The current college soccer model needs to be completely thrown out. There I said it. Now what I’m saying may not be the most popular opinion in the world, but for the sake of development purposes, it’s the most necessary one. So let’s break this down.
The current college soccer model is a 4 month championship season played between August and December. Typically, a team plays two, sometimes threes games a week with a total of about 20 games per season. Then, there can be a conference tournament to crown a champion before the NCAA tournament kicks off. This culminates in a championship game with a national champion being crowned. Pretty straightforward. Here’s the issue: no other soccer in the world, with the exception of high school, is played in this format. The sport is normally played over a period of 10 months, with one to two matches a week and breaks placed throughout the season. This model prioritizes development and the health of the players.
Now some people say the entire college model should be done away with and I disagree. It just needs to be changed. As the United States moves forward in its plans to become a global powerhouse in the sport and compete for World Cup glory, there has to be an emphasis on development at every level of the game. That being said, college soccer should serve as the link between the youth level and playing professionally. Allow the players consistency in how long the seasons are so as they move through the ranks, there is a sense of familiarity. This will help players continue to improve and put further emphasis on creating a pipeline to the United States Men’s National Team. Do I think these changes will happen overnight? Not at all. But they can easily occur in the next few years. And who’s to say the impact won’t be felt immediately?
Caleb Michael 