Club Soccer will produce better players

[Unregistered]

I think you took what I was saying as a negative.

I agree with everything you stated, which is exactly what I stated.

As a parent paying $1000+, I also expect a certain level of attention to my OWN "little Timmy". Its a lot of money for him/her to ride the bench. But as we both stated, there needs to be a level where they can play for free based on the talent they have.

I just don't know that there is a solution yet. Not all bigger clubs fund their DA program from their other Rec/comp programs. I know the two closest to me charge $3000+ for my kid to play DA.

I hope our sport grows so that one day we can compete with other sports in this country as well as compete with soccer in other countries. And I'm not saying that to benefit my own kids. They will be well out of competitive soccer by the time that happens.

3000$ is absolutely insane! Hopefully that includes travel, food and cleats! Most kids these days want those 200$ cleats and they need about two per season. 3000$ is not worth any sort of training. Go to a cheap competitive club and get a personal trainer, will take you so much farther

[Unregistered]

I think you took what I was saying as a negative.

I agree with everything you stated, which is exactly what I stated.

As a parent paying $1000+, I also expect a certain level of attention to my OWN "little Timmy". Its a lot of money for him/her to ride the bench. But as we both stated, there needs to be a level where they can play for free based on the talent they have.

I just don't know that there is a solution yet. Not all bigger clubs fund their DA program from their other Rec/comp programs. I know the two closest to me charge $3000+ for my kid to play DA.

I hope our sport grows so that one day we can compete with other sports in this country as well as compete with soccer in other countries. And I'm not saying that to benefit my own kids. They will be well out of competitive soccer by the time that happens.

Orlando City DA is free, including travel for the player (not for the parents...).

[Unregistered]

Orlando City DA is free, including travel for the player (not for the parents...).

That's great. All the MLS clubs with full DA's are free for their players. Its the way the DA should work and eventually put the U.S. in a position to compete with other soccer nations. Then there are the relatively smaller clubs that have no pro team but are DA members: i.e.: Weston, Chargers, etc. Their DA is still pay to play the last I remember.
I remember Weston being $2000 per player before travel expenses.
It may have changed since then, which would be great.

Like someone already said, its hard to have a solution that would change the pay-to-play system for all elite soccer players. But I hope USSF does it soon. I'm dam near broke already.

[Unregistered]

Orlando City DA is free, including travel for the player (not for the parents...).

Not trying to bash, but considering that they offer free da and have the ability to sign pretty much anyone in Orlando, it's pretty poor that neither the 16's or 18's got out of the playoffs group. With that much talent I guess the only fault can be pointed at the coaching.

[Unregistered]

Well, making da's free is nice, but its not what's gonna get us soccer to compete with soccer countries.

Having been involved in that, the difference is that the soccer countries look to DEVELOP plyaers over many years , to sell them later. Not to win a u15 game (in many top academies there are no formal leagues with scores before then, but "friendly games" with other top academies to develop.

And the play is VERY different- not everyone looks and plays like a defender and directly- yes the defenders are bigger stronger and faster then th us academy players are, but the midfielder are often tiny and skilled (many in the worlds best academies wouldn't even make ussda teams here im serious- too small).

The academies are being pressured by us soccer to find more skilled players not just big fast ones, but at the end of the day the ussda is often a marketing tool for the larger travel clubs brand , and they have to win trophy's to get more paying (non academy kids) and parents, like many like those in talking soccer are obsessed with tournament wins so there little u14 messi will go to the most winnnign academy per parent wishes too.

the problem wont be solved until you even recognize what it is- the academy system here vs that around the world (training for 5- 10 years to produce pro, including waiting for physical maturity if need be) is absolutely different.

Overseas I witnessed a group of visiting us acaemy players age 16 or so get creamed in a friendly vs a native u14 team of relaive midgets- our kids didn't even touch the ball much, the smaller kids kileed them with quick skilled passes--

I really don't know how usa gets away with it-- other then the top colleges, the speed of play and ball ability of even d1 teams (full of ussda academy system players) is sooo much lower then any reasonable soccer country academy team- parents and players are getting bamboozled here

How many ussda players go top pro in the us, let alone overseas? Why aren't they creative, and merely taugh winning "systems' rather then problem solving? why is everyone pretending this statistic doesn't exist? just my two cents.

That's great. All the MLS clubs with full DA's are free for their players. Its the way the DA should work and eventually put the U.S. in a position to compete with other soccer nations. Then there are the relatively smaller clubs that have no pro team but are DA members: i.e.: Weston, Chargers, etc. Their DA is still pay to play the last I remember.
I remember Weston being $2000 per player before travel expenses.
It may have changed since then, which would be great.

Like someone already said, its hard to have a solution that would change the pay-to-play system for all elite soccer players. But I hope USSF does it soon. I'm dam near broke already.

[Unregistered]

Orlando City DA is free, including travel for the player (not for the parents...).

OC DA doesn't scout... pretty much same players ... Does OC DA have open tryouts? Why not?

[Unregistered]

OC DA doesn't scout... pretty much same players ... Does OC DA have open tryouts? Why not?

OC DA does scout, but mostly not local players. They are looking to build their USL team from their DA players, so they are recruiting internationally and from across the US to find the best players they can. Tryouts are by invitation only.

[Unregistered]

OC DA does scout, but mostly not local players. They are looking to build their USL team from their DA players, so they are recruiting internationally and from across the US to find the best players they can. Tryouts are by invitation only.

USL is a terrible route for a player to sign to but it's good if you are just trying to play and not lose eligibility. Getting stuck on a Usl team and having almost 0 shot to get into the first team is something that happens way too often to some promising players. The pay is horrific and worse then a teacher. College is by far the best option

[Unregistered]

It's a naive belief to think that the USSDA system is truly producing great players and before you write that off and go back to worshipping the system (simply because you are in it), think about what actually developed your child into the player he is today. Your kid once played for a small club team and benefitted from playing under a great young coach. A coach unattached to the US Soccer system and was totally invested in your child. A coach that never followed a blueprint or play style sent by higher ups, just a genuine teacher of the game. Your kid benefits the MOST from coaches like that, they learn more, they train more and develop a love for the game. They focus on creativity, basics and fun. That sort of environment still exist in today's club soccer. And that's the reason why club soccer will continue to and always be the best at developing players for the next level.

I have been out of country and shadowed some great coaches in places like Hungary, Switzerland and recently Chile. I also had a playing career at a D1 school in Virginia. I'm not saying that everything the USSDA system is doing is bad, but it isn't going to help the US progress. If you have watched a USSDA program train for a couple weeks you realize that they practice the same old things for days straight. When do they learn something new? When do they explore a different formation? When do they work on taking players 1 on 1 or creativity? It's just different passing sequences that improve nothing. In other countries, the ability to beat players 1 on 1 with actual skill and not pace is crucial. Every player on the field should be able to do it, maybe even your goalkeeper! In Club soccer, the games are more free flowing, there is less stress put on the players to just keep the ball and there is more room for creativity. That's why you see a player like Jordan Morris who is super ambitious. He played Academy soccer for 1 year, and he is the only player in his age group consistently being apart of the US national team lineup. Before that he played club soccer until he joined Seattle Sounders for 1 year. Did Seattle make him into the player he is today? In one year? Or was it the 17 he spent playing club soccer, improving his ability through free flowing play.

Also notice that people who were once really good become average when they join the academy because they are thrown into a system that doesn't facilitate creative play. Watch an academy game and you realize how hard it is to tell which players are actually good and not good because they can 1 and 2 touch side to side. In a club game it is very easy to tell who is a real player and can make a difference. Half of the players in the youth national team fold had no business playing academy anyways, until they were practically forced to join one by the national team coaches in order to keep getting call ups.

People are so caught up in trying to get showcased for the national team when they should know it's all politics. There isn't even reasons why some kids aren't on the national team. There are kids right here in florida that have scored 25-30 goals against "the best the US has to offer" and aren't even invited to a camp.

I grew up in Jamaica and represented them at the youth levels and we always beat or played a close game against the US. And if you watched the U17 Qualifying you could see the same closeness between the countries. Besides the fact that Jamaica is way smaller then the US, let's look at the fact that Jamaica has no type of USSDA system. There are not even that many clubs there. The US also had the opportunity to take many of the players that ended up playing for Jamaica and they came back and almost knocked them out of the competition.

You make excellent points. Keep in mind most of the youth soccer coaches don't know what they are doing. Hell, they may not even be properly licensed to coach at all. They don't teach creativity and foot skills because they can't do it themselves.. and the club puts them out there and gladly takes the parents money, so club soccer is like hitting the lottery, you need to find the right coach and they need to also be a first rate trainer especially at the younger ages. Otherwise you are wasting your time and money as most are and the kids who can be developed into good players are being wasted because of crappy coaches and poorly run clubs. As a parent you need to be vigilant and move your kid into the best possible situation and training environment. Don't waste your money.

[Unregistered]

You make excellent points. Keep in mind most of the youth soccer coaches don't know what they are doing. Hell, they may not even be properly licensed to coach at all. They don't teach creativity and foot skills because they can't do it themselves.. and the club puts them out there and gladly takes the parents money, so club soccer is like hitting the lottery, you need to find the right coach and they need to also be a first rate trainer especially at the younger ages. Otherwise you are wasting your time and money as most are and the kids who can be developed into good players are being wasted because of crappy coaches and poorly run clubs. As a parent you need to be vigilant and move your kid into the best possible situation and training environment. Don't waste your money.

This is one of the best posts on talking soccer. Looking back on our experience, just about everything learned to make our kid better was outside club with a trainer or playing futsal on his own etc. The so called "elite" club team was a lot of running and fitness and 11v11 at the younger ages - little skill development and parents happy about wins only so keep coming.

Academy at older ages better but not world class by any means by soccer countries standards- yes big fast kids ( with a few technical kids who had outside trainers for years lol) little in skill development still - direct style only, coaches actually teach winning systems lol vs creativity and problem solving win the game everyone claps - no one goes pro after , and yes can go to a d1 college as a strong athete with many of the rest of the roster on d1 on the skill side being foreign players or those U.S.A ones with trainers outside club /academy (the open secret no one says) - clubs take responsibility for the development but it's way below world standard.