U.S. Soccer bans its elite players from high school ballWhen the high school soccer season kicks off next fall, there is a good chance some of the best players in the area will not be participating.
Friday afternoon, in a decision that has been anticipated and hotly debated for several months, United States Soccer announced that the U.S. Soccer Development Academy is adopting a 10-month schedule that will start in September of 2012 and finish up with playoffs in July.
The announcement means that many of the area's premier players will have to decide between playing for the Academy or for their high schools next fall.
"It's certainly a radical change, one that has and will create a lot of controversy,'' said Dale Schilly, the director of youth development for the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro program in Illinois. "This is an emotional issue, especially here, where high school sports have traditionally played such a big part in our lives.
"This wasn't my idea or something Scott Gallagher came up with. It's the format that U.S. Soccer has asked us to follow and we're doing it to make sure we can remain part of the Academy system.''
The U.S. Soccer Development Academy began in 2007 and is a boys' soccer partnership between U.S. Soccer and the top youth clubs around the country designed to develop the nation's elite players. There are currently four area squads involved - SLSG Missouri U15/U16, SLSG Missouri U17/U18, SLSG Metro U15/U16 and SLSG Metro U17/18.
U.S. Soccer feels that the 10-month season, which has been successful in Texas and California, gives our country the best chance to close the performance gap with other soccer nations.
"If we want our players to someday compete against the best in the world, it is critical that they train and play as much as possible in the right environment,'' U.S. Men's National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a press release. "The Development Academy 10-month season is the right formula and provides a good balance between training time and playing competitive matches. This is the model that the best countries around the world use for their programs, and I think it makes perfect sense that we do as well.''
Schilly's main concern with the high school game is the condensed schedule and the toll it takes on players.
"The high school teams are playing three and four games every week, which leaves limited time for training,'' he said. "In this system, there's more time for training and development, with games on the weekends.''
While area high school coaches Terry Michler of CBC and Chaminade's Mike Gauvain can understand U.S. Soccer's plan in theory, they do not agree with this approach.
"If they were going to target the top 60 or 80 or even 100 top kids in an age group and work to develop them, maybe that's something I could understand,'' Gauvain said. "But the scope of this is just too big. The Academy system has something like 72 teams nationwide; there's just no way there are that many elite-level players out there for a system like this.''
Added Michler: "They're going to try to sell this to players and their parents as the path to college or professional soccer, and that's just not true. If you're a top player, a truly elite player, you're going to be found, no matter where you play.''
Both Gauvain and Michler cited the role athletics play in the overall high school experience.
"I've been involved in soccer my whole life, as a player and as a coach at every level, and there's no way I would give up the experience I had playing soccer and baseball at St. Mary's,'' Gauvain said. "Being part of the soccer team at Chaminade is more than just soccer, it's about being part of the school community and doing what you need to do - keeping your grades up, showing up on time, being a good school citizen - in order to be eligible to stay part of the soccer team.''
Michler, the winningest high school soccer coach in America, added: "There's something special about being able to represent your school in a rivalry game in front of your friends and family and classmates. And you just don't get that in club soccer, even at the top level.
"What we're doing is asking these players and their families to make extremely difficult decisions in a system that didn't need to be changed.''
Schilly sees this as the next step in the evolution of club soccer.
"Twenty or 30 years ago, you played for the team in your community, but at some point, that evolved into playing for select teams and regional clubs,'' he said. "Now, in an effort to try to continue to develop players, U.S. Soccer wants us to take that next step.
"The thing to remember is that the players and their parents will make the choice and that this will only impact a small percentage of players."
