St-Louis in USL-1?

[nolando]

^^ APPLAUSE

[Ivan]

Holy f*** guys, conspiracy theory? No one here is bashing the Caps or begrudging anything they do. They have the best club system in Canada in place right now and look to be providing 3-5 starters on each of our U20 and U17 teams for upcoming WC qualifying in 2009. Any Canadian soccer fan certainly appreciates all Greg Kerfoot has done for Canadian soccer (in spite of the negativity about his contributions from the trolls on the Womens Forum).

All some of us are saying is what we would like to see ideally. What some of the major clubs around the world are doing. Obviously, details would need to be worked out - like an age restriction (void after 22 y.o. or something). TFC and the Impact are going to have to come up with something, because right now, all the best prospects are going to Vancouver (see Cobby, Tiebert & JLL) right from under their noses.

[SteveBeau]

quote:Originally posted by Ivan

Holy f*** guys, conspiracy theory? No one here is bashing the Caps or begrudging anything they do. They have the best club system in Canada in place right now and look to be providing 3-5 starters on each of our U20 and U17 teams for upcoming WC qualifying in 2009. Any Canadian soccer fan certainly appreciates all Greg Kerfoot has done for Canadian soccer (in spite of the negativity about his contributions from the trolls on the Womens Forum).

All some of us are saying is what we would like to see ideally. What some of the major clubs around the world are doing. Obviously, details would need to be worked out - like an age restriction (void after 22 y.o. or something). TFC and the Impact are going to have to come up with something, because right now, all the best prospects are going to Vancouver (see Cobby, Tiebert & JLL) right from under their noses.

Agreed

[tmcmurph]

Enticements to young soccer players and their parents will be part of pitch any pro team academy has to think about. I don't see how it would be financially feasible to do it as a self funding operation.

The concerns of parents can be summed up "always have a fall back plan!". Also known as the "please don't be expecting to live with us when you are 40!" plan.

The attitude of the players (young teenage boys) is "I'm invincible and I'm going to make it!".

Scenario 1) The player is smart enough to get into a university and his parents can afford it, then the scholarships don't weigh as much.

Scenario 2) The player is smart enough but can't afford university without a scholarship.

Scenario 3) The player is not going to university due to poor grades.

Number 3 is the one that worries most parents because all eggs in one basket is bad regardless of the talent you have. Given the cost of university #1 is rare and even most who can afford it still try to offset some of the expense with scholarships.

It would be a great enticement more for the parents than the players but I don't see it happening unless you get some sort of tax free fund or foundation organized.

[SthMelbRed]

Ivan, I'd argue that they probably have the best club system in North America, not just Canada. Realistically, for a Canadian kid, university scholarships are not going to be the make or break factor in whether they attend university or not. Higher education is still quite affordable in our country, despite the best efforts of Gordo and his band of t wats in Victoria. Many of my mates when I was at SFU were self-funding their education, in as much as they worked during the summer and augmented that income with student loans. If a kid is happy to stay at home while they study, there is no reason that they can't earn enough from a part-time job during the university term and full-time summer job to pay for tuition, books, and beer and graduate debt-free.