Landon Donovan defends H.S. soccer - 07/18/12 05:59 PM
When 2 of the biggest names in U.S. soccer defend H.S. soccer it has to mean something. Probably not though...
Donovan prefers H.S. soccer
Donovan prefers H.S. soccer
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More accurately, he fondly recollects his brief high school "career," while generally understanding, if not openly endorsing, the current U.S. soccer decision.
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High school soccer is fine. Academy soccer is fine. Club soccer is fine. ALL THREE have pros and cons, that many of us have witnessed up close, in multiple settings, over a period of years. None of the three is perfect.
Quote:Everything you say is absolutely correct!
The problem is the players selected. From what I've gathered, the SCDA team is hardly representative of the Top 1% of available players of SC, much less that USA. In fact, some would have a hard time making all-region or all-area teams, much less all-state and "national" caliber sides. I don't care how good the training is, the environment, the facilities, etc. truly are, if you don't have the BEST players, it's all for naught. The other issue is the cost. I know of families that have paid $3,000-$5,000 a year for what will ultimately equate to possible a D2 future. Weird.
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The players selected are not the problem. The players on the Academy are very good. Are there more very good players who could help the team? Yes. But those players do not try out. The coaches in the Club pick the best kids who try out for the team.
Lvrpul, perhaps your son was not able to try out for the team... in which case that is unfortunate because academy is the future.
Or, maybe he did try out and was not selected.
Either way, the best players who try out for the team are selected by the coaching staff
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Logisitics have a lot to do with this. There is no Academy in the GSP-A area. But there is CESA. Kids have a choice...stay home and play for CESA or drive 1-2 hours each way, 3-4 times per week to play Academy.
I'm a big Academy fan.....but if we lived in the Upstate my kids would be at CESA.
I do think SCU gets 90-95% of the "1 percenters" in the Coastal area and the Columbia area. You aren't going to get a "State" team without people driving huge distances.