Reply to DC United's New Youth Plan

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You did not read the Ajax article at all if you continue to use words like "Care" and "nurture" in association with a European professional soccer academy.

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Not to rain on your parade, but I read the article when it came out and unlike you I observed several European academies of clubs that play in top divisions in different countries and talked to coaches about how they develop players.  The approaches differ, but each academy player is an investment and they care about their investment.  You mistakenly equate "care" and "nurture" with being soft.  Here's the dictionary definition for Nurture="1.care for and encourage the growth or development of" and Care "1.feel concern or interest; attach importance to something."  Both terms apply to European academies as they "care for and encourage the growth and development of" their players and "feel concern or interest and attach importance" to developing them into professionals.  The players at Ajax and other academies have to fight for their spots, dah!  The club will make a new investment if someone is not up to the standard.  However, the clubs do everything to help their youth players to succeed by providing top notch training, education/tutoring, minivans that pick up the kids from classes, equipment, transportation to and from tournaments, free nutrition, etc.     [/quote]

No, they view the players development in terms of the bottom line. Perhaps a few clubs like Barcelona or share your view but certainly not Ajax. Ajax is only interested in developing marketable players off, it is their business, not their passion.[/quote]

I'm not going to delve into this terminology debate. They care, or they make money to do it right or whatever.  That's just vernacular .  Here's what I know firsthand European youth academies do - many of them, even the less famous clubs like those in Holland and also in Latin America, like Brazil to show this is even bigger than Europe.  They do pick players up as was mentioned, they have sports psychologists work with the players, players pay virtually nothing, they look at game footage AND practice footage weekly and send weekly (or more frequently) clips with extended evaluation comments, they meet with the players in classrooms to discuss soccer theory and strategy weekly, they invest in their physical health, and have a sports trainer improve their agility. I don't mean the coach or some trainer has them run suicides, or there is some winter training program.  I mean as part of their weekly development.  These are some examples of how these programs are so much more elevated than anything even close to here.  You have to see it to get what I'm saying.  It's mind-blowing for people who come from this environment to see that one. [/quote]

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