You can read the entire press release by clicking on the title above, but the following points stick out to me.
- Cincinnati has not produced enough players on the boys' side at the National level in the past 10 years to warrant a 2nd club. This is a position I've held for a while and one I told my previous board as well as friends in the community BEFORE I came to Ohio Elite. It isn't about offering the program to offer the program. Having a second club in Cincinnati defeats the purpose. It's about finding the best 40-44 players in the U15/U16 and U17/U18 age groups to come together to train with one another and play against the top competition in the country. There are clubs/leagues in Cincinnati founded on this principle and the Federation agrees. If the top 2/3 players from each team around Ohio South went to the two USSDA clubs, the impact to those teams would be minimal and the impact on the game significant. It will be interesting to see how those clubs that applied to join and were not accepted change their tactics from promoting the program to one where they are against it.
- The possibility of re-alignment is a good one. While the competition has made the travel worth it, any opportunity to play closer to home in the league games would be positive.
- The USSDA clearly isn't going anywhere. In an interview I had last night with Roberto Lopez, who has been with US Soccer for almost 10 years he indicated that he has never seen US Soccer commit the resources to any project that they have to this one. (The full interview will be posted shortly.)
- There continues to be a commitment to the MLS franchises. While we do compete against Crew Jrs I do believe that for the good of the game in this country our MLS franchises must take the lead on player development. No one in Ohio is more deserving of a US Soccer Development Academy program than our friends at Team Ohio, but the commitment to ensuring the MLS franchises are successful is clear. Of course, the MLS franchises should be required to hire proven leaders in youth soccer with a history of developing young players. Unfortunately, there are still some that have not.
- There is a misconception that this is a Nike Premier league. Of the 12 clubs that were added 6 wear adidas, 4 are Nike Premier, 1 in Diadora and 1 in Xara taking the total number of club to: adidas - 38; Nike Premier - 28; Nike - 3; Diadora - 2; Puma/Kelma/Xara - 1 each. This speaks to two issues: (1) the USSDA truly does want those clubs that they believe fit the ideals of the Academy system; (2) being of a select few clubs in the country with the distinction to be a Nike Premier club is an honor!
