October 13: US Club Soccer has announced its biggest id2 cycle yet, expanding from one age group to three.
Where id2 programming previously only covered the under-14 age group, it will now apply to under-14 and under-15, with scouting assessments starting at under-13 level.
More than 90 scouts will be involved, making it the largest scouting network in the country, according to US Soccer, working across player development programs, N1, ECNL Regional League, ECNL events and showcases.
Last cycle, just over 12,000 players were seen at under-14 level. Two national camps follow, about 200 players in the training camp whittling down to about 70 in the selection camp, and eighteen girls and eighteen boys on the international tour at the end.
Two things about id2 deserve genuine credit. It’s open to any player, regardless of US Soccer affiliation, and there’s no cost to families. In American youth soccer, where a pay-to-play culture quietly decides who is seen, both matters enormously. The program has maintained this line since 2004 and it should be applauded.
And id2 now recommends players through the same P3 database used by US Soccer’s national youth teams, making the path to the national setup more direct than ever.
On the other side of the coin is the Olympic Development Program that has been identifying players from this country for decades, under USA Youth Soccer. id2 now identifies the same age groups, in many of the same regions, feeding the same federation. Two national ID programs, two scouting networks, two sets of camps, two badges to put on a resume, and a group of thirteen-year-olds.
Players and parents must now decide if a weekend committed to one is a weekend lost to the other. Streamlining it into a free route would make more sense because kids’ route to the national team shouldn’t depend on which organization’s logo is on the cone.