SOCCERTOWN, USA documentary

KJR said:
Okay, again -- great memories, and thank you for sharing them. My co-writer/producer on the film was a four year GK starter under Bob (I walked on as his backup for two of them.) Tom grew up in Jersey playing against Tony and the Kearny teams (though he guested with Thistle a few times), and he's now a historian at Rutgers with a focus on the Newark area and world soccer. Here's what he just told me about Tab's recruitment: "UVA set a private jet to pick up Tab and he never went. Tarantini spoke Spanish so Tab’s father loved him. Plus, he said after NC State he would help get Tab to Spain."

Thanks for watching the doc. Love that we can go down memory lane a bit here.
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Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
 
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Ellejustus said:
A true Goat he was and is. I am now researching this Legend. Check this article.
www.fourfourtwo.com

Résumé vs. reality: Does Tab Ramos hold the answers to the USMNT’s problems?

Tab Ramos is one of U.S. Soccer's all-time great players. But is the current men's technical director part of the solution for the program?
www.fourfourtwo.com www.fourfourtwo.com

He was a stud at 15 and got a helicopter ride to his HS Soccer Playoff game. That is Goathood!!! He understands everything. Hire Tab please. Quickly. He even say's the best players play for free and "pay per play" will never go away. Truth speaker. He also touched on the inner city players :)
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Why do the best players need to play for free? What the fuck is it with you and free? Are you some kind of Bernie Bro? You just think others need to pay for you, or your kid, because she's good? WTF, welfare boy? EVERYBODY should pay or NOBODY should pay.
 
The Outlaw said:
Why do the best players need to play for free? What the fuck is it with you and free? Are you some kind of Bernie Bro? You just think others need to pay for you, or your kid, because she's good? WTF, welfare boy? EVERYBODY should pay or NOBODY should pay.
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I'm confused
 
KJR said:
I don't know all the politics at USSF, but Tab seemed to have a lot of success coaching and developing his age groups, and it was...surprising to a lot of people that he didn't get the senior USMNT job. On a macro level, though, just being tough won't make you a better coach or your players more confident on the ball/technical/etc.

I do think that a lot of what people have been prescribing for the US soccer pyramid today is what they were doing in Kearny 40 years ago: getting kids from low income/underserved communities who can't afford expensive club fees and finding a way for them to play; letting kids play pickup to get better/faster in small spaces and develop a "winner stays on" mentality; and emphasizing individual technical development. There are obstacles to those things in a lot of communities (fields and tournaments are expensive, and someone needs to pay for them; it can be hard to find safe places for kids to play pickup; not every coach is capable of doing effective technical trainings.) So I think we know what some of the answers look like; that doesn't mean they're easy to get to.
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Thanks for the documentary -- whole family watched it last night, and we really enjoyed the history and the player insights. I never played competitively, but developed my love for the sport in the 80's watching many of these guys play in college (I roomed with a player and our apartment became the de facto film room for our D1 soccer team, a sad commentary on the level of resources they received in those days).

Agree with the grassroots approach to development to expand the base and accessibility of the sport, and making it fun through pickup games, is a better recipe for success than our current expensive club "arms race" encouraged by US Soccer's policies and programs. My youngest child immediately pointed out that "No Parents Beyond This Point" sign at the courts.

USYS had a program a while ago, that never took off, to help convert community tennis courts to futsal. I think that US Soccer should consider similar community initiatives, and dedicate real resources to them, if they want to fulfill their mission to grow the sport and develop future players from all income brackets.
 
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