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WNT head coach Jill Ellis headlines Girls' Development Academy Launch Meeting

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    WNT head coach Jill Ellis headlines Girls' Development Academy Launch Meeting

    Dec 23, 2016
    In an ever-evolving and increasingly competitive landscape, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy made clear that the future is here and now for elite girls' soccer in the United States.

    Youth club leaders and directors from across the nation gathered inside the Chicago Renaissance Hotel Ballroom last week to discuss the state of girls' youth soccer at the U.S. Soccer Girls' Development Academy meeting. U.S. Women's National Team head coach Jill Ellis, along with U.S. Soccer Development Academy Director Jared Micklos, detailed the components of the program and addressed key topics for the U.S. Soccer Girls' Development Academy's inaugural season, kicking off in the Fall of 2017.

    The consistent messaging throughout the presentation, small groups and concluding Q&A session was focused on player development: a united mission to create environments that develop all players within the club, and ultimately develop world class players that have the potential to contribute to the Women's National team.

    "At the outset you are talking not about a league but you are talking about a platform for development," Ellis said. "I think in the fundamental basis of what this is going to serve, it's for development. The Development Academy is going to bring clubs and coaches to become more aligned in terms of what the big picture is: to find players and help them become the best soccer players they can be."

    Another aspect that Ellis touched on was how the Girls' Development Academy will be a revolutionary step towards de-emphasizing winning and losing. "This is not a league where it is about points and trophies," Ellis said. "This is a development platform, where it's about competing, growing and helping players get better. That base philosophy is going to send messages to coaches and the coaches will embrace it."

    Throughout the meeting, club leaders were educated on the opportunities the Development Academy alignment presents with U.S. Soccer. Similar to the current structure of the Boys' Development Academy, the primary principles of the Girls' Development Academy include more training, less total games, more meaningful games, international rules and standards, higher standards and license requirements for coaches, elite referees and increased opportunities for players to be identified and selected to Youth National Teams. These principles, along with the education, club support and resources U.S. Soccer provides to Girls' Development Academy clubs, generated a buzz and positive outlook from academy club directors in attendance.

    "Any decision you make is about trust and responsibility," Sockers FC Chicago Academy Director Dave Richardson said. "If you look at U.S. Soccer and you look at the Development Academy, you say, 'Can I trust that they can put together the best programming for players? Can I trust that they are going to put together an environment that is going to be good for developing players, which is ultimately going to be good for you as a club?' Well, having been with them for ten years on the boys' side, I can say that the answer is yes."

    "As a club, you have to start to think a little bit differently," Richardson continued. "Maybe you are not thinking so much about the team and the outcome of the team, but rather the way in which you are developing your players. As clubs, we are the platform and we have a responsibility to elevate our players."

    In the opening slide of the presentation, Micklos called up a picture of Albert Einstein with a quote reading,

    "If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got."

    This thought provoking statement for the 125 club directors and leaders in the hotel ballroom served as the beginning of dialogue and as a guide for small group discussion throughout the day. To remain amongst the international leaders in the global landscape, the U.S. Soccer Federation Development Academy Program will provide players the opportunity to develop on their own pathway.

    "We are pleased to have national club leaders together to discuss the future of the girls' game and believe we have made real progress today," Micklos said. "For many clubs, this can be an unfamiliar process. The lessons learned in building the Academy will provide a guide for the clubs and ourselves as we expand programming for elite youth female players."

    "Over the last 10 years, the Development Academy has built meaningful relationships and earned respect from the right stakeholders to launch what we firmly believe is the right pathway and footprint of youth soccer development."

    By the numbers:

    • 71 Number of clubs joining the Girls' Development Academy in Fall 2017
    • 6 Number of Girls' Development Academy regions: Northeast, Southwest, Mid-America, Frontier, Northwest, Southeast
    • 5,000 Number of projected Development Academy girls' players for inaugural season
    • 10,700 Current players in the Development Academy
    • 179 Number of unique boys' and girls' Academies, developing the next generation of talent
    • 135 Number of USSF 'A' licensed coaches currently committed to Girls' Development Academy clubs
    • 1,544 Number of players to receive full scholarships from Academy Clubs

    #2
    No high school soccer? Forget that! The Achilles heel.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      No high school soccer? Forget that! The Achilles heel.
      Exactly the sort of thinking that will doom the US Women to mediocrity. Blokes like this are worrying about their daughter's playing high school soccer when internationally most national level players are done with school and turned pro by 16-17. Most youth national teams train together for years and play 20-30 games a year as a team against other national and pro teams. If we want to be competitive as a soccer nation we need to look at what other nations are doing and come up with something similar. Trying to placate parents of players who will never matter is not the answer.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        Exactly the sort of thinking that will doom the US Women to mediocrity. Blokes like this are worrying about their daughter's playing high school soccer when internationally most national level players are done with school and turned pro by 16-17. Most youth national teams train together for years and play 20-30 games a year as a team against other national and pro teams. If we want to be competitive as a soccer nation we need to look at what other nations are doing and come up with something similar. Trying to placate parents of players who will never matter is not the answer.
        Fine. If you're an nt player go ahead and play soccer all year long in some kind of residency program. If you're in the 99.99999% who aren't then go ahead and play high school if you want and enjoy it

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          Exactly the sort of thinking that will doom the US Women to mediocrity. Blokes like this are worrying about their daughter's playing high school soccer when internationally most national level players are done with school and turned pro by 16-17. Most youth national teams train together for years and play 20-30 games a year as a team against other national and pro teams. If we want to be competitive as a soccer nation we need to look at what other nations are doing and come up with something similar. Trying to placate parents of players who will never matter is not the answer.
          We are not other countries and need to develop something that works HERE.. Ten years trying to replicate what the do elsewhere has done nothing on the men's side after what ten years? DA in its current form isn't what is needed for the truly elite players

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Exactly the sort of thinking that will doom the US Women to mediocrity.... Trying to placate parents of players who will never matter is not the answer.
            More trademark illogic. Of course no one in the WNT orbit cares about placating "parents of players who will never matter." The problem with a no-HS rule would concern players who do matter--for example, quite a few ISL girls, who are unlikely to prioritize GDAP over a de facto commitment to their school. Waivers would solve this, but then there'd be little reason not to play GDAP at that point.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              We are not other countries and need to develop something that works HERE.. Ten years trying to replicate what the do elsewhere has done nothing on the men's side after what ten years? DA in its current form isn't what is needed for the truly elite players
              Boys DA is still plaques by the same mentality. With little commitment to development from the MLS and Non-MLS to national training module/system of play. Hard to evaluate players when you have little or no criteria as to what type of players you are looking for in a system. Most top FIFA ranked countries have a style of play or players who already mastered the skills and understand how to play within the system.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                Fine. If you're an nt player go ahead and play soccer all year long in some kind of residency program. If you're in the 99.99999% who aren't then go ahead and play high school if you want and enjoy it
                When it comes to this topic those 99.99999% are just a pimple on the butt of progress. Time for this country to come to grips with the fact that they just don't matter.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  We are not other countries and need to develop something that works HERE.. Ten years trying to replicate what the do elsewhere has done nothing on the men's side after what ten years? DA in its current form isn't what is needed for the truly elite players
                  Doesn't matter the country, committing 100% to training in a professional environment are the basic building blocks of any even moderately successful international level program. No matter how we structure it, we will continue to fall further and further behind until we match the training intensity of the countries we are competing against.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    When it comes to this topic those 99.99999% are just a pimple on the butt of progress. Time for this country to come to grips with the fact that they just don't matter.
                    And BTDT rings in the new year....like the pimple on a butt he is.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Doesn't matter the country, committing 100% to training in a professional environment are the basic building blocks of any even moderately successful international level program. No matter how we structure it, we will continue to fall further and further behind until we match the training intensity of the countries we are competing against.
                      Which won't happen under the present system. Many DA clubs don't even practice the recommended 4 days a week, and with the quality of teams and even teammates on the same team the top players aren't sufficiently challenged. MLS should do residential academies and NT should do similar or at least up it's game somehow in terms of frequency of practicing together and challenging games. The women's side get trickier without MLS support but I agree it won't happen with what we're doing now.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        interesting that residential academies keep coming up, especially for girls. be careful what you wish for. they USMNT one in FL hasn't been all that successful. other than the early class with Donovan, Beasley etc. and where did those guys get their background and skills base? in what, today, would be considered a very "unprofessional" environment.

                        i don't go so far as to say coaches are unnecessary. but they certainly are nowhere near as important a factor as they, and many T-S posters, suggest. time on the ball and tons of playing experiences at varying levels, lots of it unstructured, (which doesn't happen much now in the US or Britain) is what is missing.

                        blaming less skilled teammates, and a lack of team cohesion, or competitive practices, or league play all seem self serving. this are minor factors compared to what a player can control and improve on their own.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Did Ellis bring her wife and their daughter?

                          Girl's development goes beyond soccer.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            blaming less skilled teammates, and a lack of team cohesion, or competitive practices, or league play all seem self serving. this are minor factors compared to what a player can control and improve on their own.
                            A player's environment can also be very motivating (or not). That is part of what a residential system could bring if done right. Agreed not so much so far, but some MLS clubs are dipping their toes in the water. Like a poster said, though, no MLS support on the women's side. I also think residential programs are a tougher sell in the US then elsewhere

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Berkshire School is an amazing residential program if your kid is good enough. Great soccer and academics.

                              Comment

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