Ryan Herman, DeAndre Yedlin, Nick Palodichuk Among Seattle Sounders Academy Players Officially Committing To Schools
by Jeremiah Oshan on Feb 3, 2011 10:05 AM PST
in Sounders: Academy, U23 PDL and Reserves
Email
PrintUPDATE: Sounders Academy player Troy Peterson has committed to the College of Charleston, which lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual finalist Louisville.
UPDATE 2: Sounders FC confirms 10 academy players have committed to play college soccer.
At some point today, we'll have a complete list of Seattle Sounders Academy players who signed National Letters of Intent, but we can confirm at least three players who did, as well as one who has not yet signed. Defender DeAndre Yedlin has officially committed to the University of Akron; defender Nick Palodichuk has already enrolled at Duke University; and goalkeeper Ryan Herman has committed to Santa Clara University.
All three players have been identified as having the talent to eventually play professionally.
"A lot of what (Herman's) potential is to be able to go on in the game," Santa Clara coach Cameron Rast said. "He has all the natural abilities that he needs. But that’s only part of the formula at being a player at the highest level of the game."
Potentially notable is the fact that Wake Forest has yet to receive Sean Okoli's Letter of Intent (and, yes, this has been confirmed with Wake Forest even after the Sounders issued their release). Okoli has been rumored to be discussing a Homegrown Player contract with the Seattle Sounders. Okoli has already verbally committed to Wake Forest and signing a Letter of Intent would not preclude him from later signing with the Sounders. This could very well be a paperwork issue, but it is the facts nonetheless.
In sending players to Akron, Duke, Santa Clara and, potentially, Wake Forest the Sounders Academy is proving to be a pipeline for some of the most successful men's soccer programs in the nation. Akron is the defending national champion and has sent 11 players to MLS in the past three seasons. Duke has had 19 players picked in the history of the MLS draft, more than all but 11 schools. Since 2006, 11 Santa Clara players have made at least one appearance in MLS, more than all but eight schools. Wake Forest won the national championship in 2007 and only two schools have had more of their players make a MLS appearance since 2006.
21 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Troy Peterson
Sent his NLI to College of Charleston yesterday.
Thanks
that was literally my next one to check
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
This
In sending players to Akron, Duke, Santa Clara and, potentially, Wake Forest the Sounders Academy is proving to be a pipeline for some of the most successful men’s soccer programs in the nation.
is a great point. More evidence that the Sounders have excellent scouting and talent evaluation processes.
You will hear us on Brougham, you will hear us on Occidental, you will hear us on King. We are all around you, there is no escape.
Is there a prevailing thought as to player development in the NCAA versus the Reserve leagues?
Is it basically that if you can go to a top-tier University, that’s the best bet and failing that to play in the Reserve leagues?
Are the Sounders HGP eligible players who go to college allowed to train with the Sounders Academy/Reserve team in the offseason or would that nuke their NCAA eligibility?
Also, thanks for the round-up Jeremiah.
My understanding
There’s definitely no accepted truth about NCAA vs. Reserve leagues. I will say that it’s hard to see a downside for a kid going somewhere like Akron for a year or two and then signing with MLS. In the offseason, they’ll still be allowed to train with the Sounders and may even be allowed to play a limited number of reserve games.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, North American soccer editor SB Nation and of course follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Feb 3, 2011 11:27 AM PST up reply actions
I think the prevailing thought is that development in college isn't as good as a professional environment
But you are right, places like Akron, Wake, Maryland, UCLA etc. try and mimic a professional environment as much as possible so those types of schools tend to develop players at a high rate.
so, for a guy like Yedlin...
he can go and play for Akron for a year or two, but still maintain his connection with Sounders academy, then would the Sounders be able to sign him to a HGP contract?
It's a toss up, in my opinion.
While players that move through the NCAA program end up being smarter, well-rounded individuals, I think it slightly slows development of the players that wind up in MLS and the US National Team program.
But until we have truly residential, fully-funded club academies in the US, we’re sorta forced to be reliant on the College system to nurture footballing talent.
Eternal Blue, Forever Green. Sounders 'Til I Die.
by Michael Wiegand on Feb 3, 2011 7:54 PM PST up reply actions
Why is a residential situation so much better?
I keep hearing that its awesome and amazing, but I have yet to see why.
What’s so much better about not sleeping in your own bed?
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
They don't have to be fully residential...
Sure, a lot of the kids will be from around Western WA. But when you’re talking about bringing in young players from further outside your local area in a nation as large as the US, that’s where needing to house some of these kids comes in.
My point is more that we need to find the kids younger. Not just for 2-3 years before they run off to Akron or wherever.
And we need their most productive years for the Nats to start when they’re 19-20, not when they’re 25-26.
Besides, the NCAA has a much different set of goals for their athletes than the Sounders do.
The college’s goal is two-fold: to produce smart graduates first, and then to produce athletes good enough to be drafted second.
The Sounders’ goal is to produce athletes good enough to win domestic and international titles.
I’m not sure NCAA soccer, in its present state, cares to facilitate that.
Just my opinion.
Eternal Blue, Forever Green. Sounders 'Til I Die.
by Michael Wiegand on Feb 3, 2011 10:14 PM PST up reply actions
Well, there is an exception to the catchment area
And those two players per level are not required to stay at home with their parents, they can be from anywhere in the world.
As for finding kids younger, the Sounders, and all MLS teams, are doing just that. The 16 & 18 Academies are just the top of the development program, not the only part of it.
College can produce amazing athletes in every other sport that exists in the world, I think they can do it for soccer too.
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
Just so I'm clear
If they go to college, does that invalidate them as HGP’s later on? Are they now subject to the draft and we no longer control any rights or anything like that?
No, the Sounders hold their First Rights
They can refuse to sign with the Sounders and enter through the Draft.
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
Gotcha
Thanks. Makes a lot more sense. Hopefully we can see a full return on these investments and sign some down the road. I’d love to have a team full of kids that grew up in the Sounders’ back yard.
by chrisperry1983 on Feb 3, 2011 1:53 PM PST up reply actions
I'd love to have a team that wins trophies
I don’t care how its built – Academy, Draft, International Frees. That doesn’t matter to me.
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
HG help alot though
given the exemptions given by HG players, having a bunch of great ones certainly seems like the best way to get ahead of the pack and win trophies though.
Well of course
But throwing some HGP’s in there that pan out into great players would be a cool story. Local heroes win championships for their hometown team.
by chrisperry1983 on Feb 3, 2011 4:41 PM PST up reply actions
Trophies are obviously number 1 but...
I think if I had a choice of the three, a strong Academy system would be the one I would want first and foremost. Academy kids likely would have the strongest ties to the community, it seems like having a strong system would be the most stable way to develop, we would likely hang on to them longer than other players, and that’s not even mentioning the salary cap implications.
Obviously it is going to take a balanced approach that includes the mastery of drafting, frees, and reserve development, and I would not emphasize a strong academy over winning at the first team, but I do have a strong preference for Academy development.
by agtk on Feb 3, 2011 8:32 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Good gravy
10 kids signed to D1 scholarships…that doesn’t even count starters like Jones, Cox, Brockaway, and Wentzel. There may be some grade issues that I don’t know about which is preventing them from committing but those four can absolutely play D1 also.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
