Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ Not pp.

But, Dude, we are set up to fail. We need to scrap everything. This non-working 40 year + system needs to be flushed down the toilet.

I don’t give a shit about those stupid rules. They are not in American kids’ best interests.

I agree with the poster you responded to.

Again, I am as damn sick of the same crap I’ve been hearing for the 30-years I’ve been involved in the sport...we CAN’T and “we are just around the corner”.

We suck because the system sucks and the people running the system suck.

But—yea let’s keep paying the crooks and the leeches.

Come on, this is over the top. Sure missing the World Cup is an epic failure, but it happens. Mexico was lucky not to miss in 2014 - USMNT scored goals against Panama they had no need to score to keep Mexico in a Play In situation.

USMNT qualified for 7 straight World Cups from 1990 on after having been out for what - 40 - 50 years? They then made it out of the Group stage 4 of those 7 times. There are actually not that many other countries that have had even that level of World Cup success in the last 25 odd years.

Outside International, we now have a thriving Professional Soccer League in the US - did not even exist in 1990.

There are definitely problems and still massive room for improvement but 40 years ago Soccer was really not even a sport in the area of the country where I grew up. Part of the problem is there just are not enough good Coaches and knowledgeable Parents. And changing that takes time - if my son and his teammates have soccer playing kids - well it will be different.

Anonymous wrote:^^ Not pp.

But, Dude, we are set up to fail. We need to scrap everything. This non-working 40 year + system needs to be flushed down the toilet.

I don’t give a shit about those stupid rules. They are not in American kids’ best interests.

I agree with the poster you responded to.

Again, I am as damn sick of the same crap I’ve been hearing for the 30-years I’ve been involved in the sport...we CAN’T and “we are just around the corner”.

We suck because the system sucks and the people running the system suck.

But—yea let’s keep paying the crooks and the leeches.

Anonymous wrote:You Americans are clueless. Do you have any idea how many levels of semi-pro teams there are in Europe?? There is MUCH more than the first teams and they are fairly lucrative.

I never get the insistence on status quotes here. The it’s just not possible argument over and over.

Anonymous wrote:^^ Not pp.

But, Dude, we are set up to fail. We need to scrap everything. This non-working 40 year + system needs to be flushed down the toilet.

I don’t give a shit about those stupid rules. They are not in American kids’ best interests.

I agree with the poster you responded to.

Again, I am as damn sick of the same crap I’ve been hearing for the 30-years I’ve been involved in the sport...we CAN’T and “we are just around the corner”.

We suck because the system sucks and the people running the system suck.

But—yea let’s keep paying the crooks and the leeches.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fans of Liverpool and Valencia aren't fans because they feel like it, they genuinely follow them as their local team. The path of creating tiers is too long, and frankly un-American. If we are going to stand a chance of creating stars in football, the only path I see working in the next 10-20 years is constructing soccer fields, blacktop or grass, and then have a decentralized network of soccer programs that are cheap and just allow for the programs to schedule games. The children interested in improving will improve on their own. Let the rich families enjoy theor private coaching and cross-country national championships.

Then US Soccer would only be responsible for identifying players worthy of of being brought to US training grounds free of charge away from school, classmates, families for a series of extended stays. We have shown that when it comes to our kids, we Americans are willing to pay high prices for just an opportunity, so it will be impossible to remove the $ from the selection. But if we have the same program and training for all individuals seen with potential, it may help with keeping the playing field.

This would require coaches with an eye for potential 15 years down the road, and not next Sunday's game. Also, this would HAVE to mean that partipating in the USYS and US Club Soccer nat'l championships and Nat'l League would be meaningless to those coaches looking for players with high potential in their twenties.

Giving up bragging rights for parents and $$$ for all the private soccer academies, trainers, camps, and travel club teams won't be easy, but is the price we will have to pay.

Your proposition was so beautiful that I'm still wiping my tears as I type this. There is just one flaw in your actually ill conceived plan as it relates to American sports and youth.

1. All of our sports rely on a player draft. Which means players rights are managed by leagues versus clubs.
2. The ability for clubs to recoup costs on player development via transfer fees. I don't see how we can overcome this legal barrier in the current legal and league structure.
3. The lack of tiered professional leagues for players to develop within.
4. College soccer and amateur rules. Kids have to make a decision to either get an education at a greatly reduced cost or try and go pro. With so few leagues to develop within most DA quality players choose College and College is where development goes to die. And players have to do college first because if they make one cent as a pro they are ineligible to even play in college much less receive a scholarship. Most players choose the safer path and play in college without ever following through on what a couple of years as pro might do to elevate their game in the prime years of 18-22 years old.
5. Work visas which greatly hinder truly elite players the ability to train and play in Europe at younger ages without European passports.

At the end of the day money needs to be made by somebody and there needs to be an incentive. Currently MLS, NWSL and other leagues both need profitable clubs. But they need to be profitable in more ways than just concessions, ticket sales and jerseys sales. They need an incentive to develop players that speak to their bottom line more than just development that leads to slightly cheaper in-house signings. The sale of a Rooney from Everton to Man U is the type of transaction that funds a clubs academy system, not ticket sales. Until the players become the product to be nurtured and developed for sale the U.S. will lag behind the rest of the world.

The first thing I mentioned was a draft. This is important because if you fail to sign in house talent that player can be drafted for FREE by another club. How much money is a club willing to invest in any player if a majority of them simply walk out the door for free and those that stay only generate revenue through ticket and jersey sales with their numbers. And then they can still go to college and still possibly get drafted later by a MLS club.

Many NFL clubs would fold if not for revenue sharing that comes from huge TV contracts. Parking, hot dog and beer sales even at the NFL level are not enough money to provide a very expensive development pyramid that is fully funded that soccer requires.

But these boards would be very different if we had a more professional academy system in place here. It is hilarious how people bicker about what club is better or what happened at Vienna or Arlington now when you are just year to year. Imagine the prospect of signing your kid over to a club at 13-14 years old and the kid is now essentially theirs. And at any moment your kid can wash out from the club and be sent home for good, relegated to the youth soccer world of club soccer, now known as rec.

Anonymous wrote:Fans of Liverpool and Valencia aren't fans because they feel like it, they genuinely follow them as their local team. The path of creating tiers is too long, and frankly un-American. If we are going to stand a chance of creating stars in football, the only path I see working in the next 10-20 years is constructing soccer fields, blacktop or grass, and then have a decentralized network of soccer programs that are cheap and just allow for the programs to schedule games. The children interested in improving will improve on their own. Let the rich families enjoy theor private coaching and cross-country national championships.

Then US Soccer would only be responsible for identifying players worthy of of being brought to US training grounds free of charge away from school, classmates, families for a series of extended stays. We have shown that when it comes to our kids, we Americans are willing to pay high prices for just an opportunity, so it will be impossible to remove the $ from the selection. But if we have the same program and training for all individuals seen with potential, it may help with keeping the playing field.

This would require coaches with an eye for potential 15 years down the road, and not next Sunday's game. Also, this would HAVE to mean that partipating in the USYS and US Club Soccer nat'l championships and Nat'l League would be meaningless to those coaches looking for players with high potential in their twenties.

Giving up bragging rights for parents and $$$ for all the private soccer academies, trainers, camps, and travel club teams won't be easy, but is the price we will have to pay.

Anonymous wrote:You Americans are clueless. Do you have any idea how many levels of semi-pro teams there are in Europe?? There is MUCH more than the first teams and they are fairly lucrative.

I never get the insistence on status quotes here. The it’s just not possible argument over and over.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree 16-18 is a crucial age for development but it can get brushed off here, a lot of the attention lies with the younger ages because there's more money there.

By 16-18, 98% of US youth soccer players have given up playing....just when it is starting to get serious in every other country. 27-29 is a peak soccer player’s age. Almost no US soccer players are still playing then.

We have the wrong focus with competitions/games/tournaments at age 8 vs development.

Our kids are burned out early by playing 4 tournament games per weekend 6-10 times per year, regular season , shitty Y, etc. No true off-season.

We hype up 7 and 8 year olds and their parents think they are destined for greatness because they won the Bethesda Cup.

How many people over 18 years of age do you honestly expect to keep playing competitive soccer?

You took the bait. Very good. AND this, my friends, is why the US can never expect to be a major player on the World scene.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree 16-18 is a crucial age for development but it can get brushed off here, a lot of the attention lies with the younger ages because there's more money there.

By 16-18, 98% of US youth soccer players have given up playing....just when it is starting to get serious in every other country. 27-29 is a peak soccer player’s age. Almost no US soccer players are still playing then.

We have the wrong focus with competitions/games/tournaments at age 8 vs development.

Our kids are burned out early by playing 4 tournament games per weekend 6-10 times per year, regular season , shitty Y, etc. No true off-season.

We hype up 7 and 8 year olds and their parents think they are destined for greatness because they won the Bethesda Cup.

How many people over 18 years of age do you honestly expect to keep playing competitive soccer?

You took the bait. Very good. AND this, my friends, is why the US can never expect to be a major player on the World scene.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree 16-18 is a crucial age for development but it can get brushed off here, a lot of the attention lies with the younger ages because there's more money there.

By 16-18, 98% of US youth soccer players have given up playing....just when it is starting to get serious in every other country. 27-29 is a peak soccer player’s age. Almost no US soccer players are still playing then.

We have the wrong focus with competitions/games/tournaments at age 8 vs development.

Our kids are burned out early by playing 4 tournament games per weekend 6-10 times per year, regular season , shitty Y, etc. No true off-season.

We hype up 7 and 8 year olds and their parents think they are destined for greatness because they won the Bethesda Cup.

How many people over 18 years of age do you honestly expect to keep playing competitive soccer?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree 16-18 is a crucial age for development but it can get brushed off here, a lot of the attention lies with the younger ages because there's more money there.

By 16-18, 98% of US youth soccer players have given up playing....just when it is starting to get serious in every other country. 27-29 is a peak soccer player’s age. Almost no US soccer players are still playing then.

We have the wrong focus with competitions/games/tournaments at age 8 vs development.

Our kids are burned out early by playing 4 tournament games per weekend 6-10 times per year, regular season , shitty Y, etc. No true off-season.

We hype up 7 and 8 year olds and their parents think they are destined for greatness because they won the Bethesda Cup.

Anonymous wrote:I agree 16-18 is a crucial age for development but it can get brushed off here, a lot of the attention lies with the younger ages because there's more money there.