US Soccer Changes development

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2014/12/08/10/43/141208-ynt-coaching-initiatives-rel

Article posted on US Soccer website about making changes to Youth Development.

Two interesting changes are:

1. Development Academy will start at U12 beginning in the fall if 2016.

2. US soccer is going to set guidelines for field size and players. Not sure if they do this already, but maybe we can get away from 11 v 11 at U10.

No timelines or set plans, but interesting ideas.

The recommendation for small sided was always there but in an environment where money is the key the clubs will always go for their best return. Implementing the U12 DA program will not resolve anything actually to the contrary. Investing into coaching education is a start but at the same time the federation has to force the state associations and leagues to buy/force them into their concept.

Sprint wrote:
2. US soccer is going to set guidelines for field size and players.  Not sure if they do this already, but maybe we can get away from 11 v 11 at U10.  

On the East Coast, teams start to play 11v11 at U12, it's 7v7 at U9/U10 and 8v8 at U11/U12.

The German wrote:The recommendation for small sided was always there but in an environment where money is the key the clubs will always go for their best return. Implementing the U12 DA program will not resolve anything actually to the contrary. Investing into coaching education is a start but at the same time the federation has to force the state associations and leagues to buy/force them into their concept.

guidelines are different than recommendations. so maybe they are taking it out of the clubs hands. with solar, DT, FCD and other clubs getting US Soccer $$$$ they will conform.

I agree with randy here, It looks like changes will be implemented through USSF feeding down to the DA and participating clubs will conform. At least for those DA teams or teams on that path.

I would argue that U12 DA IMO is a little pointless because too many parents are promoting their BB based on $$ & status and many of these players are not what they expected at u14.

Another opinion is that the "pressure to win" contradicts the best development. Clubs are taking kids that love the game & have the talent and then instead of nurturing the talent they pressure for perfection until the love is possibly gone.

My example here would be the Brazilians and Neymar: The guy steps on the pitch and smiles and you can see the freedom to play in his spirit. What can't he do with the ball? Thank god no one beat the creativity out of him or Ronaldhino for that matter!

Not in the US though, we'd rather take the 10,000 hours of minontounous drills. This is where we are failing IMO...

OMG it just keeps getting worse!!!!!!

Neymar is probably smiling cause he makes 100 times the MLS median salary.

Number13 wrote:Neymar is probably smiling cause he makes 100 times the MLS median salary.

Maybe he saw the 2 Brazilian Victoria Secrets models the other night proudly supporting their countries futbol jerseys....

Truth is Brazil has their way and we have ours....do the best with the system we have and hope Jurgen makes positive changes!

USSoccer advocates/mandates one thing and turns a blind eye to what the its member clubs do.

Other than maybe a compressed schedule and additional training days, nothing has really changed.

It's all about driving revenue to the clubs. USSF preaches "development" yet it's still all about the results.

With few exceptions, the level of coaching is no better than it was before the Academy was formed. For the players and their parents, it's more travel, more money, more sacrifice and for what...D1 college exposure?

A substantial number of these DA players end up at nond1 college programs anyway.

The costs far outweigh any potential payoff. Like I said before, the only real reason to play is because a kid is passionate about it.

But the excessive travel and cost (for many) takes all the passion out of it.

Now, it would be different if soccer was a fully funded collegiate program (full rides) but it isn't.

If it were professional teams academies (as they are elsewhere) it would be different.

No one can tell me spending 8-12 hours in a car on weekends (or on a plane in some cases) is somehow going to produce better players. True, sometimes it can't be avoided. But I don't see a lot of real progress being made.

Not to mention that the way DA is structured, they automatically exclude a huge part of the US player pool.

So, how can they really be considered "elite"? Other than by self proclamation?

While creative, attacking play is a key ingredient missing...it goes way beyond that.

it's poor talent identification and just pi$$ poor coaching in general.

We need more Caleb Porters...

Although I do agree there is poor talent identification more times than not; when all it's said and done as a former parent of a student athlete I THOUGHT was a DA, DI, and/or DII caliber collegiate player we MUST soon realize that it may not be the so called lack of "identification"; it may be MY kid...It's hard to grasp that at times, but it could be very well true.

Accept the reality and let kids have fun and quit worrying about lack of development, identification, and pi$$ poor coaching. If it's meant to be; it'll be.

Club/HSparent wrote:Although I do agree there is poor talent identification more times than not; when all it's said and done as a former parent of a student athlete I THOUGHT was a DA, DI, and/or DII caliber collegiate player we MUST soon realize that it may not be the so called lack of "identification"; it may be MY kid...It's hard to grasp that at times, but it could be very well true.

Accept the reality and let kids have fun and quit worrying about lack of development, identification, and pi$$ poor coaching. If it's meant to be; it'll be.

Great point! More Mis-Identifying happens at home lol

soccerdadrandy wrote:

Club/HSparent wrote:Although I do agree there is poor talent identification more times than not; when all it's said and done as a former parent of a student athlete I THOUGHT was a DA, DI, and/or DII caliber collegiate player we MUST soon realize that it may not be the so called lack of "identification"; it may be MY kid...It's hard to grasp that at times, but it could be very well true.

Accept the reality and let kids have fun and quit worrying about lack of development, identification, and pi$$ poor coaching. If it's meant to be; it'll be.

Great point! More Mis-Identifying happens at home lol

I really wanted to say that; I'm glad you did...I used to be one of those identifiers sadly to say.

I would love to see what most believe the identification criteria should be or look like. IMHO if you don't have some skin in the game (ex: played high level soccer, coached high level soccer, and etc) I would imagine your view will be off quite a bit. Just because you watch the game on TV and/or read literature about the game doesn't make you a scholar of the game. Just Saying.

soccerdadrandy wrote:

The German wrote:The recommendation for small sided was always there but in an environment where money is the key the clubs will always go for their best return. Implementing the U12 DA program will not resolve anything actually to the contrary. Investing into coaching education is a start but at the same time the federation has to force the state associations and leagues to buy/force them into their concept.

guidelines are different than recommendations. so maybe they are taking it out of the clubs hands. with solar, DT, FCD and other clubs getting US Soccer $$$$ they will conform.

Don't count on it. Where does the fed get their money from? The clubs!

The da clubs are really calling the shots. The money they get from the fed is just a bs 'recycling' scheme!

Club/HSparent wrote:I would love to see what most believe the identification criteria should be or look like. IMHO if you don't have some skin in the game (ex: played high level soccer, coached high level soccer, and etc) I would imagine your view will be off quite a bit. Just because you watch the game on TV and/or read literature about the game doesn't make you a scholar of the game. Just Saying.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I would be willing to bet not many, if any, people that post on here have any idea what to look for in a player in terms of evaluation of elite level players.  The fact is, unless you have spent years doing it and seen kids go from young to old and know what they  look like at each stage ( at where they end up) it is all just guessing.  

My  kid has recently been going to some tryout camps and things were players are evaluated and I told him after one that I thought he did poorly and wasted his time.  He shot back that, "you have no idea what the coaches are looking for in the players." To which I,said: " you are exactly right",  I don't have a clue what the coaches doing the evaluating were looking for as I don't have that experience.  I would be willing to bet 99% of parents that complain about the US talent evaluation don't have that experience either.

Sprint wrote:

Club/HSparent wrote:I would love to see what most believe the identification criteria should be or look like. IMHO if you don't have some skin in the game (ex: played high level soccer, coached high level soccer, and etc) I would imagine your view will be off quite a bit. Just because you watch the game on TV and/or read literature about the game doesn't make you a scholar of the game. Just Saying.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I would be willing to bet not many, if any, people that post on here have any idea what to look for in a player in terms of evaluation of elite level players.  The fact is, unless you have spent years doing it and seen kids go from young to old and know what they  look like at each stage ( at where they end up) it is all just guessing.  

My  kid has recently been going to some tryout camps and things were players are evaluated and I told him after one that I thought he did poorly and wasted his time.  He shot back that, "you have no idea what the coaches are looking for in the players." To which I,said: " you are exactly right",  I don't have a clue what the coaches doing the evaluating were looking for as I don't have that experience.  I would be willing to bet 99% of parents that complain about the US talent evaluation don't have that experience either.

I guess that explains why so many parents are willing to shell out large sums of money for camps, private lessons, etc...which means they are drinking the kool aid.

Think about it, no other country in the world has such an elaborate pay-to-play scheme.

That should raise a flag to most people.

Laimport wrote:

Sprint wrote:

Club/HSparent wrote:I would love to see what most believe the identification criteria should be or look like. IMHO if you don't have some skin in the game (ex: played high level soccer, coached high level soccer, and etc) I would imagine your view will be off quite a bit. Just because you watch the game on TV and/or read literature about the game doesn't make you a scholar of the game. Just Saying.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I would be willing to bet not many, if any, people that post on here have any idea what to look for in a player in terms of evaluation of elite level players.  The fact is, unless you have spent years doing it and seen kids go from young to old and know what they  look like at each stage ( at where they end up) it is all just guessing.  

My  kid has recently been going to some tryout camps and things were players are evaluated and I told him after one that I thought he did poorly and wasted his time.  He shot back that, "you have no idea what the coaches are looking for in the players." To which I,said: " you are exactly right",  I don't have a clue what the coaches doing the evaluating were looking for as I don't have that experience.  I would be willing to bet 99% of parents that complain about the US talent evaluation don't have that experience either.

I guess that explains why so many parents are willing to shell out large sums of money for camps, private lessons, etc...which means they are drinking the kool aid.

Think about it, no other country in the world has such an elaborate pay-to-play scheme.

That should raise a flag to most people.

I'm not a big fan of pay to play, but until clubs can sell players to make up for costs and overhead, I don't see anyway around it. You either have to charge for the coaches time, uniforms, league fees, etc or you can have a benefactor that donates to the club each year so everyone can play. OR, if you are pro club, you can offset the cost of the youth system with the earnings from the pro team. You have to balance the books somehow.

In other countries they sell players and that can fund a club for years. (Ie Neymar). Just think if a small independent club in NTX could sell a 15 year old kid to a European club for 10 million. I would expect a large spike in development and doing things the "right way", whatever that means, in terms of developing that one real player. The team would become less important and each players development would be top priority, looking for that next big payday.

Sprint wrote:

Laimport wrote:

Sprint wrote:

Club/HSparent wrote:I would love to see what most believe the identification criteria should be or look like. IMHO if you don't have some skin in the game (ex: played high level soccer, coached high level soccer, and etc) I would imagine your view will be off quite a bit. Just because you watch the game on TV and/or read literature about the game doesn't make you a scholar of the game. Just Saying.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I would be willing to bet not many, if any, people that post on here have any idea what to look for in a player in terms of evaluation of elite level players.  The fact is, unless you have spent years doing it and seen kids go from young to old and know what they  look like at each stage ( at where they end up) it is all just guessing.  

My  kid has recently been going to some tryout camps and things were players are evaluated and I told him after one that I thought he did poorly and wasted his time.  He shot back that, "you have no idea what the coaches are looking for in the players." To which I,said: " you are exactly right",  I don't have a clue what the coaches doing the evaluating were looking for as I don't have that experience.  I would be willing to bet 99% of parents that complain about the US talent evaluation don't have that experience either.

I guess that explains why so many parents are willing to shell out large sums of money for camps, private lessons, etc...which means they are drinking the kool aid.

Think about it, no other country in the world has such an elaborate pay-to-play scheme.

That should raise a flag to most people.

I'm not a big fan of pay to play, but until clubs can sell players to make up for costs and overhead, I don't see anyway around it. You either have to charge for the coaches time, uniforms, league fees, etc or you can have a benefactor that donates to the club each year so everyone can play.  OR, if you are pro club, you can offset the cost of the youth system with the earnings from the pro team. You have to balance the books somehow.  

In other countries they sell players and that can fund a club for years.  (Ie Neymar).  Just think if a small independent club in NTX could sell a 15 year old kid to a European club for 10 million.  I would expect a large spike in development and doing things the "right way", whatever that means, in terms of developing that one real player.  The team would become less important and each players development would be top priority, looking for that next big payday.  

Sprint...I cant agree with you more. On top of what you said; we all must accept and adapt to what this game is about at this current time here in the states. We moan and groan about it being a money scheme (which I do believe it is), but no one is holding anyone hostage to play this game. It is was it is here in NTX and other states. I find it very difficult to "challenge" our current model to models (internationally) that have been in place for many years. It other words; ACCEPT or DON'T PLAY.

Club/HSparent wrote:I would love to see what most believe the identification criteria should be or look like. IMHO if you don't have some skin in the game (ex: played high level soccer, coached high level soccer, and etc) I would imagine your view will be off quite a bit. Just because you watch the game on TV and/or read literature about the game doesn't make you a scholar of the game. Just Saying.

 love this stuff