Start of Something…

Part #1:

In the week since I wrote about the backwards pyramids in American soccer, I have searched for the right thing to discuss next. My mind has been taken over by the thoughts of the Philadelphia Union Captain Alejandro Bedoya and I feel like I need to start here. However, it may not be in the way you think.

First of all, I want to say that I am a proud Union supporter and stand by our captain for his remarks after scoring the opening goal against the DC United in their recent matchup. Calling on Congress to “do something about gun violence” in the Nation’s Capital is something that more people need to do. The resounding remarks, unfortunately, were for him to “stick to soccer” and these went to anyone who wanted to discuss the horrific scenes in Dayton and El Paso over a week ago. This is the exact reason why nothing is getting solved. People who have the influence and resources to say something like soccer players, analysts, announcers, and anyone else who finds themselves close to the media are chastised for commenting on this matter.

Why? Why do we give these people a hard time for speaking out against something so horrific? Why are we not allowing them the right to free speech that is given to all Americans in the Constitution? To me, it signifies a dark time in American sports. Hell, Megan Rapinoe pissed people off enough for saying she was not going to the White House when they win that Americans started rooting for other countries. Colin Kapernick sat down and spoke to a veteran about how to protest the right way and still has not found his way back to the NFL. It is a hard truth that we are fine with the athletes when they are playing but when they take their opportunity to speak out against something, we immediately turn on the hate. I thank these athletes. They are making their voices heard and using their platform to try and make change. It’s time we listened.

Part #2:

Today, I started a new adventure in my life long journey. I returned to the sidelines of high school girls soccer in New Jersey and I could not be happier to be back. However, this new adventure has come with some interesting discussions and dialogue specifically pertaining to American soccer. The talk has been about the Developmental Academy and its affect on the high school game.

New Jersey is a hot bed of phenomenal soccer players. Please look them up, it would be an entirely separate blog post with chapters. I mention that because of the insane amount of high school soccer players who are foregoing their high school seasons to instead play club. Often times, these clubs “guarantee” college scholarships to these athletes as soon as they begin with the club. There are so many mistakes with this developmental academy that I want to hit on.

One of the biggest mistakes, is the lack of continuity amongst soccer organizations in the United States. The development academy runs their season from September to July. This is the only soccer organization that runs this way in the United States. The MLS, USL, NPSL, NWSL, UWS, and WPSL all run their leagues from the spring until the fall. These are the top leagues in the United States but we run our apparent top youth league on a European Schedule? I am extremely confused by that. The club game is taking players away from high schools to instead play in a club that nowhere near resembles our professional structure. Some of these players will go onto the college game, specifically the women, and will play a season that more closely resembles that of the high school game. Two or three games a week, practice from August till November, and a camaraderie with their players that does not come from the academy structure. Is it good soccer in the academy? Yes it is, it is a higher level than we are used to but resembles nothing in the American game. My issue is that some of these clubs exploit this structure for money and not the development as it claims.

I sincerely hope that the USSF comes to some clarity on how the system should be run. Let’s develop a consistent structure in the United States so that players can develop and even make an impact for their pro teams. Until then, let’s encourage high school aged players to play for their high school and enjoy their teams and classmates. Let’s develop the strong coaches that are needed to continue high level soccer at the high school level. Believe me, nothing beats a soccer game under the lights against your school’s biggest rival. It’s like playing in front of your pro teams supporter’s section, something the Development Academy does not have… yet. Let’s hope this is the start of something bigger!