- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: The Times-Picayune Article on Soccer/World Cup
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:03 am to tduecen
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:03 am to tduecen
For someone writing in a major newspaper, this guy knows very, very little about soccer. Athletes choosing football over soccer has very little to do with our inability to compete with the world's top teams.
quote:
Can you imagine how good the U.S. would be if NFL skill players like Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, New Orleans Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro, Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin "Megatron" Johnson and Eric Reid had decided instead to play soccer as youths instead of football.
2
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:10 am to tduecen
quote:
According to one survey, 33.8 percent of rec level soccer players come from households making more than $100,000 per year. In football, 34.8 percent of its players come from households that make less than $35,000.
What are the rest of the numbers from this survey?
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:15 am to pvilleguru
quote:
We benefit from our players learning abroad because our system of developing players is backwards.
This x1000. When I was 14 we got to play the Man U youth squad in Dallas Cup and we beat them because we were so much more athletic. We went back when I was 16 and got to play them again and they absolutely killed us. We were still much more athletic than they were but because of their superior training they were so much more technically gifted than we were it was embarassing.
This post was edited on 6/29/14 at 10:17 am
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:35 am to noonan
quote:
What are the rest of the numbers from this survey?
I would like to know this as well. It cost me 3x as much money for my son to play ydp soccer as it does for him to play travel baseball. The sad part is it is only going to get more skewed as he goes to competitive. In Orleans parish, rec soccer is almost nonexistent after U9.
I did hear that Carrollton boosters is starting their own rec program this coming year.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:38 am to cwil177
It does play a part IMO....
Some of the best athletes choose to play football/basketball and even baseball over soccer. Baseball has diminished in part because kids have so many options now that they don't even get the best players anymore.
Soccer seems a bit more related that just pure athleticism like baseball but a lot of these great athletes had they focused on soccer (or baseball) could have thrived in the sport and instead went towards basketball or football.
Personally I see a lot of similarities between the plight of baseball and soccer. I think baseball is still the second most popular sport but the it does have its struggles. Television ratings are always a poor sign of popularity because baseball has regional broadcast so national ones diminish and soccer comes on at obscure times for the most part.
Some of the best athletes choose to play football/basketball and even baseball over soccer. Baseball has diminished in part because kids have so many options now that they don't even get the best players anymore.
Soccer seems a bit more related that just pure athleticism like baseball but a lot of these great athletes had they focused on soccer (or baseball) could have thrived in the sport and instead went towards basketball or football.
Personally I see a lot of similarities between the plight of baseball and soccer. I think baseball is still the second most popular sport but the it does have its struggles. Television ratings are always a poor sign of popularity because baseball has regional broadcast so national ones diminish and soccer comes on at obscure times for the most part.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:40 am to tduecen
quote:
Television ratings are always a poor sign of popularity because baseball has regional broadcast so national ones diminish
What sport, besides football, doesn't have regional TV contracts?
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:44 am to tduecen
Our team is plenty athletic, but having fantastic athletes doesn't mean squat if we don't have systems in place to give them the proper technique needed to compete with the best. Currently we don't have the capability to produce world class players in the US, but the rise of MLS academies is promising. It just needs time.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:46 am to Broski
I thought not all NBA had an exclusive regional contract
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:47 am to tduecen
quote:
I thought not all NBA had an exclusive regional contract
I'm fairly certain they all do.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:48 am to cwil177
quote:
For someone writing in a major newspaper, this guy knows very, very little about soccer. Athletes choosing football over soccer has very little to do with our inability to compete with the world's top teams.
This is such a cop out by soccer fans. Yes there are some skills that would individualize sports but elite athletes are elite athletes. They get to the elite level by having superior body control and skills. Their muscle memory is far superior.
If you took Reggie bush or Westbrook and put them developing their soccer skills from childhood on then I guarantee they'd be elite soccer players. I think it's asinine to say otherwise. Somehow I'm supposed to believe that the Netherlands with less people that the metro area of NYC breeds far more soccer talent? Hell no. The kids who are athletic chose to home their athletic skills in the outlet that was most prominent. Soccer is way down the list for inner city athletes.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:48 am to tduecen
The USMNT is more athletic than probably 75% of their opponents. Its not a matter of athleticism.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:49 am to Adam Banks
Netherlands has some of the best academies in the world. A couple of them are probably THE best.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:50 am to Adam Banks
quote:
but elite athletes are elite athletes. They get to the elite level by having superior body control and skills. Their muscle memory is far superior.
The American team is easily one of the most athletic teams in this tournament. You believing they are not elite athletes is more of a cop out than anything.
It comes down to giving these elite athletes the best training available so that they can reach their potential. When it comes to soccer in America, we simply aren't providing that.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:50 am to Adam Banks
quote:
This is such a cop out by soccer fans. Yes there are some skills that would individualize sports but elite athletes are elite athletes. They get to the elite level by having superior body control and skills. Their muscle memory is far superior.
If you took Reggie bush or Westbrook and put them developing their soccer skills from childhood on then I guarantee they'd be elite soccer players. I think it's asinine to say otherwise.
You're missing my point. We don't currently have the means to make elite soccer players out of elite athletes. That's not a cop out, that's just fact.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:54 am to tduecen
We need to develop the overall level of our soccer players here in the USA. I believe that we could use the power of collegiate athletics to do so. No other country has the level of support for collegiate athletics as we do here in the US. I think we could use this to our advantage.
My theory is that US Soccer could partner with the NCAA to provide more programs and more scholarships per program for men's soccer, and allow our nation's development to continue through the collegiate soccer.
As it stands now, men's college soccer is the hardest division-1 scholarship to obtain.
My theory is that US Soccer could partner with the NCAA to provide more programs and more scholarships per program for men's soccer, and allow our nation's development to continue through the collegiate soccer.
As it stands now, men's college soccer is the hardest division-1 scholarship to obtain.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:55 am to Adam Banks
quote:
If you took Reggie bush or Westbrook and put them developing their soccer skills from childhood on then I guarantee they'd be elite soccer players. I
This is just dumb on so many levels.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:56 am to Broski
quote:
This is just dumb on so many levels.
The concept is true (albeit extremely oversimplified), but we can't do it here in the states. That's what this poster is missing.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:57 am to Tiger Phil
College soccer is what's held soccer back in this country for so long.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:57 am to cwil177
quote:
You're missing my point. We don't currently have the means to make elite soccer players out of elite athletes. That's not a cop out, that's just fact.
I can agree with that it just sounded like the typical look at chad ochocinco type post from soccer fans. I agree that the skills take honing but if our athletes invested in soccer they others do abroad then we'd dominate the world cup just like the Olympics.
Posted on 6/29/14 at 10:57 am to cwil177
quote:
The concept is true (albeit extremely oversimplified), but we can't do it here in the states.
I don't think Russell Westbrook & Reggie Bush are any more athletic than Jozy Altidore and Fabian Johnson. Assuming that they would be our biggest soccer stars just because they excel at their own respective sports (which is questionable when it comes to Reggie) is fallacious.
This post was edited on 6/29/14 at 10:59 am
Page 2 of 4
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News