I think it is/can be a positive experience.
ODP was flawed prior to that.
The one ODP flaw I noticed back in 2017 was the selection process. The fact they missed on my goat and selected someone else's goat will haunt the selectors forever......lol and I am 99% joking. It would be funny and cool if my dd becomes the greatest of all time and was never selected to anything.
Anything that cost too much money is a big flaw. We didn't get to experience that financial flaw because she was not picked to pay to play that year. GDA was double or triple the cost to attend all the festivities. $10K-$15K a year bro just to participate. Basically, if you're a single mom making $60,000 a year, you need to cough up 25% of gross income in order for your player to play soccer at high level and travel in style. Like some have said, you can always ask for help for a free handout or full ride scholarship.
That is inaccurate. Because it is a “Olympic program” they are allowed to do both.
Never said it wasn’t flawed- the selection process was very flawed and often unfair but so is the YNT selection process. if you have tracked the YNT selectees now into college, several of them are not playing out like expected and others never selected are rising to the top. It would be curious to compare the ODP players verses the YNT players at the college level
I would expect to find very similar results. The variable is age. As kids get older their physical and chemical make up change. You see so many kids dominate at the younger ages but as they get older they become quite average and some who were average at the younger ages grow up to become dominant.
I know a few players from back in 2017 that quit soccer already ((torn ACL, boy friend, other sports, too much soccer non stop 24/7)) and some just lost their speed. I know a few players that never made any list ever, but made the U18 YNVT ((Our Country's Virtual Team)). I was sold by Doc that my dd was shooting for the U14 Youth National Team back in 2017. I found out it was actually just snake oil thrown in my face and I get that now. I rubbed it all out early and saw the TRUTH.. Oh boy, don;t we all need some snake oil squirted in our eyes? A little snake oil will make any man better.
100%. Plus I would also add that the selection process is conditional. You must obey and follow what US Soccer say's you have to do, to be in their subjective selection process. I honestly wish all the players the best of luck and i respect their decision, and I mean that. We all make our own choices and we must live them.
There are 4 girls from California on the 2005 ODP team going to NTC(two from the south, two from the north). My daughter didn't advance to National Training, losing out to two other keepers when she traveled to Florida in November. One thing I noticed is both those keepers were the same ODP NTC choices from 2019/2020. These choices are the final team chosen from all four regions in the country.
