Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Director of Coaching Mike Barr
Posted by: Coach Mike Barr
Quite a week for US Soccer! The failure of the U20's to qualify for the World Cup, The US National Team's uneventful loss to Paraguay, and the Women's National Team's loss to England's more creative style of play. What will be the next great solution? Create more academies, bring in more European coaches, listen to the same tired rhetoric from the same coaches we have been listening to for many years or will we finally come up with ideas that reflect our society and what we offer as a country.
Can you remember the 1990 World Cup, The US lost all three matches 6-1 to Czechoslovakia, 2-1 to Austria, and 1-0 to Italy. The US held their own against Italy who finished third. Not a great showing but the squad was all college or ex college players. Has the US made the strides we should have over the last twenty one years in the international arena? The US women were once the model for developing a national team. Is this the case in 2011?
Some thoughts occur to me on a consistent basis. We do not need more insignificant matches for all players under 12 years of age, we do not need teams to play four to eight useless tournaments a year, we do not need more overpaid coaches making up to $90 an hour who get paid based on results and not development, we do not need the exclusive environment we have created for wealthy clubs, we do not need our best coaches working with U15, U16 and U17 players.
What we do need is a rational approach to development in our country that raises the quality of play for the average player at every socio-economic level, which will than raise the level of play for the elite player. We need the local club environment to rekindle the passion that has been lost to recruiting and the promises of large clubs. We need quality training with the ball, as opposed to more matches at the young ages. We need travel play to start at U12. We need to provide our young players rest from soccer during the year and encourage them to try other sports when they are young. We need to have small sided play to at least U12. We need to come up with a program that all players, parents and coaches can embrace and understand. We shuld xamine our schools and universities and utilize the knowledge of coaches, specific trainers, psychogists and stae of the art faclities. Also, the MLS needs American player on the field. Not on roster or reserve squad. There is no reason a country this size should accept mediocrity.
US Soccer needs to reexamine the direction of soccer from the U6 player to the adult and come up with clear directions and guidelines that benefit everyone involved with the sport.