IMG: Residency Program Dead?

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The U.S. Soccer Federation announced the shuttering of its Bradenton Residency Program in Florida on Friday afternoon. Charles Boehm takes a look at the factors behind this abrupt revelation.

The U.S. Soccer Federation has planned for months to shut down its Bradenton Residency Program in Florida, and made the move official – somewhat abruptly – on Friday afternoon.

The current semester of the Under-17 Men’s National Team’s immersive (and isolated) training laboratory will be its last, with the Development Academy and other “advancements in youth player development [making] its existence no longer necessary,” in the words of a Sunil Gulati quote included in the fed’s press release.

That release, headlined “After Fulfilling its Mission, U.S. Soccer Residency Program Set to Complete Final Semester,” would appear to be trumpeting the completion of a successful federation initiative – one that has involved 450 talented teenagers, millions of USSF dollars and nearly as many human-hours of time and effort over 18 years.

It seems like an historic achievement for a nation that has spent most of its modern history scrambling to catch up with the soccer world’s leading producers of talent.


http://www.soccerwire.com/blogs/heard-on-the-wire/

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Games & Thrones: ECNL vs. Girls DA cold war rages

A battle is quietly unfolding under the surface in the highest echelons of youth soccer in the United States.

Two rival leagues, one established and the other a brash new startup, find themselves faced off in a battle of hearts and minds – and therefore wallets.

The U.S. Soccer Federation resolved to move forward with its Girls Development Academy project more than a year ago, a landmark decision that left the Elite Clubs National League out in the cold and concerned for its long-term survival. The fed officially announced the GDA program on Feb. 23, 2016 and we are now less than eight months away from the league’s inaugural day of match play, expected sometime in September.

The past year has seen an increasingly frenetic series of maneuvers on both sides as the federation-sponsored Girls DA gears up to assume what it considers its inevitable place atop the dogpile that is competitive girls youth soccer – the spot currently occupied by the ECNL.

.S. Soccer unveiled the new league’s founding member clubs in multiple waves of splashy press releases over the course of 2016, seemingly intended – whether consciously or not – to shock and awe those paying any attention to the youth landscape.

As one insider told SoccerWire.com at the time: “This is the federation we’re talking about. They don’t lose.”

Most of the biggest and best-known clubs in elite youth soccer were on the Girls DA list, along with offerings from nearly every member team in the National Women’s Soccer League. U.S. Soccer’s hefty organizational weight was firmly behind it, along with millions of federation dollars all set to be dumped into the new project. The message was clear: This will be the best girls soccer competition in the country – if not in year one, then definitely within a few years.

This collection of the best players, coaches and clubs in the United States would naturally draw the most college and national-team scouts to its events. The fed’s financial clout would make it cheaper for participants than the ECNL’s pay-to-play-dependent model. Perhaps the most important conclusion was thus so obvious it was barely vocalized explicitly, at least at first: The Girls DA would be the primary source of call-ups to most U.S. youth national teams.



http://www.soccerwire.com/blog-posts...old-war-rages/

[Unregistered]

A battle is quietly unfolding under the surface in the highest echelons of youth soccer in the United States.

Two rival leagues, one established and the other a brash new startup, find themselves faced off in a battle of hearts and minds – and therefore wallets.

The U.S. Soccer Federation resolved to move forward with its Girls Development Academy project more than a year ago, a landmark decision that left the Elite Clubs National League out in the cold and concerned for its long-term survival. The fed officially announced the GDA program on Feb. 23, 2016 and we are now less than eight months away from the league’s inaugural day of match play, expected sometime in September.

The past year has seen an increasingly frenetic series of maneuvers on both sides as the federation-sponsored Girls DA gears up to assume what it considers its inevitable place atop the dogpile that is competitive girls youth soccer – the spot currently occupied by the ECNL.

.S. Soccer unveiled the new league’s founding member clubs in multiple waves of splashy press releases over the course of 2016, seemingly intended – whether consciously or not – to shock and awe those paying any attention to the youth landscape.

As one insider told SoccerWire.com at the time: “This is the federation we’re talking about. They don’t lose.”

Most of the biggest and best-known clubs in elite youth soccer were on the Girls DA list, along with offerings from nearly every member team in the National Women’s Soccer League. U.S. Soccer’s hefty organizational weight was firmly behind it, along with millions of federation dollars all set to be dumped into the new project. The message was clear: This will be the best girls soccer competition in the country – if not in year one, then definitely within a few years.

This collection of the best players, coaches and clubs in the United States would naturally draw the most college and national-team scouts to its events. The fed’s financial clout would make it cheaper for participants than the ECNL’s pay-to-play-dependent model. Perhaps the most important conclusion was thus so obvious it was barely vocalized explicitly, at least at first: The Girls DA would be the primary source of call-ups to most U.S. youth national teams.



http://www.soccerwire.com/blog-posts...old-war-rages/

Haven't they been losing all along. Not one solid player developed in DA, Men's team is a disaster. Mean while U.S. Club soccer ECNL starting to develop creative players succeeding at the highest level (winning the world cup). What does U.S. Soccer see a chance to make more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ crooked dogs

[Unregistered]

Ummm....do you remember those Olympic games the next year? Not a medal to be seen for the US. (In spite of that ironic TS question)