US Soccer System

If you are reading this and grew up playing youth soccer it is very likely you had a foreign coach or trainer at some point during your youth soccer career. Hundreds of British soccer coaches come to the USA annually to train travel teams and teach at soccer camps, while immigrants of all nationalities spend a large amount of their time as professional soccer trainers.

USA soccer has made undeniable progress over recent years. Many people want to see massive improvements over the short term but that is somewhat unrealistic. Youth soccer in the USA is at an all time high, but it will take a generation for these young players to make their professional mark and see a thorough comparison to previous generations. The fact is, the USA are at the top of the CONCACAF region and regularly compete at World Cups, that is the first of many steps in the soccer world.

STRENGTHS

The volume of professional soccer training is greater than that in more powerful European countries. While that may seem strange, the idea of a coach being paid between $50 and $100 for an hour long training session is alien in a country such as England, outside of the professional academies. For this reason, many coaches come to the USA to make a living teaching the game. This means a broader base of qualified coaches, even if the elite coaching is maybe not at the standard of Brazil and Spain among others.

Along with the international influence, governing bodies such as US Soccer and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) are doing an excellent job of educating American coaches in all aspects of the game. As the standard of youth coaching improves, so do the youth soccer players throughout the nation.

The structure of youth soccer in the USA is set up to help players with their education. Throughout the nation, thousands of youth soccer programs will attend college showcase events, and youth coaches will play an active part in helping players through the college application process. The scale of college soccer in America provides great benefits to young soccer players on and off the field. College soccer is an environment that allows players to compete to a very high level, and this helps players gain a degree that will reap rewards off the field for them throughout their adult years.

WEAKNESSES

The structured environment of United States youth soccer can provide benefits but also drawbacks. Attacking creativity is not being developed to a high level in youth American players. This is showing through in the elite stages of the game. Major League Soccer has a very high level of athleticism and tactical discipline, however, the skilled flair players in the league as of 2010 have the tendency to be from different countries and youth development models.

The seasonal culture of youth sports in the United States also carries great drawbacks in terms of technical ability. It is not uncommon in the USA for a young soccer player to play fall soccer from August to November, he will then play winter basketball and spring baseball. This produces athleticism and many parents rightly argue that variety is good for young players on a mental level.

However, despite the mental benefits, the fact remains that time spent playing another sport is time without the ball at your feet. If a youth soccer player spends seasons playing other sports, then players will fall behind counterparts who play soccer year round on a continuous basis.

The financial restriction of high level youth soccer in the USA is also a very real hindrance. The coaching and competition is excellent in travel soccer, and the college exposure is already discussed in the strengths section above. The fact is though that this level of soccer is very expensive, it is typical for a season of travel soccer to cost $2,000 or more.

The costs of playing high level youth soccer in the USA means a certain demographic will struggle to play and be exposed to the best coaching and showcase tournaments. How many NBA players could afford that kind of outlay during their youth playing days? When you look at England, Wayne Rooney as a youth player would likely have not been exposed in the top youth player development programs, and how that would have turned out would be interesting.

ELITE LEVEL

The USA national team is improving, and competing consistently on the world level. Yet again, they finished in the top 16 at the past World Cup and now consistently achieve big wins. When it comes to making another step up some factors still hold development back.

The NCAA produces overall life benefits to soccer players but does have a disadvantage. An NCAA player plays a 3 to 4 month season that is around 22 games in length. Strict NCAA regulations prevent year round training in a structured environment for these players. In terms of soccer development, this leads to regression during the college years, and an American professional player drafted into the MLS being potentially thousands of practice hours behind a European or South American counterpart.

To truly emerge as a world power it could be beneficial for the USA national team if the cream of American talent went to play in a top competitive league such as England, Spain or Italy. If you look at the national teams of Argentina and Brazil, very few of their starting players ply their trade in their home nations. Kaka, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Luis Fabiano all play at European clubs. In fact, Messi moved to Spain for his youth development before the age of 14.

More American players competing year round in European academies, and being exposed to elite competition could be the final step to becoming a world power. Without doubt, the influx of foreign basketball players into the NBA has helped other nations become extremely competitive on the world level.