ECNL wants to switch back to school year from birth year

[Guest]

That's how it works in the U.S. I even said it to the developers of the soccer stadium (I know they probably don't care): Make sure this stadium/team isn't just an extension of soccer segregation in the U.S. where you make everything so expensive that only rich white people can attend or participate. That's my biggest fear with this stadium and the team that comes in.

Go watch the indoor teams at the MVS complexes...look at the kids for Midwest United or the other clubs practicing or playing games with actual coaches, then look at who is playing on the drop in/casual fields at the same time. The skin complexion (and quality of gear, outfits, and "expression" of parents) between the travel/club players and the drop-in players is beyond obvious. Don't even try to complain about playing the race card here. I see it week in and week out. It's too obvious to miss unless you're that afraid of the truth.

The problem is everything has to make money in the U.S. (it's a capitalist symptom. I'm not saying this to be anti-capitalist, but I am saying this as a fact about youth sports and athletic development). No one will build or do anything unless they can get rich doing it. That's why U.S. soccer has such a major development issue at the top. Other countries around the world have VAST amounts of academies where they are literally paying kids to play for the, or offer affordable training for all families and kids in their communities. That's why so many countries top the U.S. despite the massive abundance of soccer players we have here (yes, even if you say it's not popular here, we still blow many/most countries out of the water in terms of how many people play soccer). We price talent out...we won't train kids unless their families are rich. We miss out on all the potential talent that would take U.S. soccer from "meh" on the world stage to the elite stage with the likes of Brazil, France, Argentina, Croatia, etc. Those countries make sure their kids have access to the game as well as actual training and coaching. The only affordable or accessible soccer we offer in the U.S. is drop-in or AYSO where there's no real coaching or training happening.

It's even happening with women's soccer. We used to be the gold standard of women's soccer in the world, but we were also one of the first countries to actually support women playing it (thanks to Title IX passing), so we got a massive head start on most of the planet. The world has since caught up. The world is getting better about women's soccer, and now we're caught in the same issue the men have been facing forever: We don't develop our talent. Women's U.S. soccer will be dominant for awhile, but we are NOT getting better or more competitive, and are going to struggle more as the rest of the world actually invests in developing their youth talent.

From a parent’s perspective, the coach holds all the power. If a parent is stressed about something that is going on with their child, they too often do not feel as though the door is opened to them to seek council and advice from the coach for fear of it having repercussions on their child when it comes to playing time or making the team. Travel sports are a joke and they get parents into thinking their kids can be college athletes at 8. No sport should be serious prior to a kid being 12-14 years old. It should be about teaching the relevant game/rules, physical fitness, and teamwork. 99 percent of these kids won't play in college and if they do it will be at a school with high tuition rates and no scholarships. There is space in the market for regional sports networks in the future I think. Setup county registries with kids and parents who want to play a particular sport and setup mini seasons and pickup opportunities. Hire private coaching on your own. Worked in collegiate athletics and people have no clue what it takes to be Division 1 even at small D1s. Don't revolve your whole family around one kids activities.

[Guest]

That's how it works in the U.S. I even said it to the developers of the soccer stadium (I know they probably don't care): Make sure this stadium/team isn't just an extension of soccer segregation in the U.S. where you make everything so expensive that only rich white people can attend or participate. That's my biggest fear with this stadium and the team that comes in.

Go watch the indoor teams at the MVS complexes...look at the kids for Midwest United or the other clubs practicing or playing games with actual coaches, then look at who is playing on the drop in/casual fields at the same time. The skin complexion (and quality of gear, outfits, and "expression" of parents) between the travel/club players and the drop-in players is beyond obvious. Don't even try to complain about playing the race card here. I see it week in and week out. It's too obvious to miss unless you're that afraid of the truth.

The problem is everything has to make money in the U.S. (it's a capitalist symptom. I'm not saying this to be anti-capitalist, but I am saying this as a fact about youth sports and athletic development). No one will build or do anything unless they can get rich doing it. That's why U.S. soccer has such a major development issue at the top. Other countries around the world have VAST amounts of academies where they are literally paying kids to play for the, or offer affordable training for all families and kids in their communities. That's why so many countries top the U.S. despite the massive abundance of soccer players we have here (yes, even if you say it's not popular here, we still blow many/most countries out of the water in terms of how many people play soccer). We price talent out...we won't train kids unless their families are rich. We miss out on all the potential talent that would take U.S. soccer from "meh" on the world stage to the elite stage with the likes of Brazil, France, Argentina, Croatia, etc. Those countries make sure their kids have access to the game as well as actual training and coaching. The only affordable or accessible soccer we offer in the U.S. is drop-in or AYSO where there's no real coaching or training happening.

It's even happening with women's soccer. We used to be the gold standard of women's soccer in the world, but we were also one of the first countries to actually support women playing it (thanks to Title IX passing), so we got a massive head start on most of the planet. The world has since caught up. The world is getting better about women's soccer, and now we're caught in the same issue the men have been facing forever: We don't develop our talent. Women's U.S. soccer will be dominant for awhile, but we are NOT getting better or more competitive, and are going to struggle more as the rest of the world actually invests in developing their youth talent.

Grew up in Europe and can't disagree more. Clubs are not charities. In Europe it's much more difficult for top youth players to move for little compensation. Teams are training players for free with the hope of selling them in the future. In that system, it's all about finding a superstar, everyone else is a filler..Go and complain about equal development opportunities. Very different than in the US. Not necessarily better or worse.

Any time USMNT loses, parents are lamenting pay-to-play, but that's so far removed from the top tier talent level of the game. Sure pay-to-play hurts development of talented players who have the potential to be solid college players but is it really impacting potential difference-makers on international level? Someone who can be a top 100 player in the world? Players like that have more playing opportunities than hours in a day, even in the US. Not because coaches are charitable, but because it makes their club/ training program looks good and attract more talent.

It's laughable when people say every week I see a bunch of potential superstars in my neighborhood that can't play club because they can't afford it. If there are a lot of them, then the talent calibration radar is broken. Of course they are better than some kid that can afford to play club, but that's entirely irrelevant to the future of USMNT. Don't think the best youth player in town your kid's age. Think the best youth player in the state you have ever seen after following soccer closely for a decade, dominating top level teams two three years up. What type of opportunities do they get and do they sit out because they can't pay? I am sure one of the MLS academies will take care of that kid with scholarship, room and board included. That's the type of kid that might or might not make a difference for the USMNT, not some mid-level skilled talent schooling kids at the local pick up game.

The biggest problem for the USMNT might be that because of injuries Pulisic turned out to be a 50-100 player rather than a top 20. Unfortunately, Reyna doesn't seem to be the answer either, so the search for superstar continues.

[Guest]

That's how it works in the U.S. I even said it to the developers of the soccer stadium (I know they probably don't care): Make sure this stadium/team isn't just an extension of soccer segregation in the U.S. where you make everything so expensive that only rich white people can attend or participate. That's my biggest fear with this stadium and the team that comes in.

Go watch the indoor teams at the MVS complexes...look at the kids for Midwest United or the other clubs practicing or playing games with actual coaches, then look at who is playing on the drop in/casual fields at the same time. The skin complexion (and quality of gear, outfits, and "expression" of parents) between the travel/club players and the drop-in players is beyond obvious. Don't even try to complain about playing the race card here. I see it week in and week out. It's too obvious to miss unless you're that afraid of the truth.

The problem is everything has to make money in the U.S. (it's a capitalist symptom. I'm not saying this to be anti-capitalist, but I am saying this as a fact about youth sports and athletic development). No one will build or do anything unless they can get rich doing it. That's why U.S. soccer has such a major development issue at the top. Other countries around the world have VAST amounts of academies where they are literally paying kids to play for the, or offer affordable training for all families and kids in their communities. That's why so many countries top the U.S. despite the massive abundance of soccer players we have here (yes, even if you say it's not popular here, we still blow many/most countries out of the water in terms of how many people play soccer). We price talent out...we won't train kids unless their families are rich. We miss out on all the potential talent that would take U.S. soccer from "meh" on the world stage to the elite stage with the likes of Brazil, France, Argentina, Croatia, etc. Those countries make sure their kids have access to the game as well as actual training and coaching. The only affordable or accessible soccer we offer in the U.S. is drop-in or AYSO where there's no real coaching or training happening.

It's even happening with women's soccer. We used to be the gold standard of women's soccer in the world, but we were also one of the first countries to actually support women playing it (thanks to Title IX passing), so we got a massive head start on most of the planet. The world has since caught up. The world is getting better about women's soccer, and now we're caught in the same issue the men have been facing forever: We don't develop our talent. Women's U.S. soccer will be dominant for awhile, but we are NOT getting better or more competitive, and are going to struggle more as the rest of the world actually invests in developing their youth talent.

Don’t be racist. Why are you talking about white people? Go turn your hair purple racist.

[Guest]

Grew up in Europe and can't disagree more. Clubs are not charities. In Europe it's much more difficult for top youth players to move for little compensation. Teams are training players for free with the hope of selling them in the future. In that system, it's all about finding a superstar, everyone else is a filler..Go and complain about equal development opportunities. Very different than in the US. Not necessarily better or worse.

Any time USMNT loses, parents are lamenting pay-to-play, but that's so far removed from the top tier talent level of the game. Sure pay-to-play hurts development of talented players who have the potential to be solid college players but is it really impacting potential difference-makers on international level? Someone who can be a top 100 player in the world? Players like that have more playing opportunities than hours in a day, even in the US. Not because coaches are charitable, but because it makes their club/ training program looks good and attract more talent.

It's laughable when people say every week I see a bunch of potential superstars in my neighborhood that can't play club because they can't afford it. If there are a lot of them, then the talent calibration radar is broken. Of course they are better than some kid that can afford to play club, but that's entirely irrelevant to the future of USMNT. Don't think the best youth player in town your kid's age. Think the best youth player in the state you have ever seen after following soccer closely for a decade, dominating top level teams two three years up. What type of opportunities do they get and do they sit out because they can't pay? I am sure one of the MLS academies will take care of that kid with scholarship, room and board included. That's the type of kid that might or might not make a difference for the USMNT, not some mid-level skilled talent schooling kids at the local pick up game.

The biggest problem for the USMNT might be that because of injuries Pulisic turned out to be a 50-100 player rather than a top 20. Unfortunately, Reyna doesn't seem to be the answer either, so the search for superstar continues.

The other thing that Acadamies do is tell you up front that your kid won't be going forward because they're not good enough. This is unheard of in America. Think about how much money parents could save if they were told at a young age that you're kid isn't good enough to play professionally so you don't need to keep chasing a dream.

Kids can still play in rec leagues. And theyre welcome to try out at other clubs.

This is why other countries are better at soccer. It's because it's free. In fact it's often considered a poor person's sport because clubs target players from the slums because they're easier to control contractually and they try harder because from an early age if the don't ball they don't eat. In the US top players come from upper middle class and often have played in college. These kind of players have never had to practice with a homemade ball just to get an advantage over the 100s of other players doing the same thing.

[Guest]

The other thing that Acadamies do is tell you up front that your kid won't be going forward because they're not good enough. This is unheard of in America. Think about how much money parents could save if they were told at a young age that you're kid isn't good enough to play professionally so you don't need to keep chasing a dream.

Kids can still play in rec leagues. And theyre welcome to try out at other clubs.

This is why other countries are better at soccer. It's because it's free. In fact it's often considered a poor person's sport because clubs target players from the slums because they're easier to control contractually and they try harder because from an early age if the don't ball they don't eat. In the US top players come from upper middle class and often have played in college. These kind of players have never had to practice with a homemade ball just to get an advantage over the 100s of other players doing the same thing.

this is a pretty delusional perspective. You do know there is free soccer for kids in the US as well? You just have to be good enough for it.

[Guest]

That's how it works in the U.S. I even said it to the developers of the soccer stadium (I know they probably don't care): Make sure this stadium/team isn't just an extension of soccer segregation in the U.S. where you make everything so expensive that only rich white people can attend or participate. That's my biggest fear with this stadium and the team that comes in.

Go watch the indoor teams at the MVS complexes...look at the kids for Midwest United or the other clubs practicing or playing games with actual coaches, then look at who is playing on the drop in/casual fields at the same time. The skin complexion (and quality of gear, outfits, and "expression" of parents) between the travel/club players and the drop-in players is beyond obvious. Don't even try to complain about playing the race card here. I see it week in and week out. It's too obvious to miss unless you're that afraid of the truth.

The problem is everything has to make money in the U.S. (it's a capitalist symptom. I'm not saying this to be anti-capitalist, but I am saying this as a fact about youth sports and athletic development). No one will build or do anything unless they can get rich doing it. That's why U.S. soccer has such a major development issue at the top. Other countries around the world have VAST amounts of academies where they are literally paying kids to play for the, or offer affordable training for all families and kids in their communities. That's why so many countries top the U.S. despite the massive abundance of soccer players we have here (yes, even if you say it's not popular here, we still blow many/most countries out of the water in terms of how many people play soccer). We price talent out...we won't train kids unless their families are rich. We miss out on all the potential talent that would take U.S. soccer from "meh" on the world stage to the elite stage with the likes of Brazil, France, Argentina, Croatia, etc. Those countries make sure their kids have access to the game as well as actual training and coaching. The only affordable or accessible soccer we offer in the U.S. is drop-in or AYSO where there's no real coaching or training happening.

It's even happening with women's soccer. We used to be the gold standard of women's soccer in the world, but we were also one of the first countries to actually support women playing it (thanks to Title IX passing), so we got a massive head start on most of the planet. The world has since caught up. The world is getting better about women's soccer, and now we're caught in the same issue the men have been facing forever: We don't develop our talent. Women's U.S. soccer will be dominant for awhile, but we are NOT getting better or more competitive, and are going to struggle more as the rest of the world actually invests in developing their youth talent.

Quoted for Truth

[Guest]

this is a pretty delusional perspective. You do know there is free soccer for kids in the US as well? You just have to be good enough for it.

There’s only 29 MLS academies and 100 or so affiliated academies. For how big our country is that’s not enough academies. You miss more kids than you hit on. In other countries that are way smaller in size they have double or triple the academies.

For you to say you just have to be good enough is wrong. A kid could be good enough or show promise but he might not be located by an academy or there isn’t enough space for him on an academy team.

The women’s side is more of a mess so I won’t speak on that.

[Guest]

Nothing but memories come from HS soccer so it doesn’t illustrate your point well. What you are suggesting is that it’s ok to imbalance a competitive environment for a few people. What makes them so special and worth doing this for? I have yet to hear a good answer here for this relative to using GY.

It’s like letting a few non-handicap people participate in the special Olympics. I don’t see why you would do this. Let the competitive environment decide who is best among co-equals. If private schools are so good you should be skipping grades and graduating early not later. Do you get it Doogie?

I legitimately do not get it. I do not understand a single word you typed.

[Guest]

It's happening, so deal with it. Or don't and keep crying for your undersized child. No one cares.

Nothing but memories come from High School soccer. I know an awful lot of D1 and D3 athletes who would like a word.

[Guest]

https://www.ussoccer.com/ecosystem-r...r-registration

Dear US Soccer,
For the love of sanity, please don't wait until the end of the year to make this announcement. Put the word out as soon as the vote is takin next Friday. Maybe then this thread and everything that's driving it can recede into the bushes like Homer Simpson.

[Guest]

Nothing but memories come from High School soccer. I know an awful lot of D1 and D3 athletes who would like a word.

Isn't it crazy how D2 doesn't seem to exist? Just in general you don't really hear anything about that level, it's either "My super elite prodigy is playing DEEEEE ONNNEEE" or "She's just happy she gets to have some fun playing a sport she loves while getting an actual education because it's d3". D2 has an identity crisis

[Guest]

I legitimately do not get it. I do not understand a single word you typed.

See a doctor.

[Guest]

Nothing but memories come from High School soccer. I know an awful lot of D1 and D3 athletes who would like a word.

Not talking about club soccer in the high school years, but your high school’s soccer team. What’s wrong with you?

[Guest]

Isn't it crazy how D2 doesn't seem to exist? Just in general you don't really hear anything about that level, it's either "My super elite prodigy is playing DEEEEE ONNNEEE" or "She's just happy she gets to have some fun playing a sport she loves while getting an actual education because it's d3". D2 has an identity crisis

I think kids at d3 programs like Tufts, Amherst, Carnegie Mellon might have a bit of a different take on your “happy she gets to have some fun” vision of d3 soccer. The commitment is not THAT much different from different from middle of the pack d1 and down.

[Guest]

The top D3 teams in most sports can hang with mid D1 and lower. This is coming from a former D1 lacrosse player who played for a top 5 team in the nation back in the late 90s. A top D3 program is legit. D1 drops off fast, especially on the girls side for soccer. Sorry to share reality, but it is what it is.