SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Academy and HS Ban - Good Article

Backscreen17,

Because for 90% of the kids who play Academy.....HS soccer represents a significant drop in level of training and play. And this isn't just coming from Academy coaches....
when my son played ODP it was common to hear feedback from the ODP coaches, most of whom were college coaches, that they noticed at training sessions the high school "effect".

High level club coaches (non Academy) for years have talked about the potential benefits of a 2 season club versus one.

To me, Academy isn't the point. One of the posters mentioned Nick Finotti and Lou Pantuosco. Either of those guys coaching their club teams for 2 seasons versus one, the kids would benefit enormously from a soccer perspective.

I have empathy for a kid at Wando....where I hear they have 9-10 Academy kids on the team, a number of other kids from a very good Mount Pleasant program, and an excellent coach. Same with an Irmo....and a handful of other schools. I have empathy for that kid who loves HS soccer and also playing Academy. They really do have the best of both worlds. But for most Academy kids.......the reality is an enormous gap between the two levels of play. My son played for a Charlotte Academy....and even the Charlotte parents, most of whose kids played for pretty good HS programs, talked about the qualitative differences.

USSF is doing this with the belief that taking an Academy player who spends 30% of his soccer time playing HS, which for 90% of the kids playing represents a pretty big drop in training quality. If you can jack up the level of play in that 30% window......you can probably derive some benefit.

Its logical and I agree with it. Its not for everyone and thats fine. But I believe that the kids who its targeted at......will benefit. Particulalry over time. By the time an Academy player is a junior in HS....they would have added 9 months of Academy training to his develoment. I believe that to be a good thing that will yield clear benefits.

"My experience with Academy is has been good, but not great. Question is, will a 10-month Academy schedule foster a better product -- the only LEGITIMATE reason for such a move -- or merely EXPAND the length of the existing product? Can anyone here answer that question with any authority?"

Unless someone (Shibumi?...where are you?) steps up this is a great question. Logically....the answer has to be YES!! Expanding the length of the product will improve the quality of the product. The only obstacle would be if someone could demonstrate a point of diminishing returns.

Scenario: A player will play a season of soccer lasting 3 months. Option A surrounds the player with average coaching and an average training environment. Option B surrounds the player with excellent coaching and a highly competitive training enviornment.

Which option honestly provides the top level player with the better developmental environment?

This is what USSF is looking at. Not the Wando's of the world. But the other 90%....

Again, I simply advocate a third "choice" (both) for those whom it may benefit.
What folks may not understand is, we already have a 10-month Academy schedule. Preseason begins in August, matches in September. Training and matches continue through early February. After a 3-month break, during which high school takes MOST of the time (but there are still some Academy training sessions and de facto tryouts), Academy resumes in late May and runs through playoffs in late June.
The envisioned exclusive 10-month Academy season essentially would substitute about 30 training sessions during the former high school period, and spread matches over the full 10 months, rather than concentrating most in the September-January window.
There are some clear benefits to this for many kids, and they arguably SHOULD have the 10-month choice. There are other kids for whom the benefits are not nearly so clear. I don't advocate AGAINST 10-month Academy. I advocate for an option.
I also will continue to point out that (at this point) it is not abundantly clear that any single option trumps the others. Clearly, CESA produces some very good players. Academy produces some very good players. There are many instances where high school soccer enhances players' abilities -- especially when you don't take a narrow "South Carolina only" perspective.

The NSCAA has launched a web page providing information and talking points pertaining to the Development Academy policy. Links to articles and information will be found there as well. An email blast is due to go out Thursday.

Please forward the email to every high school coach you can conjure and help us to spread the word. The email blast is intended for all high school coaches, but there may be lapses in databases and there are many who are not YET fellow members of the NSCAA.

Please let me know if you do not receive the email blast.

Please let us know what additional information or perspectives may be helpful.

Here's the link:
http://www.nscaa.com/news/2012/04/high-school-soccer-speaking-points

Sincerely,

J. Kevin Denson
2644 Cantwell Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23453
757-427-2764
KevinDenson@verizon.net

It seems like the lobbying is going on from both sides of the fence. If a player and a family feel they can balance both academy and HS ball, they should have that option.

The best player to come out of this State, Sebastian Velasquez,never played academy but did play in high school and even stopped playing club. He suceeded on ability and desire.

AMEN!!!

There’s no doubt HS ball is a drop off (no getting better/faster/staying fit in HS ball)
Playing with and against the best is ideal for player development
But there should be a choice to do one or the other or both (especially if the parents are paying the bill)
And for Academy to be successful, they need to have ALL the best players playing…..but that hasn’t happen, yet. Academy might go the same way as ODP and R3PL. time will tell.