Big Changes

December 12th, 2007

It’s been 5 years for Top Drawer Soccer now.

Things are changing.

There will be more details on the main site in a week or 2. Please check it out for details.

The bottom line is I’ll still be involved in soccer, writing about it and interacting with the individuals and families involved in the game. I am thankful for that continued opportunity.

On a business note, all monthly recurrals were discontinued in November. Coverage and other updates continue through the end of this month. We have not deposited any yearly subscription checks received for the past few months. While I’d like to think of those as “contributions” - they will not be cashed.

Please stay in touch with the site for the coming announcement. I am very excited at the opportunity and for the prospective benefit it will bring to American soccer.

It has been my privilege to know so many of you and watch so many good players.

Thank you to so many who have provided friendship, encouragement, constructive feedback and material support. Many of you have even welcomed me into your homes. Thank you so much.

This is not the end, but a transition to bigger and better things. I’m confident of that.

Enjoy the game.

A Day in the Life of Bradenton

December 5th, 2007

I’ve had a productive day in Bradenton so far. I was able to interview new U17 MNT coach Wilmer Cabrera after training today and you can find that at the front of the main site.

I also interviewed U15 BNT player Will Packwood. The Massachusetts native is now a member of the Birmingham City youth setup in England. I’ll post his comments later this week.

Training this morning was interesting again. The U17s were in day before the match routine, with a lot of work on set pieces. I saw a good goal from central defender Perry Kitchen and some good saves by Earl Edwards and Samir Badr. Stefan Jerome hit a terrific free kick and Joseph-Claude Gyau is still a whiz on the ball. The team plays Russia Thursday, Brazil Saturday and Turkey Sunday.

The U15s spent a lot of time doing ballwork, before playing short-sided games. The kid from Salt Lake City, James Rogers, continues to impress, and finished a couple of chances very well. Will Whiddon looked sharp in goal, while Victor Pineda, Scott Thomsen and McAmos Paye also had good morning sessions. Paye has a real leader’s personality and talks pretty much nonstop. Head coach Jim Barlow lectured the team afterward about the importance of being 2-way players at this level. The group will scrimmage again Wednesday afternoon before opening matches Thursday against California-based opponents Irvine Strikers (Blue) and Arsenal FC (White). U14 standout Atsouth Ayah, a Tampa resident, is now part of the U15 camp for this weekend. Atsouth tends to dwarf those he plays against at the U14 level. He’s still big, but quite as physically dominant against this age group.

Interesting fact: None of the 32 members of the U15 side are from soccer hotbed Texas. It’s also true that Texas is the only area of the country to basically ignore the USSF Developmental Academy. I’m not saying there’s a correlation there, just saying…..

Tuesday afternoon in Bradenton

December 3rd, 2007

Updating during my visit to U17 MNT Residency in Bradenton, where we are preparing for the Nike Friendlies, beginning Thursday.

This morning I was able to watch the training sessions involving approximately 80 players who are part of the U.S. Youth National Team system.

Everywhere you looked at the satellite fields of IMG Academy, there were teenage boys in the signature blue or white national team training jerseys.

On one field were the 92s, the primo group for the U17 Men’s National Team (primo in that they will be competing in the 2009 FIFA World Cup, provided they qualify). New head coach Wilmer Cabrera was putting the group through its paces just 2 days before an international match with their counterparts from Russia.

After some calisthenics and some individual work with the ball to get into the swing of things, the group broke into 2 squads, each on one half of the field. While some assistants put what looked like the starting midfielders and forward through what looked like 6 on 4 training at attacking tactics, Cabrera concentrated on the apparent starting back line of Tyler Polak, Jared Watts, Perry Kitchen and Emilio Orozco (left to right). The former Colombian international was working on shape and positioning, using a few other players to demonstrate a team moving the ball around and drilling the defenders on their reaction to each move.

Later the group reunited for a fairly-brief period of 11v11 scrimmaging.

While this was happening, the 91s and 90s (a half dozen 90s are still in residency while they finish high school) were working with assistant coach Brian Maisonneuve and outgoing assistants Keith Fulk and Raul Diaz Arce. These players will be competing in the USSF Academy League this weekend. They appeared to be working especially hard on finishing.

On yet another field, Jim Barlow’s U15 Boys National Team were having a robust training session. After Barlow led the squad through some warmup drills with the ball, goalkeepers and forwards moved to one goal to work on finishing and shot-stopping under the tutelage of coaches Gerry McKeown and Charlie Inverso. Goalkeepers Will Whiddon, Max Kurtzman and Jonathan Kempin (a Kansan called in to national camp for the first time following a standout performance at the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Interregional 2 weeks ago) all showed some good reflexes and bravery between the pipes.

The midfielders and defenders worked through a possession game under the direction of Barlow and assistants Tony Lepore and Mike Matkovich. The emphasis was on quick decisions and precise ball movement.

Of course these things are key at the highest levels of play, but one couldn’t help noticing an overall subpar level of technique among the U15s. There are a few exceptions, but it reminds that our club system will have to upgrade itself significantly when it comes to producing players who are comfortable and skilled on the ball, for dribbling, passing, receiving and shooting. The USSF Development Academy is still in its infancy, but it will be vital for its leadership to persuade the club directors and team coaches to do what is needed to create the environment conducive to such development. While work can still be done with players at these ages, how much better would it be for the clubs to really be focusing on this at younger ages (instead of the current fixation with winning team tournaments at ages 9 to 14).

Without that improvement in technique, nationally we will continue to hit a ceiling in terms of what can be achieved by teams and players.

The U15s closed with a short, full-field scrimmage, with the emphasis again on teamwork, holding possession and making good decisions.  A newcomer to the U15 squad, Salt Lake City’s James Rogers, is very impressive with his quickness and agility, but like most of the others, needs to work on his technique.

Anyway, that’s what was going on this morning. More tomorrow.