 6 *(come on Pats, play the kids!...)*
Real SoCal 1 - Nomads 1 - *match to watch*
note: Nomads are one of the better defensive teams in the country. Real SoCal seem very solid - but not off the charts - on both sides of the ball. Should be a fun one to watch.

LAFC 2 - LA Galaxy 1 - *match to watch*
note: LA Galaxy have a 27 player team roster w/ about an even number of 04s and 03s. Last time these teams played - a match LAG welcomed LAFC to u17 by winning 4-1 - LAG only played one 04 - YNT player VV - while LAFC only fielded 04s. To be fair, LAFC's 04s DOBs skew considerably older than average.

LAFC has been put together some very solid matches since the beginning of December, scoring an average of more than 4 goals per match while posting three shutouts in four game.

LAG hasn't been on quite the same goal scoring tear but has also posted three shutouts in their last four games.

Should be a fun one to watch.

*SoCal Adjacent Match:*
San Jose Earthquakes 3 - De Anza Force 1


----------



## younothat

Good comeback by LAFC after being down 3-0 at the half, they found a way to get the draw with two late goals.

Just when it looked like it was going to be repeat of the first game, LAFC made some adjustments and subs and that changed the game.

Both teams need to pick it up to make the playoffs as the SW is tight this season.  Should be interesting rest of the way. good luck


----------



## Fishme1

Using the players they never play made a difference. What’s going on internally. Dramatic amount of staff is LEAVING the club.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts vs actuals for this last weekend (2/8/20). home team is listed first.

*SoCal:*
predict: Arsenal 1 - Albion 1 / *actuals: Arsenal 0 - Albion 0*

predict: LAGSD 2 - Pateadores 6 / actuals: pending - anyone have the score on this one?

predict: Real SoCal 1 - Nomads 1 / actuals: Real SoCal 5 - Nomads 0
note: the algo was way off on this one. anyone have any commentary/insights into this match? either for here or via dm?

predict: LAFC 2 - LA Galaxy 1 / *actuals: LAFC 4 - LA Galaxy 4*
note: per all accounts this match was something. please see the commentary above.

*SoCal Adjacent Match:*
predict: San Jose Earthquakes 3 - De Anza Force 1 / *actuals: San Jose Earthquakes 0 - De Anza Force 2*


----------



## soccerstud

Fishme1 said:


> Using the players they never play made a difference. What’s going on internally. Dramatic amount of staff is LEAVING the club.


Please expand, who is leaving the club?  For what reasons?


----------



## Fishme1

soccerstud said:


> Please expand, who is leaving the club?  For what reasons?


I don’t know what the reason is. But take a look. All new faces. Haven’t seen a few players either. I heard another coach out the end of this month. Parents asking questions.


----------



## soccerstud

Fishme1 said:


> I don’t know what the reason is. But take a look. All new faces. Haven’t seen a few players either. I heard another coach out the end of this month. Parents asking questions.


I dont see it mate....looks like same people to me at U16/17 team


----------



## full90

From everything I’ve heard this age group is a disaster for the so cal teams. Albion’s coach fired due to drinking on the way home from Dallas cup. Surf coach never around, practices on and off and team always with u19 coach who isn’t even DA certified. Nomads kids quitting and coming back each week and it’s a mystery who will show up. Galaxy has a roster of a million and roster vastly different lineups each week. Probs apparently at LAFC. 

My only observation is that there is ZERO oversight from DA. These programs are crap (and expensive crap) and with no one keeping an eye on them they are all run into the ground. The only metric DOC care about now is playoffs and truly only the MLS teams show well there. So it’s a shitshow everywhere else. Huge huge huge winter break. Let the non MLS DA kids play high school. They’ve been sitting around anyways since Florida.


----------



## Fishme1

soccerstud said:


> I dont see it mate....looks like same people to me at U16/17 team


Big cat keeper coach Quit
Cristiano Scapolo Quit
Christine Hsieh Quit
Gerardo Cisneros Quit
Coach Jason Quit 

2 more coaches quitting soon. 
You happen not to notice ??


----------



## BJ18

Fishme1 said:


> Big cat keeper coach Quit
> Cristiano Scapolo Quit
> Christine Hsieh Quit
> Gerardo Cisneros Quit
> Coach Jason Quit
> 
> 2 more coaches quitting soon.
> You happen not to notice ??


Jason is still there.   And what 2 other coaches would you be referring to?

Also, Gerardo and Christine were not coaches, just administrators.


----------



## jpeter

BJ18 said:


> Jason is still there.   And what 2 other coaches would you be referring to?
> 
> Also, Gerardo and Christine were not coaches, just administrators.


Not sure quit is the right term either; CR took a better paying job and a promotion pretty much.

In any case there is always going to be a certain turnover rate and moving pieces with youth coaches,  promotions and those looking  to be  directors in there own right seem to be almost common in the da.  Not every coach works out either so some just don't last past the initial term(s).

LAFC results for the u17  & U15's for the higher level events like the DA cup and Gen Addias haven't been great so far but with the changes things are trending in a better direction now IMO.

Ussda is more about the training, fewer better competitions  vs sheer number or regular frequent league games.  This works for some better than others, the well organized & financed groups tend to get more of the season by playing friendlies, traveling a bit to tournaments, and keeping players engaged regularly. 

But yeah the no HS rules is not needed IMO, doesn't serve a purpose to help  players.


----------



## BJ18

jpeter said:


> Not sure quit is the right term either; CR took a better paying job and a promotion pretty much.
> 
> In any case there is always going to be a certain turnover rate and moving pieces with youth coaches,  promotions and those looking  to be  directors in there own right seem to be almost common in the da.  Not every coach works out either so some just don't last past the initial term(s).
> 
> LAFC results for the u17  & U15's for the higher level events like the DA cup and Gen Addias haven't been great so far but with the changes things are trending in a better direction now IMO.
> 
> Ussda is more about the training, fewer better competitions  vs sheer number or regular frequent league games.  This works for some better than others, the well organized & financed groups tend to get more of the season by playing friendlies, traveling a bit to tournaments, and keeping players engaged regularly.
> 
> But yeah the no HS rules is not needed IMO, doesn't serve a purpose to help  players.


Results for the U15s at GA Cup?  They had 5 wins, 1 loss and gave up 1 goal in six games.  Doesn’t seem too shabby to me.


----------



## jpeter

BJ18 said:


> Results for the U15s at GA Cup?  They had 5 wins, 1 loss and gave up 1 goal in six games.  Doesn’t seem too shabby to me.


Came in 2nd didn't quality for the international group. For a top MLS club that's disappointing but not shabby at all.


----------



## BJ18

jpeter said:


> Came in 2nd didn't quality for the international group. For a top MLS club that's disappointing but not shabby at all.


Unfortunate that they put the two best teams at this age group, FC Dallas and LAFC in the same group.  Only giving up 1 goal in 6 games is not disappointing IMO, but we can beg to differ.


----------



## jpeter

BJ18 said:


> Unfortunate that they put the two best teams at this age group, FC Dallas and LAFC in the same group.  Only giving up 1 goal in 6 games is not disappointing IMO, but we can beg to differ.


The objective to always play the next level is either met or not?  In this case the not would be considered disappointing w/ opportunities lost, circumstances or not.


----------



## Kante

Here's predicts for this weekend (2/22). Home team is listed first. Got some good games coming up this weekend.

*SoCal*
Albion 0 - FC Golden State 2
Strikers 1 - LAFC 3
Pateadores 3 - Barca 4 - *match to watch*
LAGSD 1 - Real Salt Lake 3
FC Golden State 2 - Barca 2 - *match to watch*
Real SoCal 2 - LA Galaxy 1 - *match to watch*
Nomads 1 - Real Salt Lake 1 - *match to watch*

*SoCal Adjacent*
SVSA 2 - Portland Timbers 4
Breakers 1 - Seattle Sounders 2
Ballistic 2 - Sacramento Republic 3 - *match to watch*
SVSA 1 - Seattle Sounders 2
Breakers 3 - Portland Timbers 3


----------



## 3leches

How do the 04/03 parents on board feel about _Sacha_ van der Most van Spijk leaving Galaxy?  I guess he didn't see eye to eye with Juan Carlos Ortega.. it was long overdue getting rid of Cienfuegos but Sacha came as a surpise


----------



## soccerstud

3leches said:


> How do the 04/03 parents on board feel about _Sacha_ van der Most van Spijk leaving Galaxy?  I guess he didn't see eye to eye with Juan Carlos Ortega.. it was long overdue getting rid of Cienfuegos but Sacha came as a surpise


Cienfuegos is gone?  Sacha leaving...wow, I really need to start paying more attention.  Que loco el mundo del Futbol!


----------



## Fishme1

3leches said:


> How do the 04/03 parents on board feel about _Sacha_ van der Most van Spijk leaving Galaxy?  I guess he didn't see eye to eye with Juan Carlos Ortega.. it was long overdue getting rid of Cienfuegos but Sacha came as a surpise


To what I hear Ortega is hard to work with. He brought 2 players from Mexico for the 03 division that are not even as good as the current players. Coaches say Ortega has the Mexican soccer is better mentality. He feels that the boys playing MLS here aren’t as good. So he won’t accept any tryouts.


----------



## Kante

Here's predicts vs actuals for this weekend (2/22). Home team is listed first. Got some good games coming up this weekend.

*SoCal*
predict: Albion 0 - FC Golden State 2 *actuals: Albion 1 - FC Golden State 0*
note: surprised by this one. does anyone have more insight/details on this match? either here or via dm?

predict: Strikers 1 - LAFC 3 *actuals: Strikers 1 - LAFC 3*

predict: Pateadores 3 - Barca 4 *actuals: Pateadores 1 - Barca 2*

predict: LAGSD 1 - Real Salt Lake 3 *actuals: LAGSD 0 - Real Salt Lake 2*

predict: FC Golden State 2 - Barca 2 *actuals: FC Golden State 6 - Barca 4*

predict: Real SoCal 2 - LA Galaxy 1 *actuals: pending - does anyone have this score?*

predict: Nomads 1 - Real Salt Lake 1 *actuals: Nomads 0 - Real Salt Lake 2 *

*SoCal Adjacent*
predict: SVSA 2 - Portland Timbers 4 *actuals: SVSA 1 - Portland Timbers 2*

predict: Breakers 1 - Seattle Sounders 2 *actuals: Breakers 1 - Seattle Sounders 0*
note: surprised by this one. does anyone have more insight/details on this match? either here or via dm? this Breakers u17 team just took down two MLS teams this weekend with better than expected defense. nice work.

predict: Ballistic 2 - Sacramento Republic 3 *actuals: Ballistic 1 - Sacramento Republic 3 *

predict: SVSA 1 - Seattle Sounders 2 *actuals: SVSA 0 - Seattle Sounders 2*

predict: Breakers 3 - Portland Timbers 3 *actuals: Breakers 3 - Portland Timbers 2*


----------



## BJ18

Kante said:


> Here's predicts vs actuals for this weekend (2/22). Home team is listed first. Got some good games coming up this weekend.
> 
> *SoCal*
> predict: Albion 0 - FC Golden State 2 *actuals: Albion 1 - FC Golden State 0*
> note: surprised by this one. does anyone have more insight/details on this match? either here or via dm?
> 
> predict: Strikers 1 - LAFC 3 *actuals: Strikers 1 - LAFC 3*
> 
> predict: Pateadores 3 - Barca 4 *actuals: Pateadores 1 - Barca 2*
> 
> predict: LAGSD 1 - Real Salt Lake 3 *actuals: LAGSD 0 - Real Salt Lake 2*
> 
> predict: FC Golden State 2 - Barca 2 *actuals: FC Golden State 6 - Barca 4*
> 
> predict: Real SoCal 2 - LA Galaxy 1 *actuals: pending - does anyone have this score?*
> 
> predict: Nomads 1 - Real Salt Lake 1 *actuals: Nomads 0 - Real Salt Lake 2 *
> 
> *SoCal Adjacent*
> predict: SVSA 2 - Portland Timbers 4 *actuals: SVSA 1 - Portland Timbers 2*
> 
> predict: Breakers 1 - Seattle Sounders 2 *actuals: Breakers 1 - Seattle Sounders 0*
> note: surprised by this one. does anyone have more insight/details on this match? either here or via dm? this Breakers u17 team just took down two MLS teams this weekend with better than expected defense. nice work.
> 
> predict: Ballistic 2 - Sacramento Republic 3 *actuals: Ballistic 1 - Sacramento Republic 3 *
> 
> predict: SVSA 1 - Seattle Sounders 2 *actuals: SVSA 0 - Seattle Sounders 2*
> 
> predict: Breakers 3 - Portland Timbers 3 *actuals: Breakers 3 - Portland Timbers 2*


1-0 RSC over Galaxy.


----------



## Kante

BJ18 said:


> 1-0 RSC over Galaxy.


thx!


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this coming weekend (2/29). home team is listed first.

Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 1
Strikers 1 - LA Galaxy 1 
Pateadores 3 - FC Golden State 3


----------



## R2564952

Lafc handed RSL their first defeat of the league, well done boys


----------



## Kante

here's predicts va actuals for this last weekend (2/29). home team is listed first. had some decent games this weekend.

predict: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 1 *actuals: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 3*
note: per game report and anecdotal reports, this sounds like a solid match for LAFC with an early goal to make it 1-0 at ht, and then another goal about midway thru the 2nd half to go ahead 2-0. 

CN for RSL made it 1-2 at the 80th minute but CT for LAFC brought the margin back up with goal at the 89th minute to make it 1-3. CN, however, got a double at the very end but itwasn't enough, and the final result was 3-2 LAFC. 

Sounds like a good match and fun to watch overall, particularly the last 20 minutes.

one item though. 
_________

Saw Saldana talking about the LAFC u17 win on twitter. cool, cool cool. but here's the exact quote:

_"I am very proud of this group; players & staff. I’ve given them the task of being the youngest team (by a large margin) in every game & always up for the challenge..never used as an excuse. Keep Thriving!"_​
For the record, LAFC has  stacked their teams across all their age groups with January dob's. It's fact. At u12, u13,u14 and u15, LAFC is *always* the oldest team, usually by a large margin, to borrow a phrase, in age groups where age - even a few months difference - matters to a disproportionate degree. The loading up of January dob's is so consistent that one might even use the word "cynical" to describe the practice.

And the ripple impact has been that other SoCal teams, to be able to compete w/ LAFC at those age groups, have to do the same, which has effectively shrunk the opportunity for SoCal players who are either late developers or have late DOBs across the board

Now, have been open - when asked - that our player is a late DOB. He's managed to find success, and likely will be a much better player for it when everything evens out developmentally wise. So, if you want, discount my two cents, fine.

However, the overall focus on early DOBs across the US soccer environment is artificially shrinking the player pool by at least 50%. 

And given that the single biggest advantage the US has, in competing against other countries, is its large population, and given that we are underperforming vs other countries, systematically giving half of our best advantage away thru cynical/lazy development practices is not smart.

Countries like France and England, driven by their pro clubs, are consciously creating specific development paths for late developers/late DOBs. And you can look at the dobs for their national teams over time to see that this is the case. And these guys seems like they're good at this soccer thing.

We were making some progress in the US for a couple of years, but, then, with no explanation, most of it stopped in the 2017-18 season.  

Now, US Soccer did just sponsor a late developer tournament this last January but they used to also have a late developer team camp - the Futures Camp - https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/63847/the-relative-age-effect-a-response-from-us.html -which hasn't been heard from for several years. 

The irony here is that attendees from the last two Futures camps in 2013 and 2015 - where was the futures camp was their first call-up into the YNT system - have significantly outperformed players who were called up into the regular age group YNT camp those same years. 

Futures Camp attendees include names like Mendez, Aronson, Berhalter (yes, GB's son), Gloster and Amaya that should ring some bells.

So, back to Saldana's comment. 

To be clear, like a lot of what LAFC academy does, but loading up on early DOB players but then complaining about being at an age disadvantage - for the first time in three years - now that one of the LAFC teams is playing u16/u17 is more than a little hypocritical. 

(And btw, the age-based developmental differences - although still significant - begin to even out by age 16-17 a players catch up in height and then later weight).

For the record, close to half of LAFC's current u15 roster was born in January, raising a legit question of "are they better or are they just older?" 

Yes, some are better, but some may just be older. But hey, no excuses.

ok, sigh. rant done. sorry about that.. (channelling Twellman...)

predict: Strikers 1 - LA Galaxy 1 *actuals: Strikers 2 - LA Galaxy 1*

predict: Pateadores 3 - FC Golden State 3 *actuals: Pateadores 1 - FC Golden State 2*


----------



## BJ18

Kante said:


> here's predicts va actuals for this last weekend (2/29). home team is listed first. had some decent games this weekend.
> 
> predict: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 1 *actuals: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 3*
> note: per game report and anecdotal reports, this sounds like a solid match for LAFC with an early goal to make it 1-0 at ht, and then another goal about midway thru the 2nd half to go ahead 2-0.
> 
> CN for RSL made it 1-2 at the 80th minute but CT for LAFC brought the margin back up with goal at the 89th minute to make it 1-3. CN, however, got a double at the very end but itwasn't enough, and the final result was 3-2 LAFC.
> 
> Sounds like a good match and fun to watch overall, particularly the last 20 minutes.
> 
> one item though.
> _________
> 
> Saw Saldana talking about the LAFC u17 win on twitter. cool, cool cool. but here's the exact quote:
> 
> _"I am very proud of this group; players & staff. I’ve given them the task of being the youngest team (by a large margin) in every game & always up for the challenge..never used as an excuse. Keep Thriving!"_​
> For the record, LAFC has  stacked their teams across all their age groups with January dob's. It's fact. At u12, u13,u14 and u15, LAFC is *always* the oldest team, usually by a large margin, to borrow a phrase, in age groups where age - even a few months difference - matters to a disproportionate degree. The loading up of January dob's is so consistent that one might even use the word "cynical" to describe the practice.
> 
> And the ripple impact has been that other SoCal teams, to be able to compete w/ LAFC at those age groups, have to do the same, which has effectively shrunk the opportunity for SoCal players who are either late developers or have late DOBs across the board
> 
> Now, have been open - when asked - that our player is a late DOB. He's managed to find success, and likely will be a much better player for it when everything evens out developmentally wise. So, if you want, discount my two cents, fine.
> 
> However, the overall focus on early DOBs across the US soccer environment is artificially shrinking the player pool by at least 50%.
> 
> And given that the single biggest advantage the US has, in competing against other countries, is its large population, and given that we are underperforming vs other countries, systematically giving half of our best advantage away thru cynical/lazy development practices is not smart.
> 
> Countries like France and England, driven by their pro clubs, are consciously creating specific development paths for late developers/late DOBs. And you can look at the dobs for their national teams over time to see that this is the case. And these guys seems like they're good at this soccer thing.
> 
> We were making some progress in the US for a couple of years, but, then, with no explanation, most of it stopped in the 2017-18 season.
> 
> Now, US Soccer did just sponsor a late developer tournament this last January but they used to also have a late developer team camp - the Futures Camp - https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/63847/the-relative-age-effect-a-response-from-us.html -which hasn't been heard from for several years.
> 
> The irony here is that attendees from the last two Futures camps in 2013 and 2015 - where was the futures camp was their first call-up into the YNT system - have significantly outperformed players who were called up into the regular age group YNT camp those same years.
> 
> Futures Camp attendees include names like Mendez, Aronson, Berhalter (yes, GB's son), Gloster and Amaya that should ring some bells.
> 
> So, back to Saldana's comment.
> 
> To be clear, like a lot of what LAFC academy does, but loading up on early DOB players but then complaining about being at an age disadvantage - for the first time in three years - now that one of the LAFC teams is playing u16/u17 is more than a little hypocritical.
> 
> (And btw, the age-based developmental differences - although still significant - begin to even out by age 16-17 a players catch up in height and then later weight).
> 
> For the record, close to half of LAFC's current u15 roster was born in January, raising a legit question of "are they better or are they just older?"
> 
> Yes, some are better, but some may just be older. But hey, no excuses.
> 
> ok, sigh. rant done. sorry about that.. (channelling Twellman...)
> 
> predict: Strikers 1 - LA Galaxy 1 *actuals: Strikers 2 - LA Galaxy 1*
> 
> predict: Pateadores 3 - FC Golden State 3 *actuals: Pateadores 1 - FC Golden State 2*



How do you see DOB?  That is not listed on the DA website, only birth year.


----------



## soccerstud

Kante said:


> here's predicts va actuals for this last weekend (2/29). home team is listed first. had some decent games this weekend.
> 
> predict: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 1 *actuals: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 3*
> note: per game report and anecdotal reports, this sounds like a solid match for LAFC with an early goal to make it 1-0 at ht, and then another goal about midway thru the 2nd half to go ahead 2-0.
> 
> CN for RSL made it 1-2 at the 80th minute but CT for LAFC brought the margin back up with goal at the 89th minute to make it 1-3. CN, however, got a double at the very end but itwasn't enough, and the final result was 3-2 LAFC.
> 
> Sounds like a good match and fun to watch overall, particularly the last 20 minutes.
> 
> one item though.
> _________
> 
> Saw Saldana talking about the LAFC u17 win on twitter. cool, cool cool. but here's the exact quote:
> 
> _"I am very proud of this group; players & staff. I’ve given them the task of being the youngest team (by a large margin) in every game & always up for the challenge..never used as an excuse. Keep Thriving!"_​
> For the record, LAFC has  stacked their teams across all their age groups with January dob's. It's fact. At u12, u13,u14 and u15, LAFC is *always* the oldest team, usually by a large margin, to borrow a phrase, in age groups where age - even a few months difference - matters to a disproportionate degree. The loading up of January dob's is so consistent that one might even use the word "cynical" to describe the practice.
> 
> And the ripple impact has been that other SoCal teams, to be able to compete w/ LAFC at those age groups, have to do the same, which has effectively shrunk the opportunity for SoCal players who are either late developers or have late DOBs across the board
> 
> Now, have been open - when asked - that our player is a late DOB. He's managed to find success, and likely will be a much better player for it when everything evens out developmentally wise. So, if you want, discount my two cents, fine.
> 
> However, the overall focus on early DOBs across the US soccer environment is artificially shrinking the player pool by at least 50%.
> 
> And given that the single biggest advantage the US has, in competing against other countries, is its large population, and given that we are underperforming vs other countries, systematically giving half of our best advantage away thru cynical/lazy development practices is not smart.
> 
> Countries like France and England, driven by their pro clubs, are consciously creating specific development paths for late developers/late DOBs. And you can look at the dobs for their national teams over time to see that this is the case. And these guys seems like they're good at this soccer thing.
> 
> We were making some progress in the US for a couple of years, but, then, with no explanation, most of it stopped in the 2017-18 season.
> 
> Now, US Soccer did just sponsor a late developer tournament this last January but they used to also have a late developer team camp - the Futures Camp - https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/63847/the-relative-age-effect-a-response-from-us.html -which hasn't been heard from for several years.
> 
> The irony here is that attendees from the last two Futures camps in 2013 and 2015 - where was the futures camp was their first call-up into the YNT system - have significantly outperformed players who were called up into the regular age group YNT camp those same years.
> 
> Futures Camp attendees include names like Mendez, Aronson, Berhalter (yes, GB's son), Gloster and Amaya that should ring some bells.
> 
> So, back to Saldana's comment.
> 
> To be clear, like a lot of what LAFC academy does, but loading up on early DOB players but then complaining about being at an age disadvantage - for the first time in three years - now that one of the LAFC teams is playing u16/u17 is more than a little hypocritical.
> 
> (And btw, the age-based developmental differences - although still significant - begin to even out by age 16-17 a players catch up in height and then later weight).
> 
> For the record, close to half of LAFC's current u15 roster was born in January, raising a legit question of "are they better or are they just older?"
> 
> Yes, some are better, but some may just be older. But hey, no excuses.
> 
> ok, sigh. rant done. sorry about that.. (channelling Twellman...)
> 
> predict: Strikers 1 - LA Galaxy 1 *actuals: Strikers 2 - LA Galaxy 1*
> 
> predict: Pateadores 3 - FC Golden State 3 *actuals: Pateadores 1 - FC Golden State 2*


Agree 100%, my son is 2004 second half of the year and could run circles around most Academy 2004s but....we're ok with it, however, he's time is coming!!!


----------



## Kante

BJ18, thanks for prompting me to check the data. (genuinely meant)

All, so I double-checked the data.

For the LAFC, of the 19 05s players rostered by LAFC, seven (so 37%) have January DOBs, and four have Feb DOBs, so all said, 11 have January or Feb DOBs with almost 60% of the team being born in the first two months of 2005.

An average distribution would have 17% of LAFC's roster born in either Jan or Feb.

For DA context, RSL has 34% of their 05 roster born in either Jan or Feb, Barca has 0% of their 05 roster born in Jan/Feb, and SD Surf has 30% of their 05 roster born in Jan/Feb. Am sure someone will ask/wonder about LAG and will check those numbers and get back.

To be clear, it's up to LAFC  staff and families to do whatever they think is right re: recruiting and development, and they've done a lot right.

But for the LAFC Technical Director to be talking about how his u17 team is the "youngest team (by a large margin) in every game", well, have the world's smallest violin for that comment.


----------



## BJ18

Kante said:


> BJ18, thanks for prompting me to check the data. (genuinely meant)
> 
> All, so I double-checked the data.
> 
> For the LAFC, of the 19 05s players rostered by LAFC, seven (so 37%) have January DOBs, and four have Feb DOBs, so all said, 11 have January or Feb DOBs with almost 60% of the team being born in the first two months of 2005.
> 
> An average distribution would have 17% of LAFC's roster born in either Jan or Feb.
> 
> For DA context, RSL has 34% of their 05 roster born in either Jan or Feb, Barca has 0% of their 05 roster born in Jan/Feb, and SD Surf has 30% of their 05 roster born in Jan/Feb. Am sure someone will ask/wonder about LAG and will check those numbers and get back.
> 
> To be clear, it's up to LAFC  staff and families to do whatever they think is right re: recruiting and development, and they've done a lot right.
> 
> But for the LAFC Technical Director to be talking about how his u17 team is the "youngest team (by a large margin) in every game", well, have the world's smallest violin for that comment.


But where do you obtain their DOB's from because it is not listed anywhere?


----------



## soccerstud

Agree 100%, my son is 2004 second half of the year, and noticed that their kids are mostly older when he went to tryout with them.  LAFC totally puts emphasis on January birthdays!  I do disagree, however, their training is fantastic!

On another note, my son could run circles around most Academy 2004s and 2003s (including LAFC team, he has this year) but LAFC refuses to pull the trigger on bringing him on.  We have had multiple talks with coaches and scouts. They say hes good and at the same lever as their current players, so they will stay loyal to their current squad and not bring him on.  Doesn't it make sense to give him a year to see how he develops with their LAFC training regiment.  I mean, if their current kids have been trained and invested on for the last 3, 4, 5 years and are still only at the same level as my son, who's been working with his non MLS Academy and mostly on his own, imagine what kind of player he would be with great training....why not give him a chance?  I dont get that one...He gets up at 5 am everyday on his own to do speed & agility, strengthening, and soccer (looks up youtube videos) but he will only get so far working on his own, he needs formal training which we cant afford.  Only hope for him is if Galaxy or LAFC pick him up. I fear, however, that it will never happen for him.  I totally ok with it, not sure how he will take it though.  IT IS SO HARD IN SO CALI FOR KIDS LIKE HIM born in the second half of the year!


----------



## full90

Sorry man but they are just telling you what you want to hear. If they rated him, they’d bring him in in a heartbeat. There is no loyalty. We seen kids snapped up by LAFC midweek and their coaches petitioning the old club to release the kid so they could roster him ASAP. And they bring outside kids in all the time for GA Cup and other events.

I agree so cal is so hard but for a motivated kid like yours he will be fine. There are lots of paths and maybe being on the outside looking in will give him the chip he needs to surpass those kids in the long run.


----------



## Kickers99

soccerstud said:


> Agree 100%, my son is 2004 second half of the year, and noticed that their kids are mostly older when he went to tryout with them.  LAFC totally puts emphasis on January birthdays!  I do disagree, however, their training is fantastic!
> 
> On another note, my son could run circles around most Academy 2004s and 2003s (including LAFC team, he has this year) but LAFC refuses to pull the trigger on bringing him on.  We have had multiple talks with coaches and scouts. They say hes good and at the same lever as their current players, so they will stay loyal to their current squad and not bring him on.  Doesn't it make sense to give him a year to see how he develops with their LAFC training regiment.  I mean, if their current kids have been trained and invested on for the last 3, 4, 5 years and are still only at the same level as my son, who's been working with his non MLS Academy and mostly on his own, imagine what kind of player he would be with great training....why not give him a chance?  I dont get that one...He gets up at 5 am everyday on his own to do speed & agility, strengthening, and soccer (looks up youtube videos) but he will only get so far working on his own, he needs formal training which we cant afford.  Only hope for him is if Galaxy or LAFC pick him up. I fear, however, that it will never happen for him.  I totally ok with it, not sure how he will take it though.  IT IS SO HARD IN SO CALI FOR KIDS LIKE HIM born in the second half of the year!


If he's that good, why only LAFC and Galaxy? Why not try Real Salt Lake? He'd have to be 100% all in to leave Cali, but it is an option and they do develop there.  Definitely not easy but cant give up hope......


----------



## Kante

Kante said:


> BJ18, thanks for prompting me to check the data. (genuinely meant)
> 
> All, so I double-checked the data.
> 
> For the LAFC, of the 19 05s players rostered by LAFC, seven (so 37%) have January DOBs, and four have Feb DOBs, so all said, 11 have January or Feb DOBs with almost 60% of the team being born in the first two months of 2005.
> 
> An average distribution would have 17% of LAFC's roster born in either Jan or Feb.
> 
> For DA context, RSL has 34% of their 05 roster born in either Jan or Feb, Barca has 0% of their 05 roster born in Jan/Feb, and SD Surf has 30% of their 05 roster born in Jan/Feb. Am sure someone will ask/wonder about LAG and will check those numbers and get back.
> 
> To be clear, it's up to LAFC  staff and families to do whatever they think is right re: recruiting and development, and they've done a lot right.
> 
> But for the LAFC Technical Director to be talking about how his u17 team is the "youngest team (by a large margin) in every game", well, have the world's smallest violin for that comment.


Just checked the LAG 05 DOBs. 22% of the LAG 05 DA team is born Jan/Feb.


----------



## jpeter

TS is a great director and really cares for the kids. He might get a little overzealous with the comments sometimes but he means well. 

 By the time players reach u16/17 in DA does age, dob,  really matter that much?  LAFC might suffer from not having enough teams to play more players up.  Not having all age groups kind of restrains them somewhat and they will remedy that this coming season.


----------



## BJ18

Kante said:


> Just checked the LAG 05 DOBs. 22% of the LAG 05 DA team is born Jan/Feb.


How are you able to obtain DOB's?  I guess I am the only one concerned that some random person can obtain my minor son's information.........


----------



## jpeter

BJ18 said:


> How are you able to obtain DOB's?  I guess I am the only one concerned that some random person can obtain my minor son's information.........


Used to be open and listed until I think last year sometimes, no longer public view.

You have to have a certain level of privilege to see certain things now... managers, coaches, admins, directors, etc.


----------



## BJ18

jpeter said:


> Used to be open and listed until I think last year sometimes, no longer public view.
> 
> You have to have a certain level of privilege to see certain things now... managers, coaches, admins, directors, etc.


That is what I assumed.  So I presume, Kante must be in that category of a manager, coach or admin.  Thanks!


----------



## messy

Kante said:


> here's predicts va actuals for this last weekend (2/29). home team is listed first. had some decent games this weekend.
> 
> predict: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 1 *actuals: Real Salt Lake 2 - LAFC 3*
> note: per game report and anecdotal reports, this sounds like a solid match for LAFC with an early goal to make it 1-0 at ht, and then another goal about midway thru the 2nd half to go ahead 2-0.
> 
> CN for RSL made it 1-2 at the 80th minute but CT for LAFC brought the margin back up with goal at the 89th minute to make it 1-3. CN, however, got a double at the very end but itwasn't enough, and the final result was 3-2 LAFC.
> 
> Sounds like a good match and fun to watch overall, particularly the last 20 minutes.
> 
> one item though.
> _________
> 
> Saw Saldana talking about the LAFC u17 win on twitter. cool, cool cool. but here's the exact quote:
> 
> _"I am very proud of this group; players & staff. I’ve given them the task of being the youngest team (by a large margin) in every game & always up for the challenge..never used as an excuse. Keep Thriving!"_​
> For the record, LAFC has  stacked their teams across all their age groups with January dob's. It's fact. At u12, u13,u14 and u15, LAFC is *always* the oldest team, usually by a large margin, to borrow a phrase, in age groups where age - even a few months difference - matters to a disproportionate degree. The loading up of January dob's is so consistent that one might even use the word "cynical" to describe the practice.
> 
> And the ripple impact has been that other SoCal teams, to be able to compete w/ LAFC at those age groups, have to do the same, which has effectively shrunk the opportunity for SoCal players who are either late developers or have late DOBs across the board
> 
> Now, have been open - when asked - that our player is a late DOB. He's managed to find success, and likely will be a much better player for it when everything evens out developmentally wise. So, if you want, discount my two cents, fine.
> 
> However, the overall focus on early DOBs across the US soccer environment is artificially shrinking the player pool by at least 50%.
> 
> And given that the single biggest advantage the US has, in competing against other countries, is its large population, and given that we are underperforming vs other countries, systematically giving half of our best advantage away thru cynical/lazy development practices is not smart.
> 
> Countries like France and England, driven by their pro clubs, are consciously creating specific development paths for late developers/late DOBs. And you can look at the dobs for their national teams over time to see that this is the case. And these guys seems like they're good at this soccer thing.
> 
> We were making some progress in the US for a couple of years, but, then, with no explanation, most of it stopped in the 2017-18 season.
> 
> Now, US Soccer did just sponsor a late developer tournament this last January but they used to also have a late developer team camp - the Futures Camp - https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/63847/the-relative-age-effect-a-response-from-us.html -which hasn't been heard from for several years.
> 
> The irony here is that attendees from the last two Futures camps in 2013 and 2015 - where was the futures camp was their first call-up into the YNT system - have significantly outperformed players who were called up into the regular age group YNT camp those same years.
> 
> Futures Camp attendees include names like Mendez, Aronson, Berhalter (yes, GB's son), Gloster and Amaya that should ring some bells.
> 
> So, back to Saldana's comment.
> 
> To be clear, like a lot of what LAFC academy does, but loading up on early DOB players but then complaining about being at an age disadvantage - for the first time in three years - now that one of the LAFC teams is playing u16/u17 is more than a little hypocritical.
> 
> (And btw, the age-based developmental differences - although still significant - begin to even out by age 16-17 a players catch up in height and then later weight).
> 
> For the record, close to half of LAFC's current u15 roster was born in January, raising a legit question of "are they better or are they just older?"
> 
> Yes, some are better, but some may just be older. But hey, no excuses.
> 
> ok, sigh. rant done. sorry about that.. (channelling Twellman...)
> 
> predict: Strikers 1 - LA Galaxy 1 *actuals: Strikers 2 - LA Galaxy 1*
> 
> predict: Pateadores 3 - FC Golden State 3 *actuals: Pateadores 1 - FC Golden State 2*


Not just age, but emphasis on physical development. Look at the 05 camp right now. Grooming players up top whose physiques are nothing like those of top European players...players who can't last 90 minutes on a pitch and will not successfully compete vs internationals. "Cynical/lazy development practices" is right.


----------



## soccerstud

full90 said:


> Sorry man but they are just telling you what you want to hear. If they rated him, they’d bring him in in a heartbeat. There is no loyalty. We seen kids snapped up by LAFC midweek and their coaches petitioning the old club to release the kid so they could roster him ASAP. And they bring outside kids in all the time for GA Cup and other events.
> 
> I agree so cal is so hard but for a motivated kid like yours he will be fine. There are lots of paths and maybe being on the outside looking in will give him the chip he needs to surpass those kids in the long run.


Im sure you're right, it definitely crossed my mind, but then, he's invited again this year already...wtf?  It really doesnt matter to me, its my son that has to have the mental toughness to take that rejection and use to make him better.  The way he puts it "Dad, that's just their opinion and I have to work harder to change it"  The situation has also lead to a few conversations and opportunities to teach life lessons.  In that sense, it's been a positive thing for us.  This summer he also has the opportunity for Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, we touched basis with coach not too long ago.  We will see how this develops.  In the end, he has a 4.4 GPA that he's kept since his freshmen year (last year).  He's a nice, humble, hard-working, and intelligent kid.  Seems he has things figured out more than me.  It will also help that (as of yesterday) he's 6'-0", 145 lbs.!!!  I'm gonna use my tax return to take him to TOCA Chino Hills, that's the only thing he wanted for Christmas...freaking kid man

Thank you full90 for your words.  Blessings!


----------



## soccerstud

Kickers99 said:


> If he's that good, why only LAFC and Galaxy? Why not try Real Salt Lake? He'd have to be 100% all in to leave Cali, but it is an option and they do develop there.  Definitely not easy but cant give up hope......


Yes, Real Salt Lake is real option, we were in contact with coach some weeks ago...looks like this summer might be his big break.  We will see how things develop!


----------



## Kante

soccerstud said:


> Yes, Real Salt Lake is real option, we were in contact with coach some weeks ago...looks like this summer might be his big break.  We will see how things develop!


TFA is going to be adding u17 DA for 2020-21. Have heard they're fully funded (but not sure about travel etc.) and they seem to be consistently decently coached across age groups. 

Not sure what their situation is w/ 04s/03s but, other than their current 05 DA, it doesn't look like they have set team waiting to start u17 DA, so likely would be a more even field for try-outs. Takes a community...


----------



## soccerstud

Kante said:


> TFA is going to be adding u17 DA for 2020-21. Have heard they're fully funded (but not sure about travel etc.) and they seem to be consistently decently coached across age groups.
> 
> Not sure what their situation is w/ 04s/03s but, other than their current 05 DA, it doesn't look like they have set team waiting to start u17 DA, so likely would be a more even field for try-outs. Takes a community...


Thank you Kante we really appreciate the heads-up, I'll look into it, you never know where that opportunity is lurking...


----------



## focomoso

soccerstud said:


> I mean, if their current kids have been trained and invested on for the last 3, 4, 5 years and are still only at the same level as my son, who's been working with his non MLS Academy and mostly on his own, imagine what kind of player he would be with great training....


I'm no expert, but the more time I spend in this world, the less I believe in the magical effects of training on an individual. The primary factor in soccer success is going to be genetics. I suspect that if your son were at LAFC all this time, he'd be exactly as good as he is now.


----------



## Kante

soccerstud said:


> Thank you Kante we really appreciate the heads-up, I'll look into it, you never know where that opportunity is lurking...


Np. ...the very best way to try-out is to be a key part of beating the other team... best of luck!


----------



## soccerstud

focomoso said:


> I'm no expert, but the more time I spend in this world, the less I believe in the magical effects of training on an individual. The primary factor in soccer success is going to be genetics. I suspect that if your son were at LAFC all this time, he'd be exactly as good as he is now.


That's a thought, and I agree to some extent, however, I do believe that genetics without hard work and training will not get you very far.  So many wasted talents because of poor discipline and not enough hard work but plenty of natural talent (genetics).  If i have to pick between a player that works hard or is just born with talent, I will always pick hard work.  Not everyone can be Messi, but many can be those hard working guys that every team needs but do not get much credit.  Players like Gennaro Gattuso in Milan, wow what a beast worked hard and has the heart of a lion, but not very talented.   

CR7 good talent but great baller because of his hard work.  
Maradona, great talent, didnt come from soccer genes, his son didnt do much
Ronaldo "el fenomeno", don't know of any in his family made it pro and he was a beast  

Just look at player stories, which happens to be a hobbie of mine.  

In any event, my son has cousins in Mexico that made it to second division, and one cousin somewhat recently (2005-2016) that played first division with Chivas de Guadalajara, Edgar "El Tepa" Solis.  There's been so many in both my wife's family and mine that didn't make it professional mainly because of lack of hard work.  and not necessarily because they didn't want to do it, but more because of poverty levels that had to work 80 hrs a week min wage to help family out, and some due to horrible injuries in their late teenage years playing in mexican leagues hoping to be "discovered" cause they couldn't afford club, there were no academy back then.  

In the end, whats going to happen is going to happen, but I applaud my son not leaving anything to chance, work hard and hope for the best!

cheerio


----------



## Kante

here's predicts for this weekend (3/7). home team is listed first.

San Diego Surf 1 - LAFC 3
Real Salt Lake 2 - Strikers 1 - *match to watch (RSL is .05 points behind RSC, which is newly atop the table)*
Nomads 1 - Real SoCal 2 - *match to watch*
note: RSC is sitting in the #1 spot in the West Conference just .05 points ahead of RSL. Have been watching RSC u17 for a bit and they seem to be the real deal. Looking at the numbers, following a 0-5 loss to Barca at the end of October, RSC looks like they started to run things around and it's been up and to the right since.

Here's the RSC overall goal differential % over time chart


Defensively, RSC has seen significant improvement since that Barca match, and the improvement seems to be accelerating with RSC putting up four shutouts in their last six matches. here's the defensive chart:



Offensively, the improvement looks like it's been going on since the beginning of the year.


Net net, good on RSC for competing and prevailing against SoCal competition. To be fair, scheduling looks like it has helped RSC a bit, but The Algo normalizes for that. RSC, keep it up. Nice to see a non-MLS club atop the table.


Pateadores 2 - Albion 1
Arsenal 1 - Barca 4


----------



## Kante

Coming back to to the RSL - LAFC match for a minute. 

*Recap: *
LAFC had a good 3-2 win over a tough RSL team the weekend of 3/1.

Saldana, the LAFC TD, tweeted out congrats (fair)but then went on to write "I’ve given them (ed note: LAFC u17) the task of being the youngest team (by a large margin) in every game & always up for the challenge..never used as an excuse."

*The Issue:*
LAFC seems to have recruited a disproportionate number of Jan/Feb DOB players for while now across all their teams. For example, almost 60%of LAFC's u15 team was born in Jan/Feb (fyi, most of this data is from old rosters when USSDA used to list DOBs on the team roster which they stopped doing in Nov-ish 2018-19). The next oldest u15 SoCal team is RSL with 34% of the team roster being born in Jan/Feb. LAG is 22%.

One of the impacts of LAFC doing this is that, in SoCal, in order to compete w/ LAFC, other clubs, anecdotally, seem to be more actively recruiting older/early developer DOB players to a greater degree than before LAFC emerged as a force in 2017-18. (This is possible to check but haven't checked yet.)  

So, for late in the year SoCal DOB/late developers, who already had it pretty tough breaking into DA teams, LAFC made it tougher. 

Ok, life is not fair. Fine. 

But to then have LAFC's TD - who is very aware of the relative DOBs for his teams vs other teams and the benefit of having older players in the u12 thru u17 DA age groups - go into passive/aggressive "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"-esque mode to say, rephrased, "no excuses but ...  our team is the youngest 'by a large margin' in every game.." Yeah, no.

*The RSL - LAFC Match*
Doing a weighted average of player DOB x % minutes of played, LAFC's average player age on the field for the match against RSL was March 24, 2004. Running the same numbers for RSl, their weighted average age on the field for the match was August 14, 2003. So LAFC was about, on average, about eight months younger than RSL. So, good for the LAFC players for the win. 

*What's the Impact of Younger vs Older Players in u17?*
When LAG played the Pats two weeks in a row, in the first match, LAG played a youngers line-up (LAG has 33 players on their team roster and it's split almost 505/50 03s and 04s) with average age of Feb 3, 2004. The Pats, who's team roster is mostly 03s, had an average age of Sept 7, 2003 (which is relatively young for DA). Netted out, LAG was five months younger than the Pats and the score was 4-0 Pats. 

The next weekend LAG and Pats played again. This time the LAG average age was October 29, 2003 (still pretty young for u17), and the Pats average age was Sept 16, 2003. So pretty even age wise. Result was a 1-1 tie. 

Obviously, only one example, but a pretty striking example. 
_______

So, give  credit to the LAFC players for their result, but Mr. Saldana, please simmer down w/ this "youngest team by a wide margin" stuff. Have heard this repeatedly from the LAFC DA talking about their u17 team this year. It actually is an excuse, and not a good look. 

Hopefully, LAFC will start looking longer term than just building their academy brand by getting wins this year in DA to actual player production, which would mean bringing in and developing players who are going to the best players at age 17, 18 and 19, and these players are not necessarily the player who matches at u13, u14 and u15. 

Older should not confused with better. And way too often, right now, in the US, particularly, it is.

But maybe things will start changing. Here's a quote on this subject from a Soccer America interview w/ the new u15 US Soccer Head Coach:

*"*_They might be the same age, but physically one can seem two years older than another. Some are over-developed physically and some under-developed. A player might not be physically ready right now, but one in two or three years when the physical aspect evens, he might be one of the top players. At FC United, a lot of our teams at the younger ages are under-sized. Because we're judging them as soccer players, knowing that at some point they're going to grow. My staff and I and our scouts recognize that there's so much physical change to come..."_​








						New U.S. U-15 boss Gonzalo Segares on his path from Costa Rica to the USA, and shifting from pro player to youth coach
					

U.S. U-15 boys national team head coach Gonzalo Segares played more than 200 MLS games for the Chicago Fire.




					www.socceramerica.com
				



Many of these high potential players will be Jan/Feb DOBs, but odds are that there's a lot other players out there - up to 25% of the potential player pool - not getting a shot. 

And it's not just the right thing to do, it's also good business. Running the numbers, mining Q4 DOBs for players is a huge arbitrage oppty right now that's being missed across the US. But, like all arbitrage opportunities, it won't last forever, because someone at some point will figure it out. (The guys in Carson seem to be on this track though ...)

In a short time, LAFC has built up a significant influence on the SoCal - and the national - youth soccer environment. 

If LAFC leads, others will follow. Mr. Saldana, your thoughts?


----------



## focomoso

soccerstud said:


> That's a thought, and I agree to some extent, however, I do believe that genetics without hard work and training will not get you very far.


Hard work, sure, but would he be working harder if he were at LAFC? It's the training that I question. What is LAFC showing their kids that your kid isn't getting? I suspect, not much.


----------



## soccerstud

focomoso said:


> Hard work, sure, but would he be working harder if he were at LAFC? It's the training that I question. What is LAFC showing their kids that your kid isn't getting? I suspect, not much.


My point is, there is a hierarchy when it comes to schools of soccer, you have Europe academy training, south american (brazil and Argentina) and then you have Mexico and US...it would be naive of anyone to ignore the difference between your son training at XYZ FC in southern cali, vs Ajax (for example), only ones right now in so cal are Galaxy and LAFC...from the money they are pumping into their trainers and training there is a huge difference from the rest, so yes, I really think with my sons talent and work ethic he would benefit huge from going to Europe or South America, since thats not an opportunity thats opened up yet, he has Galaxy or LAFC...if youre trying to stir the pot, not gonna bite. I respect your opinion, but you have to understand there is a huge reason players migrate to the bigger and better teams for development. Galaxy and LAFC, like it or not, are the best in so cal right now. Ive seen their training sessions


----------



## focomoso

soccerstud said:


> My point is, there is a hierarchy when it comes to schools of soccer, you have Europe academy training, south american (brazil and Argentina) and then you have Mexico and US...it would be naive of anyone to ignore the difference between your son training at XYZ FC in southern cali, vs Ajax (for example), only ones right now in so cal are Galaxy and LAFC...from the money they are pumping into their trainers and training there is a huge difference from the rest, so yes, I really think with my sons talent and work ethic he would benefit huge from going to Europe or South America, since thats not an opportunity thats opened up yet, he has Galaxy or LAFC...if youre trying to stir the pot, not gonna bite. I respect your opinion, but you have to understand there is a huge reason players migrate to the bigger and better teams for development. Galaxy and LAFC, like it or not, are the best in so cal right now. Ive seen their training sessions


Not trying to stir the pot. I honestly believe that the reason European academies are better is that they get better kids. The entire hierarchy is due to recruiting, not development. My son plays with a European academy in the summers and if you have a beer or two with the coaches, they'll admit that the reason they have the best academy in the country is that they get the best kids from the entire country (even after, famously, cutting Robert Lewandowski). If you read the Relative Age Effect thread, it links to an article describing that the top sales from European academies are not of kids that were there long - some just a year or two right before they go pro. See: Relative Age. They don't develop most of the kids themselves. 

I'm not saying that someone shouldn't try to go to Europe or LAFC. If you have that opportunity, you should take it, and if you make it, it's a huge accomplishment. But that's what it is, an accomplishment. It's not going to make you much better, if at all. It's an acknowledgement of where you are now, not where you're going. The main benefit of those academies is access to the pro circuit. They're essentially showcases or marketplaces. 

If your son works as hard as you say and wins the "puberty lottery" (as another coach puts it), he'll be great no matter where he plays.


----------



## Kante

here's predicts vs actuals for this last weekend (3/7). home team is listed first.

predict: San Diego Surf 1 - LAFC 3 actuals: San Diego Surf 3 - LAFC 1
*note:* so The Algo had the score right, but the winners wrong. Happens...

predict: Real Salt Lake 2 - Strikers 1 *actuals:* pending - does anyone have the score here?

predict: Nomads 1 - Real SoCal 2  actuals: Nomads 3 - Real SoCal 2
*note:* RSC's D couldn't hold it, and RSC's brief reign atop the table is over for now...

predict: Pateadores 2 - Albion 1 actuals: Pateadores 1 - Albion 1

predict: Arsenal 1 - Barca 4 *actuals:* pending - does anyone have the score here?


----------



## DosEquisGuy

"
predict: Real Salt Lake 2 - Strikers 1 *actuals:* pending - does anyone have the score here?"

RSL2, Strikers 0


----------



## Kante

DosEquisGuy said:


> "
> predict: Real Salt Lake 2 - Strikers 1 *actuals:* pending - does anyone have the score here?"
> 
> RSL2, Strikers 0


Thx!


----------



## Fishme1

soccerstud said:


> Yes, Real Salt Lake is real option, we were in contact with coach some weeks ago...looks like this summer might be his big break.  We will see how things develop!


Don’t Wait to see what happens at RSL.You should be reaching out to other clubs too. If the clubs are interested they will schedule a tryout the week of or at least the week after. You are in a hurry to have your son play at the top level. Yes he’s a hard worker, has the IQ and all. But all that doesn’t matter at the top level. You need to start networking with people that are heavily involved with soccer. That should be your biggest worry.


----------



## Kante

Been a bit. Hope everyone is doing well. Interesting times... In other news, came across this write-up. Be interesting to hear folks' thoughts on this guy's take, and any players in SoCal he may have not mentioned. 









						A breakdown of the 2003 age group | Chasing A Cup
					

A breakdown of the 2003 USMNT age group who will look to qualify and win the 2023 u20 World Cup and stake their claim in long term USMNT rosters



					chasingacup.com


----------

