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US soccer and the continued failure of its pay-to-play model
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostI think that pay-to-play is a red herring. At the young ages kids start soccer the teams are never very expensive and there is wide access to the sport. It gets expensive later on but by that time the best kids in rec and town have emerged and will be offered scholarships to keep playing.
Where $$$ causes issues tome is when sanctioning/governing bodies get involved in turf wars, fragmenting leagues and teams and causing unnecessary travel and expense. We moved from NY and I'm still more familiar with what is going on there with the war between US Club and USYSA. This diluted the leagues and ultimately limited the pool of clubs to play against. Our D's team (top 10 in state) was consistently traveling 90+ minutes away to play other competitive teams, skipping past two of the top 10 teams in the state that were less than 20 minutes away, all because they played in a different league.
Then we'd go to tournaments hours away when we'd have been better off scrimmaging the better teams closer to home. Instead everyone is chasing gotsoccer points for marketing reasons.
So for me it is not necessarily the tuition that causes issues. The best kids ultimately don't even pay much of that. It is the unnecessary travel, the fragmenting of leagues based on governing bodies and the gotsoccer BS that ruins everything
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Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostAnother kid with outstanding genes and a very atypical development path. Congrats to him but like Pulisic he isn't the norm
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostYes, being the kid of Claudio Reyna set him up with the genes and the exposure to reach the top. He is an outstanding player and will likely do very well. There are a few American kids getting chances now and it will probably only grow. The big help is access to an EU/SA passport. Getting out of here by 16 is way better than committing to an MLS academy or staying on an independent and hoping for the chance to jump to Europe at 18.
Conikidink? I don't think so. The 18-22 years are also vital and our top players are mostly playing college, not professionally.
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostAnother kid with outstanding genes and a very atypical development path. Congrats to him but like Pulisic he isn't the norm
Not only do you need money but it also helps to have a mommy who doesn't work or a "driver" to cart the kid around to practices and ODP practices that may be hours away. A tremendous player with two working parents just getting by does not have a shot in most cases. Although a few are found and offered scholarships but not many.
There is no payback in scouting for soccer. The rich pay for coaching and access. Although not quite as bad as skiing or ice skating.
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The one working parent thing definitely is a factor. Once you aren't in a town program and things go past 20 minute drives just for practice it starts to get very difficult. Luckily my wife is a teacher, so for the most part she's home to drive but when they do 430pm practices and it takes 30 minutes to get there even she cuts it pretty close sometimes. We find ourselves hoping for the 630pm days, even though that then means not getting home until 830-845pm.
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostHe didn't just hang out in the park and play pick-up with his buddies. He developed at NYSC, a top club in the NY metro area, before getting to NYCFC. Whether he paid or got special treatment is another story. But most of his teammates were likely being driven around in Mercedes and BMWs.
Not only do you need money but it also helps to have a mommy who doesn't work or a "driver" to cart the kid around to practices and ODP practices that may be hours away. A tremendous player with two working parents just getting by does not have a shot in most cases. Although a few are found and offered scholarships but not many.
There is no payback in scouting for soccer. The rich pay for coaching and access. Although not quite as bad as skiing or ice skating.
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostI've known a few players who had to turn down MLS DA opportunities because the drive was too far, both parents worked (and couldn't pay for a driver), insufficient public transportation, few carpooling options due to locations. I know the Revs announced "a bus" but without a few buses in different areas it will only help a few players. A few other academies have already been helping with transportation for awhile now but on a larger scale.
And any academy in the world will find the kid that can play and get them there.
Nobody is falling thru the cracks.
It’s just an excuse for failure
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostMoney only provides access to opportunity...it has nothing to do with whether the player takes advantage of said opportunity.
And any academy in the world will find the kid that can play and get them there.
Nobody is falling thru the cracks.
It’s just an excuse for failure
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Originally posted by Unregistered View PostMoney only provides access to opportunity...it has nothing to do with whether the player takes advantage of said opportunity.
And any academy in the world will find the kid that can play and get them there.
Nobody is falling thru the cracks.
It’s just an excuse for failure
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The Revs are free and last year the U17's lost 30+ games and were embarrassed in the Generation Adidas Cup. Money isn't the issue.
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