Below is an article from Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America, where he outlines how college soccer (and specifically the 2009 rookie class), have made an impact in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Having had the chance to coach in the ACC at Duke University, and now in the Missouri Valley Conference at the University of Evansville, it is clear to see that college soccer is a fertile entity to draw players from. I had the chance to recruit and coach Barnes, Videira and Grella (referenced below) - and to see their success as professionals, you have to think that any MLS club that has a successful blueprint for success has their finger pointed toward the college game to find their top prospects.
Having had the chance to coach in the ACC at Duke University, and now in the Missouri Valley Conference at the University of Evansville, it is clear to see that college soccer is a fertile entity to draw players from. I had the chance to recruit and coach Barnes, Videira and Grella (referenced below) - and to see their success as professionals, you have to think that any MLS club that has a successful blueprint for success has their finger pointed toward the college game to find their top prospects.
University of Evansville standout Alec Dufty saw his first action in Major League Soccer this past weekend, and led the New York Red Bulls to a 0-0 draw against the Houston Dynamo. Dufty was named 'Man of the Match' by Fox Soccer Channel for his play in goal for the Red Bulls, earning his first career MLS shutout.
Getting it right with college products
Why is it that so often slew of pundits and experts decry the shallow pool
of talent available in the MLS SuperDraft and express astonishment during the
season at how well those players selected have performed?
There are myriad reasons, but foremost among them is that a coach looks for
untapped potential as much as poise and polish, for what a player can be,
whereas fans and reporters and others tend to look at what's on display
straight-up.
Claims from MLS coaches that the available pool of players for 2009 would
offer teams plenty of options to improve their rosters fell on many deaf ears,
so ignorance surely plays a role. And, of course, after the SuperDraft just
about coach claims he hit the lottery, so those post-draft proclamations have to
be discounted as well.
Scanning the lineups this season one runs across quite a few domestic
newcomers popping up. Whether the class of 2009 turns out to be a bumper crop
remains to be seen, but early indications are extremely positive. The prospect
of playing pro soccer, be it in MLS or abroad, and a reduction of roster spots
from 28 to 24 -- along with stricter economic conditions -- seems to be driving
a higher level of competence at both ends. More teams are finding better
players.
Plucking players from the top college programs, such as Wake Forest,
Indiana and Maryland, hardly takes the acumen of an 'A' coaching license. But
more than a few pro coaches have told me they also look for players on
less-successful teams in competitive conferences. Many of them are required to
perform multiple tasks for their college teams, whereas in demanding yet
simplified roles with a pro club their strengths can be maximized.
Still, of course, they must sharpen their touches and skills and instincts,
and adjust to faster, rougher, more physical play. But a good college player can
also be a good pro, while not every college superstar will excel or even make
the grade. And it can take much longer for a talented trickster like Mehdi
Ballouchy to find his feet in MLS, whereas a solid defender like Darrius Barnes
(Duke/New England) or heady midfielder like Sam Cronin (Wake Forest/Toronto FC)
can step right in and get the job done.
Barnes and Cronin squared off a few times in the ACC. Wake is among the top
teams in the country, yet Duke has sent Barnes and Michael Videira (via
Scotland) to the Revs, and Mike Grella to Europe in the past two years. Coaches
look for players who can tough it out and produce against the best teams.
With or without No. 1 pick Steve Zakuani, the University of Akron isn't
likely to reach the final four. Yet the rookie has drawn upon his English
upbringing and college success to play a role in Seattle's impressive
start.
It wouldn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that an attack-heavy lineup
of Dwayne De Rosario, Amado Guevera and Rohan Ricketts would take an extra dose
of stabilizing in addition to that provided by TFC veteran Carl Robinson. Yet
Cronin has done enough playing wide as well as in the middle to further
complicate the selection decisions for Coach John Carver.
And in the nets, where rookies rarely excel, Stefan Frei - a product of a
good but hardly famous program at UC Berkeley -- is in a neck-and-neck battle
with Canadian international Greg Sutton for the starting job. Frei's development
has been accelerated by his time with U.S. national youth teams, yet attacker
Chris Pontius (UC Santa Barbara) has gone straight into the starting lineup at
D.C. United without any such experience.
The final piece of the domestic development puzzle is how many creative
slots are filled not by international players but by homegrown products like
Pontius and Ballouchy, who is now with Colorado. As the league expands, teams
will have greater incentive to offer players like Grella more competitive
contracts, and find hidden gems such as Pontius, guys who can, as the coaches
like to say, "change the game."
Critics of the college game lament its overall quality and how it stifles a
player's development, and no doubt a short season and rudimentary level of play
aren't ideal training grounds for potential pros. Yet just as vital is how
efficiently MLS teams scout and evaluate and draft to get what they need, and if
the class of 2009 turns out not to be an exception but instead what teams and
coaches and fans -- and even pundits -- can expect every year, the league will
have taken another critical step in its development.
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