Uswnt

[Unregistered]

Perhaps $10 then, that should provide plenty of money to get the job done. What we are really talking about is supporting a player group of approximately 12,480 players spread across the two genders and 6 (U13-18) age groups from every state. MA ODP charges roughly $1,500 per kid for what it currently does. That works out to roughly $360,000 for the whole program and we know that MYSA doesn't run the ODP program in the red. That $5 figure actually works out to $1,600 per player so if you want to give the program even more money I'm sure the parties involved could find a way to spend it.

Are you talking about ending the pay to play model or funding ODP?!?!?

ODP is a few hours of training per year. It is meaningless in the development department. Having free ODP would accomplish nothing.

If you want to get rid of the pay to play model, then maybe you have something, but it would cost at least 10 times what you propose to cover the expenses for roughly 20 kids per state per age group. Even then you aren't getting enough kids covered to get rid of pay to play.

[Unregistered]

Not suggesting that we re-invigorate ODP. The MYSA/Region 1 folks royally screwed that up and there are way too many conflicting club agendas at this point to make that work. What I am suggesting is that the concepts and structure behind ODP were actually right on target with how we should be developing our highest level players. If you look around at different countries you'll see that they each have something similar approaches.

Here's how I would do it in this country. I would start by dividing the process into three different age groups U7-10, U11-14, U15-18 and basically form 6 different "age teams" (every 2 yrs - similar to DAP) out of them. I would then divide each state into districts (similar to the old District Select concept) and sections (East-West-North-South) based upon their particular geography. I would then divide the country into regions in a similar fashion to what USYS did and then divide those regions into sub-regions (New England, Tri-State) similar to what USCS is doing. The idea being to make the program as accessible and inclusive as possible with as little travel as possible. Here's how the structure would look:

U7-8: District level
U9-10: District level
U11-12: Section level
U13-14: State level
U15-16: Sub-Regional level
U17-18: Regional level

The impact of this is it would effectively develop a ladder for players to climb and create a vetting system.

We should make entry into the program possible by either tryout or by recommendation in an effort to reduce the politics that plague these types of things. We should continue to do all that we now do to try and discover players (like NTC's) to get them into the program. Players would start in the U7-11 group (though they could be invited in at any stage) by being invited to the district level. In order to move on in the program you would have to be recommended to advance. Players that don't get a recommendation to advance would be dropped thereby thinning the herd so to speak. Players should be allowed to advance as far up the ladder as they are able regardless of age and coaches should be encouraged to spot the very best players and push them up. The various levels would meet once or twice a month (depending upon travel) throughout the year to train and at the end of the year there would be a jamboree type event.

The big thing that I would change out of the existing system is the feedback loop. Currently players get almost no structured feedback from the coaches so they never know where they stand nor what they should be working on. Every year the players should be given a complete evaluation that should also frankly assess where they stand in relation to the other players in the program. This information should be maintained in a national player evaluation database and fed back to the player's club to assist in their development there.

All in all a lot of these ideas have been tried already and shown to work, the key would be putting all of the pieces that work together in one system and then divorcing it from the pay to play structure.

[Unregistered]

NOVA...are you serious? There is zero chance that someone from NOVA would make USNT. Get real! ECNL and NPL team are the place to be.

That was the point made by the poster. Did you know that the big time Brasilian Rivaldo was discovered at the at the age 16 playing soccer at the beach? What would be his chance in US? The point is in US if you don't break in early in the system or follow the pre-existent ladder you can be Marta or Leonel Messi and you will not play for the NT. As a matter fact these two can't play for the US bcause they are not physical and big or robotic.

[Unregistered]

Not suggesting that we re-invigorate ODP. The MYSA/Region 1 folks royally screwed that up and there are way too many conflicting club agendas at this point to make that work. What I am suggesting is that the concepts and structure behind ODP were actually right on target with how we should be developing our highest level players. If you look around at different countries you'll see that they each have something similar approaches.

Here's how I would do it in this country. I would start by dividing the process into three different age groups U7-10, U11-14, U15-18 and basically form 6 different "age teams" (every 2 yrs - similar to DAP) out of them. I would then divide each state into districts (similar to the old District Select concept) and sections (East-West-North-South) based upon their particular geography. I would then divide the country into regions in a similar fashion to what USYS did and then divide those regions into sub-regions (New England, Tri-State) similar to what USCS is doing. The idea being to make the program as accessible and inclusive as possible with as little travel as possible. Here's how the structure would look:

U7-8: District level
U9-10: District level
U11-12: Section level
U13-14: State level
U15-16: Sub-Regional level
U17-18: Regional level

The impact of this is it would effectively develop a ladder for players to climb and create a vetting system.

We should make entry into the program possible by either tryout or by recommendation in an effort to reduce the politics that plague these types of things. We should continue to do all that we now do to try and discover players (like NTC's) to get them into the program. Players would start in the U7-11 group (though they could be invited in at any stage) by being invited to the district level. In order to move on in the program you would have to be recommended to advance. Players that don't get a recommendation to advance would be dropped thereby thinning the herd so to speak. Players should be allowed to advance as far up the ladder as they are able regardless of age and coaches should be encouraged to spot the very best players and push them up. The various levels would meet once or twice a month (depending upon travel) throughout the year to train and at the end of the year there would be a jamboree type event.

The big thing that I would change out of the existing system is the feedback loop. Currently players get almost no structured feedback from the coaches so they never know where they stand nor what they should be working on. Every year the players should be given a complete evaluation that should also frankly assess where they stand in relation to the other players in the program. This information should be maintained in a national player evaluation database and fed back to the player's club to assist in their development there.

All in all a lot of these ideas have been tried already and shown to work, the key would be putting all of the pieces that work together in one system and then divorcing it from the pay to play structure.

Thanks BTDT. Let us know when you have this up and running.

Could you also tell us what happens to the kids who get dropped off your ladder at various points? Do they just stop playing soccer? Where does a kid who makes subregional but not regional play? Just town? Or nothing at all?

While you're at it, are you going to explain what you are going to do with D1 athletics vs professional play? How does your proposed system work beyond whatever you think will work best for developing top D1 prospects? Will they still go to college or go straight to the USWNT or a professional league in Europe? Would you be willing to have your kid postpone her college education 5-6 years? Do you know what it's like to start med school after age 30?

[Unregistered]

Let us know when your grandson gets discovered down on some beach

[Unregistered]

Thanks BTDT. Let us know when you have this up and running.

Could you also tell us what happens to the kids who get dropped off your ladder at various points? Do they just stop playing soccer? Where does a kid who makes subregional but not regional play? Just town? Or nothing at all?

While you're at it, are you going to explain what you are going to do with D1 athletics vs professional play? How does your proposed system work beyond whatever you think will work best for developing top D1 prospects? Will they still go to college or go straight to the USWNT or a professional league in Europe? Would you be willing to have your kid postpone her college education 5-6 years? Do you know what it's like to start med school after age 30?

My bet is they simply go back and play for the town/club team they routinely play for. Why would getting dropped from an ID program mean they have to stop playing soccer?

[Unregistered]

My bet is they simply go back and play for the town/club team they routinely play for. Why would getting dropped from an ID program mean they have to stop playing soccer?

Can't answer the other questions, huh?

[Unregistered]

They need to clean up the semi-pro levels which are crumbling and do a better job of connecting those levels to the youth levels. Right now the youth system stops at the U18 level and that stalls the development of the better youth players who should be advancing but have no where to go. There really should be a clear path up to the U23 level which there currently isn't. With all of the litigation, eventually the NCAA is going to be forced to either adopt a pro like system where players get paid or get out of the sports business and either way that will change the face of semi-pro sports.

[Unregistered]

I watched the live stream of brazil versus uswnt yesterday. Absolutely pathetic. Fouling all over the place. Poor possession. Brian a slight bright spot, but in all unskilled and disorganized. JE didn't let Crystal Dunne on the field the whole tournament who might have added a spark of creativity. There are creative players out there, but Ellis is too anachronistic to understand their game.

[Unregistered]

How do you think MYSA is funded? The answer is through a registration fee that they assess to all of the players in the state that register for either a town team or a club still affiliated with USYS. How many ulittles are even aware that they are paying that fee? The $5-10 is negligible and would go a long way toward ending the pay to play model that is working cross purpose against the goals of the national team.

The fees they are currently paying are not going to the development of a handful of players and while $5 or $10 is negligible to you, it's not to a whole lot of families in this state or this country who are living paycheck to paycheck. Those families could give a rat's behind whether the pay to play model exists or not, because to them soccer is just a recreational activity for their kids.

[Unregistered]

I watched the live stream of brazil versus uswnt yesterday. Absolutely pathetic. Fouling all over the place. Poor possession. Brian a slight bright spot, but in all unskilled and disorganized. JE didn't let Crystal Dunne on the field the whole tournament who might have added a spark of creativity. There are creative players out there, but Ellis is too anachronistic to understand their game.

I have to agree. Hiring Ellis was a big mistake.

[Unregistered]

The fees they are currently paying are not going to the development of a handful of players and while $5 or $10 is negligible to you, it's not to a whole lot of families in this state or this country who are living paycheck to paycheck. Those families could give a rat's behind whether the pay to play model exists or not, because to them soccer is just a recreational activity for their kids.

Hate to tell you, but those fees are what pay the bills for MYSA and that includes the hacks they pay as full time staff who also coach in odp. Simple minds like yours are precisely why Mass has one of the most convoluted youth soccer set ups in the country. You'll worry about $10 while there are thousands being pissed away.