Development is great. I love development. Maybe when I hear the world "development" I have a different definition.
The Academy program was created to help the US National Team player pool. I might be wrong but I think the Academy team in Mt. Pleasant is only U-16 and U-18. The best player in the world right now is 22 years old. He has been one of the top 5 players in the world for several years now. Isn't our system of identifying kids a little late? European kids are identified and brought in at younger ages to train in the youth systems so they train daily, almost like boarding schools. By the time our players are identified, they have missed out on years of "development" at the level they need to be developed with the truly "elite" players.
I am just raising points that I have heard from fellow coaches and parents. I appreciate the friendly conversation. I have two players that are in the academy "pool" currently and wish them all the best. Them playing there will hopefully make them better players and my team better. I just hope the program is what it is advertised to be and not a way for one club in the lowcountry to try to compete with CESA for state championships because then it wouldn't be about development, it would be about winning.
