Klinsmann: US Kids Need More Playground Soccer; Galaxy Manipulate Rules?
Posted on March 13, 2012 5:25 am
The guys discuss Klinsmann’s recent interview with goal.com where he discusses the need for US youths to play more playground soccer on their own, rather than just organized soccer. No kidding…
Also, Jason Kreis and Stevie Nicol say LA Galaxy manipulate the rules as they fill their roster. Simon Borg tells Kreis and Nicol to shut their pieholes.
Sorry guys, this was the first time I listened to you and it was quite disappointing.
Your theory that the only way we will have unorganized playground soccer is if clubs organize it is patently rediculous.
There is more grass in American cities than in European cities. You can play pickup soccer on streets and squares.
You argue that we can’t have playground soccer because the kids will get attacked by child molesters. Yet the kids can play other sports? What? Again — rediculous.
Finally — did Klinsman actually imply his comments were original? He didn’t. And is it not our head coach’s job to set the tone and emphasize direction and issues? Even if there is nothing ground breaking?
You guys are yellow carded. More commentary like this and you need to be sent off.
Re: pick-up games organized by clubs- My point was with the limited number of actual soccer interested kids in a specific area able to convince non-soccer kids to play soccer is rather tough. I used my location as an example. There are plenty of kids who play soccer in Noblesville, Fishers, Lawrence and Carmel (all surrounding towns) however, kids in those areas would find it difficult to have any form of pick-up game as they are generally spread out. Indy is not a compact location and soccer culture is simply not at the level. Organized pickup games is a viable option.
Of course if you go to inner cities where population is vast (ie. Chicago, LA, NY, etc..) or even areas of immigrant or 2nd generation americans where soccer culture is prevalent then it’s quite viable to have local park pick-ups.
RE: Child Molesters etc…- Derek brought up a personal reason as a parent. I mentioned how when i was younger, kids had a lot more freedom to roam and quite frankly were expected. There is a lot more paranoia today then before, that is not ridiculous. That is not to say that all kids are confined to their yards until they are escorted to the local park. There are kids today who still roam with no restrictions. It’s a parent’s choice.
RE: Klinsmann- It’s not original and he did not state it was. But this topic has been beaten to death. We know our youth need more touches on the ball, playground soccer, but as i’ve pointed out in the show and on this post it’s not that easy for a large portion of the US. You called the idea of organized “playground” pickup games ridiculous, how do you suggest we start? B/C we’ve been discussing this topic for years and have seen little to no improvement on playground pickup games. Some areas of the country, yes, but as a whole, the culture isnt there. It has to start somewhere and using a club who has a pool of players and starting a “pick-up” friday (or insert day) is not a ridiculous idea. If anything it’ll jump start the movement.
Okay, I have to actually chime in here:
1. There may be some “unorganized” games going on out there, but not in my neighborhood. Do you suggest that these things happen through osmosis, or do you have some ideas?
2. You need more than grass–you need kids to WANT to play soccer all on their own. There are fewer kids than ever playing anything at all outdoors–sports included.
3. Do you have kids? If you have small children then you would sympathize with my problem. We live a few hundred yards from a park. A park where pedophiles have been arrested for stalking kids. I have a map online that lets me know that even in my fairly nice neighborhood at least a half dozen molesters live NEAR the park. Do I think this is a rampant issue? Maybe. I know a lot of parents who won’t let their kids walk to school anymore or go out alone. Is that because child abductions have increased–probably not. The difference is 20 years ago we were ignorant about where they lived and how many there were. Ignorance is indeed bliss.
4. I don’t care whether Klinsmann implied his ideas were original or not. I’m telling you that they AREN’T. What you do with it from there is your business. Not only are they not original, its unrealistic to think a culture of playground soccer is going to suddenly burst onto empty plots of grass all over the United States on its own. As our hairy friend said far below: these things don’t happen through osmosis. They would need some helping along–as my co-host so aptly states on the show.
5. We do the issuing of red and yellow cards on this blog buddy..
Who said we need grass?
Klinsmann said the same thing about Germany. He said the kids spend too much time playing video games and not enough playing football on the playgrounds. So this is a consistent theme from Klinsmann.
I agree w/DonJuego–you guys usually do better.
Playing into the myth that there are child molesters behind every bush is understandable–you’re by far not the only concerned parent out there–but the facts are that the world is actually safer in most neighborhoods than it was when we were kids; it’s just that there’s so much more awareness and (IMHO) paranoia and over-protectiveness.
That said–that attitude is pretty persuasive, so in a way you ARE right; the world HAS changed, but it’s largely the perception of parents rather than any “danger” that’s different.
The perception of the world definitely is what has changed. There have always been sicko molesters, and always will , but, the media has hyped it, and plus, it’s America- we’re trained to fear things , sad but true.
We are a nation that has banned games like Freeze-Tag, Dodgeball and others from PE b/c they either pick on overweight kids or creates bullies. Always out to set a great example for our youth :-/
It’s ultimately a parent’s decision. Some may be more willing then others. In the end, it boils down to whether or not the kids will opt to play pick-up soccer games. I live in quite a diverse neighborhood (considering the side of town i live in) and i have yet to see a single kid with a soccer ball. There are 3 parks within my neighborhood and there are rarely kids playing any sport in them.
Occasionally you’ll see some riding bikes, often heading over to friend’s house, but overall outside of basketball, there is rarely any form of pickup games. My parent’s neighborhood was flooded with kids playing various sports and activities when i was a kid. Now they are pretty much empty as the kids opt to stay indoors.
Saying “the kids of the US need to play more playground soccer” is nice in theory, but it isnt something that is easy to change. Even if the kids are outdoors they tend to play what the more vocal kid or the majority want to play.
Again, this is focused primarily of locations similar to my own. In cities and diverse populated towns and regions it is a different story and pick-up games may occur more often.
As for the “child molesters behind every bush” comment, it’s all the parents’ decision on how to raise their kid. Children can be smart, but tend to make impulsive and dumb decisions. If a parent doesnt want their 8-10 yr old to go to a park without some supervision it’s their decision to make. It all depends on their comfort zone. My neighborhood is congested with houses (nearly no yard space between the houses) and if i were a parent i would imagine i’d be more lenient as it’s quite public (though i dont know how i’d react if i actually had a kid)
I do agree with you that it’s the perception of parents, which is pretty much what Derek alluded to with his personal opinion on the matter. Thanks for the feedback and keep listening
I do agree with what you’re saying here; and I recognize that simply calling for more “playground soccer” without taking the reality of family/community life in the USA into account is pretty silly. I feel the same way; I think part of the answer is for rec league soccer at the young age to just focus on supervised scrimmages, two or three times a week.
I think the biggest difference that Derek points out is that WE KNOW WHERE THEY LIVE (molesters, etc). Ignorance breeds content. Its easy to be okay sending your 10 year old out the door when you don’t know that the sickos are out there. Once you have the addresses, then it makes you nervous.
I will end my comments here by saying I understand it is “perception” but its also a matter of “knowing.” Yes, crime is down as a whole.
I did mention during the show that in some places in the US kids still go outside and play. Some even play soccer, as I’ve witnessed many a pick-up soccer game in Chicago. I’m sure the same is true for many cities and immigrant neighborhoods in the US. I also realize that the “sexual predator factor” is mostly a middle-class/suburban fear–legit or not. But the fact is, its become a reality in my neck-of-the-woods, where sexual offenders have in fact been arrested near the park doing unmentionable things in front of children. Perhaps its “over-protectiveness” until its your child. So, currently, we stick to organized soccer until he’s old enough to go to the park himself.
Youtube bad. Podcast please.
Just out of curiosity, what’s wrong with Youtube?
I am having no problem with the show here or on youtube. Maybe they had a funky moment or something earlier today, but it all seems to be fixed.
Ditto. YouTube is the Queen of suckholes.
As for Klinnsy:
A few years back we bought a house in a development where there was a ten acre shared greenspace. (Despite their claims, it was mostly because it was in a 100 year flood plain and to fill it in for building lots would have been cost prohibitive, but still)
Anyway, so they built a couple of tennis courts, a baseball diamond (with permanent bases, benches and a backstop) and a real, live soccer field with steel goal standards (there was a net available but you had to get them to put it up and that as a fight every year)
As it happens, our house was right across the street from the greenspace, so we saw pretty much everything that went on there for ten years.
In that time, the baseball diamond was used on maybe half a dozen occasions.
The soccer field never saw a game. My son and I used to fool around on it sometimes, but mostly it just sat there, in the middle of a development with probably 200 homes and 300 kids, many of whom played club and high school soccer.
I know that Klinnsy is the smartest soccer guy in the world and has great, deep and abiding insight into the problems and solutions, but this is much like his recent insight that “pay for play” at the youth level discourages kids from poor families.
Gee thanks for that. Whatever he’s getting paid, double it.
So now his solution is to get America’s – indeed the world’s – children to turn off the video games, get up off the sofa and go play pickup soccer.
Wow. Why didn’t anyone else think of this before?
“but this is much like his recent insight that “pay for play” at the youth level discourages kids from poor families.
Gee thanks for that. Whatever he’s getting paid, double it.”
Pretty much our take on it. I like your story about the development area not being used. Life has changes with technology. Kids dont need to go outside as much to be entertained.
I will say though, that my brother’s middle child is purely an outdoors kid. Always out running around with a ball, helping my dad with the landscaping, or simply riding his bike. His brother, though a highly successful and quality soccer player, loves playing video games. It’s like looking at a comparison of the old world and new world
I second this.
Where are the ideas and the solutions?
For 2.5 mill and 13 years of residence it’s quite meager, to say the least.
Certainly the amount of time spent at a task is directly related to ones mastery if it. I think that’s the main point of the more playground soccer rant.
Not sure why you are nit picking him.
It’s not a nitpick to say it’s a) an obvious observation today (maybe 15 years ago it wasn’t) and b) has no implementation plan to back it up.
He saying we are not creative enough (unstructured play)…There has to be other ways to get the same result without amassing 20 kids together on a soccer field. I honestly cannot remember be able to gather more then 5-8 kids even in the wild wild west of my youth.
You need 4 kids. Play 2v2. That’s all you need.
Or 2 kids. Play curb ball. But with your feet.
Yes, thank you, I realize he’s saying that. What I’m saying in return is that this has been said tons of times already by this point, and the statement isn’t helpful if it isn’t accompanied by ideas on how to make it happen.
Its a nit pick. He wasn’t laying out a plan, he was just making a comment. Brett and derek are nit picking klinnsman for saying something while maybe not the final solution is totally the problem.
Unstructured play may allow US youth to organically become more creative. I think we can achieve the same result just by using the internet and exposing kids to soccer in a different way than they may currently see it. Show kids there’s a different way do things. Give them the resources to view a move on online, explain how its done, and then go practice it their back yard. US Soccer needs to get into the e-learning business.
Tom: I think you’re nit-picking now. JK’s comments have been said a thousand times–a hundred times by guests on this very show. Sanneh said it. O’brien said it. Agoos said it. Chris Henderson said it… And if I go back through the list of guests on this show over the last two years, I know I could find more. The problem here is that JK thinks he’s “enlightening” us. He’s not just “making a comment.” He has a point. If you know JK, you’d know he doesn’t just say these things to “make a comment.” He’s making a point. Problem is, we’ve heard it all before. His job, if he and others at USSF really believe this is necessary to make the US a better footballing nation, is to make it happen–not just point out the obvious. What is his plan to make this a reality? That’s not nit-picking at all–that’s a f-ing fact. Or maybe Brett and Derek are just making “comments” and you shouldn’t be so nitpicky. I’m all for the e-learning biz, but its going to take more than that. There are some websites and tons of organizations (like Soccer-2-Square)working hard to get kids to play on their own. It isn’t like NO ONE is involved in trying to make this happen (and have been involved in making this happen for years and years). It all sounds nice, but it isn’t as easy as the USSF putting up a website with a few fancy moves. Not to nitpick your comments.
Yeah, it sounds like a paradox, but I’m leaning towards buying it–to encourage ‘unstructured play’ in this day and age, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time structuring the environment that takes place around that play.
Alright… I will just say it…. organized Pick Up Games are pretty much up there with the the dumbest ideas of all time. It is NOT soccer… mainstream American culture simply does not jive with pick up games of ANY kind. I have lived & traveled through numerous places in the U.S., Mexico & Europe… and what is clear is that the highly individualistic, manicured nature of sub-urban U.S. culture is anathema to collectivist, spontaneous activities.
All throughout the U.S. I have rarely seen a baseball diamond or basketball court used in a pick up game. The only time I see a flag football contingent at the park is when the neighborhood balding, pot bellied, 30 something losers get together for some homo-erotic flopping & hamstring injuries around the time of NFL playoffs.
Even in rural Southern Mexico I see more kids playing basketball than in a U.S. suburb. Americans have chosen to live very individualistic lives revolving around the nuclear family instead of community. Where I live there are more drive way basketball hoop setups than kids who play basketball, more video game consoles than pimples, more TVs than good times.
It is not about the video games.. they are just a symptom.. American dads can’t obsess about having a TV in every room, a man cave with their own barely utilized movie theater, pool table, hot tub… you name it… it is a cultural thing, American parents need to change their own behavior to set the example.
I find myself in a strange predicament… I’m actually agreeing with most of your post. It is very much a culture problem.
Where i disagree is, while not utilized 24/7 the basketball courts around my town are played on quite frequently. Basketball (and, oddly enough, soccer for that matter) is quite simple to pick up a game. 1 v 1 and 2 v 2 are quite the norm around neighborhood basketball hoops.
As for the “organized Pick Up Games are pretty much up there with the the dumbest ideas of all time” portion, what’s so dumb about it. Using my neck of the woods, the rec and travel program (that work together) could host a weekly activity at their fields to encourage pickup games. Coaches can merely supervise as a parent would with their kid at a park. Not saying they should step in to coach, but rather to keep an eye on the situation at hand, make sure no one gets hurt, etc… B/c in all honesty it isnt happening at the neighborhood level, the club can step up and act as part of the community. I dont see what the issue would be
What is your goal?
To reduce the obesity rate among American kids? Increase love for the game? Produce the types of players that Argentina & Brazil produces?
What you are suggesting is pretty much school P.E.
The thing that produces those slick, street smart players around the World sure as hell isn’t some authority figure making sure the kids are safe… it is the element of risk, of domination, of physicality & male competition that underlies the pick up games… when you are in Mexico playing in an ally or quiet street… you are going to get checked, knocked against a car.. there will be blood & part of the exhilaration is pissing off other people by fooling them & breaking their ankles particularly in front of a group of cute girls. This is the environment that developed a Cuauhtemoc Blanco… not some shady park with someone’s parent looking on.
BTW… only a few countries actually succeed at bringing in these types of players into their system. Mexico sucks at it.. or rather Mexican schools & coaches actively discard these types of players because the coaches don’t know how to manage them, how to develop them, how to relate to them.
Brazil is Brazil, Argentina is Argentina & Uruguay is Uruguay because they have figured out the magic of taking a wild inner city kid & getting them fit the cogs of organized soccer… they have an Organizational Behavior competency that few can emulate..
But it should be noted that Messi was developed in a lab not on the street playing pick up games.
And back to the core of my argument… you don’t get real punk bands by organizing rehearsals at the H.S. music class… the pick up game has to be the idea of the kids, it has to be an escape for them, it has be a type of rebellion, it has to produce a high. Look at the high school & junior high school sub-cultures.. the goths, emos and the rest of Gen Y sub cultures etc., most American kids aren’t acculturated to view pick up sports as a rebellion, an escape etc., the allure of the internet, drugs, alternative sex etc., is far to great.
i understand what you are saying and i agree with it.
You are talking about a culture but you have to take that culture into the equation. The idea of organized pick-up games even if there is a supervisor of some form does not prevent creativity normally not found at a club’s organized practice. When I was coaching younger ages, you’d be surprised how much creativity came after practice when we played “World Cup” or some random variation where the kids had freedom to do whatever they want.
My brother’s kids try various moves in meaningless scrimmages all the times, moves that if they are successful will duplicate on the field in a game. It doesnt matter to them that me or my brother was present when they were trying it out, in fact we encourage it.
In the end, it’s better then dreaming things will change
-posses
90% = science fiction
And how was Messi developed in a lab?
Human Growth Hormone ($150k per year treatment)
+
La Masia
=
Lab
Uh yeah, and before that he was a mediocre player and Barcelona decided to pick up a random midget and develop him into a superstar in three years time…
Get your facts straight. Yes he needed the treatment. But no, he did not become amazingly skillful, intelligent and all the other great qualities he has posses by spending only three seasons at La Masia.
I don’t know why though, but this is a meme some people on Bigsoccer are trying to boot up.
Messi did NOT develop on the street… he was in the system at a very young age… you think Newell’s or La Masia were letting him play pick up soccer after he entered the system?
As skilled as he is… without his physical attributes (short term acceleration / explosivness) he wouldn’t be nearly as effective as he is.. and I have to wonder what role steroids might have played in that.. and whether he is not on something still.
In any case… as naturally talented as Messi might be… he is the product of the La Masia “lab” a system originally architected by Cruyff but substantially re-engineered by Guardiola… Messi’s skill has yet to fully translate to Argentina NT or another club for that manner.. in that sense he is still a lab product… maybe not as dramatic as say Captain Ivan Drago… but somewhat akin.
What I am trying to say is that maybe the 20th Century model of developing street wise kids which brought Brazil so much silverware has been superseded by the La Masia “Lab” models which have generated the current generation’s World standard.
You have obviously no clue what you’re talking about.
Have you ever been to a top level professional academy?
How do you think it works? They bring in some kids, give them some magic potion and after three years they’re amazing players?
Messi and any other skillful super star player learned playing soccer on the streets. We’re talking about kids who play soccer from the moment they wake up, and when they go to bed at night, the ball is still on their side. Literally.
Do you actually realize how much ‘practice’ goes into becoming as good as Messi? It has nothing to do with natural talent or academies. It’s all about playing soccer 24/7. By the time Messi entered La Masia he was already a fan-tas-tic player. That’s the sole reason why Barcelona flew him and his family in.
He is partially right. If Messi was already good at 12, when brought to Barcelona, it’s also true that Barca must have known this, and they wouldn’t have if he was just playing in the back-alleys. In fact, he was playing organized club soccer from age 5. From age 8 he was playing for the fairly well organized club Newell’s Old Boys.
Little Leo wasn’t playing barefoot in the vacant lot with rolled up socks for a ball. He would have spent 90% or more of all his practice time ‘in a lab’–ie a fairly controlled environment, under the watchful eyes of professionals who were giving him feedback, and were being paid on how much they improved players. If it weren’t the case that this improved the quality of practice time, I doubt all these clubs would be in the same delusion about it, spending all that money for no reason.
90% of practice time, where did you get this number?
90% = science fiction
PS this commenting system sucks
This is a really interesting a thought-provoking reply that I tend to agree with. Social engineering (especially in American suburbs, where communities are enclosed in gates and green spaces are regulated) has really made it hard to create the sort of development communities in which soccer really thrives. In “street academies” kids try out moves they saw their favorite players do on TV or simply compete to be the best player on the block. I don’t think it’s as significant a problem in inner cities or large metropolitan areas, though.
I also don’t think the idea of clubs FACILITATING pick-up games is a bad idea. It wouldn’t be terrible for US soccer or local clubs to maintain ground that facilitated pick-up games that could attract folks from nearby areas. They wouldn’t have to coordinate games or practices, but a free-for-use “Offical FC Dallas Grounds” might attract players from nearby suburbs to a central spot for games. Even though communities are more segmented than ever, kids these days have access to a global community via the internet. Something simple like a allowing fans to network via a forum on local club sites and coordinate their own games is a good idea, I think. The benefit of getting a local club involved is it becomes a common focal point for local soccer fans that want to find other fans to play and practice with.
https://justplay.thefa.com/
Let me share my story of how I fell in love with the game. While shedding some light on what really happens with “pickup soccer” First off, I have a disability called Cerebral Palsy that affects my legs, but I walk on crutches. They’re long arm extensions, so I usually played Goalkeeper, and just made a rule with the other kids to allow a defender to take my goal kicks. (same when I played in a church soccer league as well.)
We played soccer on the grass field behind the playground in elementary school. In Greenwood, Indiana. It’s a suburb of Indianapolis, but the joke with Indy is that you can go from downtown to a cornfield in 20 minutes. This was in the late 90′s, early 00′s. We grew up with MLS, and every ball I bought for me and my friends was the official MLS ball that they actually had out front in the sporting goods store. It’s crazy to think how much publicity the league got with the younger generation at start up.
Which leads me to the reason we played soccer every day at recess… THEY WOULDN’T LET US PLAY AMERICAN FOOTBALL. Said it was too dangerous, even two hand touch, so we had to find a safer sport to play. Soccer was seen as a safer sport, and was also seen as a “wussy” sport where no one got hurt and everyone flopped on every foul. (Thank you Brazil and Mexico) This is still the case in most of America, and it’s a hard stereotype to break. Those of us who played it know the truth, that it requires an insane amount of conditioning and it’s the world’s biggest sport for a reason. It’s the best one. I was lucky to be able to play every day at school, and I remember scoring my one and only goal coming up on a last gasp corner. Diving header, on sheer luck that I tapped past the keeper on the goal line. I then did a sliding “air guitar” celebration and made everyone laugh as the whistle blew. The fact that I can remember further back than ten years stands out.
On the video game thing. In recent years I’ve had more leg surgeries. I now mostly use a wheelchair. It didn’t stop my love for the game, it just redirected it toward FIFA 12 and video games as a replacement for what I can no longer do. I’m 21 now, but it bothers me when kids who still have a chance to do something special sit in front of the video games or don’t show up for a practice, or generally just don’t have the will behind the skill. I hate wasted talent because while I still have the mental capacity to win games, my body has failed me.
In general, if your kid is playing video games? Just make sure they don’t miss other opportunities that they only get once. They’ll have plenty of time to play FIFA 12 after their chance to play real soccer ends.
Thanks for the great post. I’ve always liked the idea that you could live a more rural lifestyle and still be quite close to Indianapolis. Makes going to and from events downtown quite easy. As a youth my friends and i played pickup basketball and football far more then soccer mainly due to having more friends who played those sports.
I would suggest changing your user name. I’m surprised anyone would want to have any affiliation to that school
HOO HOO HOO HOOSIERS!!
I enjoyed reading this.
In my area, we have “organized” pick up games. There is a set time a couple days a week for kids to show up and play. There are no coaches or refs. Sometimes there are enough to use a full field. Sometimes they play small sided with cone boundaries. Sometimes they even let the old timers play. Our area is a little too rural for neighborhood pickups for the most part because there aren’t enough soccer kids in a small enough area. We, the parents, saw an opportunity to get the kids playing more and made it happen. It didn’t sprout up organically in someone’s front yard, but I’m pretty happy with it.
As a school counselor in an elementary school in north west Atlanta, I can tell you that the main sport the boys play on our playground is soccer. One of the goals is the fence to a gated area that goes around some type of AC Generator/piping box (I actually have no idea what the machine is) and the other goal is the two plastic tic-tac-toe stands that are about six feet apart.
If I ever have to talk to a student during recess, I always stop and see how the game is going. It’s a mixture of muppet soccer with two or three kids who can weave through the traffic.
While it’s not “pick-up” in the sense of outside of school on a street or on a futsal court…it is “pick-up” in the sense that there are no teacher refs, no set “field” besides the two goals, and team numbers vary based on who wants to play.
Good point as far as the pickup during school. My elementary had an actual smaller field with full size goals. Similar stories to what you described. Great to hear another story on the subject.
So here’s the I think.
As a guy who lived in Latin America for a time and has played more than his share of street ball, I can say that this playing style does more for a player than just improves their touch. It helps to develop balance, confidence and awareness in tight spaces, and quick decision making. What’s more, players are in an informal setting where they can try out new skills or moves in an environment where creativity is encouraged and they don’t have to worry about pissing off their coach or embarassing themselves in front of their team.
Given that these types of skills seem to be the very things that so many elite USA players lack, I think it is important that this issue stays on the forefront no matter how many times we have to hear about it.
When I was a kid I played soccer on teams, but in my free time my friends and I played football or basketball. I only liked soccer if I was on a grass field, there were lots of kids playing and I had a giant goal to shoot at. I had no idea how much fun street ball could be.
In other countries, soccer is played and enjoyed in many different ways. I once played street ball for 2 hours in a back alley with a wad of paper and tape for a ball…and it was awesome! Collectively, America needs to find ways to help young players to understand that soccer can be fun regardless of venue, the number of players or equipment available.
We have a bazillion youth players in America, but most of them have a limited understanding of what the sport could be. My friends and I didn’t need $500 worth of pads to play football, we played 2-hand touch and counted “7 Mississippis”. We adapted the sport to make it possible to play with the resources we had. Soccer coaches must work to show young players how to do the same thing, and the rest will take care of itself.
If coaches were encouraged to expose their players to “street” style soccer (regular shoes, hard ground, smaller balls, smaller teams, smaller goals, emphasis on improvisation and creativity) then they could learn how fun it is, and how easy it is to organize. From there, perhaps more kids will simply take it upon themselves to set up their own street games, the same way my friends and I did with other sports.
Thoughts?
I agree Chris: its not going to happen on its own. It needs some prompting.
Most definitely. But isn’t that what Claudio Reyna is supposed to be doing? I think his job is to give direction to the coaches nationwide as to how best to develop players. My guess is that his focus is on conventional training methods and tactics….I’d be shocked if he’s encouraging coaches to implement Street Ball into their training regimens….but in my opinion that’s what we need more than anything.
maybe kids aren’t playing outside were you cats live, but during the summer you can’t convince the kids playing soccer on the street to come inside for dinner…unfortunately for u.s soccer, if any of those kids gets good enough to lay international soccer, they are doing it for their parents country.
My say on pick-up soccer; children will start doing it after they have MLS players that they idolize.
When kids go out and play catch you hear them say, “I’m Derek Jeter,” When kids hit the basketball court you hear, “I’m Lebron James, when a kid picks up a football you’ll hear him say, “I’m Tom Brady.”
I remember very well being nine when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater came out, next thing I knew every kid wanted a skateboard, they didn’t care how dangerous their parents said it would be, they wanted one and they went out and skated away.
Most people I know who watch MLS are over 18, and I once asked a group of young soccer players if they play FIFA and the main answers were, “no, but my older brother does” or “no.”
Theoretically I think it could be safe to say that you’ll see pick up soccer en mass by the time people who are twenty now have eight year old children, within 14 years from now. There was definitely a time before kids played pickup basketball.
P.S. I’ve seen twelve year olds go onto one of the university fields to play soccer every here and there.
Exactly. I idolized Kasey Keller and Brian Mcbride. Great point.
i dunno, im 19 but growing up me and my friends played a lot of pick up games, whether at school PE or at this one park relatively nearby… honestly the biggest problem i had was getting our parents to drive us to a park to play, since both of them worked full time jobs and it was too far to walk. Organized rec leagues made it much easier as there was a set schedule to do it (and games were on the weekends)
I mean soccer wasn’t a passion of mine as a kid and i definitely played more football, basketball and kickball (and in high school ultimate frisbee) than soccer, but tbh i play video games and do pickup basketball games at college(in a city with not a lot of field so its difficult to play soccer or football)
how about roof top soccer play grounds(fenced in) in densely populated areas for the kids to play soccer. In NYC they are using roof tops to harvest crops, why not do so with soccer.
Would be awesome, but rather expensive.
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