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Started By
Message
Dan Wetzel blames "Travel Ball" for the lack of development of US Soccer
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:16 am
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:16 am
Specially, the development schemes that direct the best athletes to other sports or just ignores talent if there's no money for participation in that sport's travel ball.
Here's the bit
LINK
quote:
We have enough athletes and enough athletes with the requisite technical skills.
Do we have enough competitors, though? Do we have enough players who don't just want to win but need to win? Guys who want more than just to appear in a Michelob Ultra commercial
Here's the bit
quote:
More troublingly, how do we get them in a country where the developmental system is powered by travel soccer that requires ever-increasing pay-to-play?
LINK
42
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:18 am to real turf fan
Its because as he and others have pointed out, we have an inverse system for youth than the rest of the world.
The youth leagues get paid by clubs when the players develop and go to them, and those payments are in some way passed down to the player/families
Its the opposite in the US: The families pay the clubs $15,000 (or whatever) to develop their child
And those clubs have no incentive to do it the way the rest of the world does it.
The youth leagues get paid by clubs when the players develop and go to them, and those payments are in some way passed down to the player/families
Its the opposite in the US: The families pay the clubs $15,000 (or whatever) to develop their child
And those clubs have no incentive to do it the way the rest of the world does it.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:18 am to real turf fan
Our best athletes arent going to play soccer because they wont get extremely wealthy playing soccer.
/thread
/thread
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:20 am to real turf fan
Problem ain’t travel ball.
It is a lack of interest in the sport compared to football, basketball, and other sports which have a pathway to the future in the US.
Pro soccer in the US is very niche and men’s college soccer is slightly less so, generally being a casualty of Title IX at many schools.
It is a lack of interest in the sport compared to football, basketball, and other sports which have a pathway to the future in the US.
Pro soccer in the US is very niche and men’s college soccer is slightly less so, generally being a casualty of Title IX at many schools.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:20 am to real turf fan
Travel sports are gay. Most people spend all their time and disposable income on it and at the end of the day waste precious time with their children who never had a shot at going pro in the first place.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:21 am to real turf fan
Meh, the US has so many other sports w college scholarships and professional leagues. Most guys can’t play soccer after high school. US fans just aren’t into it, so the USMNT will never be competitive. Title 9 makes the women’s team the exact opposite.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:21 am to real turf fan
quote:
Dan Wetzel
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:21 am to teke184
quote:
Problem ain’t travel ball.
It is most certainly part of the problem. We do it significantly different than everywhere else in the world in the youth system and it doesn't work
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:24 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Our best athletes arent going to play soccer because they wont get extremely wealthy playing soccer.
They dont have to play for MLS. They could make bank overseas and still play for the national team
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:24 am to teke184
quote:
Problem ain’t travel ball.
It is a lack of interest in the sport compared to football, basketball, and other sports
At this point, I don't think that's the case. There's plenty of interest in Soccer now.
quote:
Pro soccer in the US is very niche and men’s college soccer is slightly less so, generally being a casualty of Title IX at many schools.
This is true. An investment into mens college soccer probably would be a significant benefit.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:27 am to Tommy Noble
quote:
Travel sports are gay.
I was going to make a smart arse comment before I remembered that's how I felt about travel sports when I was a kid and my parents spent all their time with my sister's travel softball. Then I grew up and had kids who did travel sports. I became friends with the other kids' parents and realized that's why my parents were so into it. It's a friend group of similar minded people who you get to hang out with and drink beer with in the evenings after the kids go to bed.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:27 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Our best athletes arent going to play soccer because they wont get extremely wealthy playing soccer.
We don't need better athletes. We need better technical skill.
Every four years we have to hear this same nonsense.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:27 am to moneyg
quote:
An investment into mens college soccer probably would be a significant benefit.
Highly unlikely to happen given Title IX.
Schools can only spare so many scholarships for non-revenue men’s sports.
I don’t see a lot of schools cutting track, cross country, swimming, tennis, golf, etc, in favor of soccer.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:28 am to real turf fan
Soccer development really is terrible in the US. Just like with every other sport it’s more about adults making money than kids being developed.
I wouldn’t say we are missing out on talent from kids who don’t have money, b/c if they are good enough they’ll let them play for free, but when you play at the higher levels it requires stupid levels of travel and those poor kids can’t afford that.
Why the frick does a 12 year old need to play in a league where he has to play teams in Kansas City, New Orleans, Nashville, Birmingham, Charlotte, etc. it’s fricking dumb.
Most of our top talent will be found by European clubs though. It’s if a parent wants their 14 year old going live in Italy or Spain to play soccer. That’s not really an option for everyone, but that’s the best way for us to develop talent with the ridiculous money hungry adults that are in this country and the stupid system we currently have to “develop” talent within the US.
I wouldn’t say we are missing out on talent from kids who don’t have money, b/c if they are good enough they’ll let them play for free, but when you play at the higher levels it requires stupid levels of travel and those poor kids can’t afford that.
Why the frick does a 12 year old need to play in a league where he has to play teams in Kansas City, New Orleans, Nashville, Birmingham, Charlotte, etc. it’s fricking dumb.
Most of our top talent will be found by European clubs though. It’s if a parent wants their 14 year old going live in Italy or Spain to play soccer. That’s not really an option for everyone, but that’s the best way for us to develop talent with the ridiculous money hungry adults that are in this country and the stupid system we currently have to “develop” talent within the US.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:28 am to teke184
I have a 13 year old son, and it seems to be less niche among his generation. They all wear the jerseys, play FIFA World Cup on the Xbox, and argue about which pro player is the best. He plays soccer at the local rec district, but only started doing that recently because he was interested in pro soccer first. I’m glad he did, because otherwise I wouldn’t have known shite about soccer or the World Cup. It’s been fun to watch.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:29 am to moneyg
Well sure but then you’d have to create another women’s team to balance it out, or get rid of a men’s team. What’s left, pickleball? Field hockey? Rugby?
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:30 am to Mung
I think that the US is at least a generation away from being competitive with other countries. We lack the youth development here (numbers of competent coaches and programs are limited) and in other places, where soccer is a cheap sport, kids don't have the choices we have here and so most everyone plays soccer. Sort of a twist in that the choices, because we can afford it, limit the numbers of children who get the long term training needed to excel at that world class level. And I agree that the travel ball system of development is counter-productive.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:32 am to Mung
quote:
Well sure but then you’d have to create another women’s team to balance it out, or get rid of a men’s team. What’s left, pickleball? Field hockey? Rugby?
Create women's flag football?
Problem is most athletic departments lose money. I'd say ditch men's tennis as the offset but you just need one guy to become a successful pro to make it worthwhile.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:32 am to real turf fan
Where I live, soccer is still an upper crust sport (and viewed as soft compared to American football, basketball, and baseball).
I don’t watch it or desire to watch it on TV.
I worked internationally. I lived in London during previous World Cups. The international energy is fantastic. Every bit of SEC football level (or more).
Just not for me. And I did not help the future by raising kids on the way I think about sports.
Sorry.
I don’t watch it or desire to watch it on TV.
I worked internationally. I lived in London during previous World Cups. The international energy is fantastic. Every bit of SEC football level (or more).
Just not for me. And I did not help the future by raising kids on the way I think about sports.
Sorry.
Posted on 7/8/26 at 9:32 am to Fun Bunch
quote:I personally don’t give a shite how the rest of the world does things. Regarding travel ball or anything else.
And those clubs have no incentive to do it the way the rest of the world does it.
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