Exclusive: Interview with D.C. United Academy boss John Maessner

Potomac Soccer Wire caught up with D.C. United’s Director of Youth Development, John Maessner, at RFK Stadium Saturday evening immediately after an impressive showing by United’s under-16 team against Real Madrid in the first match of the Tiffany Cup Trophy.

Besides the game itself, Maessner shared his thoughts on the development progress, political pitfalls, and goals of his Academy less than two years after having to rush to form teams to compete in the new U.S. Soccer Federation Youth Development Academy League.


Potomac Soccer Wire: What was your general take on the match and the opportunity to play RM?
John Maessner: It was a great experience, a great day for our program – playing against one of the best programs in the world. We proved to ourselves today we probably should have won that game. We had several chances in the first half. I thought we played very well, and we had a couple chances in the second half too. Either team could have won that game, so I’m proud of our boys. The staff did a great job of getting these guys ready for this game. And for me – it was great for the program.

PSW: Was it the biggest game development-wise this team has ever played?
JM: This year, for this team, yes. Last year we took a little older group to Spain to play Espanyol, Sevilla, and F.K. Partizan, so those were three great matches last year. Half of this group played against Chelsea at Christmas. That was a great game too.

This is our 92 and younger. We had a 94 and a 95 out on the field, so we were much younger than Real Madrid, and I thought we were just as good as them, if not better at some stages during the game.

PSW: What do you know about Real’s team training environment compared to this United team? Are they in a full-time academy?
JM: Yeah, those kids are full-time. They’re one of the top clubs in the world, and they do it right. Those kids are just full-time soccer players. They probably train twice a day several times a week, and our kids train 3 or 4 times a week, so we’re getting there. We’re making huge strides with our kids, so we’ve got a lot of growing to do, a lot of things to look forward to. But we’re doing a very good job with our young kids. It shows out there today; to be the younger team against a RM club and show very well.

PSW: When the DA was first started, there was a little bit of strife with some of the other clubs that felt that some of their players were being recruited away by United. What can you say about that?
JM: It was a change in culture, and change is hard for everyone. U.S. Soccer brought the Academy League, which Kevin Payne [D.C. United CEO] was a huge part of, spearheading the [creation of] the program. U.S. Soccer announced it kind of quick. It caught everyone a little off-guard, but it was our responsibility to put together the best teams that we could. So, is recruiting part of that? Yes, that’s my job – to find the best kids in the area and bring them into our program. That’s the same job that every other club has.

PSW: Is it getting easier [politically, with other clubs] now that things are more established?
JM: It has been difficult. I was put in a difficult situation and didn’t make many friends in the community. But we do have alliances with Freestate and D.C. Stoddart and with several others in the works. But the culture is changing. I think it needs to get to the point like everywhere else in the world where the professional club in the area is where it’s normal and natural for the best players to go through that program.

There’s a lot of good clubs in the area that are very competitive and I totally understand that they get a little bit upset when they lose some of their best players. I totally understand that. But for me, my job is to find the best. Kevin Payne, Dave Kasper, and our ownership are asking me to find the best players in the area so that they can play for the first team someday and the local clubs are starting to understand that and see that.

How great is it going to be when a Freestate kid is pushed to us and we develop them for a few years and they play for our first team in front of the home crowd. Whether it’s Bethesda or McLean or D.C. Stoddart or any of the bigger clubs around here; if their players come through our program, they could be playing for D.C. United someday.

PSW: Have any kids gone through the Academy to play for the first team?
JM: No. I’ve got two kids that play in U-17 residency [for the U.S. National team in Bradenton, FL] that came back and played for us tonight. And we’ve got several kids that are on the radar. Tommy Soehn, Dave Kasper and Kevin Payne, we’ve all been watching several of our boys that I know will be playing for our first team over the next several years.
 

--

Editor's Note: The Development Academy is one of the hottest topics throughout youth soccer in the United States. Your input on this topic is important, and I'd like to invite you to let yourself be heard on our dicussion forums, which unlike many youth soccer forums around the US, are heavily moderated to keep the conversation civil and clean.

PSW Boys Soccer Forum: http://www.potomacsoccerwire.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=19