Landon Donovan Part !

Landon Donovan Part I

This week Landon Donovan was left off the United States World Cup roster for 2014. Many people have spoken out about this truly great player’s perceived snub. But if we look deeper into this, we may find, for the first time in a long time, a National coach setting the precedent that it is truly “play by performance” when it comes to making an elite team and  subsequent playing time no matter what your credentials are up to that point.

Donavon, the MLS all time leading scorer has started to get old. Aren’t we all? But in a game that increasingly has gotten younger, as seen by the deletion of some all time names form the participating nation’s World Cup rosters, a hidden fact is emerging as what we can only hope is a mantra that filters down all the way to high school and post puberty youth sports.

Those who play best play most. And playing the best players means the players who are playing the best at that time, not necessarily the most talented players. This is a fluid situation, not one cemented in stone. It means both a mental and physical commitment to a team. You can only get that, or ask for that, if all who play, get an equal and repeated chance to play and excel, thus lifting the entire team’s performance.

And no that does not mean a 12 year old child has to play one sport year round, miss a family vacation, or miss another activity, just so a youth or high school team can show off its control over their players under the guise of commitment. That full time commitment should only happen when the player turns 16 and has been given repeated chances to play any sport they want, for as long and as little time as they want.

You see Donovan has only one goal so far this year on his club team. He was pulled from a game with the national team. Last year, he took time off, which he deserved to do, if that is what he wanted. And look, there is still time between now and the World Cup, and maybe things will change. Maybe he will get to play and this exercise will be a wakeup call for everyone involved in soccer.

But the simple fact remains that the U.S. squad has not won a world cup with him on the roster. Now I am in no way blaming him for that fact. But if what you are doing is not working out, why would you not change? The U.S. has not won a World Cup or even gotten a medal in the Olympics in soccer.  Why continue to do the same thing over and over and expect different results?

Why not bring in some new players, some very young players, and let them give it a go? Let that “new blood” bring enthusiasm and a different approach to a team. Why not encourage multiple sport athletes and develop the athlete first, and the player second? Let’s see over time what sport they choose, not a single sport chosen for them.

 Inner team competition is the only way to truly get better as a team and as a player. You then take that competition into a game, and see how you stack up versus an opponent.