Yawn. Time for people to focus on more pressing topics, such as lists of best 12u boys players and teams.
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You want an answer? Talk to the ODP coaches after a few drinks. I know I have talked to several who felt they were forced to pick kids over other more talented kids, and that’s why they stopped coaching ODP.
There’s lots of other political reasons a kid might make a team over another more talented player. Things like Playing on the club the coach coaches at, dad played with the coach, coach knows kids for years. To act as if that’s not the case is to be blind to the process, you learn this quickly just by being a fly on the wall with no skin in the game.
I can’t corroborate the theory In terms of paying for a spot, but this is something I’ve heard more at this years ODP national championships, then I have ever heard in my 22 years of being a water polo parent…more parents from more teams.
The absolute worst and most disgusting part is ODP coaches telling kids in their zone they need to play at their club or HS to have a chance of playing on the zone team…then using that to recruit players away from clubs on a false promise. You have kids leaving clubs, hoping to make ODP then end up quitting the sport. Any coach pushing this is not growing the sport, they are just picking away the competition, instead of developing talent.
Having put multiple kids through this process, our purpose was to learn to be resilient, to be able to play with anyone and for any coach and to get comfortable through the evaluation process. The last one being key as it will happen at a new club, showcases, moving into College teams, getting hired for a job. I don’t think National team kids are glued here for rosters when they get sent to their email. But in the off chance they saw a post questioning roster positions, I’d imagine they would quickly evaluate if that was them or not and either laugh about it or have an emotional breakdown. Point being, if they were authentically going through the process, and made it that far, reading something like this shouldn’t/wouldn’t even effect them.
I don’t have the money to grease those wheels. So I know mine would relish in those thoughts knowing they were that much better, and truthfully I hope 100% of national team athletes feel they earned their spots, it wouldn’t be right if the kids themselves felt they made it for purely political reasons.
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What he said…^^^^^^^^
Some of the top coaches with drinks in them at a hotel bar at ODP Nationals or JOs, after 10 or 11pm is the single best place to over hear all the behind the scenes information…no filter combined with arrogance and some of these guys are loud by nature…
I highly recommend folks to try it some time…enlightening…
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If you think the $, nepotism, club politics, and good ol boys vibe is bad in ODP …just wait until the college recruiting process!
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Can you elaborate? I have a 16u son who is getting ready for the recruiting process but I would love to understand this more.