October 2, 2006
By Jason Minnick
United Soccer Leagues contacted coaches at the pinnacle of each Division in college soccer about the potential professionals in the college game and how the 2006 Men’s Player Showcase Presented by Umbro fits into the picture.
Eddie Soto – UCLA – Division IA program that ships out soccer talent to every top level in the world, the University of California, Los Angeles, highlighted by their four Division I National Championships – are the authority on the scouting systems in place in the U.S. USL spoke to Assistant Coach Eddie Soto.
Allen Vital – Carson-Newman College – Division II
Carson-Newman College is currently ranked fifth in NCAA Division II Standings. Based in Tennessee, they recruit heavily in Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and Georgia. They are annually among the top Division II schools in the nation.
Dave Brandt – Messiah College – Division III
Nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances coupled with a staggering ten year record of 182-20-9 and four Division III National Championships is Brandt’s resume at Messiah. The current back-to-back National Champs are the last word in Division III soccer in North America.
Ray Wells – Lindsey-Wilson College – NAIASeven NAIA National Championships in the past 11 years for Lindsey-Wilson College located in Columbia, Kentucky heads our list. With a large influence on the international level, head coach Ray Wells represents an often overlooked group of extreme soccer talent in America.
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USL: Each year top Division I programs such as UCLA get only one or two of their top players into the Major League Soccer Combine, do you believe there are players capable of playing at the professional level not invited to their combine?
Eddie Soto – Division I: I believe so, yes. To hold a combine for players to catch on with a USL First or Second Division team is a great idea. Playing in the USL will open up doors for some of them who are just not ready at this point in their career to play in MLS.
On the avenues available to players pursuing a professional career.
Dave Brandt – Division III: We only ever got one player into the MLS combine. We absolutely scratched and clawed to get him there. We have a lot of talented players come through here with aspirations of playing at the next level, but to get them a look I have to call around trying to get an individual tryout.
Allen Vital – Division II: There is no question that there are players at the NCAA Division II level that have the talent to play professional soccer. Just at Carson-Newman we have players playing professionally in Norway, France, and Australia. Those teams are very interested in Division II college players. It is easy to see why players here are pursuing opportunities in other countries. That is as much as they can do. It is very difficult to be seen by professional teams in America.
Ray Wells – NAIA: The players we deal with are right on the line about whether they want to pursue a professional career or not. We talk to them about giving it a year or two here first, where they can play every day instead of twice a week. Our high-level instruction allows them to develop. We have no problem with them leaving our program after two years to pursue a professional career, they often do – and this event would be a good option for them.
On events such as the 2006 USL Men’s Player Showcase presented by UMBRO
Allen Vital – Division II: Opportunities like this are great. There need to be more of them. When you finish your collegiate career you are at the best you will be to that point in your life, but suddenly you are without a place to play. This is at least a shot of continuing your career.
USL: If you could improve one thing in the professional scouting system in North America what would it be?
Allen Vital – Division II: There should be more of a regional system or network – some central event everyone can get to. When you are in college you have a lot of academic requirements you cannot jeopardize to chase down a shot with a pro team. Talented players go unnoticed. A centralized event such as this has a lot of potential for success.
Eddie Soto – Division I: There are definitely some holes. Being so close to the Home Depot Center we always use the example of our national teams. Players are overlooked because how big our country is or because there are not enough coaches – scouting out all the best players in a country this size is a full time job. I am sure there is talent in this country on every level that falls to the side. Events like this should do well to correct this at the professional level.
Dave Brandt – Division III: The whole structure is weak. The club system in Europe has been proven to work. I would like to see something modeled after that come into effect but a lot has to happen to get to that point. For now, there is definitely a need for the type of event USL is trying to put together.
On potential stars of USL First Division and MLS coming out of small school programs.
Ray Wells – NAIA: At Lindsey-Wilson we have maybe four or five players in the USL First Division. As far as the MLS - you may remember Tyrone Marshall (Los Angeles Galaxy Defender of the Year in ’04 & ‘05). We are prominent on the international level so a lot of our players end up playing for their national teams. In the [National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics] NAIA a player with both the size and the ability to play professionally pops up on the radar once every other year.
We get calls from USL First Division teams looking for talent. The gap would be with teams without the National Championship status – as we have. The problem as I see it lies with international players. There are limited scouting opportunities for the MLS yes, but there is even less for the international guys. The USL Combine has the opportunity to fill the void for international players not in NCAA Division I.
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