So true, and the pitches down there that a lot of them play on are pure concrete or have little grass these days. What the USA needs are more open tournaments with a cup at the end for Select teams - too many good players get cut out of the more expensive ones, IMO. DD
Couldn't agree more. There are some quality players in that area that find it tough to get noticed. Hopefully that will be addressed soon.
Do you guys think maybe we are pushing ahead and expecting too much? The MLS is still getting a toe hold, and as it improves, so will soccer in the USA. I think unfortunately we are just going to have to wait. DD
I don't think qualifying for the Olympics is expecting too much, and making it out of our group certainly isn't expecting too much. I also don't think that getting eliminated was the end of the world. If nothing else we learned that there are a few players that will step up, and a few that shouldn't be getting more looks from the national team. And hopefully future coaches will do a better job of managing playing time and not using the same guys with such little rest.
There is little in US Soccer that pisses me off more than the club system. I'm in complete agreement with Kinsmann in how backwards this country has it. Wealth should have nothing to do with the ability to be successful in a sport. I know for a fact it's part of what held me back. My family simply couldn't afford to pay for the Texans club in Klein (the most dominant club in Texas in the late 80's-early 90's). I played on a good team in Montgomery County but we just didn't have access to the trainers, college advisers, etc., that the big clubs had and have. It's why I was excited when they started the Houstonians FC...an inner city club funded by the city that found those players being ignored by the big clubs because they didn't have hundreds of dollars per month to spend on soccer. There needs to be more of these clubs all over the country. There is PLENTY of talent. It just needs to be found and cultivated properly.
Amen, it is almost like Soccer is the new tennis, where only the people that can afford it get the help they need. But where would the funding come from? The problem is most of these clubs are there to make money more than they are to advance soccer. My youngest is extremely good and he is 9 years old, he is already being recruited by several SELECT teams, but he wants to continue to play with his buddies (Fine by me at this point). However when we looked into the Select/Academy programs, it seemed it was more about the $$$ Churn than the actual training, at least in many of them. Heck, our kids Rec team routinely beats up on those programs, and against the better ones at least we are competitive...... Leroy, At what age did you start playing Select, and what in your opinion was good and what was bad about it? Thanks, DD
I started playing select at age 10 but didn't have an actual trainer until age 13. It made a HUGE difference and those 3 years I lost set me back in my development. It was also a HUGE difference in games, too. My teams routinely got pounded by the likes of the Texans and teams from Kingwood until the year we actually had a trainer. We went from a team that lost multiple times by more than 10 goals to a team that took 2nd in State. If your kid is good enough and truly loves the game, I'd get him/her in select soccer as soon as it's available to you (and if the expense is worth it to you). I'm not sure what club is in or close to Circle C. In Round Rock, we have a couple options (Crossfire, Lonestars). That said, absolutely do not rip a 9-yr from his friends. It's not worth it yet and could cause him to lose the love and not want to play. I wouldn't wait too much longer, though. I'd say if he wasn't in a structured program by 11, he'll end up being too far behind. You just have to do your research on the programs. Unfortunately, Austin doesn't have one like the Houstonians or San Antonio Generals (I used to play for them and they had no fees...also took 2nd in state in U-19 Div. 1). Crossfire is the closest I've see to a reasonably priced club...but it sadly shows in their results, especially in the older age groups.
forget all this crap about kids being ignored or not finding the minorities, all just excuses. the bottom line is this country has over 300 million population, usa should be able to find 18 great players. uruguay only has 3 million people TOTAL!!! the fact is the team that was assembled should be able to beat their concacaf peers especially at home. there is no excuse for that. so don't look for a reason/excuse such as ignoring kids, usa soccer pyramid, mls, usl, etc... bottom line, it was bad coaching, bad d-line play, and a horrific goal keeper play. that's it, nothing more nothing less.
^^ But... but... but the ref gave FOUR minutes of extra time and that's how the other team scored!!! Can't you see that?!?!?!? You'll never hear Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, or Germany with those kinds of talks... Anyway, what I thought was DUMB of these Sports.Yahoo!.com peeps to just lay blame on the goalkeeper. THE ENTIRE TEAM lost. STFU, reporters: SRSLY? What about that poor defensive effort or the lack of shooting in "stoppage" time? Don't just blame the keeper. This Panama vs. Mexico game is somewhat entertaining. Panamanian dudes are holding their own.
Ever heard of the needle in the haystack? You don't think it would be easier to find players in a much smaller area with a much smaller population that has much less competition from other sports? Is Uruguay good at anything else? It's a fact that US Soccer has done a s***ty job in finding players that didn't play in college and that don't come from the typical hotbeds around the nation. I'm not saying, nor has anyone else for that matter, that it's the reason they didn't qualify this time around. It is, however, a very big part of the reason why we are still not among the heavyweights.
You'll never hear fans from Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, or Germany complain about calls or extra time going extra? Really? They never complain because they're good? Ok...
^ Nope. Never. OR the talks about "... Pereira must be fired if we don't win the cup this year..." or "... our home league sucks..." or "... our 'youth program' [anything]..." THOSE kinds of talks, too.
One of the dumbest things I've heard. It's almost akin to hearing US Soccer fans bring up the size disparity between the US and Ghana after they lost to Ghana for the 2nd WC in a row. The size of the country is not the biggest factor in success on the World stage.
That Martin Rogers write-up was infuriating. The most rudimentary of follies? He's a ****ing tool . It's not like Johnson did a Taibbi. He just didn't push the ball away properly. No blame on Brek for not clearing out. No blame on Okugo for not closing out in time and jogging behind Alas? Rubbishness.
whatever ever what's dumb (on the level of imbecilic) is trying to correlate a win, loss, and a tie in a youth tourney to some hispanic kids in the south texas. for years i've heard crap about in 20 years this or when MLS matures we can do great things. sure yea all that stuff is important but we're not trying to win the world cup here. we're trying to beat or tie canada and el salvador at home. yes canada where don't have their own league and el savlador where club teams routinely get beat down by mls teams in ccl. that's your dumb ideology right there.
i never said it was the biggest but you better tell usa fans that they must be really dumb because they keep saying they can't find the right players, the elite players are ignored. fact is usa had better odds at finding a talent due to population. even if soccer is less popular, numbers alone should make up for that.
WOW! Where do I begin in dissecting this. 1. No one is correlating the loss to hispanic kids in south texas. Reeko brought that up and Leroy and I countered with salient points to shut that thought down. 2.I don't get what MLS maturing has to do with beating Canada and El-Salvador. You do know the US has beaten both Canada and EL-Salvador in both full and youth NT level right? This isn't similar to the beating Mexico routinely dispenses to the US at the Azteca every four years. 3) You do know that there is a league in Canada and there are Canadian teams in the MLS now, right? b) What do El-Salvadorean club teams have to do with the u-23 NT getting a draw at the last minute against their US counterparts? It wasn't a win. It was a draw(albeit with repercussions for the US). **** HAPPENS! Like you wrote- that was dumb idealogy I just responded to.
If I were you , I'd ignore any US fans saying they can't find the right players. There are some players in parts of the US that find it more difficult to get discovered but that's not the reason for an exit like the U-23's had. I'll ignore the second part of your post.
you're actually making all my points. anytime the usa loses we hear the same crap, our best athletes don't play the sport, mls is too young, we're ignoring minorities, etc... excuse after excuse it's sickening. all of those excuses come out because usa have a win, loss, and a tie. nevermind giving credit to canada or el salvador. until that mentality changes usa will never take the next step.
