jpeter
PREMIER
Too late to put the genie back in the bottle but change is needed.
Youth sports has turned into Big Business, a booming $20 billion business in the USA.
People feel like youth sports in America is either booming or suffering, depending on your socioeconomic status among other things
The $$billions$$ of dollars being poured into youth sports sounds like good business, but most of this money is centered on kids from parents with disposable income to spend. Kids from low-income families and underrepresented groups are not seeing the benefits.
Some of methods & legalese used to enable this is the "non-profit" status, shell companies, holding companies, subsidiaries and the like. US soccer for one has large legal "fund/team in the mist of a big lawsuit by the US women over inclusion & equal pay.
Tax payers are footing some of the bill for youth ports indirectly, not many $20$ billion dollar businesses get anyway with tax avoidance unless your Apple or amz and setup the shell companies like some youth sports organizations have attempted to copied. If things don't change $$$ is still going to the motivating factor for youth sports.
The cost for parents is steep. At the high end, families can spend more than 10% of their income on registration fees, travel, camps and equipment. We know some volleyball and hockey families that spent $20,000 one year on on there club teams including plenty on travel, gas: up to four nights a week , not getting home until very late, etc. Youth sports has "taken over everything" in some families which is nuts"
So what can be done now?
First we need to "open" up soccer to everyone so they feel included not just ones from certain socioeconomic classes.
How can that be accomplished?
First of all need to admit that youth learns through playing and they need to be taught in a way they understand. In the US that means also teaching courses in Spanish.
UScoccer has recently taken some baby steps in that direction with there "grassroots" program
But clubs need to implement these Grassroots programs and change to "Play-Practice-Play training sessions". Young kids don't want to train for 1 hour, do a bunch of drills and get a "scrimmage" for 15 mins at the end. As of right now this is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Getting back to the economic factors, Bob Bradley has some great insight recently:
Too many feel like there are not part of the game,l we must work harder, have to change and give more opportunity to more people.
Training compensation, solidarity payments, and Promotion and Relegation is sorely need.
Yeah heard it before, wont work, not practical for youth, BS I say.
Open up soccer to everyone, forget closed leagues, clubs, tournaments, and the like. Forget about expensive travel for 90% of all the players. Have local, Regional, area competition and save the travel for those special times where teams have earned that right to keep playing on like high school does for example.
Community-based teams have given way to a more mercenary approach, it’s worth asking what’s lost in the process? A growing body of research shows that intense early specialization in a single sport increases the risk of injury, burnout and depression. Fees and travel costs are pricing out lower-income families. Some kids who don’t show talent at a young age are discouraged from ever participating in organized sports. Those who do often chase scholarships they have a minuscule chance of earning.
Time to take back youth sports from big business interests & these organizations that demand families spend all day for a single game out in the sticks so they can chase some trophy that sits collectioning dust somewhere.
I'm sure somebody is going to debate or quote what I posted, and say this or that so go ahead but please offer alternatives. If you have better ideas, methods, plans feel free to contribute something positive that will help everybody out rather than sticking with the status quo, trying to justify what the establishment is already doing, patting them on the back. We don't need the 3 blind mice routine.
Youth sports has turned into Big Business, a booming $20 billion business in the USA.
People feel like youth sports in America is either booming or suffering, depending on your socioeconomic status among other things
The $$billions$$ of dollars being poured into youth sports sounds like good business, but most of this money is centered on kids from parents with disposable income to spend. Kids from low-income families and underrepresented groups are not seeing the benefits.
Some of methods & legalese used to enable this is the "non-profit" status, shell companies, holding companies, subsidiaries and the like. US soccer for one has large legal "fund/team in the mist of a big lawsuit by the US women over inclusion & equal pay.
Tax payers are footing some of the bill for youth ports indirectly, not many $20$ billion dollar businesses get anyway with tax avoidance unless your Apple or amz and setup the shell companies like some youth sports organizations have attempted to copied. If things don't change $$$ is still going to the motivating factor for youth sports.
The cost for parents is steep. At the high end, families can spend more than 10% of their income on registration fees, travel, camps and equipment. We know some volleyball and hockey families that spent $20,000 one year on on there club teams including plenty on travel, gas: up to four nights a week , not getting home until very late, etc. Youth sports has "taken over everything" in some families which is nuts"
So what can be done now?
First we need to "open" up soccer to everyone so they feel included not just ones from certain socioeconomic classes.
How can that be accomplished?
First of all need to admit that youth learns through playing and they need to be taught in a way they understand. In the US that means also teaching courses in Spanish.
UScoccer has recently taken some baby steps in that direction with there "grassroots" program
But clubs need to implement these Grassroots programs and change to "Play-Practice-Play training sessions". Young kids don't want to train for 1 hour, do a bunch of drills and get a "scrimmage" for 15 mins at the end. As of right now this is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Getting back to the economic factors, Bob Bradley has some great insight recently:
Too many feel like there are not part of the game,l we must work harder, have to change and give more opportunity to more people.
Training compensation, solidarity payments, and Promotion and Relegation is sorely need.
Yeah heard it before, wont work, not practical for youth, BS I say.
Open up soccer to everyone, forget closed leagues, clubs, tournaments, and the like. Forget about expensive travel for 90% of all the players. Have local, Regional, area competition and save the travel for those special times where teams have earned that right to keep playing on like high school does for example.
Community-based teams have given way to a more mercenary approach, it’s worth asking what’s lost in the process? A growing body of research shows that intense early specialization in a single sport increases the risk of injury, burnout and depression. Fees and travel costs are pricing out lower-income families. Some kids who don’t show talent at a young age are discouraged from ever participating in organized sports. Those who do often chase scholarships they have a minuscule chance of earning.
Time to take back youth sports from big business interests & these organizations that demand families spend all day for a single game out in the sticks so they can chase some trophy that sits collectioning dust somewhere.
I'm sure somebody is going to debate or quote what I posted, and say this or that so go ahead but please offer alternatives. If you have better ideas, methods, plans feel free to contribute something positive that will help everybody out rather than sticking with the status quo, trying to justify what the establishment is already doing, patting them on the back. We don't need the 3 blind mice routine.