U.S. Soccer Youth Technical Director Claudio Reyna, Director of Scouting Tony Lepore, and various Academy coaches talk in the video above about the benefits players can gain from “Playing Up” in a higher age group with their Academy.
The obvious question is, does it actually benefit the players, and U.S. Soccer, or is it all smoke and mirrors? Personally, I think it is hard to argue against younger players having a crack at older competition. If you need examples, see the U.S. U-17 National Team that just took home the Nike International Friendlies trophy.
The team was comprised of some 17 year olds, but many of the players were much younger than that. A perfect example is Junior Flores, he is only 15, yet he played much older than that during the international competition. The midfielder was constantly pushing the ball up the field, and putting pressure on the United States’ opponents defense. He ended up with 3 assists, a goal, and was man of the match against Turkey, after only three friendlies.
Things are looking up for U.S. Soccer, especially with the talented group we have coming through the ranks. I think having our players continue to play up will pay big dividends for U.S. Soccer as a whole. Especially if we teach them the concept of playing to win, rather than playing not to lose. Although, that could be an entirely new topic for a later blog post.
