Probably used as a recruitment tool (play with us and I'll recommend you to PDP) + a way for clubs/docs/coaches with connections to flex on those that don't. Just another way to indirectly "sell" access to higher level play.
How’s the 2023-24 season going?
- Thread starter CharlieMurfee
- Start date
Teddy_Olive
BRONZE
Seems like it’s a good confidence builder for the players and a gauge for coaches to get an early start as to who will eventually get recruited to play D1 and beyond. If 30 girls made the SoCal PDP team. Those girls are probably the top G10 players in the country.
Fieldsofgold
SILVER
PDP does appear to be a good recruiting tool. I'm aware of plenty of 08 players who were not ID'd for PDP and are now killing it and on track to compete at the D1 level.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
I wouldn't go that far. There will be headscratchers on who made the lists and who didn't. These type of lists should be taken with a grain of salt and are not a guarantee of future success.
Not quite that strong. Call it 30 of the top 200, and you're about right.
Not so much faulting the list as just recognizing the talent in the rest of the country.
Fieldsofgold
SILVER
A grain of salt indeed. Top 30 in the country is huge stretch considering Texas and the east coast produce phenomenal teams as well.
Teddy_Olive
BRONZE
Sensing a little jealousy of the girls who made the team. Not saying they are the best G10 players in the country but certainly they fall somewhere within the top 100. A recruiters dream and an early indicator of who will eventually draw D1 interest. If you put the best players from SD Surf, Koge, and Blues on the same team you would probably get similar results. We will know fairly soon
Fieldsofgold
SILVER
No jealously, I always chuckle at so cal parents who make the comments about their kid being the top in the country at such young ages. There are so many strong talented players left off those list. And, there is an entire country outside of so cal with very talented players. Not taking anything away for those who have made it as they are talented in their own right.
Orangeteam
SILVER ELITE
So Cal and Nor Cal have the pdp program embededded into the region already so those kids get a crack ID2 via their normal pdp process. Across the coutry this isn't the case with everyone else. These kids have to seek out the ID2 trials and there are plenty of good 09s who didn't even tryout last year.
It would be very safe to assume there are really good 2010s who didn't go to their local tryout and will be left off the roster as a result.
It would be very safe to assume there are really good 2010s who didn't go to their local tryout and will be left off the roster as a result.
Congratulations to the 30 girls that made the id2 cut. I know that 2 of the top 2010 players in the country are not in PDP or ID2. Also I'm very surprised that no Blues players made the 30.
JustaSpectator
SILVER
Congratulations to all players (& their parents) who made PDP & ID2
I agree, Luis. Not seeing a few top ranked players or teams on any of the 3 (included ODP in this 3 count) is a huge red flag, IMO. I'm certain some clubs have restricted teams/players from participating and that would make sense.
RobbieNorwood
BRONZE
I've been told by some coaches during our search that they have the right connections to keep my daughter in ODP and or PDP player pool. From talking to the parents it seems these programs in SoCal mean nothing like they do in other regions and its nothing more for the governing body's to make more money. Noticed an AYSO United player was listed on the id2 list. Is Ayso considered a strong program here that they can produce better players then the Blues? If so, impressive. Also confused on how kids get selected by the programs? Have all the leagues merged? I've been made aware of SoCal Soccer league and Cal South. How can players be part of one league and program out here and get to try out for the complete opposite. Strange system if the best players do not get a chance to compete for roster spot. GA and RL players over NL players????
Any kind of Coach or DOC selected player "all star" player pool is going to be questioned.
Now you know why parents give Christmas presents to coaches, pay coaches for privates, attend parent/coach golfing events. What about all the drinks at the bar at travel tournaments? Etc etc etc...
My issue with ID events like PDP is that all coach recommendations carry the same weight + usually coaches are able to recommend 1-3 per team. If a team is terrible why should their 3 recommendations carry the same weight as the team that wins week after week? What should happen is that the team that wins all the time should be give 6 spots and the terrible team 0. Unfortunately this never happens because if it did terrible clubs would just stop participating.
I think you’re confusing team achievements for individual achievements. Team may be top tear but doesn’t mean they have 11 top tier players out there. A team can be bottom tier, it doesn’t mean you have 11 players that are all bottom tier. The nomination gets you to be seen. What you can do keeps you there.
That’s the advantage you get sometimes being a top player on a lesser team and a disadvantage of being a top player on a top team. The top player blends in with their teammates and those standouts get recognition where as the top player on the lesser team stands out and gets the recognition individually.
There are girls playing NPL and ECRL right now for those reasons where they’ll continue to get 100% playtime where if they were apart of the herd they’d be rotating and sharing minutes with all the other DDs out there and just blending in. So ya, I can see why a coach recommendation can have the same weight even if it’s from a bottom team.
Eventually, individual achievements should add up to team achievements. I can believe one or two stars on a weak team. More than that, and I’d expect them to start racking up the wins.
When you go to one of these “super elite” things and see 5-6 players from the same mid level team, it’s pretty clear that something is wrong. Mid level teams don’t have 6 all-stars. If they did, they’d win more.
At higher levels all positions need to be strong. This is because opponents scout your team + look for weaknesses to exploit.
At lower levels a single stand out player can make the difference between wins and losses. Until you've seen it, it's hard to understand but at higher levels a single strong forward will get stuffed.
This is why it's so difficult to win at the highest levels. Teams have to be strong in all positions.
Does this explain why winning high level teams should have more talent ID picks than losing high level teams?
Some teams do well because they have role players that do their roles well. Those players don’t get picked for the All Star games and I believe that’s the case in this circumstance. If you watch any high level sports you’d understand the point I’m making here. Sorry to hurt some egos but yes, those DDs are amazing players, but maybe some didn’t make the all star list and that’s ok.
As an example, Robert Horry has 7 NBA championships. Never made the all star team. He was NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1993) Second-team All-SEC (1992) Third-team All-SEC (1990) SEC All-Defensive Team (1992) Fourth-team Parade All-American (1988). But nope, not an all star. But he did his role well on his championship teams.
6s 8s and Defenders typically get screwed for Talent IDs. At higher levels coaches and recruiters understand the value these positions bring. But, they're usually secondary picks.
I've never understood the logic of picking forwards first, mids and goalies second, and defenders third.
If your opponent never has an opportunity to score because of strong mids and defenders by default forwards will have more opportunities.
Every team needs straight DAWGS if they are going to win. There were some definite misses in this PDP list and as always the focus is on the sexy positions but everyone knows what wins championships. Its a proven FACT. This PDP team will most likely crush everyone in Spain so honestly it doesn't even need the strongest defenders on it.