MLS announces expansion to its Elite Youth Development Platform

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

NP here. What the hell does that have to do with anything? Who the hell wants to pick up and move to Europe? People want to bash US Soccer and all that shit for not having pro-rel but what does that have to do with U11 Jimmy playing at Arlington per se. Nothing. Let's take Arlington...how many coaches do they have from Europe? Let's even look at the 07s. They have Oscar and Matt Baddie as the top coaches. Spain and Turkey I think. So what does Europe have to do with anything. SYC has the pepe and the crew. Alexandria has Grigor and the crew. We have European coaches here doing their best to teach the kids to be their best. Why the National Team sucks I don't know. I just focus on my kid and his team and follow how they are improving. I could give two shits about Pulisic or any of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra. There are way more and I didn’t even include goalkeepers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra. There are way more and I didn’t even include goalkeepers.

Thank you. I stand corrected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

I really think you need a one-way ticket to Europe, you'll be so much happier there... Are you even a parent of a child playing soccer? I seriously doubt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra. There are way more and I didn’t even include goalkeepers.

Ive only heard of 3 of those players and pulisic just got to Europe. Not successful yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra. There are way more and I didn’t even include goalkeepers.

Ive only heard of 3 of those players and pulisic just got to Europe. Not successful yet.

Doesn't sound like you know much about the game if you've only heard of three of those players. Furthermore, Christian Pulisic just got to Chelsea. He made 81 appearances for Borussia Dortmund before Chelsea, dating back to 2016 so he's been in Europe for a few years now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra. There are way more and I didn’t even include goalkeepers.

Ive only heard of 3 of those players and pulisic just got to Europe. Not successful yet.

Doesn't sound like you know much about the game if you've only heard of three of those players. Furthermore, Christian Pulisic just got to Chelsea. He made 81 appearances for Borussia Dortmund before Chelsea, dating back to 2016 so he's been in Europe for a few years now.

You could add Beasley, McBride, Reyna to that list. So far it looks promising for McKennie and Adams too. For the others (Richards, Sargent, Weah, De La Fuente), it's still too early to tell whether they'll break through consistently or not. While Pulisic is still at the early stages of his career so you can't really say he's achieved more than the others, it would be accurate to say that he's had success at a higher level than any American so far. Guys like Dempsey and McBride were starters and important contributors for mid-table clubs. Pulisic has been arguably one of the best players at a top 4 - CL qualifying club.

Still, anyway you look at it, that's a paltry return for a country with as many soccer players as we have. And before anyone chimes in with the "but our best athletes .... " that's the quickest way to identify yourself as a noob, so save it. We have plenty of great athletes playing this sport. Lack of athleticism is not our problem relative to the rest of the world.

We need to do better, period. And there is nothing wrong with looking at the examples of countries who have consistently produced way more with way less (Dutch, Belgium, Croatia, etc...).

[Anonymous]

So who are SYC, Alexandria and Achilles going to play besides DCU? Bethesda and Armour? That would be five games. Maybe they play teams in PA?

Curious how this all is going to work out especially in age groups that academies are not fielding teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So who are SYC, Alexandria and Achilles going to play besides DCU? Bethesda and Armour? That would be five games. Maybe they play teams in PA?

Curious how this all is going to work out especially in age groups that academies are not fielding teams.

I assume they will play PDA, PA Classics, FC Delco, Cedar Stars, and the other ex-DA-now-MLS-league clubs that didn't leave. I don't know if they will still get to play Philadelphia Union and NYC Red Bulls though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra. There are way more and I didn’t even include goalkeepers.

Ive only heard of 3 of those players and pulisic just got to Europe. Not successful yet.

Doesn't sound like you know much about the game if you've only heard of three of those players. Furthermore, Christian Pulisic just got to Chelsea. He made 81 appearances for Borussia Dortmund before Chelsea, dating back to 2016 so he's been in Europe for a few years now.

You could add Beasley, McBride, Reyna to that list. So far it looks promising for McKennie and Adams too. For the others (Richards, Sargent, Weah, De La Fuente), it's still too early to tell whether they'll break through consistently or not. While Pulisic is still at the early stages of his career so you can't really say he's achieved more than the others, it would be accurate to say that he's had success at a higher level than any American so far. Guys like Dempsey and McBride were starters and important contributors for mid-table clubs. Pulisic has been arguably one of the best players at a top 4 - CL qualifying club.

Still, anyway you look at it, that's a paltry return for a country with as many soccer players as we have. And before anyone chimes in with the "but our best athletes .... " that's the quickest way to identify yourself as a noob, so save it. We have plenty of great athletes playing this sport. Lack of athleticism is not our problem relative to the rest of the world.

We need to do better, period. And there is nothing wrong with looking at the examples of countries who have consistently produced way more with way less (Dutch, Belgium, Croatia, etc...).

Huh, this guy gets it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism isn’t a problem, of course.

Over-reliance on size and speed as a discriminator in young athleted (12-15 yrs old) IS a problem in soccer.

How are you going to tell an athletic kid not to take advantage of the unathletic kid? Sounds like problem is not enough development of athletes, or, not enough athletes filling the best competitive ranks. Probably because they still go to other sports.

NP here. I don't think they are saying that athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism in games. I think they are saying that some coaches rely on athleticism to score goals and win games rather than teach playing out from the back and building through the middle and being patient. instead, the game plan is to kick it deep to the athletic kid sprinting down the field. I'm not saying SYC does this. I don't know. I do know that Alexandria teaches possession sometimes to a fault.

Yeah, it’s a troll fest.

WTF is wrong with you?

That poster is exactly right. No one on here was saying athletic kids shouldn't use their athleticism to their advantage when the opportunity presents itself. However the onus is on coaches to make sure that when that super athlete comes up against an equally super athlete, or maybe an even more super athlete, the player has developed a technical and mental skill set to have a "plan B". For too many athletic players who don't receive the right type of coaching at a young age, their only "plan B" is to lose the ball. At that point they're basically done.

Jesus, dude... you really think coaches aren’t teaching their players’ growth in technical abilities, tactical awareness, problem solving, play creation? Too exhausting anymore. People on here just keep dropping claims with ZERO evidence.

Name 5 American players who have successfully played in Europe.

Pulisic
Bradley
Donovan
Dempsey
Howard
Friedl
Caliguri
Lalas

...shall I go on?

[Anonymous]

Does the MLS Elite Academy have a website yet? I am not finding one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does the MLS Elite Academy have a website yet? I am not finding one.

The website is supposed to launch tomorrow (8/10).