Things seem to be changing very rapidly and as usual it appears So Cal is at the forefront. Here's the latest:
ISC ANNOUNCES ACADEMY STRUCTURE
May 26 2007 - BDL
On Friday night, May 18th, the Irvine Strikers Board of Directors and Director of Coaching Don Ebert announced to all the players and families the creation of the ISC Academy beginning in June of 2007. This new structure will allow all the players to pursue their goals and dreams of playing soccer at the highest levels that their abilities allow by eliminating the pay to play model that exists in most youth clubs today. Players that play on the three oldest girls and boys teams in the club will not have to pay the club fees for the year. In addition, the club announced a ramped up training schedule for all the teams that will provide all the players with the training frequency and training structure that will keep ISC players on par with other top clubs across the country and around the world. "We just felt that we wanted to place player development at the forefront of our club and the one thing that always get in the way of true player development is a pay to play model. We wanted to create an environment where players have to bring their best in terms of effort, attitude and commitment every day so that they can achieve their desired goals. And those goals have not changed, we will continue to place players in colleges across the country as well as professional clubs both domestically and internationally" said DOC Don Ebert.
Ebert pointed to key strategic alliances that made this Academy dream become a reality. "There is no way we could have achieved this without having great partners like Nike Soccer and U.S.F.C. (United States Football Club) that shared our vision and our ultimate player goals. Nike Soccer and U.S.F.C. have first class people in their management group and we will do everything we can to make sure we reward their trust in our club" said Ebert. Irv Chase, President of the Irvine Strikers Soccer Club had this to say about the announcement, "Since its inception, some twenty years ago, the Irvine Soccer Club has strived to be a leader in the competitive youth soccer world through player development and training. The “academization†of ISC’s three oldest boys and girls’ teams is the next logical step in the Club’s goal to insure player development and training excellence and perhaps, most importantly, provide a place for those exceptional players who want to push themselves to the highest level possible through innovative training and intense competition.
The Academy is just the starting point of providing elite player development according to Ebert. "We have mirrored our training schedule to match what youth clubs in Europe and around the world do. I figure if it is good enough for players in youth Academies in Holland, Germany, Belgium and others, it has to be good enough for our players. We will increase training to four days a week in the summer and before National and State Cup competitions, we will train three days a week during the season, we will implement a high school alternative program for players that don't have a quality high school program to attend, we have aligned ourselves with a PDL team so our Academy players can train and compete against current college players, our players will have the opportunities to train overseas and be evaluated by international clubs here at home during different times of the year. We can now offer all our players these different options while at the same time; relieving families of the ever-growing financial pressure of having their kids participate in competitive soccer. We now feel that we can properly prepare all our players both on and off the field to be successful in both college and beyond and that is the sole reason for the creation of the ISC Academy".
For the upcoming 2007-08 season, the Girls U-16, U-17 and U-18 teams will be Academy teams and the Boys U-15, U-16 and U-18 teams will be Academy teams.
ISC ANNOUNCES ACADEMY STRUCTURE
May 26 2007 - BDL
On Friday night, May 18th, the Irvine Strikers Board of Directors and Director of Coaching Don Ebert announced to all the players and families the creation of the ISC Academy beginning in June of 2007. This new structure will allow all the players to pursue their goals and dreams of playing soccer at the highest levels that their abilities allow by eliminating the pay to play model that exists in most youth clubs today. Players that play on the three oldest girls and boys teams in the club will not have to pay the club fees for the year. In addition, the club announced a ramped up training schedule for all the teams that will provide all the players with the training frequency and training structure that will keep ISC players on par with other top clubs across the country and around the world. "We just felt that we wanted to place player development at the forefront of our club and the one thing that always get in the way of true player development is a pay to play model. We wanted to create an environment where players have to bring their best in terms of effort, attitude and commitment every day so that they can achieve their desired goals. And those goals have not changed, we will continue to place players in colleges across the country as well as professional clubs both domestically and internationally" said DOC Don Ebert.
Ebert pointed to key strategic alliances that made this Academy dream become a reality. "There is no way we could have achieved this without having great partners like Nike Soccer and U.S.F.C. (United States Football Club) that shared our vision and our ultimate player goals. Nike Soccer and U.S.F.C. have first class people in their management group and we will do everything we can to make sure we reward their trust in our club" said Ebert. Irv Chase, President of the Irvine Strikers Soccer Club had this to say about the announcement, "Since its inception, some twenty years ago, the Irvine Soccer Club has strived to be a leader in the competitive youth soccer world through player development and training. The “academization†of ISC’s three oldest boys and girls’ teams is the next logical step in the Club’s goal to insure player development and training excellence and perhaps, most importantly, provide a place for those exceptional players who want to push themselves to the highest level possible through innovative training and intense competition.
The Academy is just the starting point of providing elite player development according to Ebert. "We have mirrored our training schedule to match what youth clubs in Europe and around the world do. I figure if it is good enough for players in youth Academies in Holland, Germany, Belgium and others, it has to be good enough for our players. We will increase training to four days a week in the summer and before National and State Cup competitions, we will train three days a week during the season, we will implement a high school alternative program for players that don't have a quality high school program to attend, we have aligned ourselves with a PDL team so our Academy players can train and compete against current college players, our players will have the opportunities to train overseas and be evaluated by international clubs here at home during different times of the year. We can now offer all our players these different options while at the same time; relieving families of the ever-growing financial pressure of having their kids participate in competitive soccer. We now feel that we can properly prepare all our players both on and off the field to be successful in both college and beyond and that is the sole reason for the creation of the ISC Academy".
For the upcoming 2007-08 season, the Girls U-16, U-17 and U-18 teams will be Academy teams and the Boys U-15, U-16 and U-18 teams will be Academy teams.
The Nike version seems to represent real change with more focus on the training acpects of player development, assuming, of course, it can actually accomplished. The Addidas version just seems more of the same.
Comment