ODP in California

FernandoFromNationalCity said:
My daughter made the travel 18 for the 05’s.This is her 3rd time she’s made it and is the last year for her age group..And looking at the team they are top tier players on the team.. some Ecnl some Ga some SoCal..The competition to make the team is very competitive. I personally don’t think odp is a joke it’s actually a great experience for the girls that make it to the final 18. It’s a great network tool for the kids.. I always found it funny when parents usually shit on the program have never really had their kids in it..
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We will be there with you. Daughter is goalkeeper. See you Sunday at the last training. :) We were also fortunate to make the West Region team that went to Orlando for the Interregional over Thanksgiving. Great experience. I believe 4 of those girls from that team have already committed D1 and more to follow. The Cal-South team is very solid and should do really well in Arizona.

Has it helped my daughter's college recruiting experience, some. A few coaches have congratulated her on making the West Region team, a couple were able to watch on video her games. The upcoming tourney Jan 6-10 will hopefully see some college coaches there. Additionally my daughter has invited a number of coaches there by email. ODP has also given her a huge taste of what it is like to have 4 very good defenders as well as great first touches so she can play passes to players that she can't with her club team.

Learning to play with new teammates in 3-4 practices is a great experience as well. Many of these players have been with the same club for 2-4 years and being taken out of their comfort zone to learn to mesh with new players and styles is an important skill as they get ready to move on to college.

I think there is also a sense of pride representing your State vs other States, at least on the girls side. We shall see. Just hope we get some rainless days. Tired of it already.
 
socalkdg said:
We will be there with you. Daughter is goalkeeper. See you Sunday at the last training. :) We were also fortunate to make the West Region team that went to Orlando for the Interregional over Thanksgiving. Great experience. I believe 4 of those girls from that team have already committed D1 and more to follow. The Cal-South team is very solid and should do really well in Arizona.

Has it helped my daughter's college recruiting experience, some. A few coaches have congratulated her on making the West Region team, a couple were able to watch on video her games. The upcoming tourney Jan 6-10 will hopefully see some college coaches there. Additionally my daughter has invited a number of coaches there by email. ODP has also given her a huge taste of what it is like to have 4 very good defenders as well as great first touches so she can play passes to players that she can't with her club team.

Learning to play with new teammates in 3-4 practices is a great experience as well. Many of these players have been with the same club for 2-4 years and being taken out of their comfort zone to learn to mesh with new players and styles is an important skill as they get ready to move on to college.

I think there is also a sense of pride representing your State vs other States, at least on the girls side. We shall see. Just hope we get some rainless days. Tired of it already.
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Congratulations!!! Same with my daughter as far as the networking. Odp helped her get on a better competitive team than the one she was on before. Also playing with girls who have the same drive to compete! See you Sunday!
 
FernandoFromNationalCity said:
Congratulations!!! Same with my daughter as far as the networking. Odp helped her get on a better competitive team than the one she was on before. Also playing with girls who have the same drive to compete! See you Sunday!
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So my wife is talking to another mom at one of our High School games. Our best field player is an 2022 grad and her ECNL coach is watching her play and after asks about my daughter and playing ECNL. Even High School offers networking. Who knew.

DM me. Probably sure our kids already know each other.
 
socalkdg said:
So my wife is talking to another mom at one of our High School games. Our best field player is an 2022 grad and her ECNL coach is watching her play and after asks about my daughter and playing ECNL. Even High School offers networking. Who knew.

DM me. Probably sure our kids already know each other.
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I love the networking part of being a local high school soccer player in the community. The place my kid works at tells all the locals to come out to see the matches. Guys and girls working together to make the high school soccer experience wonderful. My dd had the goal of her life last year and it's still talked about around town. Local top D? told my dd head coach he will be coming out for a league match to try and persuade her and another player to play local college ball.
 
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RedDevilDad said:
Boys side as well. None of the top teams have players represented at any age level. None of the top 150 players from TDS have ever done SoCal ODP. I have also seen players with ODP on their resume unable to make mid-table DA clubs or now MLS Next and top ECNL.
To nominate for ODP, a club can just go to the link they're given, list the players they want to keep happy, I mean nominate, then put in the license number of the DOC... and congrats your kid in on ODP. I have personally completed this for a previous club.

If your kid gets nominated... congrats. Enjoy it for what it is but don't expect that it will result in any YNT scouting or anything even remotely related to playing at a higher level. I have seen parents turn down moves to "higher" teams or leagues because a coach promised them ODP.

I would equate ODP to getting invited to train with a high level camp that you pay $200 to be at.
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There are actually several National pool players that attend ODP. Mostly ECNL with Some GA players. It’s great competition and coaching. I find it amusing how People try to discredit it without really seeing the experience these players get. I’ve seen National pool players that are not as good or no difference as non pool players, but in the end they select a discrete amount of players that were seen in the right moment by the right person And they usually stay in the National pool despite other players being out there. ODP is very similar, but it doesn’t change the fact that these are top players.
 
Chelseafc said:
There are actually several National pool players that attend ODP. Mostly ECNL with Some GA players. It’s great competition and coaching. I find it amusing how People try to discredit it without really seeing the experience these players get. I’ve seen National pool players that are not as good or no difference as non pool players, but in the end they select a discrete amount of players that were seen in the right moment by the right person And they usually stay in the National pool despite other players being out there. ODP is very similar, but it doesn’t change the fact that these are top players.
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Based on what some dad's see with all the soccer players we have heading into 2022, we have the following levels of players in socal

Awful Player
AYSO Player
Subpar Player
Rugby Player ((crush coined that one))
ECNL Player
GAL Player
National Pool Player
ODP Player
Developed Player
Elite Player
Regional Elite Player
College Player
Pro Player
Local Player
Unicorn Player

I see a big problem you guys. We lost the true meaning of sport. The girls love soccer and want to play for many different reasons. I keep hearing people say their is no money for girls in soccer. WTF is that said all the time? I see parents spending $15K a year to help player make it as a player. I see coaches making a find living coaching the girls and I like that. Let's make it better for the girls because it's the girls running around risking ACL every time they lace up.
 
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Chelseafc said:
There are actually several National pool players that attend ODP. Mostly ECNL with Some GA players. It’s great competition and coaching. I find it amusing how People try to discredit it without really seeing the experience these players get. I’ve seen National pool players that are not as good or no difference as non pool players, but in the end they select a discrete amount of players that were seen in the right moment by the right person And they usually stay in the National pool despite other players being out there. ODP is very similar, but it doesn’t change the fact that these are top players.
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A. I was talking about boys.
B. I have said I was talking about boys several times.
C. Not trying to discredit as much as not overvalue... on the boys side, I did not speak to the girls as that is not my experience. I said, take it as a compliment on the boys side but it's nothing more than being invited to train with a high quality expensive trainer.
D. If anyone's child was invited and loved it... great. I'm happy for you. I still think it's unproductive on the boys side in SoCal.
E. My opinion doesn't devalue your kid or your parenting so... your job is use the system to your kid's advantage and needs. I was just trying to offer a perspective so a parent has all the resources at their disposal.
F. Did I mention, I responded to the OP regarding boys?
 
Ellejustus said:
Based on what some dad's see with all the soccer players we have heading into 2022, we have the following levels of players in socal

Awful Player
AYSO Player
Subpar Player
Rugby Player ((crush coined that one))
ECNL Player
GAL Player
National Pool Player
ODP Player
Developed Player
Elite Player
Regional Elite Player
College Player
Pro Player
Local Player

I see a big problem you guys. We lost the true meaning of sport. The girls love soccer and want to play for many different reasons. I keep hearing people say their is no money for girls in soccer. WTF is that said all the time? I see parents spending $15K a year to help player make it as a player. I see coaches making a find living coaching the girls and I like that. Let's make it better for the girls because it's the girls running around risking ACL every time they lace up.
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I really love your point, but would add that there is huge value in developing highly disciplined and goal oriented teenagers and soccer is great to start that development. Life skills are transferable.
 
Chelseafc said:
I really love your point, but would add that there is huge value in developing highly disciplined and goal oriented teenagers and soccer is great to start that development. Life skills are transferable.
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I agree. I will add "Unicorn Player." I totally forgot about that player.
 
RedDevilDad said:
A. I was talking about boys.
B. I have said I was talking about boys several times.
C. Not trying to discredit as much as not overvalue... on the boys side, I did not speak to the girls as that is not my experience. I said, take it as a compliment on the boys side but it's nothing more than being invited to train with a high quality expensive trainer.
D. If anyone's child was invited and loved it... great. I'm happy for you. I still think it's unproductive on the boys side in SoCal.
E. My opinion doesn't devalue your kid or your parenting so... your job is use the system to your kid's advantage and needs. I was just trying to offer a perspective so a parent has all the resources at their disposal.
F. Did I mention, I responded to the OP regarding boys?
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On the boys side (which is all I know), my experience is the Winter Pool is where you find the basic DOC nominated random kids from random clubs, whereas the Spring/Summer pool is where you see a bit higher overall quality. Why the difference? In a typical year, the team selected from the Spring/Summer pool gets invited to the ODP summer training camp at the Thatcher School in Ojai. That is the core of the team they will take to Arizona representing Cal South in the West Region Championships. They are the ones who were scouted during National Cup and made it through the two weekend gauntlet of tryouts. They then invite the Spring/Summer team to the Winter Pool, using it largely as training for Arizona. Some kids, however, will misbehave or under-perform at that summer camp and some won't be able to go to Winter Pool training or to Arizona because it is during winter break. So, they also invite the kids who were part of the final 36 (basically those invited to the last weekend of pool tryouts) in Spring to the Winter pool, just in case and some definitely do make the final team. That still leaves some space in the Winter Pool and that is where they basically take almost anyone nominated since they haven't done any scouting. I've definitely since kids taken from the second teams of smaller clubs just because Cal South wants to throw those member clubs a bone and the coach of the first team didn't nominate any players.

This doesn't mean those kids shouldn't feel good that someone was willing to nominate them. Moreover, the cost for those pool weekends is the same as the cost for a College ID camp and the ODP camps are probably worth more than most of the big D1 College ID camps where a whole bunch of random players attend (since the colleges are prohibited from screening the players) and the colleges sometimes physically separate out the players they want to see from the rest of the players.
 
Regardless of anyone says this is a great accomplishment for any kid at any level.

But I think for the girls side it holds more value since the boys side are not allowed to recruit MLS next players. It’s also important to note some players are late bloomers so I’m certain we have some potential future YNT boys in ODP.
 
Here's my take on parents who bad-mouth ODP (and my kid no longer is permitted to be in ODP, so I don't have any current stake in the program).

Some parents whose kids don't get selected or can't play because they are in DA (now MLS Next), grumble since they consciously or subconsciously feel that accolades for other kids will devalue their kid's own accomplishments. That doesn't mean they aren't right that the competition level is uneven or that other selective opportunities might be better if you are forced to choose, but it grinds their gears, so-to-speak, that no one is talking about their own kids who they "know" are better.

It's analogous to the debate about the value of playing High School soccer. Parents whose kids don't/can't play HS soccer sometimes don't want to give props to kids who play and do well because their kids aren't in it. By the same token, parents whose kids do play HS soccer don't want to give props to a kid called "First Team CIF" without a qualifier that they played in D6, for example, because their own kids played in D1 or at a stronger school and aren't similarly honored (or were named First Team CIF in D1 and feel giving the title to others in lower divisions devalues their own title).

There's truth that it's not about the Olympics or the National Team. The benefit of keeping the Olympic Development Program name (and the reason ID2 cites itself as being part of the ODP umbrella is well) is that it triggers certain benefits under Federal and State Law, including allowing players to compete even when they are in HS soccer. There's truth that there are some politics potentially involved. Nevertheless, I'm not sure any of that really differs from any other recognition opportunity in youth soccer.
 
This is a typical thread devolving into a parent feel good exercise through their kids.

Also, who in their right soccer mind would mention SD Force? If you have chosen SD Force, a DPL club going nowhere, over all other options in your area...you're not serious about your kids soccer future, let alone an ODP discussion.
 
Times have changed but not sure pro+/ODP has keep up well enough.

Being a cal south run operation limits the pool a bunch.

US Club Soccer’s id2 National Identification and Development Program seems to be growing and they where out in force during the fall. No cost unlike pro/ODP which really should be free

Once upon a time ODP was very good before the calendar year split and Ussda, ECXx and the usclub leagues took off.

Our youngest was invited and went the first two weekends when they started at u12 or U13 can't remember which. However, during the 2nd weekend they informed the players that any prospective Ussda players would not be eligible if they switched leagues and to let them know what the players plans where for the upcoming season.

A good dozen or so players didn't show for the Sunday training, my son didn't say anything but since he was teammates with the others they didn't show the writing was on the wall and the final selections where strictly along those lines, only players from the dedicated CS clubs where selected. No biggie for our player since he went DA but some of his friends stayed with CS and they had a good run and time with ODP back then but in today's fractured climate not sure.
 
lafalafa said:
Times have changed but not sure pro+/ODP has keep up well enough.

Being a cal south run operation limits the pool a bunch.

US Club Soccer’s id2 National Identification and Development Program seems to be growing and they where out in force during the fall. No cost unlike pro/ODP which really should be free

Once upon a time ODP was very good before the calendar year split and Ussda, ECXx and the usclub leagues took off.

Our youngest was invited and went the first two weekends when they started at u12 or U13 can't remember which. However, during the 2nd weekend they informed the players that any prospective Ussda players would not be eligible if they switched leagues and to let them know what the players plans where for the upcoming season.

A good dozen or so players didn't show for the Sunday training, my son didn't say anything but since he was teammates with the others they didn't show the writing was on the wall and the final selections where strictly along those lines, only players from the dedicated CS clubs where selected. No biggie for our player since he went DA but some of his friends stayed with CS and they had a good run and time with ODP back then but in today's fractured climate not sure.
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Interesting since at least 2/3 of the 2005 girls roster is US Club Soccer players. They made it easy for parents and players to get signed up as it was only $25 more to get a USYS card so that they were eligible for ODP. This opened it up to all ECNL and SoCal players. Most of the other states teams are made up of ECNL players.
 
Cal South commented on this:

“We realize that the soccer picture in Southern California is very confusing right now,” said Hoffman. “With several competitive leagues operating in the area, it is important that we stress that Cal South Pro+ ODP has always been open to all players regardless of where they play. We accept recommendations for unaffiliated players and scout them the same way as affiliated players. The emphasis in identifying the talented players who make up these winter pools is based on assessment and development.”

So @lafalafa I believe this has changed, at least on the girls side. Pretty sure of the 18 chosen for 2005, only 3-4 are Coast Soccer.
 
socalkdg said:
Interesting since at least 2/3 of the 2005 girls roster is US Club Soccer players. They made it easy for parents and players to get signed up as it was only $25 more to get a USYS card so that they were eligible for ODP. This opened it up to all ECNL and SoCal players. Most of the other states teams are made up of ECNL players.
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Well your assuming that a club is also part of USYS and they want to give CS more registration fees and register phantom teams or something along those lines.

Obviously that's not the case and there are large number of players that don't have CS cards anymore.

Nothing CS does is open up to ECNL players, dual registration means your part of CS also and paying for that and following all those guidelines that go with.
 
socalkdg said:
Cal South commented on this:

“We realize that the soccer picture in Southern California is very confusing right now,” said Hoffman. “With several competitive leagues operating in the area, it is important that we stress that Cal South Pro+ ODP has always been open to all players regardless of where they play. We accept recommendations for unaffiliated players and scout them the same way as affiliated players. The emphasis in identifying the talented players who make up these winter pools is based on assessment and development.”

So @lafalafa I believe this has changed, at least on the girls side. Pretty sure of the 18 chosen for 2005, only 3-4 are Coast Soccer.
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Yeah and I have swamp land in playa Vista I can sell you for cheap.
 
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