Dunno about other Eropean countries, but in the Netherlands it's not a choice of either or of a way to get into university or college. There is no financial barrier to get into higher education like university, so there is no road to the education by getting a scolarship by being a good sporter/soccer player. It however is very good possible to do both at the same time as a kid/youngster, as for sporters there is the possibility to have a "dedicated" study, that takes into account you being a sportspro.
Okay so this may sound insane but I really believe the size of a soccer field, seating and the ability for camera's to really get in and show what players do, sell the sport way short. This is a good example because while I agree with MWulf, I also think that a scout sitting in the first three rows dead center will see far more than they would at any average soccer game.
Gogle translate this: https://www.feyenoordacademy.nl/academy/missie-feyenoord-academy It shows how Feyenoord (and all Dutch clubs for that matter) take responsibility for academy players.
Yes but we are comparing US vs World here. What would happen if baseball or basketball was an equal passion in Europe? If there program were identical to soccer then would we see the same issues here in the States?
We run an Open Play program in the Winter and Summer for free and get about 40+ players. 1/2 are kids who did not make H/S soccer or may have abandonded it for other activities yet still love the game. We have another coach who runs a few teams. His son gave up soccer but still likes it and most of his teams are filled with the like. One of the current members running for USSF President brought these sorts of kids up - mentioning that "We still have a multitude of players out there who have left the sport but still love it" That comment was specific to USSF ensuring that the final product also caters to those former players.
That won't last. Much of this is a cultural issue in towards how other cultures view womens role in the world. There has been a lack of emphasis on female based sports in many countries for years and that is changing. There are many countries who are now moving womens soccer to the forefront and I am willing to bet that the same issues that the men face will be confronting the women - very soon. Especially since the top talent is not spread amongst 2 competing leagues (ECNL and GDA). I think the women are in BIG trouble!
At least for the Dutch it's true. I for one thought the Orange Lionesses werenot going to play a role at all in the Women Euro 2017, as they were bloody awfull the matches I saw 2 years ago. But they set their goals for the Euro and to my surprise were phenomenal. Their performance acted like a balm on the wound inflicted by the Big Orange team.
I have said this before and will say it again - grass roots cannot start at the HS level. It has to start earlier. My 05 daughter took on a u8 rec team - basically ran dev drills, 1v1, 3v3 and so on like she does in her practice. For an 05 she is extremely patient and very good with kids so she recognizes that they are not capable of doing this as good as her - nor with the speed. We chose 3 key words to focus on (1) Settling (2) Distribution (3) Open Spaces. Every drill she ran included one or more of those and built up to larger play. She and I would take time to discuss relevance. Fact is our kids are capable of so much more then what they get at a young age in the rec leagues - coaches who volunteer need to see that - they need to see that the path of discovery for a child is what drives curiosity. That coaches and parents who are supportive, drive a willingness to take chances which lead to confidence and passion. We spoke to the parents as well - brought to them the same concepts but added: - Winning is not a measure of success - that comes from happiness on the field, learning and improving and developing confidence - all which lead to passion. - This is an individual sport at this age - focus on the success of your player. - We may not win - but we will play soccer - not beehive. Her team played beautifully! We rotated 4 strong players to center back and center mid and instructed them to play the back field while moving to open spaces and directing the two forwards. We brought out 2 captains bands for every game and rotated them - telling those that wore them that they had to speak up and help out the team on the field. There was no behiving - I figured we would lose half if not more of our games but we dominated all but one which we tied - no stacking and rotating in a standard format - not based on score. Parents were thrilled - they are all coming back and many asked for indoor this winter. We got the school to open the gym and we are now running 3v3 games once a week. I brought in a A licensed coach for those 4 players and already told 2 that I don't want to see them next fall - that they should move to travel. The u5 and u6 coaches are starting to participate and are excited. The Rec Council asked me to take over soccer and I have 2 local businesses and a soccer store (local) who will cut costs in half! People are thrilled and I am to because I intend to make it pointless to pay for D and C soccer around me - we should be able to provide that level of skill and passion for $200 year round - not $1500.00. That's where you start to build.
Just real quick…agreed, but I am not saying it should start there, just don’t actively by-pass it…it needs to be an unbroken continuation/progression of grassroots interest…rec to club to high school to college to pro to international….
I agree and I have even suggested that those paths should be clear... Rec/Community Club - name it the same as the high school - just like the Jr Football leagues do. Associate it with the local high school at the u13 age and up. Then you have the elite player - which a good coach will recognize that if they are really good, they need to be at a DA for exposure - access to college recruiters. Again - and I know we have spoke about this over and over... Who bends, does DA allow players to play high school? Frankly I have come around and decided yes - they should. But in the end I think you would get few players who would actually do that because of how recruiting exists today and right now I am in the group that thinks it's just not worth the effort of recuriters to travel to tons of HS games to see one player who may have a bad game when they can go to a tourney and see 3+ games for that player and many more players to boot. You have to find a way for HS to top that in order to change the landscape at this level.
It is pointless to try to identify kids with widely varying physical maturity. Put a 14 year old body among 12 year bodies and the mature player looks great. What people think is technical ability is instead differences in strength, quickness and balance. Trying to judge this by watching games is a fools errand. Look at the history of U17 golden ball winners that are often 3 or 4 years older than when we try to judge players for ODP.
It is mostly pointless until players are in teens and by 20+ these players should be in professional systems (or college with with professional training in summer). Rather than select teams to play in competitions what makes more sense is to have centers of excellence though out the country to bring in players to see if they can hang with the best players in the area so the can get on top teams. The concept of trying to pick the best players of widely different maturity status based on a single cut-off date is incredibly dumb.
Klinsmann sent his kid to play in college for two years. For Keepers and defenders it can be a way get game competition against mature players of decent quality. But in general college isn't a stepping stone, but instead a hedge to a better life in the more than likely event that a career in the pros doesn't pan out in a big way. Even if you have everything it takes to make it, a bad tackle or an off balance landing can end a career before it starts. Getting a start on an Ivy, Pac12, Big10 or ACC education is a wonderful thing to have in your back pocket.
Don't look to the UK but instead look to Germany. The Academy kids are more likely to be on University track than the general population and the Bundesliga Academy and national team kids are actually higher than the general academy. Players are encouraged to maintain their studies throughout their training. Big difference is Germany doesn't have the focus on sports scholarships like US (which btw are small and split for soccer).
Sports are a big method of recruiting for colleges. I've seen so many kids go to random schools on the other side of the country just so they can play some varsity sport. Really makes no sense. But then again, much of our sporting systems make no sense.
Absolutely agree. If and when the coaching you describe becomes generally available at the ages you describe the US will be a world power. Unfortunately the combination of lack of development knowledge intertwined with people involved to make a living work against what you are doing on a larger scale.
HS and club (or more pointedly, club based, recruitment-focused, off-season college showcase type tournaments) are not incompatible…many sports use both to great advantage....both HS and Club have their own unique advantages, strengths, and opportunities….neither side should be trying to top the other, especially in areas in the other sides wheel house (i.e. the passion and community interest/support HS can provide vs. the recruitment opportunities clubs can provide). They should be working together; complementing either other…
Well it could be helped with meaningful direction and $$$ from the top. It could also be helped if some of these mid range clubs stop using their rec leagues as a feeder for D & C teams - taking the super athletes up to B and A only. That IMO is the bigger problem. Our rec program has no competitive association - so we are free as coaches to tell kids when to stay and when to go - moreover where to go. We are free to build it out to hopefully create D and C players who can pay far less and stay with friends - enjoy the sport more while also extending the time from slower developing kids to generate confidence and passion. No community program would ever do this because it would kill their largest line of revenue - the mass of lower end teams that finance the top half. So as long as so many clubs/comm clubs embrace the D & C levels with inferior coaches at the same costs as A & B, this will never change. Hopefully in our endevours we will pull off enough rec kids from those other programs to get them to open their eyes and do whats best for the largest pool of youth players in the country.
I agree but you are not proposing really how - and that's sort of the point you are trying to make. There is slim chance today that the top players who have access to DA and soon BECNL will select HS over either of those two because of recruitment. There is also a ton more money in club soccer then HS so getting club soccer to stand down will litterally be impossible. HS soccer will never unify nationally in order to make those changes - they are educational facilities - not atheltic businesses. Not saying HS should not be part of the pyramid but rather asking, how it would fit in realistically - at least in this case, for top players.
92 professional clubs in a country as small as England? According to Wiki: MLS: 22 NASL: 8 USL: 30 That's 60 in the US. On the college vs. pro issue... as a parent, I would have a difficult time supporting my child deciding to skip college to go pro. What happens if there's a major injury or things don't work out? That education is probably more valuable than a pro career (unless you're a top 1% type of player). It would be great if a club said "we'll pay for your education and give you a stipend if you'll play for us". But that's close to what college teams do.
As you say, meaningful direction and $$$ from the top…namely, US Soccer… Whether from purposeful decisions or benign neglect, the system we have today, good, bad, or indifference, is largely the result of US Soccer… IF the system is going to change, then they, ideally, need to drive that change…. How? Lots of ways, I am sure… But you are right, they can’t necessarily force anyone to do anything, especially the HS’s….but they can provide opportunities, change their own polices, create incentives, encouragement and even lobby to effect change…they (US Soccer) own the platform to effect change; its just a matter of how and if they want to use it… Practical Idea #1: How about a cheap, if not free, and accessible coaching licensing program (that means US Soccer’s standards) for any active HS soccer coach? Can’t force them to participate; but I gotta think, if they build it, they will come…if one of the dings against HS soccer is poor coaching, let work on fixing that…
That could be a good start but why should it be free. Maybe reduced. My fear is that if it is free it will not engage HS to become an active member. I am sure they are all excited to support football - and yes part of that is because it's a line a revenue (ticket sales). HS may not drive a line of revenue like they do for football but they can work with US Soccer to create standards. In other words you can't just be a district teacher but you also must have a soccer back ground and be licensed. The HS could also set standards for continued education and annual accredidation similar to what A licensed coaches are required to maintain. Yes that would be a start - getting these Math teachers to realize that they cannot just collect an extra $6k and not continue to grow their own experience. What about the HS grind though - I'd argue that needs to be fixed as well to provide more recovery time. Still years away from getting the recruiters in the door. I mean the very reason we are in this position - specifically with soccer is because it has not been embraced by the collective mass. So THAT needs to still be fixed as well.