USL Feature
Thursday, May 3, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. – The Crew Juniors won both the 2010 and 2011 USL Men’s Super-20 League North American titles, setting the bar for any club affiliated with a Major League Soccer organization. Beyond that, though, is an organization that is dedicated to improving the teaching of soccer in the United States.
With a youth development model that begins with boys and girls U7 teams all the way through to the MLS parent club, the Columbus Crew and the Crew Juniors “strive to assemble the finest coaching staff and to be committed to their long-term development through continuing education.”Technical Director of the Crew Juniors and coach of the men’s Super-20 League team, Brian Bliss is a main part of that coaching staff, and also has experience with U.S. Soccer on the international stage.
Bliss was named to the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team coaching staff earlier this year in preparation for CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers and has seen the growth of soccer in the U.S. firsthand.
“Our general player is much better today than it was 10 to 15 years ago,” Bliss said, “But so are the players in other countries. We still need to make some improvements, especially in the amount of time on the field.”
“I believe we are on the right track.”
One suggestion Bliss has is to adjust the schedule for college soccer, “to a split season in fall and spring.”
“This would allow more training-to-game ratio so players can actually work on their game,” he said. “College age [is] critical for pushing players to the next level.”
With some of those college-age players on his Super-20 League team, Bliss is happy with the way the Crew Juniors have worked to further youth development; the back-to-back championships are just a plus.
In comparison to other clubs with Super-20 League teams, Bliss believes the Crew Juniors are in the top quarter of the league “when considering quality of the program, players developed, home-grown signings, and number of players who go on to play either [in NCAA] DI, DII, or DIII.
“We got off to a slower start than some other MLS clubs in terms of signing a home-grown,” he said. “Currently we have signed three players and have another four or five in the pipeline that we feel could be signed in the next few years.”
The Midwest Division club has not yet begun the 2012 season, but expectations are high. Finishing the 2011 season undefeated with a second-consecutive Men’s Super-20 League championship are the principle reasons for those expectations. The club also topped the USL’s Men’s Super-20 League First 11 rankings, which recognizes the league’s top clubs on a competitive and administrative basis.
It’s likely that more accolades for a club that is one of the premier organizations in the United States are on the horizon. With the 2012 Super-20 League North American Finals just around the corner in late July, the Crew Juniors are sure to be aiming to be among the attendees once again.
At the same time, however, the principle focus of Bliss and the club will be on helping develop players that one day will join the likes of Aaron Horton, Matt Lampson and Ben Speas, who was selected to the Super-20 League All-Tournament Team last summer, as home-grown signees that will provide the impetus for the club’s continued success.