USSF: The move to a 10-month season is being driven by our membership, the majority of which has been overwhelmingly supportive of the initiative because they recognize the value of player development. A number of clubs have already switched to the 10-month season and have seen substantial improvement (Western Conference, Texas Division).
TR: What is the standard of improvement - how is it measured, what does it look like?
USSF: We are competing in a global marketplace.
We are not just trying to prepare elite players for college and the pro ranks in the United States; we are trying to prepare players to compete against the best clubs and international teams from around the world. Therefore, our standard has to be higher.
BUT THEY ALSO SAY
We are talking about a group of players that want to continue at the next level, whether that is professional or college,
which is still the destination for a majority of our graduates. AND
The elite players who choose to commit to the Development Academy will be around like-minded individuals in pursuit of a similar goal and will experience many of the same benefits. Players will have the chance to compete with and in front of their family, friends and club members, along with
college and pro scouts, and most important, our Men’s National Team scouting network on a weekly basis.
TR: The facts are there are over 60,000 college soccer players in this country, with slightly more girls than boys. So one does not need to play DA to play in college.
The realities of US professional soccer can be found here (a bit dated but still fairly accurate):
http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2010/03/22...season-preview/and here:
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/11/09/climbing-ladder-role-us-players-mls
