SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer High School Soccer

Kyle,
This will be more the rule than the exception I predict as $ is spent and players are removing splinters from their behinds at D.A.
And are you kidding me--College is perhaps a bigger detrement to National Player Developement than High School? I am almost crying, I am laughing so loud.

Now you truly have the attention of these D.A. parents that have financed this to this point. This may very well be your epitath.How many of these parents do you honestly feel will encourage their kids to forego college, when that has been a main goal since U-6.

The very small percentage that make a National Team Pool almost insure failure here. What is to happen to the 99.9% of advanced age D.A. members that don't make the pool and are now 25 or 26 and haven't even been to an orientation?

Implementation at the National Level is unbelievable. This is The United States--not The United Kingdom or The United Arab Emirates.

Coach Pelton, what orientation are suggesting these 25-26 yr old D.A. players have not been to? College?

Yes Sir, that would be the one I am talking about--if they have followed this apparently new DA directive.

I propose a simple compromise, which would not really require doing anything that has not, in some way, already been done.

I propose that the DA could offer two levels of membership. For those players for whom playing in high school (or in other local options) is important, the previous one-season model would be an option, which would still allow those players to benefit from training at the advertised highest level, expose those athletes to the selection system, and probably attract a certain number of athletes into the program who are qualified and have great potential, but may not be ready to give up all of their other options at this point and might select themselves out of the DA system entirely rather than buy into the all-or-nothing model.

For those players who know that they are dedicated to shaping themselves into the next generation of professional/international players and are willing to totally commit to that goal, the 10-month season would be their option. These groups of players would be able to train year-round at the highest level knowing that they are all challenging each other toward the same goals, unconflicted by second guesses over forced choices.

High school coaches, in turn, should take this offer of choice by the DA in good faith and encourage their elite players to at least participate in the one-season option. They should also respect the PLAYER'S INFORMED CHOICE OF OPTIONS...if at any point a player says "Coach, I've worked in the DA and I believe, to meet my goals, that going full-time with them is MY BEST CHOICE"--then accept that this is not any kind of forced decision or rivalry ploy by the DA or anyone else, but the player's free will choice, given all options. Respect it, encourage it, and tell him how proud of him you are for earning the opportunity and how much you hope to be watching him on the big screen.

That's my humble idea for an ideal model...if the "all the way from the start or we're not going to train you at all/it's either us or them" model still makes more sense, I will bow to wisdom beyond my understanding.

I don't get it. I don't understand at all.....why you guys are so negative about this. I looked around....and there are over 150 high schools in SC playing soccer. If each school has 15 varsity players rostered thats 2250 boys playing high school in this state.

There are maybe 35-40 kids that this effects. So 35-40 kids out of no less than 2250. This truly effects 1% of the kids statewide.

And I guarantee that any high school with Academy players...the coaches are probably cutting 10-20 kids before the season even starts.

There will be no perceptible drop in the level of high school soccer. And kids who would have beeen roster cuts will get the chance to play. And whats wrong with that?

So whats the problem? Lets be honest with ourselves!!

This is absolutely about choice. So let it be at choice and let the chips fall where they will.

Coach Chass....regarding your proposal.....how do you expect to roster a team when kids may be there and they may not be there? Its like Boris Yeltsin said of Mikhail Gorbachev...he called him his old friend, a lover of half measures. You end up satisfying no one with plans like that.

School football and basketball don't conflict so if a kid wants to do both he can. Club soccer and school basketball DO conflict. Kids that want to do both.....can't, unless at least one of the coaches bends over backwards. 99% of those kids.....have to make a choice.

10 month Academy won't effect 99% of the kids who roster a HS team. Shouldn't even be an issue. For the 1% that it does effect, they have a decision to make. Their decision.

I really don't know what you guys want. Soccer would be wonderful in this country if only.......it were free, the best athletes played, we developed an Amercian model, we copied the best of the European model, kids went pro out of high school, kids went to college after high school, kids had American heroes who were soccer players, the game were on TV all the time, soccer players made NBA level salaries, etc etc.

How about this?

Soccer will get better in this country when more kids play at any level...and when the elite player gets elite levels and quantities of training.

I love it.....when I see more and more classic level soccer and recreational soccer programs in my area. The growth of kids playing in York COunty at this level......is WAY higher than it was 6-8 years ago, and I find that awesome!!!

And I love it....when I see American kids that live and breathe the game.....get the kind of training and repetition that will allow them to maybe...maybe....compete a few years from now with kids from Mexico or Spain or Argentina or Ireland.

And, for the record, I never was trying to be negative; just trying to be objective and come up with an idea where the goals of the DA and the concerns of HS and other coaches could be addressed, so that the system can function with maximum support from all stakeholders.

Next weekend, if I have some free time, I'm going to try to brainstorm for ideas to bring peace to the Middle East.

Development Academy moves to 10-month schedule

The U.S. Soccer Development Academy has announced it is moving to a 10-month season starting with the 2012-13 season.

After receiving overwhelming support from the Development Academy membership, the Academy is moving to a schedule beginning in the fall of 2012 that runs from September through June (or July based on postseason play). This creates a format that is similar to those followed by the elite soccer playing nations around the world as the Development Academy and U.S. Soccer continue their goal of closing the performance gap with the top soccer nations.

"If we want our players to someday compete against the best in the world, it is critical for their development that they train and play as much as possible and in the right environment," said U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "The Development Academy 10-month season is the right formula and provides a good balance between training time and playing competitive matches. This is the model that the best countries around the world use for their programs, and I think it makes perfect sense that we do as well."

A number of clubs already have switched to the 10-month season and have seen substantial improvement (Western Conference, Texas Division). U.S. Soccer recognizes there might be challenges during the transition process and will work with individual clubs to make this swift transition as easy as possible.

Moving to a 10-month season means players can focus on training together three or four times per week and play meaningful games on the weekend nearly year-round. Fewer games and an extended season will allow for the addition of a substantial number of extra training sessions, which are the primary vehicle for player development.


The 10-month season allows for a greater opportunity to institute a style of play and implement a system according to U.S. Soccer's Curriculum as well as build team chemistry. It also gives teams increased opportunities for younger kids in their club to "play up" against older players in both training and matches, thereby accelerating their development.

"Going to a 10-month season is an important step in the evolution of elite player development," said U.S. Soccer Youth Technical Director Claudio Reyna. "The format provides the ideal platform to place an increased emphasis on the value of training on a regular basis, and offers the opportunity to play in quality, competitive games throughout an extended season. This schedule puts our elite players in line with kids in their age group internationally, and places the appropriate physical demands at this stage in their development.

"The addition of a significant number of training sessions per year will enhance the ability of players to develop," said Reyna. "Along with the support of our membership, this move has been greeted with enthusiasm from leading soccer nations around the world."

U.S. Soccer created the Development Academy in 2007 to improve the everyday environment for the elite youth player. The Development Academy is a partnership between U.S. Soccer and the top youth clubs around the country to provide the best youth players in the U.S. with an everyday environment designed to produce the next generation of National Team players.