SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Boys ODP tryouts

OK lets hear everyones opinion on this...
I noticed that there is a player named in the 93 pool that doesn't live in SC!

Sure we all have bad days, just that better players have fewer bad days.

Yeah, the weather was bad, but good players + desire drives good athletes to perform higher and lack of in marginal athletes to perform lower.

Why worry about continuity of coaches, they aren't playing, a consistantly good player can show his prowess repeatedly no matter the coach.

As stated on the SCYSA board, "each year is a new year and players must tryout again," it's really that simple.

Premier players, 91's aren't that old, players in this age are changing, growth spurts, awkwardness, weight, speed... Premier players come and go at this age, I'll agree with you that come 16+ the changes slow and consistancy becomes more apparent.

Right, I agree to disagree with most of your points. Just my thoughts on the tryouts too.

SoccerPOP, found this on the web, don't know if it also applies to SC:
Rule 2203. Olympic Development Program Player Tryouts

Section 1. Any player wishing to try out for the Olympic Development Program shall do so through the National State Association member of the State in which the Player may be registered under US Youth Soccer Rule 201.

Section 2. Any player released to play in another National State Association under Rule 201, Section 2 (a) may request, in writing, \ permission to try out for the Olympic Development Program in that National State Association.

Written permission must be received from:

the State Association where they are registered
the State Association where they wish to try out
Section 3. A player shall not be eligible to try out for the Olympic development Program in more than one National State Association Member territory. A player shall be responsible for all Olympic Development Program fees of the National State Association in which the try out occurs.

Any SC registered player, regardless of where they live, can play SC ODP. If they hold a player card in SC, but reside in NC, they can choose to play SC ODP. Same works for NC. There is alot of this the closer you get to borders of states.

This player is registered and plays in SC but lives in Ga. I think we are fortunate to have them playing for SC ODP...great little player and super nice parents.

I'm not interested in the legality of the issue, I'm more interested in your opinions on residents from other states competeing against SC residents for spots on SC teams. Mine are not in ODP (one dosent want ODP, the other isn't old enough) so personally, I'm not worried about it because mine are not competeing against them for a spot.
But I do see where it could be an issue if you had a "borderline" sc resident get "bumped" by someone from out of state. I know there are two sides to this and would like to hear them both.

I think there's other points to consider when looking at the rosters of players.

I would think that when the coaches are forming the pool/team, they in fact have to break the players into at least 4 groups, keepers, defenders, mids, and forwards. With significant evaluation time, ie, club seasons, coaches can learn which players can play multiple positions, but in the yearly ODP shortened duration, be it 1, 2, 3 tryout sessions these coaches may not be able to determine that. So when you look at the group in this manner, looking for a roster of 18, I don't think it would be prudent to select all mids and forwards and try to create defenders. At the tryout that I observed, somewhere during the session, the players were asked what their position was. GKs are pretty obvious. Relatively small number of hands went up for defenders and forwards and about 20 or more hands went up as mids. With 11 players on the field, 1 keeper, 3 or 4 defenders, 5 or 4 mids, and normally 2 forwards. Looking at subs, another keeper, maybe 2 defenders, 2 forwards, only leaves room for probably 2 mids. This is where the extended club season kicks in because at this level, you reasonably have players that can play multiple positions. So in the cases of only selecting 1 team, you are left to select the team from these smaller pools, and therefore, some interesting selections take place.

Add to this the dynamic of asking the "players" where they play and it gets even more interesting. A player may feel that he is a mid, and therefore when asked, he says mid, but plays as a forward or defender with the club team. So this player that feels he's a mid, may not fully understand that mid is not the best position for him.

I do agree with the coach communication point, to a certain extent. I'd like to add that with different coaches comes different styles of play. I personally think exposure to different styles of play makes the player a more rounded player. There are players that fit in the 4-4-2 for example, but not necessarily fit well in the 3-5-2. If a coach has a particular formation/style of play, then he probably tries to find players to fit that style. So while consistency in coaches would/could add consistency to the rosters, changing coaches and styles may in fact round out the players development.

Just a couple more points to consider.

SoccerPoP, you raise some good points. I guess at the end of the day, it boils down to what is in the best interest of the player. In my earlier post regarding players not make the ODP squad...the point I was trying to express (and not very well, I might add) is just that I personally know of a player who played on the A squad last year but only because he was given another opportunity to show his talent at a competitive event. The coach personally apologized to this kid because he just overlooked him at tryouts. This player is not a flashy player but a good, solid support player. To me, that kind of attribute will be better seen by a coach in a game situation...again, just my opinion. This player went on to make a difference for that squad. And now, that there is once again another coach, and no communication from the previous coach, this particular player has been left behind, again. I didn't mean to go off on that tagent but just wanted to better explain my earlier post. I am by no means a coach...just an observer. For the most part, I do trust their judgments.

In reference to your question...if the player from the other state is a much better player, then he makes the team. That's the way it works. I can see where it might be upsetting to someone if they were displaced by an out of state resident. I guess if it were proposed to make a change in that allowance, it would have to be changed across the board and players would not be allowed to be carded to teams outside their states. In that case, I think you aren't considering what is in the best interest of the player. Although, I am not certain that is what happened in the above refernced situation. This player is a 91 and said there were not many new "standout" players at tryouts for that age group.

Thanks for letting me ramble on...

Bear, I am in complete agreement with the points you raise concerning the communication between coaches. I also agree that different coaching styles can only benefit players. I just wish there was a better line of communication amongst them, especially if they are taking over a team that has had a certain degree of success in the past. The outgoing coach could provide some insight as to his current player's abilities and the new coach wouldn't be taking over a team he knows nothing about.

It's interesting you bring up how players are asked what position they play. The player I was referencing in my earlier posts plays both forward and midfield for his club team. In hindsight, maybe this player should have said they were a midfielder because even though they play as a forward on their club team, they are more of a "support" forward as the team has another standout forward. Granted, the player in question still scores goals, but has spent the majority of his Fall '05 club season playing right-mid. Not much good this will do now as I had heard that the teams going to summer camp will be selected after the weekend in Concord.

I also agree with Bear on the players playing with different coaches. All coaches have their style of coaching. This helps players to grow into competitive players.

CWIS*GK - "Yeah, the weather was bad, but good players + desire drives good athletes to perform higher and lack of in marginal athletes to perform lower" - you hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned.

I'm sure those English premier teams' coaches could care less if it were raining, snowing sleeting etc...he expects those players to perform at top level.

The boys need to think of it like this...I have to prove to the coach that I want to play, I can play and I am willing to play in the nastiest weather there is if thats what it takes to make the team.

The boys need to be able to be coached by any coach no matter if it was the coach from last year or a new one. Remember, that coach is not going to follow him to the National pool if he is picked at camp to go on.

Bear, I wholeheartedly agree with this observation (seen it alot), "...asking the "players" where they play... A player may feel that he is a mid, and therefore when asked, he says mid, but plays as a forward or defender with the club team. So this player that feels he's a mid, may not fully understand that mid is not the best position for him." In the younger age groups, 14 and below, when given an opportunity to change position they may take it, with the thought that they would rather play another position than what has been assigned them in club soccer. I also see this alot with shifts from club to HS soccer, in some discussions its even recommended for the player to move around to get a more rounded soccer experience to advance at higher levels.

I also agree with your point on coaches and style but at this level, the coach should look at the players he's presented with and create a best fit formation, thus adapt his style - the coaches at ODP should be proficient enough to execute that.

Considering both these points, strong (ODP) players, especially more experienced players, should be able to take direction during a game or at halftime and make the necessary adjustments (formation corrections) handed down by a coach once he assesses the competition. It is important to be able to play multiple positions especially under a limited substitution rule such as collegiate (+) or international level. The player in Taylorbabes' question should have probably let the ODP coach know that he plays more than just a single position.

Also, from what I could tell, most of the selected 91's mids and defs play U15 or U16 (ie playing up). It seems to me that a U14 trying out at 91 would be somewhat disadvantaged from the standpoint of size, speed of play, experience and opponent strength. This unfortunate factor evolves from the difference between Club and ODP cutoff dates.