Organized college soccer has existed in this country in some form since 1959, and for a very long time was the only option Americans had if they wanted to develop their skills at all. There were no academies, only semi-professional teams spread out across the nation. But to really hone their skills, players would do what most American youth strive for: to attend a four year university and hopefully get a scholarship to play the sport they love. Swept under the college sports umbrella for too long, college soccer was a revenue-neutral sport that the NCAA was happy to have just lying dormant. But expectations have risen across the country, and while many talk about the growth of Major League Soccer in terms of development academies and reserve clubs in different American leagues, college soccer is still a valid option for many.
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and MLS know this, which is why they are throwing their support behind a group of coaches who are trying to push for a major change in NCAA soccer. Sasho Cirovski, coach of the University of Maryland mens soccer team, is leading the charge to change the schedule to a balanced year-round calendar that would spread all of their games over the fall and spring semesters. Currently teams play up to 26 games between August and November, leading to intense travel schedules, multiple mid-week games and the bigger issue, no time for training and development.
The majority of work done with players happens at training; when teams are occasionally playing three games a week, practices become more about maintaining fitness rather than adjusting formations or working on technical skills. Coaches become more like fitness instructors and rehabilitation specialists, as opposed to tacticians. These coaches are passionate, enthusiastic supporters of the game and they rightfully want to see college soccer still be a valid option for soccer players who want to take the next step. NCAA soccer still serves a very valuable purpose in finding players who may have otherwise fallen through the cracks, but with these changes it has the potential to create even better players than it already does.
So to find the development they need, players often join National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) teams for their summers. All teams are run separately, with no real front office for the league, and schedules are designed specifically to accommodate college players. Many that are serious about developing their game already know that they can’t get the training needed at a college program alone so they look to the NPSL to fill that void.
If left to the NCAA alone, the college soccer program would continue on its current downward spiral. Not to say that the current system is unfavorable; great players have come out of it in the past, including many big names in MLS in the last few years. But the amount of players that are playing Division I soccer that continue on to some sort of professional soccer future is minimal.
And there’s also the issue that not all college soccer players have the desire to become a professional. The three month schedule still gives them the freedom to be a normal college kid in the off season. With over 100 Division I soccer programs, there are probably only 40 or so that actually hold their standards to those in line with the development of professional athletes. Those schools include Akron, University of Indiana, Notre Dame, Santa Barbara, the University of Maryland, and Stanford. If the NCAA does make this change look for all the teams to make to move to a year round schedule, allowing even more teams to make that jump into the upper tier.
This framework can easily be translated over to the women’s game. Title 9 has created solid women’s soccer programs throughout the country, helping to lead to the USWNT domination of the international game. But other countries are slowly catching up. Imagine what a modified year-round schedule for women’s programs could do to propel them to another World Cup victory, and what it could do for the newly founded Women’s Professional Soccer League? If it can be proven in the men’s game, look for it to be adopted by women’s programs country-wide.
Not every player on these teams will get drafted into MLS or go overseas and have successful runs at clubs, but this could cement the NCAA soccer program as a well-structured and solid rung on U.S. soccer development ladder. The whole goal of academies, MLS development programs and college soccer programs should be to cast the net wider into the player pool and see what they can find. Soccer is the most played youth sport in this country, but building a stairway for those players that want to continue to play that is easy for them to climb is necessary to throw the MLS and the National Team into that next level. To get better talent in Major League Soccer you don’t always need to import; if you can develop a higher quality player pool right here in their backyard, then the level of play will also skyrocket and MLS can achieve their goal of being one of the top leagues in the world.
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