Minnesota Thunder Academy Announces Partnership with West Ham United
March 9, 2010
West Ham United International Academy announced the Minnesota Thunder Academy as its twelfth partner club today. The Minnesota Thunder Academy was formed in 2008 as an amalgamation of two of Minnesota’s most successful youth programs, namely Wings Soccer Club and Bangu Tsunami FC. Prior to 2008 these two clubs had amassed 42 State Championships, 3 Regional Championships and 2 National Finalists with five of their players representing the United States at youth national team level. Today, the Thunder Academy fields 92 teams at various levels.
Partnership Development Manager, Mike Kelleher said “We are looking forward to working with an organization of the stature of the Minnesota Thunder Academy, they have a great reputation in the Midwest and will be a first class addition to our family of clubs.”
The Partnership will formally begin at the end of this month when one of the Thunder’s Academy Directors, Mark Cook, will spend four days at the West Ham United Academy in London, funded by the International Academy’s partner XL Travel. While at West Ham Mark Cook will learn about West Ham United’s Development Philosophy.
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Good stuff for MTA
now I am worried if they have to get coachiong training from a bankrupt club. let be truthful..its really not a “partnership”…Thunder is the buyer and West Ham is the seller XL travel is the broker..it like a relationship with a call girl, you have the relationship as long as you pay for it!
Wow, thanks Bert. I guess I agree though, it’s like being a Nike Premier club. What does it mean exactly? We get to promote their product?
MTA is not a bankrupt club! MN Thunder went out of business. MTA and the former pro team were two separate entities.
I’m guessing the bankruptcy comment from bert was probably referring to West Ham’s financial problems.
What a joke. Just another way for MTA to promote themselves as big shots when it really means nothing. When the Thunder was in existence, they acted like they were THE development program for the Thunder. But now that they’re gone, they can’t back peddle away from that organization any faster.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I beleive that West Ham United is on the relgation bubble. Great choice! I hear that Portsmouth is looking for some clubs in MN to affiliate with too!
Wow, have people been negative around here lately. West Ham has been known for having a fine youth academy for years. Lets see, just a few of the academy players that have come from there in recent years: Paul Ince, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Jermain DeFoe. Others like Jimmy Bullard and Kieran Richardson came out of their system but were purchased by other teams before ever playing for the full squad.
Most teams are in big financial trouble in England right now and even so, it doesn’t mean their academy system is crap.
Wow, talk about some haters.
If the club had been Blackhawks, Twin City Fire, Eden Prairie, BQ United, IMS FC, etc… folks would have been patting them on the backs commenting about what a great strategic decision (“taking a step forward”, “developmental opportunities”). I would bet that if you could did deeper, there would be some history between most of those posting and MTA/Bangu/Wings.
West Ham has one of the better youth academy programs in England.
I can’t understand why there are some people out there who hate MN Thunder Academy so bad. Isn’t it about the kids and allowing them to play at their highest potential…no matter what club they play for?
Who cares what the connection between MTA and some club in England is? This is all about name sake to MTA, now they can say to parents that they should continue to pay ridiculous amounts of money because their club has a connection to some club in Europe. What parents need to realize is that MTA has the best players because they take the best players from other clubs and put them together on one team. Look at their coaching staff and see what they did recently without a SUPER TEAM, most of them nothing. Talk to some of their directors and see what ethics violations they made recently. Talk to some of their directors and see how they treat players when their players tryout to make other top teams that don’t make their players practice 6 days a week.
MTA is a rip off and a fraud- SO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT THE INSIDES OF MN YOUTH SOCCER THAT KEEP CALLING OTHERS HATERS ON THIS BOARD, DON’T GET MAD BECAUSE YOU ARE BEING TAKEN. Just smile because now you have a connection to West Ham United which means nothing.
Just so others know, I have warned the above poster via email to tone it down. As I have state previously, I have no issues with anyone stating their opinion, as long as it’s respectful and you don’t act as if you have a chokehold on the truth. IMS is not a democracy. It’s a website that I pay for and I allow you to comment. I want to hear your opinion and am willing to listen those that don’t necessarily agree with me, but do it in a way that is respectful or you will not be commenting here anymore.
I recieved an email from Brian Q laying out the norms he has set for his forum, being new to the forum over the last few months I did not know that such norms were set. In the future if I decide to post I will keep it in the light in which I now understand to be his norms.
I apologize for my tone if some view it as being too aggressive, but this is a topic that I have great passion for and how it interacts with youth sports in Minnesota. The ideas that I presented are MY TRUTH and were put out there just to be thought of, but as I pointed out by the help of Brian Q this forum is not the right match for that type of discussion.
In the future I will keep my postings more light and take my other views to a different place to be discussed.
Again, I apologize and I truly enjoy reading Brian’s work on a daily basis to get my soccer fix.
I appreciate you reading IMS and just as I stated in the personal email to you, I have no issues with your views. I do have an issue with the way you are presenting yourself. If you feel you need to go somewhere else to express yourself in such a manner than so be it.
I think this is great news. I’ve only been in MN for 5 years, and have no idea about the youth programs in the state, but having any of the youth programs in this state being able to join in partnership with the likes of West Ham is fantastic news. West Ham, though nearing the relegation zone this season, has one of the best academies in Europe. Most of its most talented players never make it to West Ham United, because they are bought by other bigger clubs. As Brian pointed out already, some of England’s best players have come from the West Ham Academy. Good luck MTA.
My children came up through Wings, Bangu and are now both on a MTA Elite team. They do not practice 6 days a week, maybe 3-4. Yes, it maybe more expensive than other clubs, but it’s worth it in every way. Our monthly fees include; coaches, dome/training time, camp, tournaments, State Cup. I would bet at other clubs, if you look at what you pay for registration and than start adding in coaches fees, tournaments, dome time, etc; it will come out fairly close to MTA’s fees. The coaches treat all players and parents with the utmost respect. I’ve also heard that people think that MTA coaches train to play dirty. At no time are they trained to play dirty. Yes, players that play at the highest level are more aggressive, but MTA teams are no different than players from Wayzata, Eden Prairie, Blackhawks, etc. The good clubs attract good players who want to win. When someone attacks other clubs it’s usually because your jealous!
“Mark Cook will spend four days at the West Ham United Academy in London funded by the International Academy’s partner XL Travel. While at West Ham Mark Cook will learn about West Ham United’s Development Philosophy.”
This is a very good thing, it’s called getting more experience from one of the best sources.
This is a club moving forward and trying to learn more about developing players.
More clubs in Minnesota need to become professionally run so that their organizations can then provide better education to its coaches (beyond that from USSF, and NSCAA).
Then hopefully that experience gets transferred down to the players.
It’s the important circle of game understanding that will create new and stronger player/fans in the long run.
BQ, you know that I fully respect you and the wonderful ways that you have supported soccer in this state, however, I feel that it is unfortunate that someone who responds to being called a “hater” by stating exactly why he has a negative view of MTA, is asked to censor his opinion. I have read and re-read his post, and as far as I can tell, the only thing he is guilty of is being a bit too emotional. He did not swear or call anyone names, he simply expressed his opinion in a forceful manner. I have definitely seen worse posts on this site and frankly, it reeks of “I don’t agree with you, so I don’t appreciate your post.” I know you well enough to know that this is not the case, but it could come across as that way to others.
Now, you are going to know who this is by my email address, but I would appreciate anonymity with this post for what I am about to say. As you know, I don’t have any kids or club affiliation. I don’t coach and I am not on any board. I occasionally do private or team training for little or no compensation. I am a completely unbiased opinion on how MTA conducts themselves, and in fact, have many close friends who are associated with that club. This is important to understand so that I am not accused by others on this site of being “jealous” or “biased” or a “hater” for that matter.
I have seen first hand how MTA handles themselves in many situations and can honestly say that I cannot support how they do “business.” I have seen parents spend thousands of dollars with this club because they were made to believe that their average son/daughter would have a good shot at a college scholarship if they came to MTA. The reality is, if they saved the money they spent with MTA in a college fund, instead of unrealistically believing that their child will get a full ride, their child would have no problem paying for college. But parents are easy to convince since every parent wants to believe that their child is the best. MTA knows this and uses this tool over and over again in order to bring in more paying players, regardless of talent.
I have seen MTA coaches advocate against players, with various colleges, who couldn’t afford to play with MTA. Players who were clearly better than the MTA players for which they were clearly advocating. Ask yourself how many non-MTA girls have been offered scholarships at the U. If it is truly about the kids, then these coaches should be objective when speaking of any players within the state, not just the ones within the club. I have seen the truly exceptional players receive great scholarships to play with MTA, while good players are turned away because they cannot afford the fees.
I have seen MTA coaches literally throw games or manipulate ties in games where both teams are MTA in order to create a favorable situation for the club. This not only defies the ethics of what youth sports are supposed to be about, but it also casts doubt on the motivations of the club as a whole. Is it about the kids, or is it about something else?
I have seen kids come to despise the sport as it became more and more like a job for them. Is this the fault of MTA alone? Probably not, but I know for a fact that parents of kids who no longer want to make the MTA type of commitment are pressured to keep their children going and are assured that it will be in the best interests of the child. Once again, this is easy to do by simply telling the parents how “special” their son/daughter is.
I have seen first hand how people are treated who voice concern with these issues. How kids who leave the club are treated. How coaches who don’t buy into the MTA philosophy are treated. And how people outside of the club are looked down upon over and over again.
The idea that a player has to play with MTA and spend that kind of money to get the level of training that MTA offers is simply smoke and mirrors meant to ensure that parents continue to pay. I look at clubs like Minneapolis United who have assembled a community club that offers absolutely top notch training for those who want it, while at the same time keeping costs extremely reasonable.
When Bangu and Wings came together, ask yourselves why it was so important for them to take on the Thunder name. Was it because they were afforded any connection with the Thunder? Of course not. It was simply an attempt at creating an elite image that they could sell to parents. It was nothing more than a sales tool. What benefit did their “association” with the Thunder afford the kids that played within that club? None, which is why nothing has changed for them since the Thunder folded. This is no different than what they are now doing with West Ham. With the Thunder gone and NSC Minnesota wanting nothing to do with the organization, they had to look at other options to continue being able to sell their elite status. The reality is that MTA hasn’t been a strictly “elite” club for years. They have teams playing at all levels. I am extremely curious to know how this association with West Ham will benefit any of these kids. Do you honestly think that this association was needed in order to further educate Mr. Cook and other MTA coaches? There are thousands of ways to further enhance the soccer knowledge and education of those involved. I hope that I am wrong and that the kids will truly benefit from this partnership, however, I don’t see it realistically having any kind of positive impact on the MTA players.
Now, having said all of that, I will be the first to admit that MTA provides a great option for those who truly need that next level of training. They have top notch coaches and a great training philosophy. They have raised the exposure of Minnesota soccer which brings more college eyes to the state and they absolutely provide exposure for those kids who are exceptional and need to be seen. But to put them on a pedestal and act like this new partnership is anything other than an attempt to raise their profile, is simply wrong.
I don’t think that anyone on this site would argue that it absolutely is about the kids. If that is the case, then why are we out there trying to convince parents and kids who are perfectly happy with their current club, that they are missing something? That there is something out there for them that only MTA offers? I would venture to guess that 99.9% of kids that are out there playing soccer, do so because they love to play and have never even thought of a scholarship until that thought is put in their head. The only kid who should be out there training 3-4 times a week for ONE sport, is the TRULY gifted child who stands a legitimate chance of using his/her gifts in order to gain an education or play at a paid level. Otherwise, they should be training once or twice a week and playing multiple sports instead of being convinced that they need to train year round. Of course, this is simply my opinion.
Is MTA the only club that is guilty of this? Of course not. But these are the issues I have with this club, and why I think that it is unfair to classify those who disagree with their philosophies and actions as “haters.” These are issues that I have witnessed first hand, and I am only refraining from using names because I think that it would be a vindictive and petty thing to do. Also, I would be a complete hypocrite since I have chosen not to disclose my own name.
I am a fairly positive person, but true discussion must include both sides of a topic and having an opposing view does not make me negative. I completely understand that I will probably be chastised by many for this post, however, I felt that it was important that I gave my thoughts on this matter, and am willing to accept the responses of others. I hope that I didn’t upset anyone too much or ruin anybody’s day. Take care.
BQ is correct about keeping the discussions civil. No one listens when everyone screams.
Conversely, 2cents post is well-reasoned and respectful. 2cents rationally sums up the philosophical objections a fair number of people have to the MTA business model and MTA’s vision of youth soccer development. Children are not mini-professionals. I do not think anyone can characterize their perspective as a “hater”. (I have no idea who they are.)
Critical evaluation is part of the territory of holding ones self out as vastly superior to everyone else. It seems some MTA proponents are hyper sensitive to criticisms of anything about the MTA and react to the tone instead of substance.
It is fair to comment that the association with West Ham appears to be foremost a marketing or branding decision. I doubt the MTA is suggesting they NEEDED West Ham’s coaching knowledge or else they would be lost. It is neither right nor wrong that the MTA has associated themselves with West Ham even if it is one concludes it is entirely a marketing decision. (There is irony in that MTA’s existence, hence the name, was initially based on the “value” of being involved with the Thunder. It appears in hindsight that marketing considerations were primary in that relationship.)
On a entirely practical matter, I think there is a generation of kids now missing out on other opportunities to play and enjoy other sports because they are convinced that single sport focus is the only way they can prove their dedication to soccer. The physical and emotional problems from specialization are well-documented. This affliction is not unique to the MTA, but perhaps they are the poster-child.
Wow! Chris A. Well said!
2cents, I am not only not discouraging your comments but I welcome comments like yours. I am looking for discourse on this site. It’s what helps us all to understand each other and either come closer or at least have a better understanding of each other. I am however, not looking for people trying to tell everyone else how to think or that they have a corner on the truth. My take on coach55 was that he was not encouraging others or wanting to hear their opinion. I am probably wrong on that and apologize if I am wrong, but after the whole NASL v USL debates this past winter, I am not going to let this site get out of control.
I have also noticed that MN futbol blog doesn’t seem to be operating anymore and I don’t want people to think they can leave comments here as they did at that site. It’s not going to happen. Again, thoughtful, discussion promoting comments like yours is what I’m looking for and I am very proud of the majority of IMS commentors exactly for that reason. I want people to be able to come to IMS and know that there will be intelligent comments and not a bunch of people yelling at each other.
Listen, I have said this publicly here before and will restate it. I think the original concept of MTA is great. Perhaps some folks involved with the initial organizing had different motivations. I do know that there were some that really saw MTA being a high level club associated with and benefiting from the pro team. However, the execution of that was poor at best and unfortunately ill timed.
Also, as I have said in the past, I still feel an elite club like MTA or Bangu or whatever it is should be available for the best of the best. It does give these young kids better visibility to colleges and allows them to get better with more consistent training with higher level players. It’s not for every kid, but for many it’s a good fit. What I was never for and never agreed with was how many players MTA took in. I always felt that they would have not pissed off so many people if they had stayed an elite club having a single team for boys and girls at each age. By reaching out as far as they did (I think 2400 kids?) they took so many players from community clubs that it really effected them and still does.
With that said, I also have known a few community clubs that need to get over themselves and understand that it’s not a crime to have a kid leave a community club and move onto a bigger club where there are top players. (reference back to my elite team comments) I coached for a community club for years and it was always the traveling directors feeling that if a kid is good enough he should move onto the next level. Isn’t that what we do with every other sport? Why would he want to hold them back? The argument will of course be that they are just as good as the top club. That may or may not be and will be up for argument, but in most situations there just aren’t the top level players at a community club like there would be on an elite team.
With all that said, it has to be up to the player and although the parent should play a part in the discussion with the player, it should be the players decision. If he would rather not leave his community player friends I have no issues with that either. Listening to the kids more will leave less kids burned out as 2cents had mentioned.
Interestingly enough, one of my favorite soccer sites, Pitch Invasion did a wonderful article yesterday on where top level players are coming from in the US. Meaning players in MLS and the US Mens National Team.
http://is.gd/aUe7f
Well folks, we are doing pretty poorly in this state which tells me what we’ve been doing in the past hasn’t been working and please don’t tell me about being a cold weather state. While it is true we have too many players playing in this state compared to other Region II areas to not be producing better talent.
By Metropolitan Area:
“The Minneapolis / St. Paul area currently only seems to have one active player two active players who are both non-Minnesota natives (Abdus Ibrahim—who is an Ethiopian immigrant playing for Toronto FC –correction–and Teal Bunbury who is listed as Canadian), despite about 3.5 million in the area.”
So our only 2 players either immigrated/moved here in their teenage years. Nice!
Glad to see you are showing concern not to let the comments section here turn into that of MNfutbolblog, BQ. It was a great blog for soccer here in the state but anytime anything from the college level down was brought up the comment section turned mean and ugly.
What ever happened to the idea of just having comment option turned off when the story you post is on youth soccer? Not saying its something you have to do BQ just curious.
I think this is one of the healthiest conversations I’ve seen. Part of the problem in MN is that we are up against a very strong hockey culture. In many ways, it’s like Canada, Steve Nash is highly revered for what he’s accomplished as a basketball player. In soccer, Martin Nash (Steve’s brother) has also accomplished plenty at the club and national team level. However, hockey players (even mediocre players) are much more popular simply because of the culture. So, I’m not so concerned that we don’t have a great deal of Minnesotans playing in the big leagues, as long as we have great soccer for kids and competitive adult leagues around the state. With time, there will be more big names coming from MN too.
Any association with experienced clubs in Europe will benefit kids and coaches here. Everything a coach learns gets transfered to the kids.
I don’t know very much at all about what MTA does or doesn’t so I can’t comment.
I do have to add thought that the more we believe that spending big bucks is going to make our kids players the longer we’ll have to wait for talent to truly shine.
Good point Smatthew but that statement was concerning kids or youth players themselves. Interestingly enough, I have left the comments on for most of my stories on youth players and haven’t really had any sort of negative comments at all which is great. I do think there is value concerning club soccer to have dialog. There are some definite problems in this state and I’m not naive enough to think IMS will solve them. But it is nice to have a place to discuss it as long as its civil.
I hear our areas stats regarding mls/national players is going double with the recent addition of two boys to the player pool.
Interesting (and disheartening) stats on the number of top players produced. There is just too much pressure to win from the earliest ages. Over time chasing wins ends up stunting the kids. Watch any la liga or series A game and what separates those guys from our top US players is their exquisite mastery of the ball, the ability to make it do exactly what they want all the time with pinpoint precision. It’s certainly not that they’re trying harder, Lord knows I see kids in games around here run themselves to death all the time. It would be great if we kept kids out of games where results meant anything until they were 16 or 17 and mostly through puberty. I don’t see that happening any time soon
.
I agree, very well stated Chris A. Brian, I completely understand your wanting to keep this from turning into a MN Futbol Blog. Some of the things posted there were simply mean spirited and hateful. I can appreciate that you were simply trying to nip it in the bud before it escalated. You are correct in your statement that kids need to have additional options in order to take their development to the next level if so desired, and I think that in the past, Bangu and Wings served this purpose well. I just feel that MTA has taken that initial niche of theirs and exploited it. As far as players getting proper exposure, this is exactly what the ODP is designed for and it has historically done a fantastic job of this over the years.
Although it was a great article, judging the success of Minnesota’s development of talent by how many players we have in the MLS is a bit short sighted. First of all, it only focuses on Men and second of all, success can not simply be deemed by whether or not a player ends up in the MLS. I would argue that some of the best players this state has ever produced, came during a time when we didn’t focus as much on “full time, one sport, player development.” I look at players such as Tony Sanneh, Amos Magee, John Swallen, Manny and Gerard Lagos, Leo Cullen, Jennifer McElmury, Jenny Haigh, Holly Manthei, Jennifer Walek and I can’t help but wonder why we are not producing players of that caliber in today’s generation. Just in this group alone, I spoke of 5 players that have played at the National Team level. Maybe training these kids into the ground is not the answer. It doesn’t matter which sport you look at; the best players in this country, in any sport, played multiple sports growing up. It is simply socially, physiologically, and athletically beneficial to have multiple interests, hobbies, or involvements in sports. Kids will also develop quicker and become more skilled at things that they truly enjoy. Year in, and year out, Brazil produces the most skilled footballers in the world. Is it because of their stringent development programs? No, it’s because these kids grow up playing pick up soccer in whatever forum they can without the worry of correction at every touch they take. They play for the joy of the game, and they do it without the ridiculous amount of structure that our kids experience in today’s environment. I would venture to guess that if you spoke to any of the players I previously mentioned, they would tell you that the number one thing they attribute their success to, would be going out and playing on their own, with their friends or siblings, or in pickup/unstructured environments. When a kid is training 3-5 times per week, how much do you honestly think they are going out in a strictly fun environment and trying things that they would never try in front of their coaches for fear of retribution?
Should there be options out there for those who truly want to focus on soccer and soccer development? Absolutely, but I would venture to guess that this only pertains to an extremely small percentage of the active youth soccer players in this state.
I also agree with the notion that there are many community coaches, directors, etc. that need to relax and not be so possessive of players. I think a lot of this has come from MTA’s active recruitment of players that are simply not exceptional. Like I said in my earlier post, the majority of these players are perfectly happy in their current environment, until they are convinced that they are missing out on something more. Whether or not that is actually the case.
In my opinion, this state/country as a whole needs to step back and stop being so serious about something that is supposed to be a fun, healthy option for kids. I truly believe that we have gone completely overboard with the idea of youth development, and that pertains to all sports. When did it stop being a game, and start being a job?
I fully understand the previous posts and don’t disagree. Not sure what the solution is or how to incorporate more recreational “street soccer” into the equation (especially here in MN with our indoor seasons). I do agree that this is what separates US players from many other countries. Is the current MN youth soccer training structure honestly any different than youth hockey, basketball, volleyball? Not from what I’ve seen. Let’s be honest and it’s not something even I like to admit, but the day of the multi-sport athlete has passed, so hoping things change and pining for the past isn’t going to bring them back.
Yeah, I fully agree Tom. I sure as heck don’t claim to have the answers as I have proven by not offering any suggestions in my prior posts. All I can say is that, as an adult, I am so grateful to my parents for having me play multiple sports growing up. I am able to be confident in any sporting environment, and as such, have become involved in many adult activities that I may not have had the confidence to do if it wasn’t for this. And let’s be honest, the overwhelming majority of youth athletes will never end up doing that for a career, which is why I think it is so important that kids are exposed to a wide variety of activities. Development for life is so much more important than development for something that is realistically never going to happen.
On a brighter note… Man, I love soccer! I love the soccer community, and am so grateful that we have a place where we can all come together to discuss something we all love. Thanks again BQ, your hard work is appreciated more than you know. This site is fantastic, and I love being a part of something that I enjoy so much.
I’m with the multi-sport athlete and totally support it, in our family we require multiple activities/sports. I’m also OK with committing solely to soccer at an early age; in either case though the focus should be on mastering all aspects of your chosen sport(s) *before* worrying about winning. We invert the equation and say because we won we must be doing the best development. That’s the tail wagging the dog, the numbers Brian dug up tell the real story.
Attacking the Minnesota Thunder Academy because players leave another club to play for an Academy or Elite team is not fair. Youth soccer is huge in Minnesota. There are many clubs available to our young soccer players. Every player/family has a choice if offered a spot on any team with any club that offers them a place on a roster. Most clubs do what they can to showcase or advertize their teams, coaches, and training opportunities to the best players available.
If your child wants to play for MTA and does not make a team through the tryout process, have that child work very hard and try again. Don’t point fingers at MTA because players choose to play (and pay) for the excellent training and coaching offered by Minnesota Thunder Academy.
I don’t think that anyone on here has pointed fingers at MTA based on the argument that a player simply chooses to play for them. Of course there is nothing wrong with that. I think that you need to go through and read all of the posts, and then comment. The concern lies with the parent’s priorities, single sport focus and the way MTA has conducted themselves with regards to many aspects. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course every player has a right to choose where they play, nobody here has stated that they don’t.
Successful youth development programs focus on the quality training, not the quantity of training offered. This is where MN Thunder missed the boat in the past.
If you’re not focused on the size of the program, then you don’t have to lead on every player with promises of future fame.
MTA is just like everyone else, sometime things don’t go exactly as planned. I think many people would agree there are problems. The growth of the club was not planned with much foresight, because the directors and coaches benefit more in the larger club environment.
The rapid growth was not about the kids, that is for sure.
It’s what happens next, that is important.
Ether they make an attempt to understand their problems (image), and make some correcting action.
Or, they will just put their head down and keep dribbling in one direction all alone.
MTA has brought a level of competition to MN that has not existed before in our state. So they will receive the brunt of complaints from inexperienced parents with no exposure to youth soccer outside of MN.
This state has not seen big clubs recruit players from other teams, but that’s the way it is done everywhere else. This is not a real problem, its competition, it makes clubs stronger if they decide to compete.
Fun has many places in our lives, but if you ask the young Olympic athletes we just watched in Vancouver about their success, they would tell you it is a full time job to be the best nowadays. This is nothing new.
But, no one forced them to do it, they wanted to work harder than everyone else, they wanted to be…. THE BEST.
I’m surprised by the venom spewed by some posters about MTA. Here is a club trying to elevate the level of play in the state of Minnesota and people are slamming them. For what? Because they choose to rent domes and train in the winter which adds expense to the program?
If you haven’t noticed they had had great success with their model. Look at the number od State Cup championships they’ve won the pst 4 tears compared to all other clubs.
If you don’t aspire to be the best you’ll never get there. In a sea of soccer medoictrity in Minnesota the MTA club has excelled.
In order to win at regions you must first win State Cup.
Kudos to the leaders of all clubs attempting to elevate the level of play in this soccer wasteland.
This is not a soccer “wasteland” unless your sole measures are State Cup wins and/or the number of players who make it to the professional level. Only a very small sliver of the tens of thousands of kids that play organized youth soccer each year in Minnesota even play in State Cup. There are many, many kids who will never step on the pitch in a State Cup match, yet they have learned to love the game of soccer.
The one fundamental difference between MTA and community clubs (and the probable origin of the “venom” that permeates just about any discussion of them) is that community clubs can offer in-house programs for kids as young as 4 years old. Most of these children will learn the basics at a community park near their home with their friends and neighbors.
Of course an in-house program at a community club is not “world class” training for these very young players. It is supposed to be a fun environment where kids get a chance to get some exercise, develop motor skills and begin to learn concepts like playing as part of a team. Over time, some families will opt for another sport for whatever reason while some families move out of the community and others move in.
MTA’s structure and organizational goals requires them to market themselves as an alternative outside the family’s community for those younger players who either have the potential, or have parents who are willing to pay to try to increase their child’s potential as a soccer player. Since MTA does not have an “in house” league the same way that a community-based club has, marketing and attracting players becomes crucial to maintaining their viability. Depending on one’s point-of-view and circumstances, that marketing is often viewed outside of MTA as everything from an honor to be asked to join all the way down to tampering and/or “stealing” players. And everything in-between. In the end, the parent(s) not only have to make choices about if their child is going to continue to play soccer, but where and how much time and money they are willing to invest. This is where the parent(s) have decisions to make.
It is a gamble since the child who dominates at age 8 or 9 might be passed up in five or six years by the kid who was a total klutz at the same age, but has grown and has become a dominant player. The reverse holds true as well–puberty sometimes has a cruel way of changing things up that can’t be fixed by any MYSA rule, club policy or any amount of money.
It is not a “wasteland.” It is a maze.
John, just a small correction on one of your comments. MTA does have an “in-house” rec program. It is run through the West Regional Academy and is designed for ages 4-8 (http://www.mnthunderacademy.org/recreational-soccer-west/).
MTA does have an inhouse program, it’s called ThunderRec. There’s aU6 and a U8 program for boys and girls. Monday – Thursday in the summer time you will find 100′s of kids playing soccer in the Plymouth-New Hope area and having a great time. Although, it is unfortunate that they don’t have a rec program for older children. My children made the transition to competitive soccer at U9, but many kids (and parents) don’t want to make that commitment. In those cases on the west side, MTA loses kids to PSA and Golden Valley. I believe MTA is missing out on lots of revenue from those families that just want to play soccer, but not at the higher level.
Mea Culpa.
Thanks for the clarifications. As Aaron and SuezQ point out, it is geared for kids in the Plymouth/New Hope area. But I think it is fair to say that it also takes attracting youth from other geographical areas as well as ThunderRec kids to supplement the formation of teams in the older age groups that can achieve the goals that MTA strives for.
For the record there is a similar rec-like program for MTA in the east, in conjunction with ERAA (East Ridge Athletic Association)…
Howard, I think that it is very important to read the entire discussion before commenting. I don’t think anyone is spewing venom towards MTA because of their success. That being said, I find it to be quite disheartening that a club’s value would be determined by wins and losses or State Cup Championships. In my opinion, it is exactly this focus that has lead to many of the issues that this state is currently experiencing. I feel sorry for kids whose parents place more value on winning and losing than on child development. Not just soccer development, but life development. Does that mean that there shouldn’t be options for those who really want to focus on excelling at the sport of their choice? Of course not. But when the focus turns to winning at all costs, then we have gone down the wrong path. Like I said earlier, the best players this state has ever produced came well before we started putting emphasis on the Super Club, and I think that this is very curious. As I have stated, MTA absolutely has it’s place in the soccer community and I have no issue with what they provide. My issues, as I outlined earlier, have to do with some of the unethical ways in which I believe they conduct their business.
As far as SuezQ’s comment about lost revenue is concerned, I believe that it was exactly this new focus on creating as much revenue as possible that has led MTA away from the niche market on which they had previously focused. Community clubs serve the recreational players just fine.