The AYSO files a greivance against USSF in regard that USSoccer pays too much attention to the National Teams and the pro game(thereby, this is where most of the money goes)and not enough to the all the AYSOs across the country. I am a parent of a sixyear old boy whom will be playing his second year of youth soccer. I have been a coach and an assistant in youth soccer and I was a player during the '80's. i do not understand their gripe? The job of the USSF is to develop the game for all in this country. The way to do that is to develop the pro game so that kids will have heroes to look up to. If there is no pro game in this country, what kids are going to stick around? Where are the new kids going to come from? The strides amde by the US National Teams and MLS are due in fact to increased investment in those players who would not have an opportunity tp train and compete profesionally prior to the USSF's involvement. High school and college can not and in only rare instances have developed the type of players whom can compete overseas as professionals. I am not saying that the USSF should not be looking after the AYSO. But the heads of the collective AYSOs have got to get their heads out of their backsides and look at the wider picture. The reason kids play for the most part is that their parents sign them up. What makes them gravitate to the other sports is the exposure of the pro game in other sports. I did not have this growing up. The NASL was folding and I had no way of getting real info about my favorite side. Heck, if it wasn't for the GLOBEKICKER magazine, I never would have known that their was a US team trying to qualify for the World Cup. The USSF is right in developing those special young men and women to further their and the US's Olympic and World Cup dreams.Professionals are the only way to be competitive in the international arena, and having competitive, and strong professional leagues will only continue to inspire and maybe even keep those special players playing real football instead of going for baseball, basketball or American football.
AYSO is like an entirely different sport than club soccer...it's a great environment for kids just looking to make some friends and get a bit of a workout in, or whatever the case...but you have the worst of the worst players, playing for coaches who have never played soccer nor know how the game should be played. USSF's goal is not to develop these types of players. I appauld USSF for paying any amount of attention to AYSO, but I think the USSF would be wasting its' time and resources if it spent them on AYSO.
I can't find any web references to this statement. Do you have any? Readin their web site and looking at some regions standings AYSO doesn't appear to develop competition and strive for excellent in appears to develop participation and Mediocrity. With their belief how does a team lose all games and a 65 goal differences for more than one year.