The Bruce is Loose...in NYC.

Bruce Arena didn't go unemployed for long. After being told he wouldn't have his contract renewed when it expires Dec. 31st, Bruce Arena went back home (he was born and raised in Brooklyn). Red Bull New York will announce today that Bruce Arena will take over as head coach and Sporting Director.

As a Rapids fan, I could care less about Bruce joining the Red Bulls from a coaching perspective. He was very successful at DC United when the league started, however I'm not sure that success will come too quickly in New York because the roster he inherits is not the caliber of those early DC teams. With some time, I am sure he'll be able to make some changes and start winning some games.

I am excited about what this means for the league. As Sporting Director, Arena will oversee all of the club's soccer operations including; first team, reserve and academy teams and youth development. In the league's brief history, New York has been on the forefront of youth development and Bruce will be able to help grow that. They have many youth teams playing currently in and around the New York area. In fact, the Red Bulls had three kids playing in the recent adidas ESP camp I wrote about. The club was one of the first to see the value of developing young talent.

However, the league is not yet set up to allow the teams to capitalize on their youth development efforts. The story of Johnny Exantus (aka "Johnny X") has been told many times to highlight this problem. Johnny X plays for the Red Bull's youth academy. He is sixteen years old. He's getting to the point where in Europe he'd be able to sign a contract and start playing with the club's youth and reserve team while trying to crack into the first team. However, in MLS the youth teams are unofficial and the rosters do not directly connect. For the Red Bulls to sign him to a contract they would have to sign him as a "discovery". The problem is, discovery picks have to clear every other team in the league. If other teams are interested, there has to be a random draft or a trade. Why on earth would the Red Bulls want to trade for Johnny X? He is a product of their youth system. He shouldn't have to go through the MLS SuperDraft or any other kind of lottery.

Bruce Arena is now in charge of Johnny X's development as a player and rise inside the club. I believe Bruce carries enough weight with the league to press this issue to a point where they decide to act. I know the league has been trying to figure out a solution for youth clubs in MLS, but their priorities have been elsewhere. With Bruce Arena scouting new talent and seeing a young star like Johnny X, he will figure out a way to keep him in NYC.

When the league figures out how to keep local talent in the market where it was raised it will be a watershed event for MLS. Team's will finally see the value in having a youth team. Young players will connect with their local clubs and dream of one day taking the field for them. This is something you don't see in other American sports and I believe it will really help the league take hold. MLS can't get this figured out fast enough and I think Bruce will help them find the answer.

As an aside, last year the New York Red Bulls U-17 team that competes in the USL Super Y-League won the league championship, led by one Johnny X. This year Johnny is again leading the team to glory. After 11 games the team has 30 points from winning 10 games and losing 1. The second place team has 20 points from 10 games played. The team is dominant in their Super Y-League division. I suspect it has something to do with the fact they're associated with a professional club and they are able to draw the best kids in the area. Then those highly talented kids get coached by professional level coaches. Imagine when every MLS club has this kind of set up at multiple age levels. The sky is the limit folks.