Welp there it is. I wonder what happens with the CCL game tonight?
US MNT and WNT friendlies cancelled for next couple of months as well
Today has been so wild. Pay them their money. Shut the fuck up and just do it.
on a much lighter note, this is rad:
if anyone in this thread wants someone to just vent at or to talk to about anything but doesn't really want it in the thread please feel free to PM.
Hope you're all staying safe
This is so unfortunate. I've been waiting years to go see inter Miami play and now this. As someone who works in a medical lab and has been processing the tests, I knew it was coming. But still, so disappointed.
Man, I was gonna go watch the RBNY game yesterday and then remembered everything's cancelled.
Man, I was gonna go watch the RBNY game yesterday and then remembered everything's cancelled.
I mean, I'm glad they aren't taking any chances with any of this shit, but it's really rough having all this time and nothing to do. Can't go out, can't watch soccer, gotta wait a week for Animal Crossing.
US Soccer is going to announce today that they're terminating their youth Development Academy program for both boys and girls effective immediately.
REPORT: U.S. Soccer to permanently close entire Development Academy
The rumors about U.S. Soccer shutting down the Development Academy have been confirmed.www.soccerwire.com
This means until local clubs band together to cobble something together, the US Youth System is now completely non-existent.
The DA youth system was far from perfect, but it's highly irresponsible for US Soccer to just blow up the US Youth Soccer system overnight with no plans whatsoever for a way forward or replacement. They basically used the cover of a pandemic as an excuse to clear their ledgers.
For the MLS, it means we're now another 7-10 years away until we have any meaningful flow of American homegrown talent into the league. Sad day.
I thought MLS clubs were looking to move away from the development academy because of the level of competition.
It's not clear what will happen to MLS academies now that the DA is no more, though, for a number of years, a segment of MLS teams have pushed to break away from the DA to start their own, MLS-only academy league. The main reason for this was due to their perception that the DA did not offer a strong enough level of competition.
They were sort of looking to create a new MLS DA tier apart from other DA clubs.I thought MLS clubs were looking to move away from the development academy because of the level of competition.
aaaaand there it is
Major League Soccer Leads Domestic Player Development with Launch of New Elite Competition | MLSSoccer.com
MLS Leads Domestic Player Development with launch of New Elite Competitionwww.mlssoccer.com
I can't believe DA was shut down. It's been there for like 30 years or more?
Obviously it hasn't really been working. Hopefully this dev path to a regular MLS gig will improve the farm system.
The DA had been around since 2007.
The DA system did help take our training to the modern era. Prior 2007, youth players were playing way too many games and training very little. So the DA did bring an infamous to training to youth soccer. And in addition to the rise of Spain's "tiki-taka" era, it caused the US to begin getting more focused on developing some level of technical ability with youth players instead of relying 100% on athleticism as it had in previous decades.
The DA I feel had about 3 eras.
2007 - 2012: During the beginning years the DA only had two age groups 15/16 and 17/18. Coaching was a bit uneven and even most MLS clubs didn't know what to do with their academies.
2013 - 2017: Rapid expansion. During this time DA added more non-MLS clubs and created lower age groups and removed combined age groups u12, u13, u14, and u15 with 16/17, and 18/19 being the only combo years. For a club to be a full status club, they now had to run 6 separate DA teams compared to just 2 a few years prior. MLS clubs like FC Dallas started investing more into their academies and actually produced some quality homegrown prospects.
2018 - 2020: Girls expansion. During this time, the DA expanded to girls. There were as many as 5 age groups, u14, u15, u16, u17, and u18/19. A full status club with both boys and girls academies would have to field 11 DA teams. Keep in mind, running a DA team is very expensive for both the club and parents. US Soccer required a certain level of training facilities, coaching licenses, and there was a lot of out of state travel.
That's why so many clubs were hoping mad the last several days because they spent years investing and building up the infrastructure to run 11 DA teams and overnight US Soccer decides to pull the rug. But in truth, it was partly the expansion that caused the house of cards to fall. It just got too big and unwieldy beyond the point US Soccer was willing to put any further effort into.
The DA also kept some of the draconian rules from the early days like limited subs and roster spots, which just didn't make sense for 13-14 year-olds. Some kids weren't getting enough playing time and other kids were getting too much and having injuries. While it was good they focused on training, the 4 day a week training for 10 months burned out a lot of American kids, particularly when the coach didn't know how to design a 10-month development program that's engaging. And truthfully with the rapid expansion of the DA, there were a lot of kids in the DA that shouldn't have been in the DA. They weren't ready for the "academy" experience and were pretty suited for regular club teams with 2-3 practices a week with long breaks. But the "soccer mom" culture of wanting "Lil' Benjamin" to play on the "A" team no matter what it is also ruined the DA.
The United Soccer League unveiled for the first time Wednesday details on the new USL Academy League, set to launch in Spring 2021. With the goal of providing a new professional pathway for youth players in USL communities across the country, the first-of-its-kind pre-professional league will align with the United States' professional calendar, complement existing local youth organizations and allow players extensive access to the First Team.
Yep, I guess they considered AZ or other places but I guess they thought NBA coming, the infrastructure is already there.
As it stands, the plan would see players will return to the fields in a made-for-TV tournament at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports complex outside of Orlando. Teams will fly to Florida on or around June 24th and train for two weeks before the start of the competition. The tournament will include three group-stage games, which will count toward the regular season, as well as a knockout round. The exact specifics of the knockout round (format, prizes, etc.) were not clear to The Athletic at publication. According to a source, the league will create a $1 million prize pool and will help fund philanthropic efforts in teams' home markets.
In total, the tournament will keep teams in Orlando for around six weeks. The league's initial plan called for teams to be in Florida for a maximum of 10 weeks and play a minimum of five games. The agreement also allows for players to opt out of playing in the tournament if they're granted an exemption due to medical or family conditions; a source expected players with pregnant partners to be granted an exemption. Players without an exemption who do not participate in the tournament will face what one source described as "strict" penalties.
Throughout negotiations plans called for every member of the MLS traveling party to effectively be locked down at the league hotel for the duration of the tournament. Family members of traveling parties will not be allowed at the facility. The league was initially slated to house all members of the traveling party at the Disney-owned Coronado Springs Resort, but a source said that other properties were being vetted earlier this week as the NBA, which is also looking to return to play in Orlando, could end up using Coronado Springs.
The hope is for the league to resume its regular season in home markets after the Orlando tournament, though that plan is of course dependent on the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic.