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Racial Diversity in WA Youth Soccer

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    Racial Diversity in WA Youth Soccer

    With all the recent craziness this past week and better awareness what minorities go through.

    Youth Soccer in WA is predominantly White. It’s good to see that there is an increase in more young Black, Hispanic and Asian coaches in the game being role models and creating positive experiences for our sons /daughters (and Parents) potentially helping them with their preconceived notions if any at all.

    Does your club have good diversity with coaches and players? I would love to see more player diversity at clubs

    #2
    Take it a step higher in just club coaches. Who is running the organization? The FTE versus contract coaches is a different perspective. It is more than just race but also inclusive management that should also be considered. I would challenge to say that Seattle United does not reflect the population that they represent. There is not a single FTE female in the organization. They have a Hispanic, Polynesian, and African American Males. The club ran off one of the best potential candidates in Zahra (Female and African American) a number of years ago because she was viewed as demanding of the players and parents. No different than her counterparts but bias came into play.

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      #3
      I donno what the demographics are in all of WYS but my sons PAC team is fairly diverse I believe. It is comprised of 2 Hispanic kids (both of mexican descent), 2 African Americans (East and west), 2 Asian (Korean, and japanese), and 3 white kids (1 second generation). And these boys are all the best of homies... coach is asian. Parents get along great too!

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        #4
        If the kid can play the kid can play. If the coach can coach the coach can coach.

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          #5
          It's a very very difficult dynamic. microaggressions and occasional verbal abuse toward players of color happens, from coaches, players, parents. I've seen overt racist name calling directed at players from parents on opposing teams (not my own kids in those cases). One local coach referred to the players of color on her team as "the ghetto." This wasn't our team but was reported to my kid by one of those players.

          Coaches have a lot to deal with already, but most are white in a predominantly white sport. The coaches of color who thrive in the Seattle soccer environment tend to not make waves, let's put it that way. Racial sensitivity training is needed. USYS needs to commit to diversity and accessible opportunity the way other sports like USA Swimming and Tennis have done to see change, but I'm not holding my breath.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Take it a step higher in just club coaches. Who is running the organization? The FTE versus contract coaches is a different perspective. It is more than just race but also inclusive management that should also be considered. I would challenge to say that Seattle United does not reflect the population that they represent. There is not a single FTE female in the organization. They have a Hispanic, Polynesian, and African American Males. The club ran off one of the best potential candidates in Zahra (Female and African American) a number of years ago because she was viewed as demanding of the players and parents. No different than her counterparts but bias came into play.
            Is that really why Zahra left? I thought it was only for a better opportunity. If this is true, it's terrible. She developed the best talent in Seattle. She was demanding but kids knew she CARED. She still keeps in touch with my daughter via social media, and is supportive. I hope she goes from scouting to coaching again at some point.

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              #7
              My kid played for Eastside FC. We felt an undercurrent of subtle racism. Our family is not white. Did not feel it was worth it to mention it to the doc, I'm sure he was already aware.

              Each club hires coaches that they feel are a good fit with their methodology. Correct me if I'm wrong, EFC is one of the few clubs that doesn't have a diversity policy. We quietly left. Every club has its problems, some could be worse than racism.

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                #8
                imho, it's also important to look at the management, i.e., the board to see how the power dynamic is in the organization. The club we are in has fairly good amount of black , Asian and Hispanic coaches and players. But when you look at the board members, it's pure white.

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                  #9
                  It’s good to see that on Social Media of the big 5 WPFC, Pac NW & and Seattle United showed support for the cause against Racism.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    It’s good to see that on Social Media of the big 5 WPFC, Pac NW & and Seattle United showed support for the cause against Racism.
                    The silence from the remaining two clubs, if this is true speaks volumes. To each is own, at least families know what to expect when they sign up for those two clubs.

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                      #11
                      Agree. Any club that couldn’t be bothered to take 2-3 minutes and post today is far more likely to be part of the problem, rather than the solution.

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                        #12
                        Almost complete silence from any Eastern and Central Washington Clubs. Not surprising given their demographics, but still.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          The silence from the remaining two clubs, if this is true speaks volumes. To each is own, at least families know what to expect when they sign up for those two clubs.
                          Sickening comments. Of course it means the clubs don't care and are racist.

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                            #14
                            So we have established that the clubs are racist... because they didn't use the black square yesterday. The clubs are very clearly inherently racist because, the board (who are simply elected in most cases) are white, and what else?
                            I have heard individual kids say some racist stuff on the pitch but to name a youth development organization (all of whom strive for inclusion) racist is just asinine. To the original point, how diverse are your teams/coaching staff? I feel like I see fairly diverse teams at PACNW (on the boys side at least). I also feel like several of the teams in the RCL have been diverse as well. I am curious what you guys perceive the situation to be. What is the girls side like in this regard?

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              The silence from the remaining two clubs, if this is true speaks volumes. To each is own, at least families know what to expect when they sign up for those two clubs.
                              I think it's really important to understand that a lot of social media is just marketing. Posting when it's the trendy thing to do is nice, but means nothing if families of color don't feel welcome in your club when they are actually on the field. PAC actually has diversity, so families need to take that into account. If I could do things over for my kids, we would've looked at PAC more closely

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