| Gabe Rood - European Soccer Blog #9 |
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| on 07 Oct 2009 | |
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Blog #9 My last to days in Holland, I visited with a couple of friends. On Friday, night I went back to Rotterdam to see Joost De Groot. I jumped off the airplane and took a train strait to Rotterdam to watch a Jupiler League (2nd division) game between Excelsior and RBC Roosendaal. Excelsior won the game 2-1 in the last minutes of the match. This game only had around 2,000 fans, but there were around 500 fans sitting behind the goal for Excelsior singing and chanting the whole game. RBC had around 200 (away) fans behind the other goal and they were also doing their best to cheer their team on. After the game, Joost picked me up from the stadium and we went out to dinner with a few friends. Saturday morning I got a late start, so I decided to not take the trip to Ajax, and instead go visit Jay Van Veelan in Den Haag. Jay has been coming to the United States for the last 10+ years. I took a train from Rotterdam to central station in Den Haag and then a taxi to Jay’s house. Jay, Anber, I went to a local market and got lunch before going to watch Jay’s u19 team. We stopped by his club, HSV Escamp to pick up some equipment before going to his game. Jay gave me a quick tour of his club. For an amateur club, the facilities would make the professional teams in MLS and the A-League jealous. He was playing away against a club HSV Duno. His team lost the game, but it was great to see the amateur teams play. The level is similar to the mid-level competitive teams in Northern California. What interested me was the facilities the amateur clubs have. Both clubs have amazing facilities. HSV Escamp just renovated their club house. I believe they spent over a million dollars in renovations. I dream of the day that the clubs in the United States have club houses. What is unique about many of the clubs facilities is they are owned by the city and the clubs pay rent to use the facilities. After his game, we drove over to watch Ado Den Haag play against FC Groningen. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, but was very exciting as Ado Den Haag hit the post three times. Hemmet , got me tickets to the game with business lounge privileges. Hemmet is the new skills coach at Ado Den Haag, and is responsible for the u13’s and younger. We sat next to each other during the game and shared ideas on player development. He explained to me some of the changes that have been happening at Ado within the past year and where they are hoping to go. There is a lot of potential for the club as they just got a new 15,000 seat stadium, hopes in renovating their youth complex (or moving), and the fact that Den Haag is the second largest city in Holland. Hemmet feels if they can do a better job of recruiting the best players in their area, they can improve the club. As I soaked up the last seconds of the Ado fans singing and cheering I began to dream of the future in the United States. The United States has so much potential and has come along ways in the last 15 years. However, I believe there is a long ways to go in terms of structuring soccer in our country. What gives me hope is that things can change in a very short amount of time. They did not play soccer in Brazil a 100 years ago, the English Premier League started in 197?, and FC Porto’s plans to upgrade their youth program in 5 years are examples of how fast soccer can change. I would like to quote Ben Ziemer, “we can’t look at what is, but need to look at what should or could be.” We need to have a goal/vision of where we want to be in the future, and devise a plan to get there. Sometimes it is just the little things that can make the biggest difference. Although we are not going to be at the same level as the professional clubs around the world by tomorrow, I believe we can take steps to get there. A couple of steps I believe every club should take in the next 1-2 years are: 1) Create their own in-house recreation league (if they don’t have one) 2) Create a first team (adult soccer) I believe one of the biggest problems in the United States is that our country is league based and not club based. This means that when the average kid joins soccer, they are joining a league. They receive a reversible jersey, switch teams every year, play for 2-3 months out of the year and are coached by parents (in many cases) whom have never played the game. The recreation players are the foundation of our country and we need to take care of our base. If we have a strong foundation, our top can go higher. When a kid joins soccer in another country they are joining a club (not a league). At the youngest ages these clubs have in-house leagues, with the hopes of developing talent for their future teams. This basic difference, of kids joining a club instead of a league is huge. I encourage every club to create their own in-house recreation program or academy and take control of their own destiny. Do not rely on others to be the feeder system for your club (unless you can create a very good agreement/cooperation). The second immediate step most clubs can take right away is create a first teams (adult teams). In most soccer clubs across the United States, the clubs end at the u19’s. This means a player play’s until U19’s and then leaves the club. These players go play in college, other adult leagues, or stop playing. When they are finished with youth soccer (club) soccer, where do the player’s go play? Why not keep the players in the club for life. Four years ago I visited an amateur club in Holland that had 13 teams playing over 50’s (age)! In creating this structure, we can create a life long love for the game. These adults also are working in the community and they may give back to the club. This can create an alumni association, similar to colleges and hopefully make soccer cheaper for the youth players. Image one of your players becoming the CEO of a big company (or even a small local company). Maybe they would be inclined to sponsor your club. This maybe a few years down the road, but the clubs need to start creating 1st teams. If you are wondering how to create an adult league for clubs, look at what the Nor Cal Premier League has done in northern California. They started last year with the u21’s. This year they created a u23’s. Hopefully in 1-2 years, they will have full fledged adult league, with all the clubs participating in it. They small steps to get to the full adult level, and I believe the rest of the clubs in the country should do the same. I’m currently sitting at he airport in Dallas awaiting my flight to SFO. I’ve have spent the last 17 hours reflecting on my trip to Holland and Portugal. Once again, I have to thank my friends in Europe for making this trip happen (Pepijn, Daniella, Joost, Pannie, Hemmet, and Jay. Thank you for getting me tickets, making me feel at home, and showing me around your country. When you guys come back to the states, my door is always open. I hope everyone has enjoyed my blog over the last 10 days, and enjoyed following along with me on my trip to Europe. The trip was an amazing experience that I will always remember. I was able to do so many things, but most importantly visit friends and meet new ones. It’s amazing how a round ball that people kick around can bring the world together. The game has so many lessons to teach about life and can offer many opportunities to those willing to sacrifice. I encourage everyone to continue dreaming, as you control your own destiny. Gabe Rood A message From Pepijn: I just want to use this opportunity to say hello. I want to thank all the players, coaches and directors I worked with in the past. My new contract of FCPorto does not allow me anymore to come over. Full focus on development here. Gabe came to Porto and got to look for a week at the FC Porto Project Visao 611, the goals, the things that have changed, and the struggles. I tried to help him by setting up meetings and interviews with the most important people through out the whole project. The people at FCPorto liked his way of asking and the way he tried to get a full impression of the project Visao 611 and the structure in Portugal. USA is lucky to have people like Gabe Rood who are trying to make a STRUCTURAL difference. I still believe that its getting better and better and that someday USA can lead in educating young talent. I never had the opportunity to thank the coaches, players and the directors. The opportunity to work 4 years in a row in one of the most beautifull parts of the world with ambicious soccer people made me a better person and coach. For me this was a big part of my life. Especially thanks to Gabe Rood, Briggs Palmer, Jordan Chris and Peggy, Andrew Ziemer, Benjamin Ziemer, Marcus and Trisha, Vinnie, Family Wong in Sacramento, all the players like Thomas Alexandre Jordan. And all the people who I for sure forgot but helped. SCA, MP Strikers, Sac United, Real Socal, BUSC. All the luck... Abraco Pepijn Lijnders |
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