ODP soccer??
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Anonymous
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First: ODP is an indicator of a level of achievement. It is not definitive, and it is certainly not the only indicator, but ODP on a kid's soccer resume at 14, 15 and 16 can get a college coaches' attention as someone to check out.
Second: ODP region activities are good tools for introduction to coaches in the region. Most kids will go to a school within 100 miles of their home. The region camps are a very good way for coaches to check out top players who are good targets for recruitment. Third: ODP coaches are there, in part, to help the recruitment process. It is an important part of what they do for the kids. |
Anonymous
Schools that hand out $ for soccer generally are sucking third-rate academic colleges. They are rarely ever full-rides. They are a pittance. You'd be better off taking the $3500/year travel fees and putting it in a 529 if you are strapped for cash. |
Anonymous
| What if my kid really loves soccer and wants to be challenged and learn more about soccer in a competitive environment. What if it's not all about getting scholarships? |
Anonymous
Your kid will probably enjoy it, unless the $$$$ and the driving is too much for your family. |
Anonymous
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Schools that hand out $ for soccer generally are sucking third-rate academic colleges. They are rarely ever full-rides. They are a pittance. You'd be better off taking the $3500/year travel fees and putting it in a 529 if you are strapped for cash. The first sentence is just silly. It is true, however, that athletic scholarships for soccer (boys and girls) are almost never "full rides". The scholarship situation is something that parents need to educate themselves about so they can understand the recruiting process. Aside from scholarships though, there are other benefits for working to excel in a sport or other activity. Almost always there are significant expenses associated with developing a level of expertise. |
Anonymous
| True enough but many of these programs, and ODP has always struck me as one, are ways to wrangle $$$ out of star-struck parents. Players are going to be noticed for their clubs and or school teams, and it would make sense to really look into the added value of ODP before going forward. Kids obviously love it feel they are in the top bracket of kids only to later learn that the bracket was pretty huge. |
Anonymous
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ODP at 13 is pretty reasonable -- instate stuff really -- no regional camps yet. Given the cost of playing for an ECNL club, playing for a good local club and doing ODP may, by comparison, be a good deal. |
Anonymous
A McLean ECNL coach just told me that McLean ECNL is close to $7500 a year when you factor in all the costs. So yes, a good club + ODP is a great deal in comparison. Our son did ODP from U13-U17 and it was a fantastic experience. It's not as selective as Academy/ECNL, but it was good consistent training with better than average players and he sees kids at tournaments all over the country that he knows from ODP (he was on the Region 1 team). I would give it a try. |
Anonymous
McLean ECNL is $1136 per season. |
Anonymous
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A bit far afield from the original poster's question, but it happens. The OP and anyone else who has a kid who maybe has some interest in possibly playing beyond high school should certainly make a point to educate themselves as mucb as reasonably possible on the options available to them that could potentially fit their individual family situation. Playing a sport at a high level these days involves travel and other expenses (as can other activities such as playing an instrument, singing, acting, etc. . . ) McLean is a solid club and they even have the potential for some financial aid. But, club fees for ecnl teams are a low percentage of the overall cost. Just by way of example, it looks like this year the McLean u16s will be the doing the Sanford, Dallas and New Jersey events. Sanford/Disney are great, but that time of year (between Christmas and New Years) is not cheap, and families may be reluctant to split up for the holidays. Then, of course, you still have the regional games. Outside of Dallas and Sanford the games are doable by driving although some overnight stays probably are required (in addition to the New Jersey event). Of course there will be additional cost of the team qualifies for the playoffs. I would say that before accounting for playoff costs, $7500 sounds about right. |
Anonymous
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For boys soccer in US ODP is all but dead. MLS academies followed by Non - MLS academies are more relevant. If you are willing to spend that money without expecting anything, there are far better options like going for good training camps run by Academies as well as going to elite coaches for private training.
As some one following youth soccer for more than 10 years, it is obvious that the quality of boys coming to ODP has come down drastically. From a college coaches perspective, club matches and showcase tournaments are most relevant. I do not know much on the relevance of ODP for Girl's soccer |
Anonymous
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Our experience in with Va. ODP and may not entirely apply to Maryland, however, we are in the same region so it may help. My son is participating in ODP for his second year. He is a 2001. Last year he made district and state. This year he made district and will try out for state this weekend. Here is what I learned from last year:
The Va ODP claim: - Each player is "guaranteed" the opportunity to participate in an "ODP event" The Va. ODP reality: - VA takes 3 teams to the tournaments BUT takes way more kids than are allowed on 3 teams. The reality is that some players are not picked for ANY tournaments. This pisses off a lot of parents (rightly so I think) who have driven hours to practice weekend after weekend sometimes in bad weather conditions. - Va ODP gets away with making the above claim because they allow all State players to attend the Region I ODP camp. This camp costs $600+ - There is really no point in going to the regional camp unless you went to the tournaments, and even then there is no guarantee that a regional coach will look at a player\ |
Anonymous
+1,000,000 They pre-place kids on tryout fields--some fields don't even get a look (not much different from our travel club). It is very political. If we could do away with politics in youth soccer in this country---we might actually do better in men's soccer. |
Anonymous
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Virginia District ODP is 8 training sessions in the fall. The District players can then tryout for State ODP -- those tryouts are this weekend and the first weekend of December. The District coaches, having seen these players for 8 weeks of training, probably have a good idea of how the tryouts should go because they know who the strong players are and who has performed well in their training. If there are pre-selected fields for the State tryouts, I would guess it is based on the District coaches. The State ODP training is 8 sessions over the winter.
Virginia State ODP has events -- the ODP Friendlies in Williamsburg in February and the Region 1 ODP Tournament in June. Boys also have an ODP Tournament in NC in January. Some age groups have an International trip over spring break. Then the Region 1 camps are in July. I'd be interested to know how MD runs their ODP. It looks like they have international trips also? |
Anonymous
| It isn't too competitive until U15 ,at that age only 1 Team.The level is similar if not better than academy teams.Plenty of talents cannot be comitted to academy (distance to practice)and their only option is ODP (this is why the program is there for).If your kid has strong ability then yes he will get notice! |