# Good Read..



## 4DaLuvoftheGM (Aug 15, 2018)

This article puts it in perspective

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sd-sp-us-soccer-pay-to-play-u20s-20180814-story.html


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## baldref (Aug 15, 2018)

Ziegler is a good scribe. Not sure I agree 100% with the information. And even if it's true, as he says, it isn't changing due to the $$ that drive everything about it. And I total don't agree with Hope Solo's "it's a white rich persons sport". All youth sports in this country cost money unless it's grabbing a ball and heading to the park. So, if you don't like it, grab a ball and head to the park?


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## Enjoy the ride (Aug 15, 2018)

pay to play is a problem but not the biggest one IMO. the hyper focus on winning at the youth level - that's the problem. as long as we focus on that, we're going to continue to lose. teams will be comprised, as the article states, of the girls who went through puberty first/closest age to birth year cut off/athleticism over intelligence/creativity. we, the adults, are responsible for making them into the "robots".


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## broshark (Aug 16, 2018)

Part 2 of the story:  http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sd-sp-youth-soccer-solutions-pay-to-play-20180816-story.html


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## Simisoccerfan (Aug 16, 2018)

Ok that was a much better article.


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## Soccercritique (Aug 17, 2018)

broshark said:


> Part 2 of the story:  http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sd-sp-youth-soccer-solutions-pay-to-play-20180816-story.html


The coaches certification process and the curriculum is something that has been needed in this country for a long time.  Just because a coach has an A license doesn't mean he's qualified, it just means he's done the necessary steps to be certified.  I've know a lot of "A" license coaches that run terrible training sessions.  As for the curriculum, I was talking to a DOC from a GDA club saying that in the next two years, a national curriculum would be in place.  Someone from France was recently hired to create a grass root curriculum that was to be followed.  Now getting all the clubs to buy in and not focus on immediate results will be key to making this happen.  There's a difference between good soccer and winning and both don't necessarily correlate.  As the articles said, here the one's that are ID'd are the bigger, faster and stronger kids because they develop early.  The problem with this and we've seen it many times is those kids, at at the U13/14 age groups seem to level out and kids catch up and in some cases, surpass them.  

The solution is bigger than the problem.


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## Dos Equis (Aug 17, 2018)

Does no one remember the Claudio Reyna/US Soccer development guidelines and curriculum?  Coaches and technical directors changed, and it was thrown away before it even had a chance to be tried. 

My point is, looking for some savior from above is nothing new, and that savior will survive, at best, a single coaching cycle. Too short to matter. 

Kids need to learn fundamental skills, focus on their first touch, over and over again. Our coaching at the younger ages needs to be focused on that, as well as playing freely using those skills.  We do not need yet another book full of over-complicated drills that take half of practice to explain to players and for them to understand, and longer to get right. Or having young kids play some forced formations at u8-u12, stifling their creativity, as well as reducing the opportunities for them to learn by doing (and from their mistakes). 

Soccer is the beautiful game because of all those special moments that happen during a game, moments that should be celebrated at the younger ages a lot more than the score at the end of a game.  Moments that require touch, creativity, taking risks, working together, and often the experience of getting it wrong the first few times.  

It took me around 8 years and 3 soccer players to understand this.  And since then, I have enjoyed the games a lot more, as have my kids. 

Pay to play?  Making a misguided system less expensive or free, as unrealistic as that might be, does not solve the problem.


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