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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]New poster here, chiming in to make a couple of comments related to this statement: “The odds of playing D1 are notably higher for players from the Mid-Atlantic states, but much lower for players in many other areas.”

I had posted that statement and a link to the source document on the recent thread about soccer scholarships.  It does seem very clear that the odds of a player from our area playing in college are much higher than the national average, and I think it's very fair to say that the DMV is a hot spot for college recruiting.  That is not only because we have so many more colleges in a concentrated area than most parts of the country.  If you look at any of the college commitment sites, you will see that tons of kids from our area end up playing all across the country.

But as others have pointed out, that is not the same as saying we are a hotbed for soccer development.  We could easily become one, though, if we were able to attract a larger number of talented coaches.  We have enough good kids playing, and enough support for the sport, that if you brought in a bunch of Matt Pilkington type coaches (I'm sure there is a parallel example on the girl's side) and gave them the freedom to do their thing, we'd be producing top players and pros at a good clip. [/quote]

I like where this is going and yes thanks for the link that I reused. Thanks. Why do you think we have a dearth of good coaches here? Cost of living and/or other barriers?[/quote]

Plenty of good coaches here. Not a lot of fanatically committed players or families. It is a suburban soccer culture with a lot of academic and extracurricular pursuits competing for the time of players. This is the fundamental challenge for US soccer. Same problem, different area anywhere you go. [/quote]

If your U10 top team player cannot name the usual starters for Man City and Liverpool (up to 14-15 regular starters), I would say your kid is probably already behind the 8 ball in terms of learning the game. Every good baseball, football and basketball player can do equivalents in their sports. When you don’t see it here, you may start to answer why it is very difficult for this country to produce the players it should based on population and athletic talent pool. [/quote]

My kids could name entire starting rosters of every team in the 2014 World Cup at ages 9 and 7.  They studied their Panini sticker books.  They definitely know the names of everyone on both Man City and Liverpool rosters (there’s a rivalry with their Uncle) and even have attended games in person at Etihad and Anfield stadiums.  Spoiled shits. They have attended games at Old Trafford and Camp Nou too and watched every prominent player/team documentary with their grandfather and uncle.  Their fascination is acquiring the dream roster in FIFA 20 and debate the perfect combinations of different players. They love to correct my improper pronunciation of player’s names.

But, like the other pp stated, academics is definitely a priority in our household.  Going to a good college is the goal (not on scholarship either). They are too damn smart.  If either showed a promise at the level of Pulisic or De Jong before college maybe I will rethink our strategy.  I don’t see that happening.  I’ll keep driving and they do go out back and bike to the HS field to practice on non-training days—but I know the level required and 99.9% of American kids don’t have it.  It’s reality.  American boys are not playing at the level they are in other countries.  Parents are delusional.  But my kids definitely have a very high soccer IQ compared to most kids their age because they have been watching International games since they were toddlers and everyone in the family played at a high level, for Americans that is;).[/quote]

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