Having personal experience in the DA I can tell you that her "theory" and DA "philosophy" is not consistently applied in all DA clubs/teams. What she is saying is not really happening in several club environments. I also think there is a cultural issue here - US Soccer is now being run almost exclusively by foreign nationals and often do not seem to understand American culture and values. College and education is valued and available in US. This is not the case in other countries so they do not think college has any value or purpose. I think that is a shame.
GU16 National Team
- Thread starter Dominic
- Start date
They already do - have you looked at the new recruits alone for 2019 at the top college programs? If college is crap and useless for soccer then why are so many foreign players jumping at the chance to come to America and play in college - from Japan, China, Sweden, England, Sweden, etc - the list goes on.
Free Education and the Opportunity to study abroad?
Check out Florida State's roster. National champs and always handful of foreign players. This isn't uncommon but becoming more frequent. Believe or not USSF, some players actually care about getting a degree. Maybe that degree will get someone paid more than 20k a year?
Surf Zombie
GOLD
FSU grad here. We were just in Tallahassee last summer. Soccer facility is insane.
SoccerFan4Life
PREMIER
Let’s also keep in mind that if we want to follow the European way of soccer, this may not work for our kids. Just look at the best academies in Europe, their youth players need to leave their homes and live and breadth soccer most of the year. These kids have to sacrifice school and college. Most end up playing soccer in Eastern Europe with very small salaries.
I don’t think that most parents in the USA would be willing to do this. Most girls will not sacrifice this. We do live in a country that everyone wants to move into. We have way too many opportunities and freedom that allows our kids (even great players) to give up soccer so they can pursue college or other sports. That’s not the case in most of the world.
I don’t think that most parents in the USA would be willing to do this. Most girls will not sacrifice this. We do live in a country that everyone wants to move into. We have way too many opportunities and freedom that allows our kids (even great players) to give up soccer so they can pursue college or other sports. That’s not the case in most of the world.
Couple of quotes that were not used so far in the discussion, which provide a hint that US Soccer will next do something at college level:
-- college question 1:
If you want to compete internationally with your national team you have to know and understand what happens internationally and you have to make sure that the development of your top players and the programs you offer are better than any other nation in the world.
For example, if international players from France or Spain at the U-17, U-19, and U-20 level train and play at the highest senior women’s level with the best and against the best, year-around, every day with the ball, 6-8 times a week, play 40 good and competitive games in a season, etc. Compare this for example with the length of the program our players have at college in the same age.
---
--- college question 2
So, for the top 2% players in the United States I could imagine a hybrid model. A year-around performance program that prepares players for international soccer but also helps you to get a degree. This could be in collaboration with college. Or it could also be a different pathway.
College soccer has been very good for the system for many years. It was good in an era when it was advanced compared to soccer programs in the rest of the world. Other countries didn’t have this sort of program and equal opportunities. This has changed and continues to change. Nowadays, to play and compete on the elite international level the college program is not enough anymore. It’s too short. The competition in three months is too many games in a short period. It impacts the physical health of the player. For the top 2% of the players. college soccer will not be good enough anymore in the future
---
MacDre
PREMIER
My kid started getting attention from Div 1 schools and foreign soccer academies when she was 10 years old. Believe it or not my experience dealing with US Soccer and the academies have been great.
However, the NCAA is the problem. I think most of the kids that this article is applicable to could enroll in a dual enrollment program and finish college early. The NCAA is not in favor of dual enrollment for athletes and have told me that if I enroll my kid full time her “eligibility clock” will start ticking. I was advised for her to take 11 units or less to give her time to grow.
I don’t see the NCAA and US Soccer collaborating on this issue anytime soon.
Have you visited Europe? The level of freedom in Spain, France, Germany, England, etc is the same as the US as are the opportunities. The whole idea that America is better than everywhere else is just a fallacy. The difference there is there are a ton of great academies, many within driving distance or a short train ride so you don't completely leave your family behind. You are implying that those kids don't do school and are only playing soccer and it's simply not true. In fact, many of them come to the US for school as it allows them to keep playing soccer while getting an education.
I do agree that most parents in the USA wouldn't send their kids away, but the reality, at least on the boys side, is becoming that if you want to play at a high level you have to go to a full time MLS academy.
SoccerFan4Life
PREMIER
MakeAPlay
DA
Europe has a bunch of small countries with no where near the scale that we have hear. She makes a lot of assumptions about a culture that is foreign to her.
The US WNT has such a huge pool to draw from that if they got a good coach and unified club, college and professional soccer we will continue to dominate. Try to do it Euro style with American values will lead to a decline. My kid loves soccer but she will make more money long term than those national team players with her JD and great connections.
The US WNT has such a huge pool to draw from that if they got a good coach and unified club, college and professional soccer we will continue to dominate. Try to do it Euro style with American values will lead to a decline. My kid loves soccer but she will make more money long term than those national team players with her JD and great connections.
100% correct!!!
How are the college coaches feeling about her comments? Club soccer is a business in USA and the customers want a scholarship into a great university. I know some girls who have 4.5 gpa and are good soccer players (sometimes start or come off the bench) getting full rides into major universities. That's pretty cool. What is she actually offering our dds? I don't know anyone getting a pro deal except OM. Good for her. But she's giving up a lot too. What about 18 year olds getting big contracts before college?
MacDre
PREMIER
Who would be some potential good coaches? How would college look under this unified scheme?
oh canada
GOLD
I missed the below quote from SoccerNation when it came out last October, but worth posting in this thread as it sheds more light on her philosophy. My biggest issue with the DA and all-encompassing requirements/dedication is its simply a couple years too early. Especially now since college coaches can have NO contact before summer going into junior year, asking 13 year olds to make a decision about complete dedication to soccer vs. other sports/activities is premature. Both my sons and daughter were just starting to discover their interests at 12/13. Better for DA to start sophomore year in HS, 15yrs. Especially since the science, yes science, shows that soccer talent/ability really doesn't start to show until 15yrs old, when most players are mature or close to it. That's science and logic, the below is not...
Mirelle van Rijbroek is the Director of Talent Identification for US Soccer. I asked her to explain US Soccer’s decision to not allow DA players to play for their high school teams.
“Imagine you get into Harvard. You go to Harvard, and you’re in a very high-level environment. There are big group projects to work on that are crucial to your education. Those projects are going to help you learn how to handle huge stressful situations later in life. But then you want to take a few months off to go to a different school for a while. Think Harvard will be OK with that? You think that’s going to be beneficial to your Harvard education? Furthermore, you’ll be leaving the members of your group without an important member of the team, while you take a few months to go do something else. It’s not fair to the group left behind. Additionally, it’s not going to be good for your own education. You can’t just leave for a few months.”
Mirelle van Rijbroek is the Director of Talent Identification for US Soccer. I asked her to explain US Soccer’s decision to not allow DA players to play for their high school teams.
“Imagine you get into Harvard. You go to Harvard, and you’re in a very high-level environment. There are big group projects to work on that are crucial to your education. Those projects are going to help you learn how to handle huge stressful situations later in life. But then you want to take a few months off to go to a different school for a while. Think Harvard will be OK with that? You think that’s going to be beneficial to your Harvard education? Furthermore, you’ll be leaving the members of your group without an important member of the team, while you take a few months to go do something else. It’s not fair to the group left behind. Additionally, it’s not going to be good for your own education. You can’t just leave for a few months.”
That quote is the stupidest analogy/shit I ever heard... Again, these people espouse whatever BS they want in order to push their agenda and expect everyone to just eat it and follow. The arrogance is astounding.
“Imagine you get into Harvard. You go to Harvard, and you’re in a very high-level environment. There are big group projects to work on that are crucial to your education. Those projects are going to help you learn how to handle huge stressful situations later in life. But then you want to take a few months off to go to a different school for a while. Think Harvard will be OK with that? You think that’s going to be beneficial to your Harvard education? Furthermore, you’ll be leaving the members of your group without an important member of the team, while you take a few months to go do something else. It’s not fair to the group left behind. Additionally, it’s not going to be good for your own education. You can’t just leave for a few months.”[/QUOTE]
I was confused by her comments but I think I decoded it.
"Imagine you dd works hard to be the best she can be. Plays for a top SoCal team, a high-level environment. There are big DA Showcases on the horizon that is crucial to your dd education. These games are going to help her learn how to handle huge stressful situations later in life. But then your dd decided to take a few months off to play HS Soccer. You think the the DA will be ok with that? You think your dd is going to be scouted by my scouts? Furthermore, you'll be leaving your team to go play a horrible game of HS soccer with friends while your true friends play 4 days a week, 10 months out of the year. Additionally, you will never set foot on a YNT if you don't choose the DA. You can't play high school soccer for a few months, period!!!
P.S if you have lot's of $$$ for private school you can do both....wink wink
"
I was confused by her comments but I think I decoded it.
"Imagine you dd works hard to be the best she can be. Plays for a top SoCal team, a high-level environment. There are big DA Showcases on the horizon that is crucial to your dd education. These games are going to help her learn how to handle huge stressful situations later in life. But then your dd decided to take a few months off to play HS Soccer. You think the the DA will be ok with that? You think your dd is going to be scouted by my scouts? Furthermore, you'll be leaving your team to go play a horrible game of HS soccer with friends while your true friends play 4 days a week, 10 months out of the year. Additionally, you will never set foot on a YNT if you don't choose the DA. You can't play high school soccer for a few months, period!!!
P.S if you have lot's of $$$ for private school you can do both....wink wink
"I'm new here (my dd plays DA but I really don't care about organizational badges - give me a great coach with connections regardless of that) but would like to chime in from the perspective of organizational practices. While I can't speak to the exact reasons no ECNL players were selected (I believe they were for other age groups?), I could see why, as an organization that follows specific processes, selection would be stacked against non-DA players. Why is that? Well, we can talk about ego (and that typically comes into play for most organizations) but the reality is that DA has structured themselves to control the development and resources of their own players. They can 'ensure' the resources and quality of coaches for the players within the system and as the player moves forward. For example, if you have two relatively similar 04 players - one from DA and one from another organization - US Soccer knows they have a level of control over the development and environment for the DA player but not the other. For all they know or have visibility on, the non-DA player might be assigned a non-certified coach next year on a crappy field, only practice twice a week and play with crappy amateur refs. US Soccer would have no say over that. While the two players are equal now, moving forward they know the development framework for one but the other is a wildcard. So, from these two relatively equal players they will always select the one they have some control/visibility over. If some club they don't control ruins the development of a player going forward toward senior teams then that is a wasted pick. A U-15 YNT selection probably isn't seen only as a reward by them but also a player they can invest in going forward within a developmental framework they have confidence in.
Again, not saying it is right or wrong as that sort of how one interprets what it means to be picked for a YNT, but from an organizational point of view they want some control on the future development of their players. They can't keep track of all non-DA organizations so they can't ensure what happens there. I know last year my dd DA club was audited by DA both in terms of club processes, resources and quality of play. There are DA reps at many league games and these games are review sessions not just for the players but also the club, the coaches, the refs, the fields and so on. All things being relatively equal an organization (of any sort) will always pick what they control. As they move forward my guess is that a non-DA player would just have to be obviously significantly better than their competition to get a spot.
Again, not saying it is right or wrong as that sort of how one interprets what it means to be picked for a YNT, but from an organizational point of view they want some control on the future development of their players. They can't keep track of all non-DA organizations so they can't ensure what happens there. I know last year my dd DA club was audited by DA both in terms of club processes, resources and quality of play. There are DA reps at many league games and these games are review sessions not just for the players but also the club, the coaches, the refs, the fields and so on. All things being relatively equal an organization (of any sort) will always pick what they control. As they move forward my guess is that a non-DA player would just have to be obviously significantly better than their competition to get a spot.
SoccerFan4Life
PREMIER
Off topic’s opinion makes sense. It’s like the MLB and their minor league system. Most players come from this system but they do recruit a standout Cuban, Dominican, Japanese, player outside of this system.