USMNT: Peter Vermes makes salient development points
Peter Vermes has provided a three-point plan for the new MLS development league. In regards to the development of players in U.S. Soccer, he makes some salient points.
Earlier this month, U.S. Soccer confirmed that the Development Academy would be disbanded due to the financial pressures amid the present coronavirus crisis. In truth, there might be an ulterior motive at play, including the ineffectiveness of a system that had become watered down and stopped feeding the best players into Major League Soccer and beyond, but the DA was now no more.
Very quickly, MLS announced that they would form a replacement league to fill the space the DA left behind. While the specifics of the project have not been discussed in detail, they are keen to address the issues that the DA struggled from, especially the poor level of competition that routinely saw MLS academies playing their teams at older age groups.
One of the leading voices in the plans for the new system is Sporting Kansas City head coach, Peter Vermes. Vermes is a U.S. soccer legend and one of the most powerful and knowledgeable voices in the country.
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And Sporting KC have committed to developing young players in the past — Vermes has built one of the most successful organisations over the past decade by acquiring and improving players, proving his coaching skill in the process — and are financially investing in the future of American kids, too.
This weekend, Vermes expressed his ideas for how the new-look MLS Development League might look. Speaking to the Sporting Kansas City Show, Vermes provided three main portions that would form the structure of the overall system.
He says it starts with splitting the academy in half:
"“You would take your academy and split it in half. When you go 14 and below, it is one set of recommendations. When you go 15 and above, I think it’s another. All of it is a part of the pro-player pathway, but I really think it is the 15s and above where it is really focused.”"
Vermes continues, touching on the different needs of the younger and older players:
"“I think your competition has to change. 14 and below should be local and regional. I don’t think kids should be flying all over the country at 12, 13 and 14. It’s not necessary. We should be training and playing games. We can do that in and amongst our local and regional markets <…> 15s and above, and this has to be incrementally phased in, but I think you should be looking at that as regional, national, and international, and it gets more aggressive as you go up the ladder.”"
He finally concludes with his third form of the process:
"“And then I think the final piece is a second team at every club because you have to be able to bridge the gap between the academy and the first team.”"
The juxtaposition the DA failed to solve was the need to avoid travel and the need for competition. You do not want young kids flying all over the country to play football, but if you make the leagues too localised, you lower the level of competition to a point that you do not develop any players. There is a balance to be found.
Vermes highlights this by his splitting of the academies. It certainly carries some merit. Once players hit 15, their career trajectories are easier to predict. Those that will become professionals will stand out by this point and can be pushed. Those that won’t move into amateur leagues. Conversely, in younger years, simply playing is more important. The level of competition is not as crucial. Playing regularly and locally is more impactful.
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Vermes, then, makes some salient points regarding the future set-up of the DA. Whether U.S. Soccer and MLS will listen and implement these ideas, however, is a very different question altogether.