Suckers

Simisoccerfan said:
Maybe we should just ditch the idea of trying to invest in making the US a powerhouse (or even a qualifier) in international soccer. Instead embrace what we all know kids are doing which is video games. ESPN has its esports website and even broadcasts games. Legend of Legends pros make big money. I have even heard they expect esports to grow into the 3rd largest sport over the next decade. We have a huge advantage in this up and coming sport and maybe we should be doubling down on it. Forming a US Gaming Association and pulling kids out of school to devote more time to gaming. That way when there is a world cup or it is added to the Olympics we can make sure we dominate.
Click to expand...


Ughh...don't give them ideas and ruin it for the kids. We already have parents hiring fortnite coaches and people complaining about the fortnite making it harder on pro gamers v. harder on amateurs some-times players. Before you know it, parents will be former special clubs where only elite players can play together and then competing to who can have the most exclusive group (I have the snipers league...well I have the supersnipers league...well I have the super secret dream academy snipers league). Then they'll be importing track suited Russian coaches to teach their kids how to hack. The Russians will demand that the super elite players give up playing with their friends so they can focus 100% on their training. Colleges will want to get a piece of the action and start offering scholarships. Regular kids will get discouraged from playing and drop out and the NYTimes will run a piece about how America is in crisis because kids are dropping out of video games. The elite players will begin to suffer thumb injuries and we'll get an entire physical therapy industry devoted to thumb injuries. They'll organize a world body of fortnite competitions and Dubai or some other country will bribe the world body to bring the championships to their city. And Ali-A will declare himself "the greatest fortnite player in the universe" and throw a fit when the US National Teams leaves him off for having a poor attitude. Nobody wants that. ;)
 
Grace T. said:
Ughh...don't give them ideas and ruin it for the kids. We already have parents hiring fortnite coaches and people complaining about the fortnite making it harder on pro gamers v. harder on amateurs some-times players. Before you know it, parents will be former special clubs where only elite players can play together and then competing to who can have the most exclusive group (I have the snipers league...well I have the supersnipers league...well I have the super secret dream academy snipers league). Then they'll be importing track suited Russian coaches to teach their kids how to hack. The Russians will demand that the super elite players give up playing with their friends so they can focus 100% on their training. Colleges will want to get a piece of the action and start offering scholarships. Regular kids will get discouraged from playing and drop out and the NYTimes will run a piece about how America is in crisis because kids are dropping out of video games. The elite players will begin to suffer thumb injuries and we'll get an entire physical therapy industry devoted to thumb injuries. They'll organize a world body of fortnite competitions and Dubai or some other country will bribe the world body to bring the championships to their city. And Ali-A will declare himself "the greatest fortnite player in the universe" and throw a fit when the US National Teams leaves him off for having a poor attitude. Nobody wants that. ;)
Click to expand...
As long as they can play HS.
 
P2P would be actually ok for me if coaches actually developed the kids properly and dedicated more than 2 days a week (of course clubs should also be paying them more at current club fee price imo). Play out the back, through mids, first touch, etc. Not just having the goalie punt the ball or the defender kick to the top every single play hoping their forward breaks free eventually.
Not bringing in academy guest players to have your worse players "watch and learn" from them to win trophies.
Having lots of scrimmages instead of no scrimmages then playing in a few tourneys to call that your scrimmage.

I know, the unicorns are out there!!
 
Simisoccerfan said:
Maybe we should just ditch the idea of trying to invest in making the US a powerhouse (or even a qualifier) in international soccer. Instead embrace what we all know kids are doing which is video games. ESPN has its esports website and even broadcasts games. Legend of Legends pros make big money. I have even heard they expect esports to grow into the 3rd largest sport over the next decade. We have a huge advantage in this up and coming sport and maybe we should be doubling down on it. Forming a US Gaming Association and pulling kids out of school to devote more time to gaming. That way when there is a world cup or it is added to the Olympics we can make sure we dominate.
Click to expand...

We all would like amazing coaches that know the game inside and out that will coach our U-Littles for free all while even the smallest kid gets to play on quality well groomed grass that magically receives all the water it needs from rain. Oh, and our kid will voluntarily get private lessons from a mentor that is also willing to do it for free. Boy, if it wasn't for greed, we could have all that.

Meanwhile in South America they play soccer at recess on a cement floor with metal pipe goals with no nets. (I went to grade school in Peru for a year and this was accurate even at a private school). Also parents worry about their kid staying out too late playing soccer with their friends meanwhile parents in America worry about their kids staying up too late playing Fortnite with their friends.
But wait there is more, take a trip down to any beach in Brazil and you will see them all playing beach soccer. But don't worry, there are also some volleyball games going on at the same time, oh wait, they use the courts to play soccer volleyball. Yeah, pay to play is the main reason why we lose....

BTW the two sports I regularly watch are Soccer and League of Legends. And the Koreans and Chinese consistently kick our ass in League, so we don't even have much of a chance there. The highest paid League player in the North American LCS (League Championship Series) is in fact a Korean import (1 million dollar contract) . So sorry, Americans suck at esports too.​
 
Enjoy the ride said:
Excellent article. And if you're feeling offended by it, you're missing the point. This is about how we find and train the top talent, the unicorns, that comprise our national teams. The excuse *forever* on the boy's side is we don't have the top athletes because they play football, basketball, etc. But now that the women are losing? We can't use that same excuse. Our system is flawed, on many levels, and as long as it stays the same, we will continue to lose games on both the men's and the women's sides.
Click to expand...
What happened to enjoy the ride?
 
Definitelynotanotherref said:
We all would like amazing coaches that know the game inside and out that will coach our U-Littles for free all while even the smallest kid gets to play on quality well groomed grass that magically receives all the water it needs from rain. Oh, and our kid will voluntarily get private lessons from a mentor that is also willing to do it for free. Boy, if it wasn't for greed, we could have all that.

Meanwhile in South America they play soccer at recess on a cement floor with metal pipe goals with no nets. (I went to grade school in Peru for a year and this was accurate even at a private school). Also parents worry about their kid staying out too late playing soccer with their friends meanwhile parents in America worry about their kids staying up too late playing Fortnite with their friends.
But wait there is more, take a trip down to any beach in Brazil and you will see them all playing beach soccer. But don't worry, there are also some volleyball games going on at the same time, oh wait, they use the courts to play soccer volleyball. Yeah, pay to play is the main reason why we lose....

BTW the two sports I regularly watch are Soccer and League of Legends. And the Koreans and Chinese consistently kick our ass in League, so we don't even have much of a chance there. The highest paid League player in the North American LCS (League Championship Series) is in fact a Korean import (1 million dollar contract) . So sorry, Americans suck at esports too.​
Click to expand...
Hit the road, Jack.
 
Sheriff Joe said:
What happened to enjoy the ride?
Click to expand...

haha! well, since you asked, my name refers to the majority of soccer parents (myself included) who hopefully are "enjoying the ride" - the time, money and energy spent to have kids play competitive soccer regardless of the outcome i.e. that have kids that aren't unicorns and/or won't even play in college (either because not good enough or decide they don't want to be a collegiate athlete). but my take from this article was what the US soccer federation is doing (or not doing) to create World Cup winning teams.
 
Azzurri said:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...0814-story,amp.html?__twitter_impression=true

Here’s how it goes: You sign up your kid for rec soccer at age 6, just to get them outside running around, innocently wanting them to absorb the values of team sports.

At 8, acting on the universal fear of parents not wanting their kid to fall behind, you join a club. It costs $1,200 to $1,500 per year, plus another couple hundred for tournaments, plus the hidden cost of gas and hotels for that out-of-town tournament so you can tell your friends your kid is on a “travel team,” plus $12 to park at some venues. You also might hire private coaches at $50 or $100 per hour.

At 10, you are recruited to a more prestigious, more expensive club loaded with big, strong kids that has better chance of winning State Cups, since most parents, not versed in the nuances of the sport, equate trophies with development.

At 13, if your kid is good enough, you make a team in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. It costs $2,500 to $3,000 per year, and the travel can double or triple that amount. You practice four days a week, take plane trips for some away games, aren’t guaranteed playing time on rosters that can be as large as 24, are discouraged from playing other sports and are forbidden from playing high school soccer.

Pay even more to play.

And here’s what we get:
Click to expand...
pretty darn close. When you get to the last year of their journey in club you start to realize what a mess it is. I'm thankful we didn't chase the next shiny new thing being tossed out there. Our oldest was at club when the age matrix happened, then DA, DA2, ECNL was already happening and Academy came into play. She stuck with her same club from U12-U18, went on and is playing her second year of college soccer, our youngest is in her last year of club, also stayed at her club. I've seen countless kids (parents) chase the next new thing, it's amazing to me how many of her original club team mates (10) went on to play in college and only a few that went on to ECNL (2) did, while that's just from her team, it makes me wonder, were those 4 x's a week drives, countless hours of homework in the car really worth it for those that left and to those that didn't get much playing time after making that move? For the parents that ended up paying even more in club fee's, what are those parents thinking now. These are all just businesses, looking to make $$$ and as long as parents are willing to make that choice, they have no desire or need to make a change....and everyone is wondering why there's such a big drop off in the sport in the last 1-2 years, maybe the parents (kids) are opting for other things?....
 
Enjoy the ride said:
haha! well, since you asked, my name refers to the majority of soccer parents (myself included) who hopefully are "enjoying the ride" - the time, money and energy spent to have kids play competitive soccer regardless of the outcome i.e. that have kids that aren't unicorns and/or won't even play in college (either because not good enough or decide they don't want to be a collegiate athlete). but my take from this article was what the US soccer federation is doing (or not doing) to create World Cup winning teams.
Click to expand...
Just messing with you.
I don't see too many good reasons to play club soccer on a higher level team if college isn't in their future.
Lots of time and money involved for my taste with little return.
 
Messi>CR7 said:
Good post. I hate articles like this. Other than #pay-to-playIsTheRootOfAllEvil (which is highly debatable), what does this article actually offer? My DD is in her 4th year of club soccer and I know she won't be on the USWNT. But she chooses to play and I support her. If I know for certain that my kids won't study engineering or computer science in college, I will still make them take Calculus in high school. Not everything we choose to do in life needs to have an ROI.
Click to expand...

I like this. I spend at least 7K a year for my older daughter, 16, for competitive dance. Will she take Misty Copeland's spot in the ballet? Nope. Scholarship? Nope. It is her passion and love, and she gets great grades, dances 15-20 hours per week, stays away from boys, never gets in trouble, and is a great teenager (yes she spends too much time on her phone, but I get the feeling all teens do).

I only spend 1K for my soccer player, would have no problem spending 3K, and could probably find a team to scholarship her (she is a 05 female keeper, turns out they are in high demand :)). There is a choice for every kid, and I certainly don't fault any parents for the choices that they make. Who knows how good your kids will eventually become, but we should give them every opportunity if we can. I'm just glad both daughters have their passions and my wife and I enjoy watching them grow up.
 
Simisoccerfan said:
Maybe we should just ditch the idea of trying to invest in making the US a powerhouse (or even a qualifier) in international soccer. Instead embrace what we all know kids are doing which is video games. ESPN has its esports website and even broadcasts games. Legend of Legends pros make big money. I have even heard they expect esports to grow into the 3rd largest sport over the next decade. We have a huge advantage in this up and coming sport and maybe we should be doubling down on it. Forming a US Gaming Association and pulling kids out of school to devote more time to gaming. That way when there is a world cup or it is added to the Olympics we can make sure we dominate.
Click to expand...
I know you're having fun, but the US does not have an advantage in esports at all. Japan, China and especially Korea are way ahead of us.
 
focomoso said:
I know you're having fun, but the US does not have an advantage in esports at all. Japan, China and especially Korea are way ahead of us.
Click to expand...
They are also way ahead of us in the number of young people that need glasses. There is a link between lack of exposure to sunlight as a child and the need for glasses.
 
socalkdg said:
I like this. I spend at least 7K a year for my older daughter, 16, for competitive dance. Will she take Misty Copeland's spot in the ballet? Nope. Scholarship? Nope. It is her passion and love, and she gets great grades, dances 15-20 hours per week, stays away from boys, never gets in trouble, and is a great teenager (yes she spends too much time on her phone, but I get the feeling all teens do).

I only spend 1K for my soccer player, would have no problem spending 3K, and could probably find a team to scholarship her (she is a 05 female keeper, turns out they are in high demand :)). There is a choice for every kid, and I certainly don't fault any parents for the choices that they make. Who knows how good your kids will eventually become, but we should give them every opportunity if we can. I'm just glad both daughters have their passions and my wife and I enjoy watching them grow up.
Click to expand...
Nice post. Like your reasons why and agree with quite a few. Therefore I’m gonna continue to drink the Koolaid, believe the hype, and buy my own track suit.:D
 
socalkdg said:
I like this. I spend at least 7K a year for my older daughter, 16, for competitive dance. Will she take Misty Copeland's spot in the ballet? Nope. Scholarship? Nope. It is her passion and love, and she gets great grades, dances 15-20 hours per week, stays away from boys, never gets in trouble, and is a great teenager (yes she spends too much time on her phone, but I get the feeling all teens do).

I only spend 1K for my soccer player, would have no problem spending 3K, and could probably find a team to scholarship her (she is a 05 female keeper, turns out they are in high demand :)). There is a choice for every kid, and I certainly don't fault any parents for the choices that they make. Who knows how good your kids will eventually become, but we should give them every opportunity if we can. I'm just glad both daughters have their passions and my wife and I enjoy watching them grow up.
Click to expand...

Hey look! A parent that gets it! It's refreshing to see someone with perspective, rather than the "keep drinking the kool-aid suckers" rhetoric that's so common around here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top