It's crucial that the Members of the USSF Board undergo a thorough evaluation. The problems start from the top, and we currently have ineffective leadership and no ambitious, visionary plan. Additionally, are there limitations on what we can pay the men's coach? Is it true that we can't offer a competitive salary for a top-tier manager because the men's coach cannot earn more than the women's coach, even though these are entirely different markets? • Cindy Parlow Cone • Nathán Goldberg Crenier • JT Batson • John Collins • Lisa Carnoy • Fritz Marth • John Motta • Carlos Cordeiro • Don Garber These board members are responsible for guiding the strategic direction and governance of U.S. Soccer. Changes need to be made and the noise needs to continue until something meaningful happens.
Yes the limitation on paying a top tier men's coach is because he can't be paid more than the women's coach...that is a huge part of the reason Berhalter was rehired...
This system pay to play is awful. I have a 13-year-old son who went to one of the top NY soccer academies tryouts, and he did really well. They came to me, they told me how good my son was. They also told me they wanted my son to play with their mls next team and NAL team. At the beginning they were very interested in my son; they texted me every day to make sure I received and accepted the offer package. When I saw the offer, they were asking over 5k to play with them. I wrote back at them and told them that my son would like to play for them, but we can't afford to spend that kind of money. You know what happened?They stopped chasing me thru text or email. I felt very discouraged that even with talent, they can even overlook your son if you don't have the money.
From an external perspective, it seems to me that soccer in the US is a product to sell to the middle class. It’s not about developing high quality players. Nor even about developing character or simply good habits.
@@ofenomeno1381when I played club in Germany in the 90’s even though it was amateur level, we had promotion/relegation and the club footed the bill for all costs. If a pro club spotted me and wanted to sign me, even though I wasn’t a paid player with my current club, that pro team would have to pay a fee to the amateur club to reimburse them for their role in my development. It provided incentive for amateur teams to develop players at the grass roots level.
Do American kids not just play in the park, bikes for goalposts etc, I understand that the school college system is more important in US but surely there must be scouting from MLS clubs going on.
yep. It's as if players like Clint Dempsey and DaMarcus Beasley left the building but no one else is there. I've never identified with this set of Nats
@caballosinnombre3981 POSH boys can also play football. That's not the issue. They might, however, like football and think the MLS is bullshi* and be reluctant to participate.
"Sports" is becoming an upper-middle class sport. Every single sport is being infested with pay-to-play up-skilled robots. Give me the kids that learned to play with a busted up ball against the side of a shed any day.
At least in Germany football clubs exist to play football not to make money. With professional teams that may be different. But my small town alone has three football clubs. They don’t MAKE money, they use money to better the club, to expand the youth programs, to buy new kit, to pay the coaches. Clubs aren’t money making machines. They are providers of the game of football, especially to young people. Get your priorities straight.
I am in a village in France with 520 inhabitants. There is a football club. The pitch belongs to the town hall and they maintain it. The club pays for the jerseys, the balls, the posts... The town hall has 2 mini-vans that it lends for travel, the gasoline is paid by the club. I think everyone is a volunteer.
The fact that the simplest, most affordable, and most common sport in the world is as expensive organized hockey is an absolute joke. There’s not even a lie you can use to justify this system. People need to stop paying or being involved with pay to play system entirely or this will never change.
Local clubs only care about results so it promotes their club and hence their pocket books. They don't care one bit about your child's development. We suffer from a lack of good coaching and a poor system as you rightfully point out.
@@CoachRorySoccer I think you hit the point about soccer in the US, with pay to play or if you know someone you will play in the MLS or national team and so forth. The problem is coming from the US soccer federation, they don't have a system to follow for all youth in the US, while in Europe they use the same program for schools, clubs and youth national team.
@@dstainer30 In Texas, I know they have 2 divisions with promotion/relegation and like 8 teams each at the Youth Level. Texas Clubs also charge $300 as opposed to to California charging $3k. That is why you’ve seen a lot of Talent come out of North Texas lately
@@2852GUS How do you tolerate it? I am a finance professional who has coached as a hobby for many years, and I get so discouraged. All I really care about is player development, but parents really run these clubs at the end of the day…and all they care about how many games and tournaments we can stuff into a year. That is how they feel they are getting value for the money they pay, and in some sense I can see their point. The system overall is poorly designed.
There are 22 young men out there that could produce a World Cup trophy for the US but they go unnoticed. Youth soccer system in the US is absolute trash. From playing on turf to egotistical coaches, toxic parents, the cash grab and that's just scratching the surface.
Between my passion for soccer in America and the complexity of the US soccer problems, it’s difficult for me to avoid resorting to ranting when sharing my opinions. Well done, I appreciate everything you shared here. I think your points about money and merit are spot on. I want to share my observation that there seems also to be a lack of passion or interest amongst people in general or those who have local leadership over soccer. I’d argue that we have a contentment with mediocrity in our system or the opting to be indifferent about the quality of the development. This leads to me receiving U12-15 players that only seem to have received the product of a sense of false assurance that sometimes manifests itself as entitlement or arrogance. They think that since they’ve played soccer before, they’re good, when really they look like they’ve never touched a ball in their lives. For example, I corrected a boy’s toe stab pass into side footing the pass and he commented about his preference to do it his way and his parents were curious why he wouldn’t start certain games. There is a cultural sense in which our white boys get pummeled by schools with a higher Hispanic presence and I think it can be explained partially by this lack or passion for the game as a whole, families, youth systems, professional teams, boards, etc. I’ll have to give your channel a follow and see what else I can learn from you!
My son tried out for and was accepted by Fluminense youth academy at age 16 but it was unrealistic for me or my wife to move to Brazil which meant he could only train with them until he turned 18 and not actually play games under international rules. He came home and tried out for the Portland Timbers academy and they cut him. Identification of talent is really poor here and I agree fully that lack of relegation in MLS will never serve to develop internationally competitive teams or players. Hard to imagine a solution without drastic change.
@@CoachRorySoccer He went to Brazil two summers in a row for three weeks at a time and after the second year he was invited to the team. He was a very athletic and unselfish two touch style player and made players around him better but his lack of selfishness caused him to be overlooked at Timbers Academy. He was a solid hold up center forward and had a very high conversion rate for scoring vs attempts. It was very frustrating. I will say, having three weeks in front of coaches makes it much easier to identify talent than a four hour tryout. He did play ODP for several years and ended up City of Portland high school player of the year and made the all state first team his senior year. Couldn't get on a D1 college team and burned out after being under a terrible D2 college coach for two years. Hardly plays anymore but is an avid skier and is enjoying that.
@@gordondunkeld6237 That's unfortunate. The U.S overlooks the fact that it's a team game and thinks we just need a few superstars. Just look at the USMNT. Players will take a shot with 2 defenders right in front of them instead of passing to the open man. Very selfish style of play.
The franchise system in US sports is just bizarre to outsiders. Americans love sports and they love capitalism, so they build their sports like a capitalist would, i.e. monopolised, money-making machines with no consequences for failure.
This isn't just a soccer problem in the US. Basketball is seeing a similar trend. Euro basketball players are becoming more popular and coming the pro ball more polished. A big driver is the club system for basketball.
@@AdamMCPAAmerican basketball started to trend downward once it started to look like the Euro academy system. AAU teams used to pull together kids with based of height and athletic talent not money. Now we shifted to these elite academies filling with former players kids with skills acquired form trainers but no creativity. We will never see another Ja Morant with this new system.
@gtjohns220 your argument is that not enough kids play pick up basketball? For American hoop, it doesn't help when kids are playing 6 games a weekend and practicing half as much, if that. Club and AAU ball have lead to that.
Guys, I spent the last 30 minutes reading the comments. I did not see anybody talking about the fact that the US kids do not play soccer on their own. It is not for lack of fields, it is cultural. I was born in Bulgaria and up till 5th grade I played out in the school yards, on asphalt, cement, clay, indoor, sometimes on grass, always small sided games with the other kids - sometimes for 5 hours a day!!! Only then a local club (that had a Professional first team) selected me. Yes, we never paid to play for that club, but that is not the point. I and a huge percentage of the kids - we just played on our own all the time! On the street you learn everything - you do not need a coach to teach you first touch, or how to pass, dribble, shoot or to fight for your teammates. While here, if a kid wants to play they need to be in a club, there is simply no other place to play. I think it is not a result of lack of relegation, which of course would be great to have. I think it is simply a result of the fact the general population watches, talks about and breaths other sports. I can always see kids in school yards here playing basketball, but not soccer! And there is no critical mass of kids that watches soccer either. And in the countries where Football (well - soccer) is a number one sport, we learn a lot from watching and supporting our teams. We do it daily, the way in US people watch baseball or basketball - daily. I have been coaching kids for about 10 years in US and I feel like US will never be an organically strong soccer nation. There are just too many things (among them sports) available, that soccer is drowned. It is like in the book Soccernomics, where the authors explain why the most popular and strongest clubs historically are either from Industrial centers (Manchester, Liverpool, Munich, Dortmund, Turin, etc) or from Capitals with Dictators (The first 8 European Cups were won by Real Madrid and Benfica during the Franco and whatever his name the dictator from Portugal was). The normal capitals just do not produce this kind of following, because of all the other options culturally and economically (A champion of Europe has never been from Paris, Berlin, Rome, Warsaw, Brussels, etc and London finally did it with Chelsea in 2008)
I totally agree. I have been saying for decades now (because I’m old enough to have been saying something for decades, which is crazy) that we don’t have a cultural passion for the sport, and it shows at the international level. It’s as if other countries “dance” or “breathe” soccer/football. We are a century or so late to the game, so it wasn’t something that got us through tough times. There weren’t kids playing in alleys, on the streets, on the farms. So this comment is dead on in saying it doesn’t come from the ground up. Or as the video alludes, from the youth level. We don’t have Peles, Ronaldos, Messi’s, etc., because the passion doesn’t start young enough here. Instead, it seems to me that we have looked at other countries and tried to model them, but it doesn’t quite work for us. We have a cultural passion for sports, for sure, but we haven’t found our groove with this one.
I spent tons of time playing by myself and the neighborhood kids after school. But a lot of people don't have close access to flat areas, at least where I'm at. Now I coach and our county only has 1 soccer field, and I can really tell the kids aren't used to how the ball behaves. Currently, however, I think our US team is failing for reasons besides talent level.
So true. Why does the USA continue to dominate in basketball? That very reason that little boys and many girls spend hours and hours shooting hoops in their driveways and in the parks after school and on the weekends. That sort of petry dish is where they learn to create and take risks and be aggressive with low stakes. That is how other countries much smaller (and poorer) than us are able to compete with us in soccer because their kids are playing this sport many hours outside of regular practice versus ours. So until we as a society get to a point where kids WANT to play this sport whenever and wherever they can...we will struggle to develop world class talent.
Thank you Rory! I was talking to my father about this because I have a few friends who work for the French Football Federation. They shared with me their model and how they have low barrier of entry to football due to public investment and they utilize a merit based system. I think we all know how great french players are. France also use football as form of soft power around the world. One of my friends is a coach for the FFF academy in Singapore. US exceptionalism is the bane for the US Soccer Federation. Also, my bold take along with your pitch for Promo/Releg system is to move the MLS and USL season to sync with the rest of the world. It is a gamble but it needs to be done.
changing soccer culture in the USA might just be getting our kids into futsal from U6-U12, then transitioning 7v7 1/2 pitch games and then finally up to full field soccer at U16. Futsal develops the foot skills needed later, that regular soccer coaches and clubs can't/won't.
Hey coach, Paco here and well said. PA has so much talent and I think an additional problem we have is that our country is so big and our program can't really handle the amount that we have. So many good players get over looked for others.
This sums up the problem in the US,,, My son was in an U8 rec-level league and there was a team from a lower-income neighborhood who was undefeated for 2 years and the games were not close with any club. I volunteered to assist coaching one year and asked that teams coach how were they so good at this level. He mentioned that the team was actually a travel team but the parents wouldnt be able to pay the fees if they joined a travel-level league so it was much cheaper to stay in a rec league. You think any of those highly talented kids will ever get noticed?
Well said! I have been saying for years that the US will never be great until we have Promotion and Relegation. Overseas, the top tier teams want to develop youth so they can stay up and continue to make money. The lower tier teams also want to develop youth, in their academies, so they have a chance of being promoted to the big money in a number of years. There is no motivation in the US. If an MLS team wins, they get a trophy. If they get dead last, everything is the same other than a trophy. The financial motivation is not significant enough.
@samplingmastersxlr8660 , I am talking specifically about countries with promotion and relegation pyramids in Europe, South America, etc.. I have been involved with youth soccer in the US for many years and have 3 kids in the system. The lack of motivation for development is a major problem. They have "MLS sponsored leagues". Those are super expensive and designed to make money and have positive press. Where are the club academies across the tiers? The top players are at Academies by 13 in England. Here they are going nowhere until after High School , unless they want to travel far away and spend a fortune.
@samplingmastersxlr8660 , it is telling that the best players on our National Team all went to and developed in Europe. We need more depth on the USMNT though. We, more importantly, need a better HC. They will not reach their potential with Berhalter, imo. :(
@@gjudy29but how were our top players able to get to Europe? I thought Weston McKennie was part of the FC Dallas youth system, then he went to Schalke in Germany? But was he able to get to Europe because his parents had a lot of money?
Great take! I've always believed that in a country of 330 million, a winning 11 is already somewhere in the populace. However, without merit-based matriculation systems they will never be found or developed. The quickest fix (still easier said than done) would be implementing some sort of feeder relationship between youth clubs as feeders to pro clubs, setting up a model where clubs are incentivized to make their money on the back end once players have already been developed (rather than charging families on the front end), and better streamlining all current competitions (i.e. high school soccer which seems to get completely ignored by USSF, the different college organizations (i.e. NJCAA, NAIA, NCAA), and pro organizations. The MLS should have focused on sorting this system out rather than its strategy of bringing near retirement stars from overseas. I guess they make their money either way, but it would have been better for American soccer culture development to see that kids from all economic classes have an equal shot of making it in this sport.
It seems as if the game in America is about exclusion and making a select group of youngsters (upper class and white) feel safe and the ability to compete among each other for local status and bragging rights. It has nothing to do identifying and developing the best from any kid that does not fit into that paradigm. We need to develop youngsters with creativity, a first touch, and technical skills. The US needs to identify these players and subsidise their training fees and expenses.I could care less about the team working hard and having a fighting spirit, I want US players that can play, create, and don't have horrid first donkey kick touches.
We need to subsidize the fees for every player. Only then can we identify the generational talents that are good enough for the national teams. Identifying before subsidizing isn't going to be much help.
Was just having this EXACT conversation with my mom. The amount of money my parents paid for local clubs was insane. And we didn’t even live in a large market. 300-400 a season is just ridiculous.
My brother in law, who was with Chivas until he tore up his knee (unfortunately at a very young age) and coaches all of his kids today, has told me the same thing many times. There is no equity in how the system operates and until that is fixed, discovering and developing the best players probably will not happen.
It's the first video I'm seeing from you because I was interested in the reasons of the US disaster at the Copa America. I heard some weird take from so called experts and wanted to take a deeper look at the situation. I'm german and started playing at 4 years old (like most kids in germany) and the system you pointed out sounds terrible for a healthy progress on and off the pitch. I think it's a problem of the other bigger sports (where the US is clearly on top) and following that doesn't work in comparison to the other countries with soccer/football
Germany's 50+1 has enabled fans to control their clubs instead of being run by oligarchs (like we have in the USA). We will only do the right thing after trying every other possible wrong thing for many, many years.
I was one of the kids at the opening ceremonies in Orlando in '94. Met Michelle Akers, very nice and a tremendous player on the woman's side, and as a basketball player at the time left after the ceremony was done and played basketball. Once our athletes move away from our football, basketball, and baseball and touch the soccer field - and as you speak merit - our team will begin to win the World Cup.
I believe that a focus on "stars" here in the U.S. rather than teams is also part of the problem, and this is an issue that has been growing for a few decades. I just don't feel that other countries/cultures focus on the individual quite so much. Yes, individual skill is very important, but you won't win without your team.
Agree. England is full of stars but almost empty in trophies. And look Ecuador, just for an example, tie to Argentina this week, lost to Argentina 0-1 last year in Buenos Aires, 5th in the Qualifiers, that is a team that in paper should not perform that well, but "surprisingly" knows how to get good results. It is like "we are Americans, we have talented players, we must win games". But the logic behind team sports don't work like that. it takes a lot more than good players to create a good team
Coach, I agree with you on your assessment of the problem, but I’d love to hear your solution on going forward. I’ve been following the 3Four3 guys and they echo the same sentiment. Do you think it’s time to institute merit based system in your region, county, state? How do you get leagues like EDP, ECNL, etc. to adjust their processes to bring merit based promotions into the picture? Is this something that could be achieved State by state until USSF gets their act together to make it a nationwide program?
Something that I think you said that's being overlooked, but very much at the heart of it, is that it's the raison de etre of the clubs themselves: What they are being incentivized to do. In Europe, what I've seen, is that you have professionals who make their money producing INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS for clubs, who pay a fee to use those players that have been developed. This weights everything. I don't even think it's about promotion/relegation as you've suggested. I think it's more to the point that we don't have an infrastructure to where everyone, from the largest city to the smallest town, sees success in terms of "professionals produced". Rather, we see it in terms of "wins" at the youth level. We obsess over team success at levels that no one else even cares about. When I was last in Germany I would ask people in my godparent's little village in the Franken valley how good the academy in the local town was. "Excellent". Then I would ask what their season record had been last season. So I changed the question. Why do you say they're good? "So many top players. Two are with Eintract Frankfurt, one being promoted from the B team this year. Another two were bought by Hanover...". Priorities.
I'm very fortunate to have a facility here that has European and Brazilian coaches, all former pros. The love of the game and the approach is drastically different from the American attitude and philosophy. Americans as a whole don't embrace and love football the way the rest of the world does, unless that happens we will never win a WC.
I coach U10 Boys and one season we played as team USA and the kids did not care that we were team USA until I told them that we were representing the Women's team. All of a sudden there was a lot of pride and pep talks being led by the kids. The Men's team and the ladder to get there is a joke and it's so broken.
I’ve Ben coaching my nephews team for the last 6 years & they don’t let them head the ball until they are 11 years old. Do you think they do these stupid rule in Argentina or Spain….?
I moved here in 1982 at the age of 14. This country seems to have been stuck in a soccer time warp. Moments of excellence, but really no further along than it was back then. Sure it's more popular, but it is not any better. The American soccer culture is awful. I love America and hope it gets its act together. Happy 4th of July everyone.
Having coached U12 through U16, recreational and competitive; the system is broken. I saw a video on why kids quit youth sports, and soccer in particular, it ticked every box on why my son stopped playing. Sad.
We saw this, and thus focused on having our kids enjoy the game, go playing pickup with their friends, just hanging out. It worked. Both our kids continued to play college club during their undergrad years. My hope is to have grandchildren to continue this love of the game, as well as work on foot skills from 2-10. I can't change US soccer culture, but I can reinforce good soccer culture at home.
@@Michael-cb5nm Even today my son wishes he still played. We still love the sport, and nothing is better than having him watch with me. I never played and it is difficult for him to communicate to me how really wonderful the game is to play.
@@vladimpaler3498 He should just start playing again, at any level. I’m 48, and started up again last year after a 15 year hiatus. I’ll probably play until I die.
Ive said the same for years. This USA team, if you just look at the passing its not even elite. Nothing changed. I would also add the mens national team needs to play copa libertadores.
The US sees it as an entertainment industry to exploit as opposed to a lifestyle. Communities that rally around their teams, relegation systems, funneling the best to the top, is all what other countries manage to do. These business interests have go to learn eventually that culture and community are more valuable than cold cash. Sports are best when they represent the people not the business.
We run a rec league. But we are working on having tryouts for 9-11yr team to be more competitive and play other competitive leagues and help boost their growth into middle school. I’m just trying to feed my high school with better players.
I've been playing this game since 1990 and have played in multiple leagues. Won the NPSL National Championship in 2009, but it never felt like a true National Championship since there was the PDL league coinciding for adults. Luckily I grew up before there was MLS NEXT, ENCL, Academy or whatever youth academy leagues that have popped up and moved it. It was just one US CLUB based league nationally where if you did well, it actually indicated that your club team was good. I'd be curious into how much money the USSF have....are we there yet with a strong MLS infrustructure to subsidize a pyramid of leagues that is supported by the top? We are in such a free market, wild wild west approach and esp the last 20 years, that it is hindering our abilities and organization. While we have improved, there is no solidified approach to playing due to the million of clubs out there. In Idaho, we now have the Idaho Premier League that took the best clubs. This is not ok and of course they are clubs that will have the financial backing.
Do you think Europe has these debates about basketball? LOL For real though, great stuff coach! You are legit an inspiration to myself and my club. We are starting two new select teams this year with low costs and all us coaches are volunteering because our kids are asking for more. Trying to DIY so we don't have to join a club like Rush etc. for $5k a player. Keeping the joy of "play" alive and hopefully it'll be recognized again someday.
From an European point of view. Americans need to start from the basics how to stop the ball, how to pass the ball. There is very little ball control in American players or creativity. Solving these is a step in the right direction.
"... how to stop the ball ..." Yes. Everything depends on a player's first touch. If a player cannot "catch" the ball properly, then he will lose it immediately, and he will never have the opportunity to control it, shield it, run with it, pass it, shoot it. (Also, if a player has a good first touch, then he is likely to be good at one-touch football, which is a nightmare for defences.)
@@MarkRyan-u3u yes that’s a conversation I had with a friend from Italy, he told me the bambinos are first taught how to stop the ball. Which makes perfect sense.
I coached youth soccer from 1995 to 2008, developing players ages U10 through college at every level of play from recreation to premier level. In that time I served as trainer, fitness coordinator, team manager, recruiter, assistant coach, head coach, youth development coordinator and coaching director for District 7 (UT), Olympic Development Coach, and Utah State University men's Club team "B" coach. In 2008 I had to step away after attending the USA Soccer hosted National C licensing after being subjected to a "quota" system being implemented by the head of the program where they were trying to promote class based advancement... and unfortunately I was born the wrong color and gender to qualify for the advancement to a "C" national coaching position. At the time I attended the certification, I was coaching two high school elite teams, coordinating the coaching education for all of the coaches in N.Utah, as well as recruiting coaches and developing what is now the RSL Academy that was put into effect by RSL following DelLoy Hansen buying the RSL Franchise. My coaching qualifications and abilities far exceeded the majority of my class, and I passed all of the written and on-field exams with better than average scores, but the head coach of the certification was latino and he favored two others that were likewise latino, but had not passed the written or field testing. I appealed to the assistant coach and to their supervisor, and through both agreed that merit was earned for my licensing, they could not overrule the "head coach's" determination. Ironically that coach was later dismissed from US soccer for exactly those same actions at another camp, yet my situation was never revisited. I have a 14 year old daughter who could excel at high school basketball, but she's not been brought up in "the system" used by the high school coaching staff, and likely won't make the team because they don't know her rather than whether or not she can play basketball. I don't have the financial means to buy them a new coaches lounge and fund their uniforms to "earn" my daughter a spot on the team, so we are looking at other activities for her to be engaged in. It is a sad state for all of our youth athletes of many sports...
It's the stubbornness with which US sports are unwilling to broaden their perspective. US soccer's only goal should be to build a solid base of local clubs (somewhere between 60 and 80,000 nationwide), with performance and recreational teams at senior level and a youth academy providing for all ages. This allows academy players to stay within the club. (I'm Dutch, I never was a great player, playing in midfield or left back, playing for my local club from 7 until 32, first in our academy and from 18 on in recreational teams) The pyramid system with promotion and relegation is very important, except for the under 11s. Clubs need the aspiration to go up, to grow and develop. But also the need to win, to survive and when you lose or get relegated to pull yourself up and find the mentality to restore. And when you as a club are well rooted in your community these up and downs might even strengthen those roots.
Coach, this video is the first time i've heard of training compensation and solidarity payments. It seems like this would be a great way to help support youth soccer throughout the nation. If this was implemented in the US, should colleges have to pay for training compensation? Also, it's a little disheartening to see that this issue has been on-going for several decades now. Just stumbled across a video of Taylor Twellman addressing the sames issues you've been trying to shine light on. "Twellman: U.S. Soccer Needs To Address ‘Pay-To-Play’ System"
I have to ask and maybe you have answered this before... What do we do in the meantime? What if we don't have the means to send my kids to Europe or to the academies? Heck it's unrealistic to make the hour drive to San Diego where there are bigger named clubs. I don't think my wife is going to let them go to Mexico either 🤣. Any recommendations???
I completely agree with you. The youth soccer system doesn't work. MLS teams do not care about developing players either. The fact that there is no relagation like in other contries does not give an incentive to MLS teams and players to get better. There are no real or well organized soccer academies or farms like in Spain, Argentina, and Uruguay. That's a big issue. You can't look at soccer like any other American sports because it is not. Also US has to get a more experienced soccer coach otherwise nothing is going to change.
I think the best way to look at it is ask yourself Why hasn’t Italy made the switch to Starbucks for coffee? Does one think the best quality of coffee comes from mega corporations or closed entities with patents and rights? Or does it get made from the people who work on their craft day to day as part of a culture?
Given the salary cap in the MLS, there is a huge bonus to having home grown players that can contribute to your team before they start earning a lot. Columbus Crew is an excellent example. Whatever system the MLS moves to, we must ensure we don’t wind up with a “big 6” and lower levels like the EFL that spends its way to insolvency.
Something I saw time and again was the end of young talent because they've been told over and over how good they are. They naturally come to believe they no longer need to work on improving, no pressure, no friction. Much is promised to these kids, but then they reach u-16 or u-19 or high school soccer and everyone is playing faster. They're unable to make the mental leap that everyone is now better than they are. They're playing the game at a 12-year-old pace and contributing nothing. I've seen this with boys and girls. Heck, I saw it when I was at that age, it's nothing new. "Stakes," as Coach says, affect players as well. The Uruguay match was lost in 2016 when the Pay-to-Play coaching lobby won out.
So in defense of our local club - we have a select fee of $500 which includes all training, the kit and two tournaments. To be fair almost all coaches do not get paid. In addition we get sponsors who provide funds for kids that cannot afford the $500. Those kids only pay for the kit or nothing at all. We are competitive at Division 2 and 3 level and have had a fair number of players who have gone on to play ODP and to play in college. We had one girl who made it to regional ODP camp. Do we lose kids to higher level clubs? - yes some. And several have come back after finding out things are not so great at those higher priced clubs. So here is at least part of a solution- 1. Focus on keeping costs down. 2. Use local coaches who played at least in high school and will coach for the love of the sport. Give them a break on their kids club fees. 3. Get sponsors who will help offset costs so more kids can play- especially lower income kids. 4. Club pays for coaches to go to license classes and other coaching training. 5. Add an academy for higher level kids 6. We have a coaching director who is paid and definitely earns his salary- he runs academy training, camps and coaches the highest level teams year round We have not won any state championships yet but we are getting closer.
Too many club coaches try to make money, which the parents have to pay and if the parent can't pay the player doesn't play. I am from the Netherlands and live here for the last forty years and coached youth soccer for twenty five years. Most clubs here don't have a home, a club house like in the Netherlands in every village. Their advantage is that you stay connected after your playing days, as a parent or coach or be a volunteer even when you retire. At my old club there are more adult teams than youth teams, it also easy to recruit a coach. Practices are done by a paid trainer who does most teams practices. One trainer coaches more than one team, practice is the most important for a player development and team work. Game day can be facilitated if needed by a trained parent. Around the world soccer is mostly a working class sport in the US its for those that can afford it leaving out many talents. For all the years in coaching I was never compensated , it was done for the love of the sport and not to make a living.
Pay to play in the USA is the problem. Youth clubs in the USA are only there to make money for the coaching staff. There were several kids in my boys’ soccer team who were extremely talented but couldn’t afford to continue because the parents were poor. Instead we were stuck with some rich kids with far less talent in our team.
@@rodgermurphy5721 while being poor doesn't, it does shut those players out of the top academies and shrinks any potential talent pool due to their parents unable to afford to consistently pay the fees, this is also true for kids from middle class families. To be honest, most of the top athletes in the US come from the middle class. In this day and age very few kids coming up and playing any of the major sports come from poor backgrounds and hardly any unless their parents were pro athletes come from the upper class.
Not really different than the so-called major league sports. With no relegation, perennial losing teams which are barely competitive, on a good day, still are treated like they belong. The US is an almost entirely money-driven society…..which is why it will collapse relatively soon.
As an Irish born lover of sports, now living in the United States, I TOTALLY agree with you. Our "World Series" in baseball because a team in Canada is included. We are behind in ALL fields, maybe accepting athletics. And you are also correct about our money driven society. MONEY, and CORRUPTION tied to money, have corroded our whole system, and it is ALREADY collapsing around us.
We have successfully Americanized soccer: it's about making money, not making the best product possible (as is every venture in this country). We're the best! (at making profits)
There is too much competition from other sports in the USA, and not enough athletes to go around for soccer.....but everything you say is also true. I saw first hand that with the 26 different soccer academies in my metro area that the more you pay the more you play. So the most mediocre kids were getting all the playing time.
I enjoy most of your videos . As far as coaching and youth programs you’re pretty spot on. When it comes too usmnt you’re only partially right. This is our most talented generation , they’ve done more overseas than any other previous generation. The problem is Coach. I know a lot of people say never question a Coach. When it comes to youth I agree there. When it comes to professional absolutely question. Reality is Greg Berhalter try to make a system work. Instead of evaluating his talent and finding a system that works best for the players. I could go into numerous other examples. But until our golden generation sees a new coach to get the best out of them. We really don’t know what this group can do. There’s other things you could point to and I’m not saying the players aren’t at fault. But I think the large portion of it is a Coach.
The problem at the the professional level is that we have a franchise model in which if you have enough money you buy into a particular league. Some clubs have bought their way into promotion to MLS. If you try to establish a pro/rel system the clubs in danger of relegation would just go to court arguing that they bought into a specific league. This is what happens when you have a top down system instead of a more organic system where there are clubs first, then leagues established as in most of the rest of the world. You can talk about pro/rel all you want, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for it to happen. As for this team I think too many people drank the kool aid that this was a golden generation that could not do anything but improve. Would a new coach make a difference with these players? Who knows
A system that would force the development of clubs and training centers is to say "well guys in 20 years we will pass regulations for all pro league clubs: Obligation that among the 18 players on a match sheet there be at least 10 players who have passed through the club's training center".
The problem is us, the older generation. We didn't play so we don't have the skill/knowledge to pass down. It's diff when your uncle played, grandfather played, and dad played and mom played. And they watch all the pro games together and there is passion. We have that here for USA football, basketball, and baseball. It's only natural for leaders in organized youth club sports to make some $$ they put a lot of time into it- truly skilled & gifted youth players will get scholarships... happens in all youth sports. Tennis and basketball for sure. There is not enough passion and history yet, look at the stadiums for USA games- not full. Games sometimes only on weird cable channels. Telemundo has the games.... why? more passion.
There's a ton of talent out there that the US is missing out on. Until pay to play changes we will never win anything worth while. It's all a money making business.
A big part of the problem is geographical disadvantage. Europe and South America are pressure cookers of talent, that have many good teams in the region they play regularly. We have mostly small poor countries that can't develop players as competition in the region. This will never change as well
My experience in Argentina (which is a large country) suggests otherwise. They have the culture and system in place where very few if any good players are missed.
@@CoachRorySoccer How do propose we fix the problem of low quality opposition in the region? It's tough becoming world class playing Jamaica and El Salvador
@@rodgermurphy5721 We can play friendlies with anyone we want. It’s true our region is poor but I think that’s less of an issue than the systemic problems
@@CoachRorySoccer I think thats a big part of the problem. We have more talented players than ever...but not a better team! It's important we have a good coach and Greg is so not the guy One off friendlies are good, but could never replace the quality or consistency of opposition in other regions like Europe and South America
Even the players overseas are mostly there due to the influence of the federation and sponsors. That's why Americans always tend to go to the same clubs: Dortmund, Fulham, Everton, AC Milan, etc.
Exactly! Most "clubs" here are not real clubs, they are academies. Where you pay to play. Going to tournaments and playing 3-4 games in a weekend is just insane and dangerous. But money talks, and the federation and associations know that; and while ignorant parents keep paying those excessive amounts of money nothing will change.
👊🏽💥...the commercialing and marketing are in excellent form! As for the USA WC squad, not so sure but i bet theyl refs and fifa can throw us a few calls since were hosting the tournament! ⚽
Hey Coach. I agree with the sentiment around lack of motivation to develop players. Curious on your take on development of technical ability vs tactical ability. I see with some coaches where there is a HUGE focus on rondos but their kids can't take on a player 1v1.
I’m glad you are speaking truth my kid played Ecnl the coach was unqualified and the club only wants fees they have 28 players per team only a few are actually good enough to be there Specially the team managers kid he’s always the liability of the team but he plays 90 % of the time LOL
I 100% agree with you as a parent academy kids and rec league coach, I agree. But what are we supposed to do? How can we change this when we are in the system and want our kids to play and practice weekly. What are our options? The only option seems to move overseas? The other thing I'm concerned about is why couldn't we keep sports at the schools. I mean you represent your school and develop at your school. Not at a "academy". Schools play each other, and you train at the school facilities. This reduces the strain on parents too.
This is a great idea for a video. But yes options are limited. Moving to another country isn’t realistic for most folks. The system is so broken and is not incentivizing merit based development.
Yea looking forward to that topic in a video if you end up making it. Really would like to see this improved at the grassroots level.... Instead of the USMNT blaming weak opposition such as Panama for their failures. @@CoachRorySoccer
Best American athletes go to NFL, NBA, MLB. Unless US fix this, never gonna get to European or Latina American level. Every single World Cup winning countries’ number one national sport is association football by a large margin. You walk down the street in US and ask a random American citizen to name USMNT roster. I bet 99 out of 100 Americans can’t even name one. In Europe, even the kids know the subs’ list.
I think that's a fallacy. In a country of 350,000, there should be plenty of good athletes for soccer. Look at the Euros; you have some very small countries giving the big soccer powers all they want. Plus, soccer isn't like American football or basketball; you don't have to be a Superman to reach the top levels. The emphasis is on skill and having a 'football/soccer brain.' To be among the best players, you don't have to be a physical Adonis. Plus, with very little exception, football and basketball bodies are entirely inappropriate for soccer.
The problem with US soccer is there is no connectivity with the players. Most of these guys have one or two passports and they don’t really have allegiance to America. A lot of them grew up abroad the differences if you were Uraguay player or Brazilian player or Argentinian player, you know your teammates, cause you grew up playing with them. We have all these star studied legacy players whose parents were famous US soccer players who got fast tracked into European clubs, a lot of them are really good but they didn’t grow up playing with each other
The component the other channels missed in their discussions. Our youth system is broken. It happens across all sports. RSA Rugby. MLB loss of American players of color. It all comes down to money and/or no defined long-term goals. Egos.
Spot on. Between the costs and the douchebag energy emitting from most of the parents, I quickly realized our system wasn't going to work for me or my kids. It's actually hard to pull for a team when I know that most of the players are a product of such a crap soccer culture.
changing the culture is only going to be possible when kids get to see professionals, even if only at USL level, in their neighborhoods, attending pro matches, wanting to be that grownup on the pitch they see when they attend matches and/or watch via media. USL has a chance, if it grows to 100+ clubs while drilling down at the local level. Huge stadia won't develop soccer culture, it has to be at the youth level.
“Solidarity mechanism” --- it's why clubs overseas are focused on creating the next Messi instead of collecting fees from parents. Let the clubs get a percentage of any contract that someone they develop signs and watch the focus shift from meaningless tournaments and recruiting only the biggest/fastest guys...to featuring the kids who can actually PLAY the sport. If only US Soccer saw the merits of this incentive program and enforced it...
“Almost every youth club in the world is trying to make money” I can only speak for Germany, where I grew up, but I can say that a vast majority of the youth and non-professional soccer club structure at large is entirely built on non-profit clubs. Germany allows non-profit sports clubs to be fully tax exempt (similarly to churches for example) which a broad selection of hyper local, youth-, non- and semi-pro clubs make use of. Yes, the large Bundesliga franchises might not be non-profit but the overwhelming majority of youth and non-pro soccer in Germany is entirely not for profit.
I've been saying for years the "pay to play" model has broken soccer in the US, and the ability to find and develop talent. Soccer got popular about 40 years too late in the U.S. 😢😢
@@raysullins5179 If it was up to me, U.S. Soccer would be a nationwide development program. Rigorous "tryouts" to make teams, free to those who make it from age 7 and up. Cutting those who don't progress to get better players every season. Lower talent is weeded out over time. I wish I knew what that would cost. 🤔
You missed one key element which is the education component. In order to develop players, we need to have better coaches who can organize, implement, and execute a meaningful practice session which translates into higher levels of play on game day. It is almost next to impossible to afford a coaching license in this country as the clubs push their coaches to enroll in courses. It seems to me that if you want players to benefit from better coaching, the USSF would be more willing to offer affordable opportunities. If you want to enroll in the B course it is close to four thousand dollars, not including the travel required if you happen to take the course in a different state. It cost even more to pursue an A license which is our professional level. It's all a money grab and the emphasis is on the money as your say in your opening statement. If it doesn't change, well then you know exactly what is the main priority of USSF.
Get rid of “elite” leagues which are pay to play. This goes for all US sports. There are many talented young kids out there that won’t get the attention since they aren’t part of the “elite” teams due to not being able to afford it.
We will not develop world class players until our professional teams have pro/rel. I am hopeful the Wrexham story continues to make its way into the wider US sports culture/understanding to help push this along because there is no way Garber is giving up pro/rel simply for improved competition. Geography plays a big part in MLS Next and ENCL opportunity as well as the quality of player in those leagues, I don't know if there is a solution to this, it is a big country. The quality of youth coaches is a real challenge. I see a lot of young coaches that bring good intensions, love of the game, and passion, but it often comes with ego and baggage and a lot do not last to grow into mature coaches. Therefore the youth clubs are constantly starting over with inexperienced coaches. The youth clubs are reacting to market conditions and as long as parents are buying, the clubs will sell the current environment. I feel that we need a full cultural change from the parents side, but I do not see that anywhere in the near future. I think you are right, we need more 1st teams at lower levels, where real competition can take place. I think USL 2 is a first step in this direction and is a real thing to support to see if it can really expand their academies and grow into something bigger than it is today. MLS has started limited solidarity payments, this is in the right direction for youth clubs but still pretty limited, and the big money is in on-selling to Europe, see above on world class player development. It is painful. The progress is so slow. Most frustrating, we absolutely have U12's in the US that are just as good as U12's in every other country in the world, no question. We just cannot get out of our own way to consistently develop players through their teenage years, to allow for improving players to get real chances to play on "top teams", to get proper evaluations of players that fit one youth coach's style of play or physical profiles but not another's and get stuck and discouraged or "unfairly" promoted. With all of the different leagues (that are not always that different in quality, but get recognized very differently by players, parents, and colleges), and politics, and mistreating players to keep their money in your club.... There is so much talent I do not believe that pay to play is to blame, it is an issue, but it is not the main reason. Every sport in the US is pay to play, swimming, tennis, golf, baseball, skiing, hockey, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, softball, there is no sport in the US that is not pay to play and we develop world class athletes in every sport. If we solve pay to play then great, but there is no way pay to play is the main thing to blame. Get pro/rel, get real competition.
Hello Coach Rory, I am writing an article about how the soccer system is flawed in America and id like to ask you some questions about it. I’d also like to use a couple quotes from your video, I would quote it and link your video in my article. Is there anyway I can reach you?
It's crucial that the Members of the USSF Board undergo a thorough evaluation. The problems start from the top, and we currently have ineffective leadership and no ambitious, visionary plan. Additionally, are there limitations on what we can pay the men's coach? Is it true that we can't offer a competitive salary for a top-tier manager because the men's coach cannot earn more than the women's coach, even though these are entirely different markets?
• Cindy Parlow Cone
• Nathán Goldberg Crenier
• JT Batson
• John Collins
• Lisa Carnoy
• Fritz Marth
• John Motta
• Carlos Cordeiro
• Don Garber
These board members are responsible for guiding the strategic direction and governance of U.S. Soccer. Changes need to be made and the noise needs to continue until something meaningful happens.
💯
Don't forget Matt "Betty" Crocker 🥣
Also the courts and people (fans) of our country too.
Yes the limitation on paying a top tier men's coach is because he can't be paid more than the women's coach...that is a huge part of the reason Berhalter was rehired...
We need to eliminate college soccer and go straight to a club system in which promotion and regulation will drive to a greater talent pool
This system pay to play is awful. I have a 13-year-old son who went to one of the top NY soccer academies tryouts, and he did really well. They came to me, they told me how good my son was. They also told me they wanted my son to play with their mls next team and NAL team. At the beginning they were very interested in my son; they texted me every day to make sure I received and accepted the offer package. When I saw the offer, they were asking over 5k to play with them. I wrote back at them and told them that my son would like to play for them, but we can't afford to spend that kind of money. You know what happened?They stopped chasing me thru text or email. I felt very discouraged that even with talent, they can even overlook your son if you don't have the money.
In other countries, if your kid shows potential they front the costs
From an external perspective, it seems to me that soccer in the US is a product to sell to the middle class. It’s not about developing high quality players. Nor even about developing character or simply good habits.
@@ofenomeno1381when I played club in Germany in the 90’s even though it was amateur level, we had promotion/relegation and the club footed the bill for all costs. If a pro club spotted me and wanted to sign me, even though I wasn’t a paid player with my current club, that pro team would have to pay a fee to the amateur club to reimburse them for their role in my development. It provided incentive for amateur teams to develop players at the grass roots level.
You’re not alone! It’s about the money not the athletes or the game.
Do American kids not just play in the park, bikes for goalposts etc, I understand that the school college system is more important in US but surely there must be scouting from MLS clubs going on.
Football isn’t a middle class sport … that is what the USA gets wrong
yep. It's as if players like Clint Dempsey and DaMarcus Beasley left the building but no one else is there. I've never identified with this set of Nats
@caballosinnombre3981 POSH boys can also play football. That's not the issue. They might, however, like football and think the MLS is bullshi* and be reluctant to participate.
"Sports" is becoming an upper-middle class sport. Every single sport is being infested with pay-to-play up-skilled robots. Give me the kids that learned to play with a busted up ball against the side of a shed any day.
Sametbing is happening with baseball. @amosmorgan3060
Dude, stop with this bs...just stop...thats far down the list of problems. @PacmanBrunner
At least in Germany football clubs exist to play football not to make money. With professional teams that may be different. But my small town alone has three football clubs. They don’t MAKE money, they use money to better the club, to expand the youth programs, to buy new kit, to pay the coaches. Clubs aren’t money making machines. They are providers of the game of football, especially to young people. Get your priorities straight.
Where do they get the money to "use the money to better the club?"
@@Montfortracing Membership fees, investors, sponsors, donations. But I‘m talking about the reason for existence, not sources of funding.
I love how almost every small town has a club. People play for the love of the game.
I am in a village in France with 520 inhabitants. There is a football club.
The pitch belongs to the town hall and they maintain it. The club pays for the jerseys, the balls, the posts... The town hall has 2 mini-vans that it lends for travel, the gasoline is paid by the club. I think everyone is a volunteer.
except for red bull Leipzig
The fact that the simplest, most affordable, and most common sport in the world is as expensive organized hockey is an absolute joke. There’s not even a lie you can use to justify this system. People need to stop paying or being involved with pay to play system entirely or this will never change.
Local clubs only care about results so it promotes their club and hence their pocket books. They don't care one bit about your child's development. We suffer from a lack of good coaching and a poor system as you rightfully point out.
Yep.
@@CoachRorySoccer I think you hit the point about soccer in the US, with pay to play or if you know someone you will play in the MLS or national team and so forth. The problem is coming from the US soccer federation, they don't have a system to follow for all youth in the US, while in Europe they use the same program for schools, clubs and youth national team.
It’s funny to me our youth divisions have promotion/relegation, but our pro leagues don’t
@@m.c.martin which leagues have promotion/relegation?
@@dstainer30 In Texas, I know they have 2 divisions with promotion/relegation and like 8 teams each at the Youth Level.
Texas Clubs also charge $300 as opposed to to California charging $3k.
That is why you’ve seen a lot of Talent come out of North Texas lately
I've been coaching at the youth system since the 90's in Florida and what describe is 200% true!
Thank you for coaching!
@@2852GUS How do you tolerate it? I am a finance professional who has coached as a hobby for many years, and I get so discouraged. All I really care about is player development, but parents really run these clubs at the end of the day…and all they care about how many games and tournaments we can stuff into a year. That is how they feel they are getting value for the money they pay, and in some sense I can see their point. The system overall is poorly designed.
There are 22 young men out there that could produce a World Cup trophy for the US but they go unnoticed. Youth soccer system in the US is absolute trash. From playing on turf to egotistical coaches, toxic parents, the cash grab and that's just scratching the surface.
Between my passion for soccer in America and the complexity of the US soccer problems, it’s difficult for me to avoid resorting to ranting when sharing my opinions. Well done, I appreciate everything you shared here. I think your points about money and merit are spot on. I want to share my observation that there seems also to be a lack of passion or interest amongst people in general or those who have local leadership over soccer. I’d argue that we have a contentment with mediocrity in our system or the opting to be indifferent about the quality of the development. This leads to me receiving U12-15 players that only seem to have received the product of a sense of false assurance that sometimes manifests itself as entitlement or arrogance. They think that since they’ve played soccer before, they’re good, when really they look like they’ve never touched a ball in their lives. For example, I corrected a boy’s toe stab pass into side footing the pass and he commented about his preference to do it his way and his parents were curious why he wouldn’t start certain games. There is a cultural sense in which our white boys get pummeled by schools with a higher Hispanic presence and I think it can be explained partially by this lack or passion for the game as a whole, families, youth systems, professional teams, boards, etc. I’ll have to give your channel a follow and see what else I can learn from you!
Great additions.
My son tried out for and was accepted by Fluminense youth academy at age 16 but it was unrealistic for me or my wife to move to Brazil which meant he could only train with them until he turned 18 and not actually play games under international rules. He came home and tried out for the Portland Timbers academy and they cut him. Identification of talent is really poor here and I agree fully that lack of relegation in MLS will never serve to develop internationally competitive teams or players. Hard to imagine a solution without drastic change.
Wow! What a story. Would love to hear more.
@@CoachRorySoccer He went to Brazil two summers in a row for three weeks at a time and after the second year he was invited to the team. He was a very athletic and unselfish two touch style player and made players around him better but his lack of selfishness caused him to be overlooked at Timbers Academy. He was a solid hold up center forward and had a very high conversion rate for scoring vs attempts. It was very frustrating. I will say, having three weeks in front of coaches makes it much easier to identify talent than a four hour tryout. He did play ODP for several years and ended up City of Portland high school player of the year and made the all state first team his senior year. Couldn't get on a D1 college team and burned out after being under a terrible D2 college coach for two years. Hardly plays anymore but is an avid skier and is enjoying that.
@@gordondunkeld6237 That's unfortunate. The U.S overlooks the fact that it's a team game and thinks we just need a few superstars. Just look at the USMNT. Players will take a shot with 2 defenders right in front of them instead of passing to the open man. Very selfish style of play.
The franchise system in US sports is just bizarre to outsiders. Americans love sports and they love capitalism, so they build their sports like a capitalist would, i.e. monopolised, money-making machines with no consequences for failure.
I mean, the WNBA has never turned a profit.
This isn't just a soccer problem in the US. Basketball is seeing a similar trend. Euro basketball players are becoming more popular and coming the pro ball more polished. A big driver is the club system for basketball.
Absolutely
@@AdamMCPAAmerican basketball started to trend downward once it started to look like the Euro academy system. AAU teams used to pull together kids with based of height and athletic talent not money. Now we shifted to these elite academies filling with former players kids with skills acquired form trainers but no creativity. We will never see another Ja Morant with this new system.
@gtjohns220 your argument is that not enough kids play pick up basketball?
For American hoop, it doesn't help when kids are playing 6 games a weekend and practicing half as much, if that. Club and AAU ball have lead to that.
Because 2 Europeans are great basketball players? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@mheiseus try again.
Guys, I spent the last 30 minutes reading the comments. I did not see anybody talking about the fact that the US kids do not play soccer on their own. It is not for lack of fields, it is cultural. I was born in Bulgaria and up till 5th grade I played out in the school yards, on asphalt, cement, clay, indoor, sometimes on grass, always small sided games with the other kids - sometimes for 5 hours a day!!! Only then a local club (that had a Professional first team) selected me. Yes, we never paid to play for that club, but that is not the point. I and a huge percentage of the kids - we just played on our own all the time! On the street you learn everything - you do not need a coach to teach you first touch, or how to pass, dribble, shoot or to fight for your teammates. While here, if a kid wants to play they need to be in a club, there is simply no other place to play. I think it is not a result of lack of relegation, which of course would be great to have. I think it is simply a result of the fact the general population watches, talks about and breaths other sports. I can always see kids in school yards here playing basketball, but not soccer! And there is no critical mass of kids that watches soccer either. And in the countries where Football (well - soccer) is a number one sport, we learn a lot from watching and supporting our teams. We do it daily, the way in US people watch baseball or basketball - daily. I have been coaching kids for about 10 years in US and I feel like US will never be an organically strong soccer nation. There are just too many things (among them sports) available, that soccer is drowned. It is like in the book Soccernomics, where the authors explain why the most popular and strongest clubs historically are either from Industrial centers (Manchester, Liverpool, Munich, Dortmund, Turin, etc) or from Capitals with Dictators (The first 8 European Cups were won by Real Madrid and Benfica during the Franco and whatever his name the dictator from Portugal was). The normal capitals just do not produce this kind of following, because of all the other options culturally and economically (A champion of Europe has never been from Paris, Berlin, Rome, Warsaw, Brussels, etc and London finally did it with Chelsea in 2008)
I totally agree. I have been saying for decades now (because I’m old enough to have been saying something for decades, which is crazy) that we don’t have a cultural passion for the sport, and it shows at the international level. It’s as if other countries “dance” or “breathe” soccer/football. We are a century or so late to the game, so it wasn’t something that got us through tough times. There weren’t kids playing in alleys, on the streets, on the farms. So this comment is dead on in saying it doesn’t come from the ground up. Or as the video alludes, from the youth level. We don’t have Peles, Ronaldos, Messi’s, etc., because the passion doesn’t start young enough here. Instead, it seems to me that we have looked at other countries and tried to model them, but it doesn’t quite work for us. We have a cultural passion for sports, for sure, but we haven’t found our groove with this one.
I spent tons of time playing by myself and the neighborhood kids after school. But a lot of people don't have close access to flat areas, at least where I'm at. Now I coach and our county only has 1 soccer field, and I can really tell the kids aren't used to how the ball behaves. Currently, however, I think our US team is failing for reasons besides talent level.
So true. Why does the USA continue to dominate in basketball? That very reason that little boys and many girls spend hours and hours shooting hoops in their driveways and in the parks after school and on the weekends. That sort of petry dish is where they learn to create and take risks and be aggressive with low stakes. That is how other countries much smaller (and poorer) than us are able to compete with us in soccer because their kids are playing this sport many hours outside of regular practice versus ours. So until we as a society get to a point where kids WANT to play this sport whenever and wherever they can...we will struggle to develop world class talent.
Thank you Rory! I was talking to my father about this because I have a few friends who work for the French Football Federation. They shared with me their model and how they have low barrier of entry to football due to public investment and they utilize a merit based system. I think we all know how great french players are. France also use football as form of soft power around the world. One of my friends is a coach for the FFF academy in Singapore. US exceptionalism is the bane for the US Soccer Federation. Also, my bold take along with your pitch for Promo/Releg system is to move the MLS and USL season to sync with the rest of the world. It is a gamble but it needs to be done.
changing soccer culture in the USA might just be getting our kids into futsal from U6-U12, then transitioning 7v7 1/2 pitch games and then finally up to full field soccer at U16. Futsal develops the foot skills needed later, that regular soccer coaches and clubs can't/won't.
Hey coach, Paco here and well said. PA has so much talent and I think an additional problem we have is that our country is so big and our program can't really handle the amount that we have. So many good players get over looked for others.
This sums up the problem in the US,,,
My son was in an U8 rec-level league and there was a team from a lower-income neighborhood who was undefeated for 2 years and the games were not close with any club. I volunteered to assist coaching one year and asked that teams coach how were they so good at this level. He mentioned that the team was actually a travel team but the parents wouldnt be able to pay the fees if they joined a travel-level league so it was much cheaper to stay in a rec league. You think any of those highly talented kids will ever get noticed?
Wow. So many stories like this.
This happens all over the Mid Atlantic/ DC metro area. So many don't see top levels because of cost...and many are kids of immigrants.
It's basically the same model for traveling teams 30 years ago when I played. Most important thing was my parents check clearing, not development.
Well said! I have been saying for years that the US will never be great until we have Promotion and Relegation. Overseas, the top tier teams want to develop youth so they can stay up and continue to make money. The lower tier teams also want to develop youth, in their academies, so they have a chance of being promoted to the big money in a number of years. There is no motivation in the US. If an MLS team wins, they get a trophy. If they get dead last, everything is the same other than a trophy. The financial motivation is not significant enough.
Every country is different and that isn’t much of problem as you think
@samplingmastersxlr8660 , I am talking specifically about countries with promotion and relegation pyramids in Europe, South America, etc.. I have been involved with youth soccer in the US for many years and have 3 kids in the system. The lack of motivation for development is a major problem. They have "MLS sponsored leagues". Those are super expensive and designed to make money and have positive press. Where are the club academies across the tiers? The top players are at Academies by 13 in England. Here they are going nowhere until after High School , unless they want to travel far away and spend a fortune.
@@gjudy29 my point is even with that in place it effect the national team that much
@samplingmastersxlr8660 , it is telling that the best players on our National Team all went to and developed in Europe. We need more depth on the USMNT though. We, more importantly, need a better HC. They will not reach their potential with Berhalter, imo. :(
@@gjudy29but how were our top players able to get to Europe? I thought Weston McKennie was part of the FC Dallas youth system, then he went to Schalke in Germany? But was he able to get to Europe because his parents had a lot of money?
Great take! I've always believed that in a country of 330 million, a winning 11 is already somewhere in the populace. However, without merit-based matriculation systems they will never be found or developed. The quickest fix (still easier said than done) would be implementing some sort of feeder relationship between youth clubs as feeders to pro clubs, setting up a model where clubs are incentivized to make their money on the back end once players have already been developed (rather than charging families on the front end), and better streamlining all current competitions (i.e. high school soccer which seems to get completely ignored by USSF, the different college organizations (i.e. NJCAA, NAIA, NCAA), and pro organizations. The MLS should have focused on sorting this system out rather than its strategy of bringing near retirement stars from overseas. I guess they make their money either way, but it would have been better for American soccer culture development to see that kids from all economic classes have an equal shot of making it in this sport.
It seems as if the game in America is about exclusion and making a select group of youngsters (upper class and white) feel safe and the ability to compete among each other for local status and bragging rights. It has nothing to do identifying and developing the best from any kid that does not fit into that paradigm. We need to develop youngsters with creativity, a first touch, and technical skills. The US needs to identify these players and subsidise their training fees and expenses.I could care less about the team working hard and having a fighting spirit, I want US players that can play, create, and don't have horrid first donkey kick touches.
Spot on!
“Upper Class and White”.
My my, you sound extremely racist.
We need to subsidize the fees for every player. Only then can we identify the generational talents that are good enough for the national teams. Identifying before subsidizing isn't going to be much help.
If you subsidize soccer, what will the other sports do? Who should provide the subsidy? Those on fixed incomes?
@@ensignunderwood5169 there are several ways to do this.
Was just having this EXACT conversation with my mom. The amount of money my parents paid for local clubs was insane. And we didn’t even live in a large market. 300-400 a season is just ridiculous.
My brother in law, who was with Chivas until he tore up his knee (unfortunately at a very young age) and coaches all of his kids today, has told me the same thing many times. There is no equity in how the system operates and until that is fixed, discovering and developing the best players probably will not happen.
It's the first video I'm seeing from you because I was interested in the reasons of the US disaster at the Copa America. I heard some weird take from so called experts and wanted to take a deeper look at the situation. I'm german and started playing at 4 years old (like most kids in germany) and the system you pointed out sounds terrible for a healthy progress on and off the pitch. I think it's a problem of the other bigger sports (where the US is clearly on top) and following that doesn't work in comparison to the other countries with soccer/football
Germany's 50+1 has enabled fans to control their clubs instead of being run by oligarchs (like we have in the USA). We will only do the right thing after trying every other possible wrong thing for many, many years.
US soccer system is the reason we aren’t World Cup champion but the disastrous copa America exit has more to do with having an incompetent manager.
I was one of the kids at the opening ceremonies in Orlando in '94. Met Michelle Akers, very nice and a tremendous player on the woman's side, and as a basketball player at the time left after the ceremony was done and played basketball. Once our athletes move away from our football, basketball, and baseball and touch the soccer field - and as you speak merit - our team will begin to win the World Cup.
Best analysis on the web. Yes! We need to reorganize the entire sport. Merit has to matter, not connection.
Just stumbled upon this channel. LOVE IT!
Hey thanks!!
I have friends who took their son to Spain for this reason. He could never have developed as a player if they stayed in the U.S.
Yep. This is a common story
This also requires resources that simply many don't have.
Must be very rich to move accros the world like that
Yeah that really pooe kid moved across tge world with his family.
I believe that a focus on "stars" here in the U.S. rather than teams is also part of the problem, and this is an issue that has been growing for a few decades. I just don't feel that other countries/cultures focus on the individual quite so much. Yes, individual skill is very important, but you won't win without your team.
Agree. England is full of stars but almost empty in trophies. And look Ecuador, just for an example, tie to Argentina this week, lost to Argentina 0-1 last year in Buenos Aires, 5th in the Qualifiers, that is a team that in paper should not perform that well, but "surprisingly" knows how to get good results. It is like "we are Americans, we have talented players, we must win games". But the logic behind team sports don't work like that. it takes a lot more than good players to create a good team
Coach, I agree with you on your assessment of the problem, but I’d love to hear your solution on going forward. I’ve been following the 3Four3 guys and they echo the same sentiment. Do you think it’s time to institute merit based system in your region, county, state? How do you get leagues like EDP, ECNL, etc. to adjust their processes to bring merit based promotions into the picture? Is this something that could be achieved State by state until USSF gets their act together to make it a nationwide program?
At least implement pro/rel in youth game.
Thanks for sharing! Love to hear these kind of stories.
Something that I think you said that's being overlooked, but very much at the heart of it, is that it's the raison de etre of the clubs themselves: What they are being incentivized to do.
In Europe, what I've seen, is that you have professionals who make their money producing INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS for clubs, who pay a fee to use those players that have been developed. This weights everything. I don't even think it's about promotion/relegation as you've suggested. I think it's more to the point that we don't have an infrastructure to where everyone, from the largest city to the smallest town, sees success in terms of "professionals produced". Rather, we see it in terms of "wins" at the youth level.
We obsess over team success at levels that no one else even cares about. When I was last in Germany I would ask people in my godparent's little village in the Franken valley how good the academy in the local town was. "Excellent". Then I would ask what their season record had been last season. So I changed the question. Why do you say they're good? "So many top players. Two are with Eintract Frankfurt, one being promoted from the B team this year. Another two were bought by Hanover...".
Priorities.
Great points. I do think lack of pro/rel is huge, but your spot on with player development incentives.
Thanks for saying what we all are thinking. Soccer is a mess in the USA.
Sure is.
I'm very fortunate to have a facility here that has European and Brazilian coaches, all former pros. The love of the game and the approach is drastically different from the American attitude and philosophy. Americans as a whole don't embrace and love football the way the rest of the world does, unless that happens we will never win a WC.
I coach U10 Boys and one season we played as team USA and the kids did not care that we were team USA until I told them that we were representing the Women's team. All of a sudden there was a lot of pride and pep talks being led by the kids. The Men's team and the ladder to get there is a joke and it's so broken.
Wow!
I’ve Ben coaching my nephews team for the last 6 years & they don’t let them head the ball until they are 11 years old. Do you think they do these stupid rule in Argentina or Spain….?
They don’t. Been to Argentina
I moved here in 1982 at the age of 14. This country seems to have been stuck in a soccer time warp. Moments of excellence, but really no further along than it was back then. Sure it's more popular, but it is not any better. The American soccer culture is awful. I love America and hope it gets its act together. Happy 4th of July everyone.
Having coached U12 through U16, recreational and competitive; the system is broken. I saw a video on why kids quit youth sports, and soccer in particular, it ticked every box on why my son stopped playing. Sad.
Yep
@@vladimpaler3498 imagine quitting the game at 15 or 16…just when you are getting good! The system must be awful to have such outcomes.
We saw this, and thus focused on having our kids enjoy the game, go playing pickup with their friends, just hanging out. It worked. Both our kids continued to play college club during their undergrad years. My hope is to have grandchildren to continue this love of the game, as well as work on foot skills from 2-10. I can't change US soccer culture, but I can reinforce good soccer culture at home.
@@Michael-cb5nm Even today my son wishes he still played. We still love the sport, and nothing is better than having him watch with me. I never played and it is difficult for him to communicate to me how really wonderful the game is to play.
@@vladimpaler3498 He should just start playing again, at any level. I’m 48, and started up again last year after a 15 year hiatus. I’ll probably play until I die.
Ive said the same for years. This USA team, if you just look at the passing its not even elite. Nothing changed. I would also add the mens national team needs to play copa libertadores.
Yep
The Copa Libertadores is for South American Clubs not national teams
@@ahayahyashayah9093 yeah, that is what I meant
The US sees it as an entertainment industry to exploit as opposed to a lifestyle. Communities that rally around their teams, relegation systems, funneling the best to the top, is all what other countries manage to do. These business interests have go to learn eventually that culture and community are more valuable than cold cash. Sports are best when they represent the people not the business.
100%.
100% correct! Our players are just not as hungry as their counterparts from the rest of the world!
We run a rec league. But we are working on having tryouts for 9-11yr team to be more competitive and play other competitive leagues and help boost their growth into middle school. I’m just trying to feed my high school with better players.
I've been playing this game since 1990 and have played in multiple leagues. Won the NPSL National Championship in 2009, but it never felt like a true National Championship since there was the PDL league coinciding for adults. Luckily I grew up before there was MLS NEXT, ENCL, Academy or whatever youth academy leagues that have popped up and moved it. It was just one US CLUB based league nationally where if you did well, it actually indicated that your club team was good.
I'd be curious into how much money the USSF have....are we there yet with a strong MLS infrustructure to subsidize a pyramid of leagues that is supported by the top? We are in such a free market, wild wild west approach and esp the last 20 years, that it is hindering our abilities and organization. While we have improved, there is no solidified approach to playing due to the million of clubs out there. In Idaho, we now have the Idaho Premier League that took the best clubs. This is not ok and of course they are clubs that will have the financial backing.
Now we have som many leagues i've lost count.
Love all your coaching videos. Keep posting.
Do you think Europe has these debates about basketball? LOL
For real though, great stuff coach! You are legit an inspiration to myself and my club. We are starting two new select teams this year with low costs and all us coaches are volunteering because our kids are asking for more. Trying to DIY so we don't have to join a club like Rush etc. for $5k a player. Keeping the joy of "play" alive and hopefully it'll be recognized again someday.
From an European point of view. Americans need to start from the basics how to stop the ball, how to pass the ball. There is very little ball control in American players or creativity. Solving these is a step in the right direction.
"... how to stop the ball ..."
Yes. Everything depends on a player's first touch. If a player cannot "catch" the ball properly, then he will lose it immediately, and he will never have the opportunity to control it, shield it, run with it, pass it, shoot it.
(Also, if a player has a good first touch, then he is likely to be good at one-touch football, which is a nightmare for defences.)
@@MarkRyan-u3u yes that’s a conversation I had with a friend from Italy, he told me the bambinos are first taught how to stop the ball. Which makes perfect sense.
so america has biden control? the first touch of a rapist
I coached youth soccer from 1995 to 2008, developing players ages U10 through college at every level of play from recreation to premier level. In that time I served as trainer, fitness coordinator, team manager, recruiter, assistant coach, head coach, youth development coordinator and coaching director for District 7 (UT), Olympic Development Coach, and Utah State University men's Club team "B" coach. In 2008 I had to step away after attending the USA Soccer hosted National C licensing after being subjected to a "quota" system being implemented by the head of the program where they were trying to promote class based advancement... and unfortunately I was born the wrong color and gender to qualify for the advancement to a "C" national coaching position.
At the time I attended the certification, I was coaching two high school elite teams, coordinating the coaching education for all of the coaches in N.Utah, as well as recruiting coaches and developing what is now the RSL Academy that was put into effect by RSL following DelLoy Hansen buying the RSL Franchise. My coaching qualifications and abilities far exceeded the majority of my class, and I passed all of the written and on-field exams with better than average scores, but the head coach of the certification was latino and he favored two others that were likewise latino, but had not passed the written or field testing. I appealed to the assistant coach and to their supervisor, and through both agreed that merit was earned for my licensing, they could not overrule the "head coach's" determination. Ironically that coach was later dismissed from US soccer for exactly those same actions at another camp, yet my situation was never revisited.
I have a 14 year old daughter who could excel at high school basketball, but she's not been brought up in "the system" used by the high school coaching staff, and likely won't make the team because they don't know her rather than whether or not she can play basketball. I don't have the financial means to buy them a new coaches lounge and fund their uniforms to "earn" my daughter a spot on the team, so we are looking at other activities for her to be engaged in. It is a sad state for all of our youth athletes of many sports...
Wow! Thank you for sharing!
It's the stubbornness with which US sports are unwilling to broaden their perspective. US soccer's only goal should be to build a solid base of local clubs (somewhere between 60 and 80,000 nationwide), with performance and recreational teams at senior level and a youth academy providing for all ages. This allows academy players to stay within the club. (I'm Dutch, I never was a great player, playing in midfield or left back, playing for my local club from 7 until 32, first in our academy and from 18 on in recreational teams)
The pyramid system with promotion and relegation is very important, except for the under 11s. Clubs need the aspiration to go up, to grow and develop. But also the need to win, to survive and when you lose or get relegated to pull yourself up and find the mentality to restore. And when you as a club are well rooted in your community these up and downs might even strengthen those roots.
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in texas its 100 degrees today, its too hot for any kids to just go out and play all day during the summer...I feel bad for my kids
Coach, this video is the first time i've heard of training compensation and solidarity payments. It seems like this would be a great way to help support youth soccer throughout the nation. If this was implemented in the US, should colleges have to pay for training compensation? Also, it's a little disheartening to see that this issue has been on-going for several decades now. Just stumbled across a video of Taylor Twellman addressing the sames issues you've been trying to shine light on. "Twellman: U.S. Soccer Needs To Address ‘Pay-To-Play’ System"
Yeah. A lot of people don’t realize youth soccer can be subsided by this and other means.
County's that play out of the back have been playing out of the back from the time they were seven
Our merit system is money!
Yep
Well said!
I have to ask and maybe you have answered this before... What do we do in the meantime? What if we don't have the means to send my kids to Europe or to the academies? Heck it's unrealistic to make the hour drive to San Diego where there are bigger named clubs. I don't think my wife is going to let them go to Mexico either 🤣. Any recommendations???
Do they have Mexican passports? Usually it is best to leave the country. It’s very difficult to break through here.
😂
@@CoachRorySoccer nah man we are gringos! Can't afford out of country... I'm just a lowly ER doc. Maybe you could set up shop here in Temecula? 🙏🙏🙏
This guy is 100% right.
I completely agree with you. The youth soccer system doesn't work. MLS teams do not care about developing players either. The fact that there is no relagation like in other contries does not give an incentive to MLS teams and players to get better. There are no real or well organized soccer academies or farms like in Spain, Argentina, and Uruguay. That's a big issue. You can't look at soccer like any other American sports because it is not. Also US has to get a more experienced soccer coach otherwise nothing is going to change.
I think the best way to look at it is ask yourself
Why hasn’t Italy made the switch to Starbucks for coffee?
Does one think the best quality of coffee comes from mega corporations or closed entities with patents and rights?
Or does it get made from the people who work on their craft day to day as part of a culture?
Given the salary cap in the MLS, there is a huge bonus to having home grown players that can contribute to your team before they start earning a lot. Columbus Crew is an excellent example.
Whatever system the MLS moves to, we must ensure we don’t wind up with a “big 6” and lower levels like the EFL that spends its way to insolvency.
I doubt MLS will move/change to any system. Its not in there best interest.
GB is the most clueless USMNT Coach 🤪🤣😂
Something I saw time and again was the end of young talent because they've been told over and over how good they are. They naturally come to believe they no longer need to work on improving, no pressure, no friction. Much is promised to these kids, but then they reach u-16 or u-19 or high school soccer and everyone is playing faster. They're unable to make the mental leap that everyone is now better than they are. They're playing the game at a 12-year-old pace and contributing nothing. I've seen this with boys and girls. Heck, I saw it when I was at that age, it's nothing new. "Stakes," as Coach says, affect players as well. The Uruguay match was lost in 2016 when the Pay-to-Play coaching lobby won out.
Yep
So in defense of our local club - we have a select fee of $500 which includes all training, the kit and two tournaments. To be fair almost all coaches do not get paid. In addition we get sponsors who provide funds for kids that cannot afford the $500. Those kids only pay for the kit or nothing at all.
We are competitive at Division 2 and 3 level and have had a fair number of players who have gone on to play ODP and to play in college. We had one girl who made it to regional ODP camp.
Do we lose kids to higher level clubs? - yes some. And several have come back after finding out things are not so great at those higher priced clubs.
So here is at least part of a solution-
1. Focus on keeping costs down.
2. Use local coaches who played at least in high school and will coach for the love of the sport. Give them a break on their kids club fees.
3. Get sponsors who will help offset costs so more kids can play- especially lower income kids.
4. Club pays for coaches to go to license classes and other coaching training.
5. Add an academy for higher level kids
6. We have a coaching director who is paid and definitely earns his salary- he runs academy training, camps and coaches the highest level teams year round
We have not won any state championships yet but we are getting closer.
Great stuff!
Too many club coaches try to make money, which the parents have to pay and if the parent can't pay the player doesn't play. I am from the Netherlands and live here for the last forty years and coached youth soccer for twenty five years. Most clubs here don't have a home, a club house like in the Netherlands in every village. Their advantage is that you stay connected after your playing days, as a parent or coach or be a volunteer even when you retire. At my old club there are more adult teams than youth teams, it also easy to recruit a coach. Practices are done by a paid trainer who does most teams practices. One trainer coaches more than one team, practice is the most important for a player development and team work. Game day can be facilitated if needed by a trained parent. Around the world soccer is mostly a working class sport in the US its for those that can afford it leaving out many talents. For all the years in coaching I was never compensated , it was done for the love of the sport and not to make a living.
So true.
Men's team reminds me of 2018 when we missed qualifying, except we have the get out of jail free card by being the hosts in 2026.
Pay to play in the USA is the problem. Youth clubs in the USA are only there to make money for the coaching staff. There were several kids in my boys’ soccer team who were extremely talented but couldn’t afford to continue because the parents were poor. Instead we were stuck with some rich kids with far less talent in our team.
Being poor doesn't make you a better player
@@rodgermurphy5721 while being poor doesn't, it does shut those players out of the top academies and shrinks any potential talent pool due to their parents unable to afford to consistently pay the fees, this is also true for kids from middle class families. To be honest, most of the top athletes in the US come from the middle class. In this day and age very few kids coming up and playing any of the major sports come from poor backgrounds and hardly any unless their parents were pro athletes come from the upper class.
@@michaelphillips2629 Whatever you say amigo
Great stuff as always!
BINGO!!!!!! You've nailed it.
This is typical US short term gains vs long term success mentality. It permeates everything.
Not really different than the so-called major league sports. With no relegation, perennial losing teams which are barely competitive, on a good day, still are treated like they belong.
The US is an almost entirely money-driven society…..which is why it will collapse relatively soon.
As an Irish born lover of sports, now living in the United States, I TOTALLY agree with you. Our "World Series" in baseball because a team in Canada is included. We are behind in ALL fields, maybe accepting athletics.
And you are also correct about our money driven society. MONEY, and CORRUPTION tied to money, have corroded our whole system, and it is ALREADY collapsing around us.
We have successfully Americanized soccer: it's about making money, not making the best product possible (as is every venture in this country). We're the best! (at making profits)
There is too much competition from other sports in the USA, and not enough athletes to go around for soccer.....but everything you say is also true. I saw first hand that with the 26 different soccer academies in my metro area that the more you pay the more you play. So the most mediocre kids were getting all the playing time.
I enjoy most of your videos . As far as coaching and youth programs you’re pretty spot on. When it comes too usmnt you’re only partially right. This is our most talented generation , they’ve done more overseas than any other previous generation. The problem is Coach. I know a lot of people say never question a Coach. When it comes to youth I agree there. When it comes to professional absolutely question. Reality is Greg Berhalter try to make a system work. Instead of evaluating his talent and finding a system that works best for the players. I could go into numerous other examples. But until our golden generation sees a new coach to get the best out of them. We really don’t know what this group can do. There’s other things you could point to and I’m not saying the players aren’t at fault. But I think the large portion of it is a Coach.
Understood. To me this is a symptom of the systemic disease.
The problem at the the professional level is that we have a franchise model in which if you have enough money you buy into a particular league. Some clubs have bought their way into promotion to MLS. If you try to establish a pro/rel system the clubs in danger of relegation would just go to court arguing that they bought into a specific league. This is what happens when you have a top down system instead of a more organic system where there are clubs first, then leagues established as in most of the rest of the world. You can talk about pro/rel all you want, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for it to happen. As for this team I think too many people drank the kool aid that this was a golden generation that could not do anything but improve. Would a new coach make a difference with these players? Who knows
A system that would force the development of clubs and training centers is to say "well guys in 20 years we will pass regulations for all pro league clubs: Obligation that among the 18 players on a match sheet there be at least 10 players who have passed through the club's training center".
The problem is us, the older generation. We didn't play so we don't have the skill/knowledge to pass down. It's diff when your uncle played, grandfather played, and dad played and mom played. And they watch all the pro games together and there is passion. We have that here for USA football, basketball, and baseball. It's only natural for leaders in organized youth club sports to make some $$ they put a lot of time into it- truly skilled & gifted youth players will get scholarships... happens in all youth sports. Tennis and basketball for sure. There is not enough passion and history yet, look at the stadiums for USA games- not full. Games sometimes only on weird cable channels. Telemundo has the games.... why? more passion.
100% agree.
There's a ton of talent out there that the US is missing out on. Until pay to play changes we will never win anything worth while. It's all a money making business.
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A big part of the problem is geographical disadvantage. Europe and South America are pressure cookers of talent, that have many good teams in the region they play regularly. We have mostly small poor countries that can't develop players as competition in the region. This will never change as well
My experience in Argentina (which is a large country) suggests otherwise. They have the culture and system in place where very few if any good players are missed.
@@CoachRorySoccer How do propose we fix the problem of low quality opposition in the region? It's tough becoming world class playing Jamaica and El Salvador
@@rodgermurphy5721 We can play friendlies with anyone we want. It’s true our region is poor but I think that’s less of an issue than the systemic problems
@@CoachRorySoccer I think thats a big part of the problem. We have more talented players than ever...but not a better team! It's important we have a good coach and Greg is so not the guy
One off friendlies are good, but could never replace the quality or consistency of opposition in other regions like Europe and South America
Even the players overseas are mostly there due to the influence of the federation and sponsors. That's why Americans always tend to go to the same clubs: Dortmund, Fulham, Everton, AC Milan, etc.
Great point.
Bradly was the best national coach ever.he understood the American style of play.
Exactly!
Most "clubs" here are not real clubs, they are academies. Where you pay to play. Going to tournaments and playing 3-4 games in a weekend is just insane and dangerous. But money talks, and the federation and associations know that; and while ignorant parents keep paying those excessive amounts of money nothing will change.
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👊🏽💥...the commercialing and marketing are in excellent form! As for the USA WC squad, not so sure but i bet theyl refs and fifa can throw us a few calls since were hosting the tournament! ⚽
Hey Coach. I agree with the sentiment around lack of motivation to develop players. Curious on your take on development of technical ability vs tactical ability. I see with some coaches where there is a HUGE focus on rondos but their kids can't take on a player 1v1.
gotta have basics technically. I mean it all depends on the level of the player/team and also what type of experience they are looking for.
I’m glad you are speaking truth my kid played Ecnl the coach was unqualified and the club only wants fees they have 28 players per team only a few are actually good enough to be there
Specially the team managers kid he’s always the liability of the team but he plays 90 % of the time LOL
I 100% agree with you as a parent academy kids and rec league coach, I agree. But what are we supposed to do? How can we change this when we are in the system and want our kids to play and practice weekly. What are our options? The only option seems to move overseas?
The other thing I'm concerned about is why couldn't we keep sports at the schools. I mean you represent your school and develop at your school. Not at a "academy". Schools play each other, and you train at the school facilities. This reduces the strain on parents too.
This is a great idea for a video. But yes options are limited. Moving to another country isn’t realistic for most folks. The system is so broken and is not incentivizing merit based development.
Yea looking forward to that topic in a video if you end up making it. Really would like to see this improved at the grassroots level.... Instead of the USMNT blaming weak opposition such as Panama for their failures. @@CoachRorySoccer
Best American athletes go to NFL, NBA, MLB. Unless US fix this, never gonna get to European or Latina American level. Every single World Cup winning countries’ number one national sport is association football by a large margin. You walk down the street in US and ask a random American citizen to name USMNT roster. I bet 99 out of 100 Americans can’t even name one. In Europe, even the kids know the subs’ list.
I think that's a fallacy. In a country of 350,000, there should be plenty of good athletes for soccer. Look at the Euros; you have some very small countries giving the big soccer powers all they want. Plus, soccer isn't like American football or basketball; you don't have to be a Superman to reach the top levels. The emphasis is on skill and having a 'football/soccer brain.' To be among the best players, you don't have to be a physical Adonis. Plus, with very little exception, football and basketball bodies are entirely inappropriate for soccer.
The problem with US soccer is there is no connectivity with the players. Most of these guys have one or two passports and they don’t really have allegiance to America. A lot of them grew up abroad the differences if you were Uraguay player or Brazilian player or Argentinian player, you know your teammates, cause you grew up playing with them. We have all these star studied legacy players whose parents were famous US soccer players who got fast tracked into European clubs, a lot of them are really good but they didn’t grow up playing with each other
Just discovered this channel. Very interesting stuff 👍
Thanks!!
The component the other channels missed in their discussions. Our youth system is broken. It happens across all sports. RSA Rugby. MLB loss of American players of color. It all comes down to money and/or no defined long-term goals. Egos.
💯 the youth game is never mentioned on tv or big channels/media.
Spot on. Between the costs and the douchebag energy emitting from most of the parents, I quickly realized our system wasn't going to work for me or my kids.
It's actually hard to pull for a team when I know that most of the players are a product of such a crap soccer culture.
Yep
changing the culture is only going to be possible when kids get to see professionals, even if only at USL level, in their neighborhoods, attending pro matches, wanting to be that grownup on the pitch they see when they attend matches and/or watch via media. USL has a chance, if it grows to 100+ clubs while drilling down at the local level. Huge stadia won't develop soccer culture, it has to be at the youth level.
“Solidarity mechanism” --- it's why clubs overseas are focused on creating the next Messi instead of collecting fees from parents. Let the clubs get a percentage of any contract that someone they develop signs and watch the focus shift from meaningless tournaments and recruiting only the biggest/fastest guys...to featuring the kids who can actually PLAY the sport. If only US Soccer saw the merits of this incentive program and enforced it...
💯
It’s sad that soccer is run this way in this country but no other sports are done this way crazy
“Almost every youth club in the world is trying to make money”
I can only speak for Germany, where I grew up, but I can say that a vast majority of the youth and non-professional soccer club structure at large is entirely built on non-profit clubs.
Germany allows non-profit sports clubs to be fully tax exempt (similarly to churches for example) which a broad selection of hyper local, youth-, non- and semi-pro clubs make use of. Yes, the large Bundesliga franchises might not be non-profit but the overwhelming majority of youth and non-pro soccer in Germany is entirely not for profit.
I've been saying for years the "pay to play" model has broken soccer in the US, and the ability to find and develop talent. Soccer got popular about 40 years too late in the U.S. 😢😢
And just how are you going to pay for it?
@@raysullins5179 If it was up to me, U.S. Soccer would be a nationwide development program. Rigorous "tryouts" to make teams, free to those who make it from age 7 and up. Cutting those who don't progress to get better players every season. Lower talent is weeded out over time. I wish I knew what that would cost. 🤔
Thank you for talking about this.
Run for president. You make 1,000 more sense that anybody in power right now.
Love to!
Is there a mechanism to make the major changes needed for US football? It seems like a colossal effort even to change the head coach.
Unfortunately no. We are stuck in these cycles on mediocrity because of the way the system is set up.
@@CoachRorySoccer Thanks coach , for your depressing but accurate prompt reply
You missed one key element which is the education component. In order to develop players, we need to have better coaches who can organize, implement, and execute a meaningful practice session which translates into higher levels of play on game day. It is almost next to impossible to afford a coaching license in this country as the clubs push their coaches to enroll in courses. It seems to me that if you want players to benefit from better coaching, the USSF would be more willing to offer affordable opportunities. If you want to enroll in the B course it is close to four thousand dollars, not including the travel required if you happen to take the course in a different state. It cost even more to pursue an A license which is our professional level. It's all a money grab and the emphasis is on the money as your say in your opening statement. If it doesn't change, well then you know exactly what is the main priority of USSF.
Agreed. Part of the overall systemic issue
Get rid of “elite” leagues which are pay to play. This goes for all US sports. There are many talented young kids out there that won’t get the attention since they aren’t part of the “elite” teams due to not being able to afford it.
We will not develop world class players until our professional teams have pro/rel. I am hopeful the Wrexham story continues to make its way into the wider US sports culture/understanding to help push this along because there is no way Garber is giving up pro/rel simply for improved competition. Geography plays a big part in MLS Next and ENCL opportunity as well as the quality of player in those leagues, I don't know if there is a solution to this, it is a big country. The quality of youth coaches is a real challenge. I see a lot of young coaches that bring good intensions, love of the game, and passion, but it often comes with ego and baggage and a lot do not last to grow into mature coaches. Therefore the youth clubs are constantly starting over with inexperienced coaches. The youth clubs are reacting to market conditions and as long as parents are buying, the clubs will sell the current environment. I feel that we need a full cultural change from the parents side, but I do not see that anywhere in the near future. I think you are right, we need more 1st teams at lower levels, where real competition can take place. I think USL 2 is a first step in this direction and is a real thing to support to see if it can really expand their academies and grow into something bigger than it is today. MLS has started limited solidarity payments, this is in the right direction for youth clubs but still pretty limited, and the big money is in on-selling to Europe, see above on world class player development. It is painful. The progress is so slow. Most frustrating, we absolutely have U12's in the US that are just as good as U12's in every other country in the world, no question. We just cannot get out of our own way to consistently develop players through their teenage years, to allow for improving players to get real chances to play on "top teams", to get proper evaluations of players that fit one youth coach's style of play or physical profiles but not another's and get stuck and discouraged or "unfairly" promoted. With all of the different leagues (that are not always that different in quality, but get recognized very differently by players, parents, and colleges), and politics, and mistreating players to keep their money in your club.... There is so much talent I do not believe that pay to play is to blame, it is an issue, but it is not the main reason. Every sport in the US is pay to play, swimming, tennis, golf, baseball, skiing, hockey, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, softball, there is no sport in the US that is not pay to play and we develop world class athletes in every sport. If we solve pay to play then great, but there is no way pay to play is the main thing to blame. Get pro/rel, get real competition.
Hello Coach Rory,
I am writing an article about how the soccer system is flawed in America and id like to ask you some questions about it. I’d also like to use a couple quotes from your video, I would quote it and link your video in my article. Is there anyway I can reach you?
Sure. Use whatever you want here. Email me too. Coachrorysoccer@gmail.com
Would like Pochettino as a possible coach replacement? He is currently unemployed.
Doubt it. Unlikely they fire Gregg.
@@CoachRorySoccer Well... he should resign! 😡