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    #31
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    Meant to add, the US won because we had the best athletes. Now, our skill level has dropped off from other countries. So, wouldn't a program dedicating more to skill help to alleviate that?

    If what GDA is doing and why will help, I have no idea. But, just curious as to the meaning of your post.
    I would argue that in the women's game, Canada, China, Japan, and Australia are all just as athletic if not more (Australia beat the USWNT up pretty good this fall and japan & China are faster at all positions) and their skill level is comparable.

    I look at the DA system in place for the men after 11 years and ask - if this is so much better than what we had prior, why are we at our lowest competitive level for international soccer ever? In theory - our best 23 year old men's players and younger on the roster - would have played 7 - 8 years of DA soccer. Where are the results?

    This is why we are skeptical that a girls DA program will benefit the women's program... all it has done is ruin the men's program.

    Comment


      #32
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      I would argue that in the women's game, Canada, China, Japan, and Australia are all just as athletic if not more (Australia beat the USWNT up pretty good this fall and japan & China are faster at all positions) and their skill level is comparable.

      I look at the DA system in place for the men after 11 years and ask - if this is so much better than what we had prior, why are we at our lowest competitive level for international soccer ever? In theory - our best 23 year old men's players and younger on the roster - would have played 7 - 8 years of DA soccer. Where are the results?

      This is why we are skeptical that a girls DA program will benefit the women's program... all it has done is ruin the men's program.
      The #1 reason why Japan is good is their technical abilities. They are considered the most technical club in the women's game, followed by France. US didn't necessary excel at speed/quickness, they excelled at brute force/physicality.

      I don't know if it's ruined the men's game, as I think they are better players. However, the the drift from what made US a team that could advance was their heart. We've lost the heart, and gained the skill. Not sure if it's a DA thing or not.

      I'd also add that I don't see it transferring into the women's game. Girls are different to boys, so trying to put a program in that matches is may not be the best idea. Make it similar, make the underlying philosophy and structure the same, but it has to be managed differently to succeed (and I'm a GDA parent).

      What's often the case is you have to try something before you decide if it works. If GDA continues to adapt, it can last. If they stay rigid, I'll question it.

      Comment


        #33
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        Not advocating for or against, but can you explain "why" in your last sentence?

        In this simpleton's view:

        We had no GDA, women's teams were the greatest, but the world caught up

        We now have GDA which was put in place to improve it. How do we know it will, or won't, fix it after 18 months?
        They haven't improved the men's side much in ten years and there's some really low hanging fruit they haven't even plucked. For every step forward the US makes, other countries make 2-3. We may never catch up on the men's side and soon enough our women will be passed by.

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          I don't know if it's ruined the men's game, as I think they are better players. However, the the drift from what made US a team that could advance was their heart. We've lost the heart, and gained the skill. Not sure if it's a DA thing or not.
          BDA has done a good job churning out robots.

          Comment


            #35
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            They haven't improved the men's side much in ten years and there's some really low hanging fruit they haven't even plucked. For every step forward the US makes, other countries make 2-3. We may never catch up on the men's side and soon enough our women will be passed by.
            OK, but at least they took a step. Sitting idle wasn't going to do it, no?

            Can argue all we want about it being the right step, but they put a program in to try to find as many players from as many parts of the country as they could.

            Do I agree with it all? No way. But, I do understand the plan generally.

            Comment


              #36
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              Meant to add, the US won because we had the best athletes. Now, our skill level has dropped off from other countries. So, wouldn't a program dedicating more to skill help to alleviate that?

              If what GDA is doing and why will help, I have no idea. But, just curious as to the meaning of your post.
              It isn't that our skill level dropped but that other countries are catching up. We relied on our athleticism and a 1-2 decades head start thanks to title 9. Now many have been investing heavily in their women's teams. They play together more often and play professionally from a younger age while our women play in high school and college. But the system has serious flaws in terms of talent identification and development. We shouldn't be relying on clubs across the country to do the majority of the developmental heavy lifting. A residency program for our top 75 players per age group would be ideal but it will never happen because 1) American parents won't sacrifice education 2) there's no pro path in women's soccer 3) college is the goal.

              Comment


                #37
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                OK, but at least they took a step. Sitting idle wasn't going to do it, no?

                Can argue all we want about it being the right step, but they put a program in to try to find as many players from as many parts of the country as they could.

                Do I agree with it all? No way. But, I do understand the plan generally.
                Across the country? There are large swaths of the US that don't have any DA clubs, it costs a fortune unless you're good enough to make a free MLS club (and if you live near one of the 30 in the entire country, and now USSF basically only shops BDA for players, nowhere else. Poor identification. Poor development.

                Comment


                  #38
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  Across the country? There are large swaths of the US that don't have any DA clubs, it costs a fortune unless you're good enough to make a free MLS club (and if you live near one of the 30 in the entire country, and now USSF basically only shops BDA for players, nowhere else. Poor identification. Poor development.
                  All one can do is put the tool in place, they can't make anyone use it.

                  Again, not saying I agree, but the attempt is made to put it as close as feasibly possible to as many locations as they can.

                  Costs are costs, similar to the other competing programs.

                  Other than someone providing funding, which won't happen nationally, I don't have an answer on that.

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    It isn't that our skill level dropped but that other countries are catching up. We relied on our athleticism and a 1-2 decades head start thanks to title 9. Now many have been investing heavily in their women's teams. They play together more often and play professionally from a younger age while our women play in high school and college. But the system has serious flaws in terms of talent identification and development. We shouldn't be relying on clubs across the country to do the majority of the developmental heavy lifting. A residency program for our top 75 players per age group would be ideal but it will never happen because 1) American parents won't sacrifice education 2) there's no pro path in women's soccer 3) college is the goal.
                    I agree that the camps would be the preferred method, but I don't see it happening for the methods you mention. So, this is an attempt at solving it with another way.

                    Application and vision vary, and I am sure there will be a GDA-hater slamming me for this...but...the vision would be to put a team within a reasonable driving distance of X% of the population. All have the same oversight of the same organization. They then can pluck from there for their camp activity and do so without re-education.

                    Again...that's the vision. Application...not so sure about yet.

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      I agree that the camps would be the preferred method, but I don't see it happening for the methods you mention. So, this is an attempt at solving it with another way.

                      Application and vision vary, and I am sure there will be a GDA-hater slamming me for this...but...the vision would be to put a team within a reasonable driving distance of X% of the population. All have the same oversight of the same organization. They then can pluck from there for their camp activity and do so without re-education.

                      Again...that's the vision. Application...not so sure about yet.
                      For starters - soccer is one of the only sports in America where we have different seasons for the sport. For example - Baseball is always played in spring in HS and summer / fall for club. In football HS season is always fall and spring football (in the south and west) is glorified scrimmage / practice. Basketball is always winter and AAU is spring to fall. XC is fall, track is spring....

                      But soccer - 1/2 the country plays soccer in the fall and the other 1/2 play it as a spring sport while club is all year long. Soccer needs to be a fall sport across the board nationally and allow club soccer to run like AAU basketball from winter through summer with winter training being the technical improvement and then the spring / summer being tactical training with fitness.

                      The mere fact that the sport as a whole can't get on the same page for organizational purposes is an issue in the USA. Club and HS need to work together to promote a healthy game, where kids are invested and want to play instead of 1/3 kids leaving the game by the age of 13 because the "structure" of HS and club push kids out. The national numbers show that youth (U9 - U12) numbers are 33% higher than the U14 - up nationally.

                      Comment


                        #41
                        It's simply culture.

                        Countries the size of Rhode Island create more world class players than the entire US. Kids in soccer centric countries eat, sleep, and poop soccer. Leads to the unteachable skill of decisions on the field coming as second nature. It ain't happening here. Ever. Fwiw, even our great hope Christian Pulisec (and other Americans in Europe) no longer measures up in Germany. Dortmund has a powerhouse team and Pulisec is getting less time. He got a start in their last game and looked lost relative to his teammates. Coincidentally this was Dortmund's first loss of the season and Pulisec will be back on the bench going forward. Needless to say, our women's best days are behind them for the same reasons along with the fact that other countries are catching and passing them as we speak.

                        Comment


                          #42
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          It's simply culture.

                          Countries the size of Rhode Island create more world class players than the entire US. Kids in soccer centric countries eat, sleep, and poop soccer. Leads to the unteachable skill of decisions on the field coming as second nature. It ain't happening here. Ever. Fwiw, even our great hope Christian Pulisec (and other Americans in Europe) no longer measures up in Germany. Dortmund has a powerhouse team and Pulisec is getting less time. He got a start in their last game and looked lost relative to his teammates. Coincidentally this was Dortmund's first loss of the season and Pulisec will be back on the bench going forward. Needless to say, our women's best days are behind them for the same reasons along with the fact that other countries are catching and passing them as we speak.
                          Hey dopey, if it is unteachable then how are they learning it....

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            It's simply culture.

                            Countries the size of Rhode Island create more world class players than the entire US. Kids in soccer centric countries eat, sleep, and poop soccer. Leads to the unteachable skill of decisions on the field coming as second nature. It ain't happening here. Ever. Fwiw, even our great hope Christian Pulisec (and other Americans in Europe) no longer measures up in Germany. Dortmund has a powerhouse team and Pulisec is getting less time. He got a start in their last game and looked lost relative to his teammates. Coincidentally this was Dortmund's first loss of the season and Pulisec will be back on the bench going forward. Needless to say, our women's best days are behind them for the same reasons along with the fact that other countries are catching and passing them as we speak.
                            So, what you are saying is that US Soccer should stop worrying about the rest of the country and focus all of their resources on RI or DE? This might work!

                            Comment


                              #44
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              For starters - soccer is one of the only sports in America where we have different seasons for the sport. For example - Baseball is always played in spring in HS and summer / fall for club. In football HS season is always fall and spring football (in the south and west) is glorified scrimmage / practice. Basketball is always winter and AAU is spring to fall. XC is fall, track is spring....

                              But soccer - 1/2 the country plays soccer in the fall and the other 1/2 play it as a spring sport while club is all year long. Soccer needs to be a fall sport across the board nationally and allow club soccer to run like AAU basketball from winter through summer with winter training being the technical improvement and then the spring / summer being tactical training with fitness.

                              The mere fact that the sport as a whole can't get on the same page for organizational purposes is an issue in the USA. Club and HS need to work together to promote a healthy game, where kids are invested and want to play instead of 1/3 kids leaving the game by the age of 13 because the "structure" of HS and club push kids out. The national numbers show that youth (U9 - U12) numbers are 33% higher than the U14 - up nationally.
                              Year round training is only beneficial for the few that plan on becoming pro players or play at the NT level. That's one of the biggest problems with GDA - it doesn't serve the training needs of the top 1%. For 99% of players, even those in college, they don't need or even necessarily want year round training. My kid would prefer to do a spring sport in HS (winter BBall is easier to manage) and even with ECNL that is very difficult to manage, let alone GDA. I think if we weren't forcing so many kids to chose at an early age and had more opportunities for them to play for enjoyment instead of some lofty goal you wouldn't see so many leave. It just gets to be too much, and it certainly costs too much.

                              Comment


                                #45
                                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                                Year round training is only beneficial for the few that plan on becoming pro players or play at the NT level. That's one of the biggest problems with GDA - it doesn't serve the training needs of the top 1%. For 99% of players, even those in college, they don't need or even necessarily want year round training. My kid would prefer to do a spring sport in HS (winter BBall is easier to manage) and even with ECNL that is very difficult to manage, let alone GDA. I think if we weren't forcing so many kids to chose at an early age and had more opportunities for them to play for enjoyment instead of some lofty goal you wouldn't see so many leave. It just gets to be too much, and it certainly costs too much.
                                You can do both, you just have to prioritize accordingly. One misconception is that you are not allowed to play other sports. You can, but the reality is if you are playing so much soccer than that only leaves rec-style opportunities with the other sport.

                                They ask for dedication. If you are not willing to dedicate yourself to the game like that, that's perfectly OK. It's not the program for you.

                                I don't know of any kid out on the pitch that is forced to be there.

                                Comment

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