How many of our players continue past college or past youth soccer for that matter......? Many of our players never have a chance to see what they could become. In Holland the professional clubs have a reserve league, for U23 players. In Italy, they have five divisions of professional soccer. In the US our players have to be "ready" at 16 - 17 for college.

"A player is learning all the time. I believe up until you’re 30, you work on your weaknesses. After 30, you work on your strengths – you know what you’re good at and you try to get the best out of it. As you get older you learn more about the opposition and more about the game. "

Now, Houllier wants kids to learn the right basics even younger.

"In the future, where we will place the emphasis is on 8 to 12 year olds," Houllier said. "It is not a question of training the youngsters like pros, but it is a question of fun, technique. I say it's (better) prepared from the age of 8. The Germans are working a lot on that, everything to do with coordination, technique."

click here to read article

Here is a great article on the trend towards hiring technical directors, a growing trend in the MLS. The article presents some interesting insights into the problems and benefits of the position - some of it relevant to the youth game......

    Of course, a technical director's post isn't all scouting and signing first-team players. This person must have a vision concerning the reserve team and the burgeoning MLS youth components. A technical director will make important decisions on youth club structure, training, philosophy and coaching choices. Pick the wrong technical director -- someone who hires ill-suited cronies or neglects the community aspect -- and the club's youth component will soon be a mess.

Click here to read article