Fryer: Schools are losing their top boys soccer players
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Most of Orange County's top boys soccer players will not be playing high school soccer this winter.
The United States Soccer Federation has created the U.S. Soccer Development Academy in an effort to improve the skills of the nation's elite players so that the U.S. will fare better in future international competition (for example, the U.S. team did not win a match in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, albeit the U.S. was placed in a very tough group, and the U.S. finished last in this past summer's Copa America).
The program selected 64 of the top youth soccer clubs in the nation to be part of the process. Several of those are here in this soccer-rich area, clubs like the Irvine Strikers, Arsenal, Real SoCal and a few others. Those clubs drew the best soccer high school-aged prospects in the nation to play in this eight-month season that began last month.
The USSF's Development Academy's charter states that it will allow players to continue to participate in their high school programs. But that is not happening here, for a couple of reasons.
One reason is that the CIF-Southern Section is one of the few sections in California and nationally that has high school soccer during the winter. It is a fall sport in areas that do not enjoy weather that allows the sport to be played year-around. The Development Academy's schedule has been created to accommodate a fall high school soccer schedule.
Another is club soccer. Most clubs that have been selected to be part of the Development Academy program are not allowing players the flexibility to play high school and club soccer simultaneously.
And another reason is the CIF's association rule, which prohibits a member of a high school's athletic staff from coaching a school's athletes outside of the season of sport except for during one physical education period per school day. (Weird exceptions to this happen in baseball and softball, in which a high school coach can coach his/her school's athletes on a team that is sponsored by community organizations like American Legion or Bobby Sox).
The county's better high school soccer teams are losing many of their top players. Mater Dei coach Martin Stringer said he has lost six players to the Development Academy. Mission Viejo coach Roger Castle said three of his players are gone, too, and it appears Santa Margarita is going to lose a half dozen or so players to the Development Academy.
Nobody is going to feel sorry for Mater Dei, Mission Viejo, or Santa Margarita or Orange Lutheran, etc. for losing elite players in any sport. The bad part of this situation is what it does to the high school soccer players by forcing them to make a decision they don't want to make.
High school competition offers kids a chance to play with their schoolmates and represent their schools in competition. High school athletic participation often is the most fun part of athletics for the top tennis player who also is big on the USTA juniors circuit, the swimmer who competes in international meets, or the basketball player who plays on the best travel ball teams and is invited to showcase the skills in those prestigious summer camps.
USSF spokesman Michael Kammarman said forcing players to make such a choice was not part of the plan.
"The Development Academy does not prevent players from playing in high school soccer," Kammarman said. "That was a consideration from the very beginning."
Club coaches are not following that consideration, and it's starting to get ugly in the soccer community. There is fear of retribution by club coaches against players should the players, or their parents, speak out about this. That talk seems to have substance, as attempts to have players or parents to speak on the record about this have been fruitless.
There are two possible solutions.
One would be an alteration of the association rule so that high school soccer coaches could also coach club soccer, or vice versa. Castle said the South Coast League might be producing a proposal to make that alteration happen, but that proposal would not reach the CIF-Southern Section Council in time to go into effect for the coming season. However, there are some high school coaches who do not have the time, energy or inclination to be club coaches, too.
Another would be an adjustment of the club teams' schedule. But some of those club and club league leaders are making so much money off of club soccer, from player and team fees, and have so much power, that there is little motivation to compromise.
The power to fix this lies with the USSF.
CIF-SS spokesman Thom Simmons said the USSF has asked the CIF-SS for information about club programs exerting make-a-choice pressure on players. High school coaches, players and their parents need to help the CIF-SS office identify these club programs. Then, the USSF needs to instruct these club programs to back off on the pressure so these kids can do what they really want to do, or these clubs will no longer be part of the USSF Development Academy.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
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