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Post by allthingsoccer on Dec 9, 2022 10:43:02 GMT -5
gosh i hope so on the JC side. Should have happened a couple of years ago.
CB, wow. that is a first. crazy that its taken this long. Never really see/ saw him on campus.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 31, 2022 19:29:10 GMT -5
Two words.... RYAN AUSTIN!!
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 31, 2022 19:22:43 GMT -5
I received this from a mom on the U17s today when I reached out to her and she agreed to let me post this... "It’s laughable that AU2 has a record of 4–20-4 and is sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. I’m not even sure if you can pinpoint it to just one specific problem in the team. But I do know that their defense seems to be lacking, especially when it comes to finishing a match. As you know, X0X0X0X(name redacted) plays on the 17s and we too are having the same defensive problems. Can you imagine we have let in 25 goals so far? I have followed the rest of the AU Academy & I am more than surprised that none of the defenders who currently play for the U19 and are committed to Clemson have seen any time on the pitch with the 2s. I thought Clemson was a good soccer school. It's just bizarre really. " Politics at its best. Same story for years, more so now. If you even say anything as a parent, they will scarlet letter your player. The chosen ones can do no wrong on or off the field and get way more special treatment. My conclusion to this is lack of coaching/ development experience, lack of true leadership, lack of mentorship, and WAY too much Ego. Not sure if any have children and if they do for sure not teenagers. BTW... AU does not prepare the players for success. This is by no means a hate on AU. I love the club. I just think they need to provide all the ingredients to all of the products. I give them 2 stars.
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ATL 2 ?
Aug 31, 2022 18:51:23 GMT -5
Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 31, 2022 18:51:23 GMT -5
I was catching up on all things AU and stumbled upon the AU2 score. Another loss. With 28 games done, 4 paltry wins? Looking at the schedule, I honestly don't know if they will reach 5 wins for the season. So I ask, based on what you know about coaching, players, club philosophy, etc. What seems to be the problem? While I don't expect them to lift the USL Cup, they can't seem to buy a win? Will they be successful next season when the competition is not as high in the MLS-Next Pro? Will they keep Jack Collison or is he not to blame? Without the ability for the former Academy players to play in MLS-Next Pro, will there still be a pipeline from Academy to College to Homegrowns? I have a million questions and honestly don't know how to answer any of them. I will sit back and let better experts spin a yarn on the future of the twos... p.s. Will players on the Homegrown Protect lists be expected to play or be locked out of the USL/MLS leagues? POLITICS/ LACK OF DEVELOPMENT/ COACH, sorry am I yelling? No true leadership, mentorship from the club. Just because you played pro DOES NOT MAKE YOU A GOOD COACH. (Major Egos) I don't know of any players that want to go MLS Next Pro and pass up the opportunity to play in College. Going to be a huge drop off. You will see more NPSL/UPSL/ USL1 players U23 recruited to play Next Pro. A huge percentage that play on the USL 2 side now were brought in to the Academy late (U18/19) or not at all.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 18, 2022 9:40:44 GMT -5
Have to disagree college coaches only focus on MLS and MLS Next clubs. Kid I know played ECNL at one of the Big 5 in Atlanta, number 1 in SE in consecutive years and played for natty. He had 23 offers including by a very recent D1 National champ but turned them all down for a full academic ride to a very well known local engineering school. All but 2 received D1 offers. Currently 4 are starting D1, 3 are starting D2 or D3 and 1 that turned down D1 starts for their college club team. They would go to a showcase and have 50 coaches watching. If kid can play, coaches know and recruit them. No MLS is needed. Agree. From what I have seen, way more ECNL players than MLS Academy players. But wanted to note... The 2022 class (u19s) for Atlanta United Academy had 15 D1 signees and 2 pros.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 18, 2022 7:50:40 GMT -5
Yea, wanted to watch GA State vs Pres last night -- only followed it on twitter, assuming there was no live stream. The internationals --- lots of arguments in the twitterworld about intranational players taking scholarships. I think public institutions should have limitations and private schools can do what ever they want. Yeah no stream. Agree. Has to be some sort of limit.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 17, 2022 12:10:36 GMT -5
Yes its growing every year but still a strong mix of ECNL players on D1 rosters. MLS, ECNL and the biggest threat is International players. A good 25-35% of rosters are now International players. TA of the Gamecocks is an example... 18 new players, 8 are Internationals. PC (Presbyterian)- 15 new players, 8 are Internationals and so on... Yea, my assumption is as well, that the 8 international players are also where the scholarship money is going..... Yep. For sure! No to mention the freaking crazy transfer portal. Its truly nuts right now.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 17, 2022 12:06:49 GMT -5
I have said this on several different threads....in a nutshell, on the boys side, college coaches and national team scouts focus their efforts on MLS Next clubs. Not to say there are not quality players outside of that league....but they will tell you that the quality of competition and the level of overall talent is just higher nationally at MLS Next. My son was at an Ivy League institution's ID camp this summer....of the 28 players invited by the coaches to play in the select game, 27 were MLS Next players. Yes its growing every year but still a strong mix of ECNL players on D1 rosters. MLS, ECNL and the biggest threat is International players. A good 25-35% of rosters are now International players. TA of the Gamecocks is an example... 18 new players, 8 are Internationals. PC (Presbyterian)- 15 new players, 8 are Internationals and so on...
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ATL 2 ?
Aug 8, 2022 16:24:37 GMT -5
Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 8, 2022 16:24:37 GMT -5
I think AU Academy players are very, very technical. The system is set up to award individuality or even award players they like. Its never been a "team" environment. (only the younger ages). The resources they put in the "hand picked" players is night and day from other players. Game mins, extra practices etc.. If they did that for everyone, it would be a machine of quality and "team" play. We will agree to respectfully disagree. All is will say is this regarding "technical": their peers up north do not view the AU academy products as overly technical. Honestly, having watched as much as I have, I tend to agree with the perception. It is a problem in my opinion. For sure agree to disagree but just curious. How many games do you watch? Age groups? peers up to the north? Not sure whom you are speaking of. So the past 5/6 years watching vids and games in person (the ones not too far away) most players have the skills. Move well, strong passes, and pretty decent footwork. This goes for top ECNL teams as well. When an AU player hits 15. It drops. Only because the extra training is going to someone else chosen. Its up the other individual to get that "extra" in. Hard to do that with 5x week training and school. You would think by now AU would have training broken down by the position. Each getting specialized hours during the week.
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ATL 2 ?
Aug 8, 2022 12:11:01 GMT -5
Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 8, 2022 12:11:01 GMT -5
My son was training this summer with a number of MLS Next players up north. He was told by all of them that AU academy players in general have a very limited tactical sense and not as high of a technical level either...they tend to favor fast athletic kids and pay little attention to technical and tactical abilities. BTW, this has been my criticism of youth soccer in this area since I moved here five years ago from NY. Most (but certainly not all) programs lack proper evaluation skill and fail their players in teaching tactics and technique to their players. I watched ECNL level players this weekend who still don't know how to properly receive a pass or understand proper man-marking technique. These were not one-off mistakes....they were repeated over and over and over. I'll never forget going to the u12 and u13 DA showcase in Dec in Winston Salem. It was so obvious who the MLS teams were at the event -- No shirt logo's were necessary. The MLS teams all had kids almost twice the size of the "non" mls clubs. It was so obvious the bigger kids at those ages. Yes, the MLS teams still had smaller kids, but they were full of those kids that grew early at u12/u13 and then stopped...... I think AU Academy players are very, very technical. The system is set up to award individuality or even award players they like. Its never been a "team" environment. (only the younger ages). The resources they put in the "hand picked" players is night and day from other players. Game mins, extra practices etc.. If they did that for everyone, it would be a machine of quality and "team" play.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 8, 2022 12:03:47 GMT -5
Wow. It was so hard to watch. Let hope JC (the coach) isnt with the U23s next year. Yes they play younger players but man... College path or go get beat by 6pts. I believe your kid went through or is going through the Academy. Question I have is, does AU still hold automatic Homegrown rights over a player when they head to college or is there a conversation where it is mutually agreed upon that they have x number of years by which they have to pull the trigger or lose the rights to you? Also, if you are in their homegrown college stable, do they have to train you in the summer and how does that work with AU moving to or joining the MLS Next Pro where college kids are not allowed to play....? Thanks... They keep an eye on you during College. No set arrangement on you "must be here during breaks". I think they can have the HG option before you enter Super Draft. Once in draft, you are "free agent". Yes, you can come back during breaks. The door is always open. As for playing time, not 100%. I dont think you can in MLSNext Pro. I'm sure most will go with NPSL or UPSL or even some other USL 2 teams.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 7, 2022 16:53:50 GMT -5
Curious. What is the success rate for AU with players going pro? Is this published? There are a few D1 schools that have advertised both AU and local club players on their next roster so I think good players have a fighting chance to play D1 even though they are not coming from an MLS Academy. If USL or MLS is the final destination then different story. Yes its a mix of MLS Academy, ECNL, and Internationals that I see on most rosters. My son just started D1 and they have 2x MLS Academy, 12 ECNL, and 8/10 internationals. Not all in one place/ nor updated. www.atlutd.com/academy/graduateswww.atlutd.com/news/atlanta-united-academy-players-announce-college-commitmentsAcademy graduates to reach the D1 level at 54 players This year was a pretty big class... 13 D1 players- 04' class Caleb Wiley and Efrain Home Grown- Pro Going to have similar numbers with the 05' class. Cobb (HG) so far.
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ATL 2 ?
Aug 7, 2022 16:37:16 GMT -5
Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 7, 2022 16:37:16 GMT -5
Wow. 2s lost 6-0 to bham last night. Disturbing. 64 goals against on the year, -36 goal differential Can’t score and can’t defend. Look at the last goal they conceded. Really is embarrassing - Wow. It was so hard to watch. Let hope JC (the coach) isnt with the U23s next year. Yes they play younger players but man... College path or go get beat by 6pts.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 3, 2022 15:22:26 GMT -5
I remember Spurlin and Owen but don't ever remember hearing about Wilkerson. I was wondering what happened to the Richmond kid. He was the bio-banded kid right? Wow Clemson? He must have gotten much better after he left to land at Clemson. Good for him and his family... Yeah he was bio-banded. His dad played for Clemson. (was on the team that won the NC back in the day)
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 2, 2022 16:36:23 GMT -5
Big on the West Coast. Seems like a lot of name brand feeder clubs. No clue on the quality of play. Like we need a new league...lol
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Post by allthingsoccer on Aug 2, 2022 16:31:34 GMT -5
random update -- was searching for something else and stumbled upon this thread, figured I'd see what Michael Wilkerson has been up to recently: He's entering his junior year at UNC-Ashville: Prior to UNC Asheville - An Asheville native, Wilkerson also comes to the Bulldogs from the University of San Diego where he saw action in nine games in 2020-21, scoring his first collegiate goal against Gonzaga. A product of Asheville High School, Wilkerson was named All-Region and All-Conference in the WMAC, competing for Highland FC before playing his junior and senior seasons with the Atlanta United FC Academy. In the summers of 2018 and 2021, Wilkerson played locally for Asheville City SC. Also noticed a video highlighting another AU academy transplant. From Mississippi rush to AU's academy - Owen Barber. I think the then moved to Charlotte independence after leaving AUs academy, looks like he is now with UAB Blazers uabsports.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/owen-barber/9099Dont remember seeing Wilkerson on campus. Owen on the other hand I remember. Good kid. A few of the 04 class that left a couple of years ago... Nathan Richmond went to IMG then committed to Clemson. Great kid and family. James Spurlin- left to play for Concorde Fire. Solid keeper and is at Air Force prep
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jul 29, 2022 13:32:22 GMT -5
Boys U19 04/05 We have a 11 game college schedule and five tournaments. Last two tournaments are Raleigh and Disney. With a couple of friendlies mixed in. Approx a 30 game season. Good deal. Thats a nice set of games for the season U10- not 100% on season but camp over and training starts next week. One preseason tournament on this books for Aug.. Lets Go. D1- Ran a camp or two. Moving in early. (next week), 19 games scheduled over 85 days. Going to be a grind. Good luck to everyone.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jul 21, 2022 12:50:27 GMT -5
At least now he can play back on team competing for something. club should have taken USL seriously. Its too bad, now on to the mls next pro league that nobody will watch or care about. USL is actually kind of cool, feels much more organic then mls. I think the Academy does have the right players to create a competitive team but unfortunately most won't get the opportunity. They single out players too early and have to justify by riding them out so others will never get the opportunity. Politics at play for sure. EVERY academy player should be given the opportunity to show what they can do at that level. If they fail, they fail. I think they would be very surprised. The U23 league will be a broken promise and most academy players won't choose this option over NCAA. The fact that you cant come back and play during breaks is going to hurt. Plus not having a USL option will hurt as well. Just seems like the brand is going down hill, fast.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jul 14, 2022 6:46:51 GMT -5
bogan What’s the new requirements? Didn’t realize Anthing had changed recently? I thought it was new but apparently it’s been around for a while (2007). *Note: As of July 1, 2021,Georgia now requires 17-year-olds to complete the drivers training according to Joshua's law, where it had previously only been 15 and 16-year-olds required.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jul 7, 2022 18:32:15 GMT -5
Yeah major issue for sure. Said that ZERO academy can play top level, very limited academy play in USL (5 games max i think), and from what I read (not sure if true) but ZERO NCAA players aloud in the "new U23 MLSNextPro" cluster !@#$
Crazyness not allowing NCAA players to play.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jul 6, 2022 15:29:31 GMT -5
still waiting on AU to help get some of these Academy players into other leagues. They struggle with Colleges as well.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jul 6, 2022 12:50:38 GMT -5
Carleton - USL - San Diego Loyals - getting very few minutes the past games, coming of an injury, but given he is playing must be healthy Goslin - without club Bello - Bundesliga 2 relegated, Arm Eielfeld - minutes decreased last month of season Patrick Okonkwo - KSA --- not looking good Lagos Kunga - brief stint with Norway first tier team, didn't play -- now listed without club since jan 2022 Very surprised but not. I hope the next batch of HGs have better success. 3/5 pretty much without club isnt a very good story.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jun 30, 2022 13:11:49 GMT -5
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jun 29, 2022 17:24:17 GMT -5
Noticed that TopDrawer Soccer has ZERO mention or coverage of ECNL boys. That seems pretty odd. They have coverage of the girls.
Do they have beef?
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jun 10, 2022 8:38:32 GMT -5
This is all you need to read -- "The following morning, I spoke to one of the senior academy coaches who told me my major downfall had been my positioning, which seemed a strange thing to say to a 15-year-old as surely having trained for 15 hours a week over four years that was something they should have noticed and taught me to do properly?" Seems like these "pro development academies" have a "go to" manual for excuses/ reasons. Almost all that I have heard are a direct reflection of lack of development/ guidance from coaches. Its also crazy that a club like Ipswich only does 2 reviews a year.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jun 3, 2022 14:23:15 GMT -5
I’ll start: 1- The massive disadvantage a short goalkeeper has at U13 with full size goals. 2- Coaches who simply refuse to talk with parents. 3- Coaches standing together and looking at their phones during tryouts. It is a massive disadvantage for small goal keepers when jumping into a full-sized goal at U13. Hopefully, by U14 they have learned how to protect the upper part of the goal by either growing or getting stronger and using technique.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Jun 3, 2022 14:20:55 GMT -5
I’ll start: 1- The massive disadvantage a short goalkeeper has at U13 with full size goals. 2- Coaches who simply refuse to talk with parents. 3- Coaches standing together and looking at their phones during tryouts. It is a massive disadvantage for small goal keepers when jumping into a full-sized goal at U13. Hopefully, by U14 they have learned how to protect the upper part of the goal by either growing or getting stronger and using technique. a technique for shorter keepers is to keep back closer to goal line when shots are about to be taken. Almost in the goal. If they are on the line jumping up (with hands up) they should be able to cover gap. Its a strange technique but really worked for my son when he was in transitioning.
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Post by allthingsoccer on May 27, 2022 9:11:56 GMT -5
Athletic Republic roswell Redline Athletics
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Post by allthingsoccer on May 26, 2022 15:02:21 GMT -5
I never spoke to the coaches. They want to speak with the player and build repour.
Some good questions to ask. I think futsal mentioned some good ones. How many extra year athletes are on the team, about the depth they have at your kid's position.
Are they seeking players for such and such year for said position. What showcases will they be attending
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Post by allthingsoccer on May 26, 2022 14:22:09 GMT -5
I love this forum. Hands down clear advise from everyone. GPA and communication is key. Some wanted to see full matches plus highlights. You are essentially marketing yourself. (your player) Build "free" player profiles on TopDrawer, Be Recruited, and others. You can also subscribe for $$ for more features. The schools website you can get emails/numbers. Calling is better. Smile and dial. For help with video once you have it. I have used Stafford Productions and also free lancers off Fiverr.com www.instagram.com/staff.highlights/
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