National Championship - Regional Observations.

There is not a single top European club who would agree with you on this. Not one. Not Barcelona ,not Manchester United not any of them.

The name of the coach who gave the Dallas Texans coaching staff the average grade is Anthony Latronica described as "Technical Advisor at United States Soccer Federation"....I believe he is also the head soccer coach at the United States Air Force Academy.

All those European teams pay those players. There is no pressure for them to win.

I thought Claudio Reyna was the Technical Advisor to USSF. Would still like to see where that average grade was posted or am I just supposed to believe you and what exactly he based this grade on. He doesn't attend practices. He can't be at many games.

None of those teams "pay" 13 year olds and there is no pressure on them to "win" simply because the coaches don't put any pressure on them to "win". There is ZERO parental involvement and I suggest you contact Manchester United and beg them to send you their full color brochure (which is given out to every academy player) entitled "Guidlines for Players and Parents"...this publication should be required reading for EVERY coach in the Classic League and Lake Highlands.

Frankly I could'nt give a rats ass wether you believe me or not regarding the Texans "average" grade....a tad high imo... and chances are the USSF has more than one "Technical Advisor"

Seriously, starting in the late 1990’s, the professional clubs were allowed to sign players as young as 8 into their academies. You think Beckham, Messi, etc. uprooted their life for free?

As far as Anthony Latronica, if what you say is true, do you really think the Texans care what some spare coach thinks about their coaching?

I am done with you. Enjoy competing in Division 3 somewhere and believing that your child is developing. Your argument is so old and uninformed that it is laughable.

They can and do sign young players but they are not "paid" by the clubs who, I'm sure, help the families with relocation expenses as well as secure jobs for the kids parents if necessary.

the Texans do indeed care about what "some spare coach" thinks about them and their so called "coaching"...they were furious at their "average" grade as it came from a representative of the USSF who had spent two weeks watching them operate.

My youngest child is 23...so I don't have a dog in this hunt. The club soccer scene in the USA (epitomised by the Dallas Texans) is a total, unmitigated joke...and will remain so as long as idiotic,ignorant clowns like yourself have any say in the matter.

You come to this argument with an empty bag and an agenda. It's pretty obvious that there is no proof of this average grade or you would have posted it. Meanwhile, I will watch my kid play in the national and regional pool and in college due to these average coaches. She won't play for ManU or Barca. After all, she is a girl.

So please quit wasting everyone's time.

You and "parents" like you are the biggest part of this problem....the fact that your daughter is obviously a player of some talent has absolutely nothing to do with "coaching" and is more down to her love and appreciation of the game.

As many posters on these boards well know I played and coached at a high level...(actually played for the National Team and have an "A" license from the USSF) I also have three daughters of my own so am familiar with the game AND raising girls.

Were I you I wouldn't care much about wether my daughter was "playing in the regional and national pools" but wether or not she is happy doing what she's doing....Is she having fun with the game..?? Is her coach a positive type coach...?...Is the coach a yeller and a screamer...? are practices fun...?? or do they include mindless lap running...(the sure sign of a "coach" who hasn't a clue as to what he's doing)...or is the entire practice conducted using a ball...??...if the answer to any of these questions is in the negative then you are in for some serious "issues" with your daughter as she enters her upper teen years. She will start questioning you, her mom, the game and the purpose of playing a sport she doesn't truly love.

Good luck. You're gonna need it.

I'm part of the problem? Because I support my coach? Because I don't look to make excuses for my kid's failures by blaming everyone else?

Don't worry about me or my kid. She would rather be on a pitch than anywhere else in the world, loves her teammates and loves going to practice.

She is almost through with club soccer and my son quit to pursue other interests. I will sure miss hearing from self-important, anonymous, self-styled "National Team and have an "A" license from the USSF" righteous jackwagons like you. Telling me that I don't know what I am doing and I am lucky I have a talented kid. You don't know me and you don't know my kid. Believe it or not, she loves her dad and I respect her opinion.

You don't know me either. You and I will obviously never agree on this subject so rather than responding in kind to your "righteous jackwagon" crack I'll just leave well enough alone.
Good luck to you and your daughter.

Jim, I am strictly a parent, but I think you are being harsh. What I see is England66 comments come from someone with a love of the game and yours from a love of the player. England66 will be here years from now but most parents will lose interest when their child stops playing, yet the influence to the youth levels of the game is very much driven by those same parents and not to the long term benefit of the game here in the US.

Believe me, I don't think I was harsh enough. England66 is one of those people that has an agenda and hides behind his self-confessed status as a coach. He hates club soccer, especially the Texans, and backs up his opinions with nothing other than "look at Barca and ManU". If people like him are going to drive youth soccer, than I am glad my dd only has a few years left.

Like it or not, the US will never be like other countries when it comes to soccer. Clubs are out there to make money. That's the American way. Rather than harp on that, do your part as a parent to make your club and your team better. Hold your coach accountable to your kid's development.

As has been pointed out your "interest" in club soccer starts and ends with your daughters involvement and I suspect when she quits you'll quit as well.

I wrote an article (published in march this year by The Pitch...the monthly publication of the North Texas Soccer Association...) ripping negative, abusive,screaming club "coaches"..that was very well received and am working on another article about the abuses of the club system as well as over zealous parents. It's possible the original article is accessible on line although I haven't checked...should any of you be interested in reading it pm me with your address and I'll snail mail you a hard copy.

Yes, he does, and that is to see the game thrive in the US and perhaps at some point on an international level. You, Jim, also have an agenda and that is the success of your daughter and her team. Sometimes, often, these things conflict with one another, which may be why you take England66's comments so personally. You shouldn't. I myself tend to lean toward those who see the bigger picture.

A measured and convincing response, Bird. Nice to read some reasonable thoughts that put this conflict (and it is a conflict) in proper perspective.

It really does come down to the player vs. the sport. We are the only country that seems to create a division between the two, because we've basically reinvented the youth structure, and unfortunately it's usually the parents and their lack of worldliness when it comes to the sport that create the problem. And the majority of youth coaches cater to that (because, again, the parents are paying big money), and the problem persists.

I plan to bring my U12 dd (and our whole family) to Holland perhaps next summer to finally meet their cousins, and I'm looking into having her train with the Heerenveen girls youth program for the experience of it all. And I'll be happy to leave behind the raving nonsense that is American Youth Soccer. If she's still playing at 18 and loving it as much as she does now, it would be nice to have somewhere to go play where they take the game, and not the trappings, seriously.

Could someone please point ot where England66 made a cogent argument on how to make the US system better in this conversation? All he did was rail against the club system and quote that the US doesn't have any players playing for ManU or Barca. Anyone can do that.

Blaming everyone else is the American way but not the proper way to solve this problem.

The problems with US youth soccer, and suggested solutions, have been discussed ad nauseum on this board and many other places. England66 is not obligated to rehash every such (long) discussion every time he posts, nor is anyone else, especially when so many people jump into these arguments without having read them. Anyone who's spent enough time here, or in the soccer community at large, knows what they are. Frankly, the obligation is on you, not on him. There's plenty of info here and elsewhere that will address your question.

Give me a break. I have been around here and soccer long enough to recognize a blowhard when I see one and yet he's given a free pass because he's says he's a coach. England66 justs keeps harping on the same thing that has been argued about ad nauseum. It's the coach's fault, it's the club's fault, the system is broke. Did no one else pick up on that? It just irritates me when someone comes on here, and is defended, that has a big bag of nothing on how to change it.

I know the argument and have read so much on it over the years. It isn't just the club's fault or the identification team's fault, it's all of ours. Complaining about how we don't have any players on Barca or ManU doesn't help.

The Texans have failed to land a single player on either the boys or girls national team pool for u14 and u15. www.topdrawersoccer.com for the list of players.
By the way e66 is a former national team player who played and coached professionally and has been involved in N.Tx soccer for decades.

There was only 1 North Texas Club player on either the U14 or U15 national team Pool. It is made up of California players mainly. Please explain how 23 of the players on the U14 pool are from California. Do you really think they are scouting the whole country?

Wrong. There are 4 N.Tx players in the pool for u14 and u15 boys and girls and none, repeat none, play for your favorite Texans.

They are: Kaycie Tillman, Rowlett, Tx plays for Sting.
Weston McKennie,Little Elm.Tx plays for FC Dallas
Nathan De La Hoya,Dallas, Tx plays for Solar
Vernon Bailey, Dallas,Tx plays for FC Dallas.

The Texans well deserve their average grade from US Soccer as they are a full fledged crap organisation.

I only care about the girl's side of which 1 from North Texas was chosen.

So, according to you, the number of children placed in a national pool at 14 or 15 years of age is the measuring stick for the abilities of a club's coaches. I prefer to listen to more credible sources like Soccer America and the NSCAA rather than some yahoo that just hates the Texans organization. (By the way, organization is spelled with a Z)

From your "join date" it looks like you've been around here for about 9 months...hardly "long enough" to qualify for much of anything.

There are just too many negative, abusive "coaches" operating in the club system, and not just with the Texans (although they do have more than their share) I spoke with one of the coaches of the Texans the other day and he agreed their organization is full of these types of "coaches". He even admitted that he was "guilty" (his word) of, on occassion, being one of them....I asked him why....his response was that they were all under pressure to "win"...from their boss and from some parents. I had a very civil discussion with this coach for about 45 minutes.

I asked him why the Texans team he works for had told one of our schools varsity players he could no longer play for the school....told him he'd been drinking the cool aid and that he certainly had not been brought up that way (he's foreign)....he agreed and the very next day the kid told the mens varsity coach that he could now play for the school....sanity won out (for once)

Looking at Jims posting history it seems his "interest" in soccer is very strictly limited to his daughters participation....not that there is anything wrong with that.... but to put himself forward as someone who's "been around soccer long enough" is laughable....he's been around his daughter's soccer "long enough"...maybe....

I have always found this particular forum quite sterile and frankly, pretty boring. I have only read about 3 threads that I have had any interest in. I only got a user ID 9 months ago because I had a question that I needed a more national response. I much prefer the local boards like the Old Turfmonster and now, the NTX Soccer forum. They are much more interesting, informative and not as easy to hide your identity like this board. I could change my name here and pretend I am a writer for the Pitch, a former national team player or coach and no one would know any different. On the Texas forums, people could figure me out. To attack my credibility by my join date smells of desperation.

Sure I am interested in my dd's soccer. After all, I am her dad. But I am also concerned with the direction of women's soccer in the US. But the gist of this whole conversation is about singling out one particular club and their horrible, cruel coaches. I have tried to balance the argument with the fact that they are highly respected by national organizations like Soccer America and the NSCAA. Then it's all turned around by posers that can only relay nonsense like "I talked to coach", "average grades" and "crap organization". You and Jeddy Rasp are so obvious in your intentions to disparage them, it's laughable.

Are they perfect? No. But neither is any other club in America. Meanwhile, the Texans will continue getting their players college scholarships and competing for National Championships every year whether you like them or not.

I am solidly against negative, verbally abusive "coaches" and most of these clowns seem to be employed by the big club teams. This game is supposed to be fun....not a chore. In the past WEEK I have taken calls from three friends, each with kids ages 10 to 11, and each complaining that their children want to quit soccer and they want to quit because of negative, abusive coaches who belittle them, yank them if they make a mistake, constantly yell and scream at them and have each of them (all with different clubs...one coached by an Argentinian,one by an American and one by an Englishman) playing scared out of their wits.

The team coached by the Argentinian had one of the players run laps the entire practice because he had missed the previous practice session...and he had missed it to attend his grandmothers memorial service....these people have NO business being around kids much less "coaching" them.

This game is supposed to be FUN for kids not something to be feared, so I will continue to get on my soapbox and rail against these morons.

Frankly I don't give a toss wether or not anyone on these boards believes my credentials or not. I can tell you this: I am more qualified to coach kids than ANYONE on the Texans staff. Anyone.

I am a Rhode Scholar, brain surgeon with a super model wife.

Wow. It is easy to pretend.