With Newcastle United having just finished their tour of the United States, alongside rivals Sunderland who play Toronto FC in their final fixture tonight, both sides may have noticed a slight change since their last visit. Major League Soccer is more popular, but down below the surface, the development of young talent has been given a recent overhaul that Newcastle will have witnessed first hand this morning. Timbers 2 are one of a number of second teams currently plying their trade in the USL. The American soccer pyramid is not connected in the same way the English one is, but officially it is classed as tier three. A mixture of ages, nationalities and footballing backgrounds, teams including; LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC have all adopted this model. The Galaxy have seen some of the earliest success with Bradford Jamieson IV making impact on the first team. The idea of the second team is to provide consistent and more importantly competitive game time to younger players. With the traditional route of collegiate soccer still a possibility, clubs are preferring to hone their players skills from an earlier age - adopting them into the clubs tactical ethos and mentality. Providing a smooth pathway to the first team, it is an idea borrowed from Europe, where clubs in the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Spain have used the model. Not without criticism, Rudi Voller publicly derided the second team approach after confirming his club Bayer Leverkusen would be shutting down their team: "We realised that our top talents can't manage the leap to the professional squad via our second team. Of course in the United States, the gap in quality between USL and MLS is somewhat smaller. Thus making it an ideal launching pad for a young players career. Not only a shaping ground for young players, it has also given opportunities to young coaches that are eager to one day become managers. In the case of the LA Galaxy, Curt Onalfo runs LA Galaxy II - affectionately nicknamed Los Dos. I spoke with the clubs Technical Director Jovan Kirovski about Curt and he told me: I dont think people understand how well of a job he has done, Kirovski enthuses. He doesnt have the same team every week which most teams do and he really works on guys getting to know each other and makes it much easier. Those constraints can often be the making of a good young coach. With talk often circulating that it would be nice for Newcastle to have a local coach, such a place would be ideal to allow them the time and space to grow and develop their coaching ethos. The idea has previously been floated in England with Gregg Dykes B-Team proposal. Quickly criticised by fans for giving another advantage to the already established elite clubs of the Premier League, it was also seen as a detriment to lower league clubs that rely on young talent to fill out their squad. In terms of transporting the idea of a second team England that makes it incredibly difficult - nigh on impossible even. However, with a trio of clubs (Carlisle United, Hartlepool United and Gateshead) all within reach, it maybe wise to attempt some kind of partnership in relation to the loaning of youth players. Certainly Newcastle need to improve the way in which they loan players out. Speaking to one former youth player a number of years back, he remarked how poor the club were at organising competitive playing time for reserve players. With the U21 Premier League often seen as lacking a competitive edge, it would seem the best way for Newcastle and Sunderland to develop their own is to improve the way in which they transition players from the academy to the football league. Adam Campbell, a former NIKE MVP Cup winner and touted talent is one such example. Handed a brief exposure to the first team, his raw talent required refinement and polishing. Handed a variety of brief spells at different clubs, the lack of continuity we discussed earlier was clearly a problem. A recognised affiliate would have allowed him a stable setting to develop his talent. Newcastle have brought in talented young players such as Gael Bigirimana, Shane Ferguson, Haris Vuckic, Remie Streete, and Kevin Mbabu who were all loaned out at Rangers last season. Curtis Good, James Tavernier, Kazenga LuaLua, Ben Tozer and Fraser Forster were also very highly rated but never properly developed during their time on Tyneside. Bringing the curtain down on the pre-season tour, the trip to the United States proved to be an ample opportunity for marketing purposes as well as a hot climate for Newcastles players to improve their fitness. However, in amongst all of those benefits, perhaps the Magpies may just have found a learning experience that could help the next generation break into the black and white first team. CLICK HERE to read the Match Report from Newcastle's 4-3 loss to Portland Timbers.And CLICK HERE to read the Player Ratings from the game.For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.