Here is a brief explanation of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) selection process and schedule.

It is important to realize that for various reasons each age group will be on a slightly different schedule. The age group that I am working with this year, 1994 Girls are currently in the "state training group" phase.

Player Identification

In early September, Dave Schumacher our State Director of Coaching requested recommendations from all the Premier Clubs around Washington. Those that submitted recommendations were forward on to each ODP Age Group Head Coach. I then contacted each coach myself of GU13 and GU14 teams playing in either the WSYSA state leagues or the PDL. There are 119 teams total in these age groups and divisions. I asked for the team coaches to send recommendations. I compiled the names of all the recommended 1994 girls and put together a scouting schedule.

Games were scouted by a combination of state coaching staff members that are coaching club teams in those particular age groups along with scouts that independently watched games, as well as myself and my three assistant coaches.

State Training Group

Each year the players that make it to the "State Pool" phase are automatically invited back the following year to the "State Training Group" phase. For the Girls 1994's, 32 players were automatically invited back this year, 30 of which accepted the invitation. Initially I invited an additional 30 players identified through scouting and recommendations. Since our first training session, 5 more players were invited to training (identified through scouting) to make a total of 65 players that are in our current "training group". We have had two training sessions with one more on January 6th. Up until now the focus of the sessions have been age group appropriate topics and evaluation.

Open Tryouts

On January 5th we will conduct "Open Tryouts". The purpose of the open tryouts is to give players that were not identified through the recommendation and scouting process a chance to be seen by the state coaching staff. Each year, players do make the state team through the "Open Tryout" process. Whether, it was because the player was injured when a scout was at the game, or the scout just plain missed them or a number of other reasons. I anticipate finding some very good players at these tryouts. Players selected from the "Open Tryouts" will be invited to join the "training group".

Visit WSYSA for more information regarding the open tryouts.

State Pool

Through the next few training sessions we will start to release players from the "training group". Eventually getting down to approximately 30 players, which will form the "State Pool".

State Team

The "State Team" will be named from this pool each time there is a competition. It may be the same group of 18 players or a different group based upon performance and availability. The state team will consist of 16 field players and 2 goalkeepers. Over Memorial Day weekend the state team will travel to the Portland area and compete in the Nike Friendship Cup, against other state teams. In July the State Team will travel to Stockton, CA for Regional Camp. At Regional Camp, each state team competes and trains in front of the Regional Coaching Staff in an attempt to be selected for the Regional Pool.

Things to Keep in Mind

I have been asked on occasion why are rosters not posted on the WSYSA web site. As you see above, the roster is constantly evolving. In addition, in order to keep costs at a minimum for participants, the team coaching staffs and team administrators give their time on a strictly volunteer basis.

When a scout goes to watch a game, they usually try not to make themselves obvious. They don't want the players to get unnecessarily nervous. They also want to be able to watch and evaluate the game without a lot of distraction so they can give the players the attention that they deserve.

The scouting process continues all year long. A player may be invited into the process up to just before a team travels to regional camp. For example, a player that is not identified by the scouts and does not make the training group from open tryouts can be invited in based on how they play in the state tournament or and early spring tournament.

I hope this helps explain the process. Anyone interested in the ODP process should not hesitate to contact any of the state director of coaching or the ODP coaching staff with their questions.

Steve Crum
Head Coach
WSYSA Girls 1994 ODP
Steve's Email