USL Rochester Rhinos

Three Thoughts On...

January 29, 2014 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rochester Rhinos News Release


ONE...

Major League Soccer has taken another huge step forwards in player development through its ground breaking affiliation with the United Soccer Leagues.

In 2007, U.S. Soccer introduced the Developmental Academy to revolutionize youth soccer in America on the boy's side. Over the past seven years the Academy has replicated training methods in Europe by: creating an August to May ten month competition calendar, opening up time for training and player development by playing one match per week, and eliminating high school soccer and tournaments from the youth soccer schedule. As a result, the best players in the country can now go to an MLS Academy team and train from the age of five to 18 free of charge.

As with every other league in the world, a few 17 or 18 year-old players are ready to make the jump to Major League Soccer when they graduate from the Developmental Academy. The issue MLS clubs have been having since they entered the Academy system is the "gap years" between when a player aged out of the Developmental Academy and when they were ready to play professionally in MLS. Previously, the clubs were forced to surrender their contractual rights to players so they could pursue opportunities in college or abroad. Now, MLS Academy products can sign professional contracts and play out their "gap years" in a professional environment in USL PRO - a huge step forward for player development in the United States. Since MLS clubs can now retain the contractual rights to the Academy players that they are producing, look for a much larger investment in player development in the coming years.

TWO...

The profile of USL PRO continues to be elevated as its groundbreaking partnership with Major League Soccer evolves.

In year one of the affiliation every existing reserve team in Major League Soccer played a home and away match with a team in USL PRO. Further, four MLS teams agreed to loan a minimum of four players to their USL PRO affiliate for the 2013 season.

Thanks to diligent work behind the scenes from Major League Soccer and the management of the United Soccer Leagues, it appears that year one was a transition year for the two leagues. In year two of the partnership ten MLS teams will have affiliations with USL PRO teams.

With Wednesday's announcement that the LA Galaxy will enter their reserve team into USL PRO for the 2014 season, there will only be eight teams in MLS without an affiliation or a reserve team in USL PRO. The NY Red Bulls, Montreal Impact, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders, and Chivas USA will all field teams in the MLS Reserve League this season. There are some logical geographic affiliates remaining among current USL PRO teams. However, it is not outside the realm of possibility that some of the bigger clubs are closely monitoring the LA Galaxy's move into USL PRO.

USL PRO will have 14 teams in 2014, and have already announced Colorado Springs and Tulsa as expansion franchises kicking off in 2015. With six of the eight remaining MLS teams on the west side of the Mississippi, more stand alone MLS Reserve teams in USL PRO would provide the league with a national footprint in a short amount of time.

THREE...

Three years ago the ownership and management of the Rochester Rhinos were faced with a difficult choice that would shape the future of the club - whether to return to the third division United Soccer Leagues or join the second division NASL. While the consensus opinion of fans and the media seemed to be to join the NASL, the Rhinos believed that the United Soccer Leagues had a better business model. Three years later there's a growing chorus of fans and pundits in American soccer who agree with them.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from January 29, 2014


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