Football also doesn't have enough commercial breaks. 45 minutes without a sponsor segment would make most of them lightheaded.
That's harsh. I love it.
Actually it wasn't so much about adding ladies sports as it was about cutting men's. Many many mens fußball teams were cut as title IX came in.
I know it is heresy to say this, but pay to play isn't the issue...there are always spots for kids that will help these teams win thereby ensuring the next wave of playing customers...it is truly an infrastructure issue where there just aren't enough coaches with knowledge to move kids along...my children have all experienced st least one lost year of development due to having coaches that may never have even watched a game on the TV let alone played...the number of kids that have had decent or better coaching every season throughout their childhood is probably quite small.Yes most Division 1 schools have soccer scholarships. That being said a few schools may cut their soccer programs due to the revenue lost from Coronavirus. University of Cincinnati already has. Also most college players arent going to make it far as pros if you think about the development timeline compared to other nations. By the time you are out of college youre 21/22, most quality academy players globally tend to make their first team appearances at 17-19.
Talent isnt the issue, its identifying it and developing it is where US Soccer comes up short. The pay to play model is disastrous to our development and a key reason we lag behind. Look at all the top performing nations. They have pro teams with their own academies and youth systems in nearly every city in the country.
Article on Pulisic's development from 2 years ago. Helps his father was a coach.
How did Borussia Dortmund star Christian Pulisic make it into the European big leagues?
We take a look at Christian Pulisic's curious journey to the top of the European game, from Brackley Town to the Bundesliga.www.bundesliga.com
Because it was our destiny to have a few inflicted upon us
I definitely agree that it's an infrastructure issue but I believe the pay to play model goes hand in hand with that. Like you said theres a lack of quality coaches and the few decent coaches there are tend to be employed by these more expensive travel/pay to play teams. Yes some exceptional players may get their fees waived. Tim Howard for example attended a single $25 dollar per session training session held by a former US U-17 coach when he was young. The coach then offered Tim free training as he was impressed with his skills (Tim has said his mom could only afford the one session at the time). This doesnt happen for every talented young player though.
It may be because I'm in my mid twenties but baseball was never a big deal growing up here. Football and Basketball are by far the most popular. I'll have to look up the numbers but I would expect nowadays the numbers of American youth playing soccer will be close, if not higher than baseball.
www.aspenprojectplay.org
I'm talking up to this generation when the shift began and people realize there's a lot of money to be made in the sport, for those so athletically inclined. The best players have been mid-table european quality at best. Love Dempsey the player, but he wasn't good enough for Spurs.
College soccer isn't a nearly competitive development system though.
We've got a few players at perennial CL clubs right now. Pulisic, Adams, Reyna. Dest looks set to move to one too. It is getting better, but not because of the US, just getting guys into better academies abroad.
