Coaches’ Blog: Fixing the Problem - Part 3
As I stated earlier, I feel very strongly that we need to overhaul our National youth team system in our country. I talked earlier about the younger age group of players, now I would like to discuss the older age groups.
I would make one very significant change if I was the “man in charge”. I would immediately eliminate our U-17 Residency program and replace the model with a professional U-20 Residency program. The advantages of this major change are so obvious to me and so strong to reach our desired goals, I would not hesitate.
Currently, our U-17 program is the second most expensive program to operate and the return on investment has not been good. The Federation must pay for the schooling and housing of 40 players, most of them for 18 months. Why? Since the program, have we won the U-17 World Championships? Have we been a major factor in the Championships? Have our players been swooped up by major clubs overseas right after the Championships? We know the answers to these questions. I would take the cost of education out of the equation by moving the program to the U-20 age. This way, players can graduate high school and if offered a spot, treat the US Soccer Residency program as an option instead of college. I would take the best 25 players and set them up in a Residency Academy and make them sign professional contracts with US Soccer for nominal wages. I would not have to worry about education as the players made an adult decision to pursue their professional careers. I would set it up in Southern California at the Home Depot Center, where they have two professional clubs and many top college programs to provide quality games and competitions throughout the year. The training facilities are fantastic and already under the control of US Soccer. The climate is ideal for year round training. The players are treated like full professionals who train one or two times a day and have all the speed and strength facilities and coaches right on the property.
For competitions, I would get this group into 4 major international tournaments a year playing against top professional players from major clubs throughout the world. I would implement a coaching environment where we are constantly bringing over top International guest coaches throughout the year. I want our players to work and train with top Brazilian or Argentinean coaches, German and Dutch coaches, Italian and Spanish coaches. These guys would love to come to the United States and have the chance to work with our very best 18-20 year old players. These players need to be exposed to different styles, systems, methods, and training techniques to be prepared to be successful on the international level. This is a critical part that has been missing in my opinion.
The final part of the equation would be that since US Soccer signed these guys to a professional contract, US Soccer owns the players rights. When an overseas club wants to sign these guys out of the Residency Academy, US Soccer would keep the transfer fee and re-invest it back into the program. This program will not only run itself, it will be a profit making program that can help subsidize our younger programs. Finally, this team would be our U-20 team in the World Championships and with this program, they will be very well prepared to be successful in a major International Championship.
I like most of the ideas put forth in your blogs. I have some concerns. The decision making process on who exactly are the best players is weak at best, and has been decidely biased. Regional ODP pools are full of players that made it at 13 and simply continue in the program. Many of the players that did not make it at 13 continue to play with their Club and never attempt to play ODP again. I could have chosen the team at that age, because with very few exceptions they chose the bigger more physically developed players. Many of those players developed early and the late bloomers are lost in the shuffle. Also in the US it is most parents goals to have their child go to college. That decision while best for earning a living outside of soccer is poor preparation for a career as a footballer. For many of the same reasons you criticize high school soccer. If the US continues to reward size and athleticism over technical skill, tactical awareness and work rate and attitude the results will stay the same. Marvell Wynne is a phenomenal athlete, but his technical skills and tactical play are far below what our competition globally puts forth. I am not picking on him, I am saying the US has picked too many athletes and not enough soccer players. My son spent 2 years looking for a college program, and nearly every coach had the same response. We love your game but you sure are small. He is 5′8″ and 142 lbs. He is not playing in the NFL, he is playing college soccer. Forget his 4.55 40 time and top level fitness. Forget his endless work rate, forget his soccer IQ, forget the ability to play both sides of the formation and good technical abilities. Just tell me is he 6 feet tall and did he play any ODP. You reap what you sow and the United States is in love with size and raw athletic ability. And it starts at the earliest levels. The United States top college players go on to MLS and the same crap continues. No possession, balls played in the air continually, generally sloppy and rugged and routinely poor touch. That is why the older foreign players can stand out so well. They actually know how to play. The US is rewarding the players that can stand out physically and can afford to pay their way. I do not see it changing any time soon. You have some nice ideas but the network in place now has too much at risk to really change. What you say makes sense, but that is precisely why it likely wont change. Too many changes to create a world class team when you have a network full of people that realize change probably means their job. Only a handful of purists that know what should be versus thousands that are living well off the status quo.
In my opinion, the current US situation related to soccer performance has roots on the very basic ideas you are attempting to forward on your blog.
You should evaluate soccer from a player’s, coaching, management and results perspective. Only by separating the various functions one can have an inside perspective on the root causes of US soccer poor performance (provided there is poor performance).
Players- The main soccer development in the US is based on a “prepare for school” methodology. The main objective is to play in college. The primary qualification for a future in soccer is not related to soccer skills but how good the school grades are. This development process does not capture the best soccer talent.
Players- The US soccer development is based in tournament play. Often the teams that particpate in so called “Top Tournaments” have the financial means to participate. The players with less financial means ae excluded.
Players- Schools provide very short seasons, poor soccer development and by the time players exit college they are too old to be considered for dvelopment in professional teams.
Coaching- Many soccer “affictionados” believe that they can coach soccer. Their dedication and involvement desire are the basis for the number of youth players in the US. The problem starts when this people, thru avenues other than soccer education, end up coaching high schools, premier teams and even college.
Coaching- As professionals, the only way a coach can earn a decent salary is by either coach professional teams, coach college teams or charge the players. While charging a fee to a player for participating in a team, the coach is mandated to provide for the needs of the player, often not related to soccer excellence.
Management- US Soccer does not invest in soccer education. Poor coaching skills create soccer players that are deficient in many critical aspects of the game.
Management- US Soccer has the tendency to over time maintain the players in the upper programs. The issue is related to two main issues. One the lack of processes to adquatly identify talent on a timely manner; the other the lack of soccer structure that provides for efficient player evaluation. Once a player is selected for camp, as long the player is dedicated and can do the drills, most likely will continue to be selected.
Management- US Soccer depends very much on sponsorship relations.
Management- MLS is a poor soccer performer that connects sponsorship to the federation. I’m not talking about politics… those exist in all countries and business structures. I’m refering to the idea that we value mediocracy, because it is pumped by some organization for financial benefit of many but unfortunately not soccer.
In the end I think that the age and training of 40 kids have very little impact on the performance of the US National Team at any level.
But looking at the performance of US soccer at international level… is not so bad. Better than most countries in the american continent and with the exception of Brasil and Argentina, I don’t see many challenges.
My 2 cents.
Old Timer: I just don’t agree on much of your proposition. However, I do like what alareis and Kevin had to say on certain things.
I think if you look at the U17 program (and I’m not saying it has been all success) we have definitely provided more players the chance to play oversees than before it’s start. Many of those players have been able to go to Holland, Denmark, Belgium, etc. And I think our performance at the youth and full national teams has been on the rise.
I just don’t think the kind of success you are talking about will happen in a snap of the fingers. We have started off by gaining our players access to foreign leagues, but maybe not Real Madrid or Man U. Our performance on the field has gotten better, but we base it on championships which isn’t the right measuring stick at this point.
When I was growing up in the 90s as a player there was never soccer on TV. I had the world cup when it came around, a Maradonna highlight tape, and sometimes mexican league on spanish TV. Even the champions league final wasn’t broadcast until 2 weeks after the game on espn2. There was no pro league here to aspire to or emulate the players. And I was coached by an old English pro one year, then a parent who was a mechanic the next. The process takes time, and we have made big strides.
Nowadays kids have Fox Soccer Channel 24/7. They have MLS (although not the top league in the world, something to work for and guage your game). For the first time every Euro game was broadcast in the US. All sorts of leagues to watch on TV, players to know about and learn from. I used to strain to find clips of Guilet or Klinnsman, I could hardly ever watch these guys play. And finally we have experienced coaches who were able to play professionally coming back to teach the game at all levels through the US. I think this evolution will transcend the game here, and all of these programs from youth national teams, to ODP, to the DA will help give players opportunities.
I couldn’t comment on whether the residency program is giving us a good return on investment, but I think it is helping in a positive way. I don’t think a U20 residency would do us as much good. We would be taking away the opportunity for players to go to europe when they turn 18. Isn’t that what we want? If they can’t go to europe, then don’t we want them in the MLS after highschool, if they have the ability?
One thing we have always struggled with is identification. In a country of 275 million people, it is easy for the more physically mature kids to dominate early on. In a smaller country, a small talented kid will stick out more, and coaches see the importance of developing him.
I think this needs to be solved by our coaches, and I think the entire game of soccer in America needs time to evolve and unravel until we have found our way to succeed. We can’t neglect the changes that have happened in 10-15 years, and that most of that impact will be seen in the young kids today who are able to live with soccer on TV, a pro league, and better coaching. Just like the kids that grow up playing basketball get.