A few observations related to some of the comments:
I believe that a survey of college coaches would show them to be near unanimous in their preference that recruits play Academy all year, from a developmental perspective.
The Federation clearly believes that a year round Academy program is ideal, but isn't willing to mandate it - yet.
All training isn't equal. The Federation closely monitors DA training to ensure that it meets a very high standard. The Federation has its own ideas of what training should be (I suppose one could disagree with their model), and insists that it be adhered to.
I agree that in a perfect world all kids of ability would be identified early and afforded the chance to play and train at a high level for free. Figuring out how to do that is above my pay grade.
The Federation considers the DA to be an extension of the National Team(s). It wants the best players getting the best training and playing the most uniformly competitive games it can provide. Yes, in that sense it is "elitist."
