Olympic Development Program

1999 STATE TEAM PLAYERS

MO-81	MO-81	KS-81	MO-81	MO-82	MO-82	MO-83
B. Coppage	J. D'Attoma	M. Darby	E. Larson	M.Rosenthal	R. Shaw	B. Ryan

Missouri Youth Soccer Association ODP Page

The Olympic Development Program is the program / process by which the United States Soccer Federation identifies youth players who are potential state, regional, and national team players. Although a very small percentage of the participants in "ODP" actually reach the national team level, the program can help players gain individual attention while providing memorable and valuable experiences.

The Olympic Development Program is not a substitute for club soccer. Club soccer is the main source of development for all ODP players.

For most players, the most beneficial years to participate in ODP are a player's Freshman through Junior years in high school. Success in ODP at these ages can be beneficial to help draw additional attention of college coaches while boosting individual player resumes.

The name "Olympic Development Program" is very misleading. Generally, there is very little "practicing or developing" involved. The "Olympic" theme is almost non-existent. "National Youth Talent Identification" is a much more suitable name for this program.

This is the first year anyone born in 1987 can participate. As the youngest age group, the '87 group is treated differently than the older ages. This first year is more of an introduction to the Olympic Development system. Players from the Western District (Kansas City) may also compete with players from the Central and Southern District. But a traditional "state team" will probably not be selected like the older age groups ('86-'82). In the summer, '87 players that wish may have the opportunity to participate in a subregional '87 ODP camp. At this camp, players will compete versus other '87 players from the Western half of Region II (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois). There is an expense of approximately $300 / per player at ODP Subregional camp.

Unlike club soccer, whose calender year divides teams into age classifications similar to school (August 1-July 31), ODP divides age classifications strictly by birth year (1987).

Each state's soccer association (Missouri Youth Soccer Association) is responsible for setting up try-out dates and selecting teams. In the theory of system, the progression towards the youth national team involves numerous steps of player identification:

1. Player registers for ODP and pays approximately $40+. Player participates at local level tryouts and is identified.
2. After identified at local level, the player is invited to attend State Team tryouts (tryouts are possibly out-of-town).
3. At State Team tryouts, the player is Selected to the State Team Pool (often 24 players)
4. From the State Team Pool, the player is selected to Missouri State Team (18 player travel team made up of 16 outfield players and 2 goalkeepers) Remaining 6 state pool players do not travel to future events and are named alternates. All players who are selected to their respective state teams must pay approximately $400 / each before attending regional camp.
5. Missouri State Team travels to Region II ODP camp (Missouri State Team spends nearly a week at a college campus being individualy elvaluated while playing against other State Teams from Region II (Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio North, and Ohio South).
6. At Regional Camp, state teams compete in a tournament style competition. A Regional Pool is selected at the end of each day where 24+ impressive players from the day compete to impress.
7. From the the final day's Regional Pool of 24-28 players, a 16-18 player Regional Team is selected. This team will later compete against the United States' other three Regional Teams. Regional Team players do not have to pay to attend National Camp. The United State Soccer Federation pays all travel and living costs at the national level.
8. At National Camp, an 18 player National Team is selected. These youth national teams are created to help develop players that will compete for the United States in international tournaments including attempting to qualify and succeed in the U17 World Cup, U20 World Cup, and U23 World Cup (Olympics).