Reply to DC United's New Youth Plan

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well, they cancelled the training sessions for their regular academy teams tonight so they could run a P2P ID session instead, so I guess they are serious about this.

Yes, you read that right.  "Sorry guys, you can't practice tonight.  We are holding a tryout for players trying to replace you instead."  [/quote]

This is one positive I see from the program.  It helps ensure that players already in the system at DCU will not get complacent given the regular reminder that their spots are at risk if they don't keep working.  It gives the players who participate more motivation to work hard and try shine at the sessions, and it gives the players who weren't called up for their sessions an incentive to work hard to try to make it the next time.  If DCU keeps on this path and expands the base of participating clubs, it could actually cause some good changes down the road. [/quote]

That being said, they shouldn't CANCEL a practice.  That's harming the development of the players they are trying to keep anxious about holding their spot.[/quote]

I don't think DCU really cares about the development of their players prior to U15.  Their U13s & U14s are the only DAs that only practice 3x week.  Everyone else does 4.  They don't even get started until mid-August, and I heard from an 05 parent last weekend that they've mostly had only 2 practices per week this season, because of cancellations including the P2P sessions but also for other reasons.   It seems like their plan is just to get the top talent in by U15, regardless of where they came from.  That's when they get serious.  The U15s do go 4X/week, and also pay a lot less.   At the younger ages, there are a few players they care about (the ones invited to the P2P sessions), but the rest are pretty much expendable, and they know it.

[/quote]

And that's the difference between DCU and real academies in Europe, which treasure and nurture talent from the youngest age groups.  Each player is viewed as an investment by the club and the club does everything to enable each player to succeed.  Of course, the competition is brutal and much more intense than anything here; most player don't make it to the first team.  But the club does everything to help players to succeed and does not view its younger age groups as a throw away.  I don't see Ajax academy or Dortmund, for example, cancelling an academy practice so that coaches can take a closer look at players from another club.    [/quote]

Read the old NYTimes article about Ajax.  Most kids are kicked out each year for new talent.[/quote]

There is no need to exaggerate.  They don't kick out most kids each year.   It is extremely difficult to make Ajax program.   They may have one or two spots per age group that may open in any particular year, because the competition for each spot is so fierce.  But the club values each player and creates conditions for them to succeed.  There is nothing wrong if a player, who is on the bubble, is cut because of the competition.   As I said, the competition is brutal, but the club values players and creates an environment of high pressure, where excellence is expected.  They don't cancel practices to hold tryouts for other players.  No do they charge a fee for training.  Each player is an investment.  Not every investment pans out, but those that do fund the academy for many years.     [/quote]

For any given age group it is more likely that only 2-3 players actually make it through Ajax who started at a young age. [/quote]

I don't disagree that over a period of 10 or so years only a handful would make it to the first team, but the PP suggested that they cut most of the team in one year and restart all over.  Also, getting cut from Ajax academy does not mean that your playing days are over.  The players usually end up playing for other academies and some of them make as pros.   It's the nature of a pro level demands.  In reality very few players make it, but clubs do all they can to help them to succeed.  [/quote]

If an original cohort is 20 kids and only 2-3 make it through the entirety I would say that is most kids who get cut. [/quote]

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