Hope Solo - Youth Soccer is for Rich White Kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a fine line between flair and being a show off though.

I wouldn’t want my DD or DS to be on a team with a bunch of ball hogs trying to show off their dribbling skills when their teammates are wide open.

Well, that’s why you find a good coach. I’ll take a kid with flair who can make their man cry 1v1 any day over a kid who’s been conditioned into only being able to play 1-2 touch.

I’m the PP and I agree. A player needs good situational awareness to know when to dribble vs passing. Situational awareness needs to be taught by a coach and learning through scrimmages/games. Knowing how to pass and dribble needs to be learned/practiced on their own, not during team practices. Don’t expect team practices to focus on how to effectively dribble, pass or kick.

But it is interesting (or unfortunate) that on the USWNT, only Tobin Heath has this skillset. Alex Morgan and Mallory Pugh don’t have great ball handling skills. Hence, it’s not only the coaching but the kids that idolizes Morgan/Pugh will surely emulate their game or skills the same way too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington and Braddock road both have superior talent in their areas but are price out of the club. theses clubs in particular are more of a safe haven for more well off white kids . The parents their would get he reality check of a life time if the clubs were free . they would form a new club and price the better kids out of it too just so Jonny and Kim could play travel with three friends and not be shown up by Carlos or Maria on a daily basis. Only other thing I would add is in this area its not just white kids. Its the well off Asian and middle eastern kids too. it just so happens the DMV is such a well off area we are blinded by fact that there is a whole lot better quality of talent in the lower income latin communities that don't get the the exposure for multiple reasons and thats fine with the well off families who can afford to create this protected false dream for their kids to believe they are elite when they simply are not. and this my friends is why the USA isn't dominating the world in soccer yet.

Woooo sah!!! Finally!!! Someone hit the nail on the head. I want to be your friend.

I’ll add for good measure... my DD plays on a select team. Cost is moderate; ~$1100/yr. Not too terribly expensive but priced too high for some. Everyone on the team is white w/UMC parents happy to pay that with no travel. They lost some girls to club teams and the remainders were just out there for fun. The coaches recruited some Hispanic girls on “scholarship” and wouldn’t you know it... the team wins every game and when those girls aren’t available to play, they lose by 5-6 goals. It’s shameful what pay to play has done to our culture. Every time I see those girls out there, I’m stoked. They are good and they have natural, raw talent that should be showcased.

I get where you're going here. But the latinos don't have "natural, raw talent." They have a culture of playing the game. Any coach will tell you that if your rich white kids, poor black kids, or really any kids sees soccer as the one and only sport, falls in love with it, watches it, and plays it on the playground, in the street, and around the house as a kid, their skillset will be fantastic. Thing is that upper income kids do a lot of sampling and have a lot of other draws on time. So it is a class issue, but not for the racially biased reason suggested.

I totally did not mean it in a racially biased way AT ALL. I was also NOT trying to imply that all "latinos have natural, raw talent." I was specifically talking about the girls on that team who, as you correctly state, have a culture of playing the game. The thing is... I've lived in Europe and Africa and I've watched people who "have a culture of playing the game" and not all of them have natural, raw talent that make them very good at soccer. You could argue that Dominicans have a culture of playing baseball... but how many actually have the "natural, raw talent" to make it to the major league.

I appreciate your comment but the intent was not as you imply.

They just meant to imply that due to the culture Latinos are very likely to have 1. a deep passion for the sport and 2. a flair that lends itself to creativity and skill, which comes from playing unstructured soccer. A lot of players from African descent whose culture of the game is similar to Latin Americans’ have a tendency to show that same flair and creativity. You’re still invited to the cookout, I get what you meant.

Thank you. I was worried for a sec.