U.S. Soccer Development Academy: A strain on players?

Hi, thank you for this fantastic post, a truly great beginning for the 2010, keep up the wonderful work, Tonia.

Why can't players play HS & be on the Academy? Come on, let's face it-yeah, sure the Academy is supposed to be the so-called elite players but how many honestly will get scholarships unless you're a Ronaldinho? Very very few-that was told us by college coaches from all over the country at the recent Red Bull showcase.

I know so many kids who really wanted to play on their HS team and it was a tough tough choice to give it up to play Academy. For what? So they can practice 6 hours on school nights and play 1 game a month! Whereas HS is fun, you're with friends, you get to play in games every week, you wear your school's uniform, maybe you get local coverage in the hometown paper.

And for the Academy coaches who say HS coaches will poison their players? Bah! How can playing, exercising, running & drills spoil a good player?

This schedule and restriction takes the FUN out of the sport.

High School soccer is not equivalent to Academy soccer, watching a single game is enough to see that; but it can offer something different, but also essential.

Club soccer tends to be a rather ragtag collection of kids with no common bond other than being good at soccer. A good player at a good club will be provided the opportunity to develop his or her skills, tactics, and knowledge of the game. What's missing? Most often the tight team bond is absent, and this is an element of the sport that is essential both for teams and individuals to excel.

High schools on the other hand have become somewhat notorious for playing low-brow soccer, favoring larger, faster athletes over skilled soccer players with better game sense. Development is something they are expected to bring to tryouts, a player is more likely to get injured than developed during the high school season. High school soccer, however, integrates the game into their daily lives. They are playing for the school, it is part of their social identity. Some schools will require the players to dress to a code for school on game days, and they may ride the bus together to away games. Players are more likely to get the tight team bond from being on a High School team than they are from playing on any current clubs.

Ultimately we need to find a way to integrate this all together, our players should be playing high quality soccer all year round instead of dipping into a very physical but inferior level of play, and they need to have the emotional / social attachment to their team, even if it isn't a school team.

Clubs and High School programs have to involve, but ultimately they need to integrate for the benefit of both.

EP

The problem is that High Soccer is played in the winter in CIF Southern Section while other CIF sections and most of the U.S., Soccers is played in the fall.

Nobody was saying that high school soccer is anywhere near as good as academy or club soccer.

In fact, I think most of the commenters agreed that high school soccer isn't as good.

The problem with playing the high school season in the fall is obvious -- conflict with football. Beyond the fact that many kids play both sports, scheduling two soccer teams (Varsity and JV) and three football teams (Varsity, JV and Freshman) on the limited practice fields available in Southern Californi is just simply impossible.

These parents who think that Academy is crucial to playing soccer in college -- well, they're wrong, although it would be tough to play NCAA Div I if you weren't in Academy.

But the number of kids who are Div I soccer players is pretty limited. Div I schools issue perhaps four new scholarships a year. They are limited to -- I think -- 13 full-ride slots.

There are, maybe, 15 Div I men's soccer programs on the West Coast, and they recruit nationally. And there are hundreds of Academy players on the West Coast alone. Do the math, parents.

Div III schools, for example, have much greater flexibility when it comes to scholarships because they don't give athletic scholarships. They can find other money to get your son at their school to play soccer.

Oh, and by the way, the focus in these schools is on your education, not on your athletic performance.

So move the Academy schedule to March to July and keep the club season as is, and let the boys play with their friends in the winter.

Ask the players that play academy which they prefer. Academy ball or High school? High school is NOT as competitive as academy play. There are a few HS teams that have enough high level players to field decent teams. But most do not. Play HS soccer in the Fall and play Club and Academy Winter through Summer. Academy soccer is supposed to be for the very best players. While I recognize that cost and travel considerations along with politics will keep some of the best from playing it is still better training than HS. Those that criticize the Academies, Clubs etc are those that likely cannot afford it or did not get the college offer they hoped would come. My son got overlooked by some clubs and some ODP opportunities, but believed in his ability. He walked on in college and plays ahead of many of the same players that were selected by youth clubs and ODP programs. If your good enough and perservere you can make it happen. There is much to complain about the Academy and Club system but lets not compare HS soccer to club or academy level play. Not close. HS soccer was fun and my son loved it, but it was not close to the same level.

What i have come to find out is that not only has the Academy system created a monopoly for a few, select clubs to pick and choose a few select players to play for them at a high level but it has also resulted in having many quality players be overlooked by everyone. By the time a player hits hig school, you're either playing academy or nothing, even playing gold and premier mean very little now. Now put into perspectice that their are only a number of academies in the area; (their is only one in the west SGV,LAFC) the spots at these academies are limited, so when these spots become occupied where do the left over players go? playing club for the left over club teams will not get them any attention so they play high school. However, the high school game doesn't have all the prime talent it once had so many of these players will never get a chance to get the attention they deserve.The solution is this aforementioned system where the academy is scheduled around high school season, at least that way many players who would never be seen can be seen by college coaches or academies.

The few soccer players who may benefit from this and other high strung sports programs, no matter what sport, damage the quality of play for other high school athletes and diminish every high school program. What the parents of these kids need to recognize is that, in almost all likelihood, their boy or girl is not going to break through. It just will not happen. Let them have joy instead.

I agree with the other high school sports fan with a few other observations. Many soccer coaches are obsessed with the game to the detriment of the kids. Most great athletes played multiple sports (Bo Jackson) or developed late in their teens (ie Michael Jordan). The European landscape is littered with old (in their 20's) broken down athletes who couldn't get a break in their club system. They now just drink, drive cabs or subsist in other minimally paid jobs.

The US baseball system was similar until the majority of kids started going to college to hone their skills. Have you notice the intellectual and sports maturity. High school is for educational.

Also if the USA wants to compete with the world in soccer start paying money. Imagine Terrel Owens or Larry Fitzgerald as strikers. Reggie Bush as an attacking mid, or your avergae NFL DB as a defender, please. Landon Donovan can't compare athletically to the 90% of the college skill position players. Throw in a ball handlling field general and the USA would demolish the remainder of the world.

Final word. Let kids be kids and don't expect your child to be the next Mia Hamm or Ronaldo.

I agree with the other high school sports fan with a few other observations. Many soccer coaches are obsessed with the game to the detriment of the kids. Most great athletes played multiple sports (Bo Jackson) or developed late in their teens (ie Michael Jordan). The European landscape is littered with old (in their 20's) broken down athletes who couldn't get a break in their club system. They now just drink, drive cabs or subsist in other minimally paid jobs.

The US baseball system was similar until the majority of kids started going to college to hone their skills. Have you notice the intellectual and sports maturity. High school is for educational.

Also if the USA wants to compete with the world in soccer start paying money. Imagine Terrel Owens or Larry Fitzgerald as strikers. Reggie Bush as an attacking mid, or your avergae NFL DB as a defender, please. Landon Donovan can't compare athletically to the 90% of the college skill position players. Throw in a ball handlling field general and the USA would demolish the remainder of the world.

Final word. Let kids be kids and don't expect your child to be the next Mia Hamm or Ronaldo.

I agree with the other high school sports fan with a few other observations. Many soccer coaches are obsessed with the game to the detriment of the kids. Most great athletes played multiple sports (Bo Jackson) or developed late in their teens (ie Michael Jordan). The European landscape is littered with old (in their 20's) broken down athletes who couldn't get a break in their club system. They now just drink, drive cabs or subsist in other minimally paid jobs.

The US baseball system was similar until the majority of kids started going to college to hone their skills. Have you notice the intellectual and sports maturity. High school is for educational.

Also if the USA wants to compete with the world in soccer start paying money. Imagine Terrel Owens or Larry Fitzgerald as strikers. Reggie Bush as an attacking mid, or your avergae NFL DB as a defender, please. Landon Donovan can't compare athletically to the 90% of the college skill position players. Throw in a ball handlling field general and the USA would demolish the remainder of the world.

Final word. Let kids be kids and don't expect your child to be the next Mia Hamm or Ronaldo.

The Academy is a good idea for developing professional soccer players. In fact, it's a great idea. It will lead to the US finally producing large numbers of quality players, improving our domestic leagues (MLS, etc.) and making the national team a force to be reckoned with.

The problem is that the schedule it has forces players to make an unpleasant choice: play with your friends and classmates for your school or play for your academy team.

I've had three children who grew up in club soccer, and let me tell you it was a great experience in the younger age levels. By the time they get to a high level at U16-U19, however, it really just becomes a job for the kids.

In fact, in the rest of the world, at that age level, it is a job.

Club players play year-round from the time they enter club (many at U9).

The USSF could really lighten up here and give these kids a break for a few months in the winter. Very few of the Academy players are going to be scholarship soccer players in college. Even fewer are going to be professionals.

The USSF should adjust its calender. Start the Academy season in March and finish it in June, with playoffs etc. through the summer. The fall club season then starts up in September.

The USSF would then have a March to November period for high-level training and practices, and the boys would have a few months of fun with their high school teams.