Corruption

[Unregistered]

The kids are ferrets. They are stupid and they run around a lot. The moms are apes who pick the nits out of each others hair. The coaches are greedy, fat hemitrolls.

This is scary accurate

[Unregistered]

College soccer coaches charge a lot of money to come to their camps. Part of their income depends upon people showing up. So why give a lower middle class person a scholarship when he can’t afford your camp. Give it to the richer kid at the camp and then advertise it. Other richer kids will follow. As for the poorer kid or illegal kid playing soccer, they will get a free ride from the government.

And don’t get started by saying they will fly you out for free if they really want you. Those always seem to be for expensive schools that them only offer a partial scholarship. Just another way to get enrolled using sports teams.

Curious if you are being serious or you just don't know what you are talking about on any level? Crazy!

[Unregistered]

Well, I think it’s apples and oranges. The corruption is youth basketball, football, is in regards to trying to secure top talent to certain teams. Agents, shoe companies involved, overbearing parents yes, but the only ones that matter are those of the top talent, which is pretty evident in these sports, where it’s easy to quantify how good a player is- points per game, rebounds, assists, or football with yards per carry, other stats.

In youth soccer the corruption is at a different level. It involves mostly helicopter parents, who throw money and influence towards the coach to get special treatment of their kid, which is the opposite of the other sports. These coaches are susceptible to this, easily swayed by special treatment so that now an average kid is treated like a star. Sometimes in soccer it’s hard to argue if player A is better than player B, because objective measurables are very very limited in soccer- goals, assists. Sooooo, it’s very subjective. This is not the case with the other sports, including baseball. Youth soccer is by far the worst sport to get your kid involved in, because parents and their spoiled kids ruin the experience. At least in basketball if your kid is a great shooter, scorer, it’s pretty hard to deny. I’m soccer, 2 defensive wings can look pretty equal, but for some reason one will ply all game, the other is always in the bench. Makes no sense except for mommy and daddy getting special treatment for their kid.

100% spot on.

[Unregistered]

Yet another failed, bitter and disgruntled parent using this scandal to justify his kids shortcomings, by disguising his views as objective analysis.

The reason your kid is not playing does not have to do with the Stanford sailing coach taking a bribe, or even the Yale soccer coach offering admission to the school (not on the team) for money. Your kid is just not very good. This scandal has brought out all the victims who can now say: "see, I told you my kid was USC Soccer material, but some rich kid took her place".

Deep down you and everyone around you knows it's just not the case.

Nice blanket statement.

Sure, some will use as an excuse. These people do indeed know deep down that their kid is not going to advance regardless of corruption, politics. And if they dont know it now, they will admit it to themselves later.

But some posters here, such as myself, have tangible experience with unjustified favoritism that has hurt top level players (DA, even D1), permanently altering the course of their lives. They fight through it and continue to shine as winners do - it is a lesson in life (corruption certainly not confined to youth soccer).

[Unregistered]

So your argument is coaches, by playing lesser players, are losing on purpose? This would lead to a terrible resume, all other players leave club, lost job.... pretty doubtful.

Not the OP but ...its not just the coaches, but their bosses and influencers (e.g. DOCs, scouts, sponsors of clubs) who are compromised by wealthy or influential parents. These people have sway over the coaches (as well as college coaches, other pro-scouts etc). The coaches end up doing what they are told or recommended to keep their relationships good (job security). Its politics 101 man. Cheats usually use convoluted, hard to trace mechanisms - people not dumb (even if crooked).

I think that as a rule if you assume a given scenario in youth sports, especially soccer, is corrupt you will be right 95% of the time. But that is no reason to not play. Teach your kid to recognize that the world is not a fair place, and beat the unfairness with dedication and ultimately performance. Make the cheating parents hurt with embarassment and envy.