US Soccer hosted an event on August 23 in Chicago, IL to go over the details of the US Soccer Development Academy Program. Representatives from the 64 participating clubs had the opportunity to meet with US Soccer’s CEO, Dan Flynn, EVP, Jay Berhalter and Technical Director, Bob Jenkins as well as USSF staff coaches and the people directly responsible for the day-to-day management of the program. Both Crossfire President, Brian Klein, and former President, Lance McIntosh attended.

 

It was an extremely informative meeting for all involved. Many ideas to help further refine the program were shared. It was clear that there is a strong momentum developing and the mood of the participating clubs has shifted from cautious, guarded optimism to strong enthusiasm. Many of the details discussed have been previously reported on the Crossfire website. Some of the new information is reported on below.

 

It was announced in Chicago that coaches’ training will be a major emphasis for the USSDA. All academy coaches are invited to attend the US-Brazil Men’s National team game on September 9 and spend time with the US coaching staff. On September 12-13 there will be a 2-day seminar in Chicago, IL for coaches’ training that will be attended by Crossfire academy staff coaches Bernie James, Neil Megson and Andy Flory. Similar training events will be taking place at the four Showcase events during the year.

 

United States Soccer Development Academy Technical Director Bob Jenkins spoke before the group and emphasized the creation of an environment in which players have a training-to-game ratio with a consistent “cadence”. Our training/match schedule during the Academy season will be modeled around these parameters:

 

·        A minimum of three training sessions per week

·        No more than one match per day, two consecutive days maximum

·        A day of rest required after two consecutive matches

·        A required day of rest each week

 

The USSDA has been designed to support player development and identification and will increase the opportunity for exposure to college and professional coaches. At this time, the Federation has the ability to disseminate all Crossfire club and player information directly into a online database with more than 1500 U.S. college coaches. This information includes: 

To assist the National Team staff in identification of players, coaches from each side must “ID” three players from the opposing team after each match. This ID will be entered on USSDA required forms and accumulated by the Federation to assist in identifying players for National or Regional events. There will also be US staff coaches at games to individually scout the teams.

 

Year long schedules were put in place. Crossfire’s season will begin at the Showcase Event during the first October weekend. It will take place in the renowned Home Depot Center, home of the US National Team. Crossfire will be hosting teams from Northern California and Washington Premier during as well as visiting these teams in the fall. Two practice games have been set up with the Vancouver Whitecap Academy.

 

Federation expectations are for the host team to provide a venue that has a “professional appearance” which shall include a top-level playing surface, benches, tents, and water for each team. The USSDA will hire and schedule referees.

 

Windows for outside Elite Events 

The High School issues were also discussed. Next year the plans are for the league to take a break during the winter. This means that all academy teams in areas where high school is played in the spring or fall will unfortunately not be allowed to have players participating in both.

 

On a positive note discussions are already underway to start plans for a girls’ academy program. This is likely to begin in 2-3 years. It will be organized on the same lines as the boys’ program.

 

More information will be given on the academy during the September Coaches Seminar. Tryouts are currently being held and announcements on the teams are expected shortly.