A Battle Between Youth Development & High School Soccer

I just yesterday read an article on OreonLive reviewing the upcoming season of Boys High School soccer here in Oregon, and how it will be affected by losing players to the Timbers academy.  If you want to find the article, click here, but in sum it breaks down how HS soccer programes are losing players to the u-16 and u-18 Timbers academy teams.  The Oregonian article claims 49 players will train with these Timber academy teams, and have to forgo playing the High School season as part of the commitment to the academy.  Here is where the discussion lays, some coaches are losing some of their better players and it will shake the balance of power for different teams.  Other coaches are un-phased by the academy and conclude the level of High School soccer will be unaffected.
             Now enough summarizing, its time to get bloggy and weigh in.  My immediate reaction to reading this article was that the Academy commitment is a good thing.  People often ask me why it is that the USA have a hard time competing on the international level.  They ask me why are we behind the top countries worldwide like your Brasils, Spains, Englands, etc.  Perhaps the most common answer I give is that it starts with, and is a problem with our youth system.  The way we handle youth talent and development of players from say 12 to 18 in the U.S is archaic compared to countries word wide. In most other countries, in most cases, if you havent been identified and scouted as a youth you are not going to be able to make it as a player.  Clubs have intricate youth systems set up, with a framework of coaches and facilities that identify and nurture young talent.  Really, until a couple years ago the United States hasn't had anything like this, outside of the National Team u-16's and u-18's taking a handful of players out to Florida.

(Top) Ajax Amsterdam, one of the top youth
clubs in Europe vs. (Bottom) Unkonwn, United States (Google Images)

            Some may argue that yes, the competitive Club soccer in America turns out some good players and send a lot of players to go play in college.  The Eastside club team I played for sent every single player to go play in a College Program, a credit to its development, coaching, and quality.  But thats a rarity.   Most kids who play for a club, are limited to kids who can pay for it, or have parents who can put up driving to Barlow for 45 minutes when its raining sideways every week.  This weeds out some of the talented players, hidden from say a Lake Oswego club team, that could easily be identified else where in the world regardless of class/status/income.  Our club soccer is so far from any form of youth team set up in say England, that finding a comparison between the two is as rare as Clint Dempsey smiling.
            The Timbers academy and it's players missing High School soccer is a step in the right direction for youth development.  Anything associated with a professional club like the Timbers is bound to have an infrastructure, a network of coaching and competition that will only benefit these players.  Yes, they may be the better players on their HS team, but anyone who honestly played High School ball will know that if a team has a handful of quality club players, the level slips of and plateaus behind them fr the rest of the team.  Having players identified by the liks of the Timbers and miss HS ball doesn't affect the integrity of the 4A 5A 6A level, rather it enhances the quality of the sport in America big picture.  Dont get me wrong, I still revel in my High School soccer days just like any good Friday Night Lights character.  Nothing like getting stuck-in in a cross town Portland Interscholastic League rivalry and playing with your schools name on the jersey with girls you have crushes on in the stand watching.  But I also remember continually beating Marshall and Roosevelt 8-0 and seeing High School as a time to relax and blow off some steam from Club ball.  The latter scenario,  for the handful of quality players, isnt whats going to catch up the United States to a high level in international soccer.  While the Timbers academy isnt the savior for the future of American soccer, having a nationwide trend in this fashion would be a huge step in the right direction, and who knows, maybe opposed to seeing the USA lose to Jamiaca 2-1 we could one day see a group of home-grown talent playing for our country that started at the youth level.