Us soccer fans, what went wrong?
I can't believe you are not in the world cup.
41-45, M
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Northwest · M
This did not come as a surprise. Our men's team has been trailing for the entire qualification circuit, over the past year.
At this point, there's no need to revive the patient. What we need, is an autopsy, to figure out what killed the patient, and then re-seed.
Over the past decade, the new generation, has been opting for Soccer over football and baseball. This means that in 4 years, we will be back, and much stronger than ever. This reflects the changing demographics in the country. A few years ago, I did not know anything about Soccer, but I am now helping coach a girls team, and I see that the fields over the weekend (and on practice nights) are far more packed for Soccer practice, than they are for Football or Baseball.
At this point, there's no need to revive the patient. What we need, is an autopsy, to figure out what killed the patient, and then re-seed.
Over the past decade, the new generation, has been opting for Soccer over football and baseball. This means that in 4 years, we will be back, and much stronger than ever. This reflects the changing demographics in the country. A few years ago, I did not know anything about Soccer, but I am now helping coach a girls team, and I see that the fields over the weekend (and on practice nights) are far more packed for Soccer practice, than they are for Football or Baseball.
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@Northwest I think American Soccer has improved a lot but progress never happens in a straight line. Just 25 years ago you were a third level country with no professional league who rarely qualified for tournaments. Now you are a strong second level nation with a growing game, which is why the recent disappointment is such a surprise.
My view is that the college development system is not ideal for soccer but you have been moving away from this anyway, just too late for this generation of players. A harder problem is that your league is rich but not that rich. Players can earn a comfortable living in your country but are not playing at elite level. That is a hard one to solve because the needs of the national team and of the domestic game sometimes contradict each other.
My view is that the college development system is not ideal for soccer but you have been moving away from this anyway, just too late for this generation of players. A harder problem is that your league is rich but not that rich. Players can earn a comfortable living in your country but are not playing at elite level. That is a hard one to solve because the needs of the national team and of the domestic game sometimes contradict each other.
Northwest · M
@Burnley123 US MLS players average salaries are equivalent to England's second tier "Football" League. The NFL (what we call football) viewership is down, but that has nothing to do with Trump, and more with our changing demographics. So, that will drive up MLS attendance, and with it salaries.
The college recruitment system works well for football, because most of our NFL players are home grown. With soccer, we're still in this phase, where we're importing most of our players, so it's a mixed bag, between home-grown college recruitment, and imported non-college players. This will balance out over time, and I think we will mirror the NFL.
It's a bottom up process. I started helping out with the girls team about a decade ago, when the girls were 5. I help out by writing software to collect and analyse data from practices and games. They are 15 now, and all of them plan on going to college. This is where it gets tricky for us, because they may not necessarily want to play professionally, but definitely want to play college and see what happens. In the meanwhile, some of them want to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. So, the college recruitment process, remains key to their athletic development. This is especially true for women, because they make only a fraction of what men make, professionally.
As far as national team vs professional teams, this is a bit new for us. Discounting Basketball, we've never had to face this issue. The Baseball "World Series" (happening now), is not a world series, and the NFL is purely domestic.
My girls' team is going into the playoffs. Game 1 on Monday. I'm predicting we'll be eliminated in round 1. But, I am also forecasting that 10% of the players will end up in medical school, with a scholarship to a division 2 undergrad program, and at least 25% will be writing software when they're done with undergrad school, also with scholarships to division 2 undergrad programs.
The college recruitment system works well for football, because most of our NFL players are home grown. With soccer, we're still in this phase, where we're importing most of our players, so it's a mixed bag, between home-grown college recruitment, and imported non-college players. This will balance out over time, and I think we will mirror the NFL.
It's a bottom up process. I started helping out with the girls team about a decade ago, when the girls were 5. I help out by writing software to collect and analyse data from practices and games. They are 15 now, and all of them plan on going to college. This is where it gets tricky for us, because they may not necessarily want to play professionally, but definitely want to play college and see what happens. In the meanwhile, some of them want to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. So, the college recruitment process, remains key to their athletic development. This is especially true for women, because they make only a fraction of what men make, professionally.
As far as national team vs professional teams, this is a bit new for us. Discounting Basketball, we've never had to face this issue. The Baseball "World Series" (happening now), is not a world series, and the NFL is purely domestic.
My girls' team is going into the playoffs. Game 1 on Monday. I'm predicting we'll be eliminated in round 1. But, I am also forecasting that 10% of the players will end up in medical school, with a scholarship to a division 2 undergrad program, and at least 25% will be writing software when they're done with undergrad school, also with scholarships to division 2 undergrad programs.
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@Northwest Thanks for sharing. I think the college system is great at giving athletes an education and should be defended on those merits. My point is that it is an inefficient way of educating elite men's soccer players. In Europe, the best youngsters are playing in professional leagues by the age of twenty. American men's soccer players only get the chance to when they are 22 and even then it might take a couple of years to get first team football. Your best player has come up through the Dortmund acadamisation but had he stayed in America, he might still be playing in college.
median MLS salaries are the same as the English third tier, though your designated player rule gives inflates the top end. It's probably a good thing for your league to attract big names.
Us soccer will continue to grow and this is a blip. More players are being developed through MLS acadamisation though you should keep the college game too.
I wish your team good luck and its good of you to contribute to the community.
median MLS salaries are the same as the English third tier, though your designated player rule gives inflates the top end. It's probably a good thing for your league to attract big names.
Us soccer will continue to grow and this is a blip. More players are being developed through MLS acadamisation though you should keep the college game too.
I wish your team good luck and its good of you to contribute to the community.
Northwest · M
@Burnley123 [quote]median MLS salaries are the same as the English third tier[/quote]
Worse than what I thought. The salary cap loophole, was put into place to give the league some wiggle space, because we knew we had to import players, but they have a limit.
It's the same thing with Baseball, where players can go straight from high school into the minors, and can be playing in the majors by the time they're 20. For women soccer, it's a different story. The Seattle Women's pro team, plays its home games at a high school stadium. Players are barely making enough money to survive, so college is a key element.
The Seattle Sounders, for the first time, is almost 50% US players.
Worse than what I thought. The salary cap loophole, was put into place to give the league some wiggle space, because we knew we had to import players, but they have a limit.
It's the same thing with Baseball, where players can go straight from high school into the minors, and can be playing in the majors by the time they're 20. For women soccer, it's a different story. The Seattle Women's pro team, plays its home games at a high school stadium. Players are barely making enough money to survive, so college is a key element.
The Seattle Sounders, for the first time, is almost 50% US players.