The Daily Dirt, August 23: Lessons Learned

Proposals are now on the table to dramatically change men’s college soccer. The season would be expanded to cover the whole school year, starting in September before taking a winter break around Thanksgiving. The second half would start in February and conclude with the NCAA Tournament in May.

It would not necessarily extend the number of games or training hours spent, but it would spread it out more and make it easier for student athletes to balance their workload with the team and with school. It would allow for more recovery and training time between games and eliminate most mid-week games.

One interesting note in the NSCAA’s announcement was that while the men’s coaches supported this move, the women’s coaches did not.

From a college perspective, I think it makes a lot of sense. The jam packed fall schedule is very tough on the athletes and does not promote quality soccer being played due to the amount of games in a short period of time. Extended the season should give coaches more opportunities to teach and develop styles of play.

From the pro perspective, I wonder how MLS would alter its SuperDraft to make this work. Would they move the draft to the summer after the college season ends? Would they keep it in January but force drafted players to remain with the college teams for the second half of that season? Either way opens up issues that would need to be addressed.

What are your thoughts on the college game? Let us know in the comments. Also, stay tuned for our Peach State Soccer Recap later this morning with an update on the local programs as their seasons are getting underway.

Domestic

Interesting look at how Sporting Kansas City is managing its grueling travel schedule (KC Star)

Another look at how Minnesota United’s stadium ended up in St. Paul instead of Minneapolis (MinnPost)

Can NASL reach the same heights as MLS and be a first division league? (FourFourTwo)

Two members of the U.S. U20 national team signed pro deals in Europe: Emmanuel Sabbi with Las Palmas of Spain, Justin Vom Steeg with Fortuna Düsseldorf of Germany

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s Division 1 men’s college coaches have put forth a proposal to restructure their season format (NSCAA)

International

Chris McCann’s Coventry City head to Norwich today for a clash in the League Cup, injuries are taking their toll on the Sky Blues’ squad (Coventry Telegraph)

Six free agent strikers recommended for Coventry City that might be worth a look from MLS, including one with previous experience in the league (Coventry Telegraph)

With Atlanta United’s interest in analytics, here’s a look at how Fulham operates in the transfer market (Cottagers Confidential)

Meet the new American owners at Swansea (BBC)

Is MLS willing to compete with the Chinese league to get Wayne Rooney (Mirror)

Local

Get to know the Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies men’s soccer team via their newly released media guide.

The Georgia Gwinnett women’s team defeated the University of the Cumberlands 2-1 (Gwinnett Daily Post)

Georgia State and Kennesaw State battle to a scoreless draw in their women’s Atlantic Sun Conference opener (Atlantic Sun)

The Atlanta Dream will play at Georgia Tech during the 2017 and 2018 WNBA seasons (Peachtree Hoops)