US Women’s National Teams Program
Is Girl’s ODP in America Serving the Purpose?

By: April Heinrichs, Tracey Leone, Jerry Smith, Steve Swanson, Jeff Pill, Janet Rayfield and David Simeone

This position paper is based on the knowledge and experience of multiple people who have been intimately involved with the Girl’s and Boy’s Olympic Development Programs for over 20 years. Within the women’s national teams program staff are people who have been Club players, Club coaches, Club Directors, ODP players, State Director’s of Coaching, State ODP Directors, State ODP coaches, Regional ODP coaches, College Coaches and currently, National Team and National Staff coaches. 

The challenge to identify and develop talent in this country is a UNIQUE one that can not be compared to other countries that are the size of a single US state. The obstacles can not be compared to countries that have professional programs that provide multiple team scouts to identify talent, youth training programs to develop and weed through that talent, and extremely large budgets from the commercial success of the leagues. The challenges on the men’s side are as different from the challenges on the women’s side as the challenges abroad are different from our challenges domestically, and therefore, the solutions to finding the best players in the US will be different. 

ODP is not a perfect system. However, given it’s success and longevity over the last 22 years, we must look to improve it not replace it. It is important that we continue to make ODP more inclusive, and more affordable to all players capable of playing at a higher level. Listed below are obstacles we as a soccer community face in improving the ODP system:

1. Cost. We all agree that cost should not be a deterring factor in any player’s ability to participate in this program and cost is becoming more prohibitive as we try to better the program. Many parts of the soccer community are working to eliminate and reduce the cost of the program at every level. Almost all states and all regions have implemented a scholarship program. Every ODP planning meeting has “How can we cut cost?” on the agenda. Every fee received from an ODP player goes back into the program to pay the expenses of the players, coaches and administrators. Do club programs look at how they can reduce expenses so that players might be able to afford ODP and other development activities? Our ultimate goal should be to reduce the cost of playing soccer in all arenas.

2. A Time Commitment. Yes, if you add ODP on top of an already busy schedule of club and high school soccer as well as other activities, conflicts will arise. However, if becoming a better player, pursuing excellence on the soccer field is the player’s dream, then participating in a program that provides her that opportunity should be her priority. Coaches and parents must realize that whether it be a scouted program or a tryout process players will be asked to participate in training camps and tournaments and therefore scheduling conflicts will be inevitable. We do not ‘tell’ players what to do in these instances. Players must make their own decisions on the field and therefore we encourage them to make their own decisions off the field. These decisions help players prioritize what is important to them. A successful national team program is the result of a strong commitment from the soccer community and the players invited into regional and national team events. ODP tries to work around Club soccer in America. These efforts may reduce conflicts or move them to a different level but scheduling conflicts are going to be a part of the system whether we use a tryout selection process or a scouted process. The country is too large to choose a regional or national team without bringing players together and making comparisons and selections with players in the same environment. If a player has the goal of bettering her performance or making a regional or national team then the ODP selection process must be a priority in her soccer life.

3. The Scouting and Tryout Process. Due to the time and scheduling conflicts discussed above, the debate surrounding the best method of player selection has been lengthy. The reality is such in this country that neither method is sufficient by itself. Scouting players while playing for their club team greatly assists in the identification process especially at the state level. However, this can not be the only means of player identification. Similar problems arise as with a tryout process. What if a player is sick, injured, or having problems during the game that a scout is in attendance? What about the player who can not afford to play on a competitive club team? The cost of club soccer can be even more excluding than ODP. And we must also think of the cost and organizational requirements it would take to develop a national scouting system. Scouting within the state is feasible. However, it would take great coordination and great resources to use a scouting system nationwide, and who would pay for it? What would it take to compare a player from the classic league in Dallas, Texas with the talented player in a divisional league in Sioux Falls, South Dakota? Also, a tryout or training camp poses different problems for a player to handle and provides another opportunity to gather new information about players. The players are outside of their comfort zone, playing in an unfamiliar system where they must know the concepts of the game not just the system, playing in a different position, playing against players who challenge them technically, physically and psychologically, playing with and against different players. Training alongside and competing with the competition for a roster spot is the single best way to evaluate players of comparable levels. The 8th player on a great team can be realistically compared with the best player on a weaker team in a camp format. Ideally player identification would involve creating a portfolio on a player that would involve scouted information as well as tryout experiences rather than any single snapshot. Each state must design and implement a program that fits the demographic, geographic, and soccer scenario within their boundaries. Many states are working to develop the overall level of players in an effort to improve the daily soccer environment for players’ future development. We’re moving in the right direction. US Soccer has 4 National Staff Coaches who travel their respective regions watching players play within their state and club teams to assist our National Team Coaches and ODP Coaches in identifying all the best players in the region. We must attempt to create this portfolio with the limited time and resources available to further the identification process inside and outside of ODP. A common myth surrounding ODP and National Teams is that you “have to be on an ODP team to make a national team.” This is not correct. We select the best players in America!

4. Distance. The problem of travel distance is legitimate. Using state boundaries to “break up” this vast country may not be the most efficient and convenient for each individual player. This is where as a soccer community we must cooperate and work in the best interest of the players. For example, South Dakota and Nebraska set a great example this past year. A South Dakota player who lived near the Nebraska border was allowed to participate in the Nebraska ODP program. The Nebraska program was very cooperative in allowing a South Dakota ODP player to join their program and provide a reduced travel requirement and a better training environment for that particular individual. South Dakota showed great character in that allowing the player to leave greatly impacted their state team, however, they understood it was in the best interest of the individual player. 

5. Club Coaches Support. There are many club coaches who are involved, participate and are great supporters of the ODP program. As often as ODP loses players because of the above mentioned reasons (Cost, Time Commitment and Travel), we lose players because club coaches don’t support the national identification process. The Erie Admiral Club has done a survey of college coaches and found that 84% of women’s college coaches recommend that players tryout for ODP. They also found that 91% of women’s college coaches surveyed were involved in ODP at the state level and 66% were involved at the regional level. Yes, it is a recruiting opportunity but it is also a system that they believe can be helpful in a player’s development. College coaches also respond that the players participation in a strong club program is more important than ODP in terms of daily development. How true! We can never lose site of the importance of the daily soccer environment in a young player’s development. Club coaches have the greatest impact and their contribution to player development is invaluable. State and Regional ODP is where the best players begin to truly be stretched on a competitive level. And, ultimately the National Team level is where every player (whether you’re Tiffeny Milbretty or Mia Hamm) gets stretched by the competition for playing time.

The Olympic Development Program is the single best player identification system in the world! ODP is and has always been another ‘Opportunity to Develop as a Player,’ for those players looking for environments to improve themselves. The Olympic Development Program has taken on a monumental task of trying to identify the best players in 55 state associations at 6 different age groups, and the best players within each region at 5 age groups. If you look at the success of our youth national teams, you can credit ODP for helping find and develop those players. No question ODP has areas to improve upon. It may not be perfect but it has been in existence for 22 years and has helped identify and develop some of the best players in the world. ODP has helped produce the best Division II league in the world (NCAA Women’s College Soccer), the best women’s professional league in the world (WUSA), the best women’s Youth National Teams in the world, and, the best team in the world (the US Women’s National Team). 22 years of ODP feeding players to the US Women’s National Teams Program has brought home two World Cups and Olympic Gold and Silver Medals.

Let’s work together as a soccer community to solve the problems we face and to put the players’ development ahead of our personal agendas. Get involved in your state team selection process today!

Response from Mike Saif
First, I would like to say that I support the ODP program, what it stands for and what its intentions are. I think all states should have a state team, as should all four regions. This is critical in a process needed to find our best players and develop them for our future national teams. ODP (more so at the regional and national level) provides an experience that club soccer doesn’t. However, I think the system of evaluating and selecting these players is drastically flawed. Especially at the state level, but if the system is flawed at the state level and many of our best players don’t participate, then these players never get evaluated at the regional or national level. This is a lost opportunity for both the players and our future national teams.

With regard to the various points made in the above position statement:

1. Cost for ODP is only a factor in a small number of players. I think if we continue to look for ways to fund the program, scholarships for the needy can and must be afforded. With regard to club programs, I don’t think it is their responsibility to see how they can reduce expenses to make ODP more affordable. They have enough problems attempting to make their own club costs affordable.

2. Time commitment is a major factor. This is probably the biggest reason that players don’t participate in ODP at the state level. I think everyone realizes that there will be conflicts along the way. However, at the state level there are unneeded practices and unnecessary conflicts. For instance, regular district tryouts, followed by state tryouts followed by state team practices could all be eliminated through a scouting process.

A calendar of events (with input from club coaches) should be made at the state and regional level. This will allow clubs to schedule events away from ODP dates and avoid unnecessary conflicts.

3. Without doubt, scouting a player in her own environment is more likely to give a true reflection of her abilities than a tryout situation. Some of our most experienced coaches (Sampson, Howe, etc.) have been saying this for years. Sure, looking at players in a camp format has some benefits but I believe the scouting needs to be done first to identify the pool of players that need assessing.

I agree that scouting will be extremely costly if attempted on a national or even a regional basis. However, using the same coaches currently involved with their state ODP programs, and for the same cost, scouting could replace the ODP tryout situation currently used in most states. Scouting would include every player in every state and therefore be much more inclusive. If our best players aren’t forced to attend meaningless district and state practices/tryouts they will be much more likely to participate in the program. 

4. Distance. If the big picture is to produce players for the regional and eventually the national teams, then cooperation between states is a must. It is refreshing to hear that Nebraska and South Dakota are cooperating in this manner. I also understand the same type of relationship is happening with New Mexico and Colorado. Somehow this needs to be mandated (or at least strongly recommended) to all the state associations.

Travel would also be less of a factor if scouting was the method to select players at the district and state level. It’s the number of times that players have to drive long distances to attend the meaningless practices/tryouts before the state team is selected that turns many of our better players away from the ODP program.

5. The support of club coaches is critical. I think the question needs to be asked, “Why are many club coaches not supportive of ODP?” The biggest reason some club coaches don’t support the ODP program is the time element and conflicts with club events. As I mentioned earlier, there is too much unnecessary time and too many conflicts caused by the district and state tryout system adopted by many states. It can get to a situation that there are so many ODP tryouts/practices (many even before the state team is formed) that the club team cannot function due to missing players. For example, if a strong club team has five players involved in ODP, they just can’t play league games or enter tournaments when five of their players are missing because they are forced to attend many ODP tryouts over a period of time just to make the state team.

Finally, to say that ODP can take credit for finding and developing our best players is in my opinion, inaccurate. I think everyone will agree that our clubs and the club coaches are responsible for 95% of the development of our players. Therefore, it would follow that the clubs are 95% responsible for finding and developing our best players. Bobby Howe, in his “Overview of ODP” article, wrote, “Regional identification/development camps must be eliminated and replaced by sub-regional tournament play. Not only are existing camps expensive, but they serve no developmental purpose”. He continues, “At this time players who are selected at these camps receive no more than 8 – 10 days of realistic soccer activity”. Is that enough time for ODP to “develop” our best players? With that in mind, I think it is fair to say that the clubs are responsible for finding and developing our best players. ODP provides an opportunity to give our best players the experience of playing at the “next level”. This experience and the opportunity to work with our regional and national team coaches is what will take our good players to the next level and help them to be able to perform in the best college teams and ultimately for our national teams.

I would go further and say that with an ODP system that was more inclusive and based on scouting, we would have yielded more of our better players at an earlier age for our regional teams and future national teams.

I agree that we need to work together as a soccer community to solve our problems and that’s why I’m working hard campaigning for much needed changes to an outdated ODP system.