Follow the money in youth sports: Does it apply to soccer?

[Unregistered]

My amateurish understanding of world soccer is that the big money driving it (broadcast and advertising) ultimately flows down to the player level. It finances the finding and in effect owning of the super talented players that are winning the trophies for the pro clubs.

Not sure this is a system we can or even want to emulate.

I read this in the "Club Soccer for the Poor" and it reminded me of two other pieces (one an article and the other a documentary on Netflix) that I came across recently about developing young athletes.

How a Soccer Star Is Made: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/ma...6Soccer-t.html

At All Costs: http://www.atallcostsmovie.com/about.html

It struck me that the solution to the question above might really be almost a merging of the two environments described in those pieces where money from the European soccer markets starts to come to the US and fund player development in much the same way as the sneaker companies invaded AAU Basketball. To a certain degree you can already see it starting to happen with the spat of joint venture deals between US and European soccer clubs, the alignment of US Pro soccer clubs with youth clubs in the DA program and the increasing number of young American players leaving the country to join foreign academies. The question I think is relevant to ask is whether or not this is actually good for the young soccer players of America and the development of American soccer as a whole.

[Unregistered]

Good articles.
If the goal is to become a world class soccer nation, the current college pathway for mainly wealthy enough families is a killer. Very little of those kids will chose a pro career, nor will they have sufficient training.

The collaboration of European clubs with american ones now is a money fest. Lots of American $ poured into these programs with the intention of boosting resumes, not creating players.

Players who can train overseas and have Pro v College ambitions are the key and will make the dough (to be made).