By FRANCO PANIZO
LAUDERHILL, Fla. — Houston Dynamo manager Owen Coyle was like the new kid at school during this past week’s MLS Combine, trying to soak up as much information as possible about the event while getting ready for Thursday’s MLS Draft.
For Coyle – who has spent his entire coaching career in the United Kingdom – this was the first time he witnessed anything like the combine, where college hopefuls from all over the United States gathered to play games in an effort to impress professional coaches and scouts.
It’s a unique set-up and one that forced Coyle to lean on staff members like assistant coach Wade Barrett, general manager Matt Jordan, and fitness coach Paul Caffrey, who are all plenty familiar with MLS and its intricacies. Coyle took a lot of lessons away from his first experience at the annual combine, and found it enjoyable despite being unfamiliar with the process.
“Obviously, something new, absolutely. We don’t have anything of this structure back home,” Coyle told SBI on Tuesday. “It’s different, certainly, but I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a tough ask for those kids. They’ve played three games in five days and looked to impress people as well, so they deserve enormous credit for the way they’ve conducted themselves.
“It’s been great. It’s also been terrific to touch base with them, and people within the league, which is always nice, some coaches we’re going to compete against. That’s been great. I’ve got to say I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Up next for the 48-year-old Scotsman and his staff is Thursday’s draft, where the Dynamo hold the eighth overall selection. Houston has added some nice pieces to its roster this offseason, but there are still several areas that could use an upgrade or added depth.
Coyle, who signed on as the club’s head coach in December, can address one of those areas with the first draft selection of his career. There are no guarantees as to who will be available come the eighth pick, but talented and promising players should remain on the board at that point in the draft.
The question that even American coaches struggle with, however, is do you select based on need or best player available?
“It’s a great question,” said Coyle. “Our first pick is at pick No. 8 and I think ultimately, for me, I would look to pick the best player available, the best player at that moment. The other thing within that, you’ve got to understand, these lads aren’t the finished product. You really are looking at potential, because those kids can improve with us passing on some experience, some wisdom in terms of coaching.
“But … we’re all here for the same thing. We’re here trying to find a gem that we can improve on and ultimately play in our team. That’s got to be the focus for that and, again, that’s why everybody pays such attention (to the combine) because sometimes it’s a fine detail that can make a difference.”
Coyle wouldn’t rule out trading for the No. 1 pick, though it seems unlikely at this point. He is pleased with the quality of his roster, especially after the additions of Mexican forward Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres, Argentine midfielder Leonel Miranda, and Spanish centerback Raul Rodriguez.
Reinforcements could still be on the way, though, most likely through Thursday’s draft and possibly through the other MLS mechanisms that Coyle is learning.
“Any coach will tell you you’re looking to add and improve what you have. That goes without saying,” said Coyle. “Obviously for me, understanding what’s involved in terms of the salary cap and all that (is important), but ultimately it’s about finding the best player for what little money you’re going to have left.
“It’s something I’ve not been used to back home, because it’s totally different in terms of the budget, but, again, it’s something I’m getting the hang of, understanding that, and with open eyes welcoming the challenge that comes my way.”
I think a point is missed here. The college game and resulting draft, whether one likes it or not, is only one way that MLS players will be located and identified in the future. We need multiple paths to find players because this is such a big country. MLS academies are not the entire answer because they have limited exclusive geographic areas, typically do not have residency programs unless they are in select small markets and also do not have their players under contract. This leaves a huge swath of the U.S. uncovered by these programs and the freedom of movement of the kids leaves little incentive for scouting these areas. Colleges are one additional way to find players and many kids want a non-soccer career option that education provides anyway. To dismiss this path out of hand is a mistake. Also, a college draft is the way all U.S. sports access this type of talent. So it is different than the rest of the way the world operates. So what? MLS can grow just fine without single tables, promotion/relegation and with single entity player acquisition rules. If this offends “purists” so be it.
The other main reason for the draft is cost control. For the 10 or so players in the draft every year who are desirable, without the draft there could be a bidding war for their services. With the draft, they cant play the teams against themselves which is consistent to MLS single entity. Bad for some of the players, but good for the teams.
“Bidding war,” AKA capitalism, AKA the way the rest of the world handles new player signings.
The GA is still a somewhat successful program so if you didnt have the draft, then you would still need a GA allocation draft.
Basically none of these players were wanted as “home grown” players and/or weren’t even recognized as anything special by an MLS team when they were younger. Therefore, players who come out of the combine and stick with an MLS team is a kid they missed earlier. When no players from the combine manage to get a roster spot, it may be time to end it, but until then, it serves a function.
There are well over 200 college teams, no MLS team can scout all of them and many college teams, particularly the smaller schools would seldom or never be seen by even a single MLS scout. And, of course, a kid who looks fantastic against even good college soccer teams may well not have what it takes to be a professional player. The combine at least puts those players in difficult spots where they must be special to get noticed.
The young red bull midfielder is an exception to that. He didnt want to sign a homegrown contract because red bull is stacked in the midfield, and he thinks he will see more playing time if he is drafted by a team that needs midfielders
Similar for Boyd Okwuonu. Dallas tried to sign him as a HG but he wasn’t interested for whatever reason.
Omar, DeLaGarza and Besler were good finds. I think the draft is losing relevance, for sure, but diamonds in the rough still pop up.
It is a mechanism to try to maintain some level of parity among the teams. Parity means broader intrest In the league. The NFL is THE MOST SUCCESSFUL sports league in the world. It is wise to copy some of their ways.
I would agree with this in the past, but not now. With more teams with academies better college players will fall under the Home Grow moniker. Maybe with the next CBA it will cease to exist.
There are 19 MLS academies but over 80 US development academies, several with a better track record of developing pro players than the MLS Academies. There will still be plenty of good players that don’t end up getting home grown contracts. Plus the number of foreign players (see Hermann trophy winner Leo Stolz, Div 2 seems to be majority foreign players) in the college game is rapidly increasing so they will improve the draft talent. The combine and draft was how Plata entered the league. Does a team really take a chance on some young 5’2″ kid from Ecuador without a combine and draft? I doubt it.
Here is the problem we face in the U.S. that people who look to other countries’ soccer development just don’t get.
When a young boy shows some athletic promise he has several choices – he can play Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, even Golf and his parents will encourage him to play these sports so he can get a scholarship to a major University.
Maybe some kid who’s parents have money put their kid in a club team, he is pretty good, decent athlete, he rises to the top and gets to an academy. At 15 years old he is called the next U.S. Pele. He does not work out because he may have other great attributes but is not a high class athlete.
We are missing out on 90% of the athletes in the US because we do not have major universities with men’s soccer scholarships.
At least a Draft of these players gives some exposure.
This comment appears to be from someone who has not actually been around high level youth soccer in the US, and it is a common impression. The truth is that athletes don’t really “Cross-Over” in soccer and play at a very high level. Its not like football, just because you are 6’4 and run a 4.4 forty doesn’t mean anything in soccer, the guys who are going to be pro soccer players have to play it their entire life to develop the technical ability and touch to be successful. the kids in the Academies are 100% decicated to soccer, and it is extremely rare for one to cross over to another sport. Being an insane athlete is just a small piece of the puzzle in soccer as opposed to football where it is almost the entire puzzle. We are not missing out on 90% of soccer talent in this country, we have tons of youth talent coming through the ranks with more playing in Europe every day. College is not the answer, its more academies and more serious players playing in Europe.
But how do you get the best kids into soccer to start with? This is not Europe where they have no other choices.
“We are missing out on 90% of the athletes in the US because we do not have major universities with men’s soccer scholarships.”
This is simply not true. Most big schools have men’s soccer programs that are fully funded (aka soccer 10 scholarships).
That is not the issue.
I guess it depends on the concept of what “major” is.
For example:
America East Conference
Albany
Binghamton
Hartford
New Hampshire
Stony Brook
UMass
UMBC
Vermont
Dinho. I think Texas only has one Division 1 school with a men’s soccer program. Texas produces a lot of soccer talent.
The Big 12, one of the most prominent NCAA Division I conferences and containing several of the largest universities in the nation, doesn’t sponsor men’s soccer. Only one of its members, West Virginia, has a men’s soccer team, which competes in the Mid-American Conference.
And also consider the Pac 12, also a major conference. Although it sponsors men’s soccer, only six of its schools compete. Schools like Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, and USC, which are giants in other sports, don’t have men’s soccer teams.
The draft has no influence on parity whatsoever.
What? How can you say that? The teams that finished lower in the standings get the first shot at picking the top college players. Those players make those teams better and increase parity. If you want to argue the degree of effect it has, that’s a discussion I’m open to. But to just offhand dismiss it as having no influence on parity whatsoever is ridiculous.
That’s an opinion, not a fact.
Anyone care to make an argument for why the draft exists at all?