By Kim Smith

In the stands, aspiring young soccer players watch US Women’s National Team striker Abby Wambauch take on and beat an international defender with strength and change of speed. They witness the celebration – the net ripples, arms raise, sound streams from within, touched by the flashes of light sitting atop wide-eyed cameras. What a majority of our youth doesn’t see is the process, the training behind the driven ball, low and into the right corner of the goal. Many of them wonder what it takes to reach the highest level.

UCLA standout Amelia Mathis – photo credit: Danny Harrington

How do our youth players develop and prepare themselves for the college game and national teams?

Fortunately in the US every state has ODP (Olympic Development Program) for boys and girls, broken up into 4 Regions, which since the 1990’s has been the primary national scouting system and main line to the US National Team. Because the importance of winning has trumped good ol’-fashioned development and club teams’ volume of games resemble MLB’s scheduling, changes have and are being made within ODP and US Soccer. Director of CalSouth ODP Steve Hoffman says, “Developing players for a higher level of play was a necessity in the past. Now clubs are developing players to win. We have great young coaches in the game, but along the line we aren’t developing players like we should.”

University of Central Florida Women’s Soccer Head Coach and former US Women’s National Team player Amanda Cromwell agrees and stresses the importance of reintroducing the value of training and versatility of sport. “Kids are playing and competing but we still get players that can’t strike a ball with the left foot or a quality long ball. Kids need to train more and play fewer games. And they need to play other sports as long as they can. Players that play basketball, tennis, lacrosse develop different motor skills.” When Cromwell played with the US Women’s National Team (’91 – ’97) she was on the bottom tier of the 40 yd. test, but she was in the top for agility because of outside sport involvement.

Within ODP, changes are being made to help youth players develop their skills in a competitive environment. In 2008 they introduced a pool system within the Region IV State and Regional Teams, which in effect, broadened the number of players being seen. Instead of promptly selecting the team, the coaching staff brings in a pool of 40 players and then narrows down the names to the final roster.

As the Region III ODP Girl’s Head Coach, Cromwell believes that in the south, ODP is a strong component to developing players for the college and national teams. Within the regional teams, those players that do not make the traveling team in March, aren’t left home without training, as was true in the past, but rather are invited into an ID camp. 18 players are brought in from each region and are “scrambled”. The teams then train and compete against one another, showcasing their talent for the national team staff. Within these ODP regional events and camps players are able to assess their level against the top talent in their age bracket/region. It’s a true measuring stick for a player’s development.

Former US National Team Player Amanda Cromwell and the UCF squad in 2009

In addition, younger age groups have been added to the ODP system, which help to feed the youth national teams. Today there is a ’97 age group that is brought in for training camps, referred to as the “Young Olympians”. Coaches are now able to ID these players much earlier than before and subsequently the aspiring players get to go through the system of development for more years.

Not only are players participating at a younger age, but the youth teams are attending more training camps at the Home Depot Center and are traveling abroad to Costa Rica, Portugal, Argentina, etc., to gain international playing experience. Being exposed early to different styles of play against competitive international teams is a unique experience and one that is expensive. Steve Hoffman agrees that the negative of ODP is that it’s a costly program, but worthwhile when it comes to developing the player whether it’s at the state, regional or national level.

ODP was instrumental in current UCLA defender Amelia Mathis’s development into a competitive college player. At age 14, Amelia made the Region IV state team, but was not a clutch player until she stepped forward into the available left outside back position. “I worked really hard at this position and became the key left back for my state team.” Mathis’s development into a better player happened as a result of her ODP coaches’ feedback and her own personal desire to play at the next level. Her 1st tryout for the regional team she didn’t make it. The 2nd time she made the holdovers, but not the team. “After camp I spoke with my ODP coach and asked, ‘What do I need to do to make the team?’ They told me what to work on and I made it my goal.” The evaluation form she received from her ODP coach she brought to her Eagles Soccer Club coach. Her 3rd tryout, in 2006, she made the U-16 Regional Team. Two years later she was invited into the U-18 National Pool before she entered into her 1st season with the UCLA Women’s Soccer Team.

The ODP system continues to effect and shape the lives of young soccer players around the US. All staff coaches are in agreement that development takes work and time on your own, outside of camps and games. And although the demands on the youth players presses on, ODP is interested in developing players that can represent the US National Team. Hoffman adds, “ The National Team Program has been to the World Cup Finals, Olympic Finals. We aren’t that far behind, but we are all realists. We see Brazil and Germany play and we feel we are behind in this country. We’ve got to step up to the plate. We’ve been the big dogs for a long time. ODP needs to take a look over what we can do better.”

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About the author:

Kim Smith was a four-year starter and All-ACC forward at the University of Virginia.  She continued her career professionally with the FC Winds in Japan,  1FC Saarbrucken in Germany and in the W- League for the Raleigh Wings.  Upon retirement, she entered into coaching at the club and high school level.  Holding a USSF National “C” license, she is currently entering her 8th season as the soccer director and coach of the Varsity Girl’s Soccer Team at Palisades Charter High School.