Dark Side of Recruitment
Defining Recruitment
Recruitment affects some segments of our club, and you may be in that situation in the future. Our players have always been recruited by our local professional academy teams as a way to improve their own level of quality. We respect the pro club’s role in our soccer community as a professional presence in the city and we do understand their needs to identify our best talents in the area, but we wonder if it’s necessary to disrupt the development of a group to benefit others. What is recruitment anyway?
Invitations Fine Print
When a player is invited to join a pro-club, the first main motivation is financial, and then a dream of becoming a professional down the line, between other personal incentives. It is exciting to know that a pro-club wants your son to play for its academy teams, but rather than reacting emotionally you should see both sides of it. This offer only lasts for a couple months, and every season or six months later, new recruits join in and a cut from the squad is a real possibility. We had players in the past being recruited, played for a season or two and then got dropped from their academy squad. We support those players by getting them back into our club but truthly, they are not the same, either because they are not prepared for this kind of setback or because it becomes tougher for them to pick up where they left.
Changing life stories one game at a time.
Where talent leads you…
What’s talent anyway? Is it an early demonstration of skills? Or it is a natural ability to move, execute technical and mental behaviors which happens in a context of a moment.
How can a young player cope with these elements under pressure of coaches, parents and even his own peers? Young players are even more susceptible to the professional pressure of performing and granted, there are few exceptions to this statement, but the odds are unsurmountable against the player. Who knows where a player’s talent is taking him, to college, professional or just to an unconditional love for the sport? Regardless, where he goes, his experience should be positive and memorable.
The dark side of social needs
One parent, who had his son cut out of his pro team, said he watched him with teary eyes sitting on the sofa while watching his favorite team playing a game on TV. When he asked his son why he was crying, he said: I miss my team, dad.
We know what happens when a player succeeds and the satisfaction and pride, we all share in our community. We had a lot of our players becoming professionals and even playing in the World Cup, but our main reason is different than any pro-club that invest money in the player, and then sell him for a higher bid. These young players step into a career where their teammates are their competition and at the end of it, only a few of them will be given contracts and for how long? That starts now when your son joins a pro academy team.
Tough teams last…
Safety is the main psychological reason teams are so important in player’s development, and our club gives them the chance to find their own levels of competition, nurturing their progress and supporting their goals of reaching College or pro level, but again the main thing is, they are safe. Our players stay an average of 10 years in our club and after that 85% of them will play college or pro. When some of our players leave us to go to a pro-academy team, we continue training our teams with the same passion and quality based on hard work, commitment and faith.
Every year, 500 players tryout for our club in different age brackets, and they come looking for coaches who will make them solid players no matter what team they play for, and most importantly, they’re looking to be better athletes and people. We have former players who are now doctors, lawyers, business owners and even coaches and we are proudly part of their life’s stories. We all share their success.
Feeling safe is one of the best rewards we share!
Transformative experience…
How long does it take to develop a potential college or pro player? Maybe 10 years or more, and they don’t just wake up to be in that position. Hard work, commitment and a great deal of faith is behind every move they make and when they finally get there, they find out that everything starts all over again. Every great player who made it has a beautiful story to tell but even the ones who didn’t make it, have stories too. The game is generous enough to return the pleasant moments to the ones who battle on the field of dreams.
Some of our older coaches are now coaching sons and daughters of their former players. It is a transformative experience that time can’t wipe out and we will always cherish those moments and be faithful to our members who have helped us to build this club.
Go fast alone. Go far together!
Should you be concerned?
This situation may not apply for the majority of our players in the club but our job is to protect them and to inform parents about anything related to the game we all love.
We had a lot of players being recruited in the past and their families denied the invitation to leave and they’re still playing with their original teams. Players who fall behind have the opportunity to bounce back without leaving their group of friends in the club.
Team building starts off the field first…
What is the alternative?
Motivated players will find their ways into what they want to be, either a college or pro player. There are so many clubs around the world and it is never too late as people wants you to believe. Reliable information is important and to know when to do what is crucial.
Before making any decision, get information from who has played professionally or gone through this route in the past and has the player’s interest in mind.
Friendship knows no boundaries!
We rise by lifting others…
Just recently, an entire team was dropped from our local pro club to open room for new recruits. We didn’t judge anyone, and we embraced our players who came back to us because that’s what we do. Competing is not the only lesson we teach when we coach them, the game has much more to offer when we walk together on the same path and share a clear vision of our lives.
In a castle, far away in Germany.
Alumni in the Pros…
Greg Jordan and Kirk Urso played in the same team, and they followed different paths to reach their goals. They always had someone left behind in the Club to support them.
From the happy baby faces to the stern and determined athletic semblances. Human nature is full of surprises, but one thing for sure, we always lean on each other.
Mike McGee actually played for the Chicago Fire later on his career as prolific goal scorer.
Jonathan Spector played for Manchester Utd and US National Team and Mike Bradley played for US National Team in 2010 World Cup.
Brian was U16 National Champion with the Sockers playing as forward but as a pro he played as right wing back.