Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 12:28     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?


Why would they waste their time looking at the 5th best player on a winning team when they are looking for the best players in the nation?

Most youth soccer players are constrained geographically. That's means a top Talent player is going to play on the best team within driving distance, which very well could mean the rest of their team isn't as good and they could sit near the bottom of the division.

Waste of time. Sure you can dig through the bargin bin looking for talent or just go to the top team that wins and take the whole team.


So what you're suggesting is basically only people in Hotspot soccer areas should get scouted?

I would use the ranking app and limit recruitment to top 50 nationwide teams.


So you are going to guarantee that you overlook talent in order to ensure that everyone selected is at least at some minimal level of talent. The current approach is already going to catch all the top players on winning teams, so digging deeper on those teams seems like it will achieve nothing.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 12:14     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?


Leagues don’t have anything to do with US Soccer talent ID centers. They are run by US Soccer. They’re not run by the leagues. They don’t hand anything out.

The GA runs talent ID centers, but that’s just for the league. It is not a US Soccer sanctioned event and barely any players from those talent IDs make national team camps anyways.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 11:36     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is the current method for scouting usynt players:

PLAYER SELECTION

Players are discovered through two main pathways. Talent Identification Managers lead all selections.
Process of scouting by U.S. Soccer at games and/or events.
Coach or Club Director Recommendation.

Is this the best method, or is there another way…such as open tryouts? This is just one suggestion, but looking for other ideas. Right now, the po
Icy seems only to look for most athletic kid, kid with biggest kick, fastest kid.

Go!


I don’t think this is a completely fair assessment. Assurming similar technical skills, the faster, stronger player will be selected even though there is a likelihood that they are early grower and closer to their physical peak.

For a smaller, skilled player to be selected, they need to have quickness that is on par or faster than the bigger, faster kids.

Quickness/ reaction time combined with agility is what scouts look for.
Unfortunately that is pretty hard to find in open tryouts.

So I think open tryouts should be an option, I’m all for club recommendations. That’s why I say go to a club where the coach and club thinks ur kid has potential.


“Big kids” suck by u16. Let’s get serious.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 11:08     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

The US has to pull in "x" amount of players at each age group per year. Somewhere around 60-65 (this does not include the Talent ID Center players). A small core group of players is usually invited (like 6-8), but even this group rotates as the players age (the US may decide the player is better off training with a NWSL team than being called into camp, etc.). Still, it seems like they are trying to really expand the pool of players and do a deeper dive into each age group.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 11:07     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

As mentioned in an earlier post, IMO, a big part of t the problem is the lack of transparency of how the process works.

Beyond a few paragraphs on the US Soccer website, there isn't a ton of details on how the ID Centers work and more specifically what happens next.

It's so much a "Don't call us, we will call you" type thing. You go, you watch the film, cut some clips and then it's radio silence unless something else happens.

More transparency of how much influence your club has on getting you to an ID, what happens once the ID is over, etc would help I think bring some clarity to things.

But, if you think of it, there's a big net cast early on, and that net gets smaller and smaller as the players get older until your at the senior team level.

It's a tough road for sure.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:45     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I get that some people will argue that there might be a unicorn on a 2-15 team. Statistically there will be more unicorns on teams that win and less on those that dont. It's usually why they win. Teams that are ranked the highest in the nation need to be the best at all aspects of the game. You're not going to consistently win just because you have a hot forward that scores. This is why all players on top teams should attend Talent IDs and maybe 1 or 2 from the losing teams.


In other words, winning is all that matters in youth development. Folks, so long as your kids can get on a team that wins, you’re all set.

Is US Soccer planning to develope players or are they trying to win games at the international level?
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:43     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?


Why would they waste their time looking at the 5th best player on a winning team when they are looking for the best players in the nation?

Most youth soccer players are constrained geographically. That's means a top Talent player is going to play on the best team within driving distance, which very well could mean the rest of their team isn't as good and they could sit near the bottom of the division.

Waste of time. Sure you can dig through the bargin bin looking for talent or just go to the top team that wins and take the whole team.


So what you're suggesting is basically only people in Hotspot soccer areas should get scouted?

I would use the ranking app and limit recruitment to top 50 nationwide teams.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:40     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?


Why would they waste their time looking at the 5th best player on a winning team when they are looking for the best players in the nation?

Most youth soccer players are constrained geographically. That's means a top Talent player is going to play on the best team within driving distance, which very well could mean the rest of their team isn't as good and they could sit near the bottom of the division.

Waste of time. Sure you can dig through the bargin bin looking for talent or just go to the top team that wins and take the whole team.


So what you're suggesting is basically only people in Hotspot soccer areas should get scouted?
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:38     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:I get that some people will argue that there might be a unicorn on a 2-15 team. Statistically there will be more unicorns on teams that win and less on those that dont. It's usually why they win. Teams that are ranked the highest in the nation need to be the best at all aspects of the game. You're not going to consistently win just because you have a hot forward that scores. This is why all players on top teams should attend Talent IDs and maybe 1 or 2 from the losing teams.


In other words, winning is all that matters in youth development. Folks, so long as your kids can get on a team that wins, you’re all set.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:37     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?


Why would they waste their time looking at the 5th best player on a winning team when they are looking for the best players in the nation?

Most youth soccer players are constrained geographically. That's means a top Talent player is going to play on the best team within driving distance, which very well could mean the rest of their team isn't as good and they could sit near the bottom of the division.

Waste of time. Sure you can dig through the bargin bin looking for talent or just go to the top team that wins and take the whole team.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:34     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

I get that some people will argue that there might be a unicorn on a 2-15 team. Statistically there will be more unicorns on teams that win and less on those that dont. It's usually why they win. Teams that are ranked the highest in the nation need to be the best at all aspects of the game. You're not going to consistently win just because you have a hot forward that scores. This is why all players on top teams should attend Talent IDs and maybe 1 or 2 from the losing teams.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:17     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?


Why would they waste their time looking at the 5th best player on a winning team when they are looking for the best players in the nation?

Most youth soccer players are constrained geographically. That's means a top Talent player is going to play on the best team within driving distance, which very well could mean the rest of their team isn't as good and they could sit near the bottom of the division.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 10:14     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?


They do all the time. Geez, u must be one of the parents that absolutely hate quality of play rankings and are now on a mission to advocate that winning is all that matters in youth soccer.
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 09:58     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's another one that makes no sense.

Leagues generally have one person per geography that's the manages that areas Talent ID. Usually every club in a league gets 1-3 Talent ID invites per age group.

In my kids league there 10is teams and 3 clubs tend to always win it all. If you were US Soccer wouldn't it make more sense to just take all the players on the teams that win and ignore the rest? Obviously they know how to win and likely have Talent. Why even waste your time with players from clubs that consistently lose?


No it's doesn't. Do really think the 5th best player on multiple winning teams is going to be one of the top players in the nation? No of course not. It's either top players on winning teams or it's top players hidden on losing teams.

Teams that win, win for a reason.

Teams the lose, lose for a reason.

Leagues distribute Talent ID invites mostly evenly to all clubs because that's what the clubs are paying for. US Soccer is then forced to look through all the duds to find the talent.

Do you really think US Soccer wants to waste their time looking at a player from a 2-15 team?
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2025 07:34     Subject: Is this the best method for scouting USYNT players or is there another way?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is the current method for scouting usynt players:

PLAYER SELECTION

Players are discovered through two main pathways. Talent Identification Managers lead all selections.
Process of scouting by U.S. Soccer at games and/or events.
Coach or Club Director Recommendation.

Is this the best method, or is there another way…such as open tryouts? This is just one suggestion, but looking for other ideas. Right now, the po
Icy seems only to look for most athletic kid, kid with biggest kick, fastest kid.

Go!


I don’t think this is a completely fair assessment. Assurming similar technical skills, the faster, stronger player will be selected even though there is a likelihood that they are early grower and closer to their physical peak.

For a smaller, skilled player to be selected, they need to have quickness that is on par or faster than the bigger, faster kids.

Quickness/ reaction time combined with agility is what scouts look for.
Unfortunately that is pretty hard to find in open tryouts.

So I think open tryouts should be an option, I’m all for club recommendations. That’s why I say go to a club where the coach and club thinks ur kid has potential.


What would open tryouts look like?

A payday for US Soccer. But who cares its about giving all players an opportunity to be seen.


So you’re proposing open tryouts like ODP?

Whatever works.

At the very least cut out the corruption.


I agree. I saw 3-4 players make our top teams at tryouts, who balled out. But then, they didn't get top team offers. Because, Top team offers went to 3 kids who didn't even come to tryouts, they just showed up to practice beforehand and the coach agreed to take them on. Thus, making tryouts a sham.

I think cronyism exists, we see it at the local level all the time.


How was taking the best players cronyism? Sometimes players have multiple offers so you can’t wait until the tryout to ask them.