This article is based on my knowledge and experience of the state and regional ODP programs. It is not meant as a reflection on the coaches and administrators who have given their time to ODP over the years. The problem is the ODP system itself, which is antiquated and needs a drastic overhaul if our country is to develop more top quality international players. 

In my capacity as a coach of youth soccer teams in the U.S. since 1991 and the publisher and editor of WORLD CLASS COACHING magazine, I have campaigned over the years for changes in the structure of youth soccer in this country.  One of the areas of concern for many years has always been the Olympic Development Program (ODP).

 The Olympic Development Program (ODP) is the primary vehicle used to select (and develop) players for the various youth National team/pools.  Players are only considered for the National team/pool if they attend one of the four Regional ODP camps held every summer.  Players are only invited to attend the Regional ODP camps if they have participated in their State ODP program.  Therefore, any player that doesn’t participate in the State ODP program is not considered for selection (and therefore development) for the Regional and possibly the National team/pool.

 Quite simply, the ODP Program as an identification/selection process for our National Teams doesn’t work because it isn’t all-inclusive.  Many of our best youth players don’t participate in the ODP program at the state level and are therefore not seen or evaluated by the Regional and National Team coaches.

 Why do many of our best young players not participate in ODP?  There are many reasons.  Here are just a few:

1.       It is often time consuming – Regular ODP practices can be too much on top of a busy club schedule.  In some cases players are expected to travel up to four hours to attend an ODP practice.  I’ve known situations where these practices have been cancelled due to bad weather and the players have had to turn right back and drive the four hours home again.

2.       Conflicts with club events – Good players are most likely to play on strong club teams.  Strong club teams tend to practice often and have a busy game and tournament schedule.  One of the reasons these club teams are successful is that they have a strong commitment from the players to attend games and practices.  If the players are constantly missing practice or games to attend ODP events, the club team has difficulty functioning.

3.       Little or no selection process – At the state level, many ODP practices are open to any player regardless of ability.  This sometimes leads to practices of 50 or more players of varying ability in the same age group.  The players realize and see that there is little benefit in those situations.

4.       Cost – Participating in ODP has a financial cost.  Many youth soccer players are already paying thousands of dollars for coaching fees, travel, equipment, tournament and league fees, etc.  The extra cost for ODP can sometimes be too much.

 So, the first problem with ODP is that many of our best young players just don’t participate. 

 The next problem is the selection procedure for those that do participate.

 Every summer, each of the four Regions conducts a Regional ODP camp consisting of the players that have participated in their States ODP program.  Players are evaluated at this camp and chosen for a Regional team/pool.

 There are many reasons why attempting to evaluate players in a camp format just doesn’t work.  Some of our most experienced coaches such as Steve Sampson and Bobby Howe have campaigned in the past to eliminate the State and Regional ODP camps as a selection and development process because camps simply are not suited to evaluating and developing soccer players.

 For instance, at the Regional camp, Regional coaches are seeing many of the players for the first time, or for the first time since the previous year's camp.  From my own experience, I know it is extremely difficult to evaluate someone in a camp environment where I get to see them for only a few days.  It's practically impossible.  A former U.S. National Team coach once stated that while he was the National Team coach, he had to select an U19/20 National Team, which he did from a series of tryouts.  He called it a crapshoot.  In his words, he was hoping to get lucky.

 What if the player gets sick, hurt, injured, etc. at camp?  What if her parents have recently separated, what if her pet died or there was some other factor that would affect her performance?  What if she was having a bad time with her menstrual cycle?  There are literally hundreds of reasons that could affect a player’s performance at a camp.  She could be one of the best players there but for any number of non-soccer related reasons, doesn't have a good camp and is not selected for the Regional team/pool.

 Bobby Howe, then the Director of Coaching for U.S. Soccer, published an article in the spring 1999 issue of the U.S. Soccer Coaches Association magazine, and stated, “Regional camps should be eliminated as they serve no development purpose”.  I would go a stage further and say they are also an extremely poor method of evaluating players.

 Why not do what the rest of the world does...scout and evaluate the players in their own environment, playing with their own team?  This would give a much more accurate evaluation.  Plus, players wouldn't be eliminated from consideration just because they don't want to drive four hours to an ODP practice or are sick/injured during Regional camp. 

These observations are not just mine.  The vast majority of club coaches I have been in contact with over the years are of the same opinion.  Unfortunately, it seems that in most states, administrators and not coaches govern the ODP program and therefore change is non-existent or slow at best.

 Bobby Howe also recommended the following in his 1999 article:

1. Players should be scouted while playing for their club team.
2. District and state training sessions should be eliminated to avoid scheduling conflicts with club teams.
3. Regional identification/development camps should be eliminated and replaced by sub-regional play, as they serve no development purpose.
4. Regional training should be eliminated and replaced by more games with the Regional team.

 Howe also states in his article that year-round play with the club team is a much more important development tool than State or Regional ODP training sessions.

 Steve Sampson, former U.S. National Team coach, has made giant strides with the California South ODP program.  Basically, he has changed the system to where players are scouted with their club teams and are invited to be part of the State team/pool.  In the May 10, 1999 issue of Soccer America, he stated that too many players get overlooked or never participate in the ODP program under the current structure.  He then gave his reasons for scouting players rather than conducting ODP evaluation/development camps, “Players are in familiar positions, with familiar teammates, playing familiar systems – and yet they are in pressure situations, because these are league or tournament games.  So we get to see not only how they make decisions on their own, but also how they react to decisions made by the opponents, coaches and the referee.  Those are things you can never see during a tryout”.

 Clubs all over the world, like Manchester United, Sao Paulo, Ajax, Juventus, etc. spend millions of dollars scouting young players in remote places like Africa, Asia and the Far East.  They go to extraordinary lengths searching in all manner of remote places for good young players.  And yet here, it seems the U.S. will only select players that come to them.  Players that will pay money, travel long distances and struggle with club/ODP conflicts to participate in the state ODP program.  It’s almost like we are asking players to jump through hoops before we will consider them for evaluation for the next level.

 Not only are some of our best players missing a great opportunity to be developed by Regional and National Team coaches, but also the U.S. is missing out on many excellent players with potential to play for their National teams.

  Here is a real life example of how the ODP system hurts our players and therefore our National Teams.

 After my U14 Girls Dynamos team won the Region Two tournament and qualified for the 2001 USYSA/Snickers National Finals, my players decided to miss Regional ODP camp as it was the week before Nationals.  They decided they wanted to prepare for Nationals and give it 100% effort.  They realized Nationals was possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, plus they didn’t want let the other members of the team down by missing a week of practices and hindering the teams’ preparations.  So they decided against attending Regional ODP camp.

 At the Regional ODP camp their State ODP coach explained the situation to the Regional ODP coach in charge of evaluation and selection and hoped that these players could be scouted at Nationals or in other upcoming tournaments.  He was told that because the players weren’t at the Regional ODP camp, then they wouldn’t be considered for the Regional team/pool.

 After Nationals, which our team won, I contacted Region Two ODP.  My main reasons were to recommend some of my players to the coaching department as possible players they may want to look at and evaluate for the Regional team/pool.  I also explained why the absent players didn’t attend the Regional ODP camp.  I was told that, “Players are not invited into the national or inter-regional camps unless they are ODP players who have been selected from regional camp.  In this regard, it is unfortunate that you have players who may be up to the standard but were not at camp this past July”.  In other words, I was told, your players might be good enough (obviously good enough to win a National Championship against the best players and teams in the U.S.) but because they didn’t participate in ODP or attend Regional ODP camp, we are not interested in considering them.

 An interesting side note: In a conversation with the coach of one of our opponents at the National Finals, he stated that he had four players who attended their Regional ODP camp the week before Nationals.  Not only did it affect their team preparations as they only had small numbers at practice, but two of the players got injured at camp and were ineffective for the National Tournament.  He stated that if they qualified for Nationals again, the players would definitely not attend Regional ODP camp.

 Is it fair to force that choice on the girls – prepare for Nationals or attend Regional ODP camp?  By the way, all my players have said they would do the same again next year if they were fortunate enough to win Regionals again.  So are they to miss out on being considered again next year if that happens?  Is U.S. Soccer comfortable not considering them for selection when it's quite possible they could be good enough?  Is U.S. Soccer comfortable in missing out on developing possible future National Team players?

 I find it difficult to believe that U.S. Soccer isn't willing to look at, select (if good enough) and develop for their national teams, players that are good enough to play on a team that wins a National Championship…and just because they don't attend a Regional ODP camp.

 Just think about this for a second.  The coach of a National Championship team contacts the coaches responsible for selecting and developing our best young players in the Region to recommend some of his players.  He is told "No Thank you.  We are only interested in the players that attend Regional ODP Camp".  Just doesn't make sense.

 The sad thing is, this is just one example of many.  There are literally hundreds of players (boys and girls) that are good enough from all 50 states that don’t participate in their State ODP program and are therefore never even considered, evaluated and therefore developed for the various Regional and National Teams.

 Is there an answer?  Yes of course.  I don’t have all the answers but I would start by having experienced coaches like Sampson and Howe involved.  (Why are their recommendations ignored anyway?)  I would also include some of our most experienced club coaches to give their input and advice.

 I would take a look at what Steve Sampson is doing with the California South ODP program.  I would also put into effect many if not all of Bobby Howe’s recommendations from his 1999 U.S. Soccer Coaching magazines article.  This would not only be a giant step forward, it is how things are done in almost every other soccer playing country and how the vast majority of experienced coaches in this country would prefer it be done.