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Posted on 7/8/26 at 4:59 pm to baldona
quote:
The difference in America is there's not enough kids just playing on the playground and the streets. There's no saturday and sunday street games
I agree with that. You just dont see kids out kicking the ball around or in pick up games in any empty lots or fields or where ever they can find to play. Not on weekends, not after school, not in the summer, almost never. Im sure coaching is a great help but if your not out playing all the time I dont think you are going to become a great player. There are skills that need to be there that coaches just cant coach. A basketball coach cant coach a basketball player to have a great shooting touch with the ball, only a lot of time, a lifetime, spent with the ball in your hands taking shots can develop that. I never played soccer but i don't see how it can be different.
These skills I see in the world cup dont look coached to me, they look more like a lifetime of constant practice and playing.
to be fair, I dont see kids out anywhere playing any kind of sport. Hell the parks dont even have basketball courts any more. WTF. They have a park by my house where they had a no soccer playing sign, they did take it down, but put a whole bunch of little 2-3 foot mounds all over it just to make sure you cant play sports in the park . Its fricken retarded.
This post was edited on 7/8/26 at 5:11 pm
Posted on 7/8/26 at 7:44 pm to RandySavage
quote:
because of the pay for play system, most of the teams that are close to each other can't play each other because they are all in different pathways, each with their own financial interests. My daughter's team in metro ATL, before she quit playing for this very reason, had a least 6 if not 8 clubs within an hour that could provide competitive games. Problem is there were only 2 of them in the same organization so instead playing teams 30-45 min away we had 3 team from Florida, 1 in Alabama, 1 in So Car, 1 in South Georgia, and like 3 in North Carolina. Just for regular league games. It's ridiculous.
That is going around your back to get to your elbow if I've ever seen it. Had no idea it was this bad wow. I'm sorry man, kudos to you though for being such a champ & supporting your daughter through it all.
If nothing else comes from this world cup, US pay to play needs to get scrutinized to the sun & back.
This post was edited on 7/8/26 at 7:44 pm
Posted on 7/9/26 at 6:31 am to Ingeniero
Pay to play isn’t inherently bad. AAU is expensive as frick.
But if soccer is to become more prevalent, it needs to be more accessible. That’s simple math.
Quality coaching needs to be more accessible.
Local rec leagues are coached by moron parents who know jack shite about soccer and don’t make it fun for kids. Get coaches certified. Have them be overall coaches for the league who host practices three days a week. Have them run practices for the entire age group with the help of their parent coaches. Everyone is training the “USA way.” You can spend $100 plus cleats to play against kids your age without having to travel to Atlanta and then Houston and then Miami to do it AND you get taught by a certified coach who can keep an eye for local talent to send video of to academies.
But you have to get more rural and urban kids interested. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know what kids like anymore. Get some a-hole Influencer to do a commercial
But if soccer is to become more prevalent, it needs to be more accessible. That’s simple math.
Quality coaching needs to be more accessible.
Local rec leagues are coached by moron parents who know jack shite about soccer and don’t make it fun for kids. Get coaches certified. Have them be overall coaches for the league who host practices three days a week. Have them run practices for the entire age group with the help of their parent coaches. Everyone is training the “USA way.” You can spend $100 plus cleats to play against kids your age without having to travel to Atlanta and then Houston and then Miami to do it AND you get taught by a certified coach who can keep an eye for local talent to send video of to academies.
But you have to get more rural and urban kids interested. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know what kids like anymore. Get some a-hole Influencer to do a commercial
Posted on 7/9/26 at 6:45 am to LoveThatMoney
We can sell it to those groups that soccer is important for footwork development. Remember Harbaugh quote?
Posted on 7/9/26 at 8:04 am to baldona
quote:
I've coached soccer now for close to 20 years. I played for about the same.
I've seen 100s of kids that came from almost nothing with very little formal training in multiple sports jump into the scene at 8, 10, 12, 14.
And it’s also clear you’ve never coached at an MLS Academy. Try dumping that same kid on those teams and they will get worked. They won’t even touch the ball …. Yes, even at age 8.
Posted on 7/9/26 at 11:25 am to Ingeniero
I’m not sure what all is grouped into pay to play, are grassroots recreational programs considered pay to play?
I’m for “professional level coaching” in that coaches should hold a C or B level license at minimum from 9v9 forward. Compensating those coaches comes with that. Playing on a proper field comes at a cost, and those high number low entry fee recreational teams spread cost, as well as feeds into the club system. As far as the traveling aspect it’s too much too early.
Parents and some clubs/teams in all of youth sports get in their own way when it comes to prioritizing winning over development way too early. Soccer is now turning into travel baseball with too many subsets or individual leagues competing against each other for kids to fill their leagues and tournaments. There’s 5-6 divisions of competitive club soccer for USYS alone, then ECNL, MLS Next, MLS Next 2, Pre-MLS Next, ODP, and probably another dozen I have no idea about. It waters down the local clubs, and forces teams to have to drive 6 hours for one game to find competitive teams under the same umbrella, and this starts before half these kids have even hit puberty. 1/3 of these kids will burn out before high school, another 1/3 will never develop past where they would have with their local club, and finish in high school. Even if the remaining 1/3 end up playing collegiate soccer or make it to the MLS, which that number is WAY too high, that’s not what the US needs to improve the player pool at the national level.
A revamped ODP program (name it something different) where travel and lodging for regional and national ODP events are paid for by a small fee from each USYS player across the country at no cost to the players would let the best players in the country play against the best, and get exposure to the European clubs regardless of how much disposable income their parents have.
I’m for “professional level coaching” in that coaches should hold a C or B level license at minimum from 9v9 forward. Compensating those coaches comes with that. Playing on a proper field comes at a cost, and those high number low entry fee recreational teams spread cost, as well as feeds into the club system. As far as the traveling aspect it’s too much too early.
Parents and some clubs/teams in all of youth sports get in their own way when it comes to prioritizing winning over development way too early. Soccer is now turning into travel baseball with too many subsets or individual leagues competing against each other for kids to fill their leagues and tournaments. There’s 5-6 divisions of competitive club soccer for USYS alone, then ECNL, MLS Next, MLS Next 2, Pre-MLS Next, ODP, and probably another dozen I have no idea about. It waters down the local clubs, and forces teams to have to drive 6 hours for one game to find competitive teams under the same umbrella, and this starts before half these kids have even hit puberty. 1/3 of these kids will burn out before high school, another 1/3 will never develop past where they would have with their local club, and finish in high school. Even if the remaining 1/3 end up playing collegiate soccer or make it to the MLS, which that number is WAY too high, that’s not what the US needs to improve the player pool at the national level.
A revamped ODP program (name it something different) where travel and lodging for regional and national ODP events are paid for by a small fee from each USYS player across the country at no cost to the players would let the best players in the country play against the best, and get exposure to the European clubs regardless of how much disposable income their parents have.
This post was edited on 7/9/26 at 11:35 am
Posted on 7/9/26 at 11:51 am to SabiDojo
quote:
In America, if you want to find the best competition, chances are you’re going to have to travel a good distance. Gas, hotels, food. It adds up a good bit.
You travel ball hardos are morons. You *choose* to sign up for leagues that think it's necessary to go to a tournament in Chattanooga, rather than play in South LA or even Mississippi. It's even more inexcusable living in the burbs of Houston or DFW, to "have" to go to a tournament in Cooperstown, Denver, Seattle, etc.
Posted on 7/9/26 at 12:02 pm to AwesomeSauce
Posted on 7/9/26 at 12:04 pm to SippyCup
quote:
Why is soccer the only target of the "pay to play" crowd? Basbeall and basketball started it and dont even begin to add up the costs of golf.
Pay to Play has not diminshed the product this country has put out for either baseball, football or basketball so why is it so bad for soccer?
It's very simple, until recently, Soccer, was not a popular youth sport in the united states. In 2000, there were an estimated 3.75mm youth registration. In 2026, that number was 4.3mm. In contrast,
Football 4mm in 2000 and 3.75mm in 2026.
Baseball 4.75mm in 2000 and 6.05mm in 2026.
Basketaball 7.33 mm in 2000 and 7.2mm in 2026.
By pure participation numbers, compared to 2000, soccer in now 3rd on the list, surpassing football, but unlike football and basketball, youth soccer numbers are on the rise.
It's going to take time. We are 100+ years behind the rest of the world, but we are rising fast.
because there is enough money and history in college basketball and football and even baseball to make them suitable developmental leagues for the pro sports teams
that isnt the case in college soccer
Posted on 7/9/26 at 5:13 pm to SippyCup
A side note from what I've observed when my wife and I make trips to the UK to see her family, a lot of people there of all ages (all skill levels) still play soccer on weekends and some weekday evenings.
I know when I've gone there in the past to work at then my company's London office many of your coworkers still played in some league or pickup groups to some capacity.
It's ingrained in their culture. It's not just an athletic thing, it's kind of a social thing at times. Probably what pickleball here tries to often do. This happens too in the rest of Europe.
They also don't have the age angst that young and close to middle agers have towards older people like you see here in the States.
For some reason, Americans have an idea that once you've hit 50 or 60+, you're pretty much useless and won't engage or are downright afraid to talk to older folks. Of course older Americans can be a pain in the arse for a number of reasons. I digress.
I know when I've gone there in the past to work at then my company's London office many of your coworkers still played in some league or pickup groups to some capacity.
It's ingrained in their culture. It's not just an athletic thing, it's kind of a social thing at times. Probably what pickleball here tries to often do. This happens too in the rest of Europe.
They also don't have the age angst that young and close to middle agers have towards older people like you see here in the States.
For some reason, Americans have an idea that once you've hit 50 or 60+, you're pretty much useless and won't engage or are downright afraid to talk to older folks. Of course older Americans can be a pain in the arse for a number of reasons. I digress.
This post was edited on 7/9/26 at 5:15 pm
Posted on 7/9/26 at 5:40 pm to SabiDojo
quote:
I am in the Jackson Metro Area lol, and lots of great teams in the Midwest have to drive a good ways. Not everyone lives in a top 10 U.S. city by population
That's not the point i was making. We don't need to travel in our youth systems to develop our players to a level necessary to be better for our national team.
Houston metro area is almost 9 million, so is the Dallas metro area. SA/Austin is 5 million.
Belgium is 11 million.
There's twice as many people in that Texas triangle than in Belgium, and it's still more people than in the Netherlands.
Los Angeles is 12 million
SanFran/Oakland/San Jose is 9 million
There is no excuse why we can't find enough talent just in fricking Texas to be really really good in soccer, and there's no reason for anyone in that triangle in Texas to need to go outside of that triangle to play anyone else to get better. There's more than enough in that triangle to have a development system that churns out USMNT players. Between Texas and California, both places where soccer is a sport that is heavily populated, there's just no reason we can't develop more players without those players families having to spend 10's of thousands of dollars to play.
What i don't understand is why teams like PSV or Ajax or Benfica or Lyon and similar type clubs dont have a club level system in a place like Houston or Dallas or LA where they can run the same type development system they do in their home countries, but over here. Seems like there would be a lot more talent to get their hands on and develop in the hopes of making money off of them when they sell them off. I would assume somehting about the US or MLS doesn't allow that.
Posted on 7/9/26 at 5:45 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:Is that Barcelona academy in Arizona officially part of Barcelona or is it one of those deals where it’s run by a third party but allowed to use all the branding for the affiliation/reputation purposes?
I would assume something about the US or MLS doesn't allow that.
Posted on 7/10/26 at 10:28 pm to GeorgeTheGreek
quote:
And it’s also clear you’ve never coached at an MLS Academy. Try dumping that same kid on those teams and they will get worked. They won’t even touch the ball …. Yes, even at age 8.
Wrong. Interesting you have no idea my experience. Its laughable to think that any 8 year old "academy" would automatically have the best of the best and there's never going to be anyone better outside of that. I mean its laughable.
Where do you think all these kids that end up in the Academy's come from?
You guys act like 100% of kids in these top tier academy's start there at a young age and then are finished there and end up all in top tier leagues.
The fact of the matter is the Academy's don't hardly develop any more than anything else. Check the numbers. Its simple facts. The academy's are simply where the best of the best meet up. But the best of the best come from all over and develop at all different times.
ETA: Its a numbers game. Its ridiculous you guys think betting the 50 or whatever 10 year olds in the academy's are logically going to 100% turn out better than the 50,000 kids outside of them. Its just illogical. It does happen. And they do do a good job. But the difference between America and the world is not the academy's.
This post was edited on 7/10/26 at 10:33 pm
Posted on 7/11/26 at 11:39 am to BCLA
If it’s your son, how old is he? My son might have played against him
Posted on 7/11/26 at 11:46 am to RandySavage
This
In a large metro area like DFW, there are multiple leagues. There used to be like 3 tiers to the leagues outside of tournaments. Classic league was the top league in North Texas. Now, it’s like 3rd or 4th.
For smaller clubs, the best way to test against strong competition is tournaments, especially the Dallas Cup. They have teams from across the US and even international. Unfortunately, it’s a tournament
quote:
Not if you live in a good sized metro area. The problem is, because of the pay for play system, most of the teams that are close to each other can't play each other because they are all in different pathways, each with their own financial interests
In a large metro area like DFW, there are multiple leagues. There used to be like 3 tiers to the leagues outside of tournaments. Classic league was the top league in North Texas. Now, it’s like 3rd or 4th.
For smaller clubs, the best way to test against strong competition is tournaments, especially the Dallas Cup. They have teams from across the US and even international. Unfortunately, it’s a tournament
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