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Wilmer Cabrera Out as U17 Coach


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Top Drawer has the news that apparently was inevitable, given conflicting personalities in US Soccer. I'm disappointed that the US youth program has taken another stop on it's never ending development. It seems every time the kids start to look world class, they have to undergo a new transition. Why wait so long after the World Cup? I don't get it.

Those of you (no names, please! :P ) who have first-hand experience with the US Youth program may be able to provide your input to this move. I also wonder if it will have any effect on Caleb's recruiting. His position on the staff of the overall youth "team" should mean he's about as close as any NCAA coach to the top players as they move up with the national program.

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I read about this in various outlets, and some people think that this could be the last cycle of the residency program, and that it is unnecessary because of how far the club academy system has developed. Any thoughts on this by anyone?

I have thought that the program in Bradenton should have been closed a long time ago. I have seen kids play who have attended the residency program and i have never been impressed with the quality of their play.

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I read about this in various outlets, and some people think that this could be the last cycle of the residency program, and that it is unnecessary because of how far the club academy system has developed. Any thoughts on this by anyone?

Well, if the US National Program players are turned over to the academies -- and the academies are expected to be fully responsible for their overall development 24/7, then they would also have to take over responsibility for their education off the field. It seems that this added expense would cause an even greater consolidation of top-level management. Would any clubs other than MLS academies be able to afford to take over this total responsibility for the lives of young soccer proteges? We're headed more and more to a system where only those players who are identified at 14 or 15 and placed into academy settings will be able to get the grooming to set them on a pro career path. And it seems now, more than ever, players are popping onto the radar of scouts at age 16-18. Look at all the new names on the residency roster who were not previously in US age-group pools (mostly hispanic kids, many new immigrants). It's hard to believe that the US youth program leaders would be willing to turn over this responsibility to the academies -- regardless of the perceived success/failure of the residency program. I can't imagine the residency system could be worse than whatever they have in mind.

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Well, if the US National Program players are turned over to the academies -- and the academies are expected to be fully responsible for their overall development 24/7, then they would also have to take over responsibility for their education off the field. It seems that this added expense would cause an even greater consolidation of top-level management. Would any clubs other than MLS academies be able to afford to take over this total responsibility for the lives of young soccer proteges? We're headed more and more to a system where only those players who are identified at 14 or 15 and placed into academy settings will be able to get the grooming to set them on a pro career path. And it seems now, more than ever, players are popping onto the radar of scouts at age 16-18. Look at all the new names on the residency roster who were not previously in US age-group pools (mostly hispanic kids, many new immigrants). It's hard to believe that the US youth program leaders would be willing to turn over this responsibility to the academies -- regardless of the perceived success/failure of the residency program. I can't imagine the residency system could be worse than whatever they have in mind.

My issue is that the residency program is a failure and ought to be scrapped. I don't think there is any objective evidence that the players produced by the Bradenton system are any better then those produced through the current Academy system. Bradenton MAY have served a purpose before the advent of the Academy but at this point it seems useless.

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Has it really been a failure? Again, I'm not totally familiar with the quality overall, but it has produced, by it's own count, "300 players through the full-time Residency Program, and more than 100 of those players have moved on to Major League Soccer, or the professional leagues in Europe. Nineteen players have also registered at least one cap with the full MNT: Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Bobby Convey, Landon Donovan, Eddie Gaven, Omar Gonzalez, Eddie Johnson, Justin Mapp, Chad Marshall, Dax McCarty, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce, Santino Quaranta, Robbie Rogers, Jonathan Spector and Danny Szetela."

http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/youth/us-und.../residency.aspx

Admittedly, a lot of those guys were "can't miss" type prospects, but I'd hardly say it's been useless.

The biggest criticism I've heard from the residency program is that it's really political and not everyone can gain access. Interesting article by kyle martino on TSG touched briefly on this:

Although considered very political–mostly by players that never made the teams–this was a very good way for coaches to identify talent, as well as light the path to the ultimate goal: Putting on a U.S. jersey and representing their country.

a response in the comments:

Just one minor quibble, and one major reason why I’m glad we’re moving away from the ODP system…

In my region (One) about 15 of the 18 kids at the U-18 ODP level were players who had been in the system since U-10. Now while some of those players were consistently great and deserved their spot on the team, more than a few had failed to live up to their 12 year old promise. Still, they would never get cut due to the “politics” of ODP. As a system, ODP was terrible at identifying talented players who may have slipped under the radar-instead it was composed of the “big names” of youth soccer in the region, all from the same couple clubs. To say that claims that ODP was politicized is sour grapes from kids who got cut disregards just how bad ODP was at identifying and developing talent. Just because Landon Donovan and a few other cant-miss prospects came out of the system doesn’t vindicate it’s effectiveness.

http://theshinguardian.com/2011/02/16/kyle...-urge-to-surge/

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Has it really been a failure? Again, I'm not totally familiar with the quality overall, but it has produced, by it's own count, "300 players through the full-time Residency Program, and more than 100 of those players have moved on to Major League Soccer, or the professional leagues in Europe. Nineteen players have also registered at least one cap with the full MNT: Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Bobby Convey, Landon Donovan, Eddie Gaven, Omar Gonzalez, Eddie Johnson, Justin Mapp, Chad Marshall, Dax McCarty, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce, Santino Quaranta, Robbie Rogers, Jonathan Spector and Danny Szetela."

http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/youth/us-und.../residency.aspx

Admittedly, a lot of those guys were "can't miss" type prospects, but I'd hardly say it's been useless.

The biggest criticism I've heard from the residency program is that it's really political and not everyone can gain access. Interesting article by kyle martino on TSG touched briefly on this:

a response in the comments:

http://theshinguardian.com/2011/02/16/kyle...-urge-to-surge/

How long ago were most of these guys in the program? I would venture a guess that it was quite a while ago. IF the residency program was conceived to make the US more competitive on the international stage then I don't think it has succeeded. I have not been overly impressed by the current college players who spent time in Bradenton. They seem no better then many of the guys who played for academy programs.

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