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**Unregistered** · 10-13-2017, 10:27 PM

Also, choosing the talented kids early as opposed just big and fast needs to be the focus. Teach skill and ball handling, size will come later. A lot of boys are passed up on for being small but have good skills and potential. The US is accustomed to looking for big athletes for football and basketball.

**Unregistered** · 10-14-2017, 11:45 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

http://www.ussoccerda.com/overview

The tired 'they've had 10 years' argument is lazy. Bring real solutions that don't involve going backwards in time while hoping for a better result. There's a reason HS soccer isn't allowed if you're one of the couple dozen players in the top local program. Add those kids back to the state HS pool will have little to no effect on quality of HS soccer overall and will have a big negative impact on those players development towards an international level of play.

Until we adopt relegation and training pay models, this seems to be the best path to maximize our top players.

A player capable of playing at the international level and/or professionally is a unicorn. The most recent "product" of DA is CP and as we all know his path is not a DA path. The average state will have less than a handful if that many (big population states like CA of course it's different). One of the bigger issues is that DA is so large which means having many players, coaches and clubs that aren't up to the challenge. Perhaps it's time to separate out the top x% (1-5% maybe?) and have them training together and playing each other. I know there's geographic and other issues, but I think now is the time for creativity, not more of the same. It may even include allowing players with opportunities to train abroad those chances. If we aren't up to the task stop pretending that we are and find an interim solution until we are ready.