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NCAA Soccer dying?

1. Academy system needs to get going.
2. Not sure it means the end of NCAA soccer.
 
I'm not a big soccer fan but occasionally watch it. It is obvious to me that their are certain skill differences between the players out of the US system and those out of Europe and Latin America. In that light this makes a lot of sense.

Unlike football, hockey and to an extent baseball, soccer is a year round sport in most of the world. Players from a very young age are competing almost 12 months of the year pushing their development. In the US players play with their HS team and spend a part of the year with their club teams but they get significantly less actual competition and lack the consistency of coaching and development. They also end up competing much of the year either in HS or in part of their club season against competition that isn't good enough to really drive the elite players to improve their games like they would under the European system.

College makes this even more pronounced because playing for their university the play a limited number of games, then aren't available for intensive club action much of the year because of their academic responsibilities and limitations placed by the NCAA and the college programs.
 
MtnBuff said:
In the US players play with their HS team and spend a part of the year with their club teams but they get significantly less actual competition and lack the consistency of coaching and development. They also end up competing much of the year either in HS or in part of their club season against competition that isn't good enough to really drive the elite players to improve their games like they would under the European system.
Click to expand...

Agreed on the limited competition, I remember playing 16 HS matches (playoffs included) and between 20-25 matches. But they were two teams, two coaches so styles/dynamics would change. Really high school soccer was a joke, you got all the recruiting exposure in club because of certified coaches.

I don't the MLS acadamies will work, I don't completly know how the Euro acadamies function but if contracts are involved we will see could agents repping 14 year old kids . Back in my club days when these acadamies were getting going they were terrible. Kids dont want to play for the MLS teams because they still function under the same leagues as the other club teams. Why play for the Rapids when there is the possibility to play top clubs like REAL Colorado or RUSH. Plus right now I dont see the cash in MLS pockets to support such programs.
 
MtnBuff said:
I'm not a big soccer fan but occasionally watch it. It is obvious to me that their are certain skill differences between the players out of the US system and those out of Europe and Latin America. In that light this makes a lot of sense.

Unlike football, hockey and to an extent baseball, soccer is a year round sport in most of the world. Players from a very young age are competing almost 12 months of the year pushing their development. In the US players play with their HS team and spend a part of the year with their club teams but they get significantly less actual competition and lack the consistency of coaching and development. They also end up competing much of the year either in HS or in part of their club season against competition that isn't good enough to really drive the elite players to improve their games like they would under the European system.

College makes this even more pronounced because playing for their university the play a limited number of games, then aren't available for intensive club action much of the year because of their academic responsibilities and limitations placed by the NCAA and the college programs.
Click to expand...

It´s not only the amount of games etc. but also the quality of training, player development etc. The college coaches, first and foremost, will be looking for results although they are basically irrelevant. Until you get to the senior level it should be all about player development and not results. Teams here aren´t spending millions every year to keep the cleaning lady employed, they spend that money because they see it as an inexpensive way to get players.

The ages between 17/18 and 21/22 are the most important in the development of a football player and that´s where it most of the time is decided whether the guy can earn a living in the sport or not. Those years are wasted at the college level and you are never going to get those years back.

The HS/College system works amazingly well for gridiron and hoops, but it´s not gonna work in football.
 
It seems like every single European I've ever met, no matter how unathletic, can at least dribble a soccer ball a little bit. With our population and resources, we can likely be one of the better national teams if we're strategic about it, but it's an uphill battle.
 
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