FCC Announces Academy Teams for 19-20 Season

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Philly_Cat

Well-known member
https://www.fccincinnati.com/post/2019/05/06/club-launch-academy-u-15-u-1617-teams



FCC finally makes an official announcement and will be holding tryouts just squeaking under the deadline to get in before the Cincinnati area clubs begin their tryouts. With Cincinnati now having a DA that has all of the high school age groups, do we foresee any noticable changes to varsity rosters around the city? Personally, I've always felt a DA in Cincinnati wouldn't make a substantial impact on high school soccer. It would siphon off some of the top talent, but not enough to change the competitive level of Cincinnati high school soccer.

Thoughts?

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They've already started scouring across the country for better talent.

It's not hard to look at the previous MLS DA systems to see that very few "local" players have actually made it to the first team.

Just start at the new hire for the FCC DA, Coach Sunderland. He's been with Portland Timbers. Here's the list of who they've produced:
 
belied dat said:
They've already started scouring across the country for better talent.

It's not hard to look at the previous MLS DA systems to see that very few "local" players have actually made it to the first team.

Just start at the new hire for the FCC DA, Coach Sunderland. He's been with Portland Timbers. Here's the list of who they've produced:
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I was asking about impact on local high soccer, not who ends up making the first team or call ups to national teams. I honestly could care less about that.

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Philly_Cat said:
Why does the invite only mean it won't affect high school, or were those two separate thoughts?

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Separate, but connected. If they are inviting current DA kids for the most part then those kids didn't play HS this past year as Freshmen. There won't be that many 03 kids that make the DA that were hugely impactful for their HS team's this past year.
 
Gr8tS0ccr said:
Separate, but connected. If they are inviting current DA kids for the most part then those kids didn't play HS this past year as Freshmen. There won't be that many 03 kids that make the DA that were hugely impactful for their HS team's this past year.
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But FCC will have older age groups that CUP DA didn't have. So even if its invite only, the older kids getting invites would be from regular club teams. I know there are some, not many, kids that haven't played high school and instead played club in the Fall or trained, but the vast majority of the invites would be to older kids that played high school last year.

For the 15U team it would be 8th and 9th graders. Would any of those 9th graders that end up playing for FCC have been varsity players for their school? I don't know. That's part of the interesting discussion I was curious about starting. Or at least I think it's an interesting discussion.

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Philly_Cat said:
But FCC will have older age groups that CUP DA didn't have. So even if its invite only, the older kids getting invites would be from regular club teams. I know there are some, not many, kids that haven't played high school and instead played club in the Fall or trained, but the vast majority of the invites would be to older kids that played high school last year.

For the 15U team it would be 8th and 9th graders. Would any of those 9th graders that end up playing for FCC have been varsity players for their school? I don't know. That's part of the interesting discussion I was curious about starting. Or at least I think it's an interesting discussion.

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Maybe there is a kid or two that would have a big impact as a freshman playing Varsity that will play on the 15U team, but I doubt it.

The 16/17U team will be Sophomores/Juniors. The Sophomores were already playing at the DA at CUP (The ones that got invites to tryout), the only wildcard would be 03 boys that played Club that would switch to the DA. That won't be a huge number, and in fact, you could speculate that some of the current 04 DA kids won't make the team, and would then consider playing HS and Club. So, my personal opinion is that it really isn't a big impact. I also don't see long term that the DA will be full of local players. They will pull players from all over the place (Louisville, Lexington, Dayton, Columbus, Indianapolis would all be potential places at a minimum).

Beyond that, there is no DA team for Seniors, and some Juniors, so the impact there will be non-existent.
 
Gr8tS0ccr said:
Maybe there is a kid or two that would have a big impact as a freshman playing Varsity that will play on the 15U team, but I doubt it.



The 16/17U team will be Sophomores/Juniors. The Sophomores were already playing at the DA at CUP (The ones that got invites to tryout), the only wildcard would be 03 boys that played Club that would switch to the DA. That won't be a huge number, and in fact, you could speculate that some of the current 04 DA kids won't make the team, and would then consider playing HS and Club. So, my personal opinion is that it really isn't a big impact. I also don't see long term that the DA will be full of local players. They will pull players from all over the place (Louisville, Lexington, Dayton, Columbus, Indianapolis would all be potential places at a minimum).



Beyond that, there is no DA team for Seniors, and some Juniors, so the impact there will be non-existent.
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I thought FCC was also doing a 18/19U team?

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Philly_Cat said:
Nevermind! Might help is I properly read the very article I posted lol

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Video of the U15 tryouts on their website. Says he wants to establish relationships with local clubs. Interesting comment. AFAIK they limited tryout participants to current DA kids, and a handful of kids from CUP/KHA 03s.

I am sure Columbus United(U14 State Cup Champs), OCA(U14 Runner-up), Cincinnati Elite (U15 State Cup Champs last two years), Ohio Galaxies (State Cup Runner-up last two years), Club Ohio (U16), and TFA all have a player or two, if not more that would be worth looking at. Not to mention kids from Lexington, or Louisville, or Indianapolis. Hopefully they expand their scouting and reach once Sunderland establishes things.
 
So it's just another place for entitled, wealthy kids to play soccer? LOL...I have seen many of the local A level club teams and frankly was not overly impressed...it is just kids that have parents can afford to drop 5K a season...not the best athletes in SW OH and NKY...What about the large Latino population? Soccer is their game and they are horribly underrepresented in our pay to play nonsense...So what is the goal here? Have parents drop 50K for years of club so their kids might get 5K a year in scholarship? Men's soccer is not a fully funded sport in the NCAA and we have no professional minor leagues that lead anywhere (unlike South America, Europe etc...)...Bottom line is club soccer here is a for-profit business that has nothing to do with advancing the game...For the kids that want to go out and play, get some training, have fun and a nice high school career it is okay...but the delusions need to stop!
 
Sports Jock and Chad said:
So it's just another place for entitled, wealthy kids to play soccer? LOL...I have seen many of the local A level club teams and frankly was not overly impressed...it is just kids that have parents can afford to drop 5K a season...not the best athletes in SW OH and NKY...What about the large Latino population? Soccer is their game and they are horribly underrepresented in our pay to play nonsense...So what is the goal here? Have parents drop 50K for years of club so their kids might get 5K a year in scholarship? Men's soccer is not a fully funded sport in the NCAA and we have no professional minor leagues that lead anywhere (unlike South America, Europe etc...)...Bottom line is club soccer here is a for-profit business that has nothing to do with advancing the game...For the kids that want to go out and play, get some training, have fun and a nice high school career it is okay...but the delusions need to stop!
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It's free, same as the Columbus Crew.

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Philly_Cat said:
It's free, same as the Columbus Crew.

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I do agree that costs are way out of control. It is driven by $$$. I believe that the true professional clubs(MLS) running Academies are the right thing to do as they are zero cost to the players (unlike the pay to play DA academies that I am adamantly opposed to). That said, they still aren't looking broadly enough for talent. I have seen some shift to more local clubs that aren't quite as expensive drawing kids away from those so called "Academy" programs. I haven't heard the term "A" level in a while...made me think of the TCYSA A division from back in the old days. :)
 
Gr8tS0ccr said:
I do agree that costs are way out of control. It is driven by $$$. I believe that the true professional clubs(MLS) running Academies are the right thing to do as they are zero cost to the players (unlike the pay to play DA academies that I am adamantly opposed to). That said, they still aren't looking broadly enough for talent. I have seen some shift to more local clubs that aren't quite as expensive drawing kids away from those so called "Academy" programs. I haven't heard the term "A" level in a while...made me think of the TCYSA A division from back in the old days. :)
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Not all MLS DAs are free. DC United still charges. There's a possibility that Minnesota charges. I've lost track anymore.

Several other "free" ones utilize their affiliate clubs to pay for their "free" DA. FC Dallas makes nearly $15m off their affiliate clubs to allow for their DA to be free.

Most of the top products at these MLS DAs aren't even local players. Sounders' top products are all out of state. Sporting KC's top product, Gianluca Busio, is from North Carolina. If these DAs even care about the system anyway. There have been 4-5 MLS teams organizations who have expressed interest in dropping their club system because the expenses outweigh the benefits.
 
I know MLS DA's are normally free but since they only invited A level, big money club players it is just a break for entitled families...I agree the outreach is so limited...the story of US Soccer in a nutshell
 
I'm just hoping FCC can find a kid that can score goals and put him on the field. Anything has to be an upgrade over the anemic scoring efforts of Adi & company!
 
Sports Jock and Chad said:
I know MLS DA's are normally free but since they only invited A level, big money club players it is just a break for entitled families...I agree the outreach is so limited...the story of US Soccer in a nutshell
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You have to cut FCC some slack.

* First they're dealing with making the jump from the minor leagues to the MLS in the shortest time ever for a new MLS franchise.

* They're trying to assemble a major league front office & scouting infrastructure and they're building a new practice facility in Milford.

* They just fired their head coach and moved Berding out of the GM position.

* They just hired a new GM and are looking for a new head coach.

* They're trying to build a new stadium and beyond dealing with the headaches involved in any construction project of that size they're dealing with the crazy Cincinnati City council and Hamilton county commissioners office.

* Making matters worse they're dealing with overly entitled "activists" and locals who think it's the Club's responsibility to house them.

* They're currently putting a very bad product on the field. There is a risk that the poor play of this club could begin to impact the excellent fan base they've got. They need to get better - soon!

Frankly I'm amazed they even found time to start an Academy.
 
lotr10 said:
You have to cut FCC some slack.

* First they're dealing with making the jump from the minor leagues to the MLS in the shortest time ever for a new MLS franchise.

* They're trying to assemble a major league front office & scouting infrastructure and they're building a new practice facility in Milford.

* They just fired their head coach and moved Berding out of the GM position.

* They just hired a new GM and are looking for a new head coach.

* They're trying to build a new stadium and beyond dealing with the headaches involved in any construction project of that size they're dealing with the crazy Cincinnati City council and Hamilton county commissioners office.

* Making matters worse they're dealing with overly entitled "activists" and locals who think it's the Club's responsibility to house them.

* They're currently putting a very bad product on the field. There is a risk that the poor play of this club could begin to impact the excellent fan base they've got. They need to get better - soon!

Frankly I'm amazed they even found time to start an Academy.
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All of these are lame excuses. They signed up for the "project." Why should anyone cut them slack? No one forced their hand at moving to MLS.

No one else at fault but them for picking coach, GM failures, training facility and stadium failures, or terrible player selection.

They made their bed, now they have to sleep in it.
 
belied dat said:
All of these are lame excuses. They signed up for the "project." Why should anyone cut them slack? No one forced their hand at moving to MLS.

No one else at fault but them for picking coach, GM failures, training facility and stadium failures, or terrible player selection.

They made their bed, now they have to sleep in it.
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A bit harsh eh?

And my point was that FCC has bigger fish to fry then their youth academy.

And sure they "signed up" to join the MLS and thank goodness for that! Or did you enjoy the USL?

And as an expansion team they've made mistakes - gee see my shocked face. We all can't be Atlanta.

And frankly FCC didn't make stadium mistakes the entitled locals & activists combined with an inept City Council and disinterested County Commissioners created the problems.

I for one salute FCC and Lindner for privately funding the stadium to the tune of $250,000,000. Then you have to add in the $150,000,000 MLS expansion fee they had to pay. That's $400,000,000. Throw in the practice facility and staffing up a front office & coaching staff and we're looking at a $500,000,000 PRIVATE investment in Cincinnati.
 
lotr10 said:
A bit harsh eh?

And my point was that FCC has bigger fish to fry then their youth academy.

And sure they "signed up" to join the MLS and thank goodness for that! Or did you enjoy the USL?

And as an expansion team they've made mistakes - gee see my shocked face. We all can't be Atlanta.

And frankly FCC didn't make stadium mistakes the entitled locals & activists combined with an inept City Council and disinterested County Commissioners created the problems.

I for one salute FCC and Lindner for privately funding the stadium to the tune of $250,000,000. Then you have to add in the $150,000,000 MLS expansion fee they had to pay. That's $400,000,000. Throw in the practice facility and staffing up a front office & coaching staff and we're looking at a $500,000,000 PRIVATE investment in Cincinnati.
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How is it harsh? They chose to pay $150m for a "franchise." That's their fault. They can be criticized enough for that.

I enjoy good soccer. They didn't play good soccer in USL, they haven't in MLS.

Don't act like that investment really benefits Cincinnati. Their investment is trying to benefit the Lindner family future. MLS loses money. Their investment is towards the SUM money that MLS brings and their "partnership" with USSF.

If you didn't think FCC made stadium mistakes, you're wearing your rose colored glasses. Even the most die-hard fans know there were mistakes, and it's back on Berding for those. Typical politician though.
 
belied dat said:
How is it harsh? They chose to pay $150m for a "franchise." That's their fault. They can be criticized enough for that.

I enjoy good soccer. They didn't play good soccer in USL, they haven't in MLS.

Don't act like that investment really benefits Cincinnati. Their investment is trying to benefit the Lindner family future. MLS loses money. Their investment is towards the SUM money that MLS brings and their "partnership" with USSF.

If you didn't think FCC made stadium mistakes, you're wearing your rose colored glasses. Even the most die-hard fans know there were mistakes, and it's back on Berding for those. Typical politician though.
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Well if I'm wearing rose colored glasses in viewing FCC then what the hell are you wearing to claim that FCC dosen't benefit Cincinnati! I mean are you being serious here? let's see off the top of my head:

* Every ticket sold for EVERY event at the FCC stadium is going to have a city tax attached. That alone will be one hell of a benefit.

* The immediate neighborhood will be revitalized.

* In the fierce competition between mid sized city's to land new business an MLS franchise gives us an advantage. This is particularly true in trying to attract European business interests. Given that these cities have similar pluses & minuses and offer similar tax breaks and infrastructure, the decision often comes down to an intangible factor like having a pro soccer team.

* It gives us an additional entertainment option in SWO.

* It will increase the odds that at least one of our pro teams is doing well. The Reds, Bengal's & FCC can't all suck at the same time can they?


So yea, I'll cut FCC some slack in not having their junior academy running at full capacity yet.
 
So I have had this thought about MLS Academy's, I know that this idea would cost alot of money but feel it is the best thing for the MLS team's and National teams. Why not set up a some type of system close to the EU model. Team scouts go to local youth tournaments of all levels and identifies talent at say a 12U and up level. Players selected for placement in the academy would live at the academy and complete school while competing against the other MLS academies at their age group. This way players are in a professional environment from a young age and if no compensation is made to the player there would be no issue in the kids still going to college and playing. Your very very high level players would have the option of signing a pro contract with the MLS club or if home club doesn't want you, you could sign for any MLS Club.
 
scsweeper19 said:
So I have had this thought about MLS Academy's, I know that this idea would cost alot of money but feel it is the best thing for the MLS team's and National teams. Why not set up a some type of system close to the EU model. Team scouts go to local youth tournaments of all levels and identifies talent at say a 12U and up level. Players selected for placement in the academy would live at the academy and complete school while competing against the other MLS academies at their age group. This way players are in a professional environment from a young age and if no compensation is made to the player there would be no issue in the kids still going to college and playing. Your very very high level players would have the option of signing a pro contract with the MLS club or if home club doesn't want you, you could sign for any MLS Club.
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The problem is: US Soccer and MLS entities do not know or care about scouting. US Soccer employs one full-time scout. That's it. Most MLS teams do zero scouting.

There are ways to open up more competition than restricting soccer to only the DA or MLS outlets. How can 24 entities truly provide enough for the whole country? How can we truly believe those entities will "develop" enough to compete in the world's game? Especially when clubs around the world employ as many as 30-50 scouts in one club.
 
scsweeper19 said:
So I have had this thought about MLS Academy's, I know that this idea would cost alot of money but feel it is the best thing for the MLS team's and National teams. Why not set up a some type of system close to the EU model. Team scouts go to local youth tournaments of all levels and identifies talent at say a 12U and up level. Players selected for placement in the academy would live at the academy and complete school while competing against the other MLS academies at their age group. This way players are in a professional environment from a young age and if no compensation is made to the player there would be no issue in the kids still going to college and playing. Your very very high level players would have the option of signing a pro contract with the MLS club or if home club doesn't want you, you could sign for any MLS Club.
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I think this is where it's headed but you're going to have to be patient as it's just going to take a while to get there. First though the MLS must get bigger and wealthier. Right now most observers believe the MLS is going to expand to a minimum of 32 teams which should cover most of the US & Canada. I've even heard mention of a final team total in the 36 - 40 range.

I also suspect that the age they would look to scout would be 14 & up. The academy's would essentially be like IMG in Florida and would be accredited high schools. Going down to U12 might just be to ambitious.

Alternatively US soccer could take a page out of Football and to a lesser extent Baseball & Basketball's playbook and shift the focus to High School & College to develop the bulk of our soccer talent. Or even employ a hybrid like Basketball/baseball with High School & the Clubs combining with minor leagues/college to develop the talent.

Of course every time I bring this up I get trashed but it has worked for football. And High School has one HUGE advantage over Club, particularly for making inroads among urban kids, in that the infrastructure is already in place and the social element of playing in a stadium under the lights and in front of your fiends would appeal to teenage boys in a way that playing on a hot Saturday afternoon in front of your parents sitting on lawn chairs might not.
 
lotr10 said:
I think this is where it's headed but you're going to have to be patient as it's just going to take a while to get there. First though the MLS must get bigger and wealthier. Right now most observers believe the MLS is going to expand to a minimum of 32 teams which should cover most of the US & Canada. I've even heard mention of a final team total in the 36 - 40 range.

I also suspect that the age they would look to scout would be 14 & up. The academy's would essentially be like IMG in Florida and would be accredited high schools. Going down to U12 might just be to ambitious.

Alternatively US soccer could take a page out of Football and to a lesser extent Baseball & Basketball's playbook and shift the focus to High School & College to develop the bulk of our soccer talent. Or even employ a hybrid like Basketball/baseball with High School & the Clubs combining with minor leagues/college to develop the talent.

Of course every time I bring this up I get trashed but it has worked for football. And High School has one HUGE advantage over Club, particularly for making inroads among urban kids, in that the infrastructure is already in place and the social element of playing in a stadium under the lights and in front of your fiends would appeal to teenage boys in a way that playing on a hot Saturday afternoon in front of your parents sitting on lawn chairs might not.
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There's plenty of talent - not always in obvious places. The last place worth scouting talent in the US currently is a High School field. I have played every level of soccer, and High School was a blast, but frankly the worst team I played on, and the worst coach I played for. I don't see that changing dramatically enough to make it a scouting hotbed for soccer. Baseball, Basketball, and Football are much different.

The most impactful thing they could do is to put a soccer field of any size/shape/surface in as many neighborhoods as possible. You can find a basketball hoop in every neighborhood, on every school playground, on a huge number of driveways in this country. Get everyone playing the game and the talent pool will change. It would also disrupt this non-sense culture we have right now that prioritizes the club magnet on the back of your car, and the college education sized money you pay to play over actually playing the game.
 
Gr8tS0ccr said:
There's plenty of talent - not always in obvious places. The last place worth scouting talent in the US currently is a High School field. I have played every level of soccer, and High School was a blast, but frankly the worst team I played on, and the worst coach I played for. I don't see that changing dramatically enough to make it a scouting hotbed for soccer. Baseball, Basketball, and Football are much different.

The most impactful thing they could do is to put a soccer field of any size/shape/surface in as many neighborhoods as possible. You can find a basketball hoop in every neighborhood, on every school playground, on a huge number of driveways in this country. Get everyone playing the game and the talent pool will change. It would also disrupt this non-sense culture we have right now that prioritizes the club magnet on the back of your car, and the college education sized money you pay to play over actually playing the game.
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There's probably more HS coaches in the Cincinnati-region that I'd trust over club coaches in the region.
 
belied dat said:
There's probably more HS coaches in the Cincinnati-region that I'd trust over club coaches in the region.
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Trust with what?

There are definitely some great HS "Coaches" for building character, work ethic, etc. my HS aged son plays for one.

Soccer skills? There certainly are some, but HS's do not pay enough to attract the most knowledgeable soccer coaches. Hard to disagree with your implied point that there are some less than credible and worse coaches in the game now, due to the $$$. Unfortunately, it has also run off some of the best coaches I have seen in the area that didn't have the perfect resume, or the highest level playing credentials, but were fantastic teachers and role models. Yes, even the dreaded "parent coach" in a lot of cases.
 
Gr8tS0ccr said:
There's plenty of talent - not always in obvious places. The last place worth scouting talent in the US currently is a High School field. I have played every level of soccer, and High School was a blast, but frankly the worst team I played on, and the worst coach I played for. I don't see that changing dramatically enough to make it a scouting hotbed for soccer. Baseball, Basketball, and Football are much different.

The most impactful thing they could do is to put a soccer field of any size/shape/surface in as many neighborhoods as possible. You can find a basketball hoop in every neighborhood, on every school playground, on a huge number of driveways in this country. Get everyone playing the game and the talent pool will change. It would also disrupt this non-sense culture we have right now that prioritizes the club magnet on the back of your car, and the college education sized money you pay to play over actually playing the game.
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I won't dispute this and suspect that the variability in High School Soccer coaching is very large. But I'm not saying they should be scouting HS soccer today I'm saying that maybe the powers that be in American soccer should be looking at HS soccer as the place to invest their money and energy so that the coaching & skills training improves.

Think of HS soccer as one of those great old houses they remodel on HGTV. The place needs a lot of work but the bones are solid and the potential end product after the remodeling is spectacular. You even said it yourself Gr8tSOccr that HS soccer was "a blast". That's the environment that can attract kids to play for their high school that can't easily be imitated in club soccer.

The other advantage of using HS soccer as the infrastructure for developing players is that you already have outposts in the urban areas where soccer isn't popular but athletic kids reside in abundance. It's easier to make inroads at inner city high schools then trying to attract kids to "club" by putting in a soccer field at the local park.

And to be clear, HS soccer wouldn't be responsible for the final training of talent. That would be left to elite "clubs" and academy's. It would follow the football situation where HS introduces a highly competitive version of the sport to teenagers. Even though only a very small number of kids will go on from HS to play in the MLS and on the National Team millions more will become lifetime fans for having played HS soccer.
 
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