PAGE 12

November 2005

Premier Development in Washington Warrants Discussion

(continued from previous page)

the Premier Clubs in our state have worked together to

egation. As a result the leagues now are result-oriented

rather than the focus being on player development.

provide a U11 summer league for their teams. This

tal environment. In fact, it is quite the opposite and as

league was a great addition and for the first time in

U15-19

a result, the top teams are not developing because they

recent memory the top U11 teams in our state were

These ages become the haves versus the have nots.

are not being challenged and subsequently the teams

playing against each other in a controlled environment

After the U14 year, the hierarchy of ability becomes

near the bottom are not developing because they are

that offered great coaching and good competition.

clear in Division I and the instability of teams in the 2nd

too busy trying to survive.

and 3rd divisions only continues to grow. Division II

After each weekend the teams were able to see the

and III players leave teams that are providing a good

U14

strengths and weaknesses of the players and then go

developmental environment to chase being on an "A"

The U14 Premier I Division is probably the closest

back into their training environment and help the play-

team in an inferior environment. Although it is not a

we have to a developmentally appropriate environ-

ers grow from these experiences. It would be benefi-

sign up league it becomes similar to one. The imbal-

ment. Teams compete over a weekend and usually, but

cial if we could expand this environment to all ages and

ance between the top two teams and everyone else

not always, the top eight teams end up in Division I. It

all levels. The Premier Clubs could then properly place

continues to grow and as our teams leave our state to

is a different story for the Premier Divisions II, III, and

their teams in developmentally appropriate leagues; as

enter regional competitions or collegiate environments

WSYDL, in our state. After LPTs, there is a huge shift in

a result you have great player development. This

they are not as prepared as they could be.

players whose team did not qualify for the Premier

process should filter down to all levels with the ulti-

Division I. The Division II, III, and WSYDL teams lose

Solutions

mate goal of getting like player and teams playing

players and become unstable and often don't last

To come up with a solution, there must be a goal.

against like players and teams.

longer than a year or two. Development is once again

I believe everyone's goal is to get the players of like

It is a monumental task to get all these clubs, indi-

stunted because the stable environment of coaching

ability together. Whether it is Premier, Select, or

viduals, and organizations working together but it is

expertise and on the field competitions goes away. This

Recreational soccer, it is in the players' best interest

vital if we want Washington State to remain as one of

is due to the fact that teams are now tracked in their

that they are playing with and against players and teams

the top environment for player developments. s

league and one slip or bad weekend can cost them a

of like ability. I believe there are already organizations

in place to help this process. For the last two summers

chance at promotion or push them deeper towards rel-

Under this system, moves could only occur when

from school year age brackets (August 1 to July 31 in

By Bernie James

the following year) to calendar year registration. The

both coaches approve of the move and there is a stated

Director of Coaching - Crossfire Premier

United States is the only country in the world that uses

reason that shows it is in the best interest of the indi-

Dick McCormick

the school year registration. It makes sense that recre-

vidual player's development. We believe that a one-year

Girls' Director of Coaching - Crossfire Premier

ation teams, that are usually players from the same

contract would send a strong signal to all of our con-

neighborhood and school, would use the school year

stituencies and encourage better roster decisions for all

Neal Megson

age brackets to keep friends and classmates together.

parties.

Director of Coaching - FC Kitsap

Since premier teams generally cover much broader geo-

Club Player Pass

graphic areas and are across school districts the rea-

A club player pass is where a player is a member of

remier Soccer is one of many levels of soccer

P

soning is not applicable for them.

the club first. It allows a player to participate with any

offered by our state association. All of the levels are

With the exception of the United States, our

team in a club where the player is age and gender eli-

important and serve valuable, but different purposes.

Olympic Development Program (ODP) and all interna-

gible; rosters are only set for tournaments and specific

For this reason, they should be run by separate groups

tional competitions are based on calendar year registra-

competitions. It is particularly useful in a fourteen

of people with separate structures to serve each of the

tions. In a sport that is international, it makes no sense

week season where having the opportunity to partici-

respective groups' goals; including administrators,

to be the only country registering differently. More and

pate on different teams within his/her club can be pos-

coaches, and referees. We serve as coaches and

more Premier teams are interested in European tours. It

itive for the player's development.

Coaching Directors (CDs) at the premier soccer level

is a great opportunity for both soccer and personal

Our suggestion is that a player can use the club

and would like to make the following suggestions

growth. One of the biggest obstacles is the age regis-

player pass to play a maximum one game a day (two a

based on our experience and discussions with our

tration difference.

weekend) with any eligible team in the club. This flex-

peers regarding what we can do to develop a more

In Washington State this should be of particular

ibility allows players that could benefit from occasion-

competitive Premier level in our state.

interest to us because if we did go to calendar year reg-

ally playing with an older group to have that experi-

istration it would open up many more opportunities for

Start a new Premier League from U11-U18

ence without being permanently fixed on the older

competitions with our neighbor to the north, Canada.

This would be comprised of ten designated

team. It also allows players that might sit on the bench

By advocating a policy change at the national level, it

Premier clubs from our state that fit predetermined cri-

in an A-team game to play later in the day (or the next

would also make our State ODP identification process

teria. Among the standards would be a qualified

day) with the B-team to get the needed field time that

considerably simpler. We strongly encourage WSYSA to

Coaching Director, ability to field teams in all ages, all

is important for development. The club player pass is a

take a lead at the higher level to get this change initiat-

genders. In this format there would be no LPTs and no

policy now being successfully employed throughout

ed.

wasted U13 year. These standards would create a for-

Europe and in the United States by the Super Y League.

mat that would foster greater player development and

Champions Regional League

It makes a strong statement that player development

competition in our state.

One of the key advantages that areas like Southern

comes first.

There would be two divisions, first and second,

California has is the opportunity to regularly face great

Tryouts after the US Youth Soccer Regional

with an equal number of teams. All teams would be

competition due to the vast population base that they

Championships

guaranteed to be in one of the two divisions. At the end

enjoy. We cannot increase Washington's population

One of the most challenging situations in our cur-

of the season there would be regulated teams but all

any time soon but we do think there are ways for our

rent format is having a team win the State

teams would know they were in one of the two divi-

top teams to consistently get better competition. One

Championship one weekend, have tryouts the next

sions. With a semi-permanent ten club structure stan-

step in that direction would be to have a "Champions

weekend (thus creating a new team) and then going to

dards can be more easily set and better monitored. The

League" for the top teams from Washington (2-3),

the Regional Championships four months later with the

ten clubs can closely work together on issues that

Oregon (2), Idaho (1), and British Columbia (2-3). This

old team that won the state championship. Often the

affect them all in order to create a better competitive

would be based on league standings. Ideally, the quali-

players who have left the team choose not to go and

environment for the players. We believe this structure

fying teams would play in the Champions League in the

the team at Regionals is left with a roster that has few

would help develop clubs and players, not just teams.

summer. The winner of this league would have a guar-

substitutes for what is a grueling tournament. It is not

Player development would be further facilitated with

anteed berth in a non-summer major tournament like

only an awkward situation for all involved, it also puts

the club player pass, which will be discussed later.

Dallas Cup or Disney Showcase. The league and the

Washington at a competitive disadvantage with other

opportunities for the league winners should help

One Year Commitment from Club and Player

states.

increase the area teams' competitive level significantly.

This would eliminate some of the recruiting chal-

Our suggestion is to have tryouts after the Regional

lenges that we all seem to face and allow the coaches

Benefits for the WSYSA League Champion

Championships. That is how most of the other states in

to focus more on development. As long as basically free

At this point there is no benefit, other than brag-

the country schedule them and how WSYSA once did.

player movement is allowed and the pressure to "win

ging rights and a rather meaningless top seed, for the

Furthermore, the January to March timing of our State

now" is around there will unfortunately be the tempta-

Fall League champion. It is the State Championships

Cup, which seems to last for an inordinate amount of

tion to look for the "short term fixes" to quickly reach

winner not the Fall League winner that represents

time, should come into the discussion.

that goal such as a new player or players. A one-year

Washington at the US Youth Soccer Regional

Calendar Year Registration for Premier

player contract will help tilt the balance toward player

Championships. We would argue that the Fall League

development and remove some of the anxieties that the

Level Soccer

championship is a much better indication of the

current system fosters. It also guides players and coach-

We believe that Washington State should take a

(continued on next page)

es to look a little more long term.

strong lead in moving the Premier League registration