Did anyone NOT get selected for ODP this year?

My daughter plays in the Arlington league and was selected for the 05 pool. Also selected was a teammate who showed up on a lark only for the final tryout. Huh.

Congrats to all those DDs that made the Olympic team. The Facebook likes were flooding in.

Follow the Money...

Yeh, I was disappointed to discover it's less special than I thought (tho I would never tell my kid that.) And for the record I didn't post on FB about ODP, because I think that's kind of obnoxious. I am happy she will get extra practice and ODP has already been valuable because I've learned a ton just listening to other parents at the tryouts. The biggest thing I've learned is: Whoa. We need to step it up and encourage her to at least try out for more competitive teams next summer. I'm convinced she's legit good. I thought ODP would be a way to confirm that but apparently not if most kids make it. So I guess the true test will be how she does if I can convince her to ditch her friends and try out for other teams next summer.

I did hear that ODP for the 05s was VERY inclusive this year. Just a rumor because I have no first hand knowledge.... BUT that has never stopped me from publicizing... lol

It's been said on this board many times before, ODP, in almost all other states is held in very high regard. NTX...well, let's just say it's tad different.

And you could argue with the recent changes to the NTX landscape, it has dropped even further.

We said no more after 4 years of practices that never got beyond soccer 101 and camps that cost NTX athletes hundreds more than any other state and an evaluation process that has been increasingly criticized as narrow and limited in scope. If you take "Olympic" and "Development" out of the
name and change it to maybe "NTX Soccer Program" it would be more reflective of current nature of program. Unfortunately, no effort made to focus on adjusting the program once ECNL entered soccer scene, no attempt to retain higher level talent, so top level, and even 2nd level players left and NTX ODP unable to remain competitive.

Like any other organization...if you don't pay attention to your competitors, you lose business. NTX ODP does not respect their athletes and it shows with mediocre training and ignoring growing athlete frustrations. If your competitors do the job you won't, eventually your program fails.