Getting caught playing High School while on MLS Next

[Unregistered]

studs play other sport so all top soccer teams are second and third level players in the us

While I agree that most boys are still drawn to football and basketball we can not ignore the numbers. Boys top sport in the United States by registration is Soccer(by a large gap) followed by basketball and football. Baseball has dropped to 6 behind volleyball and Lacrosse. The culture in america still drives most boys to football and basketball because of their parents growing up on those sports with their parents but predictions is the fear of head injuries and the drop in popularity of basketball the past five years that trend will shift to soccer(more younger parents played soccer or still play in some form of recreation unlike football or basketball). Sport predictions say soccer will eventually take the top spot in the US and it is only a matter of time. These same experts also say baseball needs to make some serious changes to it's direction or it very well could be a dead sport within 20 years.

[Unregistered]

We have many differences vs the rest of the world, many of which can't be replicated here, at least not currently.
Europeans have plenty of sports to chose from, soccer is simply the most popular by a huge margin. Kids aspire to play sports their friends and family play, watch games their friends and family watch. Abroad the sports heroes are soccer players, here they're football and basketball players. Way fewer parents here are soccer fans or ever played. Sure their kids play but its not a big part of the family dynamic. Abroad having loads of local clubs that hardly cost anything helps too. More families can afford it and with so many local teams there's a lot less travel involved. Organized soccer abroad doesn't put such an emphasis on wins and tournaments. Lots if free play with and without your team. There's more coaches who were pro players who know the game. With such a vast network potential studs get identified earlier and arr nurtured in a completely different environment vs here. Most players abroad are pros by around sixteen. After that age there starts to be a building gap between US and international teams. Ours tend to stay in MLS and often times college, while broad they all play pro, all the time. Abroad the ultimate goal is going pro. Here it's getting money for college. Players that really want a pro career should skip college altogether but that's not the American mind set. Doesn't help that college is a farm team system for football and basketball so the expectation is soccer would be similar but it shouldn't be.

We can regain our competitiveness internationally. We don't need all our top athletes playing soccer- we have plentyof athletes. We need top soccer players that are identified earlier and nurtured earlier and differently. Soccer won't be a top sport here in our lifetimes. Yes it's popularity is slowly building but it's a cultural shift that takes time.

Any fan of the game should be concerned that participation has been slowly declining, driven in part by high costs and excessive travel. Soccer snobs who trash lower level programs and HS soccer aren't rrally fans. If you're a fan you want as many kids playing as possible, learning the game and developing a passion for it. That's how we build a soccer culture.

[Unregistered]

We have many differences vs the rest of the world, many of which can't be replicated here, at least not currently.
Europeans have plenty of sports to chose from, soccer is simply the most popular by a huge margin. Kids aspire to play sports their friends and family play, watch games their friends and family watch. Abroad the sports heroes are soccer players, here they're football and basketball players. Way fewer parents here are soccer fans or ever played. Sure their kids play but its not a big part of the family dynamic. Abroad having loads of local clubs that hardly cost anything helps too. More families can afford it and with so many local teams there's a lot less travel involved. Organized soccer abroad doesn't put such an emphasis on wins and tournaments. Lots if free play with and without your team. There's more coaches who were pro players who know the game. With such a vast network potential studs get identified earlier and arr nurtured in a completely different environment vs here. Most players abroad are pros by around sixteen. After that age there starts to be a building gap between US and international teams. Ours tend to stay in MLS and often times college, while broad they all play pro, all the time. Abroad the ultimate goal is going pro. Here it's getting money for college. Players that really want a pro career should skip college altogether but that's not the American mind set. Doesn't help that college is a farm team system for football and basketball so the expectation is soccer would be similar but it shouldn't be.

We can regain our competitiveness internationally. We don't need all our top athletes playing soccer- we have plentyof athletes. We need top soccer players that are identified earlier and nurtured earlier and differently. Soccer won't be a top sport here in our lifetimes. Yes it's popularity is slowly building but it's a cultural shift that takes time.

Any fan of the game should be concerned that participation has been slowly declining, driven in part by high costs and excessive travel. Soccer snobs who trash lower level programs and HS soccer aren't rrally fans. If you're a fan you want as many kids playing as possible, learning the game and developing a passion for it. That's how we build a soccer culture.

What do all of the Euros do that forego college in pursuit do when they wash out? Come to the US to coach club soccer and complain.