Home »

Fast track to the pros! .... MLS (Major League Soccer)

By IVES GALARCEP

HERALD NEWS

When Major League Soccer opened for business 11 years ago, a majority of young soccer players in the United States saw one path to becoming a professional, a path that included college. Even before MLS was established, American players who found their way to Europe or South America had college careers on their resumes.

What a difference a decade can make. Young prospects have seen their options grow exponentially now that foreign clubs have discovered that there is talent to be mined in the United States, and now that MLS stands on the verge of establishing a true player development system, elite players who used to see college as the only path to the pros are skipping college altogether.

Consider that in MLS alone, there were 13 players in the past four years who went straight from high school to the professional ranks, with D.C. standout Freddy Adu and Red Bulls striker Josmer Altidore leading that charge. When you include young Americans who have skipped college and are now in Europe, such as Michael Bradley and Jonathan Spector, you realize that the quality of top prospects being produced by this country is at an all-time high.

The only problem is that those prospects are choosing the pros ahead of college at an increasing rate. What does this mean for the college game in this country? Not much if you ask experts. While most college and pro coaches acknowledge that the very best players in the United States are becoming less and less likely to attend college, few consider the exodus to be at a point where it is affecting the college game.

"There are so many players out there that are bright and talented that I don't think it has affected our game," said University of Connecticut coach Ray Reid. "Are there some really good players who we are missing out on? Sure, but doesn't mean the quality of play has gone down in college."

For coaches like Reid what it does mean is they are missing out on some of the best talent American high schools are producing. Take Clifton resident and St. Benedict's Prep star Jose Angulo, who is currently faced with the decision of whether to turn pro or go to college. Regarded as one of the country's best goal scorers, Angulo has drawn attention from several European clubs. He has yet to decide on his next move, which will mean either turning pro or likely attending the University of Connecticut, and doesn't expect to until the spring.

"It's not going to be easy but I want to take some time before I make that decision," said Angulo, who is the leading scorer for the Grey Bees, the No. 1 team in the nation. "It's always been my dream to go pro so that's something to think about."

You need look no further than the Red Bulls for a team that has seen young players make the most of the jump from high school to the pros. Eddie Gaven became an all-star in 2004 after making the move and Altidore was scoring goals for the Red Bulls this season without having even completed his high school classes.

"It wasn't an easy decision for me; I actually went back and forth with it," Altidore said of choosing pro soccer over college soccer. "There were times when I told MLS no, only to go back to them the next day and say I wanted to play.

"It's a decision that comes down to the player," Altidore said. "If you think you're mature enough to handle the jump then you should do it."

Altidore and Bradley both benefited from attending high school in the U.S. Under-17 national team residency program in Bradenton, Fla., a program that puts players in a very pro-like environment that served to prepare them well for the jump to the pros.

"I think it would have been tough to go to college and play that short season after being at Bradenton," said Bradley, who now plays for Dutch club Heerenveen. "You're playing soccer every day down there, competing against the best. It's not quite the same as the pro environment but it does prepare you."

The allure of professional soccer is becoming stronger and stronger for elite youth players, but college coaches continue to warn against players ignoring the benefits of playing in college first.

"It is only natural for players to focus on becoming a professional player but it's much tougher than some people realize," said Seton Hall assistant coach Gerson Echeverry, a Paterson native who played professionally in Colombia. "In college you can not only mature as a player but as a person, and you get an education that will always be there even after your days of trying to be a professional are over.

"Are there elite-level kids who can handle that jump to the pros? There are some, but I think parents and coaches need to be realistic about their kid's chances," Echeverry said. "If you go the college route, you not only give yourself chance to develop but you also give yourself an education to fall back on, which isn't exactly a small thing."

Red Bulls rookie Marvell Wynne spent two years playing in college, at UCLA, before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 MLS Draft. He considers his time in college to have been vital to his development as a player.

"Without those two years I don't think I would have been ready to make the move," said Wynne, who started for the Red Bulls this season. "The quality of play on the college level is a little better than people give it credit for being and I think it definitely helps, especially if you haven't been lucky enough to come up in an environment like Bradenton, where you're playing soccer day in and day out."

The numbers of players who make the jump from high school to the professional ranks could increase dramatically in the near future now that MLS is set to approach a new player development policy that will rewards its teams for developing young talent by giving those teams the rights to the players they develop. This means that an elite youth player who comes up in the youth ranks of a club like the Red Bulls can sign directly with the Red Bulls without going through the draft.

This could pave the way for area standouts to accept developmental contracts with MLS for a chance at an early place in the pro game over a college scholarship. Both college and professional coaches agreed that the new MLS guidelines should do little to impact college's role in the development of pro prospects.

"What we are talking about is the very best of the young players, those are the ones who college might lose out on," said Red Bulls coach and former U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena. "How many of those are there every year? Not that many. I think college is always going to have a role in developing talent in this country because our league is light years away from having the type of player development model that can fully support the development of young players in this country.

"As pro coaches we aren't going to be looking to just grab some young kids because they show some promise," said Arena. "At the end of the day you want players who can help your team win right away or who you can turn into productive players in a relatively short amount of time. There aren't exactly a lot of high school players who you can say that about.

"There are going to be exceptions to that rule, like a player like Jozy (Altidore), but those kind of players are few and far between," Arena said .

While college's role as a developer of American soccer talent does not appear to be in jeopardy, its ability to lure the nation's very best players is certainly in doubt.

"The big difference these days is that there are more players who are ready to make the big jump," said Bradley, who is in his fourth season as a pro at the age of 18. "College definitely has its place but if you are good enough the sooner you can get into the professional environment the better and American players have more opportunities to make that happen than ever before."