Landon Donovan was right

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:All of the points people are making here are interesting, but I don't think they are realistic or constructive. Soccer and youth sports in the US are different than the rest of the world. That's a strength ! We should lean into our strengths and not try to imitate something we are not and will never be. The US formula can work in other sports. It works fairly well in women's soccer. Focus on what we can be great at and design our strategy, development, and rosters based on those strengths. Differentiate based on strengths, not a watered down version of somebody else.

Women's soccer works because of title ix. Now that pro leagues are starting to gain traction in europe, I doubt the US keeps its edge on the women's side

Who cares about an edge? That is not girls soccer in the US. It is about college not pro. Most do not care if we have some national edge. The product here is different.

What product is different? How?

Women's soccer in the US is built on collegiate soccer being the end goal, if you have ever watched a college soccer match you would see that it is night and day different than what is needed to play internationally. Nobody cares about the national team. This will change however with all of these new rules coming out for collegiate sports.

Nobody cares about the national team? Hook me up with whatever cocktail you are taking to cloud reality, please.

You must be new around here, most parents on this board don't care about the successes of the national team, only if their kid can get into college.

What kind of low-brow board is this not to care about the national team?

You'll be surprised. You should dig into some of the old threads where people debate how collegiate soccer needs to change. It is the one part of the pyramid that doesn't make sense and doesn't prepare players for the international level or the pro level really. Collegiate soccer does not line up with FIFA, and when discussing the NT you're basically referencing a fraction of a percent of players, so most don't care. But to be competitive on a world stage, the game must be taught to be played the right way and players need to be developed in that manner, the way it is currently is geared toward collegiate play.

If you don't care about the national team, then you really don't care about soccer.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:All of the points people are making here are interesting, but I don't think they are realistic or constructive. Soccer and youth sports in the US are different than the rest of the world. That's a strength ! We should lean into our strengths and not try to imitate something we are not and will never be. The US formula can work in other sports. It works fairly well in women's soccer. Focus on what we can be great at and design our strategy, development, and rosters based on those strengths. Differentiate based on strengths, not a watered down version of somebody else.

Women's soccer works because of title ix. Now that pro leagues are starting to gain traction in europe, I doubt the US keeps its edge on the women's side

Who cares about an edge? That is not girls soccer in the US. It is about college not pro. Most do not care if we have some national edge. The product here is different.

What product is different? How?

Women's soccer in the US is built on collegiate soccer being the end goal, if you have ever watched a college soccer match you would see that it is night and day different than what is needed to play internationally. Nobody cares about the national team. This will change however with all of these new rules coming out for collegiate sports.

Nobody cares about the national team? Hook me up with whatever cocktail you are taking to cloud reality, please.

You must be new around here, most parents on this board don't care about the successes of the national team, only if their kid can get into college.

What kind of low-brow board is this not to care about the national team?

You'll be surprised. You should dig into some of the old threads where people debate how collegiate soccer needs to change. It is the one part of the pyramid that doesn't make sense and doesn't prepare players for the international level or the pro level really. Collegiate soccer does not line up with FIFA, and when discussing the NT you're basically referencing a fraction of a percent of players, so most don't care. But to be competitive on a world stage, the game must be taught to be played the right way and players need to be developed in that manner, the way it is currently is geared toward collegiate play.

If you don't care about the national team, then you really don't care about soccer.

ok. Most incluidng those playing do not care about soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Opportunities for what? Thought national team didnt matter? College soccer is waiting for all the mediocrity thats clawing to get there. Playing college soccer is not that hard, trust; and not being fixed, more likely to get eliminated so thats leaves NWSL and national team. See why it matters now..

You may not like college soccer but for all of ECNL on the women's side except 1-2% that is what they care about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the points people are making here are interesting, but I don't think they are realistic or constructive. Soccer and youth sports in the US are different than the rest of the world. That's a strength ! We should lean into our strengths and not try to imitate something we are not and will never be. The US formula can work in other sports. It works fairly well in women's soccer. Focus on what we can be great at and design our strategy, development, and rosters based on those strengths. Differentiate based on strengths, not a watered down version of somebody else.

Women's soccer works because of title ix. Now that pro leagues are starting to gain traction in europe, I doubt the US keeps its edge on the women's side

Who cares about an edge? That is not girls soccer in the US. It is about college not pro. Most do not care if we have some national edge. The product here is different.

What product is different? How?

Women's soccer in the US is built on collegiate soccer being the end goal, if you have ever watched a college soccer match you would see that it is night and day different than what is needed to play internationally. Nobody cares about the national team. This will change however with all of these new rules coming out for collegiate sports.

Nobody cares about the national team? Hook me up with whatever cocktail you are taking to cloud reality, please.

You must be new around here, most parents on this board don't care about the successes of the national team, only if their kid can get into college.

What kind of low-brow board is this not to care about the national team?

You'll be surprised. You should dig into some of the old threads where people debate how collegiate soccer needs to change. It is the one part of the pyramid that doesn't make sense and doesn't prepare players for the international level or the pro level really. Collegiate soccer does not line up with FIFA, and when discussing the NT you're basically referencing a fraction of a percent of players, so most don't care. But to be competitive on a world stage, the game must be taught to be played the right way and players need to be developed in that manner, the way it is currently is geared toward collegiate play.

If you don't care about the national team, then you really don't care about soccer.

ok. Most incluidng those playing do not care about soccer.

Which is true when your goal is college soccer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the points people are making here are interesting, but I don't think they are realistic or constructive. Soccer and youth sports in the US are different than the rest of the world. That's a strength ! We should lean into our strengths and not try to imitate something we are not and will never be. The US formula can work in other sports. It works fairly well in women's soccer. Focus on what we can be great at and design our strategy, development, and rosters based on those strengths. Differentiate based on strengths, not a watered down version of somebody else.

Women's soccer works because of title ix. Now that pro leagues are starting to gain traction in europe, I doubt the US keeps its edge on the women's side

Who cares about an edge? That is not girls soccer in the US. It is about college not pro. Most do not care if we have some national edge. The product here is different.

What product is different? How?

Women's soccer in the US is built on collegiate soccer being the end goal, if you have ever watched a college soccer match you would see that it is night and day different than what is needed to play internationally. Nobody cares about the national team. This will change however with all of these new rules coming out for collegiate sports.

Nobody cares about the national team? Hook me up with whatever cocktail you are taking to cloud reality, please.

You must be new around here, most parents on this board don't care about the successes of the national team, only if their kid can get into college.

What kind of low-brow board is this not to care about the national team?

You'll be surprised. You should dig into some of the old threads where people debate how collegiate soccer needs to change. It is the one part of the pyramid that doesn't make sense and doesn't prepare players for the international level or the pro level really. Collegiate soccer does not line up with FIFA, and when discussing the NT you're basically referencing a fraction of a percent of players, so most don't care. But to be competitive on a world stage, the game must be taught to be played the right way and players need to be developed in that manner, the way it is currently is geared toward collegiate play.

If you don't care about the national team, then you really don't care about soccer.

ok. Most incluidng those playing do not care about soccer.

Which is true when your goal is college soccer

+1

You can tell how serious a player is about going pro by whether they watch professional soccer and whether they enjoy doing that. If you’re not watching/studying, college is the goal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the points people are making here are interesting, but I don't think they are realistic or constructive. Soccer and youth sports in the US are different than the rest of the world. That's a strength ! We should lean into our strengths and not try to imitate something we are not and will never be. The US formula can work in other sports. It works fairly well in women's soccer. Focus on what we can be great at and design our strategy, development, and rosters based on those strengths. Differentiate based on strengths, not a watered down version of somebody else.

Women's soccer works because of title ix. Now that pro leagues are starting to gain traction in europe, I doubt the US keeps its edge on the women's side

Who cares about an edge? That is not girls soccer in the US. It is about college not pro. Most do not care if we have some national edge. The product here is different.

What product is different? How?

Women's soccer in the US is built on collegiate soccer being the end goal, if you have ever watched a college soccer match you would see that it is night and day different than what is needed to play internationally. Nobody cares about the national team. This will change however with all of these new rules coming out for collegiate sports.

Nobody cares about the national team? Hook me up with whatever cocktail you are taking to cloud reality, please.

You must be new around here, most parents on this board don't care about the successes of the national team, only if their kid can get into college.

What kind of low-brow board is this not to care about the national team?

You'll be surprised. You should dig into some of the old threads where people debate how collegiate soccer needs to change. It is the one part of the pyramid that doesn't make sense and doesn't prepare players for the international level or the pro level really. Collegiate soccer does not line up with FIFA, and when discussing the NT you're basically referencing a fraction of a percent of players, so most don't care. But to be competitive on a world stage, the game must be taught to be played the right way and players need to be developed in that manner, the way it is currently is geared toward collegiate play.

If you don't care about the national team, then you really don't care about soccer.

ok. Most incluidng those playing do not care about soccer.

Which is true when your goal is college soccer

+1

You can tell how serious a player is about going pro by whether they watch professional soccer and whether they enjoy doing that. If you’re not watching/studying, college is the goal

My DD enjoys watching pro soccer and college soccer. She has no interest in going pro. She is interested in playing soccer in college but will be going first for academics. I suspect this is what the majority of ECNL players are like.

[Anonymous]

This discussion is the reality that makes the true soccer people so mad. The reality is that soccer just isn't that important to most people in this country. The youth and college structures reflect that. Most parents are perfectly happy with the way things are and will continue to pay to play all the way to college. They don't care about the soccer national team any more than they care about how many medals the swimmers win in the olympics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the points people are making here are interesting, but I don't think they are realistic or constructive. Soccer and youth sports in the US are different than the rest of the world. That's a strength ! We should lean into our strengths and not try to imitate something we are not and will never be. The US formula can work in other sports. It works fairly well in women's soccer. Focus on what we can be great at and design our strategy, development, and rosters based on those strengths. Differentiate based on strengths, not a watered down version of somebody else.

Women's soccer works because of title ix. Now that pro leagues are starting to gain traction in europe, I doubt the US keeps its edge on the women's side

Who cares about an edge? That is not girls soccer in the US. It is about college not pro. Most do not care if we have some national edge. The product here is different.

What product is different? How?

Women's soccer in the US is built on collegiate soccer being the end goal, if you have ever watched a college soccer match you would see that it is night and day different than what is needed to play internationally. Nobody cares about the national team. This will change however with all of these new rules coming out for collegiate sports.

Nobody cares about the national team? Hook me up with whatever cocktail you are taking to cloud reality, please.

You must be new around here, most parents on this board don't care about the successes of the national team, only if their kid can get into college.

What kind of low-brow board is this not to care about the national team?

You'll be surprised. You should dig into some of the old threads where people debate how collegiate soccer needs to change. It is the one part of the pyramid that doesn't make sense and doesn't prepare players for the international level or the pro level really. Collegiate soccer does not line up with FIFA, and when discussing the NT you're basically referencing a fraction of a percent of players, so most don't care. But to be competitive on a world stage, the game must be taught to be played the right way and players need to be developed in that manner, the way it is currently is geared toward collegiate play.

If you don't care about the national team, then you really don't care about soccer.

ok. Most incluidng those playing do not care about soccer.

Which is true when your goal is college soccer

+1

You can tell how serious a player is about going pro by whether they watch professional soccer and whether they enjoy doing that. If you’re not watching/studying, college is the goal

Sure but almost all boys and girls playing soccer do not want to go pro. On the girls side it is 98% or more. No idea on the boys side. That is true in every sport. Sure you have thoughts of playing in the NFL when playing Freshman football but give it enough time and you know that is not a goal to shoot for. Most college football players do not want to go in the NFL or know that they cannot.

Going pro is not a real consideration in sports in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is the reality that makes the true soccer people so mad. The reality is that soccer just isn't that important to most people in this country. The youth and college structures reflect that. Most parents are perfectly happy with the way things are and will continue to pay to play all the way to college. They don't care about the soccer national team any more than they care about how many medals the swimmers win in the olympics.

I would argue they care more about the Olympics than soccer. Also Olympics more than Hockey.

But I have a question -- why should people care? The goal for most is a fun kid game that all kids can do. A subset of this group takes it a little more seriously and does travel. A subset of that group tries to move up in travel and play in top leagues. A subset of that group makes it to ECNL or MLSNext or GA. A subset of that group plays in college. And a small small subset of that group plus a few that opt out of college or go pro early go pro and/or play on the national team.

How is the national team relevant? Fun to watch and talk about, sure but why would people care beyond that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is the reality that makes the true soccer people so mad. The reality is that soccer just isn't that important to most people in this country. The youth and college structures reflect that. Most parents are perfectly happy with the way things are and will continue to pay to play all the way to college. They don't care about the soccer national team any more than they care about how many medals the swimmers win in the olympics.

That is why parents with serious players who do want to go pro aren’t on this forum or don’t listen to what is on this forum.

They just focus on their kids development and keep them in clubs where they are improving and learning, getting plenty of playing time, and competing against hopefully high level of competition.

And their kids are not on social media because they know the ability to withstand the grind and become resilient comes from the kid’s desire and work ethic, and not from the likes or exposure or wins, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently when down an internet rabbit hole to understand why the US doesn't have better soccer players. The most interesting theory, that I think is likely on point, is that soccer in the US is too structured. Kids only play in leagues but don't play in organic street games like they do in many parts of the world. It's in those informal settings that kids develop the best skills. Think of basketball in the US - many of the top players grew up playing in their streets or neighborhood courts, they weren't shuttled around every weekend to be coached.

lol, you are VERY out of touch. The best young players in the NBA right now are elite AAU and travel alums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the points people are making here are interesting, but I don't think they are realistic or constructive. Soccer and youth sports in the US are different than the rest of the world. That's a strength ! We should lean into our strengths and not try to imitate something we are not and will never be. The US formula can work in other sports. It works fairly well in women's soccer. Focus on what we can be great at and design our strategy, development, and rosters based on those strengths. Differentiate based on strengths, not a watered down version of somebody else.

Women's soccer works because of title ix. Now that pro leagues are starting to gain traction in europe, I doubt the US keeps its edge on the women's side

Who cares about an edge? That is not girls soccer in the US. It is about college not pro. Most do not care if we have some national edge. The product here is different.

What product is different? How?

Women's soccer in the US is built on collegiate soccer being the end goal, if you have ever watched a college soccer match you would see that it is night and day different than what is needed to play internationally. Nobody cares about the national team. This will change however with all of these new rules coming out for collegiate sports.

Nobody cares about the national team? Hook me up with whatever cocktail you are taking to cloud reality, please.

You must be new around here, most parents on this board don't care about the successes of the national team, only if their kid can get into college.

What kind of low-brow board is this not to care about the national team?

You'll be surprised. You should dig into some of the old threads where people debate how collegiate soccer needs to change. It is the one part of the pyramid that doesn't make sense and doesn't prepare players for the international level or the pro level really. Collegiate soccer does not line up with FIFA, and when discussing the NT you're basically referencing a fraction of a percent of players, so most don't care. But to be competitive on a world stage, the game must be taught to be played the right way and players need to be developed in that manner, the way it is currently is geared toward collegiate play.

If you don't care about the national team, then you really don't care about soccer.

ok. Most incluidng those playing do not care about soccer.

Which is true when your goal is college soccer

+1

You can tell how serious a player is about going pro by whether they watch professional soccer and whether they enjoy doing that. If you’re not watching/studying, college is the goal

Not even about going Pro

If you don't really like the sport outside the social aspect, why put in so much effort?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is the reality that makes the true soccer people so mad. The reality is that soccer just isn't that important to most people in this country. The youth and college structures reflect that. Most parents are perfectly happy with the way things are and will continue to pay to play all the way to college. They don't care about the soccer national team any more than they care about how many medals the swimmers win in the olympics.

That is why parents with serious players who do want to go pro aren’t on this forum or don’t listen to what is on this forum.

They just focus on their kids development and keep them in clubs where they are improving and learning, getting plenty of playing time, and competing against hopefully high level of competition.

And their kids are not on social media because they know the ability to withstand the grind and become resilient comes from the kid’s desire and work ethic, and not from the likes or exposure or wins, etc.

ok -- I will engage. parents with kids that want to go pro? So you are talking about a few hundred kids across the whole country? With maybe 10 in this area? They can go overseas or they play ECNL or MLSNext. Those are the only options. The clubs you mention do not turn kids pro. They certainly are not going against the top talent unless they are ECNL or MLSNext. And it is those kids that I have seen that are heavily on social media. Lot at the girls youth national teams -- all have large social media footprints because that is how you get the endorsement deals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently when down an internet rabbit hole to understand why the US doesn't have better soccer players. The most interesting theory, that I think is likely on point, is that soccer in the US is too structured. Kids only play in leagues but don't play in organic street games like they do in many parts of the world. It's in those informal settings that kids develop the best skills. Think of basketball in the US - many of the top players grew up playing in their streets or neighborhood courts, they weren't shuttled around every weekend to be coached.

lol, you are VERY out of touch. The best young players in the NBA right now are elite AAU and travel alums.

This is true -- the one and dones in college have not been playing on the playgroud for training purposes since they were 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is the reality that makes the true soccer people so mad. The reality is that soccer just isn't that important to most people in this country. The youth and college structures reflect that. Most parents are perfectly happy with the way things are and will continue to pay to play all the way to college. They don't care about the soccer national team any more than they care about how many medals the swimmers win in the olympics.

I would argue they care more about the Olympics than soccer. Also Olympics more than Hockey.

But I have a question -- why should people care? The goal for most is a fun kid game that all kids can do. A subset of this group takes it a little more seriously and does travel. A subset of that group tries to move up in travel and play in top leagues. A subset of that group makes it to ECNL or MLSNext or GA. A subset of that group plays in college. And a small small subset of that group plus a few that opt out of college or go pro early go pro and/or play on the national team.

How is the national team relevant? Fun to watch and talk about, sure but why would people care beyond that?

There are people in Europe and South America that don't care about their national soccer teams much.

But, they ain't gonna be spending thousands of dollars and driving/flying miles every year for soccer