Boys ODP Information

Boys ODP Information:

Below is a wonderful report that was written by Region II Boys’ ODP Assistant Head Coach Ian Barker. The Senior Staff recommends this report for your reading and posting on your state web sites. We feel that Coach Barker’s ideas and conclusions will be of interest to you, your State ODP Players, your Club Coaches and your ODP Team Administrators. Thank you for your continued support of the Boys’ ODP and we look forward to seeing your players in camp this summer.

Region II US Youth Soccer ODP: “Alive and Kicking”
Ian Barker, March 2008

The 90 boys recently returned from an international tour in Costa Rica and the 92 and 93 boys have just returned from Spain. All three groups competed extremely well in competition with youth sides from the top professional leagues in the respective countries, including La Liga, and the Costa Rica U18 National Team.

Having been responsible as head coach of the 92s and as an observer/assistant to the 90s and 93s I am happy to report that our teams can compete with foreign opposition of a high caliber. As representative sides, our teams come together quickly in an environment unique from that of club soccer. US Youth Soccer ODP Regional Teams operate as relatively closed groups and any parents who attend the event are removed from the day to day operations of the team. Also, our groups are expected to compete and perform at a good level, but are not under pressure to be result driven. As such all the players are able to be employed throughout the trip and given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. The trips are physically demanding as they are short, packed with competition and allow for little acclimatization. Yet, under these unusual conditions, these US players have responded well.

Trips also include some opportunity to see the culture of the host nation and attendance of professional games. The 90s attended an Alajuela match and the 92s and 93s attended games at Barcelona and Espanyol. Off the field behavior of the groups is generally good, but the players receive good supervision and are held accountable for their actions.

This year’s international travel rosters bear little resemblance to those identified at the July Regional Camp and those which represented the Region at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The reason for the change(s) was because the USSF Academy program began operations in the middle of the ODP cycle. As such many players who were in ODP were required to withdraw and much of the preparation work of coaches and players was undone as new players were called in to participate in our events. Despite all our concerns about this, many of which I articulated strongly, the groups that represented us performed more than adequately. Furthermore, had these groups been able to enjoy the benefits of holdover and the domestic tour at the end of the year they would have been even more effective overseas. So moving forward, despite the impact of the USSF Academy program on the availability of top quality players from key areas of our region the ODP Regional Teams can still program at their previous levels.

For those players who are not willing or able to play with USSF Academy sides the US Youth Soccer ODP provides the single best avenue for National Team identification. In Spain NT staff coach Roberto Lopez was able to evaluate players very closely on and off the field and report directly back to the U17 NT staff. For players in my home state of Minnesota the opportunity to be evaluated by NT staff is only possible thanks to Region II ODP.

Indeed, in my opinion, for the US Soccer National Staff, evaluating players for NT selection through US Youth Soccer ODP is still a very effective option for two reasons. First, the primary goals of taking ODP teams to events are performance and development; not result-driven soccer. In these environments, where players are evaluated in representative soccer (not unlike residency), players are routinely asked to operate outside of their tactical comfort zone and take soccer risks. Second, the sheer volume of players in the United States clearly points to the continuing need for multiple pathways to the national teams program. As it stands, I believe those players who participate in US Youth Soccer ODP will have some of the strongest opportunities to develop as a player and be evaluated in a challenging environment by both US Soccer National Staff and by top college coaches.

On the basis of the events of the last 7 months I have become convinced of the significant value of US Youth Soccer ODP at the state and regional levels and clearly that view is supported by the NT staff trying to identify talent. As numbers for the 2008 summer camp persist at a level of those from 2007 and with a clearer picture of what talent to identify and work with through to international travel; our collective renewed commitment to the Olympic Development Program makes the very best of sense for our players.