Pulisic's thoughts on the US development system

[LIuconn]

$60k/year

compared to

A day inside Benfica's academy, the production line for European football

 

[upstater]

A lot of articles have been written lately about the candidates for President and the communities US Soccer overlooks.

I agree that DA is a big problem (my daughter's club is part of DA, and the club has already asked us to join, but we are non-commital and will probably not accept). However, the root of this is much more problematic because it has to do with US culture and playing spaces. The critics want US soccer to enter into more urban areas where presumably poorer people live and talent goes undiscovered. But the money is not there for structured soccer clubs to service these kids. Where is the money going to come from? Secondly, there is a big problem with fields and playing spaces in urban areas. Mostly, I see kids playing in parking lots. Third, as someone who donates time and money to a local club that was meant precisely to service the needs of soccer-loving refugees, there are many obstacles. Forget about the money for now and assume the money is there.

1. These kids walk 45 minutes to an hour through dangerous neighborhoods just to get to a playing field (city-owned, not well kept, lucky to have soccer goals at all).
2. If they play travel (we have only 3 teams in a league currently) it is a major problem finding transportation to games. How do you get the kids to games?
3. Parents work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet, and the kids are largely left alone during the day to fend for themselves. They do not take to discipline and structure very easily, especially with some of the local coaches from their community who are very vocal, tough, much tougher than paid coaches at premier. My daughter trains with these kids occasionally and we often see kids just up and leave in the middle of practice when the going gets tough... but they come back after a couple weeks.
4. Anecdotally, I don't think soccer has made inroads into the local African-American community. The basketball courts are full, whereas this club doesn't have a single African-American kid enrolled (it is free tuition). [Our refugees around here are Somali, Sudanese, Burmese, Central American]. Whereas the other club in town which rents space in a private park (my daughter's former travel club before moving to premier) gives a few scholarships here and there to deserving white and black kids, a couple of refugees as well.

Although I agree that DA is a problem for icing out talented players (I can't justify $5k a year for soccer myself), I also think there are cultural issues in the US that will hold back soccer from poorer areas. Fields, lack of money, transport, absent parents by necessity, etc.

In other countries, a talented kid might get scooped up very early into a youth academy, and play for free. Nothing like that exists around here.

There is almost no solution to this, IMO.

Maybe in the future, if football dies and top soccer is on the networks regularly every Sunday afternoon, it will begin to seep into the bones of the culture, but until then...

 

[Chuck]

A lot of articles have been written lately about the candidates for President and the communities US Soccer overlooks.

I agree that DA is a big problem (my daughter's club is part of DA, and the club has already asked us to join, but we are non-commital and will probably not accept). However, the root of this is much more problematic because it has to do with US culture and playing spaces. The critics want US soccer to enter into more urban areas where presumably poorer people live and talent goes undiscovered. But the money is not there for structured soccer clubs to service these kids. Where is the money going to come from? Secondly, there is a big problem with fields and playing spaces in urban areas. Mostly, I see kids playing in parking lots. Third, as someone who donates time and money to a local club that was meant precisely to service the needs of soccer-loving refugees, there are many obstacles. Forget about the money for now and assume the money is there.

1. These kids walk 45 minutes to an hour through dangerous neighborhoods just to get to a playing field (city-owned, not well kept, lucky to have soccer goals at all).
2. If they play travel (we have only 3 teams in a league currently) it is a major problem finding transportation to games. How do you get the kids to games?
3. Parents work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet, and the kids are largely left alone during the day to fend for themselves. They do not take to discipline and structure very easily, especially with some of the local coaches from their community who are very vocal, tough, much tougher than paid coaches at premier. My daughter trains with these kids occasionally and we often see kids just up and leave in the middle of practice when the going gets tough... but they come back after a couple weeks.
4. Anecdotally, I don't think soccer has made inroads into the local African-American community. The basketball courts are full, whereas this club doesn't have a single African-American kid enrolled (it is free tuition). [Our refugees around here are Somali, Sudanese, Burmese, Central American]. Whereas the other club in town which rents space in a private park (my daughter's former travel club before moving to premier) gives a few scholarships here and there to deserving white and black kids, a couple of refugees as well.

Although I agree that DA is a problem for icing out talented players (I can't justify $5k a year for soccer myself), I also think there are cultural issues in the US that will hold back soccer from poorer areas. Fields, lack of money, transport, absent parents by necessity, etc.

In other countries, a talented kid might get scooped up very early into a youth academy, and play for free. Nothing like that exists around here.

There is almost no solution to this, IMO.

Maybe in the future, if football dies and top soccer is on the networks regularly every Sunday afternoon, it will begin to seep into the bones of the culture, but until then...

I believe that US Soccer needs to get quantity and the quality will follow. They need to keep the game fun and popular enough that the better athletes stick with soccer rather than moving to other sports as they get older. Quantity will help ensure that the best athletes start playing and continue to play rather than being pulled away. My kids play in an area with tons of quality soccer options, but we lose kids to other sports every year. Only 1 was a very strong player, but other top athletes went right to baseball/basketball/lax. I think the parents think it's a finesse game. My son's non-soccer friends are pretty surprised how much contact there is when they come to see his team.

I'm a bit surprise about the perception of inner city players and field space, at least as far as latin areas are concerned. For reference, I live in a Fairfield County-like area with some of the higher wealth in the country. Through our league as well as MAPS (for a couple of our teams) and tournaments, we play about 25% of our games against some pretty tough towns. The bigger (and poorer) cities often have really nice fields that are paid for by the county or state. Check out this field in Newark. When we play those teams in our town, they will often carpool or even take school buses. Their kids often have uniforms that look like they were passed down over the years, but that's what I did as a kid, even in high school.

I do agree that soccer's penetration into black communities is nearly non-existent. Despite playing teams from towns that have a large black (both American or African) populations, there are never more than one or two black kids on the team. We play two clubs from Newark regularly. One is 100% Brazilian / Portuguese, the other is somehow all white. That's a big miss by US Soccer and something I don't think they are really doing anything about.

 

[upstater]

I believe that US Soccer needs to get quantity and the quality will follow. They need to keep the game fun and popular enough that the better athletes stick with soccer rather than moving to other sports as they get older. Quantity will help ensure that the best athletes start playing and continue to play rather than being pulled away. My kids play in an area with tons of quality soccer options, but we lose kids to other sports every year. Only 1 was a very strong player, but other top athletes went right to baseball/basketball/lax. I think the parents think it's a finesse game. My son's non-soccer friends are pretty surprised how much contact there is when they come to see his team.

I'm a bit surprise about the perception of inner city players and field space, at least as far as latin areas are concerned. For reference, I live in a Fairfield County-like area with some of the higher wealth in the country. Through our league as well as MAPS (for a couple of our teams) and tournaments, we play about 25% of our games against some pretty tough towns. The bigger (and poorer) cities often have really nice fields that are paid for by the county or state. Check out this field in Newark. When we play those teams in our town, they will often carpool or even take school buses. Their kids often have uniforms that look like they were passed down over the years, but that's what I did as a kid, even in high school.

I do agree that soccer's penetration into black communities is nearly non-existent. Despite playing teams from towns that have a large black (both American or African) populations, there are never more than one or two black kids on the team. We play two clubs from Newark regularly. One is 100% Brazilian / Portuguese, the other is somehow all white. That's a big miss by US Soccer and something I don't think they are really doing anything about.

Agree about the fun part--we have something called free soccer on Friday night. No parents or coaches allowed on the turf indoor field (though some of us parents took them in a game a couple weeks back). Otherwise, there is no place for pickup games.

We have a big problem with fields up here. It is a constant problem and hampers development. I'm referring to the city of Buffalo though--the suburbs have nice complexes.

 

[ZooCougar]

Please get Bradley and Rongen out of our system now.

 

[ZooCougar]

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Spoke to Tab Ramos, Thomas Rongen and Jonathan Gonzalez’s father, and despite claims of multiple in-home visits, I can confirm no #USSF official EVER visited the Gonzalez household.

Were USSF representatives invited to visit Gonzalez's family home? If not, then were meetings held elsewhere? Did Gomez pursue the possibility? If the Gonzalez's open their doors for an in-home conversation with USSF reps and no visited, then "Well done USSF knuckleheads"! Inconclusive without more details and more substantiated information; not surprising.

 

[LIuconn]

Lost this kid due to lack of effort. Insanity

 

[Samoo]

A lot of articles have been written lately about the candidates for President and the communities US Soccer overlooks.

I agree that DA is a big problem (my daughter's club is part of DA, and the club has already asked us to join, but we are non-commital and will probably not accept). However, the root of this is much more problematic because it has to do with US culture and playing spaces. The critics want US soccer to enter into more urban areas where presumably poorer people live and talent goes undiscovered. But the money is not there for structured soccer clubs to service these kids. Where is the money going to come from? Secondly, there is a big problem with fields and playing spaces in urban areas. Mostly, I see kids playing in parking lots. Third, as someone who donates time and money to a local club that was meant precisely to service the needs of soccer-loving refugees, there are many obstacles. Forget about the money for now and assume the money is there.

1. These kids walk 45 minutes to an hour through dangerous neighborhoods just to get to a playing field (city-owned, not well kept, lucky to have soccer goals at all).
2. If they play travel (we have only 3 teams in a league currently) it is a major problem finding transportation to games. How do you get the kids to games?
3. Parents work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet, and the kids are largely left alone during the day to fend for themselves. They do not take to discipline and structure very easily, especially with some of the local coaches from their community who are very vocal, tough, much tougher than paid coaches at premier. My daughter trains with these kids occasionally and we often see kids just up and leave in the middle of practice when the going gets tough... but they come back after a couple weeks.
4. Anecdotally, I don't think soccer has made inroads into the local African-American community. The basketball courts are full, whereas this club doesn't have a single African-American kid enrolled (it is free tuition). [Our refugees around here are Somali, Sudanese, Burmese, Central American]. Whereas the other club in town which rents space in a private park (my daughter's former travel club before moving to premier) gives a few scholarships here and there to deserving white and black kids, a couple of refugees as well.

Although I agree that DA is a problem for icing out talented players (I can't justify $5k a year for soccer myself), I also think there are cultural issues in the US that will hold back soccer from poorer areas. Fields, lack of money, transport, absent parents by necessity, etc.

In other countries, a talented kid might get scooped up very early into a youth academy, and play for free. Nothing like that exists around here.

There is almost no solution to this, IMO.

Maybe in the future, if football dies and top soccer is on the networks regularly every Sunday afternoon, it will begin to seep into the bones of the culture, but until then...

Upstater, have you read this book yet? If not it is definitely up your alley from the content of your post.

 

[upstater]

Upstater, have you read this book yet? If not it is definitely up your alley from the content of your post.

Thanks. That sounds exactly like the local club I'm talking about--even the fights with local Parks & Rec. These kids mostly compete in travel leagues and hold their own. They have talent but it's a struggle to organize in the same fashion as the premier clubs. But some of these kids get scholarships to premier, others go on to star in high school and end up with college scholarships in division 2.

Still, I shake my head at all the obstacles (family worklife, struggling schools, poverty, lack of playing fields, and resources for the soccer club). I explained the problem to my friend who is on the board of a rich local club. He came by with 200 brand new Nike Strike soccer balls, and a bunch of equipment, pop up goals, pinnies, training equip. etc., shirts, socks and shorts. It was quite a lot of money, but the kids were all over him showing their appreciation. I do not know what can be done given the obstacles. More awareness would probably help.

Like I said, I have one daughter in the region's top team, and another daughter at a more organized travel team, but I still bring them by to train with the refugee club. Better athletes with the refugees, but less skill.

 

[Samoo]

Thanks. That sounds exactly like the local club I'm talking about--even the fights with local Parks & Rec. These kids mostly compete in travel leagues and hold their own. They have talent but it's a struggle to organize in the same fashion as the premier clubs. But some of these kids get scholarships to premier, others go on to star in high school and end up with college scholarships in division 2.

Still, I shake my head at all the obstacles (family worklife, struggling schools, poverty, lack of playing fields, and resources for the soccer club). I explained the problem to my friend who is on the board of a rich local club. He came by with 200 brand new Nike Strike soccer balls, and a bunch of equipment, pop up goals, pinnies, training equip. etc., shirts, socks and shorts. It was quite a lot of money, but the kids were all over him showing their appreciation. I do not know what can be done given the obstacles. More awareness would probably help.

Like I said, I have one daughter in the region's top team, and another daughter at a more organized travel team, but I still bring them by to train with the refugee club. Better athletes with the refugees, but less skill.

You should definitely read the book. I've worked with refugees for the past 18 years overseas in camps but never in the US. I'll likely look for someway to stay involved with that community when I return to Oregon next summer, and getting involved in football (soccer) may be just the avenue.

 

[ZooCougar]

This guy was Bruce Arena’s first choice chief scout. Either Arena didn’t care much about the position or he has terrible judgement. Actually it could be both.

This tweet was less than 24 hours ago.

 

[Waquoit]

This guy was Bruce Arena’s first choice chief scout. Either Arena didn’t care much about the position or he has terrible judgement. Actually it could be both.

I watch the BeIN wrap-up shows on occasion and this guy is consistently embarrassing.

 

[ZooCougar]

Went to the opener SKC/NYCFC tonight. SKC started only four Americans. Melia, Besler, Opara and Zusi. A Colombian, Hungarian and a player from some small former Portuguese colony in Africa that I forget the name of came off the bench.

 

[LIuconn]

I played club ball with Tim Melia growing up. He's a great guy who took such a unique route to get where he is

 

[ZooCougar]

I played club ball with Tim Melia growing up. He's a great guy who took such a unique route to get where he is

I was at the game with family and a bunch of friends. I couldn’t tell if he was having a good day or not. I just know that Zusi and the other fullback are not good defenders.

Melia should have been in the USMNT conversation last year. Howard was just legacy, I think Melia would have been a better choice. He was also the goalkeeper of the year.