Word: soccering
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...tournament—honed his skills in the collegiate game, it was 19-year old Jozy Altidore who turned heads with his performances against Spain and Brazil. Altidore, who eschewed the collegiate system entirely by turning pro at 17, is hailed as an example by many detractors of college soccer that the United States needs to mirror the development set-ups in Europe and South America to compete consistently...
...only had five players in college; the rest of the team consisted of professionals. The 2009 Youth World Cup is currently underway, and only 33 percent of the US roster is affiliated with a college squad. What’s caused this rapid shift away from college soccer as the primary feeder to our national teams...
...answer is two-fold. First, the structure of college soccer itself has hampered the development of its players. With its arcane rules and limited play time (colleges typically play 20-25 games through the fall and winter, whereas similarly-aged players in Europe and South America play 10-month, full-length seasons), the average American soccer player isn’t receiving the same level of soccer that his counterparts across the world...
Secondly, the increased competitiveness and viability of Major League Soccer have placed a greater emphasis on American professional clubs to scout the best possible talent. Recently, that has meant signing foreign youth players from overlooked areas like Africa and developing sophisticated youth development academies...
This development has had a profound impact on the importance of college soccer in the realm of American professional soccer. For years MLS teams added depth by scouring through the college ranks—even the Ivy League has received attention, with several players like Michael Fucito ’08-’09 and Penn alums Danny Cepero and Alex Grendi recently drafted. With the league recently reducing its roster sizes by eliminating its reserve league, college soccer alums have found it increasingly difficult to win roster spots amongst the growing number of young foreign players. (Interestingly enough...