Neighborhood and Community Clubs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if like the rest of the world our youth soccer (aside from professional academies) was based on local neighborhood community teams that did selections and participation based on talent and skills?
Affordable to all families.

I'm assuming clubs in DC, Silver Spring, Manassas, Wheaton would be top dogs in the DMV

You do realize that those community clubs are for very young players. Top players move to pro academies in other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every story of every international soccer star starts with him/her playing for their neighborhood grassroots team.

At the U little age. Then they move to professional team’s youth academy.

Yes.
They don't go from $4,000+ a year exclusive club to youth academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if like the rest of the world our youth soccer (aside from professional academies) was based on local neighborhood community teams that did selections and participation based on talent and skills?
Affordable to all families.

I'm assuming clubs in DC, Silver Spring, Manassas, Wheaton would be top dogs in the DMV

You do realize that those community clubs are for very young players. Top players move to pro academies in other countries.

What do you think happens when one or two players leave one of the local grassroots club for Sevilla FC?
The grassroots club replaces them and continue.
They are not just for very young players.

If a kid leaves Burtonsville City FC for DC United Academy, you think BCFC dismisses the other kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if fields were free, lights were free, coaches were free, referees were free, uniforms were free, leagues were free...

Someone should create a club that offers all these services at a low cost and try to compete! I'm sure it will work just like "the rest of the world" and people will just flock to them.

Such defeatist thinking to actually think that because that's the way it's been it should continue to be.
Even though it obviously is a failed model.

The obviously only thing that's causing the richest country in the world to be the only one with unaffordable soccer is mentality.
It can't be resources.

How ignorant is it to think the wrong way is the only way.
Solutions only happen when you remove intellectual dishonesty, acknowledge the root causes and commit to resolve.

I’m not sure you can say it’s a failed model. It’s certainly failed in some aspects but many aspects are doing very well. It is the way it is because that’s what the majority of people want. Market forces (ie parents) drive this.

DP. Other than as a money making scheme, which aspects of the current system and pipeline the pros are doing well?

Men aren't competing with Europe on any level,in fact the MLS is where Europe's stars go to retire and milk the last bit of money out of their career. Our women couldn't even get into the last world cup final. They probably won't see a world cup final for many cycles in the future until our pipeline of players is based on merit, not connections.

Men aren’t competing in Europe? Plenty of usmnt players playing in Europe.

Look closely at the history of all the USMNT players currently playing in Europe.
How many of them spent their entire youth development career up until past 18 years old in our cash-cow system?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if fields were free, lights were free, coaches were free, referees were free, uniforms were free, leagues were free...

Someone should create a club that offers all these services at a low cost and try to compete! I'm sure it will work just like "the rest of the world" and people will just flock to them.

Such defeatist thinking to actually think that because that's the way it's been it should continue to be.
Even though it obviously is a failed model.

The obviously only thing that's causing the richest country in the world to be the only one with unaffordable soccer is mentality.
It can't be resources.

How ignorant is it to think the wrong way is the only way.
Solutions only happen when you remove intellectual dishonesty, acknowledge the root causes and commit to resolve.

I’m not sure you can say it’s a failed model. It’s certainly failed in some aspects but many aspects are doing very well. It is the way it is because that’s what the majority of people want. Market forces (ie parents) drive this.

DP. Other than as a money making scheme, which aspects of the current system and pipeline the pros are doing well?

Men aren't competing with Europe on any level,in fact the MLS is where Europe's stars go to retire and milk the last bit of money out of their career. Our women couldn't even get into the last world cup final. They probably won't see a world cup final for many cycles in the future until our pipeline of players is based on merit, not connections.

Men aren’t competing in Europe? Plenty of usmnt players playing in Europe.

Look closely at the history of all the USMNT players currently playing in Europe.
How many of them spent their entire youth development career up until past 18 years old in our cash-cow system?

Not many. They come through mls academies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if fields were free, lights were free, coaches were free, referees were free, uniforms were free, leagues were free...

Someone should create a club that offers all these services at a low cost and try to compete! I'm sure it will work just like "the rest of the world" and people will just flock to them.

Such defeatist thinking to actually think that because that's the way it's been it should continue to be.
Even though it obviously is a failed model.

The obviously only thing that's causing the richest country in the world to be the only one with unaffordable soccer is mentality.
It can't be resources.

How ignorant is it to think the wrong way is the only way.
Solutions only happen when you remove intellectual dishonesty, acknowledge the root causes and commit to resolve.

I’m not sure you can say it’s a failed model. It’s certainly failed in some aspects but many aspects are doing very well. It is the way it is because that’s what the majority of people want. Market forces (ie parents) drive this.

DP. Other than as a money making scheme, which aspects of the current system and pipeline the pros are doing well?

Men aren't competing with Europe on any level,in fact the MLS is where Europe's stars go to retire and milk the last bit of money out of their career. Our women couldn't even get into the last world cup final. They probably won't see a world cup final for many cycles in the future until our pipeline of players is based on merit, not connections.

Men aren’t competing in Europe? Plenty of usmnt players playing in Europe.

Look closely at the history of all the USMNT players currently playing in Europe.
How many of them spent their entire youth development career up until past 18 years old in our cash-cow system?

Not many. They come through mls academies.

Or spent years in Europe because of Parents status

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
There are parks, fields, school fields all over paid for and maintained by municipalities through taxes.
Why would neighborhood teams struggle to have a field?

You're right there are plenty of fields for all the soccer teams in the area....

You're apparently not grasping the concept of there being THE Silver Spring Community club that gets field priority vs the 85 other money-grab clubs in Silver Spring fighting for fields.

As far as I know fields are distributed based on player #s and location. So if someone wants to create a club with great training, make it super affordable, organized and grow it... go for it. I wish them luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You said soccer being affordable to all/most is a fantasy.
Knowing that soccer is affordable and accessible to millions in countries all over the globe.

We have affordable soccer; it's called rec. Try it sometime.

Yes. Recreation soccer is going to make us a soccer powerhouse in youth development

Oh, I see, you wanted great training too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if fields were free, lights were free, coaches were free, referees were free, uniforms were free, leagues were free...

Someone should create a club that offers all these services at a low cost and try to compete! I'm sure it will work just like "the rest of the world" and people will just flock to them.

Such defeatist thinking to actually think that because that's the way it's been it should continue to be.
Even though it obviously is a failed model.

The obviously only thing that's causing the richest country in the world to be the only one with unaffordable soccer is mentality.
It can't be resources.

How ignorant is it to think the wrong way is the only way.
Solutions only happen when you remove intellectual dishonesty, acknowledge the root causes and commit to resolve.

I’m not sure you can say it’s a failed model. It’s certainly failed in some aspects but many aspects are doing very well. It is the way it is because that’s what the majority of people want. Market forces (ie parents) drive this.

Please list the aspects of pay-to-play that are positive assets to youth soccer development

I'm not that poster, but I'll bite.

First, I will say that I doubt anyone would argue that the pay-to-play model doesn't restrict our player pool, which is probably its biggest issue. There is a laundry list of things that are not good with the model.

That being said, people already complain about the level of coaching in this country. Now imagine how many of those coaches disappear if they are not being paid. There are many young promising coaches that either do so exclusively or as a side gig to get by, that would be forced to do something else. This also applies to referees. There is a major shortage of refs - just ask any assigner. Most of the "better" referees will attempt to only do "travel" games because frankly they pay more. While many of them do have a love of the game (believe it or not), pay is a big factor that keeps them going through the BS. The costs for refs have gone up dramatically over the years, take away the pay-to-play model and I imagine you'll lose a portion of your refs as well. Ask your local assigner how that is going to play out across the spectrum.

Pay to play has also enabled SOME clubs to invest in their own fields/infrastructure, where there was clearly not enough support or willingness on local government to invest in soccer fields. As is field access is at a premium (just check some of the threads on this board...), now imagine if all the ones that were at least partially privately funded went away.

So, it may not be the model is great, but it has been the only one thus far that has enabled us to get to even where we are now. There is a reason why this has basically been adopted everywhere across the country, and it's primarily out of necessity. If it can be done better for less, there is a huge market for that, so far, with very, very few exceptions it has not been done and certainly not replicated.

If the neighborhood and community teams became the pipeline and player pathway to the academies and semi-pro, professional teams, then resources would shift and many of these issues are gone.

Let the private cash-cows then do their own thing as the outsiders.

The real qualified coaches would want to coach the teams with the best players based on talent and skills going against their quality peers from rival areas.
Not the richie-rich team with 3, 4 strong players maybe, and entitled parents.

How many Referees out here are full time refs trying to pay the mortgage off what they earn from ref gigs?

There is nothing stopping neighborhood and communities teams from attracting players, but there is a reason why most of them fail and it's not the pay to play model. If anything the pay to play model should be a reason why they would thrive in this environment.

"Qualified" coaches probably don't want to spend several thousands of dollars in license fees to coach youth teams and see nothing for it. Part of the unique challenge in the US is lack of quality coaches.

I know plenty of referees who work every weekend. It's not to pay off the mortgage, but it's not for free either. There is only one carrot we have to offer them, and that's money, and we still lose an alarming amount of refs each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of Latino clubs in the area that are much more affordable than other clubs and serve this purpose. A lot of those kids end up in MLSNext/ECNL clubs come U13.

Is this actually accurate? That hasn't been what I have seen, but if so, I'd be interested in hearing which clubs?

You don't hear about them often. They're very small tight knit but they have talented players. I've seen them a lot at the indoor facilities and I feel like they're geared towards kids younger than U13 like the PP mentioned. Go check out the youth leagues over at Dulles Sportsplex, they have a few teams that play there.

Beyond that, there are Hispanic leagues in the area that field mainly adults and sometimes there's some kids participating if they're strong enough.

Oh for sure, it’s accurate. They are somewhat inaccessible to non-Latino folks bc it’s often word of mouth, cash based, communication is awful and last minute especially if u don’t speak Spanish. A few of them run in house leagues which often run late or clubs fielding teams with no regard for age groups. They’re also territorial with their players and there is history and drama between clubs too.

If you can deal with that, it’s a great environment for aspiring ballers. Kids are passionate and just want to play with most of their parents somewhat oblivious to aiming for college scholarships. I think a lot of the really good ones hope to be scouted by leagues from their country of origin.

Very familiar with these leagues and they are very inaccessible to non-Spanish speakers, Latino or not . Definitely word of mouth and cash based. Communication is super bad, computer usage is foreign to some (most?) of them so good luck coordinating anything via email/social media/team snap whatever.

Training is generally mixed groups and there is ALWAYS drama, especially at games. Kids and parents are very passionate about the sport.

It's definitely not for everyone and I'd wager not for most especially in this area and those not familiar with the culture. There are some great trainers, and not so great ones, but there is always a desire to show up and play.

I know back in the day Annandale used to be a hot spot for these groups to gather and play in, but not sure who might serve that community now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if like the rest of the world our youth soccer (aside from professional academies) was based on local neighborhood community teams that did selections and participation based on talent and skills?
Affordable to all families.

I'm assuming clubs in DC, Silver Spring, Manassas, Wheaton would be top dogs in the DMV

Most racist post ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
There are parks, fields, school fields all over paid for and maintained by municipalities through taxes.
Why would neighborhood teams struggle to have a field?

You're right there are plenty of fields for all the soccer teams in the area....

You're apparently not grasping the concept of there being THE Silver Spring Community club that gets field priority vs the 85 other money-grab clubs in Silver Spring fighting for fields.

As far as I know fields are distributed based on player #s and location. So if someone wants to create a club with great training, make it super affordable, organized and grow it... go for it. I wish them luck.

This is not a "someone" solution.
It is a system solution.

Since the system of neighborhood, community affordable clubs don't exist, the system of practice fields allocation to them doesn't exist either.
So how fields are allotted today is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if fields were free, lights were free, coaches were free, referees were free, uniforms were free, leagues were free...

Someone should create a club that offers all these services at a low cost and try to compete! I'm sure it will work just like "the rest of the world" and people will just flock to them.

Such defeatist thinking to actually think that because that's the way it's been it should continue to be.
Even though it obviously is a failed model.

The obviously only thing that's causing the richest country in the world to be the only one with unaffordable soccer is mentality.
It can't be resources.

How ignorant is it to think the wrong way is the only way.
Solutions only happen when you remove intellectual dishonesty, acknowledge the root causes and commit to resolve.

I’m not sure you can say it’s a failed model. It’s certainly failed in some aspects but many aspects are doing very well. It is the way it is because that’s what the majority of people want. Market forces (ie parents) drive this.

Please list the aspects of pay-to-play that are positive assets to youth soccer development

I'm not that poster, but I'll bite.

First, I will say that I doubt anyone would argue that the pay-to-play model doesn't restrict our player pool, which is probably its biggest issue. There is a laundry list of things that are not good with the model.

That being said, people already complain about the level of coaching in this country. Now imagine how many of those coaches disappear if they are not being paid. There are many young promising coaches that either do so exclusively or as a side gig to get by, that would be forced to do something else. This also applies to referees. There is a major shortage of refs - just ask any assigner. Most of the "better" referees will attempt to only do "travel" games because frankly they pay more. While many of them do have a love of the game (believe it or not), pay is a big factor that keeps them going through the BS. The costs for refs have gone up dramatically over the years, take away the pay-to-play model and I imagine you'll lose a portion of your refs as well. Ask your local assigner how that is going to play out across the spectrum.

Pay to play has also enabled SOME clubs to invest in their own fields/infrastructure, where there was clearly not enough support or willingness on local government to invest in soccer fields. As is field access is at a premium (just check some of the threads on this board...), now imagine if all the ones that were at least partially privately funded went away.

So, it may not be the model is great, but it has been the only one thus far that has enabled us to get to even where we are now. There is a reason why this has basically been adopted everywhere across the country, and it's primarily out of necessity. If it can be done better for less, there is a huge market for that, so far, with very, very few exceptions it has not been done and certainly not replicated.

If the neighborhood and community teams became the pipeline and player pathway to the academies and semi-pro, professional teams, then resources would shift and many of these issues are gone.

Let the private cash-cows then do their own thing as the outsiders.

The real qualified coaches would want to coach the teams with the best players based on talent and skills going against their quality peers from rival areas.
Not the richie-rich team with 3, 4 strong players maybe, and entitled parents.

How many Referees out here are full time refs trying to pay the mortgage off what they earn from ref gigs?

There is nothing stopping neighborhood and communities teams from attracting players, but there is a reason why most of them fail and it's not the pay to play model. If anything the pay to play model should be a reason why they would thrive in this environment.

"Qualified" coaches probably don't want to spend several thousands of dollars in license fees to coach youth teams and see nothing for it. Part of the unique challenge in the US is lack of quality coaches.

I know plenty of referees who work every weekend. It's not to pay off the mortgage, but it's not for free either. There is only one carrot we have to offer them, and that's money, and we still lose an alarming amount of refs each year.

Why wouldn't referees get match fees in a system not designed around expensive pay-to-play clubs?

The neighborhood clubs would have to become the pipeline and primary player pathway to academies and professional clubs for it to work.
Not just create a Kensington Soccer Club who has to now join the existing pay-to-play leagues and tournaments structure.
The community clubs would have to be layers in the US Soccer framework.

The lack of quality coaching is just sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You said soccer being affordable to all/most is a fantasy.
Knowing that soccer is affordable and accessible to millions in countries all over the globe.

We have affordable soccer; it's called rec. Try it sometime.

Yes. Recreation soccer is going to make us a soccer powerhouse in youth development

Oh, I see, you wanted great training too.

No. Bad coaching is the desire to elevate quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if like the rest of the world our youth soccer (aside from professional academies) was based on local neighborhood community teams that did selections and participation based on talent and skills?
Affordable to all families.

I'm assuming clubs in DC, Silver Spring, Manassas, Wheaton would be top dogs in the DMV

Most racist post ever.

Which only a Racist would say.