With a few setbacks sprinkled among numerous successes, the Project-40 program is maturing – much like the players in it.
Even though Carlos Parra plays for the Atlanta Silverbacks of the A-League and has no sense of whether he will get back up to MLS, he has no regrets about signing a Project-40 contract instead of going to college.
Parra was the first player to sign with the developmental program – a joint venture between MLS, U.S. Soccer and Nike. He also now leads a growing list of players who have ôgraduatedö from the program, but are now out of MLS.
ôI asked for my release from New England because I wasnÆt playing enough,ö Parra says. ôI didnÆt want to be one of those players who sat on the bench for seven years – and then what. … It still helps me now, having the chance to play with the players I played with [in MLS].ö
Graduation from Project-40 is approved by the leagueÆs competition committee. After each season a subjective decision is made whether a player can hold down a roster spot. If so, he sheds his Project-40 label and roster-exempt status. Exceptions to this policy are youngsters such as DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey, who met the criteria on the field, but had yet to complete their high school education before this season.
Although the number of Project-40 cast-offs is rising, the programÆs success rate is still impressive.
Since the program launched in 1997, 55 players have signed Project-40 contracts. Of those, 23 are currently roster-protected and still in a developmental phase. For most of this group, it is too early to tell if theyÆve made it as pros. Of the other 32, 18 have started more than 25 MLS games. Two others – Jamar Beasley and Tim Sahaydak – have roster spots, but fewer than 25 starts. Twelve players started fewer than 25 games and are now out of the league.
That means more than 60 percent of Project-40 signees have become full-time pros. Although difficult to measure against all the college seniors drafted by the league, that rate seems favorable.
ôI think if you look at Europe, and two guys from their reserve team make it, theyÆre happy,ö says former Dallas coach Dave Dir. ôYou canÆt predict personalities. … You donÆt need 70 players to make it. You get one player who goes on to Europe, you could make back the investment in the program in the transfer.ö
THE LOST P40S. What happened to the ones who didnÆt make MLS?
Five are still playing in the USL (See chart on p. 15 of the Aug. 20 issue).
Ubusuku Abukusumo is using his Project-40 scholarship at the University of New Mexico. Jose Botello was last heard from in the amateur leagues around Los Angeles. Andy Kirk is back at the University of Maryland, taking classes and coaching goalkeepers. Alen Kozic is playing lower division ball in Germany. Antonio Otero is considering law school or a new team. Maurizio Rocha finished his education at Connecticut and returned to his native Bolivia to play. After a stint in Trinidad, Barry Swift is living in New York, looking for an A-League team. Juan Sastoque, who Dallas signed as a developmental player in 1996 and was later tagged Project-40, is on trial with a Mexican club.
ôHindsight is 20-20,ö Kirk says. ôEspecially for a goalkeeper, you have to step into the right situation and maybe staying at Maryland another year would have been better for me from the standpoint of getting games. Unless youÆre starting as a goalkeeper, itÆs very difficult to get sent to an A-League team for games.ö
Sunil Gulati, managing director of Kraft Soccer Properties, was deputy commissioner of MLS when the program began and was the primary force behind its creation. He believes that a better measure of the program than its percentage of current pros is whether players in Project-40 improved faster than they would have in college.
On that, there seems to be little debate, even among those who fell short of their aspirations.
ôAll of our practices with the Fusion, Kyle Beckerman is learning from [Alex Pineda] Chacon and [Ian] Bishop,ö Miami coach Ray Hudson says. ôThat big-time environment is much more of a learning experience than theyÆd come within a million light years of in college. There is simply no comparison. But they need games. They need the responsibility of playing a part in a meaningful game.ö
SAFETY NET. Although Project-40 is designed primarily to produce better soccer players, it also carries scholarship component to help ease concerns of parents who donÆt want education to be forgotten.
Within 10 years of signing his initial P-40 contract a player is granted up to $7,500 a year for five years of college tuition. So far, only seven players have dipped into their school fund: Carlos Bocanegra, Jose Burciaga, Seth Trembly, Brian West, Abusukumo, Kirk and Swift. (Keep in mind, only 25 percent of Americans over age 25 have a bachelorÆs degree.)
West has been the most ambitious student, taking a full course load even during the Columbus Crew season.
ôIt gets tiring, just because practice is fun, but then you also want to do the extra stuff like lifting weights that will hopefully help you to the next level,ö West says. ôThen you have to juggle homework, getting to classes and studying amidst all your traveling.ö
He is looking forward to next spring when he will complete his degree in management and information systems and ôhave a little bit of time to breathe.ö
West says he thinks Abukusumo, his former teammate and friend, is a Project-40 success because he is returning to finish his education.
ôThatÆs one of the benefits of Project-40 – that safety net,ö West says. ôEven if you donÆt make it, you have something to fall back on. I think itÆs something all sports could learn from. In the NBA, yes they pay millions of dollars, but youÆre dealing with kids who will spend money however they please because they will always think there is more coming.ö
THE NEW WAVE. The latest crop of P-40 signees included five teenagers. This trend toward younger players has meant an additional educational challenge – high school.
The league and individual teams have committed themselves to helping their youngest members get GEDÆs or diplomas. D.C. United, which has three such players, has hired a private tutor and disciplines Bobby Convey, Santino Quaranta and Sergio Salas for falling behind in their schoolwork.
ôWhen we sit down and begin the process of signing high school players, itÆs clear in our discussions that a priority of this – for everybody involved – is getting that high school education finished,ö says MLS senior vice president of player personnel Todd Durbin. ôWhether itÆs paying for a tutor or limiting appearances, we do what we can to make that happen.ö
Durbin says he expects upcoming P-40 classes to continue to have a mix of teenage youth national team players, top college undergraduates and local talent.
Another new wrinkle in the program this year is the absence of a Project-40 team in the A-League. Instead, players practice full time with their MLS clubs and are loaned to USL teams for games. The change has drawn positive reviews.
ôThat was one of the things we hated when I came out [of college],ö West said. ôYeah, we were getting games, but we were missing weeks at a time from our MLS teams.ö