Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every single justification for the expensive pay-to-play system in America is an excuse.

If we truly can't afford it, then no country can.

I'm not sure I understand this argument? Coaches need to get paid. Fields need to be paid for. Referees get paid... etc. etc. where do you expect this money to come from?

Where there's a will, there's a way.
Everybody else has coaches, fields and refs.

The main difference is that youth coaches in other countries only make a couple of hundred bucks a year. Coaches here are making money in the thousands per team. Unfortunately here coaches are not giving up their free time for nothing. Club directors in other countries aren't making over a hundred k unless you are at a top D1 club. If you cut off coaches and multiple director salaries your child would only have to pay a few hundred per year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every single justification for the expensive pay-to-play system in America is an excuse.

If we truly can't afford it, then no country can.

I'm not sure I understand this argument? Coaches need to get paid. Fields need to be paid for. Referees get paid... etc. etc. where do you expect this money to come from?

Where there's a will, there's a way.
Everybody else has coaches, fields and refs.

The main difference is that youth coaches in other countries only make a couple of hundred bucks a year. Coaches here are making money in the thousands per team. Unfortunately here coaches are not giving up their free time for nothing. Club directors in other countries aren't making over a hundred k unless you are at a top D1 club. If you cut off coaches and multiple director salaries your child would only have to pay a few hundred per year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every single justification for the expensive pay-to-play system in America is an excuse.

If we truly can't afford it, then no country can.

I'm not sure I understand this argument? Coaches need to get paid. Fields need to be paid for. Referees get paid... etc. etc. where do you expect this money to come from?

Where there's a will, there's a way.
Everybody else has coaches, fields and refs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly off topic too but it does matter and something to think about. Capitalism in Europe isn't the same as capitalism here in the states.

Youth soccer is a machine that is allowed to grow without many checks and balances. How good or bad that is depends on your perspective I guess.

I think people just don't realize the financial gap that there is.

Here are a few simple figures from the best data I could find.

EPL: €2,208,128 average salary, €2,111,838,000 total league salary
La Liga: €2,517,929 average salary, €1,203,570,000 total league salary
Bundesliga: €2,208,128 average salary, €967,160,000 total league salary
Serie A: €1,898,505 average salary, €992,918,000 total league salary
Ligue 1: €1,797,765 average salary, €764,050,000 total league salary
English Championship €768,002 average salary, €456,961,352 total league salary
MLS: €543,745 average salary, €241,966,716 total league salary

These are just the top leagues in those countries and the second division in England still out grosses the MLS almost 2 to 1.

I'm not even sure we're catching up, but at least our totals are going up. Still a long way to go. For more perspective the salary cap of a single NFL team is $224,800,000, almost as much as the MLS combined. In baseball the NY Mets have a payroll of about $343,605,067....

Anonymous wrote:Slightly off topic too but it does matter and something to think about. Capitalism in Europe isn't the same as capitalism here in the states.

Youth soccer is a machine that is allowed to grow without many checks and balances. How good or bad that is depends on your perspective I guess.

Anonymous wrote:Okay, one small step at a time to change the tide and begin the revolution against pay-to-play

Lets start a movement that we as parents will no longer send our kids to practice with (soccer) balls.

Clubs must provide.
Effective August 2024!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every single justification for the expensive pay-to-play system in America is an excuse.

If we truly can't afford it, then no country can.

We can afford it. Look at football. Look at very high level basketball. We just don't care enough about soccer to bother

Then why are thousands of kids on fields every Saturday and Sunday playing in fancy uniforms?
Why so many Soccerplexes?
Why so many tournaments?
Why so many teams in every metro area?
Why so many thousands of kids training every weekday evenings?
....if we don't care enough about soccer?

Because they make money. Just because parents will pay for their own kids doesn't mean there is any interest in subsidizing other kids

Tell that to the IRS

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every single justification for the expensive pay-to-play system in America is an excuse.

If we truly can't afford it, then no country can.

We can afford it. Look at football. Look at very high level basketball. We just don't care enough about soccer to bother

Then why are thousands of kids on fields every Saturday and Sunday playing in fancy uniforms?
Why so many Soccerplexes?
Why so many tournaments?
Why so many teams in every metro area?
Why so many thousands of kids training every weekday evenings?
....if we don't care enough about soccer?

Because they make money. Just because parents will pay for their own kids doesn't mean there is any interest in subsidizing other kids

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slightly off topic too but it does matter and something to think about. Capitalism in Europe isn't the same as capitalism here in the states.

Youth soccer is a machine that is allowed to grow without many checks and balances. How good or bad that is depends on your perspective I guess.

If the US wasn't the only country on planet earth with a pay-to-play system/problem, many 'can't fix' arguments would hold water.

How many un-athletic American kids with no chance of every playing in high school let alone college and pro play travel? In the rest of those world those kids would never sniff an academy let alone get the opportunity to wash out

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we're paying more than any other place in the world, what are we getting for our money?

If you're at a club paying $4,000 for just club fee, then gotta buy your uniforms/training gear and bring your own ball to practice plus shell out for costs of attending multiple tournaments, the least you deserve is a competent coach.

None of you would spend that money equivalent for private school if the teachers weren't qualified.

Not to derail the thread, but I wonder how many parents actually look into their child teacher qualifications/track record vs the school. Sound similar to club/coach situation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every single justification for the expensive pay-to-play system in America is an excuse.

If we truly can't afford it, then no country can.

We can afford it. Look at football. Look at very high level basketball. We just don't care enough about soccer to bother

Then why are thousands of kids on fields every Saturday and Sunday playing in fancy uniforms?
Why so many Soccerplexes?
Why so many tournaments?
Why so many teams in every metro area?
Why so many thousands of kids training every weekday evenings?
....if we don't care enough about soccer?

Because they make money. Just because parents will pay for their own kids doesn't mean there is any interest in subsidizing other kids

Anonymous wrote:If we're paying more than any other place in the world, what are we getting for our money?

If you're at a club paying $4,000 for just club fee, then gotta buy your uniforms/training gear and bring your own ball to practice plus shell out for costs of attending multiple tournaments, the least you deserve is a competent coach.

None of you would spend that money equivalent for private school if the teachers weren't qualified.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every single justification for the expensive pay-to-play system in America is an excuse.

If we truly can't afford it, then no country can.

I'm not sure I understand this argument? Coaches need to get paid. Fields need to be paid for. Referees get paid... etc. etc. where do you expect this money to come from?