Jason Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S. I think they are rare cases. Perhaps players who rely on physical strength and have needed those few extra years to develop it. How many top US players played four years NCAA, I really don't know? I looked through the Canadian player pool of the senior side, and here are the NCAA alumni that I know of: Stephen Ademolu (Cleveland State) Jason Bent (Maryland) Patrice Bernier (Syracuse) Rob Friend (Santa Barbara) Gabriel Gervais (Syracuse) Patrick Leduc (Fairleigh Dickinson) Winston Marshall (Dayton) Oliver Occean (South Connecticut State) Andrew Oliveri (South Connecticut State) Josh Simpson (Portland) Greg Sutton (St. Lawrence) Josh Wagenaar (Hartwick College) Chris Williams (Mobile) Davide Xausa (Portland) I realize that some of these guys aren't really in the picture these days, but there are some rather significant players in there such as Sutton, Occean, Friend, Bernier, Ademolu, and Gervais. Of this group, I believe all of them completed four years of school except for Simpson and Bent. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Some of the guys who went the university route turned down offers to go pro. Didn't Xausa turn down an offer from Sporting Lisbon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Most of the better NCAA schools (better from an academic standpoint) have quite high acedemic performance requirements for their student athletes. Most student athletes who complete their programs and graduate will more than likely pursue non-soccer-playing long term careers that offer better prospects overall and much greater security than a risky pro soccer career would. The same applies to most of the better Canadian schools too. There are exceptions of course and some of them have been listed above. I wonder what proportion of the top league pro soccer players in Europe are university graduates, even the MLS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Richard Most of the better NCAA schools (better from an academic standpoint) have quite high acedemic performance requirements for their student athletes. Most student athletes who complete their programs and graduate will more than likely pursue non-soccer-playing long term careers that offer better prospects overall and much greater security than a risky pro soccer career would. The same applies to most of the better Canadian schools too. There are exceptions of course and some of them have been listed above. I wonder what proportion of the top league pro soccer players in Europe are university graduates, even the MLS? Regarding university degrees in Europe amongst top players: I would imagine that in Spain maybe one of 25 or 30 will get a degree. Amongst the foreigners there are virtually none. Of course most get their degrees while playing. At Barça right now the only player with a degree, I think, is Olegeur, but I think the back-up keeper Jorquera is working on one. Local kids who have the support structure to pursue such academic aims. I keep trying to convince folks I speak to here with kids who are decent players at 16 but will never play higher than fourth tier pro to think about looking for a scholarship in the US for their kids. With that skill level they could surely get a degree paid for on the basis of their football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S. Regarding university degrees in Europe amongst top players: I would imagine that in Spain maybe one of 25 or 30 will get a degree. Amongst the foreigners there are virtually none. Of course most get their degrees while playing. At Barça right now the only player with a degree, I think, is Olegeur, but I think the back-up keeper Jorquera is working on one. Local kids who have the support structure to pursue such academic aims. I keep trying to convince folks I speak to here with kids who are decent players at 16 but will never play higher than fourth tier pro to think about looking for a scholarship in the US for their kids. With that skill level they could surely get a degree paid for on the basis of their football. Hey stop that! Our canadian kids have a hard enough time trying to compete with kids from Vermount for scholarships, let alone the Spanish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Distance Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Sigma Not sure about Reading and Ocean City though. Perhaps Ocean City will be in the same division as Northern Virginia and Delaware? I believe the top team from each division & the second best placed team in the conference as a whole get to the play offs. Don't know if teams play each other 3 times, they play teams from other divisions or (in the Fury's case), they only play 10 games 2006 PDL Alignment Central Conference: Great Lakes Division - Chicago Fire Premier, Cleveland Internationals, Fort Wayne Fever, Indiana Invaders, Kalamazoo Kingdom, Michigan Bucks, West Michigan Edge; Heartland Division - Boulder Rapids Reserve, Colorado Springs Blizzard, Des Moines Menace, Kansas City Brass, Sioux Falls SpitFire, St. Louis, Thunder Bay Chill Eastern Conference: Mid Atlantic Division - Northern Virginia Royals, Richmond Kickers Future, Virginia Beach Submariners, West Virginia Chaos, Williamsburg Legacy; New England Division - Albany Admirals, Cape Cod Crusaders, Ottawa Fury, Rhode Island Stingrays, Vermont Voltage; Northeast Division - Brooklyn Knights, Delaware Dynasty, Ocean City Barons, Reading Rage, Westchester Flames Southern Conference: Mid South Division - Austin Lightning, DFW Tornados, El Paso Patriots, Laredo Heat, New Orleans Shell Shockers; South Atlantic Division - Atlanta, Augusta Fireball, Carolina Dynamo, Nashville Metros, Raleigh Elite; Southeast Division - Ajax Orlando Prospects, Bradenton Academics, Central Florida Kraze, Cocoa Expos, Palm Beach Pumas Western Conference: Northwest Division - Abbotsford Rangers, BYU Cougars, Cascade Surge, Ogden Outlaws, Spokane Shadow, Yakima Reds; Southwest Division - Bakersfield Brigade, California Gold, Fresno Fuego, Los Angeles (San Gabriel), Orange County Blue Star, San Diego Gauchos, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco Bay Seals, Southern California Seahorses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydog2006 Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Where di you hear the fury only play 10 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Distance Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 quote:Originally posted by jaydog2006 Where di you hear the fury only play 10 games. I didn't say the Fury only play 10 games. I'm asking the question - how many do they play as there are only 5 other teams in their division? Where do any other games come from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydog2006 Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 They will play 16 games 8 in there own division 2 vs each team and then 8 out side of there division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.