Coaches Response to Blog Post: Advantages of U.S. Soccer

By Jason | March 4, 2008 3:11 am |
Categories:
Coaches Corner, Guest Speaker, Soccer Central, Soccer Tips

Recently I have been in contact with Coach David J. Horne of Centre College in Kentucky. He is the assistant coach there at Centre and he had some feedback on what I said about the United States Soccer system and my overall infatuations with the club academy system.

Here is Coach Horne’s thoughts:

I checked out your blog, and I think it looks neat. In it you compare the structure of soccer in the United States to the structure in other countries, and attribute the differences to the varying levels of success. I agree with you. The academy structure is a better strategy to develop players to reach their potential.

However, there is something about US soccer that other countries don’t have and that is…a highly organized and well structured college and university system serving as an outlet for soccer and player development. The US has the best colleges and universities in the world. The point is, in the US, players can play at a very high level while getting an education that will serve them for the rest of their life. Players in Europe are taking advantage of this opportunity, coming to the US on a student visa to play and get an education. However, there is NOT enough awareness on this.

I played in the USL second division last season for the Cincinnati Kings and am currently trying out for teams for the upcoming season. I have met dozens of guys from Europe who have taken advantage of what I have described.”

I agree with many points Coach Horne has made. And I do agree to a certain level that the U.S. does have some of the best Universities in the world…however England can argue that they do have Oxford, Cambridge, etc. etc. To sum everything up, the U.S. has one huge advantage that I really never thought too much about:

While many people can take other routes to being a U.S. professional player, most of them go through the college system. So, in a way, many of these players are forced through and get a degree or most of a degree. If for some reason they hurt themselves at the pro level, they do have a degree to fall back on.

The State of American Soccer

By Jason | January 31, 2008 5:23 am |
Categories:
Site News, Soccer Central, Soccer Tips

The state of American soccer is not in shambles but its not the spotlight of soccer. For instance, people all over the world do not turn to American soccer each and everyday. As a matter of fact, most Americans turn to the English Premier, German Bundesliga, Spanish Primera…the list goes on and on. I personally tune into the Italian League and Mexican league as much as possible.

But lets take a wonder at why American soccer is so, lets say, middle pecking – like luke warm.

American View:

  • Soccer is below Baseball, Football, Basketball
  • Soccer is considered Latino in Pop culture American Views
  • Soccer is new to America, we like things we made.

That is what Americans will tell you. But what is the real reason?:

  • American Soccer does not have Academy Teams
  • American Education systems limit soccer time
  • When the average MLS player makes 10,000 Grand a year, that can’t be that inspiring.

A true Academy team allows players to develop underneath professional coaches and their guidance. While there are a handful of good amateur coaches, pro coaches are surely better. Also, these players will play other academy teams where they will be constantly competing with one another, playing with and against the cream of the crop, and develop with a strong soccer environment.

My Tips for American Soccer:

  1. Obviously we need to start Academies – even if they are only Summer Academies.
  2. The Olympic Development Program is great, but we could step this up.
  3. Academys would be able to find and sign the world’s talent.
  4. Talent will not be lost – it will be found early on and honed to its max level.
  5. If anything, build more soccer schools in the U.S.

I have high hopes for the U.S. but we just need to start somewhere. Now is the time. This is the type of stuff I hope “Project 2010″ is discussing. If not, that committee is useless, do they really expect to win the World Cup??

~Jason


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