Time to clean house

[Unregistered]

Horrible comparison. Pop warner football costs like 200 a season. And every town has scholarships available for any kids that may have troubleshooting the 200. No kid is turned down based on money where I am from

The 2 to 3k cost in soccer is a joke and will never work long term. World class athletes are born. You can't train world class into a bunch of bankers sons.

And you can still play basketball on the cheap as well. And then once in high school the superstars will get into as I programs for free.

Soccer has made high school soccer obsolete to continue the high priced clubs internships years.

[Unregistered]

So many issues it is tough to figure out which are worse. Number one they need to figure out how to get us games on channels people can watch. Maybe try to get kids following the US teams. Hoping kids watch games online is a joke.

Secondly the better athletes as kids are playing other sports. Nothing will really change until top athletes also play soccer. The whole premier pay to play system is comically bad. Then only kids who play soccer past 10 years old are the ones whose parents are willing to pay 3k for them to be able to tell their friends their kid plays premier soccer. And anyone who thinks the country club type kids are going to produce enough world class players is highly mistaken. You can't train world class into someone. So it isn't about any Academy system. It is about getting world class athletes to play soccer in the US. Right now It is simply a place for upper middle class parents to think their kids are special.

Is it worth it to buy and sell our young players like cattle in order to win a world cup? That is how is seems to work in some of theses super successful soccer countries.

[Unregistered]

Yes. The 1% is the top of the pyramid and this is where the pro and NT talent is. This group should not have to pay to play soccer. If you look at the current u17 roster that is playing in the World Cup in India, I would bet that none of them are paying to play. Even TS, who used to be a Beachside player, has moved on to NYCFC for free to play.

There is a market for kids who like soccer and other sports.....and you will have to pay to play if you so choose.

I agree that it should be free for these kids, so make it happen. The 3rd-20th players on every DA roster should not be paying full boat for the top 1 or 2 players. The USSF should put its money where its mouth is and stop having many clubs like OW and BS paying to play. The are not attracting all of the top players, just very good players that can afford the high costs of practice, gear, and travel. This, in itself, holds back the top 2 players from developing fully. Stop pretending the current system works .... it isn't.

[Unregistered]

.

On the players side, old guard should step aside and let know talent get critical international experience.

Bradley is a perfect example. Bradley has done great things but he can't play in heat (he seems particularity sensitive hot humid conditions). In the 2014 WC he was running around like a chicken with his head cutoff and was about as effective. Some players just can't play in the heat. Ghana game was a clear example. Second half he looked like Forrest Gump.. run Bradly run. Bradley's national team service is done or at least should be done. Bradley does not have a motor like Konte' type player so he can't just run and run and still be effective but also can jog in those conditions. Bottom line is he is done.


Leadership: Sunil and crew should go. Not a real soccer guy. Yes, he able to navigate the politics and economics of soccer without being overly corrupt (like building castles for your cats) But failed at the most important objectives for US soccer, make the WC.

Lost revenue for US soccer is huge. TV rights, endorsements, merchandise. How many Americas are going to tune into from begging to end for a WC where the US is not invited?
There is a core who love the game and will but impact on the broader market will be huge.

So two ways to go...1) Someone with high level soccer experience Pro and international preferably with European experience. 2) Or an former Cooperate leader semi outsider who knows how to get things done like Arthur Blank

I agree with TV ..... How can last night's game not be on a major network or cable channel? Take less money to get that game on FOX or ESPN to get the country to back you. Sorry, soccer is one of the least sports in our country and they do nothing but take money from wherever they can without pushing the sport forward in every day homes. No one in America has BeIN.

[Unregistered]

That is so stupid. Americans pay to play basketball on the AAU circuit and we are tops in the world. They pay to play Pop Warner. In fact, soccer is cheaper bc there is less equipment to buy. And as with other sports, those that can afford it, pay, while those that can't, don't. I have yet to see a talented player not be able to play due to finances. Yes, that's unfortunate for the less talented player without money, but the conversation is about finding the best players. Cost is not a deterrent for US athletes. A huge number of choices is. How to fix it? It will likely fix itself as American football continues its downward spiral due to injuries and concussions and less teenagers choose to play it.

I think hockey is a better example as it is more of a worldly sport .... very high costs of equipment and ice time work in that sport and college is also the goal there yet we can compete with eastern european and canadiens with no issues.

[Unregistered]

I agree with TV ..... How can last night's game not be on a major network or cable channel? Take less money to get that game on FOX or ESPN to get the country to back you. Sorry, soccer is one of the least sports in our country and they do nothing but take money from wherever they can without pushing the sport forward in every day homes. No one in America has BeIN.

The home confederation bids out the TV rights. All Concacaf away games, except for Mexico, are on BeIn Sports. USSF has nothing to do with it. Direct TV has BEIN

[Unregistered]

That is so stupid. Americans pay to play basketball on the AAU circuit and we are tops in the world. They pay to play Pop Warner. In fact, soccer is cheaper bc there is less equipment to buy. And as with other sports, those that can afford it, pay, while those that can't, don't. I have yet to see a talented player not be able to play due to finances. Yes, that's unfortunate for the less talented player without money, but the conversation is about finding the best players. Cost is not a deterrent for US athletes. A huge number of choices is. How to fix it? It will likely fix itself as American football continues its downward spiral due to injuries and concussions and less teenagers choose to play it.

Kits for top clubs beachside CFC are easy $500, tuition 3000-4000k plus and mandatory camps. easy $4000-5000. That's just silly expensive. Few token scholarships are given out but the core of every team is full fare.

American football, Pads and helmet may be more but train 4-5 days a week several hours and the coaches are not making full time living doing it. lot's club fundraiser to cover the cost of equipment. No way pop warner is asking parents to plop down $2000.00


Every team at beachside is diluted with players who don't belong but their parents are well positioned to pay excessive fees and donate to soccer park. They are good kids and decent players but they are far from the top talent in the area. It's a slippery sloppy that halts the development of the top players because they learn bad habits. Every roster on beachside could be trimmed bottom 1/4 and be replaced with a group that would challenge the top 1/4. But those families are not willing to pay the excessive fees BS demands.

BS has right to try to collect those fees but they should not be in USSF league and be part of the DAP system they are better suited for ECNL type league.

Beachside brags you always have a home at beachside. That's really nice but to develop the best of the best you need to have a competitive program.

[Unregistered]

I agree with TV ..... How can last night's game not be on a major network or cable channel? Take less money to get that game on FOX or ESPN to get the country to back you. Sorry, soccer is one of the least sports in our country and they do nothing but take money from wherever they can without pushing the sport forward in every day homes. No one in America has BeIN.

BeIN is garbage. My cable system doesn't have it or, at least, not available in a package that I can find. I watcned the previous away game on a Spanish channel, and I don't speak Spanish. This is the kind of barrier to fans that I would have expected last century.

[Unregistered]

We got beat by an island country of 1.3 Million. Fairfield County is just under 1 million. Population of CT is 3.5 million. If we can't produece a team with 330 million people and the resources we have that is just pathetic. We have the easiest confederation to qualify in. Iceland qualified in the most diffict confederation and they only have 330,000 people. So embarrassing.

[Unregistered]

Pop warner towns own the equipment. Kids do not buy helmets or pads. Total cost to play pop warner in my town is 225 a year. Soccer parents are generally well off and clueless thinking all sports are the same. The top athletes in town are flat out not playing sports that cost 4k per yearas little kids. The hockey costs make some sense because you need a rink. Soccer costs are simply created costs so adults can profit.

[Unregistered]

I don't know why people think the Academy is the problem, if the point of argument is the pay to play then I agree but in terms of training it's doing fine and it's much better than what we were doing say 10 years ago. If anyone is connecting the MNT and it's failures to Academy then your sadly mistaken.

It's a no brainer that college play is impeding our process and along with MLS salarys being low to attract talent over college.

If the USSF could fund talented youth players before or after HS then Europe would be the key but MLS is not that route.

It's pretty much down to two huge factors:

1. Pay to Play - Our youth system is simply that. Whatever level you want to discuss, it's dominated by pay to play. This tremendously narrows the available pool of players because even when academy scholarships are at stake, lots of U littles never get seen because they can't pay to play even at the lower levels. It's a fundamental flaw, driven by the American capitalistic perspective. This must change.

2. We have a lost generation of players. Those who are in that 22-30 age group. The kids who came through the system before the fundamental changes made to coaching and academies and so on. They never got the quality technical training at those prime ages that is essential to World Class play. Those older fellows are aging out and revealing more and more the gap, as the burden passes on to this group. Fortunately, we see the early signs of the next generation coming forward now, as they enter their 20s, and that generation is far superior in technical ability.

I'm afraid in the short term, we need another four to eight years to flush out the current generation and fill it with the Pusilic level kids. But that is only a patch until we throw out pay to play and find another approach to development and player ID.

[Unregistered]

BeIN is garbage. My cable system doesn't have it or, at least, not available in a package that I can find. I watcned the previous away game on a Spanish channel, and I don't speak Spanish. This is the kind of barrier to fans that I would have expected last century.

What are you talking about? I had a Spanish channel on watching the game, and the coverage was fantastic. They had all three pertinent games on split screens and the energy and excitement was great. I don't speak Spanish either.

[Unregistered]

What's this "lost generation" bullsh excuse? The older guys are apparently good, but they didn't have the "new system," either.

[Unregistered]

What are you talking about? I had a Spanish channel on watching the game, and the coverage was fantastic. They had all three pertinent games on split screens and the energy and excitement was great. I don't speak Spanish either.

If the game is unavailable in the predominant language of the country, then the audience is being shut out. Shutting out an American audience is not good for soccer in this country.

[Unregistered]

It's pretty much down to two huge factors:

1. Pay to Play - Our youth system is simply that. Whatever level you want to discuss, it's dominated by pay to play. This tremendously narrows the available pool of players because even when academy scholarships are at stake, lots of U littles never get seen because they can't pay to play even at the lower levels. It's a fundamental flaw, driven by the American capitalistic perspective. This must change.

2. We have a lost generation of players. Those who are in that 22-30 age group. The kids who came through the system before the fundamental changes made to coaching and academies and so on. They never got the quality technical training at those prime ages that is essential to World Class play. Those older fellows are aging out and revealing more and more the gap, as the burden passes on to this group. Fortunately, we see the early signs of the next generation coming forward now, as they enter their 20s, and that generation is far superior in technical ability.

I'm afraid in the short term, we need another four to eight years to flush out the current generation and fill it with the Pusilic level kids. But that is only a patch until we throw out pay to play and find another approach to development and player ID.

22-30? 22 would have been 12 when the system was implemented. At the time it was implemented I think it was 13/14, 15/16, and 17/18, so I think you should shorten your window to about 25- or 26-30. Today's 22-25 year olds are products of the a system that was in place (whether they were identified and went through it or not). The net definitely needs to be cast wider at earlier ages and top and middle players need to be filtered to appropriate places to grown and develop and move up or down as needed semi-frequently. You can't just try to identify the top 100 players at U10 and commit everything to them and then ignore the other 10 million kids forever. The current system does this every day at every club. Coaches look stupid if they replace a kid they trained for 3-4 years with a kid that is at at or near their level with no formal training. it makes the coach look bad and this is done at the individual coach level for most clubs. US Soccer does not find the kids to train (and could never do that), but they should try to find a way to make clubs look more honestly at all players to try to attract the ones with more upside than incumbents (regardless of their tenure).