MLS teams are setting their rosters...
March 1, 2006 was the MLS roster compliance date. As per usual this day came and went with little fanfare. The league put out a press release with names of 26 players but none of those names included any of the 2006 draftees. The reason is simple, just getting drafted doesn't assure you a contract. The 2006 draftees were fighting for contracts with the 2005 draftees and other players on the team's developmental rosters. In most cases, MLS drafts players and then offers them very small contracts with some incentives to help pay for any future education and assistance with renting an apartment. In my opinion this is a whole other story to be explored in another post. So, 2006 draftees were not part of the waived players in the above press release.
Many of the players who were waived were highly regarded league prospects just 12 months ago. How did names like Nick Van Sicklen, Luke Kreamalmeyer and Amir Lowery get on this list? Afterall, these guys were draft picks last year, one as high as the second round. It is simple, in the last year they didn't progress to the coaches liking and there is a new crop of young, hungry guys willing to play for the league minimum and who are still relitivly unknown, who are still "hot prospects." Luke Kreamalmeyer was the buzz after the 2005 MLS combine and now he is looking for a job in the USL, the lower division of American soccer. Instead of the league keeping them and giving them one more year to progress into professional soccer players, they have been waived and they will have to progress somewhere else.
Other players in that waiver press release are in a similar boat. Ricky Lewis joined the league in 2003 as a Project-40 player. The Project-40 program was sponsored by Nike and helped the league attract young talent that was interested in skipping college soccer or felt they were ready for the league without finishing college. The program has it's stars like DaMarcus Beasley and it has it's also-rans like Ricky Lewis and Seth Trembly. Guys who never worked out. The program graduates players after a couple years of roster protection and when the player must move from the developmental roster, where your salary doesn't count against the team's cap, to the senior roster where it does, players are often dropped from the league because teams do not see their value as a senior roster player.
MLS needs to find a way to keep some of these players around longer. I am not advocating soccer charity. As a Rapids fan I have been waiting for Ricky Lewis and Seth Trembly to fall through the cracks. After two or three years if you are not working out you are not working out. However, players who do not develop into a star in one season should be given some more rope. They're only being paid $28,000 a year so the league that pays over the hill European stars like Lothar Matthaus hundreds of thousands of dollars for their "star quality" should consider helping these young guys along. The league is working in that direction but they are moving very slowly.
Once the league releases the official rosters of all the teams we'll take a look at who was drafted and who earned a contract. As an example only three of six Rapids draftees were signed to developmental contracts. We'll see the entire picture soon and then the interesting thing to look at will be where those who were drafted and cut loose end up. Stay tuned.
Many of the players who were waived were highly regarded league prospects just 12 months ago. How did names like Nick Van Sicklen, Luke Kreamalmeyer and Amir Lowery get on this list? Afterall, these guys were draft picks last year, one as high as the second round. It is simple, in the last year they didn't progress to the coaches liking and there is a new crop of young, hungry guys willing to play for the league minimum and who are still relitivly unknown, who are still "hot prospects." Luke Kreamalmeyer was the buzz after the 2005 MLS combine and now he is looking for a job in the USL, the lower division of American soccer. Instead of the league keeping them and giving them one more year to progress into professional soccer players, they have been waived and they will have to progress somewhere else.
Other players in that waiver press release are in a similar boat. Ricky Lewis joined the league in 2003 as a Project-40 player. The Project-40 program was sponsored by Nike and helped the league attract young talent that was interested in skipping college soccer or felt they were ready for the league without finishing college. The program has it's stars like DaMarcus Beasley and it has it's also-rans like Ricky Lewis and Seth Trembly. Guys who never worked out. The program graduates players after a couple years of roster protection and when the player must move from the developmental roster, where your salary doesn't count against the team's cap, to the senior roster where it does, players are often dropped from the league because teams do not see their value as a senior roster player.
MLS needs to find a way to keep some of these players around longer. I am not advocating soccer charity. As a Rapids fan I have been waiting for Ricky Lewis and Seth Trembly to fall through the cracks. After two or three years if you are not working out you are not working out. However, players who do not develop into a star in one season should be given some more rope. They're only being paid $28,000 a year so the league that pays over the hill European stars like Lothar Matthaus hundreds of thousands of dollars for their "star quality" should consider helping these young guys along. The league is working in that direction but they are moving very slowly.
Once the league releases the official rosters of all the teams we'll take a look at who was drafted and who earned a contract. As an example only three of six Rapids draftees were signed to developmental contracts. We'll see the entire picture soon and then the interesting thing to look at will be where those who were drafted and cut loose end up. Stay tuned.
posted by Bonji at
12:08 PM
3 Comments:
It's frustrating seeing some of the young kids come and go so quickly. Surely guys like Kreme still have potential to make in the MLS. They just need some more work. It's too bad the league doesn't have true youth teams where clubs could give these players an opportunity to get experience while working on their game.
By
Allen, at 4:46 PM
Allen, I totally agree. MLS needs to expand developmental rosters and schedule more reserve league games. It would also be helpful if the clubs could have a PDL squad for some of the younger guys. I believe this will come but MLS is trying to develop on many fronts at once, so each priority moves slowly in small steps.
The currnet, fragmented system is not perfect but quality players will get another chance in the USL. I know we're all happier with the progress the league and national team has made over the past 10 years, hopefully they'll be able to do the same in the next 10.
By
Bonji, at 9:58 AM
If more MLS teams utilize the PDL, or go all out for a youth academy, perhaps another level of MLS contracts will appear (youth), or maybe just an extension of the DEV rosters. The other option would be to allow players to be drafted by 18, like in hockey, without them necessarily having to go pro. Not sure how that would work. Just an idea.
I like this site.
By
Aljarov a.k.a Al Clark, at 2:11 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home