As a 42 year old American, I had ZERO interest in soccer growing up. Baseball, football, basketball. In High School I played baseball... then my buddy convinced 4 or 5 of us baseball guys to join soccer. I absolutely fell in love w the game. By my 3rd and final year on the team... I had a feel for spacing and runs (not to mention that soccer turned me into a new, better overall athlete).. however, I had no foot skills. So, it was a frustrating love affair at that point. I grew up in Jersey City, NJ... directly across the Hudson River from NYC. It was literally one of, if not the most diverse city in the nation. (It's now gentrified from working class to a rich man's city)... I've always felt with our international flavor (Latinos, Africans, middle easterners, etx) that we should be a hotbed for soccer. There was no, and still is no casual street soccer. There's one league, in a far corner of the city that's tough to get to. If we could somehow change that, the game can grow, I'm sure of it. We've had pros in all 3 major sports regularly. Our main man right now is Dan Hurley. UConn men's basketball national champion coach. The sport culture is here for sure. I think what you all are saying is spot on. Great talk, gents.
The observations about US soccer that a) there's no casual play here, and b) US club soccer lives and dies by "testing" kids instead of teaching them are spot-on. We have no casual play here because most cities in the US are designed to need cars to get anywhere - if a 10-year-old wants to kick the ball around with his friends, they and their friends need to convince their parents to take the time to drive them to a park. That's unheard of in the rest of the world: in any other part of the world you could walk a block or two and find a place to play. That's why the US can't produce a world-class team - no one here can control the ball and build a play because no one was taught how to do it. Also: the capitalistic aspect of American culture kills any chance for creativity. US youth soccer clubs live and die by their social media presence: they need to focus on advertising the club and bringing in new customers because it costs so much money to run a club. They can't afford to spend time on teaching technique, refining skills, etc. They are constantly joining tournaments so they have footage to advertise the club on social media. Money becomes the focal point and, apart from leaving out 50-70% of kids and families that can't buy their way in, it produces sub-optimal players because they're always "teaching to the test."
It’s a cultural thing, the same reason that Pulisic, Reyna, and Sullivan parents are former players. US parents and kids do not watch soccer like they do with American sports, so the kids don’t really know the essence of the beautiful game. The game is about control, pass and move. Parents who never play insist the game is pass and move, it’s like saying you don’t need to learn to crawl and stand, just start walking and running.
Played Football in America close to the Bronx long enough ago to see a Retired Pele play a tribute game with Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto at Giants Stadium in the 1980's. Used to Watch Maradona play For Napoli on Live TV on the Italian Station . Starting from 10 yrs Old what I remember most is playing small sided games where 40 Yr old Fathers, Uncles and Older Brothers from many different countries play with and against 8 yr olds. Many Lessons were imparted to the Young Ballers that go beyond what could be taught with drills in the Academy or Travel system. Still there were always native born Americans that played in these pick up matches that would get progressively better and more competitive till everyone was playing 1 and 2 touch or turning to take on defenders vs passing back as a matter of pride. Maybe not just USA Youth soccer is an issue here. Respect Iwobi but he's not his Uncle Okocha (granted few are).... but a prime difference may be that Okocha played against grown men as a youth and picked up grown men lessons early. Some of the Intangibles of Football go beyond American Athleticism.......... One touch vision Passing at the last moment (the pause) Pulling back to look vs forcing the shot Turning with the ball to take on defender vs passing back Hitting on frame low hard vs kicking into the bleachers Tracking back to defense after losing the ball Never losing the ball Seeking diamonds and triangles Learning to use both feet Trapping a ball hit high like a goal kick or hit at you at 80 miles an hour Coming back 2 goals down Playing in a small restricted area Not getting mad if get beaten.... instead getting even Willing to play any position Getting Roasted by OG's for failing to do any of the above
As the host says playing up is important. My son plays up two age groups from time to time and trains with a team two age groups up. It really helps the talented technical players develop further by overcoming physical challenges.
I agree with most of the assessment of us soccer. Too much emphasis on winning, too little on ball mastery and development, no creativity, lack principles of play and get to 7v7, 9v9, 11v11 too fast. I love the point about coaching and how coaches try to coach soccer like they would American football or basketball (based on running sets/specific plays and drills). With that said basketball has a lot of similar principles to soccer (movement off the ball, making runs/cuts, 1v1,…..). You can apply the principles of a triangle offense in basketball to soccer. I would much rather have a basketball coach try to coach soccer than an American football coach. US lacks quality coaching for soccer. My sons best coach come from Central and South American
If your talking about coaches using youth football as a stepping stone, it's standard, I coach youth u18 in Australia getting 3x more than when I did u12s the more a coach moves up age and or better teams the more they can get, and everyone wants more money and a better profile. I know coaches that have been stuck 10 years at youth and people come in and in 4 years go from u7 girls to a pro coaching contract.
USA Soccer Culture - pay to play. This guy when on a English tangent when the answer to the first question was 3 words. Pay to Play is also the problem
There are many other problems other than pay to play. You have to pay to play in every other country too even England, Spain and Germany. Although i agree its more expensive in the USA Main problem with the USA is the coaching and the kids doing too many other sports…so they aren’t training enough and therefore the standard is too low to develop good players
@@lukebignell7846, the most important thing we can do to fix the system is have regional and local academies that are accessible to all kids in the area. Also, completely separate it from academics. Being a scholar and athlete are two totally different things...(when we accessible academies locally and regionally the kids will naturally play year around and choose it as main sport sooner in life)
People saying pay to play is the problem haven’t thought it through… every other youth sport in America is pay to play… and many are more expensive (by a lot) than soccer… so how can pay to play be a problem unique to US youth soccer? It’s also pay to play everywhere else in the world… when people point to pro youth academies in Europe as “see! It’s free!” Well we have that in the US too… the truth is we need 300 MLS youth academies that are free because US is so damn big… we only have 30… and we can’t get to 300 because majority of Americans are too busy watching NFL NBA MLB EPL..
Where is this stat that says MLS is most watched league in US. As far as I know, it’s 1. English Premier League 2. Liga MX 3. MLS. And considering you have to have MLS Season Pass to watch the majority of MLS games, they may fall even lower now that you can watch USL on local TV/streaming and EFL on Paramount
How many times a week does he train and play matches. As an experienced coach. You need to be training twice per week in organised sessions and playing matches once per week to develop. Anything less than that you won’t develop.
This interview provided great insights into the current state of soccer in the U.S. However, I have a question for all coaches, clubs, academy's and soccer fans: the word 'development' is often overused in the soccer community. What does 'development' really mean in the context of soccer? And what does it look like in real time? How can we measure a child's development and understand what progress should ultimately look like?
@@tolaakanni937 It starts with identification of the ball mastery skills and game understanding that the club would want to see at given age groups, and a training methodology designed to progress players through these levels. It would shift the definition of success/failure from wins/losses to things like “our U10s are now recognizing 2 v 1 situations much better and exploiting them”…or “our 1 v 1 training seems to be working…we’re seeing a lot more players take on defenders in the final third and creating chances” or “we have an issue with a lot of players not developing their weaker foot” or “our players still seem to not understand when to press and when to cover” or “we struggle to punish teams on transition”… Under this environment, coaches would be watching games mainly to see if the identified skills and game understanding are being absorbed, with a good result in the game being a “nice to have” but not the primary measuring stick. Further, talented players may be asked to play in multiple positions more to challenge them and accelerate their development, something that might compromise results. All of this obviously takes a high level of coaching expertise, and patience. Very difficult to sustain in the US youth model, with parents (whose knowledge of the game tends to be limited) funding the clubs and wanting to see results in the formal games quickly.
Coach here, Most coaches care only for their journey and how it can take their coaching journey to the next level, teams need to set something up like an academy to creat players that can play in their first team or to be known as a team that creates good players so more kids come to join. Also possible to sell a player, that will look like a success. So answering your questions as a coach, if we can create players so coaches can bring them to the next club that they might join, in order to have a great season to then move to a better club. Repeat that for 5 years then with luck you have a few pro players and a full tine coach.
You guys need to interview African Americans and the huge opportunity that the world has to develop the inner city talent. Exposure is the biggest hurdle.
Guys you need to come to Toronto! Seriously. The grass roots scene is booming here. Plus the Canadian immigrants are different culturally than Americans. We do have the bullshit pay to play system here too but come and check it out pleaseeeeee
When the USA begins to nurture autoocratically, we will accelerate at a very good pace....based on my observation athletes who learn democratically will have an advantage over other countries with less athleticism. ...the combo of both will be special.
Can US soccer be like Europe was in basketball in the 1990s?..I think it will take longer than Europe's rise in basketball...but it will eventually happen.
Currently, yes; I agree with you. However, as the leagues (MLS, USL, & colleges) continue to grow in popularity and evolve, the U.S. youth development system will shift toward increased player development rather than strictly winning tournaments. Our youth system will rival any world league because of the education components that are integrated. It won’t be a make it pro or bust. The best players will make it as they always do. The others that wash out professionally, play at the collegiate level, or merge into other careers will become fans and administrators with increased knowledge of the game and thus, generate immense passion similar to world futbol culture. You will see the birth of a new generation of young talent of supreme American quality better than we could ever imagine while continuing to evolve the U.S. system from the ground up. Soon we will have a more robust academy system within the MLS. If the USL can thrive and do the same, at a smaller scale similar to a UK category three academy, in addition to club soccer players that go to top flight D1 colleges, our system will be just fine. I played tackle football and didn’t appreciate futbol until I travelled to Europe. We didn’t even have a soccer team in my neighborhood. I found the game to be more complicated than football as the puzzle is in constant movement. Wait until a defensive safety that is 6-4, 225lbs and runs a 4.4 40 yd dash, with a graceful touch eager compete and to slice you to shreds, decides to play soccer instead of football. The social incentive structure for young people is not there yet, especially in our toughest neighborhoods where those players are born and forged. I can visualize it coming together now and our system will be strong. Maintain some optimism and stay thirsty my friend! 😎🇺🇸
Were teans can play? There are no free field. All schools built fence around thier field and parks has guards to stop games. All government's field like schools and parks should be open for soccer games if we want to build strong soccer culture. If that doesn't happen talents will never grow and they drop out of team. Parents belive thier kids might be next super star but this bobble will burst when they find reality of US soccer.
the problem with US soccer comes down to their own arrogance, the wrong standard of achievement for grass root and club soccer and the fact that soccer here excludes huge sections of the population ( i'll explain this later). First US soccer is too arrogant for it's own good... we dont want to change our grassroot system or even college system to match the rest of the world and we will develop players late because they aren't introduced to actual competitive football until they get out of college or skip it and go outside the US. Our grassroot system has always catered to get people into college which shouldn't be our goal for players, they should be pushing to get players at age 12-14yrs pushing to get into europe or academies for soccer clubs. We're starting to see it but not as a whole only a small select numbers. and to keep things brief... US Soccer will never be good cause it so money involved at the grassroot level that we don't find the next ronaldo, messi, ronaldinho... I mean when you listen to a lot of players you'll see that football was a means to get out of something/somewhere.... in America soccer is often played by the middle class or people with money so they can get into these clubs to get looked at. You hear stories about CR7 growing up poor and football was a way out for him and his family and he dedicated himself to it and look where it got him. We have more people in some states than the whole of portugal and we can't find/develop/produce an athlete like him? Somehow we produce top basketball and american football players....We don't have a scouting structure or a academy system that finds these kids playing pickup on the streets or at some random field. Soccer almost seems like its for the privileged and is moneygated unlike some other sports... we only have scouts at like ODP, or these expensive soccer camps or places where you only get there if you got money. I bet with the size of the US, i'd say about 40 states if they took the money and budgeted a system to act as an academy for the state and it was based off talent and not necessarily money.... these states could develop their own top professional football team with supporting academies and our national team would be #1 in the world, there's honestly so much more wrong with US soccer but those are the ones that come to mind
Great comment. But regarding American football..we’re the only ones that play, so there is nothing to compare our system too. The US thought it was great at making cars…until the Japanese got in the act. So I wonder what would happen if other countries played American football but developed them the same way they do soccer players…
@@Michael-cb5nm if they would and could we'd see more diversity just like we're starting to see in basketball. Globally basketball is starting to be more competitive with the US and you could say the same about women's soccer. The biggest weakness for the US and soccer development is it's pay gated so we will always lack the ability to find and develop the best players. Both national teams for the US lack diversity compared to what the US has to offer for a development pool. USWNT barely had any diversity before 2016, crystal Dunn and scurry the only two women of any color I can really recall .. Dunn been there forever representing!! But on either national team I say for the population pool the US has, were grossly under represented from the Latino community, never even seen an asian or Asian indian get a look at, and I'll say most of the player pool is coming for the women, those that went to college and for the men college or those plucked up and went Europe route at an early age or are multinational and picked the US over another country cause they know they weren't gonna get looked at.
@Michael-cb5nm Look at the makeup of our country and the American Football (NFL) players. Now tell me the European country that reflects the makeup of the US. No European country will ever beat our pro NFL players. Ever.
Love this podcast. Sean does a great job. Wish the guests were a little more knowledgeable on the USA Soccer environment being they work in it. Check your Pulisic story if you’re going to tell it. MLS has 29 teams, USL Championship 24, and there are over 200 D1 Men’s College Soccer programs. And it’s called SOCCER by the way. Even Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher know that 😆
Call him back because he must’ve heard you wrong when you said his dad was Polish. And Claudio Reyna played over 100 caps for the USA 🇺🇸 national team, not Argentina!!!
@@topbenssoccer the main point is that Pulisic is the player that he is due to street football in UK, moving to Europe in his teens and his Dads influence being European by DNA. Pulisic building street football pitches in his home town to give kids the opportunity to play freely without a coach says it all. We apologize for the elements of the story that are beside the point. Good spot though! Gotcha moment 😂❤️⚽️
@@GlobalStreetSoccer you’re spot on with needing more unstructured free play at the younger age groups. The initiative is great to get kids playing in the “street”. A lot of people will watch or listen to this, and you’re obviously doing good things, so I think it’s important the little facts line up so that your message isn’t diluted or discarded. Oh and George Weah was most definitely World Footballer of the Year! 🙌 no need to think about that one :)
Loved the podcast. US soccer has coaches training that mimics the best countries soccer programs, but will take years for the coaches to get certified and implement the teachings. I think we will get there. Counter argument, England has never won a major tournament, and I just heard recently that this Brazil team is the worst in generations. So I take everything with a grain of salt.
@danielwestlund9208 the sarcastic comments are from people who don't subscribe to a Finding Dorey mindset....the game has a rich and long history...and it all counts...go tell Uruguay their World Cups don't count 🤣 As for youth development in England, they have been highly successful despite not winning a Euro or WC...over the past two cycles they have consistently been among the best, and that's in large part due to their youth setups across the Prem and Championship.
There’s no “system”. Up to age 12, it should be mainly about ball mastery and understanding the fundamentals of space and positioning. But pay to play encourages lots of formal games on large fields with many players, basically turning youth soccer into glorified kickball. Secondly, there is little need to worry about getting kids to pick soccer over American football. The physical attributes of the athletes diverge too much. Tell me, which American football position would Phil Foden, Messi, Siva, or a host of other world class soccer players have played if they grew up in the States? Answer…they would have played soccer because they would have been too small for American football. And they wouldn’t have become world class in our system. So stop this nonsense about “the better athletes in the US don’t play soccer”. US soccer doesn’t have an athlete problem, we don’t lose games because we’re too small or slow. We lose games because we lack elite skill and decision making ability.
@@johnyoung823 Not to the extent it is in the US. The academy system, whereby developmental programs are funded by senior professional clubs at little or no cost to prospective players, is much more developed outside of the US. How else do you think all these talented kids with little means get spotted in these countries? And once in these academies, they are developed by professional coaches with age group expertise whose goal is long term development for the player. Further, there is the solidarity payment system which can result in the youth club receiving payments if one of their players is eventually signed for a large transfer fee. This further incentivizes a development approach across the board. In contrast, the US youth soccer economic model is to have clubs unconnected to any senior pro team. Their main source of revenue is fees from parents. There is little to no solidarity payment system. Long term development is hard in this environment as parents generally judge the quality of a club based on its win record, and how many tournaments are entered. It is this completely different incentive structure and economic model, one that stifles development, that is the rule rather than the exception in American youth soccer.
@@johnyoung823Not true. For instance if you grew up in Holland, and were scouted by Ajax as a youth player and asked to train there, how much would your parents pay? Virtually nothing. The club pays for everything. As long as you continue to show promise, they’ll develop you with the long term aim of turning you into a professional that can play on their first team, or be sold on. This is how it works outside of the US…it’s a completely different economic and developmental model.
I don’t think there is a right answer, some kids learn better doing drill work and learning in a structured environment and some kids thrive in free play with very little rules. I feel the academies don’t adapt to the players they have, one way doesn’t fit all!
@@imawaylonfan1 The best athletes for these 3 sports are not interchangeable. Soccer involves manipulating a ball with the feet and playing continuously over 90 minutes. This imposes upper limits on size..soccer players rarely exceed 90 kilos. LeBron would be too large to play soccer, and conversely Messi or Modric are too small to play in the NBA or NFL. There is an entire class of athletes that are between 5’5 and 5’10 that soccer has a virtual monopoly on that are not really wanted by the major American sports. Yet they have never been adequately developed in the US soccer system. The “best athletes play other sports” is therefore mainly an excuse that US soccer is happy to hide behind.
I’m a soccer fan and player and coached most of my life. Just telling you the facts, majority of the better athletes in junior high and high school do not play soccer. You guys can think what you want but I’m going by facts.
@@imawaylonfan1 You have anecdotes, not facts. You still haven’t addressed the fundamental point that many world class soccer players are way too small to be considered for American football and basketball, so athletes like that by definition cannot be poached by those sports. Also, the US men’s team are considered good athletes relative to other nations…their issues are technical and creative deficits. US players abroad are generally there because of their athleticism, not in spite of it. Those are the facts, not your junior high anecdotes.
