U20 WC to leave mark on 2016 college season
Article Written by Travis Clark
Published: May 20, 2016
9 Comments
It's rare that a U.S. youth national team's trip in May carries significant stakes for a fall college season.
That's the case of this month’s U.S. U20 WNT’s trip to Papua New Guinea, as the implications are potentially massive on the 2016 women’s Division I campaign.
Twenty-one players are on the roster for the May 21-June 1 trip to the Eastern Hemisphere. Depending on who impresses and ends up getting a shot to compete in this fall’s World Cup, a number of stars could be absent for the collegiate season.
The U.S. Soccer Federation requested players to redshirt for their respective college seasons in order to compete on this year’s World Cup squad. The competition overlaps with the championship portion of the college season, as the tournament in PNG is scheduled to run from November 13 to December 3 (the day before the 2016 Women’s College Cup).
While college coaches are supportive of their players getting to represent the USA, the decision to require players to miss a college season has been understandably met with mixed reviews.
“My fear right now with the design of this venture into the U20 World Championship is we’re almost sacrificing player development for winning,” North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance told TopDrawerSoccer. “They want to have full access to the players all fall, which I do not think is to the benefit of their development.”
Scheduling conflicts between international youth tournaments and the college season are not new. The CONCACAF qualifying cycle for this group overlapped with the tail end of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, and limited head coach Michelle French’s options for player availability in Honduras. A mixture of college and club players had little trouble securing progression to the global tournament.
It’s occurred at previous World Cups. Back in 2012, the triumphant U.S. side was composed primarily of college talent that missed the beginning of their season that year. The head coach of that side, Steve Swanson, missed part of Virginia’s campaign. During the 2008 U20 World Cup, which was held in a similar November-December timeframe, players on that roster split time between the college game and the youth World Cup.
“The players didn’t redshirt, we worked with the college coaches, we worked with the academic advisors, we proctored tests, it was just what we chose to do,” 2008 head coach Tony DiCicco told TopDrawerSoccer. “Even in some cases, some players dropped off.”
Part of the reasoning behind the redshirt mandate this time around is the preparation schedule. French, who was unable to be reached for comment for this story, has tentatively scheduled training camps in August, September and October, according to a USSF Future Planning Document. While the exact dates have yet to become official, early indications are that they are set to last a couple of weeks at a time.
The redshirt process requires players to make a decision on which path to take for 2016, and some have already decided to remain in school. Texas A&M’s Mikaela Harvey opted to play in college. Stanford’s talented rising sophomores Jordan DiBiasi, Michelle Xiao, Tegan McGrady and Alana Cook, all elected to remain with the Cardinal.
“I was surprised that they all decided to stay at Stanford because I know it was a hard decision for them, and ultimately that’s how things played out,” Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe told TopDrawerSoccer. “They were definitely considering it and I know it was a very hard decision.”
Academics factored into the quartet’s choice, as redshirting in the fall would set up a difficult future academic path going forward.
“At Stanford, they are very focused student athletes, they want to do well academically,” Ratcliffe said. “Being required to redshirt would make it more challenging, they’d have to miss those classes and have to make up those classes before the season starts [next fall].”
On the other side of the country, defending champion Penn State is likely to cope with a significant talent drain. Five of its players are on the roster for the current trip to PNG: Rose Chandler, Maddie Elliston, Ellie Jean, Emily Ogle and Kaleigh Riehl. That’s four-fifths of the team’s projected starting back five.
Chandler’s case is an intriguing one, because she already used her redshirt for the 2014 season, meaning she’d face losing a year of eligibility if she makes the roster and has to skip the upcoming campaign. Adding a unique wrinkle to the situation, one of Penn State’s incoming recruits, German youth international Laura
Article Written by Travis Clark
Published: May 20, 2016
9 Comments
It's rare that a U.S. youth national team's trip in May carries significant stakes for a fall college season.
That's the case of this month’s U.S. U20 WNT’s trip to Papua New Guinea, as the implications are potentially massive on the 2016 women’s Division I campaign.
Twenty-one players are on the roster for the May 21-June 1 trip to the Eastern Hemisphere. Depending on who impresses and ends up getting a shot to compete in this fall’s World Cup, a number of stars could be absent for the collegiate season.
The U.S. Soccer Federation requested players to redshirt for their respective college seasons in order to compete on this year’s World Cup squad. The competition overlaps with the championship portion of the college season, as the tournament in PNG is scheduled to run from November 13 to December 3 (the day before the 2016 Women’s College Cup).
While college coaches are supportive of their players getting to represent the USA, the decision to require players to miss a college season has been understandably met with mixed reviews.
“My fear right now with the design of this venture into the U20 World Championship is we’re almost sacrificing player development for winning,” North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance told TopDrawerSoccer. “They want to have full access to the players all fall, which I do not think is to the benefit of their development.”
Scheduling conflicts between international youth tournaments and the college season are not new. The CONCACAF qualifying cycle for this group overlapped with the tail end of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, and limited head coach Michelle French’s options for player availability in Honduras. A mixture of college and club players had little trouble securing progression to the global tournament.
It’s occurred at previous World Cups. Back in 2012, the triumphant U.S. side was composed primarily of college talent that missed the beginning of their season that year. The head coach of that side, Steve Swanson, missed part of Virginia’s campaign. During the 2008 U20 World Cup, which was held in a similar November-December timeframe, players on that roster split time between the college game and the youth World Cup.
“The players didn’t redshirt, we worked with the college coaches, we worked with the academic advisors, we proctored tests, it was just what we chose to do,” 2008 head coach Tony DiCicco told TopDrawerSoccer. “Even in some cases, some players dropped off.”
Part of the reasoning behind the redshirt mandate this time around is the preparation schedule. French, who was unable to be reached for comment for this story, has tentatively scheduled training camps in August, September and October, according to a USSF Future Planning Document. While the exact dates have yet to become official, early indications are that they are set to last a couple of weeks at a time.
The redshirt process requires players to make a decision on which path to take for 2016, and some have already decided to remain in school. Texas A&M’s Mikaela Harvey opted to play in college. Stanford’s talented rising sophomores Jordan DiBiasi, Michelle Xiao, Tegan McGrady and Alana Cook, all elected to remain with the Cardinal.
“I was surprised that they all decided to stay at Stanford because I know it was a hard decision for them, and ultimately that’s how things played out,” Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe told TopDrawerSoccer. “They were definitely considering it and I know it was a very hard decision.”
Academics factored into the quartet’s choice, as redshirting in the fall would set up a difficult future academic path going forward.
“At Stanford, they are very focused student athletes, they want to do well academically,” Ratcliffe said. “Being required to redshirt would make it more challenging, they’d have to miss those classes and have to make up those classes before the season starts [next fall].”
On the other side of the country, defending champion Penn State is likely to cope with a significant talent drain. Five of its players are on the roster for the current trip to PNG: Rose Chandler, Maddie Elliston, Ellie Jean, Emily Ogle and Kaleigh Riehl. That’s four-fifths of the team’s projected starting back five.
Chandler’s case is an intriguing one, because she already used her redshirt for the 2014 season, meaning she’d face losing a year of eligibility if she makes the roster and has to skip the upcoming campaign. Adding a unique wrinkle to the situation, one of Penn State’s incoming recruits, German youth international Laura
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