Limiting number of odp players in one team

i won't get into the ODP program itself, but in more into the id/selection of players.

in general, i think player identification should occur every sat/sun during normal routine athena/classic play(or u11/u12 academy play). (super y does something similar). coaches also need to advocate for their players, and this might be where a problem lies. some clubs no longer advocate for their players while others might.

you also supplement this with a tryout.

to be fair, typically the top players on each team are easy to pick out. the challenge is the next tier player which is just as important if not more important to a team and development - ie the role player. the quality right back, that understands how to open up and receive the ball, has a great first touch, plays quick, understands playing through the keeper and that they are the cog that starts the idea of possession out of the back. sometimes its hard for those players to shine at tryouts where defense isn't a priority....

What about eliminating the tryout process and making ODP a recomendation/recruitment thing - where players are recommended by their coach or recruited by ODP coaches who come to see them play during a season. No coach is going to put up his or her entire team so it takes the limitation factor out of the equation. And, like Soccerhouse said, the best players on each team are pretty easy to pick out - coaches are the best judge of that so take the tryout process out of the equation and return ODP back to it's original intent - an ID program for national teams where the ID part is based on those with knowledge of the game and players' abilities and contributions to a team.

Not knocking ODP but there are players on those teams in all age groups who aren't national caliber and players who don't try out at all who probably are.

I don't see this as a big issue. While the 2002 ODP girls have many players from TopHat, UFA, GSA, etc., they also have players from Cherokee, NASA and other clubs who aren't thought of as stronger teams at these U12/U13 age groups. I think it helps that the head coach is from a smaller, less prominent club too (GA Rush).

No one will ever be 100% satisfied with the group that's selected for each year, but let's face it, ODP is really about selecting the 10-15 best players in the state and getting them some other good players to scrimmage with. Those players are pretty much known by every good coach in the state and will always make the squad. It's certainly not the only way to get extra practice and for colleges to scout your kid - plenty of other avenues exist for that.

This is absolutely true. It does not take long to pick out the very best players in an age group, and those are the ones the system wants. 

I also knew I would get in trouble with this if I didn't lay out my entire thought process. That would take a while. I am not committed to the 5 player rule (that was an example), but there should be some limit just for diversity's sake and to serve the greatest number of players and clubs. I would just mention three other things, partially expanding on issues covered above: 

(1) The ODP tryout process in GA is suboptimal to say the least. All states do not do it this way. Many states do variations on suggestions made above. For instance, multiple tryout sessions, evaluating players in the club environment, etc. My additional suggestion for GA ODP would be to extend the tryout process to summer camps run by people other than club coaches. If it was necessary to limit the number of attendees have DOCs make recommendations. Let them know they can be a bit liberal but not too crazy on players they recommend. Let kids show up at multiple camps. Kids have a 2-3 days to showcase their abilities. Have them rated on various criteria by multiple evaluators. Have a standard curriculum for the camps. After, say one round of camps, have a more select group show up for another round of invitation camps. Kids get to showcase their abilities in a more competitive environment. By the time this second round was over, kids would have been seen a bunch, and this is where the rubber would meet the road. And they have had summer camp! By the time Fall rolls around JD and his minions will have lots of information, would have been able to port their ideas for how soccer should be played to many more kids than otherwise possible across the state, and I doubt people would be as coo-coo for cocoa puffs about selections as usual (at least not as much).

I know about pre-ODP camp. Both of my kids have participated (one previously; one will this summer). I thought It was great. But that is a limited number of kids, and it is hard for people from outside the ATL to participate. Would like to see more kids get a chance to be evaluated and for more parents to see what passes as top quality training. 

(2) The size of the state player pool should be expanded, maybe doubled. I do not mean the player pool that would end up going to Region Camp. There should be the equivalent of a "developmental" level where players get training and can continue to progress and be observed in a more competitive environment than would be otherwise possible. Although as mentioned above it is easy to pick out the top players, picking the next group is not so straightforward. As one of my college coaching buddies told me: "No one cares who are the best players at 12 and 13, they care who are the best players at 15 and 16." And there is far from a perfect correlation between the two. Having the equivalent of a developmental level would keep kids in the system who might not be clearly the best ones at 12 and 13, but by 15 might have risen to the top of the heap. As a side note, the summer camp thing would kind of help take everyone closer to square 1 for the new recruiting year. Meaning kids that have developed tremendously over the past year would have a chance to be seen as one of the top players more easily. That does not really happen now (it does in appearance only) given the way the system is set up.

(3) I am not totally sure what to do about this, but time is an issue. School (2-3 hrs of homework every freaking night), orchestra, club and school soccer, soccer ID events (ODP, NTC, ID2, etc), travel to just play soccer. One solution I was contemplating would be if there were breaks in the club season (like international breaks that only MLS ignores) where it is clear there will be ODP training/camps, and clubs would not have games but could continue to train their players who are not in the ODP program. This also seems like it would make it easier for players from all over the state to participate.