Quote:

from the GA soccer board:



ODP - advice for youngsters
July 18 2008 at 1:52 PM
No score for this post Anonymous

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who are now entering the age to begin "trying out" for ODP here are a few observations to keep in mind
Advantages
a) Regional play can be competitive
b) Boost of confidence for the kids (and parents unfortunately)
c) Can quickly identify who has the better club team in tha age group as most of the kids will gravitate to this team
d) Additional soccer never hurts
e) Additional practice each week
Disadvantages
a) Teams tend to stay the same year after year thus not a lot of turn over (can be good or bad)
b) It can get pricey and time consuming (weekends etc)
c) Typically it is NOT a place for good training
d) Bigger clubs do have an advantage in the politics arena (make sure your coach calls)
e) At older age groups it has become watered down with the better kids leaving
f) It can be a recruiting tool
g) ODP has lost its appeal recently with the addition of other options
h) College recruiting has nothing to do with ODP and was once used to boost the credibility of the program.
In summary, it is a good program which is one of many options available for the kids. It hasnt turned out to be what it was designated to morph into thus the reason for other programs. Not a bad option at young ages but by U15-U16 it is time to move to bigger and better things since the better players will have move on (National Team, Elite Club Teams,Developmental Academy etc).


SD



With the size of the talent pool in the US, it's great to see more options for players. Opportunities such as USYSA ODP, USL ODP (Super Y) and the USSF Academy are all programs competing for top players. We have participated at length in the first two of these and in my opinion as long as top level coaches can be found scouting talent, then all is well.

Imagine. Believe. Achieve.