Who is to blame for the Washington DC region’s drought of US Youth National Team Players? The US Developmental Academy System!

“All of the Academy games that I have seen so far since the inception of the program in 2007 are just good NCSL Division 1 games, its really and truly nothing special,” says Myron Garnes, a 18 year youth soccer coach in the Washington, DC Metropolitan region.

In 1998, the class of 2000 which so happens to be the same class that current US Men’s National Team members Oguchi Oneywu and Kyle Beckerman starred, produced many high quality National Capital Soccer League Division 1 players which made the competition extremely competitive.  In the late 1990s, teams such as Gunston Team America, Columbia United, Columbia Santos, Potomac FC, Braddock Road Warhawks, just to name a few produced players that went on to play for the MD State ODP, Region 1, US Men's National Team, and several European Clubs . In addition to Onyewu and Beckerman, the class of 2000 produced Abe Thompson and Alex Yi who also went on to represent Youth National teams. There were other excellent players who came through the DC metropolitan area: Marcus Johnson, Chris Pitt, Louis Lazar, who all played MD ODP (when it meant something) and Region 1.

The development of players in the early to late 1990s were far better than the development of players in the 2000s because regardless of how good a team was, like Potomac FC in 1997, featuring Beckerman, Yi, and Onyewu, they still had to bring their “A” game.  In the 1997 Maryland State Cup, the Columbia Santos beat Potomac Football Club despite FC featuring three U-17 national team members. The skill of the players in the 1990s were a true reflection of the Maryland soccer club system because it was the turn of the century that helped to place counties like Howard and Fairfax on the map for the huge influx of players that they would gain in the early 2000s. But now it’s sad to say that despite the increase of volume in children playing soccer, the quality of skill has diminished and the Academy was put in place to change that, but it hasn’t.

The US Developmental Academy was supposed to develop players from the age of fourteen to play professionally, but that necessarily hasn’t happened. Since the Academy system came into existence nearly 5 years ago, the DC United Academy system has only produced four professional players. Or did they? Well let’s look at the current players on the DC United Professional team, Bill Hamid, Andy Najar, Ethan White, and Connor Shanosky. Hamid spent seven years with the Premier Athletics Club in Virginia since the age 10, Najar played most of his youth career in Honduras, Shanosky is no longer in the MLS, and White played in local Montgomery County clubs before joining DC United’s U-18 Academy and playing 1 year at the University of Maryland. So, in five years, no DC United player has fully come through the system from U-14 to play professionally, but, most importantly, there is no DC United Academy player currently representing any US Youth Nationals teams at U-18 and under.

So what purpose does the Academy serve? The term Academy means “Excellence” and although I have the utmost respect for the DC United Academy coaches I must question whether they are truly nurturing these players for future success since there are currently no Academy players representing the US Youth National team pool under the age of 18?  

In the 1990s there was no Academy Developmental System, yet Beckerman, Onyewu, Thompson, and Yi all shined on the U-17 US Youth National Team, who finished in 4^th place, the best finish for the U.S. in a U-17 World Cup, and for that matter the best finish at any World Cup on any level for the Men’s side. Academies such as Potomac, McLean, Baltimore Bays, and DC United are all suppose to prepare players for professional careers. They are suppose to have the best and most quality coaching staff in place to nurture players, which I may add is a special type of work in which coaches must get through to the players and appeal to each individual player mentally, physically, technically, and tactically. These four pillars are in place to ensure that the player has the confidence and drive to play at the professional level and on the US Men’s National Team. But the Academies have settled for helping players to solely play College Soccer and if this is the case, why does Potomac, McLean, Baltimore, and DC United have academies? The Academies have encouraged players to become disloyal to their clubs, and most academies have discouraged players from playing High School soccer although it clearly states in their US Soccer Academy registration form that, “Development Academy players are not permitted to participate on any teams other than their Academy team during the Academy season. Participation on other club teams, other age groups within the club, ODP, Regional ODP and any other teams is not permitted. The only two exceptions are National Team duty and the players’ High School teams”.

So here is what I believe the Academy system serves: to win games at all cost, parents pay double the cost of club teams, not too much player development, and they look good when 1 out of every 500 players who come through the system makes it as a professional. The crazy thing is pro-Academy critics would plead the case that players shouldn’t be in the developmental stage at U-15, which is total non-sense because players never stop developing even if they are professionals. To be honest, I believe that the Academies were implemented to provide ex-professional players with jobs, yet just because they may have been a good player in Major League Soccer, it doesn’t mean that they can develop players to play professionally in the United States and beyond.  Parents pay even more money than club soccer for their children to become members of the Academy and they spend thousands of dollars annually for victories and false exposure to professional teams with no emphasis on development. Players in the Washington, DC region aren’t being nurtured in the Academy program because there is no coach or trainer in the Academy capable of developing players. Most directors of these Academies have a history of only coaching players 16-18 years old with talent, they use these players to win games, pass them onto college and do the same thing next year. They aren’t developers because they aren’t told that is what their job must be, therefore, they can’t teach the other coaches in their “Academies” how to be developers for the younger ages. DC United now wants to start their “Academy” teams at U-12 and possibly as young as U-9, but, the coaches just aren’t capable of developing players becomes they don't have the ability to bond with a player and nurture them.

The players in the 1990s were nurtured because they were around coaches who played soccer at the highest level. Beckerman, Yi, Thompson, and Oneywu all started out playing soccer with grassroots coaches who developed them, but in the later years the same coaches who are directing these current Academies took all of the credit and used these players to look good. In the 1990s many youth players in the DC area competed at higher levels, they played overseas more often, played for top Division 1 colleges, and for many United Soccer League teams. As of today, there are zero Academy players on the U-18 US Men’s National Team, zero Academy players represented the U-17 team in the World Cup this past summer, and only one player from the area represents the Boys U-15 US Youth National team from the Bethesda Soccer Club, who isn’t an Academy club.

So, is the DC metropolitan region in a drought when coming to producing youth players for the US Youth National teams and who is to blame? The Academy system! In the 1990s there were so many great players who played on the US National team from the DC region by solely playing in grassroots programs. But, the Academies have crushed the grassroots clubs and although it states in their application, “Academy clubs have a responsibility to establish relationships with surrounding clubs at the grass roots level to ensure that the proper environment is created for the maximum number of players at the 6-10 and 10-14 year ages,”  they haven’t done so. I am still yet to see any Academy coach travel and visit my club or any other another club for that matter and present to the players their philosophies and what is being offered at the Academy level. The Academy coaches receive special deeds and special training, yet, US Soccer continues to give coaches in grassroots programs mediocre licensing manuals and tests, that I, having played Division 1 College Soccer can pass with my eyes closed.

As a region, we have a very long way to go if we are going to return to producing the excellent players of 1990s. US Soccer grants Academies programs but there aren’t many requirements needed to join, yet they restrict the DC area to only 5 Academies, so there is one more club out there who can become a member of the gang of 4 and monopolize youth soccer by crushing the grassroots clubs. Sounds like the U.S. Banking system to me. If I had it my way Potomac, Baltimore, and McLean would all be stripped of their Academy status. Why? Because the definition of Academy means excellence and academies (like in Europe) were only meant for clubs with professional teams and last I checked DC United was the only club with a professional team. So, what is the purpose of the other 3 clubs having Academies? Could it be to monopolize youth soccer and siphon all of the better players to the Academies? Well, that seems to be what is happening and if the region continues to travel down this road, players from the smaller clubs won’t have a chance to play soccer at the highest level like Beckerman, Onyewu, Yi, and Thompson. Players won’t even be able to play at a Division 1 University.