Welcome Back!!

The kids going back to school tomorrow officially signals the beginning of the fall in the Cullina household. We took to summer off from blogging and tweeting, but with us now completely immersed in the fall season both are back to keep both our membership and those of you interested in the goings on at Ohio Elite informed.

The Ohio Elite Facebook page now boasts 181 fans and will soon feature more posts and discussions in our discussion forum. We will monitor the discussion board to ensure posters are identified with legitimate FB accounts/names as well as to be actively involved in the discussion and answer questions posted on the discussion board.

Both myself and Tim have created personal twitter accounts (we welcome any pressure placed on Doug to do the same). After deleting all the spam followers, OE Twitter currently has 94 followers. (If we have mistakenly blocked you, please send me an email.) Expect regular tweets again starting this week. We are transitioning the @ohioelite account to post club-wide information. Follow me directly @mikecullina.

A Look Inside from Nationals - Part 1 Preparation

I wanted to provide a view of nationals from a coaches perspective. What were we thinking about? What were the challenges? How did we approach each game. This is a technical look at my experience from nationals and the preparation leading up to nationals. I apologize ahead of time for the length, but I want to give some detail.

When we were U14 and made it to nationals I don't think we understood what we were there for. When I say that I don't mean just the players. I include myself in that statement. Oh yes, not only have the players learned along the way, the coach has too. What we learned is that you have to be willing to change and adapt. Most of all we learned that every game will provide a significant challenge. Arriving again at U18 was awesome. The players knew exactly what we were there to do.

Background Factors Leading Into Nationals

Systems of Play - In 90% of our games a 3 forward system is best for us. Most teams have struggled to deal with our pressure in that system. At the highest level we know that there are teams that can deal with our pressure so we have opted for a more defensive approach in those games. Anyone that has ever seen us play knows that we are an attacking team, but I have learned that at the top level you just can't concede goals and win. Games and opponents dictate the system. We try to play the system that can make us successful against a given opponent. For example, against Minnesota Thunder in the regional semi-final we knew from experience that they struggled with our 3 forwards and did not have overly dangerous attacking individuals so we played 3-4-3. The result ended 5-0 in our favor. In the regional final against Michigan Hawks we knew it would be a more defensive game and they were talented in attack so we played 4-2-3-1. The result ended 1-0 in our favor. We certainly have systems that we are more comfortable in than others, but we set it up based on the circumstances. I have asked the team to play many systems over the past few years so we are comfortable in most. More importantly we have the talented players to fit most any system.

Substitutions - One of the biggest strengths of our team is that we have 20 very capable players. In the past I have tightened our rotation in big games. I think that has hurt us at times. I have put a lot of faith in our bench this year and it has paid off. In every game at regionals all field players that dressed played a part in every game. Many big games this year have been decided by players off of our bench. The season is very long and demanding. I credit our bench for a great deal of our success this year. We weren't about to change our thinking leading up to nationals.

20 Players Means 2 Sit - The hardest part of regionals and nationals was the knowledge that if we stayed healthy 2 players would not be able to dress for each game. Having 20 players has been great for training and cover throughout the season, but with every player fit to play it was very hard. These decisions were based on current form, opponent, chosen system of play and other factors. Examples of other factors were the possibility of going to penalties, getting players rest, etc... Emotion is not involved in these decisions. As a coach they are the toughest decisions, but also your responsibility. When you have 20 very capable players it's even harder. If I had it to do over again I would take 20 players on the team. The reality is all of these players will face fierce competition at the college level. We have and will continue to create the most competitive environment possible.

Distractions - With these players going off to college we never had everyone at training in the 3 weeks leading up to nationals. Many players had to go to summer school, college camps and college orientation. There is much planning that also goes into going to nationals. Hotels, transportation, meetings, media obligations and meals. I just try to shield the players as much as possible from any outside distractions. It is tough. You try to keep things as normal as possible. All the parents, siblings and grandparents are there as well they should be. Fortunately we qualified for the final after our second game which allowed some free time for the players and their families. It is a delicate balance between preparing properly and enjoying the experience. It's an art, not a science.

Coming soon...Part 2 - The Games at Nationals

Misinformation Rules the Day...

We live in a world where facts sometimes mean little and people are left to sift through what is real and what is not. Youth soccer mirrors the world I am speaking of and sometimes is worse. Misinformation, propaganda and spin continue to attempt to mislead people in the world of youth soccer. This is most definitely the case in our community.

It's gone even farther these days. There is an obvious and very calculated effort to cause confusion by spreading misinformation. It is one thing to have an opinion about something. It is very different to present misinformation as fact. Making statements like Ohio Elite is getting kicked out of the U.S. Development Academy is irresponsible and without basis. Claiming Ohio Elite does not support high school soccer and threatens our players into playing for our fall team is another example of what I am talking about. Worse yet is speculating on the future employment of people who have chosen soccer as their profession. Finally, the lowest of the low are those who talk directly about individual kids. Those who make these type of statements should be embarrassed by this behavior.

Many of the people making these statements hide in anonymity on message boards and public forums. These forums can be a great avenue for discussion. They can also be destructive. Their presence will continue to allow gutless anonymous posters to recklessly spread information about organizations and individuals that is far from true. It empowers those who have no real voice in the soccer community. Unfortunately it also overshadows the posters that understand the real intention of these forums which I believe is healthy opinion and discussion.

I have always had the utmost respect for the people and organizations who work hard making their product the best it can be. I try to have a policy of not talking about other organizations and focus on what I think is great about what we do. I also know that Ohio Elite is not for everyone. That's perfectly okay. Bottom line is that if you do a great job your players will stay and new players will come, period. I think that we are very successful in that regard and I also think there are other organizations out there doing a great job.

When selecting a team and club for your child I encourage you to do your homework. Beware of those who bash others. They are often afraid you will find out the truth. Like the opinions in this blog or not at least you know who they are coming from.

Understanding the Club's role in Player Development

I am often asked about the Development Academy and Elite Clubs National League. Certainly the top players should be in these leagues, but as important as playing in the league is the question of why Ohio Elite is the only member of either and the only NIKE Premier Club in Cincinnati .

Is it our Infrastructure? Coaching? Connections? Politics? Knowledge of the various processes? The simple answer is yes and it is equally important to consider when determining the club your child should play for. Tim is on the US Club BOD, Doug is the V.P. of the ECNL and I was an original member of the MRL Commission (all volunteer positions btw). These are not coincidence.

While training and coaching are the most important and the best parts of our job we spend an equal amount of time away from the field ensuring these opportunities for our players. When proper programming doesn't exist, Tim, Doug and myself have a proven record of helping to create them. The EPL was the first league in Cincinnati to have small-sided games while myself and other area directors worked with other league administrators to adopt it a year later.

Ohio Elite was the only club in Cincinnati to apply for the Development Academy when U.S. Soccer announced it was accepting applications during the spring of 2007. While other clubs made the decision not to apply (I personally made such a decision) or took a wait and see approach, Ohio Elite was once again the leader with its acceptance into a League. U.S. Soccer continues to show a commitment to the inaugural clubs and accepted only 5 clubs out of a pool of 250 applicants for year number three.

There are many qualified trainers in Cincinnati, each with his/her own strengths, but clubs have a responsibility to its membership off the field to help create the right environment for its players on the field. The game is evolving with technical people having a greater influence in policies and programming. In a two-week period in the middle of May, Tim, Doug and I were involved in nearly 30 conference calls and meetings - local, regional and national - directly related to League play and programming.

Membership in these Leagues and the opening of the new 30-acre facility confirm Ohio Elite's commitment toward meeting ALL the demands of players development.

Too Much Emphasis on State Cup

As I sat through, and ran between State Cup games this weekend I started thinking about the State Cup tournament. Specifically as it relates to what we do at Ohio Elite or more importantly what we are trying to do. My main thought was how much emphasis is put on State Cup. Of course we all want to win and be successful, but is a one and out tournament like State Cup really a good gauge of success?

I say this after we advanced six teams to the final weekend on the girls side second only to OP who has seven. Next closest Cincinnati club was CUP with four. Having said that, isn't a greater indicator of success a team competition that lasts over an extended period of time like the Midwest Regional League or the new Elite Clubs National League. This is where you play the top competition in the region and nation everytime out. Our U18 girls won MRL for the fifth time and the U15 and U16 girls still have a legitimate chance at the wild-card to regionals.

Individually, I look at the kids we have going to the next level (college/pro) as an indicator. I am happy to say every one of our U18 players (Academy and Gold) is going to play in college. Now that's something to be proud of. How are our players doing when they leave us for college, high school and US National Team duty? We have seen great success from Ohio Elite girls players in all of these arenas.

Unfortunately, we do and probably will continue to live in a world of youth soccer that rewards short term success and often fails to see the big picture. Good luck to all of our teams this weekend in the State Cup semi-finals and finals. We will be working as hard as we can to win as many as we can, but it won't be the end of the world if we don't.

U.S. Soccer Delays U-14 Development Academy League

In a conference call on April 23, U.S. Soccer announced that it will not launch a Development Academy League for the U-14 age group in 2009-10. While disappointed, we certainly appreciate that it should not launch the league if there are still important logistical issues that could not be addressed in the appropriate amount of time to allow clubs to enter the tryout cycle. (Several clubs have already had tryouts for the 2009-10 year.)

The Northeast and Southeast have decided to move forward with a U.S. Club Soccer Pre-Academy League this fall and several clubs in our Region are interested in discussing the concept. The Columbus Crew has taken the lead on the project for our Region and we have expressed our interest in the discussion. Depending on who joins the League travel will be very similar to the Midwest Regional League - Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Columbus - with travel outside the Region for tournaments only, not League games.

At this time, we have decided to reserve a decision regarding the program pending further discussion. While I believe that programming for high school freshmen capable of playing at the level of the Academy should exist, I have reservation about taking that stand for the 2009-10 year without legitimate support from enough capable players and other clubs to make the programming worth their while.

The majority of high school freshmen should play high school soccer. This would be for serious soccer players ONLY and those with a long-term goal of playing in the full U.S. Soccer Development Academy.


More to come...

Swine Flu Affects Development Academy

After careful consideration and after several conversations with U.S. Soccer and the Columbus Crew it was with little hesitation that we have decided to cancel our trip to San Antonio and Austin to play Lonestar and Classic Elite in U.S. Soccer Development Academy matches this weekend.

U.S. Soccer fully supported the collective decision made by Ohio Elite and the Columbus Crew who is our travel partner in the Development Academy.

The uncertainty regarding the threat of the Swine Flu outbreak in Texas as well as the actions of local officials to close several schools and cancel all school athletics until May 11 weighed heavily in our decision. The risks of going far outweighed the cancellation fees assessed by the airlines and any logistical inconvenience.