I’d like to introduce myself.  The Executive Board recently appointed me as the ODP Director.  I retired as the PA West Soccer Director of Coaching a few years ago and came out of retirement in March to once again take over the PA West Soccer ODP program.  

After reviewing the program.  I have immediately made some changes.  There will be Head Coaches and Assistant Coaches for every age group.  My goal for 2021, is to build the program so that we can have competitive teams to represent PA West Soccer at regional and national events.  I plan to offer Winter Training, there will be six indoor training sessions per age group through January and February.  Then during the spring, starting the third Monday in April there will be seven training sessions.  The training will be at one site for indoor and then another site outdoor.  Both these to be confirmed later.

 It is my opinion that all the players that try out are challenging themselves to improve.  It is not easy for young players to put themselves under this type of pressure.  I have the greatest admiration for these players.  Parents just think how uncomfortable you are when you find yourselves in situations that you are not used to.  The best athletes rise to the challenge, those that shirk away from this pressure are missing that vital component of the top soccer player the psychological makeup. How are they dealing with being out of their comfort zone, basically can they handle the pressure of not playing with players they know and being evaluated by coaches they don’t know.  This experience will help them when they take the next step to play in college

The objective of the PA West Soccer ODP program is to select the best players to represent the State association and clubs at the Regional ODP tournament and thereby getting recognition for our players at the regional and national levels.

I am reaching out to the clubs and parents in the area for support in strengthening the program.

PA West Soccer ODP does not and will not take players from the club.We are not in competition with the clubs, we work in conjunction with the clubs to strengthen soccer in our area. 

ODP provides extra training with different coaches and different players so ODP, along with the clubs, can train and prepare the players for identification to regional and national teams.

Now with the demise of the US Soccer Academy program, ODP has the opportunity to once again become the program it was before the creation of the US Academies.  Recently USYS and MLS announced a youth development partnership that includes ODP.  The goal is to improve US youth player identification and selection while building a more integrated pathway to advanced opportunities for both boys and girls.

Strong PA West Soccer state teams can better showcase the State Association and with it the club’s ability to develop players to go on to the next levels in their development.

We hope that you will consider ODP as an option for your child and we hope to see them at the tryout later this year.  These dates and site are listed below.

If you have suggestions or questions, please feel free to contact me at the new ODP e-mail:  odp@pawest-soccer.org.  Or you can reach me at my cell phone 412-370-1770.

Meantime, stay safe and stay well.

 

Paul Halford

ODP Director

odp@pawest-soccer.org

412-370-1770

 

ODP Schedule

To Register for try outs go to:

PAWest-ODP.sportsaffinity.com

Try Out Dates for 2021 season

North Boundary Park, North Boundary Road in Cranberry Twp, PA 16066

 

04-05-06 age groups

July 27th, Aug 3 and one to be scheduled later in November after HS season

Girls: 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Boys: 7:30pm – 9:00pm

 

09-08-07 age groups

Aug 17, 24, 31

Boys: 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Girls: 7:30pm – 9:00pm

 

2021 Dates and Times for Indoor Training: (North Park Sports Complex.) 

2330-Wildwood-Rd-Allison-Park-PA

 

Boys ODP

Jan 9, 23, 30 Feb 6, 13, 27 All Saturdays

 

2:30pm-4pm   09/08/07 birth years

4pm-5:30pm   06/05/04 birth years

 

Girls ODP

Jan 10, 24, 31 Feb 7, 14, 28 All Sundays

 

6pm-7:30pm   09/08/07 birth years

7:30pm-9pm   06/05/04 birth years

 

Spring Training

Location to Be confirmed later: (North Boundary Park)

 

April 19, 26, May 3, 10, 17, 23, June 7

 

6:00pm – 7:30pm   09/08/07 birth years

7:30pm – 9:00pm   06/05/04 birth years

 

Tournaments

Williamsburg Friendlies:

Williamsburg, Virginia

Feb 19-20-21

Eastern  Regional  ODP tournament:

TBD.  Usually 2nd weekend in June at Rider University, NJ.