Having cut his coaching teeth in the academy ranks, Real Salt Lake manager Freddy Juarez believes MLS's launch of a new elite youth competition to replace the U.S. Development academy is ultimately in the best interest of MLS teams and their player development interests.
MLS announced the new competition earlier this week just as financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic caused U.S. Soccer to pull the plug on the Development Academy — until now the highest level of youth competition in the US. Previously, all American MLS academies competed in the DA, which also included many of the best youth soccer clubs around the country who did not have ties to MLS teams.
After playing in American soccer's lower professional ranks, Juarez began coaching in RSL's original academy in Arizona and eventually oversaw the whole program before it moved north to Herriman, Utah. He followed that with three years in charge of the USL's Real Monarchs before joining RSL's staff as an assistant in 2017.
"I came into the academy, when I participated, it might have been into its third year of existence, so at that point in time, I think it was very good for our academy teams," Juarez said of the Development Academy on Friday during a conference call. "The structure, everything, was really good. The organization, you had games — I loved how you had to train four times a week, the ratio was four training sessions per game, love that. I love all of that."
But the evolution of MLS academies over the last decade tells Juarez the reorganization is a step in the right direction.
'I think the MLS teams had outgrown the USDA, my opinion," he said. "I think they needed a step where MLS did take a hold of it. And you actually would allow more MLS against MLS, but more flexibility to get more international teams."
Juarez made clear that wasn't a shot at other youth clubs. He referenced examples like teams from LA Surf SC, which he said at times fielded teams that could more than hold their own with MLS academy sides, only to eventually see their squad weakened due to attrition.
"They would get a golden year, and that age group would be very good and they would compete with our team, and then those players would leave to LA Galaxy or whatever," Juarez said. "It's not a knock on their coaching or club or anything. It's just the better players would leave and naturally that just weakens your team."
Juarez hopes the new academy competition will be structured in a way to give MLS academy sides more consistently challenging matches.
"If it’s run right with the structure, I think MLS has enough smart people and is getting feedback from the academy directors who say, 'You know what, this is going to be better for us'," Juarez said. We should also allow a schedule of sorts that has x amount of games that we can create for ourselves by going to a tournament or by playing a PDL team so you can challenge your teams a little bit more. Just more flexibility in trying to get that competition on a more consistent basis."
