I just apoke to someone in Bethesda about one of the latest rising stars there, a kid named Jacque Bouvary who is on the Bethesda Blue U-14 squad. Yes, the U-14s! He has had a tryout with Barcelona. Apparently they liked what they saw and have asked him back this summer for another look. Next time he will be observed by one of Barca's feeder clubs, Cornella, for their youth program.
So we are talking about 14 year old kids who are getting observed. Yes, I remember Freddie Adu, who was a good player albeit not the savior of American soccer the way he was hyped to be. The point is that the best kids playing the game now will not be the ones getting recruited. College will increasingly be for second tier athletes and/or for those whose parents will demand they do at least some college course work. There will always be some of the latter, the landscape is changing.
So we are talking about 14 year old kids who are getting observed. Yes, I remember Freddie Adu, who was a good player albeit not the savior of American soccer the way he was hyped to be. The point is that the best kids playing the game now will not be the ones getting recruited. College will increasingly be for second tier athletes and/or for those whose parents will demand they do at least some college course work. There will always be some of the latter, the landscape is changing.
