Is the US Soccer Foundation really building 1,000 mini pitches? l Interview with Alex Bard 

Or like Kevin Durant as our GK we’d be crazy

@@graffbussiere4831- too tall. Ideal is a 6’5” wing defender with a 7’ wing-span.

11v11 isn’t where you develop ball control in tight spaces due to each player rarely touching the ball and there being so few instances of tight spaces. 4 v 4, 5 v 5, 6 v 6… depending on the pitch size. That’s where major development happens.

@@chancemiller9340 I didn’t really mean to relate 11v11 to getting better at developing ball control I do like that from the small court what I meant was that it’s a lot easier to get like 4/6 guys together for basketball but if u want to use a Field for soccer u need at least like 14 people so the small court\field helps make it easier to get together people for a game or even just play by ur self at practice skills which is hard to do on a large field

@@graffbussiere4831- I understood what you meant, but took it in a development direction. I was on an email list of 20+ guys in Argentina that got sent out each Sunday and then the first 12 to sign up got to play 6v6 on Monday night on a converted tennis court (not just the playing court, but the space on all sides) using 7’ h x 16’w goals. We’d rent the cancha for one hour, one night a week, and my skill level shot up compared to anytime in my life. (And I was an older dog learning new tricks). Having even smaller courts that can handle 4v4 (+/-1) in parks here and there all over the country would be an amazing petri dish plan for developing talent, ball control without parental interference or over-regimented activities by coaches. Just like basketball courts. 👍

I sound crotchety… Pete, thanks for platforming this issue. With 2026 around the corner I feel this is a crucial turning point for the game in the US. I really hope that soccer can become as accessible as basketball by then.

to be fair to the foundation, it seems they want the same thing. I just really want that free and organic experience that basketball has

This is exactly it, Chad. Still too many barriers, not enough of an open experience for young players. More pitches is always good but it doesn't do much if there's too many barriers to entry. Seems more like a good photo op and PR for the owners but that's about it.

Yeah that was my big concern for the interview. Just a bunch of schools and park districts taking advantage of this program to get more infrastructure but that infrastructure not trickling down to the kids who need it.