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

This is fictional......

I read in the paper this morning that the Ivy League schools, in conjunction with Duke, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, and Cal Tech agreed on a joint admission policy. A communication company was hired to write to sophomores in HS who had scored in the top 1 percent of the PSAT, spelling out their expectations for students anticipating applying to one of their schools. That expectation was that serious applicants only take All AP classes and score a 5 on the AP exam. 4's and Honors classes would be reviewed but would beat a competitive disadvantage.

My daughter's dream since she was 7 years old was to walk the lawns of Princeton and to meet her Amory Blaine. Her name is Rosalind.

Now, she is an awesome student.....just one problem, her favorite teacher...the one named teacher of the year....is teaching certain Honors classes. Rosalind knows she should take AP.....but, her favorite teacher is teaching honors. She struggles with what to do.

Princeton beckons......but she really likes this other teacher.

Why are these schools doing this, I wonder? I struggle with it, wrestle with it. And finally realize that Rosalind has a choice that most kids would kill to have. Take the AP class and go to Princeton, the school of her dreams. Or, take the Honors class from the teacher she loves and take her chances with Princeton.

I know myself she cried, but that is all.

It's all about choices. Each family has the right to decide what they want to do. I think having choices is wonderful after all this is America. It's each family's resources, time and energy. No one is forcing them to do anytime but don't be mad if someone else decides to so something else for their child. Can people really be that petty that they would not want ECNL, Academy or whatever else that is available because they don't want to do it or think it cost too much. That's your decision which is totally ok but let other people make theirs without you trying to diminish it.

How many academy players play in the pros? How many started for UNC when they won the Natioanl Championship? I can go on and on-stop talking and name the great players and thier schools and yes i am a SV fan and you cannot name an academy player anywhere near his level. One of the previous posters was correct- the academy started because CESA dominated and in spite of the academy continues to dominate soccer in this state-a lot of kids drive from the lowcountry to Greenville to paly CESA, if the academy was so outstanding why dont they stay? And before you say its because they couldnt make it you better think again, these are kids who would easily start at the academy

This is a bit of a ridiculous argument for several reasons:

1) OBVIOUSLY, there are great players in both programs, who could easily play for BOTH and play D-I college soccer.
2) In several instances, BOTH the Academy and CESA did not actually "develop" their top players, but rather "recruited" very good players from other programs. I'm here to tell you that the "golden era" of Mount Pleasant soccer stems much more from early training at MPSC than at EITHER the Academy or CESA. And CESA folks should acknowledge this because, a few years back, they recruited/welcomed a group of MPSC kids with open arms, just as the Academy predecessor "Bridge" program attempted to do.
3) In many instances, kids/parents -- recognizing that BOTH programs are valid and reasonably respected -- simply choose the more geographically convenient and affordable option.

To summarize, both programs generally deliver what they purport to deliver. Happily, the players get along better than their occasionally silly and hyper-competitive parents.

A quote from a gentleman by the name of John Kessel, USAV Director of Development. Seemed appropriate in regard to the current High School v Development Academy discussions.
You are a Jr. Olympic coach, and should know the motto of the Olympics, Citius, Altius, Fortius – as it is this daily process of guiding your players, and yourself, to be swifter, higher and stronger – the ER, not the EST.

You really like that article don't you Import? Dang...post it again in a couple of weeks.

Yeap, old and beginning stages of Alzheimer's...maybe ban on college is next.