American Soccer Progress

Discussion in 'Youth & HS Soccer' started by Cantona's Eyebrow, Mar 18, 2019.

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Why are the USA still so irrelevant on the world soccer stage?

  1. Due to the dominance of more traditional American sports.

  2. Due to the poor standard of the MLS.

  3. Poor quality of coaching at grass roots level.

  4. Issues with player pathway from grassroots to club level.

  5. More money needed in the sport.

  6. The nation is tactically naive at the higher level.

  7. Kids more interested in playing Xbox

  8. Lack of ambition/commitment from players

  9. Lack of flair and passion for the game at the top level.

  10. The socio-economic impact of America's War on Drugs/Terror.

  11. Just unlucky.

  12. Other

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  1. mwulf67

    mwulf67 Member+

    Sep 24, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Is there really a difference or are we just splitting hairs?
     
  2. sam_gordon

    sam_gordon Member+

    Feb 27, 2017
    Did you ever play the lottery?
    Do you hope you will win or do you count on the lottery as your retirement package?
     
  3. mwulf67

    mwulf67 Member+

    Sep 24, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Not sure that’s the best analogy….
     
  4. sam_gordon

    sam_gordon Member+

    Feb 27, 2017
    Seems pretty close to what I'm trying impart.
     
  5. mwulf67

    mwulf67 Member+

    Sep 24, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Playing the lottery is strictly a game of chance…there is nothing you can reasonable do that will effect outcome or change the odds…as a result, there is no reason to “think” much about it or count on anything…

    That’s just not the case with soccer…play nothing but rec and it’s very unlikely you will play in college….play club soccer and those chances improve….play DA soccer and those chances improve further…actions and decision can effect outcome…hoping, thinking about, and/or having goals are all reasonable and not that difference from each other imo…
     
    Terrier1966 repped this.
  6. P.W.

    P.W. Member

    Sep 29, 2014
    There was a time when I thought - maybe all this money will lead to a scholarship someday. Now, as my oldest (she doesn't play sports, my sports players are younger) gets closer to college and we know some kids who are college athletes in 2019, I'm actually less motivated to think that way.

    Being a college athlete (especially on a sport scholarship) is HARD. It's like having a full time job while going to college and that scholarship can be taken away if you get hurt, or your coach wants to give it (or part of it) to someone else. Realistically, unless your child is going to earn his living off of that sport, it seems like a huge burden on the kid for a cheaper college education. Heck - my kid could get an entry level full time job ($25,000) and go to school full time and put that money toward the tuition to ease my financial burden, but I wouldn't make him do that.

    I wouldn't mind my child's sports playing ability to give him an edge to get into a hard to get into school (not academically beyond his ability - that's a recipe for disaster, but one where they have lots of qualified applicants; my kid among them and they pick him over someone else due to his ability to play), but I'd much prefer an associated academic scholarship that he can work to retain by keeping up his grades - the predominant reason he is going to college!
     
  7. sam_gordon

    sam_gordon Member+

    Feb 27, 2017
    But it still comes down to whether you're making the decisions you are (whether it's what club to play with, what coaching you get, etc) based on the end goal.

    Is the reason you have your child play high level solely to get the scholarship? So you're driving two hours away three times a week for training with that DA club. Are you doing that because it gives you a better chance at a scholarship, or are you doing it because your child wants to be challenged and make him/her a better player?

    If your child doesn't get an athletic scholarship, will you look back at the last 8-10 years of travel as a "waste"?
     
  8. ppierce34

    ppierce34 Member

    Aug 29, 2016
    Fort Wayne, IN
    Not if your child had fun, made some good friends, played some good soccer, made lasting memories and you bonded with your child over it for a decade. You can never take those things away.
     
  9. mwulf67

    mwulf67 Member+

    Sep 24, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    I never said solely…the problem is it’s such a gray area…once you acknowledge that you do hope/think about scholarship/college, any decision you make can be effected by those hopes and thought…to what extent it will be hard to say…

    Can’t it be both? Can you tell me the improved change of college never crosses your mind? Just don’t believe that…

    That’s an interesting question…one I am the cusp of dealing with…at U16, my son, while a solid player, is imo, unlikely to go on to play college…I just don’t see it at this point…it’s disappointing and hard to say, but I just don’t really see it in the cards...but I know we are going to continue to do club travel for the next couple of years regardless…while I have enjoyed the journey for the most part, so far, I can’t lie and say I haven’t become bit cynical and bitter the last couple of seasons…I do honestly wonder how I am going to feel when it’s all said and done…
     
  10. sam_gordon

    sam_gordon Member+

    Feb 27, 2017
    Exactly my point. Therefore the scholarship isn't the end goal.
     
  11. sam_gordon

    sam_gordon Member+

    Feb 27, 2017
    Are we reading the same thread? I even admitted I hope my son gets a scholarship. But the scholarship has never been the overriding factor in our decisions.

    And again, you prove my point. You're another one (and there have been a couple on here) who have said "no, I'll still be satisfied with the time/money/effort I've put in even if it doesn't result in a scholarship". YET, people will denigrate all sports parents as "searching for the scholarship", but of course, it won't be the person making the statement. THAT'S my point.
     
  12. mwulf67

    mwulf67 Member+

    Sep 24, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    I continue to think you are overblowing the issue…many, not some parents, have scholarship/college as a goal, especially at certain age groups…factor is factor, overriding is completely subjective…far more parents care about college, then they about having their kid scouted for the NT…

    If you have a teenage kid playing soccer and you are paying 1000s of dollars a year and traveling every other weekend for the privilege, and they are not getting in front of some college coaches, you probably are wasting your time and I would question why you’re doing it…not that it has to happen in the end, but how the hell could you not care it wasn’t even a possibility/opportunity?

    My son primarily plays College Showcases…going back to just playing regular tournaments, wouldn’t be acceptable at this point; if his club/team decided to go that direction, we would probably need to look for something else…and I say that as someone who has just acknowledge my son probably won’t go on the play college play…I am I unusual, I don't think so... maybe I am....
     
  13. Terrier1966

    Terrier1966 Member

    Nov 19, 2016
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    I made a sarcastic comment about parents chasing coaches in pursuit of scholarships.

    That started this whole thing.

    I wasn’t commenting on what people should do or what makes sense. I wouldn’t say it makes sense to trample people on Black Friday in pursuit of a TV, but it happens.

    If the question is “is every single soccer parent in America chasing a scholarship?” we’d all agree the answer is no. If the next statement is “so, that means no soccer parents are chasing scholarships” I think we’d all agree the answer is no.

    Regarding “is it all worth it?”.

    Yes is my answer. We started with the intent of taking 5 year olds to play YMCA soccer. Our journey took us in multiple directions, through multiple states and multiple teams.

    We never chased anything, and each of ours attained different levels of achievement.

    In the end, we spent a lot of quality time, met a lot of great people, visited a few emergency rooms, learned a lot of life lessons, learned a lot of parenting lessons, had a lot of beers in the lobby bar, spent tons of windshield time talking about school, sports, dating, college etc and wouldn’t go back and do any of it differently.
     
    bigredfutbol and sam_gordon repped this.
  14. Terrier1966

    Terrier1966 Member

    Nov 19, 2016
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC

    My original post regarding ODP
     

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