Most of you have no idea the REAL goal of travel soccer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone asked why this thread keeps going. Here's your answer:

https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/usmnt-news/2019/2/20/18232519/usa-usmnt-ussf-us-soccer-financial-disclosure-jurgen-klinsmann-bruce-arena

We pay to develop our kids. We pay a lot. And US Soccer sits on a >$100 million investment portfolio and does .... nothing.

Soccer isn't a money sport in this country. In money sports, the money flows down, pro leagues spend to develop talent, youth leagues can do very well developing talent. Look at baseball, basketball or football, a high-school coach who has a reputation for identifying and developing talent can have lucrative relationships with pro and college scouts and sponsors.

In US soccer, the money flows up. At all levels players' parents are expected to pay their costs and then kick something up to the next highest level. When DC United comes to our club, they talk about a "relationship" but all they want from us is money. Rec subsidizes travel, travel subsidizes DA, DA subsidizes USMNT. Even for referees a substantial part of their annual certification fee goes to subsidizing referees at higher levels, MLS refs are subsidized by that old guy with a whistle at your U9 game.

When the money flows down clubs focus on developing talent, that's the meal ticket. When the money flows up clubs focus on squeezing their members.

[Anonymous]

There is no denying youth sports are a big $ business relying on the egos of parents or the poor souls that go into it not knowing the particular sport. In the US soccer wins make $ for youth Clubs. Parents only want wins starting at the youngest ages. They want the pride of saying their kid is on the elitist little kicker team. So, of course, every traditional travel soccer Club (barring a very few) only focus on the perceived best/actively recruit (because in the younger years, and European scouts say this, there is no clear tangible way to determine which players ultimately succeed (barring of course the Messi/Pele/Ronaldos of the World) . It is not a development mindset in this Country. Parents aren't willing to understand how soccer development works and the Clubs capitalize on that. Go to any DA tryout in the area and see how they sort kids to fields based on wherever the kid is coming from prior. If you come from a less perceived team in a 'good' Club or from a lesser perceived Club, you are on the field and pre-sorted and ultimately that field is not looked at. Further, watch the Kindergarten style soccer being played and watch the kids that have soccer IQ. Smart players are making movement to get open and never get a touch, or they pass the ball and never get it back. So, obviously they aren't noticed.

There is also no concept of doing this for pure joy once a kid hits 8 or 9 years old. The push is on. Parents think they are falling behind so force their kids into the rat race, sign up for this and that and more. I think we have made every level pay-to-play so what is left in Rec are kids that don't really want to be there signed up by parents that want them off the Xbox. Once a kid is a certain age, it is near impossible to play Rec if they are an experienced player and much more likely to get injured playing with kids that don't know how to tackle or control their bodies. So, if a kid loves soccer and even if they have no desire to go chasing the mythical soccer scholarship or National team berth, the parents have to pay to get them to play with players that at least know the sport and to get adequate competition for fun. The ratio of travel Clubs to Rec Clubs (very few #s of travel Clubs with a huge # of Rec players) used to be the opposite and this is not because more kids are truly talented. It is because people found they could make money off of it. Now nobody is left in Rec. Our Club had to relax Rec rules and let a certain number of travel players play or they wouldn't have been able to field teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no denying youth sports are a big $ business relying on the egos of parents or the poor souls that go into it not knowing the particular sport. In the US soccer wins make $ for youth Clubs. Parents only want wins starting at the youngest ages. They want the pride of saying their kid is on the elitist little kicker team. So, of course, every traditional travel soccer Club (barring a very few) only focus on the perceived best/actively recruit (because in the younger years, and European scouts say this, there is no clear tangible way to determine which players ultimately succeed (barring of course the Messi/Pele/Ronaldos of the World) . It is not a development mindset in this Country. Parents aren't willing to understand how soccer development works and the Clubs capitalize on that. Go to any DA tryout in the area and see how they sort kids to fields based on wherever the kid is coming from prior. If you come from a less perceived team in a 'good' Club or from a lesser perceived Club, you are on the field and pre-sorted and ultimately that field is not looked at. Further, watch the Kindergarten style soccer being played and watch the kids that have soccer IQ. Smart players are making movement to get open and never get a touch, or they pass the ball and never get it back. So, obviously they aren't noticed.

There is also no concept of doing this for pure joy once a kid hits 8 or 9 years old. The push is on. Parents think they are falling behind so force their kids into the rat race, sign up for this and that and more. I think we have made every level pay-to-play so what is left in Rec are kids that don't really want to be there signed up by parents that want them off the Xbox. Once a kid is a certain age, it is near impossible to play Rec if they are an experienced player and much more likely to get injured playing with kids that don't know how to tackle or control their bodies. So, if a kid loves soccer and even if they have no desire to go chasing the mythical soccer scholarship or National team berth, the parents have to pay to get them to play with players that at least know the sport and to get adequate competition for fun. The ratio of travel Clubs to Rec Clubs (very few #s of travel Clubs with a huge # of Rec players) used to be the opposite and this is not because more kids are truly talented. It is because people found they could make money off of it. Now nobody is left in Rec. Our Club had to relax Rec rules and let a certain number of travel players play or they wouldn't have been able to field teams.

*came out wrong, meant to say the ratio tipped in the other direction because of $ flow---huge # of travel vs tiny # of rec teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no denying youth sports are a big $ business relying on the egos of parents or the poor souls that go into it not knowing the particular sport. In the US soccer wins make $ for youth Clubs. Parents only want wins starting at the youngest ages. They want the pride of saying their kid is on the elitist little kicker team. So, of course, every traditional travel soccer Club (barring a very few) only focus on the perceived best/actively recruit (because in the younger years, and European scouts say this, there is no clear tangible way to determine which players ultimately succeed (barring of course the Messi/Pele/Ronaldos of the World) . It is not a development mindset in this Country. Parents aren't willing to understand how soccer development works and the Clubs capitalize on that. Go to any DA tryout in the area and see how they sort kids to fields based on wherever the kid is coming from prior. If you come from a less perceived team in a 'good' Club or from a lesser perceived Club, you are on the field and pre-sorted and ultimately that field is not looked at. Further, watch the Kindergarten style soccer being played and watch the kids that have soccer IQ. Smart players are making movement to get open and never get a touch, or they pass the ball and never get it back. So, obviously they aren't noticed.

There is also no concept of doing this for pure joy once a kid hits 8 or 9 years old. The push is on. Parents think they are falling behind so force their kids into the rat race, sign up for this and that and more. I think we have made every level pay-to-play so what is left in Rec are kids that don't really want to be there signed up by parents that want them off the Xbox. Once a kid is a certain age, it is near impossible to play Rec if they are an experienced player and much more likely to get injured playing with kids that don't know how to tackle or control their bodies. So, if a kid loves soccer and even if they have no desire to go chasing the mythical soccer scholarship or National team berth, the parents have to pay to get them to play with players that at least know the sport and to get adequate competition for fun. The ratio of travel Clubs to Rec Clubs (very few #s of travel Clubs with a huge # of Rec players) used to be the opposite and this is not because more kids are truly talented. It is because people found they could make money off of it. Now nobody is left in Rec. Our Club had to relax Rec rules and let a certain number of travel players play or they wouldn't have been able to field teams.

*came out wrong, meant to say the ratio tipped in the other direction because of $ flow---huge # of travel vs tiny # of rec teams.

^agree and this from OP are spot on:

"Fact 1 - If your kid is scenario B above, and wants any shot at Myth 2, the experience of professional soccer is what should be their goal. Most college scholarship players never get drafted, and most of the ones that do, don't get a contract. Boys and Girls. Pro soccer's peak age is 24, and most American kids who go the college route are 22 or 23 by the time they even get a chance on a pro field. The goal needs to be to go pro at 18 or 19 to have any real shot.

Fact 2 - 98% of youth soccer travel coaches have NO IDEA how to develop players to succeed at the pro level as a 19 or 20 year old. One very basic requirement is that the coach actually knows what it takes to be a pro. They must either have played at that level, or have worked many years with other coaches who have. Players can't spend their whole lives playing "on age", get to 18 and be thrown into a grown up world and expect to be near ready. Only programs that endeavor to push younger players up in age or find training opportunities with college age player or pros for their 16 and 17 year olds should even be able to say "we develop players". Everything else, everyone else, is just making a living off parents egos.

Say what you will about DC United or WS academies. Compare your U15 team results to their teams. Boast about he one time you played them in a tournament and won. It doesn't mean crapola to the truly professional coaches and clubs. What matters to them is nothing more than if they are producing 2-4 18 year olds every year that have a shot at succeeding as a pro within the next 3 years. And by definition, the other 6-8 high school seniors on those teams will get those college scholarships and still be equipped for a potential professional future."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ politics does a pretty good job of making that separation at a very young age. That’s why no stars have emerged this area in the last 20-30 years or so. Shit in, shit out. Some of the player quality on so-called “elite” teams is pretty shameful. But, they invest in crap early and freeze out the masses.

What are they doing better in California and Texas?

Or Iceland?

Iceland has an open-door policy and tons of B-license coaches, so you can basically walk into a club and get decent training.

Might not explain everything, but it helps.

Weird -- not sure why I wasn't signed in for that post. It was me.

They develop everyone as well. They don’t put kids in a “trash heap category” at U9, etc. They invest and know development is unpredictable. Without a large player pool, they don’t push anyone away or anoint a kid at 9/10 as a “star” like they do around here. Like many other countries, they know a kid at 8 can turn out very differently at 17/18.

You folks really can’t figure out why TX, CA, and Iceland (kinda laughed at this one) are doing better than NOVA at soccer? Two concepts: weather & demographics (TX and CA) and lack of alternatives (Iceland).

Munich, Amsterdam, Manchester—you been in their weather before? Demographics? Pretty homogenous. Your theory doesn’t hold.

You're having a hard time following. Try to keep up. Let me explain in elementary terms for you. I was responding to the "why do they do better in CA and TX?" comments as well as the offhand comment about Iceland. For TX and CA: weather and demos. It is warmer year round so more outdoor playing time. Same warm-weather phenomenon happens with football. Demographics - more Latinos in those two states. Latinos value soccer more than other ethnicities in the U.S. It is part of their culture. They watch it more, play pick up soccer more, and care about it more. There are also simply more people in CA. A lot more. For Iceland the point was lack of alternatives. They don't play basketball, football, baseball, lacrosse, etc. like kids in US do. Yes, they have more winter sports, but not as many alternative team-oriented sports as the U.S. That was my point. I was not talking about other European cities. Clearly we don't hold a candle to most of Europe, again mainly due to culture, history of the sport, and passion for it in those countries. We can't beat them at soccer they can't beat us at just about all other team sports. Even hockey we're one of the better teams in the world. We can only be great at so many things ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am from an African country where kids actually know how to play soccer and they do everywhere, without shoes, with a ball made of socks etc. I am sorry to say, but this game your kids play here is not soccer. The injuries are unbelievable. It is not your fault, you are trying hard. But those coaches suck.

We moved here last Summer from overseas and I have to concur. This game being played here even at the DA level is atrocious. Really disappointed to the point of considering an overseas boarding school for our kid so they can truly develop to the best of their ability.

I feel so bad for your child. You want to ship your kid to a school overseas so he/she can play soccer? If that's your attitude I'm guessing your kid would be better off living without you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am from an African country where kids actually know how to play soccer and they do everywhere, without shoes, with a ball made of socks etc. I am sorry to say, but this game your kids play here is not soccer. The injuries are unbelievable. It is not your fault, you are trying hard. But those coaches suck.

We moved here last Summer from overseas and I have to concur. This game being played here even at the DA level is atrocious. Really disappointed to the point of considering an overseas boarding school for our kid so they can truly develop to the best of their ability.

I feel so bad for your child. You want to ship your kid to a school overseas so he/she can play soccer? If that's your attitude I'm guessing your kid would be better off living without you.

I agree with you totally, let's all ship our kids overseas. They can come back and coach youth soccer because they were never taught anything else.

[Anonymous]

Did I read that correctly!???! Ship our kids overseas?? For SOCCER??