The level of youth soccer in the United States is improving greatly. Although it is difficult to get the best youth athletes to play youth soccer in the states, there is much to be said on the state of youth soccer just in the past few years.
The introduction of the USSF Development Academy 2 years ago was a huge step for soccer here in the United States. There are a lot of pros with this system but also a lot of problems. Also, the state associations are doing a much better job with player development on the local stage.
In the US Development Academy are the top 75 clubs throughout the country. Each club has a U-16 and U-18 Academy team. For the elite soccer player interested in playing soccer in college, these are the clubs to find. This year over 300 Development Academy players are going to college to continue their soccer careers.
There are 2 Academy Showcases each year that every club attends. There are numerous national team scouts at these showcases and countless amounts of college coaches. The structure is somewhat different from local state associations. Academy gameplay is a bit more consistent with how international soccer works. For instance, once a player is subbed out of a game they cannot return! Each club in the academy is assigned to a geographically located division. At the end of the season there is a playoff for the top teams in each division to determine the best teams in the nation.
In my opinion overall, the Development Academy is a great idea that US soccer has put in place. There are a few things that need to change for this to be the best it can be.
First, the national federation should start this with younger players. The program should start at u-12. The reason behind my idea for this is that the players can grow together as a team. Yes individual skills are very important but if a player does not learn the team aspect they will never fully grow as a player. As a youth soccer coach I have seen first hand teams fully stacked with talent put together at the higher age groups. Most of these teams do not live up to their full potential. If this is done at a younger age it would prevent the enormous ego’s of a number of youth players.
The cost to play academy needs to go down. For an Academy Player, this past year, you are looking at spending anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 dollars a year. This includes training fees and travel fees. The federation needs to lock up a sponsor immediately. If this needs to be done at the Club level than the federation needs to do everything in its power to help. Costs like these are a major problem with youth soccer here in the United States. Most of our top athletes absolutely cannot afford to play in this program.
Finally, we need to eliminate the entire ODP program. The best players in each state should be playing for the academy and not for local club teams. If the federation starts the program at a younger age this would ensure the top players are playing for the academy. As of right now the best players are still spread out on numerous club teams throughout the country.
The local state associations are also doing a great job with youth soccer. There is still a state cup, regional, and a national tournament in each age group that academy teams are not allowed to participate in. The coaching has improved dramatically in the last few years on the local level. There are numerous resources available for local club coaches to use. These teams still compete in top notch tournaments throughout the year in front of college coaches but the level of play is not of the academy level. There are hundreds of players continuing their soccer careers in college through regular club teams.
Our goal in this country needs to be to get the top players in each state on the academy teams and to get more of the top athletes in the US playing soccer. I believe if we start at a young age this country will become a soccer powerhouse on the international level. The sky is the limit for youth soccer here in the United States.
