Girls don’t need U.S. Soccer Development Academy

By: Jeff DiVeronica | Democrat & Chronicle

I didn’t like U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy program when it was launched locally for boys five years ago, and I like it even less now that teenage girls are being asked to make the same choice between playing for their school or joining the academy.

But it’s happening in Section V — and all over the country — this fall.

Don’t get me wrong. I do think the academy can help some players who aren’t getting the coaching they need or facing good enough competition in their high school programs. But I still think the trade-off is too steep.\

Teens are giving up making memories in school sports with friends and classmates they’ve known since they were toddlers because they’re being sold a bill of goods about needing the academy to get better as players and catch the eye of college recruiters.

News flash: If you’re good enough, recruiters will find you. Trust me.

Section V has produced dozens upon dozens of girls over the past two decades during which I’ve covered local high school sports, and guess what? College recruiters found them. On top of that, there are enough other quality club teams now that don’t prevent you from playing for your school. The academy is asking players to give up too much.

To clarify, the academy demands a September through July commitment. That means giving up playing sports for your school in every season, not just soccer. The local club that is part of the USSF Development Academy and run by good coaches is Empire United, which built its own turf field in Henrietta. It has an impressive list of alumni, too. But Empire, formerly known as the Junior Rhinos and Rochester Spirit/Mavericks, helped a lot of kids long before the USSF launched the academy.

Maddy Lowe, the 2016 All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year who is off to a solid start as a freshman at Ohio State, gave up her junior season at Webster Schroeder to play for an elite club team in New Jersey. But she missed her school and teammates. She came back last fall to try to help the Warriors win a sectional title. It didn’t work out that way — they lost in the semis — but weekends spent at home helped her make a lot more memories than on the road.

Pay us so we can save you thousands in college tuition.

With the rising price tag on what’s already insanely high tuition costs, I get it. Maybe I’ll feel differently when my 4-year-old daughter gets older, but right now I just feel like we’re all a bit too scholarship crazy.

I actually understand the driving force behind a boys development academy because, as the U.S. Soccer Federation has pitched, boys need to do something different than we’ve done for decades in America so we can close the gap on the rest of the world powers in soccer whose boys grow up with a soccer ball attached to their foot.

On the boys’/men’s side, the academy actually makes some sense. Still not enough, in my opinion, for these kids to give up their school careers, but on the girls’ side, I just don’t get it.

Last I checked, the American women were still the best in the world and reigning World Cup champions. Is the rest of the world getting better? Absolutely, but I don’t think this radical change for the girls/women is needed.

Source: Democrat and Chronicle