Anonymous wrote:https://www.sbnation.com/2019/1/29/18199509/usmnt-roster-pool-demographics-latinx-foreign-born-players

“After California are several well known soccer hotbeds: Texas (9.1 percent of players), New York/New Jersey (8 percent), the area around Washington, D.C. (6.3 percent), Florida (4.6 percent), and Missouri/Kansas (4.6 percent).”

It would appear at least one journalist thinks our area IS a hotbed. I agree.

There's a difference between the pool percentages and being a hotbed for development. They aren't the same thing. Development requires exceptional playing environments and coaching. The anecdote of the 7 year old kid described above speaks volumes.

https://www.sbnation.com/2019/1/29/18199509/usmnt-roster-pool-demographics-latinx-foreign-born-players

“After California are several well known soccer hotbeds: Texas (9.1 percent of players), New York/New Jersey (8 percent), the area around Washington, D.C. (6.3 percent), Florida (4.6 percent), and Missouri/Kansas (4.6 percent).”

It would appear at least one journalist thinks our area IS a hotbed. I agree.

True story, saw a 7 year old boy who moved here from Ecuador with the same skill level as a high level U12 american player. Did not have any special training in Ecuador, just played constantly. Came here and stuck out like a sore thumb in every setting

Anonymous wrote:DC is NOT a hot spot for soccer development, men or women.

It IS a hot spot for affluent parents who like to spend cash on their children’s soccer.

Or Basketball or Baseball or Lacrosse or Violin or Dance, etc.

Anonymous wrote:DC is NOT a hot spot for soccer development, men or women.

It IS a hot spot for affluent parents who like to spend cash on their children’s soccer.

Hmm

DC is NOT a hot spot for soccer development, men or women.

It IS a hot spot for affluent parents who like to spend cash on their children’s soccer.

Participation medals for everyone

Anonymous wrote:So now a hot spot is defined as an area where there isn’t much to do or much opportunity other than playing soccer in kids’ free time and the sport of choice is soccer (as oppossed to basketball, baseball, etc.). Hence why Brazil and poorer areas in Europe and Argentina produce so many good players and the US does not (men’s side).

Yeah. Unless you are looking for a participation medal in the soccer hotbed sweepstakes.

So now a hot spot is defined as an area where there isn’t much to do or much opportunity other than playing soccer in kids’ free time and the sport of choice is soccer (as oppossed to basketball, baseball, etc.). Hence why Brazil and poorer areas in Europe and Argentina produce so many good players and the US does not (men’s side).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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?

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.

Sorry. Completely disagree. There are more fanatically committed players and soccer families in our area by far than there are the proportionate number of gifted coaches available to serve them. We are lucky to live in a place where kids have been playing soccer in huge numbers since the seventies, and we have all the benefits that come with having a lot of diplomats and immigrants (not just Hispanic, but from Africa and other soccer-loving countries). Yes, there are plenty of great coaches too, for some of the same reasons, but we don’t have the same concentration available to kids in a lot of other places.

The reasons why we don’t have the coaches we need both here and in the US in general is a post or series of hypotheses for another day. But I threw out the Matt Pilkington example in support of the concept that any brilliant coach could come into our area and assemble, from the available player pool in the suburbs, enough kids of decent enough talent to become pros with the right training. There are others like him, sure, but we need a lot more.

I am sorry, but where are these kids playing 3-4 hours per day who demonstrate the kind of fanatical commitment you routinely see elsewhere in the world, or here in other sports? Where is the after school pick up game occurring when kids aren’t in practice? How many play pickup after practice? The answer is absolutely nowhere in this area. We play with reps of all the aforementioned groups and it is still a struggle to get top kids together to play outside practice. Coaching won’t fix that, anymore than Coach K or Phil Jackson could coach kids to D1 college who don’t play basketball outside practice. I am not saying kids should do this. I am suggesting that you check those expectations at the door and realize the magical Coaches in’t gonna make the difference between good and spectacular.

The kids I'm talking about are playing hours of soccer most days. Most have been playing at home since they could toddle. They play every recess, and they play after practice until a parent finally takes a stand about dinner time and drags the kid off the field. When they get together with their friends on weekends, they either play in the basement or outdoors. You may not see them, because it happens in pockets here and there instead of en masse at the local fields, though the fields near me always have at least a handful of kids out there.

Do you know boys from here who have gone pro? If you are part of that community, you can see the trajectory starting when the kids are little. Most them come from soccer families (could be a family where a parent or relative played at a high level, or just one where soccer has always been a huge passion for all involved). Virtually all of them at a young age encountered a coach of the sort I'm talking about who said "You have what it takes. Here's what you have to do to have a chance." These are coaches who have trained kids who became pros, and they see that as their calling. A kid who gets the attention of a coach like that is pushed far harder than a kid with a typical coach at a club around here, to a degree that I'm sure a lot of parents would think is extreme. But these coaches always have a following of hard core families who want what's best for their kids soccer-wise. Of course, not all the kids who are ID'd by this type of coach are going to go pro, or even play D1, but they have a much higher likelihood of doing so than the kids who aren't lucky enough to be trained and inspired by a coach like that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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?

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.

Sorry. Completely disagree. There are more fanatically committed players and soccer families in our area by far than there are the proportionate number of gifted coaches available to serve them. We are lucky to live in a place where kids have been playing soccer in huge numbers since the seventies, and we have all the benefits that come with having a lot of diplomats and immigrants (not just Hispanic, but from Africa and other soccer-loving countries). Yes, there are plenty of great coaches too, for some of the same reasons, but we don’t have the same concentration available to kids in a lot of other places.

The reasons why we don’t have the coaches we need both here and in the US in general is a post or series of hypotheses for another day. But I threw out the Matt Pilkington example in support of the concept that any brilliant coach could come into our area and assemble, from the available player pool in the suburbs, enough kids of decent enough talent to become pros with the right training. There are others like him, sure, but we need a lot more.

I am sorry, but where are these kids playing 3-4 hours per day who demonstrate the kind of fanatical commitment you routinely see elsewhere in the world, or here in other sports? Where is the after school pick up game occurring when kids aren’t in practice? How many play pickup after practice? The answer is absolutely nowhere in this area. We play with reps of all the aforementioned groups and it is still a struggle to get top kids together to play outside practice. Coaching won’t fix that, anymore than Coach K or Phil Jackson could coach kids to D1 college who don’t play basketball outside practice. I am not saying kids should do this. I am suggesting that you check those expectations at the door and realize the magical Coaches in’t gonna make the difference between good and spectacular.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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?

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.

Sorry. Completely disagree. There are more fanatically committed players and soccer families in our area by far than there are the proportionate number of gifted coaches available to serve them. We are lucky to live in a place where kids have been playing soccer in huge numbers since the seventies, and we have all the benefits that come with having a lot of diplomats and immigrants (not just Hispanic, but from Africa and other soccer-loving countries). Yes, there are plenty of great coaches too, for some of the same reasons, but we don’t have the same concentration available to kids in a lot of other places.

The reasons why we don’t have the coaches we need both here and in the US in general is a post or series of hypotheses for another day. But I threw out the Matt Pilkington example in support of the concept that any brilliant coach could come into our area and assemble, from the available player pool in the suburbs, enough kids of decent enough talent to become pros with the right training. There are others like him, sure, but we need a lot more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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?

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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?

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.