Anonymous wrote:not at youth level, especially in DC. I know only a few kids who do hockey and A LOT who do soccer. MD + VA have around 15m people. it is more than average country in Europe. I do not think more kids in Croatia, Denmark do competitive soccer than in MD+VA. But quality of coaching and soccer is very different. i can see lots of love to soccer especially in younger generation, but I cannot see culture and I cannot see that someone is trying to improve it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem (that won't be fixed) is that youth soccer is a huge business with lots of money to be made. So, the focus is on winning. Not the slow-burn developmental process that they embrace in Europe. No, we can't waste time doing small-sided games and 5v5 matches to build our soccer IQ...we need to scrimmage ASAP because we have super important tournaments coming up!

It's all to build the profile of the club and never about the players. Win tournaments now! Because money is there to be made. Its only and always about the money here. So you gotta find a way to deal with the system and make it work in your advantage...focus on what you can control.

The goal of that slow burn is to sell a player to another club. The US gets lots of things wrong, but at least our kids aren't binding themselves to clubs in a way to allows the club to control their rights. We also value participation over a focus on the elite. Our incentives are different, but don't pretend European clubs care about what is best for kids

They are certainly about developing better soccer players. And yes...the top academies in Europe are openly trying to develop players to make their 1st team as a pro or sell them at a later date. I don't see how that negates that they are still trying to develop players in a proper way. The point is we aren't...we are just trying to win so the club can get bigger. Those aren't the same things. We don't really get anything right.

That's the difference. European clubs want quality and will cull their teams every year because kids without potential are not worth wasting resources. Pay to play lets more kids, including those who don't have a hope of playing in college let alone pro. If you care about producing professional players, Europe is better. If you don't and you just want your kid to enjoy playing, the US is better. I'd be willing to bet that most people would prefer their kid be allowed to continue playing even if it means the national team can't be as talented as it would be under a European system because most people, even those with kids in ECNL or MLSnext, do not actually care about professional soccer or the national teams

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem (that won't be fixed) is that youth soccer is a huge business with lots of money to be made. So, the focus is on winning. Not the slow-burn developmental process that they embrace in Europe. No, we can't waste time doing small-sided games and 5v5 matches to build our soccer IQ...we need to scrimmage ASAP because we have super important tournaments coming up!

It's all to build the profile of the club and never about the players. Win tournaments now! Because money is there to be made. Its only and always about the money here. So you gotta find a way to deal with the system and make it work in your advantage...focus on what you can control.

The goal of that slow burn is to sell a player to another club. The US gets lots of things wrong, but at least our kids aren't binding themselves to clubs in a way to allows the club to control their rights. We also value participation over a focus on the elite. Our incentives are different, but don't pretend European clubs care about what is best for kids

They are certainly about developing better soccer players. And yes...the top academies in Europe are openly trying to develop players to make their 1st team as a pro or sell them at a later date. I don't see how that negates that they are still trying to develop players in a proper way. The point is we aren't...we are just trying to win so the club can get bigger. Those aren't the same things. We don't really get anything right.

That's the difference. European clubs want quality and will cull their teams every year because kids without potential are not worth wasting resources. Pay to play lets more kids, including those who don't have a hope of playing in college let alone pro. If you care about producing professional players, Europe is better. If you don't and you just want your kid to enjoy playing, the US is better. I'd be willing to bet that most people would prefer their kid be allowed to continue playing even if it means the national team can't be as talented as it would be under a European system because most people, even those with kids in ECNL or MLSnext, do not actually care about professional soccer or the national teams

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem (that won't be fixed) is that youth soccer is a huge business with lots of money to be made. So, the focus is on winning. Not the slow-burn developmental process that they embrace in Europe. No, we can't waste time doing small-sided games and 5v5 matches to build our soccer IQ...we need to scrimmage ASAP because we have super important tournaments coming up!

It's all to build the profile of the club and never about the players. Win tournaments now! Because money is there to be made. Its only and always about the money here. So you gotta find a way to deal with the system and make it work in your advantage...focus on what you can control.

The goal of that slow burn is to sell a player to another club. The US gets lots of things wrong, but at least our kids aren't binding themselves to clubs in a way to allows the club to control their rights. We also value participation over a focus on the elite. Our incentives are different, but don't pretend European clubs care about what is best for kids

They are certainly about developing better soccer players. And yes...the top academies in Europe are openly trying to develop players to make their 1st team as a pro or sell them at a later date. I don't see how that negates that they are still trying to develop players in a proper way. The point is we aren't...we are just trying to win so the club can get bigger. Those aren't the same things. We don't really get anything right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem (that won't be fixed) is that youth soccer is a huge business with lots of money to be made. So, the focus is on winning. Not the slow-burn developmental process that they embrace in Europe. No, we can't waste time doing small-sided games and 5v5 matches to build our soccer IQ...we need to scrimmage ASAP because we have super important tournaments coming up!

It's all to build the profile of the club and never about the players. Win tournaments now! Because money is there to be made. Its only and always about the money here. So you gotta find a way to deal with the system and make it work in your advantage...focus on what you can control.

The goal of that slow burn is to sell a player to another club. The US gets lots of things wrong, but at least our kids aren't binding themselves to clubs in a way to allows the club to control their rights. We also value participation over a focus on the elite. Our incentives are different, but don't pretend European clubs care about what is best for kids

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem (that won't be fixed) is that youth soccer is a huge business with lots of money to be made. So, the focus is on winning. Not the slow-burn developmental process that they embrace in Europe. No, we can't waste time doing small-sided games and 5v5 matches to build our soccer IQ...we need to scrimmage ASAP because we have super important tournaments coming up!

It's all to build the profile of the club and never about the players. Win tournaments now! Because money is there to be made. Its only and always about the money here. So you gotta find a way to deal with the system and make it work in your advantage...focus on what you can control.

The goal of that slow burn is to sell a player to another club. The US gets lots of things wrong, but at least our kids aren't binding themselves to clubs in a way to allows the club to control their rights. We also value participation over a focus on the elite. Our incentives are different, but don't pretend European clubs care about what is best for kids

Anonymous wrote:The problem (that won't be fixed) is that youth soccer is a huge business with lots of money to be made. So, the focus is on winning. Not the slow-burn developmental process that they embrace in Europe. No, we can't waste time doing small-sided games and 5v5 matches to build our soccer IQ...we need to scrimmage ASAP because we have super important tournaments coming up!

It's all to build the profile of the club and never about the players. Win tournaments now! Because money is there to be made. Its only and always about the money here. So you gotta find a way to deal with the system and make it work in your advantage...focus on what you can control.

Anonymous wrote:not at youth level, especially in DC. I know only a few kids who do hockey and A LOT who do soccer. MD + VA have around 15m people. it is more than average country in Europe. I do not think more kids in Croatia, Denmark do competitive soccer than in MD+VA. But quality of coaching and soccer is very different. i can see lots of love to soccer especially in younger generation, but I cannot see culture and I cannot see that someone is trying to improve it.

Anonymous wrote:As a person who grew up in Europe I totally agree with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua2jKsYlSzI