USMNT - ‘23 and beyond (1 Viewer)

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efil4stnias said:
he, like Tyler, has a gift of being able to see the field move without having to look up. He knows if he is in a certain spot, ( or moving into a certain spot ) how defenders are likely going to react so he is constantly moving into positions to distribute the ball when least expected.

Tyler has that, but from a defensive mind.

There was a play off a US corner that was singled out by Marsh. Mexico cleared and were moving quick into transition. Tylers guy headed to another who was looking to immediately return the ball to Tylers guy to initiate the break. As his guy headed, Tyler simply walked underneath him ( was never going to beat him in a leap ) , which took that player out the equation and put Tyler inbetween that player and the return ball. Making it impossible for him to get free run to break.

Its those types of players ( and plays ) that mean a whole lot in the course of 90 min. And you cant teach that. Its just innate- its what you know to do in that situation.

Reyna makes moves to make defenders move to where he wants them so he can make the pass/distribute - its also incumbent on the communication of others around him to know this and move to spot they know he wants them to go to.

And when it happens, its the beautiful game.
Click to expand...

Well put my friend....I know exactly what you are talking about, my many years in youth soccer I've seen 3 players like that....the way we put it was "he just knows where to be"....

This is, by far, by miles and miles the most talented squad the US has ever had, I just hope Berhalter doesn't find a way to screw it up.....
 
worldsoccertalk.com

FIFA President Infantino says USA has to end pay-to-play system

At the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, Infantino disclosed one aspect of soccer in the United States that surprised him: the pay-to-play system. If American soccer is to reach its full potential, the head of FIFA has stated, the nation must end this massive barrier to...
worldsoccertalk.com worldsoccertalk.com

Finally this might get some traction.

Unfortunately youth soccer is SUCH A HUGE BUSINESS, I doubt anything changes.
 
efil4stnias said:
worldsoccertalk.com

FIFA President Infantino says USA has to end pay-to-play system

At the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, Infantino disclosed one aspect of soccer in the United States that surprised him: the pay-to-play system. If American soccer is to reach its full potential, the head of FIFA has stated, the nation must end this massive barrier to...
worldsoccertalk.com worldsoccertalk.com

Finally this might get some traction.

Unfortunately youth soccer is SUCH A HUGE BUSINESS, I doubt anything changes.
Click to expand...

Having been involved in youth soccer at many levels (as a manager and interim/fill in coach) I can attest that this is a huge issue.....

On one hand, the elite travel teams need tons of money to run their respective programs (paid coaches, plenty of out of state tournaments, cost of practice locations, travel league fees, etc), because some of those kids, likely the core or best players come from upper middle to lower class backgrounds.....

So, in many cases you wind up with a good portion of the roster made up of kids with wealthy or at least very well off folks.....Some of those kids really don't belong at that level and rarely play in a game.....and some of those kids don't want to be there but then the parents get to say "my sons on an elite travel team".....

On the other hand we knew of rec teams in PG county (MD) that would mop the floor with a lot of the so-called elite travel teams.....tons of kids that are good enough to start on these teams never get the chance and thus, never get the exposure (at travel tourneys that college scouts attend)......Heck, the only reason Clint Dempsey became one of the best US players ever is because the other parents chipped in to keep him on the team and help with his hour + travel time to practice......

US youth soccer is a terrible system and one of the many reasons IMO a lot of the best US players never get the exposure to actually get there....
 
sfidc3 said:
Having been involved in youth soccer at many levels (as a manager and interim/fill in coach) I can attest that this is a huge issue.....

On one hand, the elite travel teams need tons of money to run their respective programs (paid coaches, plenty of out of state tournaments, cost of practice locations, travel league fees, etc), because some of those kids, likely the core or best players come from upper middle to lower class backgrounds.....

So, in many cases you wind up with a good portion of the roster made up of kids with wealthy or at least very well off folks.....Some of those kids really don't belong at that level and rarely play in a game.....and some of those kids don't want to be there but then the parents get to say "my sons on an elite travel team".....

On the other hand we knew of rec teams in PG county (MD) that would mop the floor with a lot of the so-called elite travel teams.....tons of kids that are good enough to start on these teams never get the chance and thus, never get the exposure (at travel tourneys that college scouts attend)......Heck, the only reason Clint Dempsey became one of the best US players ever is because the other parents chipped in to keep him on the team and help with his hour + travel time to practice......

US youth soccer is a terrible system and one of the many reasons IMO a lot of the best US players never get the exposure to actually get there....
Click to expand...


yeah this is all well known.

how do we fix it?

I think there should be ZERO travel teams for U12 or lower. It should start at U14. Promote the heck out of your rec leagues and create a pool of players that then you select from. But it all starts at fundamental development.

Travelling to 12 different cities in 6 different states over the course of 12 weekends isnt going to make your child a better player. Sure, its nice to face different competition, but if your childs team goes out and loses 7-0, what was accomplished/proven that the coach didnt already know after seeing the kids practice/play for last however many weeks/months leading up to the game?

Good friends of ours spent last 2 weekends out of town - FL and Tenn for games. last weekend in Tenn, their child played 8 min. Then 20 min in game 2. They travelled over 400 miles, spent $$$ for travel, room and board, so their child could play 28 min out of 160 ( 2 80 min games played ) ? They always call my wife to ask me what i think and my reply is the same every time...they are insane. Their child loves soccer and is good ( i practiced with him for several sessions when he was 10/11 ) and i have told them that placing him on this team is doing more harm than good. He just wants to play. And the only way to get better is to play. Not 3/4 speed practice, not 20 min of a 80 min game. Just play. He would get more out of a rec league that plays 2x a week intramural than travelling 400 miles to sit the bench for 72 min.

But its what the other kids do. Its what the other "well to do" parents do. So they do it too.

Perception plays a major role in all "travel sports" - especially for parents. And travel sports targets this "perception aspect" well.

Outside of a seismic shift in how Youth Soccer is organized and ran, while Infantino isnt wrong, his words will do little to persuade US Soccer to make massive changes.

So we are left with what we currently have. Sure there will be some decent to quite talented players come out that system, but we most likely will never have that generational talent found, because he/her parents couldnt afford the $2500-3500 sign up fee and the subsequent $10,000 ~ travel expenses over the course of the season.

C'est la vie.
 
efil4stnias said:
worldsoccertalk.com

FIFA President Infantino says USA has to end pay-to-play system

At the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, Infantino disclosed one aspect of soccer in the United States that surprised him: the pay-to-play system. If American soccer is to reach its full potential, the head of FIFA has stated, the nation must end this massive barrier to...
worldsoccertalk.com worldsoccertalk.com

Finally this might get some traction.

Unfortunately youth soccer is SUCH A HUGE BUSINESS, I doubt anything changes.
Click to expand...
Important message
The messenger, however…
Infantino is going to stand up there and say ‘hey US soccer, don’t be so money hungry’
.
.
.
Infantino
 
guidomerkinsrules said:
Important message
The messenger, however…
Infantino is going to stand up there and say ‘hey US soccer, don’t be so money hungry’
.
.
.
Infantino
Click to expand...

oh i see the irony for sure.

But on a micro level, US Soccer has to make changes if they want to compete internationally.

But if they content depositing 100s of $1000s each week, without real international hardware outside Gold Cup, then so be it.
 
efil4stnias said:
yeah this is all well known.

how do we fix it?

I think there should be ZERO travel teams for U12 or lower. It should start at U14. Promote the heck out of your rec leagues and create a pool of players that then you select from. But it all starts at fundamental development.

Travelling to 12 different cities in 6 different states over the course of 12 weekends isnt going to make your child a better player. Sure, its nice to face different competition, but if your childs team goes out and loses 7-0, what was accomplished/proven that the coach didnt already know after seeing the kids practice/play for last however many weeks/months leading up to the game?

Good friends of ours spent last 2 weekends out of town - FL and Tenn for games. last weekend in Tenn, their child played 8 min. Then 20 min in game 2. They travelled over 400 miles, spent $$$ for travel, room and board, so their child could play 28 min out of 160 ( 2 80 min games played ) ? They always call my wife to ask me what i think and my reply is the same every time...they are insane. Their child loves soccer and is good ( i practiced with him for several sessions when he was 10/11 ) and i have told them that placing him on this team is doing more harm than good. He just wants to play. And the only way to get better is to play. Not 3/4 speed practice, not 20 min of a 80 min game. Just play. He would get more out of a rec league that plays 2x a week intramural than travelling 400 miles to sit the bench for 72 min.

But its what the other kids do. Its what the other "well to do" parents do. So they do it too.

Perception plays a major role in all "travel sports" - especially for parents. And travel sports targets this "perception aspect" well.

Outside of a seismic shift in how Youth Soccer is organized and ran, while Infantino isnt wrong, his words will do little to persuade US Soccer to make massive changes.

So we are left with what we currently have. Sure there will be some decent to quite talented players come out that system, but we most likely will never have that generational talent found, because he/her parents couldnt afford the $2500-3500 sign up fee and the subsequent $10,000 ~ travel expenses over the course of the season.

C'est la vie.
Click to expand...

Don't disagree with anything above....preach brother!!!!!!
 
efil4stnias said:
oh i see the irony for sure.

But on a micro level, US Soccer has to make changes if they want to compete internationally.

But if they content depositing 100s of $1000s each week, without real international hardware outside Gold Cup, then so be it.
Click to expand...
Agree 1000%
AND there are plenty of burgeoning free-to-play organizations out there (18th Ward being the local NO example)
Parents just need to make that choice

Admittedly it’s not unlike the public/private education conundrum, but at least there aren’t organized efforts to torpedo public recreation
 
take it with a grain of salt



but the replies lol
 
How am I just learning Dest tore his ACL in training 4/20 w PSV???

Damn.
 

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