What’s going on with Seattle United

[Unregistered]

Thanks for sharing. I know parents in your similar situation across many clubs where paying for club soccer is difficult and time consuming for the entire family. They are also cite fun and experience as the main motivators. But also, casually mention that they are talking with coaches for college ball. Perhaps, for false modesty or potential face saving if things don't go according to plan.

I could never directly ask them why do this if athletic scholarship isn't a goal. I would think that putting in $10k into a college fund, join a local select level team for fun and experience, play hs soccer, and do very well in hs to get academic scholarships would be the smart thing to do. Spending $10k a year and 4hr a day (2.5 hr of traveling and 1.5 hr of practice) x 3-4 times a week seem big investments for fun.

It actually is fun. To us, anyway. I never said an athletic scholarship isn't a goal (it is) just that we've never counted on it or used it as justification for going this route and I relayed the same thing to our player (certainly go for scholarships, contact schools and such, just don't pin all your hopes on it.....have a "backup".). You can certainly argue that there's tons of things people spend mad cash on with no expectation of direct return, it's for the experience, (skiing, buying expensive cars, drving cars that get ****ty gas mileage, getting designer clothes, eating out all the time, taking extravagant vacations (ours just happen to revolve around soccer.....), that sort of thing) we just chose to funnel our cash into sports like soccer (we blow some dough on some other sports too...…) because, frankly, that's what the kid wants to do and she's dang good at it! It's kept her (and her sisters) out of trouble too. We'll figure out funding college one way or the other. . The soccer thing is simply availing her to some extra cash/offers from schools that she might not otherwise be offered based on grades alone. And, if she can get her education while having a few more "glory" years playing very high level soccer for a strong program at a great school........then, why the hell not! She loves it and her Mom and I approve. I won't lie, we love going to the games too! We tend to be her biggest fans. I'm genuinely going to miss it when it's done.

[Unregistered]

It actually is fun. To us, anyway. I never said an athletic scholarship isn't a goal (it is) just that we've never counted on it or used it as justification for going this route and I relayed the same thing to our player (certainly go for scholarships, contact schools and such, just don't pin all your hopes on it.....have a "backup".). You can certainly argue that there's tons of things people spend mad cash on with no expectation of direct return, it's for the experience, (skiing, buying expensive cars, drving cars that get ****ty gas mileage, getting designer clothes, eating out all the time, taking extravagant vacations (ours just happen to revolve around soccer.....), that sort of thing) we just chose to funnel our cash into sports like soccer (we blow some dough on some other sports too...…) because, frankly, that's what the kid wants to do and she's dang good at it! It's kept her (and her sisters) out of trouble too. We'll figure out funding college one way or the other. . The soccer thing is simply availing her to some extra cash/offers from schools that she might not otherwise be offered based on grades alone. And, if she can get her education while having a few more "glory" years playing very high level soccer for a strong program at a great school........then, why the hell not! She loves it and her Mom and I approve. I won't lie, we love going to the games too! We tend to be her biggest fans. I'm genuinely going to miss it when it's done.

I respect what you do for your daughter . But still find it very hard to swallow the financial hardship families go through to play at a reasonable level . No other country has this system why are we the only fools ?

[Unregistered]

I respect what you do for your daughter . But still find it very hard to swallow the financial hardship families go through to play at a reasonable level . No other country has this system why are we the only fools ?

I try not to think about it...….

It's not just soccer. I've got friends with kids playing basketball, baseball, rugby, lacrosse, you name it. Sports are a money maker in this Country.

I used to think Surfing and Windsurfing were expensive (that's what I grew up doing) but, after shelling out this much for soccer, now I consider them fairly reasonably priced addictions...…..

I've got a few friends, and some of my daughter's former coaches, that come from Europe (primarily the UK) and, you're spot on, they don't spend money like this on Soccer. But, then again, it's literally their national pastime (that or cricket.....) and they dump loads of public money into even the smallest of township programs. Just about every town has their own club that spans all the way from the little kiddos to pro level. We just simply don't have the love of the sport here. It really does keep some VERY good players out. We've got several friends (of my daughters......I know them and play with them by association, not quality of ability!) we play pickup with that are quite good. Frighteningly good, in fact. They play in the Hispanic Sunday leagues for the most part and really not much else. They want to play club ball but the families simply can't foot the bill. Some of them get in with stipends from the clubs but they're too far between. A few that have gotten on at clubs have turned it into college soccer opportunities. I think that's opening some peoples eyes to the potential "value" of club. More are looking into it. In my view.

To wrap it up, if anyone can solve this conundrum (the cost issue) then they'll have my respect.

[Unregistered]

I try not to think about it...….

It's not just soccer. I've got friends with kids playing basketball, baseball, rugby, lacrosse, you name it. Sports are a money maker in this Country.

I used to think Surfing and Windsurfing were expensive (that's what I grew up doing) but, after shelling out this much for soccer, now I consider them fairly reasonably priced addictions...…..

I've got a few friends, and some of my daughter's former coaches, that come from Europe (primarily the UK) and, you're spot on, they don't spend money like this on Soccer. But, then again, it's literally their national pastime (that or cricket.....) and they dump loads of public money into even the smallest of township programs. Just about every town has their own club that spans all the way from the little kiddos to pro level. We just simply don't have the love of the sport here. It really does keep some VERY good players out. We've got several friends (of my daughters......I know them and play with them by association, not quality of ability!) we play pickup with that are quite good. Frighteningly good, in fact. They play in the Hispanic Sunday leagues for the most part and really not much else. They want to play club ball but the families simply can't foot the bill. Some of them get in with stipends from the clubs but they're too far between. A few that have gotten on at clubs have turned it into college soccer opportunities. I think that's opening some peoples eyes to the potential "value" of club. More are looking into it. In my view.

To wrap it up, if anyone can solve this conundrum (the cost issue) then they'll have my respect.

If US Youth Soccer wanted to improve the diversity and equity problem in the sport, they could put programs in place to make it happen. Swimming, Tennis and Volleyball have all made systemic changes to make their sport more accessible to kids at all income levels. Soccer doesn't care. So many people have complained about it for years and they do not care. It's frustrating.

[Unregistered]

If US Youth Soccer wanted to improve the diversity and equity problem in the sport, they could put programs in place to make it happen. Swimming, Tennis and Volleyball have all made systemic changes to make their sport more accessible to kids at all income levels. Soccer doesn't care. So many people have complained about it for years and they do not care. It's frustrating.

One could argue that soccer is available to all income levels (summer leagues, rec leagues, even many of the "competitive" clubs). It's agreed that the highest level (do we call it "Premier", I don't know but you get the gist) costs some serious coin. But, it's not like you're shut out completely from soccer. Just the highest levels (without scholarships)? Look at how far some folks drive. Even if cost isn't an issue you can be "out" based on geography (no club within a reasonable distance). I mean, what the hell would you do if you lived in La Push? Even if you were rich as Bezos you couldn't play club ball (I don't think).

[Unregistered]

I try not to think about it...….



I've got a few friends, and some of my daughter's former coaches, that come from Europe (primarily the UK)

There lays the issue . My good friend in the uk runs a soccer academy (don’t get confused with a premier academy) the teams are about the same level as the premier clubs here which would be close to select/rec level there . He makes $24k a year . When I told him what coaches make here with clubs and private lessons he wanted to jump on the next flight out . No one makes $50-$80 an hour there unless you are coaching at a professional lower level club . The coaches that do end up here are usually the ones that can’t get a job at the lower level select/Rec clubs .

[Unregistered]

One could argue that soccer is available to all income levels (summer leagues, rec leagues, even many of the "competitive" clubs). It's agreed that the highest level (do we call it "Premier", I don't know but you get the gist) costs some serious coin. But, it's not like you're shut out completely from soccer. Just the highest levels (without scholarships)? Look at how far some folks drive. Even if cost isn't an issue you can be "out" based on geography (no club within a reasonable distance). I mean, what the hell would you do if you lived in La Push? Even if you were rich as Bezos you couldn't play club ball (I don't think).

True, there are leagues at every level. But just in Seattle, did you know there's a separate Ethiopian soccer league? A Latino soccer league? I believe those are just for boys, but why aren't some of those talented kids participating in premier league? Even if you have $ to pay fees, do you have a parent whose job schedule lets them drive you all the way to Shoreline from South Seattle for Seattle United practice? Public transportation won't get you all the way to Starfire for PAC. Got money to Uber to Eastside's lovely fields in Preston? Nope? Too bad. Parents whose kids are already doing premier don't want more competition. aside from the occasional feel good scholarship kid like Handwalla who helps your team win and allows you to eventually say your kid played on a team with a Seattle Sounder. If US Soccer cared about the future of the sport, they'd open things up to underserved kids to raise the bar overall. But they refuse to open up and they let a lot of Latino talent developed here go to Mexico to make their programs stronger because of racism, or stupidity, or both

[Unregistered]

True, there are leagues at every level. But just in Seattle, did you know there's a separate Ethiopian soccer league? A Latino soccer league? I believe those are just for boys, but why aren't some of those talented kids participating in premier league? Even if you have $ to pay fees, do you have a parent whose job schedule lets them drive you all the way to Shoreline from South Seattle for Seattle United practice? Public transportation won't get you all the way to Starfire for PAC. Got money to Uber to Eastside's lovely fields in Preston? Nope? Too bad. Parents whose kids are already doing premier don't want more competition. aside from the occasional feel good scholarship kid like Handwalla who helps your team win and allows you to eventually say your kid played on a team with a Seattle Sounder. If US Soccer cared about the future of the sport, they'd open things up to underserved kids to raise the bar overall. But they refuse to open up and they let a lot of Latino talent developed here go to Mexico to make their programs stronger because of racism, or stupidity, or both

You hit the nail on the head, kinda what people have been saying for years. US Soccer doesn't appear to care, the youth clubs don't seem to care either. Hope Solo said the same thing and was blasted by the media:

One reason why the U.S. men’s national soccer team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is that soccer in America is a “rich white-kid sport,” former U.S. women's team goalie Hope Solo said Wednesday.

Solo, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was speaking at the Hashtag Sports conference in New York City. She said the sport in the U.S. is too expensive for Latino, African-American and rural kids to play -- adding that if she was a kid today her family wouldn’t be able to afford to help her advance in the game.

“We have alienated the Hispanic communities. We have alienated our black communities. We have alienated the underrepresented communities, even rural communities," Solo said, according to Sporting News. "So soccer in America right now is a rich white-kid sport.”
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I don't see any other option in America if your kid wants to play at a higher level. Dole out the cash or steer kids in another direction.

The ridiculous travel cost for ECNL and DA seems almost sinister. Why would any sane or nice human create and maintain such a system? Is there not one good idea that can cut the travel time and cost in half? Who in their right minds wants this? Parents don't, kids don't, coaches? I doubt it. It can't be good for the clubs to have their best coaches gone for 50% of the time.

[Unregistered]

You hit the nail on the head, kinda what people have been saying for years. US Soccer doesn't appear to care, the youth clubs don't seem to care either. Hope Solo said the same thing and was blasted by the media:

One reason why the U.S. men’s national soccer team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is that soccer in America is a “rich white-kid sport,” former U.S. women's team goalie Hope Solo said Wednesday.

Solo, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was speaking at the Hashtag Sports conference in New York City. She said the sport in the U.S. is too expensive for Latino, African-American and rural kids to play -- adding that if she was a kid today her family wouldn’t be able to afford to help her advance in the game.

“We have alienated the Hispanic communities. We have alienated our black communities. We have alienated the underrepresented communities, even rural communities," Solo said, according to Sporting News. "So soccer in America right now is a rich white-kid sport.”
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I don't see any other option in America if your kid wants to play at a higher level. Dole out the cash or steer kids in another direction.

The ridiculous travel cost for ECNL and DA seems almost sinister. Why would any sane or nice human create and maintain such a system? Is there not one good idea that can cut the travel time and cost in half? Who in their right minds wants this? Parents don't, kids don't, coaches? I doubt it. It can't be good for the clubs to have their best coaches gone for 50% of the time.

Okay. Let's just get back to the club bashing. All this reasonable discussion is making me think too much.

[Unregistered]

Okay. Let's just get back to the club bashing. All this reasonable discussion is making me think too much.

Ok, to get back on track with bashing: if Seattle United, which practices all over the city, held more premier practices in South Seattle, they'd get more diverse participation. I know it's a fight to get fields but they avoid the area. If you live south of montlake it's rough

[Unregistered]

Public transportation won't get you all the way to Starfire for PAC.

King County Metro buses 150 and 154 stop on Interurban at the entrance to Starfire. I know multiple kids who aren't old enough to drive that take the bus to/from training each night.

[Unregistered]

If US Youth Soccer wanted to improve the diversity and equity problem in the sport, they could put programs in place to make it happen. Swimming, Tennis and Volleyball have all made systemic changes to make their sport more accessible to kids at all income levels. Soccer doesn't care. So many people have complained about it for years and they do not care. It's frustrating.

Idiot... swimming and tennis? You obviously don’t know what you are talking about. About the only two sports that cost more than soccer

[Unregistered]

Idiot... swimming and tennis? You obviously don’t know what you are talking about. About the only two sports that cost more than soccer

https://www.teamunify.com/onsbcst/Us...cst_096113.pdf

In case you want to argue, costs for my daughters swim team.

[Unregistered]

If US Youth Soccer wanted to improve the diversity and equity problem in the sport, they could put programs in place to make it happen. Swimming, Tennis and Volleyball have all made systemic changes to make their sport more accessible to kids at all income levels. Soccer doesn't care. So many people have complained about it for years and they do not care. It's frustrating.

Sports at the highest level in the US costs thousands a year. Whether it’s AAU basketball, 7v7 football, Hockey, Swimming, horseback riding, motocross, gymnastics, or golf. You are a fool if you think this is somehow isolated to soccer.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/usatoda...uth-sports/amp

[Unregistered]

One could argue that soccer is available to all income levels (summer leagues, rec leagues, even many of the "competitive" clubs). It's agreed that the highest level (do we call it "Premier", I don't know but you get the gist) costs some serious coin. But, it's not like you're shut out completely from soccer. Just the highest levels (without scholarships)? Look at how far some folks drive. Even if cost isn't an issue you can be "out" based on geography (no club within a reasonable distance). I mean, what the hell would you do if you lived in La Push? Even if you were rich as Bezos you couldn't play club ball (I don't think).

Exactly right. Take a look at some of the Hispanic and African leagues