Is The MLS Combine Needed?
With the 2007 MLS player combine on the horizon, I have been looking back at past combines. Best I can tell technically the college combine goes back to 2004. Before then they didn't have a college player combine. If anyone knows more details on this, please share them. One thing I noticed in 2006 is the large number of players drafted both in the SuperDraft and in the Supplemental draft that were not invited or did not attend the 2006 combine. They are as follows :
Players drafted in 2006 MLS draft that were not at the 2006 Addidas MLS Player Combine
SuperDraft Picks 1st round Marvell Wynne, Medhi Ballouchy, Sacha Kljestan, Leandro de Oliveira, Nathan Sturgis 2nd round : Jed Zayner, Josmer Altidore, Blake Wagner, Jacob Peterson, Willie Sims, Marc Burch 3rd round : Rod Dyachenko, Danny O'Brien, Jordan Russolillo 4th round : Jonathan Bornstein, Michael Dello-Russo, Josh Brown, Jeremy Ashe
Supplemental Picks Miguel Guante, Drew Helm, Floyd Franks, Ryan McMahen, Pete Dzubay, Brad Napper, Andy Metcalf, Hectory Guzman, Liam Girrard, Lawson Vaughn, Chase Harrison, Ivan Becerra, Sean Babcock, Keith Cauldwell, Ezra Prendergast, Adam Williamson, Armando Melendez , Peter Louis , Chris Hamberger , Idiris Ughiovhe , Devon McTavish, Luke Enna, Richard Mupfudze , Matt Couch
It leaves me wondering the value of the combine. It would still seem that for most players they would be best served participating if invited. But with so many non-combine players drafted, how much do the MLS coaches and GMs actually value what they see at the combine?
2 comments:
good question. good post.
There are other combines out there. Several players on your list attended the 2006 Pro Soccer Combine. Denis Hamlet was one of the combine coaches and I noticed he had the Fire draft a player out of his group (Mupfudze). I have talked with scouts at some of the most benign college matches you can imagine. And sometimes I can not imagine who they are looking at at the game! But they are there just the same.
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