re: The "US can't compete because athletes choose other sports" Argument

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It's a silly argument. The US players are as fast and agile as any other soccer player in the world. It's the touch and vision that sets them apart.

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Winner winner chicken dinner. One day we will have enough interest and resources in the sport to develop these sorts of players. shite, if Holland can do it, or Belgium can do it, I think we can do it.

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It's the touch and vision that sets them apart.

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Was watching a BPL match between a Top 6 and a bottom feeder with a friend. Bottom feeder team had the ball, and their nameless English striker--positioned a few yards outside of the 18 yard box with his back to the goal--took a difficult pass on his chest, let it drop, pivoted, and smashed the ball toward goal with his weaker foot without even thinking about it. He didn't score, but the ball was on target and needed saving.

My buddy was amazed at the shot, but was more amazed when I told him that the guy who shot the ball was probably not the 500th best player in England.

There probably aren't 5 U.S. players who would have made that shot, or even had the wherewithal or awareness to think about taking that shot.

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It's a silly argument. The US players are as fast and agile as any other soccer player in the world. It's the touch and vision that sets them apart.

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One element difficult to replicate in the U.S. is the hunger kids grow up with in other countries. In some countries, soccer represents a payday and a way out of poverty. In others, soccer has a long history and kids have a desire to mark their place in it. We have to remember the U.S. only started going to World Cups again about 25 years ago.

In the U.S., players at the youth club level have to have some resources to travel and compete on weekends. They generally aren't poor kids off the streets. There are club dues, jersey fees, hotels, gas and food, etc. There aren't professional clubs taking poor talented kids in and paying for them to develop and compete. This limits exposure at younger ages to kids of a certain economic status. It's hard to take middle class kids and impose the same type of hunger to develop that kids in other situations have.

Clint Dempsey tells the story of his family committing all of their resources to placing him on a club where he could get access to better competition. He represents that kind of hunger and desire we want in the U.S. player. But that's just one story. We need to find a way to impose a desire in young kids and give them the resources they need to succeed. It's a great challenge.

One goal JK had as technical director was to introduce soccer to youth in larger cities (greater exposure). Another was to identify kids at a younger age and find better ways to develop them. I hope we can continue to improve in those areas.

And just so this post isn't misinterpreted, I'm not saying that kids from a middle to high socioeconomic background can't succeed at the highest level. I'm just saying we need to find ways to put those kids in environments where they are instilled with a greater hunger to develop technically and mentally into world class players. Also, we need greater exposure to the game and a better ability to identify kids at younger ages to put them into situations to succeed.