SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP 50 Mile Rule

Can anyone explain how the USSF Development Academies get around the NCAA "50 Mile Rule". In a nutshell, the rule states that a college coach may not coach or train a non-college player who lives 50 miles away from the college campus where the coach is employed. For example, a player from Columbia could not be coached by Wofford or Clemson staff a CESA of a Greenville player could not be coached by staff from USC or the College of Charleston. Compliance officers at colleges are very quick to avoid conflicts with this rule at the club level, but somehow the Academies skirt the issue. Last time I looked, Bert Molinary of USC and Lesesne and Wiggans from the College of Charleston are on staff at the Battery. And the same is true for many other DA's. Have the Academies somehow obtained a special "waiver" from this rule that College Compliance officers are very concerned about violating.

NCAA DIV I 2011-2012 Manual states:
13.11.2.3 Local Sports Clubs. In sports other than basketball, an institution’s coach may be involved in any
capacity (e.g., as a participant, administrator or in instructional or coaching activities) in the same sport for a local sports club or organization located in the institution’s home community, provided all prospective student athletes participating in said activities are legal residents of the area (within a 50-mile radius of the institution).
In all sports, an institution’s coach may be involved in any capacity (e.g., as a participant, administrator or in
instructional or coaching activities) in a sport other than the coach’s sport for a local sports club or organization
located in the institution’s home community, provided all prospective student-athletes participating in said activities
are legal residents of the area (within a 50-mile radius of the institution). Further, in club teams involving
multiple teams or multiple sports, the 50-mile radius is applicable only to the team with which the institution’s
coach is involved; however, it is not permissible for the coach to assign a prospective student-athlete who lives
outside the 50-mile area to another coach of the club. A coach also may be involved in activities with individuals
who are not of a prospective student-athlete age, regardless of where such individuals reside. (In women’s volleyball
and women’s sand volleyball, see Bylaws 13.1.7.12 and 13.1.7.13, respectively, for regulations relating to
a coach’s involvement with a local sports club and the permissible number of evaluation days.) (Revised: 1/10/90,
1/16/93, 9/6/00, 4/25/02 effective 8/1/02, 5/11/05)
13.11.2.3.1 Exception. The 50-mile radius restriction shall not apply to a prospective student-athlete
who resides outside a 50-mile radius of the institution, provided the institution documents that the local
sports club is the closest opportunity for the prospective student-athlete to participate in the sport. (Adopted:
1/9/06 effective 8/1/06)
13.11.2.3.2 Legal Resident. A prospective student-athlete who relocates to an area within a 50-mile
radius of the institution on a temporary basis (e.g., to participate on a club team or attend an institution
while maintaining a permanent residence outside of the 50-mile radius) is not a legal resident of the area
regardless of whether the prospective student-athlete meets legal standards of state or local residency for
governmental purposes. (Adopted: 9/18/07)
13.11.2.3.3 Institutional Sponsorship of Local Sports Club. Neither an institution’s athletics department
nor an institution’s athletics booster group may sponsor a local sports club that includes prospective
student-athletes. It is permissible for a department of the institution that operates independent of the
athletics department (e.g., physical education department, recreation department) to sponsor a local sports
club that includes prospective student-athletes, provided no athletics department staff member is involved
with the club team. (Adopted: 1/16/93, Revised: 1/11/94)

The same way college head coaches are Region Team Coaches or Caleb Porter is the U23 National Team Coach.

I suspect that the NCAA will ultimately get around to this question more directly, as it APPEARS college assistant coaches gain an unfair recruiting advantage by coaching ODP, club, Academy, whatever. Notice, I emphasize APPEARS. In many instances, the NCAA is more concerned with perception than reality.

"The same way college head coaches are Region Team Coaches or Caleb Porter is the U23 National Team Coach."

Will, I assume you mean Region Team ODP Coaches. Do I remember right that there were no D1 coaches with the state ODP teams this past year? Also, as far as Caleb Porter and the U23's, maybe none of them wanted to play for Caleb at Akron.

Anyway, I don't think it's pertinent to the question raised as there appears to be no documented exception to the scenarios presented. Only conjecture that no penalties have been issued so therefore it must be ok. They do it, Region ODP or National U23's so therefore the Dev Academy can do it. I wouldn't want to base a players eligibility on that kind of conjecture.

Drop Listen you are barking up the wrong tree. Keep trying though.

50 mile rule does not apply to the Academy because its under US SOCCER.

"Drop Listen you are barking up the wrong tree. Keep trying though.
50 mile rule does not apply to the Academy because its under US SOCCER."

Oh, now I see. Because the Academy is "under US SOCCER" the NCAA rules do not apply. WOW!
But I understood that the Academy is under the USSF. And isn't USYS affiliated with US SOCCER. So why the "special" treatment for the Academy? All the organizations and affiliations are enough to make your head explode. Hard to figure out who's on first. Maybe it is planned that way. Hmmmm.

Don't get me wrong. I think the 50 mile rule stinks.
1. Why does Div 1 have a 50 mile rule and I believe Div II is 100 miles and Div III it is 50?
2. If the concern is with unfair recruiting, then there should be zero tolerance for coaching/training prospective student athletes. Not some arbitrary 50 or 100 miles. Why should a player who lives within a fixed distance (50 miles) from an institution get an unfair advantage in being trained by that institutions coach than a player who lives 51 miles away.
3. All youth soccer organizations should comply with the same rules: USYS, USSF, US Soccer, US Club Soccer, Super Y, ODP, etc. It should not make any difference who your affiliation is.

If I'm barking up the wrong tree, why is there a raccoon staring down at me? (old lowcountry saying)

I have been enlightened!! For all of you out there who are as confused as I am, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and US Soccer are one in the same. USYSA and US Club are affiliate (?) institutions. Thanks Wikipedia.

Drop
You maybe hitting just the tip of the iceberg, especially where SC men's soccer is concerned.
A number of issues are in play, not the least of which is the 50 mile rule. The front page of The State had an article Saturday about the USC Athletic dept and their recent run in with the NCAA. Seems a though the compliance dept has dropped the ball all the way around, not just football, basketball and track.

50 Mile Rule:
1. A coach at a college/univ may coach/train at a sports club in the local community of the institution(college). The home of the SCUNITED DA is not in Columbia, but MT Pleasant, many miles away. So USC has two coaches, Molinary and Brissom coaching in violation of the rule. Oops.
2. A college/University coach may coach prospective student athletes (9th-12th grade) at the local club only if they reside within a 50 mile radius of the institution's (college) campus. Most of the players at the DA do not reside within 50 miles of USC in Columbia. And USC has signed many athletes from there for 2011,2012,2013. Oops.
3. The College of Charleston's facility lies within a stones through of the DA. So, no problem there. But, there are players that reside outside of the 50 mile radius. Oops.
Other issues:
A young man who had verbally committed to the men's soccer team was pressured to leave a club team (where he had played for many years and been very successful) and play for the Academy team in Charleston so that the coaches could monitor and assist in his development. Doesn't that smack of undue influence. Oops.
Coach Berson had for years in the past coached a "team" at several local sports clubs. Congaree Rapid is the closest club to USC, but I don't figure he was out of bounds at NECSA or Lexington. However, when you move your team made up of prospective student athletes from one club to another and then recruit and sign several players from that team. Oops.

I could have sworn there was some kind of waiver for DA...l for some reason I recall this from last year (?)