DC United's New Youth Plan

[Anonymous]

Another marketing play or real change?

"Later today the Black-and-Red will officially unveil “DMV Pathway 2 Pro,” a partnership with five Washington metro area youth clubs designed to strengthen and streamline the developmental pyramid by which United aim to nurture the region’s top young talent..."

https://www.soccerwire.com/news/pro/mls/with-new-pathway-2-pro-dc-united-aim-to-raise-the-level-in-dmv/

[Anonymous]

At a minimum, it sounds like it will be a nice experience for the players who are selected to go to the monthly/twice monthly trainings. It would be a big deal for a guest player to attend GA Cup or the international Cup. If some kids from the other teams get to do that, I will consider it to be "real" rather than just marketing. From what I can tell, DC United's academy system has improved a lot over the last year or two, and hopefully this will be another step in the right direction. It also makes sense that they would want to do additional scouting and build more roots in the area given that they now have a USL team.

[Anonymous]

Is this for Academy players from those clubs? or meant for players who aren't with an academy team

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this for Academy players from those clubs? or meant for players who aren't with an academy team

The list of affiliates include PPA and Pipeline, which don't have DA. It would be weird if Arlington, Loudoun, or VDA sent kids who were not already in their Academy program as it seems likely that coaches from the affiliate clubs would be nominating the kids who would be participating. Presumably the kids they think would benefit the most would already be in their academy program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this for Academy players from those clubs? or meant for players who aren't with an academy team

The list of affiliates include PPA and Pipeline, which don't have DA. It would be weird if Arlington, Loudoun, or VDA sent kids who were not already in their Academy program as it seems likely that coaches from the affiliate clubs would be nominating the kids who would be participating. Presumably the kids they think would benefit the most would already be in their academy program.

My guess would be that the intent is to have Loudoun and VDA's top players feed into DCU. And Loudoun is so far capped at U15 curently so those boys will eye DCU as they might possibly age out of Loudoun's DA

[Anonymous]

Just 5 clubs? Lol

[Anonymous]

It sounds interesting, but certain things should be answered.
Are they going to charge ODP-style of ODP like call ups? Will the DCU DA continue to be pay to play? How would these short terms sessions enable players to compete with the players, who train 4 time per week at DCU academy? It seems like their pathway to pros lies through USL. The question is who goes to USL? DCU academy very top players? All or almost all DCU academy players? All of the above, plus players from local clubs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds interesting, but certain things should be answered.
Are they going to charge ODP-style of ODP like call ups? Will the DCU DA continue to be pay to play? How would these short terms sessions enable players to compete with the players, who train 4 time per week at DCU academy? It seems like their pathway to pros lies through USL. The question is who goes to USL? DCU academy very top players? All or almost all DCU academy players? All of the above, plus players from local clubs?

I would be very surprised if DCU charged anything for the call-ups. I imagine that the practice sessions would be like what happens now for non MLS academies that have both DA and non-DA teams. In that situation, the most promising non-DA players get to practice with the DA teams some of the time, and if they can hang and want to move up, they get the chance to do so at a certain point. If they start practicing with the higher level team and realize they are not keeping up, then ideally they at least get a better sense of what they need to work on to move to the next level. Of course, even without this sort of a set-up, any player can ask to practice with any of the local DA teams, many get the chance to do so, and some are added to the DA teams through that process. This sounds like it's just a bit more formal version of that, and one that on the face of it, is only open to the 5 listed clubs.

Really too early to tell with USL, but my sense is that most of the older age group DCU players will get a chance to train with the USL team, and the top players will get a chance to play. The top DCU players currently get to attend some practices with the first team too. The bulk of the USL team will likely be journeymen who haven't quite been able to crack MLS, and they will come from all over--not just through DC United's system.

[Anonymous]

So according to the diagram the funnel is supposed to feed into DC's Academy starting at U15.

It will be interesting to see if players from these partner clubs get preference over players from other clubs who are also trying out at that age, or for that matter, whether players from the partner clubs get preference over existing DC players coming into U15.

I sort of doubt it, but then again if that doesn't happen - if there aren't significant numbers of players from these partner clubs joining DC's academy starting at U15, that would kind of show that none of this really means anything. Their current practice is to try to recruit the best players they can get, no matter where they come from, as soon as they can get them. That includes taking players from Arlington and VDA younger than U14. Is that going to change? I highly doubt it.

Also, Pipeline? With a move to Leesburg coming in the Fall of 2019, that makes no sense at all.

[Anonymous]

Not doing much about expanding the player pool that is so often talked about.

It's still the same political feeder all the way to USMNT. There are too many independent teams and kids with wasted talent not with those Clubs that do not do the best for player development.

This sounds like an even more CLOSED system to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not doing much about expanding the player pool that is so often talked about.

It's still the same political feeder all the way to USMNT. There are too many independent teams and kids with wasted talent not with those Clubs that do not do the best for player development.

This sounds like an even more CLOSED system to me.

Unless it's all BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So according to the diagram the funnel is supposed to feed into DC's Academy starting at U15.

It will be interesting to see if players from these partner clubs get preference over players from other clubs who are also trying out at that age, or for that matter, whether players from the partner clubs get preference over existing DC players coming into U15.

I sort of doubt it, but then again if that doesn't happen - if there aren't significant numbers of players from these partner clubs joining DC's academy starting at U15, that would kind of show that none of this really means anything. Their current practice is to try to recruit the best players they can get, no matter where they come from, as soon as they can get them. That includes taking players from Arlington and VDA younger than U14. Is that going to change? I highly doubt it.

Also, Pipeline? With a move to Leesburg coming in the Fall of 2019, that makes no sense at all.

I agree that it's unlikely there will be preference for kids from these partner clubs when it comes to the formal rosters for the year. All DA clubs want the best players they can get, which is how it should work. I can still see some benefits to the set-up though, mainly from the opportunity for a group of kids to train with DCU's academy regularly over the course of a year. It will probably lead to some kids who might have thought DA wasn't for them getting hooked on the idea of playing more seriously. It is also a good reminder for those in the system that they have to continue to work if they want to maintain their spots since there will be a bigger pool of practice players gunning to take their place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So according to the diagram the funnel is supposed to feed into DC's Academy starting at U15.

It will be interesting to see if players from these partner clubs get preference over players from other clubs who are also trying out at that age, or for that matter, whether players from the partner clubs get preference over existing DC players coming into U15.

I sort of doubt it, but then again if that doesn't happen - if there aren't significant numbers of players from these partner clubs joining DC's academy starting at U15, that would kind of show that none of this really means anything. Their current practice is to try to recruit the best players they can get, no matter where they come from, as soon as they can get them. That includes taking players from Arlington and VDA younger than U14. Is that going to change? I highly doubt it.

Also, Pipeline? With a move to Leesburg coming in the Fall of 2019, that makes no sense at all.

I agree that it's unlikely there will be preference for kids from these partner clubs when it comes to the formal rosters for the year. All DA clubs want the best players they can get, which is how it should work. I can still see some benefits to the set-up though, mainly from the opportunity for a group of kids to train with DCU's academy regularly over the course of a year. It will probably lead to some kids who might have thought DA wasn't for them getting hooked on the idea of playing more seriously. It is also a good reminder for those in the system that they have to continue to work if they want to maintain their spots since there will be a bigger pool of practice players gunning to take their place.

Hmm. I've never given 'da' or other stuff any credence with my U14 and below kids. I want the best training possible and currently what I've found is not in the DA in the area, Club DA or MLS DA. I would not move my kids just to think I was aligning them to be scouted. They want to be the best players they can be, not necessarily the most 'heavily scouted'. They love the game. The USDAUSMNT style is not one they want to replicate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So according to the diagram the funnel is supposed to feed into DC's Academy starting at U15.

It will be interesting to see if players from these partner clubs get preference over players from other clubs who are also trying out at that age, or for that matter, whether players from the partner clubs get preference over existing DC players coming into U15.

I sort of doubt it, but then again if that doesn't happen - if there aren't significant numbers of players from these partner clubs joining DC's academy starting at U15, that would kind of show that none of this really means anything. Their current practice is to try to recruit the best players they can get, no matter where they come from, as soon as they can get them. That includes taking players from Arlington and VDA younger than U14. Is that going to change? I highly doubt it.

Also, Pipeline? With a move to Leesburg coming in the Fall of 2019, that makes no sense at all.

I agree that it's unlikely there will be preference for kids from these partner clubs when it comes to the formal rosters for the year. All DA clubs want the best players they can get, which is how it should work. I can still see some benefits to the set-up though, mainly from the opportunity for a group of kids to train with DCU's academy regularly over the course of a year. It will probably lead to some kids who might have thought DA wasn't for them getting hooked on the idea of playing more seriously. It is also a good reminder for those in the system that they have to continue to work if they want to maintain their spots since there will be a bigger pool of practice players gunning to take their place.

Hmm. I've never given 'da' or other stuff any credence with my U14 and below kids. I want the best training possible and currently what I've found is not in the DA in the area, Club DA or MLS DA. I would not move my kids just to think I was aligning them to be scouted. They want to be the best players they can be, not necessarily the most 'heavily scouted'. They love the game. The USDAUSMNT style is not one they want to replicate.

Ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So according to the diagram the funnel is supposed to feed into DC's Academy starting at U15.

It will be interesting to see if players from these partner clubs get preference over players from other clubs who are also trying out at that age, or for that matter, whether players from the partner clubs get preference over existing DC players coming into U15.

I sort of doubt it, but then again if that doesn't happen - if there aren't significant numbers of players from these partner clubs joining DC's academy starting at U15, that would kind of show that none of this really means anything. Their current practice is to try to recruit the best players they can get, no matter where they come from, as soon as they can get them. That includes taking players from Arlington and VDA younger than U14. Is that going to change? I highly doubt it.

Also, Pipeline? With a move to Leesburg coming in the Fall of 2019, that makes no sense at all.

I agree that it's unlikely there will be preference for kids from these partner clubs when it comes to the formal rosters for the year. All DA clubs want the best players they can get, which is how it should work. I can still see some benefits to the set-up though, mainly from the opportunity for a group of kids to train with DCU's academy regularly over the course of a year. It will probably lead to some kids who might have thought DA wasn't for them getting hooked on the idea of playing more seriously. It is also a good reminder for those in the system that they have to continue to work if they want to maintain their spots since there will be a bigger pool of practice players gunning to take their place.

Hmm. I've never given 'da' or other stuff any credence with my U14 and below kids. I want the best training possible and currently what I've found is not in the DA in the area, Club DA or MLS DA. I would not move my kids just to think I was aligning them to be scouted. They want to be the best players they can be, not necessarily the most 'heavily scouted'. They love the game. The USDAUSMNT style is not one they want to replicate.

In other words, my kid couldn't get into a DA, and I'm trying really hard to rationalize why it's a good thing.