MLS and A-League teams are continuing their ventures into youth soccer.
In the wake of the United States' successful World Cup showing, Coach Bruce Arena said it is now time for professional teams to take a bigger role in youth player development.
Youngsters Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley electrified a worldwide audience. But, as every major soccer nation knows, the key to continued success is constantly replenishing the supply of Donovans and Beasleys.
One of the best ways to do that is by providing professional-type environments for young players, so they receive consistent training from coaches interested in long-term development. The benefits cut both ways. Pro teams engaged in youth development sow the seeds of community support while offering positive role models for young players. Ideally, some of those players then graduate to the pro team itself.
Those are some of the reasons D.C. United added four Super Y-League teams this summer to the one it fielded last year. (The 4-year-old Super Y-League now fields more than 330 elite teams. Many are sponsored by MLS, A-League and D-3 clubs. Boys play in one-year increments, ages U-14 through U-18; there are also girls U-14 and U-16 leagues.)
United assistant coach Curt Onalfo serves as technical director for all five youth squads. Three other assistants, along with technical director Dave Kasper and goalkeeper Mike Ammann, are assigned a Super Y-League team. They serve as liaisons and help with training.
The A-League Milwaukee Rampage fields four boys Super Y-League teams and is extending its commitment to youth player development even further. The club is currently forming select teams in all ages from U-6 through U-19 to begin league play Aug. 1.
Depending on turnout, teams will compete in premier, select and recreational divisions. Rampage coaches will train the teams, but game managers will ''worry about wins and losses,'' said Rampage coach Boro Sucevic.
Are programs like these enough?
''They're a great start,'' said Kasper. ''For the first five years, [MLS] clubs focused on selling and marketing the first team, getting off the ground. Now we have to move into the player-development phase.''
For D.C. United, that includes identifying top players competing on other Y-League teams in the Mid-Atlantic region, then bringing them in to train under the United staff, perhaps even with the first team.
''Pro teams are doing what they can,'' said John Ellinger, director of youth development for U.S. Soccer. He applauds Project-40, which signs young players to MLS teams but does not count them against the roster limit. That permits coaches to ease youngsters into a professional environment.
But, he noted, pro teams must avoid ''ticking off'' local clubs, which see youth development as part of their mission. That is why, Ellinger said, the Super Y-League – which permits dual registration with local clubs – is a good approach.
As much as MLS is doing, said deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis, it can do more. His league is especially well-positioned to reach out to those outside the mainstream, like the ''huge talent pool'' of Hispanics.
He called Project-40 ''a rifle aimed at a limited number of elite players.'' Now Gazidis would like to add ''a shotgun'' to MLS's arsenal, reaching 16- and 17-year-olds who have not yet been identified as potential pro prospects by the soccer hierarchy.
However, warned Sucevic, owners already lose millions of dollars operating their professional teams. Many are not willing to invest more money in youth development programs that may not pay immediate or clear dividends. (Rampage owner and president Nick Schimpf is an exception, spending more than $1 million for youth and facility development.)
Because owners' funds already are stretched tightly, Sucevic said, corporate sponsors must shoulder some of the cost.
''It's high time CEOs recognize what soccer does for their kids and community,'' he said. ''Most CEOs have their own kids playing, but they never invest corporate dollars in youth development.''
''I'm not sure there has to be a massive amount of money,'' Gazidis countered. ''We're talking about time and commitment. Some of the costs can be met through sponsorship, but what we really mean is an investment in the future.''
MLS investors, he said, are open-minded about such investments.
''If we reason and argue this in a rational way, they'll back it,'' Gazidis said. ''They've already backed long-range investments in World Cup TV contracts and stadiums, and they're beginning to do it now with player development.''
''Everyone understands what pro clubs should be doing – developing youth teams, hooking up with the Y-League, getting community support,'' said Sucevic. ''It's the pro clubs' role to develop youth players. It can't be done by small clubs with high-priced coaches and a few elite players, and high schools can't do it either.''
He believes every pro team should sponsor a youth club, with 2,000-3,000 players – a break-even point financially, he said.
With corporate help, Sucevic concluded, that could be accomplished in three years. Without it, it may take a decade.
by Youth Soccer Letter Editor Dan Woog