3four3’s Week in Review: The DA Shuts Down, But There Is Hope.

This week, we all got some big news.

U.S. Soccer announced that the *world-class Development Academy will be shutting down. The announcement confirmed the rumors that had been swirling for weeks. USSF CEO Will Wilson, along with President Cindy Parlow-Cone and GM Earnie Stewart, co-signed a letter to DA members citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the key factor in deciding to shut the league down.

Twelve-minutes after USSF’s announcement, MLS announced that it would be starting a new youth soccer league of its own. The details of the new league are still vague at this point. The plan could include non-MLS teams, and also girls teams.

Podcast Episode 256: The Development Academy Is Over

On Tuesday’s podcast episode, we actually broke the news about the closure.

While everyone else was talking about rumors, we stated: “This is not speculation. It has already happened.”

A new MLS league was also predicted.

This situation seems awful because it is, but it’s also going to provide different opportunities for players, coaches, and clubs. We’ll continue to discuss those aspects in future episodes. But it’s a good idea to get caught up with this short 15-minute episode if you missed it.

Here is the link for Episode 256.

There Is Still Hope

In a week that was filled with doom and gloom, Brian Kleiban provided another beacon of hope.

The second episode of his YouTube series was released. In this episode, he discussed the USMNT U20 roster and focused on the depth chart. Brian provided detailed explanations and expectations for each position.

Here is the link to Brian’s latest piece of content.

Make sure you subscribe to 3four3’s YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of the upcoming videos.

Questions? Comments? Feedback?

Hit us up in the comment section below or come find us on social media.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Keep pushing forward.

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