H/s Football vs h/s soccer

[Unregistered]

While watching college football, i was wondering how high schools manage to produce div 1 or lower prospects at all positions, even here in Mass, without the existence of club or Dap programs, yet soccer has virtually eliminated that opportunity?
You can watch top quality h/s football games on ESPN, where many of those players will go on to play college football, and not help to be impressed. Where are these players trained? Is it through the h/s? Do they compete in off-season clubs? Are there Sunday leagues you can watch and training with coaches 3 nights a week? Is there the equivalent to the soccer club or DAP programs? Is it entirely a better system?
What has happened to soccer? How has it devolved into a private universe? Has the system been polluted by salesmen, including US Soccer? Are people taking advantage of the ignorance level of many soccer parents? Why has the h/s scene capitulated to outside influence?
And how long do we accept the generally accepted failure of this system to produce quality players at increasingly expensive cost?

[Unregistered]

Pay attention to how HS soccer and HS football are run. Money and attention are poured into football, while soccer is largely ignored. HS soccer teams are lucky to have 1 qualified coach... never a paid assistant. Football teams have multiple position-specific coaches. If there is a turf field available, football gets priority. If there is a weight room, it is most likely to be dedicated to the football team. Soccer gets nothing.

It is sad to go from a u-little rec game with a center ref and linesmen, to an MIAA playoff game and see that they will only pay for two refs. Our highschool trainer was at our playoff game the other night, but left because the football team was in the locker room getting dressed and he had to go tape kids. Sadly, one of our players got hurt then, but no trainer.

Until highschools start caring more about other sports, nothing will change.

[Unregistered]

Pay attention to how HS soccer and HS football are run. Money and attention are poured into football, while soccer is largely ignored. HS soccer teams are lucky to have 1 qualified coach... never a paid assistant. Football teams have multiple position-specific coaches. If there is a turf field available, football gets priority. If there is a weight room, it is most likely to be dedicated to the football team. Soccer gets nothing.

It is sad to go from a u-little rec game with a center ref and linesmen, to an MIAA playoff game and see that they will only pay for two refs. Our highschool trainer was at our playoff game the other night, but left because the football team was in the locker room getting dressed and he had to go tape kids. Sadly, one of our players got hurt then, but no trainer.

Until highschools start caring more about other sports, nothing will change.

Good points.
But the real question is how do football players get developed in contrast to the soccer system? High school is a major part of the equation, but what happens after hours? Soccer will now be dominated by indoor leagues and the resumption of club training, but what do football players do, other than continuing workouts on their own?
How do the teams and coaches manage to create intricate schemes in a few weeks while soccer players can struggle to complete a trick corner play? Are football coaches that much better than soccer guys in teaching the game? Are the pupils more intelligent?

[Unregistered]

In the NE football isn't played as frequently and intensely as other parts of the country. Down south especially there are all kinds of football programs running. It isn't just the weather but cultural as well. It also varies town to town a great deal depending on who the leaders are in the community with ulittle programs and at schools. We happen to be in a smaller town where soccer is more popular inside and outside of school. Decent travel program, lots of kids playing at good clubs, decent coaching (for HS). We just don't have the numbers or interest for a very strong football program. Also it's a middle+ class town so I think the parents tend to direct their kids to different things.

[Unregistered]

Football is so different
don't need development

Take a tall athletic track star with big hands and you have a college bound receiver
with no football training at all.

Soccer takes years to develop skill sets

[Unregistered]

While watching college football, i was wondering how high schools manage to produce div 1 or lower prospects at all positions, even here in Mass, without the existence of club or Dap programs, yet soccer has virtually eliminated that opportunity?
You can watch top quality h/s football games on ESPN, where many of those players will go on to play college football, and not help to be impressed. Where are these players trained? Is it through the h/s? Do they compete in off-season clubs? Are there Sunday leagues you can watch and training with coaches 3 nights a week? Is there the equivalent to the soccer club or DAP programs? Is it entirely a better system?
What has happened to soccer? How has it devolved into a private universe? Has the system been polluted by salesmen, including US Soccer? Are people taking advantage of the ignorance level of many soccer parents? Why has the h/s scene capitulated to outside influence?
And how long do we accept the generally accepted failure of this system to produce quality players at increasingly expensive cost?

Looking at it regionally, I would ask the question as to how many division 1 football players come out of Mass vs. division 1 soccer players. Last year (2015) there were more than 30 Mass soccer players going to division 1 programs. How many went to division 1 football programs? I don't think there were many. In fact, when I watch high school football, the pass play accounts for less than 30% of the plays and is far off national pace. I would submit that Football, at least in Massachusetts, is far off the mark.

[Unregistered]

Football is so different
don't need development

Take a tall athletic track star with big hands and you have a college bound receiver
with no football training at all.

Soccer takes years to develop skill sets

That's a big part of it.

[Unregistered]

While watching college football, i was wondering how high schools manage to produce div 1 or lower prospects at all positions, even here in Mass, without the existence of club or Dap programs, yet soccer has virtually eliminated that opportunity?
You can watch top quality h/s football games on ESPN, where many of those players will go on to play college football, and not help to be impressed. Where are these players trained? Is it through the h/s? Do they compete in off-season clubs? Are there Sunday leagues you can watch and training with coaches 3 nights a week? Is there the equivalent to the soccer club or DAP programs? Is it entirely a better system?
What has happened to soccer? How has it devolved into a private universe? Has the system been polluted by salesmen, including US Soccer? Are people taking advantage of the ignorance level of many soccer parents? Why has the h/s scene capitulated to outside influence?
And how long do we accept the generally accepted failure of this system to produce quality players at increasingly expensive cost?

I appreciate the point here, I'm just not sure that's the best way to make it.

[Unregistered]

Football is so different
don't need development

Take a tall athletic track star with big hands and you have a college bound receiver
with no football training at all.

Soccer takes years to develop skill sets

This. Talking apples and oranges here.

Football players are either developed in the weight room, or are born big and fast.

Soccer requires skill that needs to be developed.

[Unregistered]

This. Talking apples and oranges here.

Football players are either developed in the weight room, or are born big and fast.

Soccer requires skill that needs to be developed.

There is a solid youth program as well through pop warner where kids are learning the basic skills at a young age before they become big and fast. And it works with volunteer parent coaches. 99 times out of a 100, a youth soccer player must get training beyond the local youth program to fine tune the skills.

[Unregistered]

While watching college football, i was wondering how high schools manage to produce div 1 or lower prospects at all positions, even here in Mass, without the existence of club or Dap programs, yet soccer has virtually eliminated that opportunity?
You can watch top quality h/s football games on ESPN, where many of those players will go on to play college football, and not help to be impressed. Where are these players trained? Is it through the h/s? Do they compete in off-season clubs? Are there Sunday leagues you can watch and training with coaches 3 nights a week? Is there the equivalent to the soccer club or DAP programs? Is it entirely a better system?
What has happened to soccer? How has it devolved into a private universe? Has the system been polluted by salesmen, including US Soccer? Are people taking advantage of the ignorance level of many soccer parents? Why has the h/s scene capitulated to outside influence?
And how long do we accept the generally accepted failure of this system to produce quality players at increasingly expensive cost?

Because soccer is difficult, and football is easy (if you are big and fast and strong).

You know how important it is to have a good quarterback, even at the top levels (NFL), right? And how difficult it is to produce one, right?

Soccer field players are all like quarterbacks in that they have to: pass in ALL directions (instead of just in front of them); pass with a more difficult appendage (their feet); pass with BOTH hands; "call" their own plays on the fly (without a coach telling them what to do); catch like receivers (using their feet); PLAY DEFENSE; RUN more than 4 times as far as defensive backs and receivers; and do it for 90 minutes rather than the 11 minutes of action packed into a 3 hour football game.

And you need ten of them (you could make the argument that finding a good keeper is just as difficult). Plus subs.

The OP has clearly never played soccer.

[Unregistered]

Because soccer is difficult, and football is easy (if you are big and fast and strong).

You know how important it is to have a good quarterback, even at the top levels (NFL), right? And how difficult it is to produce one, right?

Soccer field players are all like quarterbacks in that they have to: pass in ALL directions (instead of just in front of them); pass with a more difficult appendage (their feet); pass with BOTH hands; "call" their own plays on the fly (without a coach telling them what to do); catch like receivers (using their feet); PLAY DEFENSE; RUN more than 4 times as far as defensive backs and receivers; and do it for 90 minutes rather than the 11 minutes of action packed into a 3 hour football game.

And you need ten of them (you could make the argument that finding a good keeper is just as difficult). Plus subs.

The OP has clearly never played soccer.

Not only has the OP played for 30 years, including semi-pro, but you clearly misunderstood the context of the initial post.
It is not about the athletes qualities, but the path they take to get there.
Thanks for the compliments, though

[Unregistered]

There is a solid youth program as well through pop warner where kids are learning the basic skills at a young age before they become big and fast. And it works with volunteer parent coaches. 99 times out of a 100, a youth soccer player must get training beyond the local youth program to fine tune the skills.

Was that true 10-20 years ago? What changed?

[Unregistered]

Where to develop the great football players?

While watching college football, i was wondering how high schools manage to produce div 1 or lower prospects at all positions, even here in Mass, without the existence of club or Dap programs, yet soccer has virtually eliminated that opportunity?
You can watch top quality h/s football games on ESPN, where many of those players will go on to play college football, and not help to be impressed. Where are these players trained? Is it through the h/s? Do they compete in off-season clubs? Are there Sunday leagues you can watch and training with coaches 3 nights a week? Is there the equivalent to the soccer club or DAP programs? Is it entirely a better system?
What has happened to soccer? How has it devolved into a private universe? Has the system been polluted by salesmen, including US Soccer? Are people taking advantage of the ignorance level of many soccer parents? Why has the h/s scene capitulated to outside influence?
And how long do we accept the generally accepted failure of this system to produce quality players at increasingly expensive cost?

Easy question. The skill positions get developed on the soccer fields.

[Unregistered]

Easy question. The skill positions get developed on the soccer fields.

See the documentary (60 minutes sports? ESPN?) about the rise in 7v7 football leagues. Off-season/year-round. The big takeaway with respect to this discussion was that the 7v7 leagues developed the "skills" positions with full-time coaches.

Not particularly relevant to this discussion, but worth noting to see how fortunate we are in soccer vs football: HS coaches were pissed at losing power to the "club" 7v7 coaches; the college coaches were pissed because now they had to deal with 3-4 different points of contact for a given recruit (the kid, his parents, his HS coach, and now his 7v7 coach); and that there was (apparently) a lot of corruption due to the big-money college donors/programs and the now more complex path a HS football recruit may take. (It would be hard for a HS coach to hide a Ferrari or Rolex, but with this rise in outside (from the perspective of the HS->college path) programs, the potential to obscure money rises.)

All we have to worry about is crap soccer, not go-directly-to-jail corruption.