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US soccer and the continued failure of its pay-to-play model

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    #31
    http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/sourc...51d6f5fbx0cze5

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      #32
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      I 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
      Agree with the travel and fragmentation. But scholarships are few and far between and do keep middle and lower income kids out of the system - more so when combined with all the absurd travel costs. Most clubs have to foot the bill for scholarships and the reality is they are for-profit businesses. They will only give so much. Even if a kid gets a scholly one year, will he/she get it the next? They rarely cover travel. If your kid (s) is playing at a decently high level from U12 on the combined costs of fees and travel over those 6 years is more than a year's worth of college tuition at a state school

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        #33
        Another 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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          #34
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          Another kid with outstanding genes and a very atypical development path. Congrats to him but like Pulisic he isn't the norm
          Yes, 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.

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            #35
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Yes, 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.
            Same with Pulisic. Kids abroad go pro around 16. So from 16+ they're playing with professionals, not doing DA a few hours a week or playing in college. It is about at that age that our international squads struggle to compete and the split gets worse as the ages go up.
            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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              #36
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              Another kid with outstanding genes and a very atypical development path. Congrats to him but like Pulisic he isn't the norm
              He 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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                #37
                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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                  #38
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  He 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.
                  I'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.

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                    #39
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    I'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.
                    Money 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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                      #40
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Money 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
                      Failure of the US system absolutely. Many kids don't have clubs nearby, or clubs that are any good since some are just terrible. With our geography having pro academies makes the most sense (take only the best from anywhere in the country not just local; it benefits players more as they'd be together all the time). But when clubs can't much $ off players they just aren't going to invest that kind of $ into their systems.

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Money 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
                        For girls, the system makes money from players families. If that does not apply to you, the system is not very interested.

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                          #42
                          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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                            #43
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            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.
                            ok, have them start charging thousands. I am sure they will do a lot better. lol.

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