MLS Combine/Superdraft 2014
Means very little to TFC as we don't have a 1st rd pick in 2014 draft, but still worth keeping an eye on. TFC does have 2 picks in 2nd rd. The superdraft will take place 16 Jan.
First mock draft from mlssoccer.com
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...two-months-out
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
Can we get a RPB roadtrip to Philly for the Superdraft. We could all take the bus down, it is a Mega Bus route. Lets do it.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
Hmmmmm... Food for thought sir. Sounds like an interesting idea.Originally Posted by Red CB Toronto
we don't have a 1st round pick, the draft is on a weekday, and it is not like we will be getting our saviour from this draft anyways
You can still get decent picks in the second round. Heck, Plata came out of the supplemental draft.
Thursday the 16th, 11:00AM.
Sounds like there will be more than a handful of "internationals" at the combine, I'm hearing 6.
Plus, MLS also hosting a special combine in Antigua the week before the NCAA combine.
Any influx of internationals always bumps some solid college players down the board.
TFC tracking someone from Indiana, they're in Akron for tonight's match. Popular opinion is AJ Corrado, an AM (he's a more skilled version of Sam Cronin).
Any other club seeking an AM, is also tracking this kid.
Results from this week's games determine the final 8, which means Gen A recruiting will pick up next week.
I was part of a conversation with some folks from Texas, we were talking Dallas Cup, but I think I overheard that TFC might have another pick, a conditional from FC Dallas as part of the Hassili deal.
Last edited by Sullivan; 11-21-2013 at 02:28 PM.
college kids don't get bumped down due to internationals...internationals aren't anywhere near as valuable because of their status
the Caribbean thing is a joke...if you are a half decent player in the Caribbean, you are already at a US College if you haven't found your way to Europe; I highly doubt there will be much to choose from except slip 4th round supplemental draft pickings at that combine
as far as I know the hassli pick was conditional; 1st if he did well (he didn't), so 2nd; and we have our natural 2nd I believe, we were suppose to have houston's 2nd from the sturgis deal, but i think that was converted into an international roster slot
If you're a coach, the draft is part of the NSCAA annual convention. Great way to spend a weekend.
http://www.nscaa.com/convention
The exhibit hall is a big draw, as is the 4-aside tournament on Saturday night, gotta register early, limited spots and they go fast. Free beer.
I've been going to these conventions since 1990. Always a good time, great way to build a network.
Free to attend?
So who's going number one this draft?
How is it a joke? A lot of kids don't get exposed enough to get recruited...anywhere! A lot of kids/clubs don't have enough money to promote their own youth players too.
This is another chance for teams to notice players and why the hell not. Nothing to lose. Clubs are able to scout a player they probably have never heard of before and god forbid a player or two might be picked up. What a joke!
if they are good enough to be given an invite to the Caribbean combine (meaning someone will have had to scout them and determine that), than that means someone will have already have seen them play before and already said no to them, whether it is one of their local clubs, an academy in Europe, or an NCAA D1 or D2 team.
lets see what happens at the draft in 2 months; i will put money on 0 superdraft picks being used to pick a Caribbean kid that went through this combine
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
I dunno, everyone missed Keon Daniel in Trinidad; he was signed out of the Trini leage to D2. It's not that uncommon. The pool there just isn't that large to begin with, so you might be right. But more and more kids in Jamaica and Trinidad are going into the local leagues as teens, which means they might at the very least be good for an academy spot or a D2 loanout.
Given how close they are, where's the harm? Personally, I'd prefer they focus on South America, as the Mexican League gets a lot of cheap young players by keeping an eye on various first and second divisions down there.
We are assuming that kids in the Trini/Jamaican league will then be participating in these combines...I was under the impression that it was a combine for unattached kids
JeVaughn Watson, Jermaine Taylor, and Lovel Palmer are the only other 3 to come from the Caribbean to the US (I didn't count the Cubans for obvious reasons)
Cordell Cato and Alvas Powell could also count, but they are both under 21 when they came here and obviously didn't need a combine to get into MLS
on top of that, 1 other Caribbean player is an MLS academy grad, 6 came via Europe, and 9 came via the NCAA.
Cyle Larin? Who's this player? Another Sigma FC product potentially going top 10 in MLS draft.
Always respect your NCAA knowledge. What do you think of Mac Pridham, the Cal Poly kid born in Ontario? He's big, played target
The SuperDraft is open to public, the NSCAA convention has a registration fee. I went last year and paid by the day because there were some workshops I wanted to attend, one of which was on the MLS player signing process that was led by our new GM. Paying for registration gives you access to the vendor hall too, which is a hoot.
One good reason to go is that some of the supporter summit activity usually done at MLS Cup is going to be moved to the Super Draft. Sons of Ben are organizing supporter events at the Philly convention.
I'm planning on going if I can pull the funds together.
Thanks.
Don't know much about Pridham, other than he was on the Hermann watch list released in August & that he played u20 for Canada.
Emailed a few contacts with PAC12 insight, and UCLA folks just hate him. He scores a lot of dirty goals, regularly.
He's not afraid to run at defenders or the rough stuff, he'll challenge a keeper every time.
Couple of people compared him to DCU's Chris Pontius, but stronger.
I didn't know he spent part of his summer training with TFC, so I'm guessing that he's the west coast kid Dichio has been tracking.
With Cal Poly not making the tournament, that lack of extra exposure isn't going to hurt him, MLS clubs know him so he'll certainly be watched at the combine.
He is a dual citizen, so born in Canada isn't going to be a problem for the American clubs.
Consensus has him drafted before TFC's 2nd round pick.
Bit more info on the Canadian kid at UConn, Cyle Larin.
I was at the OSA centre in Vaughan earlier tonight, spoke to a local guy who "says" Cyle turned down Gen A offer for 2014.
He just finished his 1st yr. at UConn, family has a desire that he gets an education to fall back on.
I have no idea how close to the situation the local guy is, but in the past he's been accurate more times than wrong with
regard to where kids end up going to school.
He's from Brampton, born in 95. Came through Sigma FC, a quality academy.
One of the positives I hear about him is his willingness to listen & learn.
Big drawback for his development is he's at UConn.
This is a program that relies heavily on the players, and their raw skill & talent.
Not a lot of development (ie compared to Maryland or Notre Dame) goes on within this program (ie O'Brian White, Julius James).
Coach is more of a recruiter, bringing in "3-4 pieces each year", rather than take the time to develop players.
Bad career move on Larin's part. School will always be there unlike professional sports where one injury can kill your chances of becoming a professional footballer making decent money.
As for UConn comment: This is where I prefer academy over NCAA where you can personally develop your own players instead of relaying on someone else do that for you. Drafting overage rookies isn't the way to go or at least in Toronto's case. However, Toronto needs under 23 team playing in NASL or USL to develop players who aren't ready for first team though.
MLS announces initial player combine list
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/colle...-list_aid32238
Notre Dame beat Maryland 2-1 on Sunday to win the Div 1 championship. Very good game, but bloody cold.
During the weekend, we heard TFC coaches were often around Notre Dame coaches.
Not unusual given that Nelsen played for current Notre Dame coach and former Scotland/Aberdeen keeper Bobby Clarke, when both were at Stanford.
With the acquisition of NYRB's 1st round pick, 15th overall - we're speculating that TFC could be hoping
that Grant van de Casteele might still be available. He's a CB, and could easily transition to FB.
We learned that van de Casteele and Harrison Shipp made huge impressions on TFC staff when Notre Dame trained at the KIA facility last winter.
van de Casteels is smooth, was always in the right position v New Mexico (semi final) & v Maryland, he was impressive. Very smart player.
Last edited by Sullivan; 12-17-2013 at 11:27 PM.
24 players invited to first MLS Caribbean player combine
"Set to take place from Jan. 2-4 in St. John, Antigua & Barbuda, the combine will offer the players, ranging from 18-to-24-years old,
a chance to make it to the MLS Player Combine from Jan. 10-14 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Nearly all of the players set for the combine
have earned caps for their senior national teams"
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...player-combine
I am going to be in Philly for the draft, heading down for Wednesday and Thursday. Likely pick up a day pass for the convention and check it out. Never been before, so picked up a return mega bus ticket and looking forward to it. So at least there will be some TFC support and hopefully more as people decide if they can pull it off.
The 76ers and Flyers are also playing so think I will pick up some cheap tix for those too.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
Wednesday & Thursday are typically association meetings, which are limited to members, so not a lot happening, but there are some sessions, lectures & presentations.
Schedule: http://www.nscaa.com/convention/schedule
Thursday is draft day - 11:00 am in the Grand Ballroom.
I don't think an NSCAA registration will save you much for a 2-day stay, but maybe others thinking of staying longer, cheapest registration
for the convention is youth coach category, registration gets you discounted hotel & convention access.
The exhibit hall doesn't open till 7:00pm on Thursday, which is the Grand Opening, no big deal really.
On Wednesday, 7:30pm, Tony DiCicco leads a technical session for keepers, "Technical Tactical Training for Goalkeepers".
DiCicco is an excellent clinician, and a quality coach. He's working with u11-u14s.
If you're coaching or have an interest in keepers, this is one to see.
Robin Fraser is delivering a session at 3:45 on Thursday. He's an interesting clinician.
Over the year's, he's had some really good sessions, but it really depends on the quality of players that are made available to him.
Fraser is NYRB AC, his topic is, "Dictating the Game Without The Ball: Collective Organization For Recovery of The Ball"
An ambitious topic, especially if he's working with younger players.
Sometimes you get ODP calibre players, other times, it's a committee member's own team. Huge disparity in skills.
Across the street from the convention centre is a Food Market, lots of choices, good portions, decent prices.
Travel safe, enjoy the visit.
The draft is my main interest, so that is why I chose those days. Can not really stick around for the Supporters Party on Saturday night anyways. I looked at the schedule and some things caught my interest, we will see, maybe I will see if I stick around until Friday.
One of my favourite bars is just a stone's throw from the convention center, McGillans Old Ale House which is always good for a great time.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
http://www.mlssoccer.com/superdraft/...s-two-nations-
4 players signed to GA, plus 2 more Canadians at the Combine
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
My comments about players in italics
Asked my usual cast of characters for some insight, here's some of it...
UCONN GK Andre Blake - (Jamaican U-17 and U-20 teams)
I didn't see him play in 2013; last year, twice. Very smooth. Commands his box.
Big (6'4") and athletic.
Lot of NCAA coaches think he's better than MacMath.
Louisville MF Marlon Hairston.
I've heard 2 things: he's a box-to-box MD; and GenA means no FC Dallas homegrown claim.
I have nothing else to offer on this player.
Creighton D Eric Miller (USA Under 20)
I have nothing to add on this player.
Played right back with U20s - CB at Creighton.
Makes good decisions, and makes them early. Nice first touch, not a kick and run kid.
Lot of potential, every one who sees him, likes the way he plays.
Biggest knock, no mean streak.
Maryland F Schillo Tshuma - (Zimbabwe National Team U-17, U20)
Seen him a few times, bit surprised at this signing.
Quick, always wants the ball.
He plays off of Mullins which opens a bit more space for him.
Makes decisions early. Nice first touch, but he tends to run
into situations where he's outnumbered and out muscled.
Gets frustrated and shows it.
The Zadro kid played youth for Mississauga Dixie 89's. That was a fun youth team to watch.
Lot of collective natural skill on a single youth team.
Pretty sure they won a couple of Ontario Cups.
Last edited by Sullivan; 01-02-2014 at 07:53 PM.
thanks for this.
do you have any comments on 2 Canadians that called up to the Combine, Akindele and Zadro? Seems rather out of blue invites, more to fill in spots or something, and not worth anything more than a 4th rd pick
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
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