There's no dichotomy between aspiring to be a soccer player and schooling. Kids go to school and have a scheduled approach to the soccer training, when in primary school. For the promising talents after primary school there's the cooperation between the clubs and the secondary school/high school that makes a dedicated roster for school and training possible. Clubs over here stimulate getting an education, as it provides a means of discipline and stability. When a kid is not putting efforts in at school, he will be spoken to and disciplined. So when a kid in the end isnot going to make it up in the academy, not all is lost, as he's still at school.
There's no need to opt out from one to opt in for the other. Kik Pierie for instance combines high school with excellent results with full pro soccer. When a kid wants to combine University with a professional soccer career, it is possible and most likely the club will pay for it as it isnot expensive to go to the university over here. It's tough to combine it, but it's possible. But when a kid is really talented and goes beyond the U17 level, hardly ever they choose not to go for soccer.
One thing to keep in mind with that article is that it only applies to the UK and especially England. The UK/England is still very much a two tier society, in which the lower class has almost no opportunities to escape their low income status. Given that the EPL academies pay alot of money to talents, the drop out of that system really hurts. So the destruction of hope in those academies means real drop back into poverty. The Dutch society is far more egalitarian and the chances to do well are available to everyone. On top of that the ridiculous money isnot payed over here, so there's no shattered hope of escaping from a dismall future, when you turn out to be not good enough.
I know that Ajax always has a picture of the academy kids taking their school exams. there are of course examples both current and past. Giorgio Chiellini has an undergrad degree in economics and an MBA. The great Brazilian MF Socrates was a medical doctor. Those are two that come quickly to mind.
@Clint Eastwood were you able to catch any of the DA U13/14 Showcase matches in Dallas this past weekend?
June '04. Just a few quick notes, he's from Guinea, but Eskilson thinks he might get US citizenship. He was playing high school soccer in New Jersey last year (how is he an '04 and in high school last year?). Even if this guy is an '02, thats pretty decent, and worthy of a YNT call up, once eligible. Our @RedBullsAcademy U-16s travelled to @RedBullSalzburg to compete for The Next Generation 🏆#RBNY | #TheFutureIsBrightHIGHLIGHTS ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Gnp39SKqzh— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) August 22, 2017 And just another few notes, he has already played at the U-19 level this season (he's supposedly 13) and has scored in the 1 game he played. He also has a decent scoring rate at the U-17 level this season, 4 in 6. Last season, he was listed with 8 red cards. For Sergio Ramos, thats a lot. For a striker? I have no clue. I just gotta say though, I think this whole thing seems suspicious. First of all, that guy does not look like a 13 year old (Moses Nyeman looks like a 13 year old), he's trucking kids that are supposedly like 3 years older than him, but even if we get over the fact that he might be a little physically mature for his age, how is someone attending high school at age 12? And yes, the guy is from Africa, a continent that is known for shady records of when people were born (along with countries like Nigeria who are known for outright cheating at youth levels). It could be a simple mix-up, and he's actually an '02, probably a very good '02. If he's an '04, even better, he seems an excellent prospect who could be an actual worldwide prodigy, I'm suspicious though. NJ.com also lists him as a 2020 graduate.
I don't know anything about this kid, but is it possible that he was a middle schooler who was so good (and physically mature for his age) that he was allowed to "play up" with the high school team?
Supposedly 12 and a Freshmen at the time of this picture. More likely that he is really the age of typically HS FR or older honestly.
I didn't want to start a new thread, so I placed this article here. Pay-to-play is something that almost everyone agrees is not the ideal situation for youth development. However, there are few attempts to address this because creating a meaningful viable alternative is difficult. This coach has come up with a possible solution, at least in his neck of the woods in the Bay Area. Whether it can be replicated elsewhere is hard to say, but I hope that maybe it can be done in certain localities where law enforcement plays an active role in community youth activities. https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...aign=18007&hashid=SCMOBxjeuuzNAdqVTWQrCc-Nh4Y
Here's an article about the talent that comes out of Paris. http://www.espn.com/soccer/blog/esp...ball-paul-pogba-kylian-mbappe-anthony-martial Countries don't produce footballers, a footballing culture produces players. Our system needs to better help develop talented young players who have put in the hours as young kids at home. I continue to think this is the biggest obstacle to us becoming a world class footballing nation. The footballing culture is not yet there. There are not enough kids who grow up wanting to be a footballer from the time they are a young kid. We need more who play soccer hours and hours per day from the time they are little kids who think a footballing career is the only option for their future profession, like it is for most kids in most of the top footballing nations. I don't ever think it'll get to the point where its that way for every kid in the USA, but this country is so big that it doesn't need to be the only option for every kid, it needs to be the only option for a sizable percentage though. This sporting culture is present in many other sports in the USA, but its not yet there in soccer. Its obviously there for some kids in this country and those are often the most successful ones. I've read interviews with a number of these players, and the ones that went in depth on how they started out in football often mention these types of things how they put in a lot of hours as young kids purely because of their passion for the sport. I think it'll get to where it needs to be eventually as popularity of the sport rises, but you can't hire the most expensive youth coaches at the best youth academies in the USA with the best youth organization and just expect them to make less than the best talent into top level footballers. Better organization of the system in this country should bring about small improvements, but I don't think we'll become one of the top footballing nations until that footballing culture is there in this country.
Its like that everywhere. Kids fall through the cracks in every country with a sizable population, too much ground for scouts to cover. They have good success rates, having 100% in anything is extremely difficult. I know its mentioned that we have a ton of youth players in this country compared to other countries, but what are the total # of hours per week that our youth players put in compared to that of the youth players in other countries? How many of our "youth players" are kids who touch a football only twice or three times a week in their recreational league for a few hours? Because the overwhelming majority of those players will never put in enough time to even play college soccer. I don't know the numbers on that split, but I think the numbers of players we have that really are dedicated to the sport who put in the required time from a young age to be a high level pro probably matches up with where we stand in the footballing world. Do we have more kids who put in the hours than Ecuador, Paraguay, Bosnia, Austria, Ghana, Nigeria, etc.? We surely have a bigger population and more kids who play soccer, but what does that matter if a large percentage of them eliminate their chances to be high level pros before they are even like 13 or 14 years old? Soccer's not like American football or basketball where you can take an athletic kid who played other sports and has physical measurable and teach them some technique and tactical understanding of the sport within a few years, its a much more demanding sport from a technique and tactical standpoint. You either put in the hours from a young age or you didn't. The difference is very rarely made up.
Nice documentary on street soccer in Paris/France I saw on Netflix. I found a couple YouTube versions....
There are lots of kids all over the country who grow up with the 'soccer first' mindset required to become great, but once again that culture is disenfranchised and shut out.
I believe I responded to that my first post, but maybe I misinterpreted what you meant. Are you saying that the players fall through the cracks or that the overall sporting culture in the country suppresses their passion for football?
I would argue that once you are of age to vote that it is basically too late in the development process anyway, so being denied the right to franchise is largely irrelevant.
I have trouble to understand what in this context is ment with franchise or disenfranchised. Explanation would be appreciated.
The primary definition of disenfranchise is denying groups of people the right to vote, so the opposite of it, franchise is the right to vote. It can also mean to marginalize. I think the poster above was trying to say that Hispanic Americans (perhaps all non-European immigrants) kids are overlooked and unfairly held down by the structure of youth soccer in America, which like everything favors people with money. Not 100% sure it certainly was far from clear.
Bit of news: US U15 international Andrew Durkin is now listed on #ATLUTD's U15 roster. Andrew is the little brother of @dcunited's Chris Durkin #ATLUTD— ATLUTD Prospects (@ATLUTDprospects) January 4, 2018
That's very interesting! I wonder if that says anything about the relative merits as seen by the Durkin family (and possibly by extensioon other youth players) about the relative merits of DC United and Atalanta United academies. Of course it could be due to something completely different but it makes me wonder a bit. Perhaps a person with insight has some info?
It shows that prospects are not locked into one academy for life just because they live in that catchment area and that prospects can choose an academy based on the pros and cons of each situation if they choose to do so. No insight on this specific decision.
That is a good point and possibly the most important point but I would also believe that, all else equal, I would want my kids at the same academy (assuming I am happy with the academy of course). If for no other reason than logistics. It isn't quite the same as two brothers choosing different colleges....we're talking about younger kids U15 and U17. That's why it makes me wonder. Have they seen something they don't like in DC's academy? Maybe they have heard good things about Atlanta's academy? Maybe Carlton or Garces have communicated with Durkin? (I would expect that they have)