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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Soccer in the USA is so UMC kids don't get slapped around by the colored kids in basketball and football. [/quote]

The thing about the contact laws in soccer 50/50 balls is they just don't work well when contact isn't shoulder to shoulder.  When there is a difference in height the taller player isn't allowed to drop their shoulders so it's more like elbow to head or shoulders to ribs.  So soccer players tend towards average height more than you would expect.  You don't want to be the odd one out on a soccer squad and every challenge is like that.  Except in the US they run slightly shorter than other places.[/quote]

No. Look at the European leagues. 75-85% of the field player roster is above average in height. Look at the NCAA women’s soccer roster - the same.

Contract in soccer is about getting hands or an arm on the other player. A taller play can shield the ball from a short player, has longer/arms, lower the shoulder and lean on the smaller player. This really pays off after the 70 minute mark.

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I don't disagree.  My assertion is that this is why American soccer doesn't do well.  It's an advantage when you can field a squad that is on average pretty tall, but when you have a squad that is mostly average or even below average, it's just kind of awkward to have an odd duck six or more inches taller than your 5'8" squad...  It's not the big matches, just day to day challenges amongst 20 or so players with shots to the ribs no red cards with those dirty short players in practice.  Plus, you're a six two, three or four ideal athlete with elite speed might as well be a wide receiver, tight end or something.[/quote]

US Men’s soccer team average height is 6’0”.  It’s not half 6’4” and half 5’8”…very few 5’8” players.[/quote]

Yes, that is part of the point.  The teams tend to be very homogenous in height not a distribution, and compared to other countries which have a similar distribution in heights.  We field a team that is several inches shorter:

Average height of Germans and Americans nominally different, but

https://www.espn.com/soccer/team/squad/_/id/481/germany

Germany is several inches taller: https://fishenal.github.io/worldCup2022Data/docs/sortByAvHeight.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heights_distribution

Germany	175.4 cm (5 ft 9 in)	162.8 cm (5 ft 4 in)	1.08	18–79 (N= m/f:19,768[vague])	—N/a	2007	[5]
Switzerland	175.4 cm (5 ft 9 in)	164 cm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)	1.07	20–74	Self-reported	1987–1994	[103]
United States	175.3 cm (5 ft 9 in)	161.3 cm (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in)	1.09	All Americans, 20+ (N= m:5,092 f:5,510)	Measured	2015–2018	[113]
Malta	175.2 cm (5 ft 9 in)	165.3 cm (5 ft 5 in)	1.06	25–34	Self-reported[vague]	2003	[71]
Ukraine	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)	164 cm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)	1.07	18+	Measured[vague]	2020	[111

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