I'm looking for concrete and actionable solutions. That's why I was curious to see more of what Howard said. I'm not interested in Brad Friedel-esque "these guys need to get the shit kicked out of them in the parking lot" type babble. I'd love to hear what actually can be done. And I don't really want to hear from Howard - I mean, I would, but like there's people far more appropriate. I want to hear from Ernst Tanner, Ernie Stewart, Lutz Pfannenstiel, and the guys at Bayern or Red Bull. And I also want to hear from Luchi Gonzalez and Mikey Varas and the Americans running Philly. I feel like when you hear these guys talk, you don't always get a consistent point, but you do consistently get more specific, nuanced improvements and overall, a much more positive view of the American development system's progress than most.
I don't think that any of those guys can really give a meaningful answer. I mean, they could maybe tell you what the solution is, but I don't think that they could put that in any sort of actionable terms. My opinion is that speeding up our progress is dependent on a mass of thousands of individuals who can make a difference in their community, neighborhood, family, etc. We need individuals -- not programs or facilities or curricula -- who make a difference in young players' lives. These individuals can be coaches, parents, older siblings, mentor players, teachers, peers, etc., etc., but that is where the type of cultural development that we need will come from. This culture will also grow stronger if and when the US experiences more success on the international level so that the sport is taken more seriously, which will make the work of that mass of individuals that much easier and more profound.
I think it is a bear to implement, but I think they can identify gaps. For example, Earnie had identified the lack of free play in the younger ages. Is that the consensus? I dunno, but I find it interesting that someone from a strong developmental culture called that out. It makes sense; I'd love to know if there's agreement. Solving that is hard, but I think it is still a step forward ahead of "we aren't good enough."
People have been talking about the lack of free play for years and years and years, and not just in this country, either. There is pretty much universal agreement on that. However, it's a perfect example of an issue that doesn't really have a solution other than a cultural shift. My opinion is that this type of shift is only really possible when there is a critical mass of individuals who are able to influence that shift.
I think it's only possible when kids go out and play on the sandlot/playground, on their own. Is that even possible nowadays?
In some places. I think another option is getting the youth leagues to set some standards for practices. Less coaching, more free play. If parents don't let their kids play sandlot, you could try to replicate the lack of direction in practice. The kids would love it. I don't know that you quite get the same thing, but when I watch any youth sporting event, there is WAAAAAY too much coaching. Every sport, every age. The volume of information is not capable of really being processed, and sometimes the kids need to work some of it out themselves.
To me the number one thing is USSF improving coaching education and making it more accessible. The more good coaches we have coaching at all levels, the better our development system can be. There’s other stuff too, like what Earnie Stewart was trying to achieve, but that’s a lot hard to try to accomplish.
I remind people (maybe even in this thread) that we have more registered players than Belgium has people. We need more good coaches who can turn that potential into refined players, especially because we aren't in a nation where every dad (or mom) knows the game well enough to teach young players.
Even with free academies, still not doing a great job reaching kids in lower income areas... 1641265505649451010 is not a valid tweet id
Reports that the new Mexican second division will require a minimum of 5 players per team aged 19-23 on the field TUDN reporting that changes to 🇲🇽's 2nd div, if approved, could have 18 Liga MX affiliates & 6 independent teams (who could be in the running for LMX promotion). 2nd division could also require a min of 5 players per team within the ages of 19-23 on the field. #LigaMXeng https://t.co/VoVXtjX1mg— Cesar Hernandez (@cesarhfutbol) March 31, 2023
I would also that countries like Portugal, Mexico, England and Argentina are coming to scout and call up our own developed players for their Youth National teams. If we were really behind and doing everything wrong why are these countries which have had several decades head start coming over looking at our academies?
Not sure where to post this now that the state of YNT thread is closed. I've been talking with other foreign raised dad's and we're seeing a new bottleneck for kids 18+. There's not enough spots for all the kids that could credibly become pros. There is not even enough Div 2 spots for them. There is this huge pool of kids who are really, really good but haven't caught anyone's eye mostly because there just too many good options. Here's the kicker. I know three kids who've tried out in Europe and gotten spots in second division German and Spanish teams. I'm not talking guys out of actual MLS teams. These are kids from non-pro teams.
Can you say more about this? Div 2 as in USL Championship? Is that because those rosters are full of full grown adult players? Or other talents 18+ players? Or Div 2 in other countries who have passports and can play abroad?
I don't know. All of these cases are European or South American dads with a soccer background. I suspect the parents got the kids a trial. A lot of smaller clubs have no issue with personal contacts and if the kid has family nearby then they can live there. This is common in South America and a way to get your foot in the door.
I think a lot of parents overestimate their child's chances of making it as a pro......................... I would sit on the sidelines at Solar games and listen to parents talk about the pro potential of all of their players. One made it. Jonathan Tomkinson, who is a bench player for Stevenage in League Two at the moment. Meanwhile I had to listen to how they didn't want their kids to go to FC Dallas, because their children were "too good for MLS." Come on man. We understand we're just building up our 2nd and 3rd divisions in this country. And once you get past the 2nd division, you're basically semi-pro. It'll come. But ya know, a guy can make more money as an assistant manager at Ruby Tuesday's than playing in the USL. Most of them anyway. And life in the Spanish 3rd division ain't all roses either. Americans have a tendency to romantacize that.
These are not American dads. All immigrants. All with substantial soccer training. If there were even enough semi-pro options I wouldn't be bringing this up. There is a big, involuntary drop out rate in US soccer at 18 when really there are pros and even future elite level pros that don't become true pros until they are 20, 21. I would dare say there is even a case or two that took off at 22 or 23. Our safety net is too small. We've been saying for a while that college soccer is that net but what I am seeing is that in practice it is not big enough.
I mean, do they do what Bernard Kamungo did at 18? Sucked it up and went to an open trial with North Texas? I once was talking to somebody like this and asked them what they'd done to try to find a position. They just threw their hands up and said "nothing." They sorta hadn't done their homework on the infrastructure in the states. I started rattling off the names of clubs in Texans, and they'd never heard of them. If ya haven't heard of the Fort Worth Vaqueros or Denton Diablos..........then you're not trying. You're whining. If you go to a bunch of these open trials at NISA or USL or MLS Next Clubs and don't get a bite................the industry is telling you something.
For more context, in the Tampa area (3 million population) there are about 10 semi-pro or college teams. Here's the kicker, all of those semi-pro and college teams have access to international players. In comparison the number of youth teams with pro coaches is like 30? 40? I lost count, really since many clubs have two or three teams. That's a lot of well-trained kids. The youth situation in the US has really changed a lot in the last 15 years and the youth production may be as good as any country I've ever seen. The numbers are certainly vast. So what does this mean? It's hard to say unless you actually have the appropriate safety net. However, in France we know that Drogba, Kante and Giroud did not sign pro contracts until 20-21. From what I can tell, those guys kept playing competitively but not professionally for local clubs.
My in laws live there, and my wife went to college there before moving back to the bay area 20someodd years ago. I will have to catch a game next time I'm out there (went in December for xmas, and in August '21 for a family reunion). Thanks for the off the cuff reference!
Well, Kante was basically playing in MLSNext Pro. Or at least the equivalent in France. Apparently for free. It's worth noting that even in countries like Italy, France and Spain, third division soccer is often pro-amateur / part time. The reality is that professional soccer requires people paying money to see you play. We know that the level of interest in paying to watch soccer in this country is going to be below England. And we don't the population:clubs ratio isn't going to be as strong as in more developed and more intense countries. But there are 60 or so fully professional clubs plus a whole bunch of pro-ams plus 1,400 or so college programs. And if the players are really that good, a whole bunch of the lower level teams will stop recruiting international players, which is a bigger pain in the ass. I don't know that 3 or 4 to one for a youth team to College/Pro is a terrible funnel.
No one has really put specific numbers on how much it costs for young players to pay...Complain without specifics. But in not even close to being a soccer hotbed I often hear of Town leagues and church leagues that are basically free. $25 or so. It must be for players after that. Again no one has really explained why and how such great training are free in Europe. Academies after school in Europe costs some one something. Details people, details please.