Development Academy U-18 playoffs standings

Here are the standings after day one:

Pool A

Teams	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
D.C. United	1	0	0	3	3	0	3
Pateadores	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
N.C. Fusion	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Empire United	0	1	0	0	0	3	-3

Pool B

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
RSL-AZ	1	0	0	3	3	0	3
NYRB	1	0	0	3	3	1	2
Cal Odyssey	0	1	0	0	1	3	-2
Sockers FC	0	1	0	0	0	3	-3

Pool C

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
PDA	1	0	0	3	2	0	2
Chicago Fire	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
CDA	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
PA Classics	0	1	0	0	0	2	-2

Pool D

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Columbus Crew	1	0	0	3	3	2	1
Arsenal FC	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Dallas Texans	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Charlotte SA	0	1	0	0	2	3	-1

Pool E

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Seattle Sounders	1	0	0	3	9	2	7
BBC	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
St.L SG Missouri	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Seacoast United	0	1	0	0	2	9	-7

Pool F

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Indiana United	1	0	0	3	2	0	2
FC Dallas	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
Cosmos West	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
Real Colorado	0	1	0	0	0	2	-2

Pool G

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
CASL Chelsea	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Albertson	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Colorado Rush	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Concorde Fire	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1

Pool H

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
St.L SG Metro	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Chivas USA	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Weston FC	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
DC Wolves	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1

Development Academy Playoff Groups

Here are the groups for the U-18 and U-16 age groups for the Development Academy playoffs, which begin Saturday, June 25 at Pizza Hut Park. The numbers of the groups are meaningless, it was just a way for me to keep track of the teams. After the playoffs are finished, the teams are reseeded for finals week. 

U-18:

1:                                                       2:

Weston FC*                                    FC Dallas*

Chivas USA                                   Cosmos Academy West

Derby County Wolves                    Real Colorado

St. Louis SG Metro                        Indiana United

3:                                                     4:

Charlotte SA*                                 Seattle Sounders*

Columbus Crew                              Baltimore Bays Chelsea

Dallas Texans                                 Seacoast United

Arsenal FC                                     St. Louis SG Missouri

 

5:                                                    6:

CASL*                                           PDA*

Albertson                                       Chicago Fire

Colorado Rush                               CDA

Concorde Fire                                PA Classics

 

7:                                                   8:

RBNY*                                        North Carolina Fusion*

Sockers FC                                   Pateadores

Cal Odyssey                                 Empire United

RSL-AZ                                       D.C. United

U-16:

1:                                                  2:

North Carolina Fusion*               North Meck*

Pateadores                                   Seacoast United

Texas Rush                                  Chicago Fire

New England Revolution            PA Classics

 

3:                                                   4:

Solar Chelsea*                            Charlotte SA*

Real So Cal                                 Baltimore Bays Chelsea

FC Delco                                     RSL-AZ

De Anza Force                            FC Westchester

5:                                                6:

St. Louis SG Missouri*             LA Galaxy*

CASL                                        Houston Dynamo

FC Dallas                                  IMG

Sockers FC                               Sporting Kansas City

 

7:                                              8:

Concorde Fire*                         Seattle Sounders*

Albertson                                  Columbus Crew

Vardar                                       D.C. United

Dallas Texans                           Empire United

Based off first glance, I would say that Group 7 in the U-18 bracket is pretty tough and should offer some very competitive games. Group 4 in the U-16 bracket looks tough as well.

U-17 World Cup Preview: U.S. v Czech Republic

After a 3-0 victory over Czech Republic, regarded as co-favorites of the group, the American youngsters were understandably pleased with their performance. However, the confidence got a quick dash of icy-reality from coach Wilmer Cabrera in the post-game press conference.

“The ideal situation is to improve on every game throughout the tournament and that is what we expect as coaches,” the coach said. “Let’s see how they’re going to respond on the field.” So the back patting ended pretty quickly after a fairly comprehensive performance against a decent European side.

On paper, Uzbekistan does not look like much of a threat to the Americans' quest to finish first in the group. The Asian qualifiers were readily dismantled by New Zealand, 4-1, on the first day of group play. The Kiwis, although unremarkable on the day, showed the defaults in the Uzbekistan defense that left Stephen Carmichael open all game on his way to the lone hat trick of the competition so far.

If Uzbekistan is able to rectify its deficiencies [namely employing a holding midfielder], it could offer some trouble to Cabrera’s side. The forward partnership – albeit rather quiet in the opening clash – still has a decent amount of skill and speed that could offer some trouble to the American defense . . . if Mobi Fehr and Zach Carroll both slip.

In all honesty, U.S. is in a position to cruise through this game and clinch a place in the next round. The main question for Cabrera will be how he uses his depth. Qualifying regulars like Alfred Koroma, Nathan Smith, Jack McBean, and Andrew Sounders either saw very little time on the field on Sunday or did not make it off the bench.

The options are there for the coaching staff, but don’t expect Cabrera to make too many changes – at least not yet. In previous tournaments, he has been rather consistent with his lineup and rotations of players.

Plus, this game plan will be very similar to the one implemented against Czech Republic. Both teams want to control the game with possession, although the Asian qualifier is more ambitious on the attacking front.

Despite the lofty opening defeat, Uzbekistan actually had more of the possession against the Kiwis [52-48] and a hefty advantage in shots [24-12]. Granted, only a third of those shots were on frame, but the point is Uzbekistan likes to attack and they tend to do it in numbers.  The side is very suspect to any team that can run at them with speed.

The Yanks will again rely on high-pressure early*, the talents of the forward Paul Arriola**, and the brilliance of Alejandro Guido to pick apart another defense. However, the Americans did have one area where they want to improve – chasing the ball.

“We were running all 90 minutes with the Czech Republic,” Cabrera said in the post-game press conference. “And yes, we need to work on that.”

With two players picking up cramps at the end of the game over the weekend, the young Americans realized that it is easier to grab hold of the ball early and let the opposition do the running.

With a mid-afternoon game on the slate for Wednesday, hydration, fitness, and conserving energy will be the focal point for the young Yanks. Grabbing another early goal will certainly help, but if they can just duplicate the second half performance from their opening clash, they should have little trouble with securing a berth to the Round of 16.

Game info:
U.S. v Uzbekistan, June 22, 1:00 p.m. (PT), Live on ESPN3 and Galavision

* Guido pushed the line forward for the first five minutes of the game so the U.S. played a 4-3-3. Once he found the back of net, he dropped back into a more traditional 4-4-2. His high-point attack position was in the scouting report for the Americans.

** Arriola made everyone temporarily forget about Andrew Oliver with a rather inspiring U-17 World Cup debut. However, the mark of a great player is consistency and the 16 year old needs to string some performances together to really make Oliver seem like a distant memory.

Playoff Pots

Playoff week is upon us, and we are days away from U.S. Soccer announcing the groups.

For those unfamiliar with the playoffs, there are eight groups with four teams in each. The pots - used to assign teams to each group - are assigned based on points per game in overall Development Academy games. I used goal differential as a tiebreaker where necessary. Teams from the same division cannot be placed in the same playoff group, so that will factor into the lot drawing as well.

Here is my best guess at the pots based on the standings on the Dev Academy website, which can fluctuate at any moment.  

U-18:

Pot 1: Seattle Sounders (2.08), NC Fusion (2.08), PDA (2.12), Weston (2.16), NYRB (2.19), Charlotte Soccer Academy (2.20), FC Dallas (2.35), CASL (2.40)

Pot 2: Real Colorado (1.76), Sockers (1.77), Alberston (1.77), Baltimore Bays (1.78), RSL-AZ (1.79)**, D.C. United (1.81), DC Wolves (1.83), Dallas Texans (2.04)

Pot 3: Empire United (1.65), St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri (1.67), Colorado Rush (1.67), Chicago Fire (1.70), Indiana United (1.74), Arsenal (1.75), CDA (1.76), St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro (1.76)

Pot 4: Seacoast United (1.31), Pateadores (1.54), Crew (1.61), PA Classics (1.63), Cosmos West (1.64), Chivas USA (1.64), Cal Odyssey (1.64), Concorde Fire (1.64)

U-16:

Pot 1: NC Fusion (2.04), North Meck (2.12), Seattle Sounders (2.32), Los Angeles Galaxy (2.25), Concorde Fire (2.52), Charlotte Soccer Academy (2.60), St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri (2.19), Baltimore Bays Chelsea (2.04)*

Pot 2: D.C. United (1.96), CASL (1.96), PA Classics (2.00), FC Delco (2.00), Solar Chelsea FC (2.04)*, Texas Rush (2.00), Albertson (2.00), Houston Dynamo (1.91)**

Pot 3: Real So Cal (1.82), Chicago Fire (1.83), FC Dallas (1.83), IMG (1.84), Pateadores (1.82), Empire United (1.81), RSL-AZ (1.86), Vardar (1.87)

Pot 4: Westchester (1.38), De Anza Force (1.52), Dallas Texans (1.70), New England Revolution (1.73), Sockers (1.74), Columbus Crew (1.78), South Carolina United (1.68), Sporting KC (1.81)


*No idea on the tie-breaker here. They are level on goal differential [44] and goals scored [19].
** Not listed on the Wild-Card standings on the Development Academy website, but I am pretty sure both have a rightful claim to a playoff spot.

Update 6/21 - First group pairing for U-18: Indiana United, FC Dallas, Real Colorado, Cosmos West - pots updated to reflect the new information.

How Much Does It Cost To Buy The Best Youth Club in the U.S.?

Right now, that is the most important question among Academy Directors at MLS clubs across the country.

On Tuesday, Columbus Crew announced a groundbreaking move, that enables the MLS academy to partner with the Michigan Wolves, also known as the Derby County Wolves. The basic premise of the partnership is Columbus funds the Michigan club, and in return the Wolves players are now part of the Crew Home Grown list.*

The partnership with Derby County was set to expire in July and Wolves Director of Coaching Brian Doyle was actively searching for a new sponsor for the academy by January of this year. It wasn't bitterness or hostility that had the Wolves looking for a partner elsewhere, it was the fact that they had out-performed the current conditions of the partnership and wanted to look at something more enticing. Added to the fact Doyle was aware of how difficult it was for an American to qualify for a work permit in England, the partnership was unrealistic in the long-term.

When we spoke, he made it clear that unless an offer from a European club was jaw dropping, the new partnership would likely be with a local company. Since then, Columbus stepped in and took advantage of a new opportunity. **

No other club has had the foresight to actively engage in a partnership with another club outside the immediate proximity - say 100 miles in any given direction. Actually, that is not entirely true, other MLS clubs have established satellite clubs [RSL in Florida, Fire in Mississippi, etc.], but this will be the first with a pre-existing member of the Development Academy.

Granted, Philadelphia Union does something to this effect with multiple clubs, but those are all in the greater Philadelphia area. And while FC Delco is an impressive historic youth academy, it doesn’t have the same recent success as the Michigan Wolves [four national championships plus a handful of potential stars in the coming years at the international stage]. Perhaps, the Union’s tactics helped open the door for the Crew to explore this opportunity though?

One would have to believe that Columbus had to run this by the MLS offices before it began any serious discussion about the partnership. The greater Detroit area is an unmarked territory for MLS clubs, so that wouldn’t be a problem, but this still starts a precedent that many clubs will likely follow in the coming months/years.

For the motivated clubs [and there are motivated clubs in MLS that want to build their youth academies] this could be the start of the arm’s race. Columbus/Michigan Wolves put a price on success at the youth level. I have no idea what that figure is. And I doubt Columbus wants the financial implications of this move to be public at this point. The best I can do is guestimate.

I know that the estimated cost to run a program like the Michigan Wolves Academy [just U-16 and U-18] is between $20,000 - $50,000 per year.