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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For those idealizing the European academy system:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/oct/06/football-biggest-issue-boys-rejected-academies

Considering the odds, not being able to send our kids to Europe at a young age may be a blessing in disguise... [/quote]

So glad you posted this, there was also another article about a group of boys who after being rejected by the UK academies at a young age, their father's decided to take a risk on a separate private training program that would have them playing tournaments in France with the idea that would be scouted and have another chance.  It was very eye-opening as I too was one of the people who assumed all academy players were awesome and were on a path to guaranteed contracts, playing time, rich and fame.  Clearly I was being naive about the prospects but also thought that parents chasing a dream was an American experience.  Once I do find it, I will share it here.[/quote]

That really was depressing to read.  I'm glad that there is starting to be more of a focus of the mental health needs of the kids who get cut from the UK academies.  The part of the article that discusses how middle class parents are more realistic about their kids chances and more able to help with resources to find alternative paths careers  vs. the poorer and less educated families is striking.  We are lucky that most kids here will be able to attend college if the don't realize their pro dreams.[/quote]

Telling, that paragraph was very informative to me as well; I've read a lot of opinions here but this is almost a foretelling of a potential future the US soccer landscape can go towards if we don't make the right decisions now.[/quote]

I do worry about the kids who go to the residential soccer academies some clubs run in the States.  None of them are winning prizes for academic excellence, and others are considered basically a joke.  There is no saying the kids who are trying to make it as pros would be excelling academically if they stayed at home either--that mostly comes down to their home environment and interests.  Other sports have obviously dealt with this problem for years--the issues were really well chronicled in Hoop Dreams.  But soccer is slowly starting to become a somewhat more viable professional option for many more kids, so we are in the early stages.  [/quote]

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