US Youth Soccer is BROKEN and no one can fix it

Today we brought former USMNT forwards Eddie Johnson to talk about US Soccer Development, his current work in Central Florida and the USMNT.
Working to improve youth soccer in the US is crucial and we addressed the main ones in this episode.

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[dp]

It's sad that there are probably kids out there that have the talent to play at the highest level but money is what holds them back. This goes for any country with corrupt systems.

[KennyMGG]

US Cities need to build more soccer fields for kids near playgrounds. In South America, almost every playground has a basketball field merged with a futsal-sized soccer field.

[atomsmasherkeeperacademy]

I can't count how many times I have heard and seen US Club coaches try to coach creativity out of players. Even at "Top" clubs in a big market (like Dallas), they are shouting "You can not do THAT at THIS level" at players as they are using their skills to beat defenders. Or say something like "You will never do that at <insert whatever league, high school, college they think is "elite" here>." They don't get it, don't care, or are just there to pocket cash from more affluent parents to ensure that their kid starts, is featured at national showcase matches., etc.

[tedkaplan]

best advice was towards the end: Eddie--stay independent and flexible as long as you can, Filippo--get kids together to play (and you can play with them and they can play with their siblings). That one does go back to having more and closer fields and open spaces freely available.

[atfitzyutube]

The problem with all the discussions on developing elite players is that no one understands that widening the base of the recreational soccer is the first step. Recreational leagues, elementary school programs and middle school intramural leagues should be the FIRST step. Second step is working out how to overcome the deficit of what I call the 3 Cs - culture, coaching and cost. I want to add ‘cars’ because in the Midwest transportation is also an issue.

[keithhosannah]

What America has better than any other country: a rich sporting culture in the school system. It works with this country's major sports. The school system in the U.S. basically is the equivalent of sports clubs in other parts of the world. The unfortunate part is throughout the history of soccer in the U.S., high school and NCAA soccer has had a distant relationship with different iterations of the USSF.

[odinfatherofthor]

Great video, I just signed up to start my coaching path. I strongly believe that every kid should have a soccer ball at home. The ball is your best friend and you should not only be touching it at training. Go to the park, use your backyard, an empty packing lot. You don't need much space to get touches on the ball. It's crazy to tell kids that they can't do anything outside of training.

Growing up I always had a ball from age 8 I had a basketball (because I wanted to be Michael Jordan). Then from age 12 I got a soccer ball because I wanted to be Cafu.

I don't play the game anymore but I used to bring my nephew to games to watch me play. Now he plays and loves the game. We now banter because we support different Manchester teams. So, once you introduce kids to the game they will grow to love it.

[juliosandoval]

These types of vids also w tom byer are so helpful for someone planning on being a father eventually

[DWill]

Yes sir EJ is doing the lords work. Thanks for the interview

[mikeramirez]

My sons are youth referees for travel soccer, so a lot of times I will go observe the games. Let me tell you, most of the "pay to play: soccer is bad, it's the same level as AYSO. Travel soccer is a money grab because they will take any kid who can pay. There are no skills being taught because most of these families are not that serious about the game. They take their kid to training twice a week and maybe a game or tournament during the weekend. Most kids are so scheduled in these families that in reality they have no time to master the skills. Dedicate more time to Soccer? but the kids need to study or go to play dates and don't forget baseball season is starting up. Like fillipo and Eddie say, kids are better off playing pick up in the street, learning skills for fun like the players we see on tv. We don't have that in the USA.

[hassanal-ansari]

American youth sports in general are focused on culling the best players rather than developing skilled and tactically knowledgeable players… if you go to Spain or Uruguay and watch the approach to the game it’s totally different… my son was a high level club player and high school player… trained in Brazil a couple summers but didn’t possess the size that colleges covet so he stopped at the level… anyway I had an exchange student from Uruguay 🇺🇾 who hadn’t played competitive soccer ⚽️ for like six years to focus on swimming and basketball… when we visited him down there my son played with him and his friends at a local indoor facility and my son said he was a certified ringer after not playing competitive soccer for 6 years… I noticed 10-12 year old kids on the beaches there just striking hooking upper 90 shots from distance consistently. My exchange student had a one on one class for basketball 🏀 weekly and he was a veritable ginobli on the court… he played for my 🎾 team at the high school I coached and became a top player in 2 months… so he basically exposed that our approach to physical education is not really based on learning the fundamentals of sports but rather just a way to kill time… good stuff guys… capitalism identifies and funds talented people but doesn’t do enough for the masses…

[varen]

My kid's been playing soccer since he was 3 years old. He's 12 now and he's the captain of a strong ECNL team. As a father supporting my kid whose passionate and in love with the game, I don't have time to wait for the broken system to fix itself. I educated myself and have been coaching him off the field for hours at a time. It's up to the parents how the kid develops. No excuses.

[PerpetualAbidance]

When I was a kid there was a main season where all the kids played against each other and then an all star team that played against neighboring towns. this model allowed all kids to play against the better players during the season and then “make” the all star team whereas the current system pulls the better kids out and leaves the recreation teams with the kids who don’t know how to play plus a few good players who don’t want to or can’t commit (financially or otherwise) to the travel team. The focus seems to be how can we identify and train talented kids regardless of ability to play. What about keeping a much larger group of kids engaged with better training so that kids who develop later are not already left out?

[colemanny]

Eddie was 12-17y.o. between '97-'02. He wasn't lying about those VHS days being the only chance to see the pro's skill sets.

[sbfsteelchainz]

Bless you Eddie!!! Keep it up brother.

[stevemoulton]

If we need proof of how broken it is, there a one square mile area of South London that has produced more $30m+ soccer players than the entire US in the last decade and for a tiny tiny fraction of the cost.

[AaronWaddellLFC]

The steps are very easy to do and wouldn't require billions of dollars

1. Every MLS club needs an Academy. U12s, U14s, U16s, U-18s, and U21s. And the club needs to scout the area around their club, not just the city they're in. For example Atlanta United should have scouts in every high school in Georgia or as many as they can.

2. MLS-USL merge: We have to have a 3 or 4 tier league format like MLS, USL championship, USL 1, and USL 2.

3 Youth Tournaments and trophies formats: a comprehensive youth system on par if not better than the national team level. This can increase funding and interest level not just in the kids but parents as well.

With these steps, in a few decades, we would have a decent youth system if not one of the best.

[khalilshahyd]

Coaches are not teaching kids how to play. My son plays for a highly rated club team that is dominated by 2 players who dribble the ball out all game. The coach can't not play them because they're obviously talented, but the team suffers because there's no pattern of play with them dominating the ball. No crosses into the box, no combination play. It's very individualized play. Pass into space and run.

[MbisonBalrog]

What America needs is more futsal. When before or after the BB season, you can use the courts for Futsal.

[JimiJames]

Agreed. I've seen some very talented kids get left behind because the cost involved. Elite level soccer has multiple out of state tournaments that are expensive, but provide little "soccer" value (ie the kids aren't learning how to pass, receive, scan, etc during a tournament). I'd much rather see the kids do an in state camp with some scrimmages, which would be more beneficial and less expensive.

And it's sad to see that 90% of the clubs are still playing boom ball at U13.