SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Talent Evaluation Analysis & Other Musings

Since the United States has bowed out of the 2006 World Cup, I wanted to hit on a topic that was raised in earlier threads about talent evaluation in the USA.

We all recognize that the Olympic Development Program is an expensive and sometimes exclusive avenue towards being recognized on a state and national scale. While ODP is a viable option for some, it obviously excludes potential players based on cost and availability.

The club scenario is certainly another way to expose talent on a state/national basis, but is it truly being utilized to do so. Are all players being included in this arena and if not, what could be done to include them. Are coaches involved in the club simply to garner a paycheck or truly develop individual and team talents.

High school soccer offers all kids an opportunity to compete, but repeatedly the prep game comes under attack for being too watered-down or a lesser-than pool of talent based on a "coaching what you get" philosophy. While HS is an admirable option for kids to play and my personal favorite, is it truly America's best option to develop international players?

How many kids in the 2006 graduating class are going to college based on exploits in ODP? In club? In high school?

I for one, know that at Brookland-Cayce HS we have several young men poised to play college soccer in the fall, and none of them were recruited via club soccer involvement. The same is true for the previous players that we have had in college. I realize this may be an exception to the rule, but the fact is, the lip-service provided for collegiate recruiting by clubs/ODP is widely exaggerated. Essentially the top 10% will be looked after as far as college soccer goes, but it's the next 10-20% that leaves me perplexed. These are the kids that have the ability to play at a "next level" but what are we doing to push the envelope as coaches/administrators as far as development and giving these kids an environment to improve.

Are our in-state colleges (and their coaches -- many of which are involved in ODP) looking after in-state talent or are they simply trying to keep their jobs and recruit the best players across the region/nation/internationally? Are they actively pursuing avenues to develop the in-state talent, or are they utilizing their summer camps to simply line their bank accounts?

Is soccer in this country being hindered by skill or athleticism? Is it our culture? Is it our multi-sport fanaticism?

I think it's a combination of the above. We in the U.S. value the Big 3 -- football/basketball/baseball. We pay cursory "isn't that nice" attention to hockey, soccer, tennis, and golf. Until soccer is more prevalent amongst the Big 3, we'll continue to fight/struggle for quality top-tier athletes. This is totally unlike the Argentinas, Brazils, Englands, Germanys, Netherlands, and Mexicos of the world in which those that "can play", play soccer! In America, those that cannot effectively play football (kickers don't count), basketball, and baseball (particularly in the South) move on to soccer. While they are often good athletes, we simply are not playing with our best in most cases.

What direction do we go? Should we pigeon-hole kids to soccer-only by the time kids are in the sixth grade in order to hone their skills? If so, who is to lead this effort -- MLS? USL First/Second Division Teams? Do they have the resources? As a society would we support taking kids out of a normal academic orientation to foster soccer development?

Let's face it, I'm having a hard time understanding why U11 players would travel 1-1/2 hours to play soccer for a team that could similarly be played 10-15 minutes from home. At $2.80 a gallon for gas, I just don't know where you draw the line. More power to them, but is the "product" truly superior and if so, how?

These are questions and ramblings raised amidst our debacle in Germany '06!

My question is simple. Where do the boys players on the 1989, 1990, and 1991 ODP state teams go to high school? I know several of the names, but need some help from the Board on this one!

1989 ODP STATE TEAM
Andy Angrino
Michael Antinoro, Northwestern
Stuart Brunt, Home School
Reel Callison, Lexington
Nicholaus Castro, Riverside
Kevin Cawthon, Wren
Andrew Chavarria, Lexington
Reed Dement, Emerald
Robert Eppelsheimer, Wando
Kevin Haskins
Jan Hernandez
Joey Howard, Dutch Fork
Quinn Hunt, Aiken
Michael Mudge, Daniel
Blair Rushing, Greenville
Devon Telford, Ridge View (doesn't play HS)
Ross Waters
Cade Weatherly, Lexington
A-Justin Blomdahl, Waccamaw
A-Christopher Dixon
A-Talon Stroud, Dorman

1990 ODP STATE TEAM
Crayton Benson, Northwestern
Danny Cates, Dutch Fork
Zackary Clark, Northwestern
Michael Czulinski, Ridge View
Andrew Denn
Michael Essman
Gradey Grumman
Rudiger Hellberger
Luke Hogan, Wando
George Khoury, Bishop England
Ralph Lundy, Wando
William Lynch, Irmo
Enzo Martinez, Northwestern
Erik Mozzo
Kevin Nolan
Robert Owens
Aaron Peter, Riverside
David Slaughter, Chapin
A-Gustavo Delgado, Lexington
A-Graham Howard, Lexington
A-David Moore
A-Tyler Vukoder, Fort Mill

1991 ODP STATE TEAM
Stephen Arneson
Andrew Barbieri, Fort Mill
Nash Brace
Henry Callis
Jason Chapman
Andrew Gorospe, South Pointe
Alexis Martinez, Northwestern
Kyle McEwan, Irmo
Benjamin Montry
Byron Quinatoa, Dreher
Daniel Riley
Brendan Shumberger
Tyler Staub
Joseph Sweet, Pinewood Prep
Brandon Tyner, Bishop England
Michael Valencia, Mauldin
Thomas Valikonis
Adam Wolf
A-Patrick Adkins
A-Jeffrey Antinoro, Rock Hill
A-Chandler Burns
A-Timothy Byrd
A-Jordan Hunsaker, Olympic (Charlotte, NC)
A-Brantley Wiggins

I'll be honest, my scope is from the high school level, because that is what I focus on from January through June. However, I don't see any names like A. Autenzio, D. Deas, S. Flynn, JC Gypin, S. Kulasekera, J. Maki, P. Myers, E. Penland, S. Velasquez, etc., and that bothers me when seeing some of these other names.

I think it would be better if the SCYSA site would publicize where players are from. I think that it would eliminate some obvious bias on the coaches that select part as well as give some credence to the clubs/HS that are producing these players.

What is there to hide?

I am pretty sure J. Maki and S. Kulasekera were asked to play ODP after a few people had quit. They were in attendance at the last training session if i understood correctly.

In my opinion though ODP can sometimes come across as a very political program. Alot of players may not want to try out for fear that even though they are good enough somebody with more connections, or who had previously been on the team may come along and take their potential spot.

Why were JM and SK not on the initial list? Cannot be from a lack of ability. I know that both register on the "blip screen" for those in the know.

I would say due to the fact that they were not on the initial team when the rosters were posted. It was not untill after players dropped out that they were extended invitations along with the alternates listed incase something of this nature happened.

Now that is getting in over my head. I am just a follower of the game, but know that Talon Stroud who was an alternate was out there along with a few other players. As far as who makes selections and who says who to bring in, I wouldn't begin to be able to answer that question. Somebody in an offical position would be much better suited to answer that question. So does anybody know?

You're right. Lots of players (many of them, good ones) fail to reach their potential and often stop playing.

ODP and Club (successful teams and those which attend major tournaments) are the recruiting ground for the BIG colleges. ODP teams are picked by the Coaches. Now that the club coaches are usually out of the mix, the politics for Boys ODP at least have dropped out too.

One suggestion, better tournaments, or at least one super tournament in SC. College Coach invitations, etc. This will take a lot of organising. Might be an idea for ODP to hold an in-state tournament as part of the selection process too. This would be another opportunity for local teams to showcase talent.

But I think the other issue is, how do coaches evaluate players who are NOT playing in good teams, against top level opponents and have yet to really develop as players ? I for one, had to pretty much stop playing for 3 years (14,15 &16) when I broke and rebroke my collarbone 4 times. So at 18 I feel I still had a lot of headroom. But how does a coach take that into account ?


So one final thought. 5-a-side Statewide tournaments in the summer will improve skills. Another thing to organise, but great fun to watch and play in.

What do the role of summer camps play on player development?

In my opinion it seems more and more kids are attending soccer summer camps for all ages. Can talanet from our state be evaluated at a place like Lundy Camp? Do colleges recruit from any of these high level camps?

I would venture to say that talent can be spotted in the younger campers, and the coaches working the camps can watch how they have progressed each summer, and eventually even recruit some of them.