# How does ODP work?



## SDMama (Feb 24, 2020)

I’ve heard people talking about ODP, but I don’t understand how it all works. Players get recommended and then scouts come out to watch them at CRL/State Cup/National Cup? 

How many players are typically recommended?

Since there are so many locations, do they have scouts at every location?  How many scouts are watching?  Do they only watch the highest ranked teams?

Any other information people who are “in the know” would be willing to share?


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## LASTMAN14 (Feb 24, 2020)

My youngest was invited several times to attend ODP. From my experience, perspective and conversations from the past, there were some coach recommendations or none at all. Scouts did attend National Cup games. More so/primarily during the group stages.  Honestly do not recall them at CRL games. Can not comment on State Cup. The pool size could easily start with 60-70+ players. National Cup was typically at Silver Lakes during the group stage. Scouts could be found in the corners of fields watching games throughout the weekend. On average I saw at least 4 for my daughters age group. It appeared they were watching all teams competing, but they had lists they formulated (I asked one of the scouts). I do know they have added players not on those lists when just watching games. This happened to two of our players on my daughters team. One of the scouts did happen to be a coach for one of the older age groups.


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## MWN (Feb 24, 2020)

At the younger ages, the ODP scouts attend National Cup games looking at players that have been recommended and for players that are standouts (but not recommended).  Each ODP scout has a list of players and teams/games they are assigned.  The goal is to get these players in the database and watch them rise (or fall out).  They want them in the system before 14 so they can monitor those that leave US Youth Soccer for US Club (ENCL, NPL, etc.)

At the older ages, the ODP teams are relatively set and not a whole lot of movement.  A kid can break into the ODP but they need to be a superstar.  There are some positions that scouts can find.  For example, you may find movement at the GK age group with the U16 boys because the previous GK's (5'9") simply didn't have the genetics and all of a sudden there are now a few GK's standing 6'3" and playing like men.

On the girls side you will see some turn over due to genetics, injuries and puberty.

Bottom line, the ODP in Cal South's region has so much good talent to choose from (even with dilution caused by the DA) that there will be many kids left off the teams because the kids that are already in the database/system known quantities and equally as good.  Its safer to go with what you know.


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## Soccerhelper (Feb 24, 2020)

My goat got the invite she was dreaming for.  However, we switched teams and were told ODP is DOA and the place to be now is TC and DA.  My dd dreamed of trying out with all the other greats in Socal so we went against our new families advice.  She did break her wrist on the 2nd day and was done. Only got 1 1/2 days of looks but still got invited back for the winter contest.  I saw probably 8-10 that were a shoe in.  The rest were good but didn;t have the complete package of true goatness.  They invited many of us back in Dec. I was a bit surprised to see some Docs there chatting it up with future YNT members parents.  Lots of YNT players were there.  After that, my dd went to DA and was never invited back.


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## RedCard (Feb 24, 2020)

They goto the group play of the National Cup. You usually see them at the corner flags. The better the team, the more get invited. My dd’s old team, SoCal Academy G05 had 9 invites in the last 2 seasons, but only 1 made the team 2 years ago and 2 made it last year. The one thing they want to see at the ODP tryouts is communication...lots and lots of communication between the players.


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## Dargle (Feb 24, 2020)

For the Spring/Summer pool, they send scouts to the highest level Cal South competition, which is President's Cup at the youngest ages and Nat'l Cup at the older age groups.  They watch one half of two of your pool play games.  If you're a superstar, but your team is playing at Governor's Cup, you generally won't get scouted.  You might get selected to Winter pool with a strong coach recommendation since that is basically just the players who made the second weekend of Spring/Summer pool, plus some coach recommendation players who were overlooked, but it's a huge uphill battle to get selected for the team at that point.

They may name as many as 100 kids to the pool depending upon the age group, but there might only be 70-80% who will show up, either because of a conflict (e.g., with Spring Break) or because they are moving to DA, which prohibits participation in outside competitions like ODP.


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## jpeter (Feb 24, 2020)

Coach recommends some players
Scouts take a look at them
Invites are sent out to a big group of players based on the above.
Camp is held out if town at some random fields they get a deal on.
After 2 days of scrimmages the field in narrowed down.
Another weekend of light training  & scrimmages and a team is eventually picked.

Play a winter tournament and maybe a spring one.

Fun as a experience but after that I dunno players not all the fired up for another go around the following year at least mine we'rent


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## baller6988 (Feb 24, 2020)

Odp in not what it use to be.  College coaches do not even recruit anymore at ODP games.  Money Grab.


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## Soccerhelper (Feb 24, 2020)

ODP was the way The Lists were picked back then.  4 Regions.  Our Region IV was the western US.  Cal South, Cal North and 11 other states like Montana.  Cal South had their team and they and the other 11 teams would play each other in AZ or somewhere like that and play.  The Region IV had their own coach and scouts to pick the best 25 from all 12 teams in the region and all the other three regions did the same.  Then they took 100 of the best and had them play somewhere and the US national Coaches and scouts picked the YNT from there and all the top D1 coaches come and watch too   Each state had a chance to showcase their talent.  I wish we did it like the ODP way and then the rest of us who didn't make the top 100 can still play soccer and go to high school everyday and not travel all over the country chasing something that is not there.


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## Not_that_Serious (Feb 24, 2020)

baller6988 said:


> Odp in not what it use to be.  College coaches do not even recruit anymore at ODP games.  Money Grab.


ODP is virtually free with no cost to travel and high level coaching at no cost if you are on the team or invited to camps. College coaches go to regional play and call coaches directly - some coaches even coach college. ODP today isn’t the program it was when it was created - due to DA/USSF trying to kill it. Still around, but So Cal and and other states are Run completely different.


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## Not_that_Serious (Feb 24, 2020)

Soccerhelper said:


> ODP was the way The Lists were picked back then.  4 Regions.  Our Region IV was the western US.  Cal South, Cal North and 11 other states like Montana.  Cal South had their team and they and the other 11 teams would play each other in AZ or somewhere like that and play.  The Region IV had their own coach and scouts to pick the best 25 from all 12 teams in the region and all the other three regions did the same.  Then they took 100 of the best and had them play somewhere and the US national Coaches and scouts picked the YNT from there and all the top D1 coaches come and watch too   Each state had a chance to showcase their talent.  I wish we did it like the ODP way and then the rest of us who didn't make the top 100 can still play soccer and go to high school everyday and not travel all over the country chasing something that is not there.


Yep. Problem is not all ODP programs aren’t run the same way. Some were running it as profit machine. Then DA/MLS/USSF took bigger/complete control of national team selection. On girls side, even about 4-5 years ago ALL girls went through ODP to get on the WNT. Too bad now if you aren’t in DA you won’t make the any YNT.


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## Soccerhelper (Feb 25, 2020)

This U16 YNT and U17 YNTs are the first group of players under the new DA Way.  The Federation has the power to flip things and boy did they four years ago.  Changed Birth year just like that.  Then they destroyed ODP and it's weight in Gold.  One year it's all about the 50 states and each states best 22 that go duke it out on the field of play. From there each Region picks the best 25 players from each Regions 250 players or so and then they form a team and duke it out with the other 3 regions 25 players to come up with the Nations top 100 for that age group. That is one way to get the cream to rise to the top. National Scouts and the Coaches are on hand to scout all the 100 Unicorns and Goats in soccer as are the top D1 coaches. Some misses of course but those other 100 or so who got snubbed and felt they deserved to be picked over Sally will be looking to knock Sally off like Sophia just did. By the time everyone is 18 or 20, the List will change again.  This new DA Way finally gives SoCal & NoCal Supreme Dominance it deserves with the true representation of how dominate we truly are.  California had 11 of it best players on the Girls U16 National Team in England.  It's about time they get things right.  In Fact, 39 other sates have some work to do because they had zero players good enough this time around.  No one from Las Vegas or even Henderson.  I'll be out there for March Madness and the Vegas Showcase.  This is a dads dream come true vacation.  Soccer during the day, poker and NCAA hoops at night  Remember everyone, it's Not That Serious in the grand scheme of things.


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## StylinAndProfilin (Feb 25, 2020)

Daughter is an 06 and got invited out after U11 National Cup, so I think it was around 2017. Back then the initial Spring pool was approx. 120 girls and most showed up.

D.A. has obviously changed the player pool, since those girls are ineligible to participate.

The number of players in the Spring pool has decreased over the years, from the high of 120 to probably about half of that. 

As far as scouting, I've seen scouts/coaches I recognized at a random summer tournament, and a random regular season ECNL game last season (LAFC Slammers vs Blues).

This past year I noticed a lot more players from Ventura County and also from CSL leagues.


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## SDMama (Feb 25, 2020)

LASTMAN14 said:


> Scouts did attend National Cup games. More so/primarily during the group stages.  Honestly do not recall them at CRL games. Can not comment on State Cup. The pool size could easily start with 60-70+ players. National Cup was typically at Silver Lakes during the group stage. Scouts could be found in the corners of fields watching games throughout the weekend. On average I saw at least 4 for my daughters age group. It appeared they were watching all teams competing, but they had lists they formulated (I asked one of the scouts). I do know they have added players not on those lists when just watching games. This happened to two of our players on my daughters team. One of the scouts did happen to be a coach for one of the older age groups.


How do you recognize the scouts?  And how can you tell which players are recommended and which ones aren’t?

I’m surprised they are found more often at group stage games than elimination games....


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## MWN (Feb 25, 2020)

SDMama said:


> How do you recognize the scouts?  And how can you tell which players are recommended and which ones aren’t?
> 
> I’m surprised they are found more often at group stage games than elimination games....


The scouts are usually wearing their [Cal South Pro+] shirts or jackets, have a clipboard and occasional flock together with the other scouts.  After a while they then flock back to the Papa Scout (if present) (Hoffy).


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## LMULions (Feb 26, 2020)

Soccerhelper said:


> I'll be out there for March Madness and the Vegas Showcase.  This is a dads dream come true vacation.  Soccer during the day, poker and NCAA hoops at night  Remember everyone, it's Not That Serious in the grand scheme of things.




One of my favorite weekends of the year - although I liked it better last year when they were consecutive weekends. I can be OK with it being the same weekend this time around. 

And watch out for them parents from Hawaii - they can be a rowdy bunch!


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## Soccerhelper (Feb 26, 2020)

LMULions said:


> One of my favorite weekends of the year - although I liked it better last year when they were consecutive weekends. I can be OK with it being the same weekend this time around.
> 
> And watch out for them parents from Hawaii - they can be a rowdy bunch!


Thanks for the tip.  My buddy plays poker for a living and March madness is how he makes a lot of his money for the year. Drunk rich guys come and play right around 10pm every night.  We both clean up but he does better than me


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## LASTMAN14 (Feb 26, 2020)

SDMama said:


> How do you recognize the scouts?  And how can you tell which players are recommended and which ones aren’t?
> 
> I’m surprised they are found more often at group stage games than elimination games....


As MWN said they are in their gear. Typically the apparel is all blue. I knew about selections because I asked our coaching staff if ODP officials had inquired about players. This was after the fact when players were listed to attend camp. By going to group stages they are more than likely to see all the players on their list.


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## The Outlaw *BANNED* (Feb 26, 2020)

Our experience was similar... PDP, too.  One guy with a clipboard, writing or talking to other guys with clipboards, never actually watching the small sided games they're assigned to.  So if your kid had a bad day, or didn't have a Ronaldo moment for the 10 seconds he/she was actually being watched, you don't get invited back.  Then your club DOC makes a phone call and, if the balls are big enough, you get invited back.  It's political like all the other acronyms.


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## Soccerhelper (Feb 26, 2020)

LASTMAN14 said:


> As MWN said they are in their gear. Typically the apparel is all blue. I knew about selections because I asked our coaching staff if ODP officials had inquired about players. This was after the fact when players were listed to attend camp. By going to group stages they are more than likely to see all the players on their list.


Blue shirt one day, YNT Scout shirts and jackets the next day. Did they hire a new scouting crew for 2017 and beyond?


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## LASTMAN14 (Feb 26, 2020)

Soccerhelper said:


> Blue shirt one day, YNT Scout shirts and jackets the next day. Did they hire a new scouting crew for 2017 and beyond?


For the girls ODP that is probably a yes. I've seen the US scouts over the last two years at games and invites. Definitely a different group. The ODP scouts were also coaches at the camp.


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## Kicknit22 (Feb 26, 2020)

How does ODP work?  It doesn’t!!  Lol.


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## baller6988 (Feb 27, 2020)

The funny thing about ODP they came out and watched 10 min and picked up one of our players who was playing up with the 04 and was actually an 05 and doesn't start or get much game time


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## Kicknit22 (Feb 27, 2020)

baller6988 said:


> The funny thing about ODP they came out and watched 10 min and picked up one of our players who was playing up with the 04 and was actually an 05 and doesn't start or get much game time


EXACTLY! Very commonplace


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## futboldad1 (Feb 27, 2020)

lol at the butthurt parents whose DDs did not get selected.....congrats to all the young goats and families who did get selected and make the most of it......


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## dad4 (Feb 27, 2020)

futboldad1 said:


> lol at the butthurt parents whose DDs did not get selected.....congrats to all the young goats and families who did get selected and make the most of it......


Wow.  That is rude.


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## Kicknit22 (Feb 28, 2020)

LOL at all the futboldads and mums who think it means anything at all.


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## Dof3 (Feb 28, 2020)

Kicknit22 said:


> LOL at all the futboldads and mums who think it means anything at all.


It means plenty.  It means the player is a good player.  Does it mean they are the best 18 players in SoCal in their age group?  No.  Plenty of kids are missed or have conflicts or are injured.  To say it means nothing at all denigrates the experience and the achievement for those who participate.  

it also means the player has the opportunity to meet and get to know other good players in the area not on their regular team.  They get to  represent their community on a team they didn’t pay to be on.  I can tell you that when my DD was invited to the pool it meant something to her.  And when she made the first cut and not the final cut, it meant plenty again.  And when the next time when she tried again and did make the final cut it meant more still.  ODP is not perfect in player selection; how could it be?  The NFL is regularly atrocious at the draft with vastly more information and resources.  But it was a great experience for my DD on a number of levels.  I encourage people who have the chance to make the most of it.


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## Soccerhelper (Feb 28, 2020)

Dof3 said:


> It means plenty.  It means the player is a good player.  Does it mean they are the best 18 players in SoCal in their age group?  No.  Plenty of kids are missed or have conflicts or are injured.  To say it means nothing at all denigrates the experience and the achievement for those who participate.
> 
> it also means the player has the opportunity to meet and get to know other good players in the area not on their regular team.  They get to  represent their community on a team they didn’t pay to be on.  I can tell you that when my DD was invited to the pool it meant something to her.  And when she made the first cut and not the final cut, it meant plenty again.  And when the next time when she tried again and did make the final cut it meant more still.  ODP is not perfect in player selection; how could it be?  The NFL is regularly atrocious at the draft with vastly more information and resources.  But it was a great experience for my DD on a number of levels.  I encourage people who have the chance to make the most of it.


My dd dreamed of making ODP.  The one player she really looked up to was Simone Jackson.  She get's the invite and her club, Surf, said it was no good anymore and all political and no need to go because TC is here now and that is where the goats will be picked by da scouts. So ODP in my mind has allowed good players the opportunity to maybe be real good players because they now get a chance with the rock instead of the super goat ball hog circus trying to show all da scouts how many juggles and scissors they can do and of course, the helicopter.  Congrats to all the girls who make ODP.  Don;t listen to the haters.  Go play and have fun and try to win for Cal South.  We have so many good soccer players in socal and we need them to stay in this game


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## Soccermom5 (Feb 28, 2020)

I completely agree with @Dof3 and @Soccerhelper. My DD made the player pool last year and it meant so much to her. She tried her heart out...didn’t make the final cut, but boy was it an amazing experience for her. Still till this day she still runs into other players from other teams at tournaments or at games and they high five one another. Is it the end of the world if they don’t get selected? No. Can it be political? Perhaps. But it’s a fun experience and a good process to go through.


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## SoccerGuru (Feb 28, 2020)

Dof3 said:


> It means plenty.  It means the player is a good player.  Does it mean they are the best 18 players in SoCal in their age group?  No.  Plenty of kids are missed or have conflicts or are injured.  To say it means nothing at all denigrates the experience and the achievement for those who participate.
> 
> it also means the player has the opportunity to meet and get to know other good players in the area not on their regular team.  They get to  represent their community on a team they didn’t pay to be on.  I can tell you that when my DD was invited to the pool it meant something to her.  And when she made the first cut and not the final cut, it meant plenty again.  And when the next time when she tried again and did make the final cut it meant more still.  ODP is not perfect in player selection; how could it be?  The NFL is regularly atrocious at the draft with vastly more information and resources.  But it was a great experience for my DD on a number of levels.  I encourage people who have the chance to make the most of it.


Not sure if they didn't pay before but they pay now, if you get "selected" you have to pay a couple hundred to do the summer camp. After reading some of the comments I agree it is good for the social aspect but it is not good for development. Not a single club coach likes ODP and for good reason, all they do is scrimmage and usually everyone ball hogs because they want to make the team. There are a few girls in my daughter's age group that made ODP and had tremendous success but have had very little success at the club level and there are also a few mainstay national team players that have never made the final cut of odp. So again, take it as a social experience and you will probably enjoy it. 

Just for fun, since ODP and CRL is CalSouth I thought it could be interesting to make it mandatory that each coach taking part in CRL has to coach one training session for ODP. Players get real coaches that will run them through drills and help develop and will get different points of view. Coaches will get to see new players that maybe they didn't know and could possibly recruit later on. Parents would be happy that ODP is finally worth doing. Thoughts?


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## Soccerhelper (Mar 3, 2020)

ODP today is not the ODP of yesteryear.  In 2016, the first year 04' was eligible, they selected around 100 kids in SoCal.  $100 to ball it up with all the other top goats in SoCal was an honor.  This was The List you wanted to make in Socal, let me tell you.  Reading your comments is understandable in todays soccer times but it wasn't like that before bro.  We had some drills but mostly scrummages. Tough battles. If you like playing soccer games, it was great. Yes, many ball hogs and that style back then was weak sauce.  However, I can't imagine back when I was a stud hoopster in middle school going to the top 100 in SoCal and doing drills all weekend or half the day for that matter, just so we can develop the finer parts of our game.  I'm sorry Guru, we would be scrimmaging the whole time or "balling it up" as some call it.  The only developing going on is taking someone on one v one and trying to dunk on his ass or faking him out and taking the three!!!  Same thing with ODP back in the day.  It was a pick up game with goats and it had defense, unlike the NBA All Star Game.  Maybe what we should do for soccer, is have a juggling contest, shooting contest and so on for others who don;t like to scrimmage all the time.

This is how Soccerhelper see it.  ODP was the best way to find the top100 in SoCal, then the top top 22 from SoCal is selected from how they did on the field. Everyone knows where they stand too and some will feel snubbed. Four Regions in the USA, see below.  We are the West.  12 teams head to Phoenix and duke it out on the field for bragging rights.  From there, each region selects 25 top top top goats to represent each region for more scrimmages.  For example, Region 4 would have it's own coach and scouts and they would watch all the 12 04' teams play (12x22 players on each team= 264 x 4=1056).  The player would be identified as top players in each age group, in each region across the USA. Do you see the cream rising?  Do you see transparency at least?  The top top top top 100 will have the honor to scrimmage and play games in front of the National Team coaches and top D1 coaches come too.  Everyone is happy and the fairest way to see how everyone is elected is in plain site.  





These question are for parents with a dd or dds who think they have a top 100 goat in Socal for the following ages.  04' 05' and 06'.  I know who the top 15 are and the top 50 in our country based on the YNT List.

Q. Who are the top 100 socal players today?
Q  Who are the top 22 players in socal today?
Q  Who are the top 264  players in Region 4 today?
Q  Who are the top 1056 players in the USA?
Q  Who are the top 100 players in the country based on each Regions top 25?

I think this is a way better to have transparency and at least 1000 other 04's feel like they have a shot if they keep working hard.

ODP was the bomb!! I heard all the scrimmages were legendary.  In fact, I still remember one of the all time great CRL League Games between Blues Bakers 02/03 and Surf Spooners 03/02 championship game at Birdsall park in Temecula.  You want to talk about a battle of wills and competition. It was fierce.  Savage from Surf was on fire.  However, Simone Jackson put on a show unlike any other, right in front of my dd and I.  I can;t remember seeing a more passionate league game since.  It was sad to hear that the Blues beat Earthquakes 7-0.


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## myself (Mar 4, 2020)

Soccerhelper said:


> I know who the top 15 are and the top 50 in our country based on the YNT List


No you do not, because DA selects girls from its own program and avoids selecting girls from other programs (e.g. ECNL) for political reasons. You of all people really think there are no ECNL girls in that group that are at the level of the girls selected for the list?



Soccerhelper said:


> Q. Who are the top 100 socal players today?
> Q Who are the top 22 players in socal today?
> Q Who are the top 264 players in Region 4 today?
> Q Who are the top 1056 players in the USA?
> Q Who are the top 100 players in the country based on each Regions top 25?


A. Who cares. YNT has turned into political BS. U20 and up appear to be unbiased, at least in terms of what league/school you play. Then again, it's "understood" that if you want to be selected for the senior team that you should play in the NWSL.

In your specific instance, you complain about your daughter not being considered for YNT, but if she really is that good, won't she get a great offer to a great school? Isn't that what we should be worried about? But to honestly answer your question, we don't know. We know who US Soccer wants to promote using their system and influence.


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## Soccerhelper (Mar 4, 2020)

myself said:


> No you do not, because DA selects girls from its own program and avoids selecting girls from other programs (e.g. ECNL) for political reasons. You of all people really think there are no ECNL girls in that group that are at the level of the girls selected for the list?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hit me up over at my Free Soccer Help Thread.  I will be there until Friday the 13th of this month.  No joke this time.  I'm way past time being here.  I;ll answer your questions over there for you.  The stuff that's hitting my PM box is getting nasty.  I'll stay on my two threads only.  If I do post on another thread, it will be basic info.  No opinions I promise on other threads.


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## pokergod (Mar 4, 2020)

Kicknit22 said:


> How does ODP work?  It doesn’t!!  Lol.


If you have a daughter, she plays for blues, beach, eagles or slammers.


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## Jason DiDomenico (Mar 4, 2020)

pokergod said:


> If you have a daughter, she plays for blues, beach, eagles or slammers.


Not necessarily true pokergod. It may help to play on those teams but not a requirement to get ODP recognition. If the kid can play at a high level and the parents do a bit of leg work, an ODP honor is readily available.


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## socalkdg (Mar 4, 2020)

I'm torn on this.   Kid knows nothing about ODP, as a parent I wonder if she should get a chance to tryout?   Our DOC would nominate if I ask,  could also find some other coaches that would nominate as well.   But would I be doing it for her, or myself?


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## Soccerhelper (Mar 4, 2020)

Jason DiDomenico said:


> Not necessarily true pokergod. It may help to play on those teams but not a requirement to get ODP recognition. If the kid can play at a high level and the parents do a bit of leg work, an ODP honor is readily available.


This is a great opportunity for someone to step up and make a team from actually trying out.  I'm sure all the girls who made ODP in the past are still friends today.  Van ride for 6 hours is cool and playing for Cal South was a badge of honor.  I vote 100% for your goat to go for it. My goat missed a pk at state cup QF and got cut on the last day of ODP. Tough times. She regrouped and did some magical stuff the next 16 months that needs no repeating


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## Jason DiDomenico (Mar 4, 2020)

socalkdg said:


> I'm torn on this.   Kid knows nothing about ODP, as a parent I wonder if she should get a chance to tryout?   Our DOC would nominate if I ask,  could also find some other coaches that would nominate as well.   But would I be doing it for her, or myself?


@socalkdg - If your daughter is "all in" on soccer, aren't we as parents doing them a disservice if we're not giving them the best opportunities to compete and succeed at the highest levels? Most kids (hopefully unknowingly) already go through coaching changes, club politics, backstabbing parents and teammates etc. and we as parents are able to deflect that outside garbage/noise. Shouldn't we also be showing our kids a path to potential success recognition if they are dedicated and putting in the work. As for "doing it for her , or myself" - why not both?


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## Soccer1Bball5 (Mar 4, 2020)

The way it was explained at the ODP camp, the scouts write down players names and if 2 scouts select the same player, then that player is invited. Coaches will talk with the scouts during the game. 
1) Is it a good experience? Yes.
2) Is it developmental? No. Just scrimmages all day.  There's no setting teams by position. They just lump kids together and it's up to your kid to fight for his playing position.  Some kids end up playing out of position and then lose a shot at advancing.
3) Do they pick the best? Not necessarily, but that's all relative, but overall they select good teams.
4) Politics involved? Yes. Some field players are easy to spot that deserve to go to the next round of the ODP selection process. Although it may be hard to assess all the field players to see who should advance, take a look at the keepers. 1 year I saw the top keeper (in my opinion) selected. Of the other 2 that were selected, one was very vocal and I knew he would be selected. The 3rd was not distinguishable. The kid that I thought was #2 was not selected. The following year the kid who was #1 the previous year was selected again. 3 others were selected as well. The kid who was #2 the previous year and probably did the best was not selected. No way 4 others were better than him. Something's going on.
5) Is it a money grab? Yes and no. It's not that expensive. However over one of the Winter camps, some kids who were invited over the Summer, but not that Winter were sent a late invite after camp had started. Why? Did not enough kids show up? Did they need more $$? I can't say for sure, but it was strange.
6) Does size matter? Probably. The year after they lost they mentioned how they had gone with a smaller sized team. The following year bigger kids were selected. It's not like being the biggest guarantees you a spot, but it is an advantage.
7) Worth the cost? That's debatable. Although the payment to CalSouth is minimal, over the Summer the first ID camp is in Ventura so you may have expenses for gas, hotel and dining. If you take the family, you could easily spend over $500 for the travel.
8) What should you expect if you go? - Your kid gets touches against great competition. Your kid will make friends, or at least recognize other ODP invites when at the same tournament. You can make friends or bond with the parents. If your kid gets picked, great. If not, move on and decide if you want to return if you get invited again. In Ventura, make time to stop by Duke's Griddle 'n Grill for lunch or dinner followed by Surf N Yogurt for dessert and watch out for the red-light cameras.


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## silverback (Mar 4, 2020)

No you do not, because DA selects girls from its own program and avoids selecting girls from other programs (e.g. ECNL) for political reasons. You of all people really think there are no ECNL girls in that group that are at the level of the girls selected for the list?




Just as a point of fact, there were a decent number of ECNL players at the recent U14 and U15 YNT regional camps (girls) and they have been present at the ID centers and there are some on the list for the 18th.


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## Woodwork (Mar 4, 2020)

I found this video detailing how ODP works here.


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## Soccerhelper (Mar 4, 2020)

I tell people to just keep having Hope and never give up because Hope keeps it alive


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## myself (Mar 4, 2020)

silverback said:


> No you do not, because DA selects girls from its own program and avoids selecting girls from other programs (e.g. ECNL) for political reasons. You of all people really think there are no ECNL girls in that group that are at the level of the girls selected for the list?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


How many ECNL girls out of SoCal (a DA dominant region) were picked? How many ECNL girls out of NorCal (an ECNL dominant region) were picked?


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## 46n2 (Mar 4, 2020)

WOO WOO


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