SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP ODP - A Link to a College Education

The articles I'm posting in this thread, which focus strictly on USYSA ODP are an effort on my part to help parents of the younger age groups understand the benefits of this program. These articles do not address the exposure players who participate in the newly developed USSF Academy program, as offered by Bridge FC, are getting.

Article to Read:

"Using ODP as a Link To a College Education

Bob Collins, Editor, Student Athlete Magazine

A common question asked on all soccer fields across the country is "Are you going to try out for ODP?" Unfortunately, an equally common question is, "What is ODP?"

ODP stands for Olympic Development Program. The ODP is the United States' program for selecting and developing possible players for the Olympic and US National teams.

You say, "Olympics ... National teams ... whoa, I'm good, but not that good." Did you know that 100,000 players of all skill levels participate every year?

Why should you do it? ODP is one of the easiest ways to be noticed by a college soccer coach. Participation in ODP adds the most weight to your soccer resume when applying for a scholarship.

There are three levels in ODP: state, regional and national. The higher you go, the better your chances for playing college soccer.

At the state level, every spring you try out to be considered one of the top 18-20 in your age group. States like Ohio, Texas and California have North and South state teams. So each year, there are 55 "states" selecting their best players by age group -- from 14 to 19 years old. Tryouts, usually lasting two days, precede the first and second cuts and produce the state team.

Let's say you just made the Under-16 Ohio South State team. Your next step would be to go to the regional camp, a five-day session where your state team will train with and compete against the teams from the other 14 states in your region. The U.S. is made up of four ODP regions -- East (I), North (II), South (III) and West (IV).

At the conclusion of the regional camp, a regional team of some 18 players and a pool of around six alternates are selected. Regional teams attend a national camp in early summer, usually in the Midwest. Interregional games, over Thanksgiving vacation, are held in sunny places like Boca Raton, FL., and Cocoa Beach, FL.

Your first impression at regional camp is that there are so many very good players there. At this camp, you will be trained by regional coaches who are usually college coaches. You will train with your state team and play the other state teams in your region. Now, from this group of some 14 state teams, the staff will pick the regional team and the regional pool. These are the top 20 or so players in your age group from your part of the country. For those 20 players, it's on to the national level.

At national camp, the coaching staff consists of the national and regional staff coaches. The four regions meet to train and be seen by the national coaching staff. Obviously, the place is packed with college coaches, but they can only watch and are not involved in any way because of NCAA rules.

During games between the four regions, the national coaching staff produces a Top 30 listing of the best players from the four regions. That is the national pool. And from this group comes our national team. If you make the National Team Pool, you are in a group of players that could represent our country in international tournaments.

Since, in our example, you are at the U-16 level, your progress will be carefully noticed to see how you improve. Someday, you could help our country in the Olympics or the World Cup.

Obviously, being named to any of these teams is an honor, and it certainly does not go unnoticed by college coaches. If you make the state team, college coaches believe you are one of the top 20 players in your state. That looks pretty good on your resume. If a coach can bring in 1-2 regional players a year, he is a very happy coach. College coaches today generally agree that ODP regional team players are virtually guaranteed a scholarship at a Division I institution.

Bob Collins is the editor of Student Athlete Magazine, the only publication written by college coaches, specifically to help players get to college and on the team ... many with full scholarships. For information you can contact him at: 1-800-506-7257 or e-mail theinstep@aol.com www.Student-Athlete.Net"

Article to Read:

"Why Play ODP?

By Jeff Pill, Women’s National Competitive Staff Coach, U.S. Women’s National Teams

Over the past several years, it has been my privilege, and challenge, to work with the ODP program in many different capacities. I have been able to work as a district coach, assistant state coach, head state coach, regional coach, and most recently, with the national teams. It is from this perspective that I offer the following thoughts as to why players should play ODP, and what their goals and mind set should be as they approach the ODP season.

It has been my observation that the people who get the most out of the program are the ones that look upon the ODP opportunity as a chance to further their development as a player. This is done primarily from the opportunity that presents itself from playing with and against some of the best players in their state and region. To these individuals, ODP is looked upon as a way of supplementing their local or club environments. It is a chance to train with a competent coach who also recognizes the developmental opportunities that arrive from playing in a highly competitive and challenging arena.

People that look upon the ODP experience solely as a chance to have a shot at making the regional or national team, or who see it as a vehicle in which a college scholarship is to be obtained are rarely rewarded for their efforts. In fact, these individuals frequently are so disappointed that they drop out of the program after only one or two years, just at the time when the real benefits are actualized. In fact, since they are often striving for something that they have no true control over, they find nothing but despair.

Therefore, it is critical that the players, parents, administrators, and coaches all, look upon this opportunity as a tremendous challenge. They should see what can be learned, put themselves in an environment that demands that they reach beyond their comfort level, strive to be the best that they can be, and improve as players and as people.

Having said this, I wish you all the best as you participate in the ODP program! Whether or not the final team is made is not as important as the fact you were willing to take the risk to tryout. If you make the pool, I hope you find the program to be worth while as you strive to improve as a player. Remember, you get out of this what you put in to it. If you do not "make it", I trust that you use the experience to inspire you to continue to work hard to improve and come back again next year."

Article to Read:

"ODP...Yes or No???

As I go through the Districts watching soccer games, this is the question asked most often. “ODP – Yes or No?” Just returning from a Workshop in Dallas, our Region II Head Coach Tom Turner shared this article with us so in turn I would like to share it with you. - Dianne Jimenez, OSYSA Girls ODP Administrator

Region II Olympic Development Camp: The Dual Purpose
By Tom Turner, Region II Women’s Head Coach

There are two primary purposes for the regional camp. The first, and most narrow purpose, is the selection of the best 18 players in each age group to represent the region at the national tryouts. This is done through a series of pool selections which provide opportunities for selected players to compete against each other in training activities and competitive matches. Pool activities are held in the mornings and players are moved in and out of the pools by virtue of their performance in training sessions and matches.

The second function is more important for the development of soccer in the region. Of the 250 players who come to Regional Camp in each group, only 15% (36) will be named to a regional pool, and only 7% (18) will represent the region at an inter-regional event. The 85% who are not chosen to the regional pool still represent the bulk of the better players in Region II and, as such, are very important to the overall development of soccer. Each year, a coaching focus is chosen for the camp which seeks to highlight problem areas identified at the inter-regional events. These areas may range from simple, but critical, elements such as body preparation and vision, to more complicated problems such as combining or possessing in the attacking third. In all field activities, the focus is incorporated into live training games rather than static or artificial exercises. Training sessions always include the elements of transition, direction, scoring, and play to large goals with goalkeepers. Defining and redefining positional responsibilities is crucial to developing players’ understanding, and is therefore a recurring theme in the regional camp experience.

Coaching development is also considered a crucial part of the regional camp experience. State age-group coaches are often young, inexperienced and working their way through the levels of the national licensing programs. As such, they are still developing their understanding of coaching methodology and a sense of coaching priorities. By working closely with regional staff during the daily coaching sessions, region-wide approaches to coaching are developed and common problems are addressed in activities which are challenging to both players and coaches. With very few opportunities available for coaches to learn from more experienced practitioners, the regional camp provides one of the most valuable developmental arenas outside of the national coaching schools.

So why should an average state team player with only an outside chance at a regional pool go to camp? The benefits are numerous:
The regional staff is the most qualified of any camp staff in the country. Each coach has a USSF A License. The state team player trains with the best players in his/her state before and during regional camp.

The state team player has the opportunity to compete against the majority of the region’s best players, including regional and national team players.
Each year, over 50 college coaches attend the camp to watch young talent and many of the regional staff are themselves college coaches.
“ODP State Team” is a valuable marker on a soccer resume.
No other camp focuses as much attention on developing functional tactical awareness.

The pressure to win is secondary to playing the type of constructive soccer the United States National Teams have become so noted for playing."

Manchester - Thanks for the article. Probably the most succinct explanation of why ODP soccer is important. Thanks for sharing, I'll certainly do so with my club and HS players. Thanks again.

With ODP starting back up, I thought these posts are worthy of bringing back to help those getting into ODP for the first time.

Great article. Thanks for posting.