re: Would it be better if more colleges started

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You might just discover some players that went unnoticed as teenagers that could actually help the team.

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Yes, unnoticed college aged players are what is holding us back

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Everybody drop Men’s tennis…because let’s be honest nobody gives a frick if we are good at tennis or not.

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It's funny that you pick tennis - It's a great example of why this wouldn't work imo, beyond maybe adding some USL or MLS depth. USA gets whipped at tennis because most of the best players are pros as 15-16 year olds, just like soccer. By the time they get to college, they're playing catch up.

The college system works better for sports that require a lot of physical development or maturity. Football/Basketball are especially obvious & golf is another great example. You just don't see dominant guys in those sports until their early 20s usually (even older for golf), which fits the college age range much better.

It's way more than just title 9

I said most of this in another thread.

The focus on winning and not on development at the youngest levels is a cultural problem in the country, I promise that winning the Ballon Festival Cup at 9 is not a pre-requisite to a U-17 US National team call up.

UEFA coaching puts the best coaches at the youth levels, not high school. UEFA advanced licensing is also more about how to develop individuals, teams, and clubs, while US advanced licenses are more about tactics. The process to get advanced licenses is near impossible if you have a job besides coaching, while also coaching, which is a requirement for the license.

Soccer has too many subsets or individual leagues competing against each other for kids to fill their teams and tournaments. Outside of recreational, there are between 3-8 divisions of competitive club soccer for USYS alone, then on the "club" side ECNL, MLS Next, ODP, and probably another half dozen I have no idea about, all operating under USSF. It waters down the local clubs, and is forcing teams to have to drive 6 hours one way for one game to find competitive teams under the same umbrella, and this is starting before kids hit puberty.

I think kids should have to play for a local club within reason if available, similar to how Little League baseball operates, that rolls into a revamped ODP program (name it something different) where travel and lodging for regional and national ODP events are paid for by a small fee from every player under the USSF across the country at no cost to the players would let the best players in the country play against the best, and get exposure to the European clubs regardless of how much disposable income their parents have, it should not cost money to try out or play for ODP.

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think kids should have to play for a local club within reason if available, similar to how Little League baseball operates, that rolls into a revamped ODP program (name it something different) where travel and lodging for regional and national ODP events are paid for by a small fee from every player under the USSF across the country at no cost to the players would let the best players in the country play against the best, and get exposure to the European clubs regardless of how much disposable income their parents have, it should not cost money to try out or play for ODP.

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I'm sure big travel ball Inc. would hate to lose their cash cow, but this seems like it would be a much more efficient way to run soccer in the US.
The fact that we have so many people playing means that even a small fee could still generate tons of money. You could then use that money to fund the truly elite academies & coaching at the highest levels. I don't honestly think we'd ever have enough money to pay for top coaches for all our millions of youth, but this would maximize what we have available.

I do think at some point that we (or an MLS club) need to make a jump with the academy system. Asking a 10-14 year old to move overseas is a huge barrier, but almost all the best players now (even the South Americans) go through Euro academies first. The USSF backed up the brinks truck for Poch, could someone make a similar move & poach top academy staffing?

I think we see a move like this in the next 10 years

The Academy system works so well in Europe because England is the size of Louisiana or Alabama and has a population of 50 million people. France has a population of 70 million and is a little bigger than California.

The US is so spread out you have the best coaches available to the district level, state level, and regional level on a regular basis and also available to everyone with promise... at an early age, regardless of parents income.

The MLS teams should also help supplement the ODP type funding.

Something not a lot of people know: lots of international tennis players on college teams. The same can be said of college soccer. It’s not necessarily a pathway for more domestic players.

Keep soccer as a club sport but with professional contracts with USL and NIL money.

That eliminates NCAA issues and Title IX issues.

Most college rosters are filled by euros and africans who's ceiling is getting a tryout with MLS. Some school in MO bragged that they're entire roster was foreigners.