The importance of college soccer

Last night I watched #5 ranked Creighton University take on #11 St. Louis University in a heated men's college soccer showdown.

Despite 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, the atmosphere was incredible. Over 3,000 fans packed the stands of Hermann Stadium to see two perennial soccer powerhouses go at it. No free giveaways. No cheesy half-time entertainers. Just soccer.  Just two sides wanting to win at all costs. Just competitive soccer at its purest. 

As I watched the Billikens and the Jay duke it out on the pitch, I remembered reading an article written by ESPN Soccernet.com's Andrea Canales.  The article was basically a compilation of Canales interviewing then head coach Ruud Gullit and how he felt the college soccer system was bullocks. Gullit called it "coaching from a text book." 

Some of his arguments could be justified. I'll admit that college soccer is not the best method for developing professional players, but college soccer does way more good and it does harm.

Lets travel back in time to 1989 when Paul Caliguri scored the game-winning "goal heard round the World" that lifted the U.S. National Team 1-0 over Trinidad & Tobago. The victory qualified the United States for the 1990 World Cup in Italy- its first birth since 1950. The team representing the USA was a squad mostly of former college players almost not of which had any professional experience.  

Fast forward a few years. As part of FIFA's agreement to allow the USA to host the World Cup, the national federation had to create a top-flight professional league within two years.  So in 1996, a small group of investors needed players to fill rosters and they needed players at a cheap price.  The solution: a large pool of D-I college soccer players.  Without college soccer, MLS could not have gotten off its feet.  

Lets also take a look at geography.  MLS currently has 14 teams scattered across the continental 48 states.  14 teams representing 14 cities. California has three clubs. Texas has two.  Think about all the states, cities and towns that do not have a professional soccer team anywhere close to them. 

I grew up watching the Indiana Hoosier men's soccer team win national championships in '98, '99, '03 and '04.  A friend of mine is from New Mexico and witnessed the rise of the Lobos program.  Another friend is from South Carolina and watched both the Clemson and University of South Carolina teams.  For many soccer fans still, their alma mater is all they have in terms of watching the game live at the highest level.  And lets be honest, nothing is better than watching the game live. 

Lastly, players develop at different rates. Sometimes an 18 year old kid is ready for the pro's.  Most of the time he's not, but that doesn't mean he's a lost cause.  A player might need just a few more years to develop.  College soccer provides four year window between youth select soccer and the professional ranks.

As MLS evolves and as its youth development programs evolve, clubs will rely less and less on players from the college soccer pool, but this is America.  Americans love college sports.  College soccer gives fans one more reason to support the sport they love- and that's the important thing.  

So Ms. Canales, before you write another horrible article try using some sources from outside the LA Galaxy locker room and think about the bigger picture.  Without college soccer, pro soccer would not exist today.  The college game should be appreciated and respected.

The 9/30/08 NSCAA/adidas college soccer rankings are below. 

Rank      School                      W-L-T  
1    Wake Forest                   8 -  0 -  0  
2    St. John's                      8 -  0 -  2  
3    Northwestern                 8 -  0 -  1  
4    Maryland                       6 -  2 -  0  
5    Creighton                      6 -  1 -  0  
6    Akron                            6 -  1 -  2  
7    Connecticut                    5 -  1 -  3  
8    Notre Dame                   6 -  2 -  1  
9    Illinois-Chicago               7 -  0 -  2  
10    California                      5 -  1 -  2  
11    Saint Louis                   4 -  0 -  3  
12    North Carolina              7 -  1 -  1  
13    South Florida                6 -  1 -  1  
14    Louisville                      7 -  1 -  2  
15    SMU                             6 -  2 -  1  
16    Loyola (Md.)                 6 -  0 -  1  
17    UC Davis                      8 -  1 -  0  
18    UC Irvine                      7 -  0 -  2  
19    Drake                           8 -  1 -  0  
20    Indiana                         4 -  2 -  2  
21    Ohio State                    5 -  2 -  1  
22    UC Santa Barbara          5 -  3 -  0  
23    Tulsa                            5 -  3 -  1  
24    Brown                           5 -  2 -  1  
25    Georgetown                   7 -  2 -  1  

Also receiving votes: Pennsylvania 43, Charlotte 33.5, Dartmouth 29, Northern Illinois 14, Providence 10, Duke 10, South Carolina 6, Monmouth 6, Virginia 6, Cal Poly 4, Evansville 3, Binghamton 2, Oakland 1, Syracuse 1