College Soccer Education

This afternoon the eight Under-18 teams are getting the opportunity to find out what the next four years of their life could possibly be like while in college. Jay Vidovich, the head coach at Wake Forest University, will be talking to the 160 players about the best approach they should take as they move from high school and elite club soccer to the increased competition in college. Vidovich, who led the Demon Deacons to the national championship last year, knows what it takes to succeed at the college level, and that many times players come in unprepared. At one time, college soccer may have been a seasonal commitment, but now it's a year-long season and players need to approach the correct way if they want to continue to develop and contribute to their team's success.

We won't be there to check it out, but we did talk with U.S. Soccer Development Academy Technical Director John Hackworth who told us "to be a better player tomorrow, you need to put in the preparation today." Makes sense to us.

Later this week, Hackworth and U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley will also be talking to the players about what it takes to make it all the way to the professional and full-team level. We've heard players talking among each other about this symposium and they are definitely giddy to hear from the head coach himself.

Just another of the great benefits of the DA...