***Official 2014 World Cup Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[Native]

For the soccer doubters, who think and or want soccer to go away for 4 years, I think this is the tipping point the US has been waiting for - it really is the perfect storm for a growth explosion.

1. This team, and this WC, has captured the attention of a lot of, relatively young fans. The enthusiasm shown across the country, used to be seen in small pockets, but now those pockets are spreading.

2. The amount of high-level professional soccer that is available on TV has never been higher, and people are tuning in in record numbers. One of the reason the WC has been successful, beyond just the success of the US team, has been the number of household names that people recognize from watching the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, MLS, etc. The WC coverage will feed right back into the club season that are starting up in August. It is almost self-feeding at this point.

3. Between now and the next WC in 4 years, there will be an unusual amount of competitive USMNT games - Gold Cup in 2015, where we will field a competitive team, rather than all B-squad players, Copa America which will include the South American powers playing here in the US will be in 2016, The Confederation Cup, which the US is in good position to attend, will be in 2017, WC qualifying will take place in 2016 and 2017, plus a number of friendlies - probably against traditional European powers. In short, this happens to be the one time-frame where the US can really capitalize on its popularity because it won't shut down for a couple of years.

4. Fathers and sons are now partaking in watching soccer in numbers that we have never really had. My dad never enjoyed soccer, despite the fact I played most of my childhood. I watched games with my kids, and they were excited about it. That is where it will translate to a wider audience - kids are growing up with soccer on TV and watching it the same way I grew up watching football or baseball with my dad.

I know this has been talked about for decades, but you can really start to see the evidence of the tipping point right now.

bump for nugs...this is perhaps the best time to be a USMNT fan

 

[BassNBrew]

For those that don't know, roughly 1000 elite 6-8 year olds try out for Barcelona's youth system every year. They take the best 200. These 200 go into the funnel with the hundreds of others they already have. These kids have skills and a specific style of play drilled into their head 24/7/365 for years.

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

The US will never get to this point, mostly because the parents in our culture will never accept it. The idea of letting 195 kids wash out in order to find 1 or 2 stars just doesn't work in America.

Who knows if the European model works if it doesn't have much competition. I don't think you have to identify these kids at 6-8. Lots of kids develop later and I wonder if the model you outline above misses a lot of late bloomers. Didn't MJ not start for his high school team?

 

[Spartans Rule]

One thing in this countries' favor is the pure randomness of elite talent. A national team doesn't need eleven superstars. National sides aren't like the mega club teams in Europe. If Brazil doesn't have a great #9, they can't go out and buy one. They're stuck with Fred and Jo.
A golden generation can consist of three or four players who happen to hit at the same point in the development curve.

Agree and I think we've developed to a point where we'll always have the role players to fit around those stars if we get them. Doesn't seem like we'll have a shortage of keepers or defensive midfielders anytime soon.

 

[Ilov80s]

Biggest difference that always gets brought up is the US focuses more on team coaching vs skill coaching. Lots more that can be done in terms of training and development as well as talent identification probably.

Oh man, this is a good one.

Tactics and formations shouldn't be taught to kids under 12 imo and yet there are guys who focus entire practices to this. Kids need to know where to be on the field, I get it and it's needed, but they don't need to be standing on a field for 30min doing nothing while the coach goes around and moves them where they're supposed to be at any given point.

Practices in the USA are waaaaaay too structured, we're over coaching the kids and stifling any kind of natural development.

We should round up all out poor urban city kids, put them on beaches with a few soccer balls and hunger games it.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Biggest difference that always gets brought up is the US focuses more on team coaching vs skill coaching. Lots more that can be done in terms of training and development as well as talent identification probably.

Oh man, this is a good one.

Tactics and formations shouldn't be taught to kids under 12 imo and yet there are guys who focus entire practices to this. Kids need to know where to be on the field, I get it and it's needed, but they don't need to be standing on a field for 30min doing nothing while the coach goes around and moves them where they're supposed to be at any given point.

Practices in the USA are waaaaaay too structured, we're over coaching the kids and stifling any kind of natural development.

Just one data point, but the guy who runs the three team group my son is a part of said they won't even talk about tactics or team-related stuff until 11 (IIRC) and that practices will be mostly about building technical skill.

 

[sporthenry]

For those that don't know, roughly 1000 elite 6-8 year olds try out for Barcelona's youth system every year. They take the best 200. These 200 go into the funnel with the hundreds of others they already have. These kids have skills and a specific style of play drilled into their head 24/7/365 for years.

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

The US will never get to this point, mostly because the parents in our culture will never accept it. The idea of letting 195 kids wash out in order to find 1 or 2 stars just doesn't work in America.

Who knows if the European model works if it doesn't have much competition. I don't think you have to identify these kids at 6-8. Lots of kids develop later and I wonder if the model you outline above misses a lot of late bloomers. Didn't MJ not start for his high school team?

Well the thing is, if you don't make the Ajax's of the world, there are plenty of local clubs where you can play and develop. And each year, kids are looked at again for whether they should stay in the system and new kids are brought in all the time.

 

[rascal]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

 

[sporthenry]

One thing in this countries' favor is the pure randomness of elite talent. A national team doesn't need eleven superstars. National sides aren't like the mega club teams in Europe. If Brazil doesn't have a great #9, they can't go out and buy one. They're stuck with Fred and Jo.
A golden generation can consist of three or four players who happen to hit at the same point in the development curve.

Agree and I think we've developed to a point where we'll always have the role players to fit around those stars if we get them. Doesn't seem like we'll have a shortage of keepers or defensive midfielders anytime soon.

Agreed. I mean, if you put Messi on the US team, they probably don't look that much worse than Argentina has for much of this tournament.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

Show him Omar Gonzalez. He is 6'5". Sure he is not an elegant player but there are plenty of big CB in soccer.

 

[BassNBrew]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

I hope you have have $3k-$5k a year to budget for this if he excels.

 

[The Gator]

Biggest difference that always gets brought up is the US focuses more on team coaching vs skill coaching. Lots more that can be done in terms of training and development as well as talent identification probably.

Oh man, this is a good one.

Tactics and formations shouldn't be taught to kids under 12 imo and yet there are guys who focus entire practices to this. Kids need to know where to be on the field, I get it and it's needed, but they don't need to be standing on a field for 30min doing nothing while the coach goes around and moves them where they're supposed to be at any given point.

Practices in the USA are waaaaaay too structured, we're over coaching the kids and stifling any kind of natural development.

Just one data point, but the guy who runs the three team group my son is a part of said they won't even talk about tactics or team-related stuff until 11 (IIRC) and that practices will be mostly about building technical skill.

good on him

 

[BassNBrew]

For those that don't know, roughly 1000 elite 6-8 year olds try out for Barcelona's youth system every year. They take the best 200. These 200 go into the funnel with the hundreds of others they already have. These kids have skills and a specific style of play drilled into their head 24/7/365 for years.

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

The US will never get to this point, mostly because the parents in our culture will never accept it. The idea of letting 195 kids wash out in order to find 1 or 2 stars just doesn't work in America.

Who knows if the European model works if it doesn't have much competition. I don't think you have to identify these kids at 6-8. Lots of kids develop later and I wonder if the model you outline above misses a lot of late bloomers. Didn't MJ not start for his high school team?

Well the thing is, if you don't make the Ajax's of the world, there are plenty of local clubs where you can play and develop. And each year, kids are looked at again for whether they should stay in the system and new kids are brought in all the time.

Thanks for clarifying. That makes a lot of sense.

 

[Major]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

 

[TLEF316]

For those that don't know, roughly 1000 elite 6-8 year olds try out for Barcelona's youth system every year. They take the best 200. These 200 go into the funnel with the hundreds of others they already have. These kids have skills and a specific style of play drilled into their head 24/7/365 for years.

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

The US will never get to this point, mostly because the parents in our culture will never accept it. The idea of letting 195 kids wash out in order to find 1 or 2 stars just doesn't work in America.

Disagree 1000%

This happens every day in America - only it happens in sports like basketball and football, where "poor" youngsters pour their heart and soul into breaking out of the proverbial ghetto by playing sports - they are encouraged to pursue those sports to the exclusion of all other life-changing activities, and for the most part their families, and the system, does not care if they wash out.

In the US, soccer is generally a middle-class sport, played out in suburbia across the country. In most countries, the "stars" have come from poor backgrounds, much the same way many of our football and basketball players come from. Soccer is a generation or 2 away from having that kind of impact - where kids dream of a better life by playing soccer. As the professional sport grows, so will the desire of kids living on the wrong side of the tracks to play their way out of their environment.

Well, if you're telling me that our poorer communities (which often see sports as a "way out") are going to buy into soccer 100%, I might agree with you. But I don't think that's going to be the case. And even if it does, that takes away a huge portion of the talent pool.

For us to catch up with the best teams in the world, all the parts of our culture need to be on the same page. I just don't ever see middle class suburbia buying into that kind of mentality. I think they're always going to choose "everyone gets a trophy" and "maybe my kid will get a scholarship" over the "find stars or else" mentality of the soccer power players.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?

Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

 

[The Gator]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?

Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

shut your whore mouth

 

[Mjolnirs]

A great run by the team and I look forward to seeing what Klinsmann does with the team the next four years.

Yedlin to Green is something we will be hearing for at least the next two cycles.

Also, 1 minute at the end was a joke.

Ughhh. Just feel destroyed. Maybe it's better if the Vikings never make another Super Bowl.

You shut your mouth!

So what horse do we pull for from here? Columbia?

sigh

I'm pulling for Germany!

I don't know why anyone really cares how much people are interested in/like soccer. Doesn't matter to me at all.

Maybe I'll go find a NASCAR thread and let them know I'm not a fan. I doubt they care.

 

[Ilov80s]

The 2 biggest boons to soccer could be concerns over the safety of American football and what seems to be a slacking interest in baseball.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?

Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

shut your whore mouth

 

[SpurrierisisGod]

For those that don't know, roughly 1000 elite 6-8 year olds try out for Barcelona's youth system every year. They take the best 200. These 200 go into the funnel with the hundreds of others they already have. These kids have skills and a specific style of play drilled into their head 24/7/365 for years.

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

The US will never get to this point, mostly because the parents in our culture will never accept it. The idea of letting 195 kids wash out in order to find 1 or 2 stars just doesn't work in America.

Disagree 1000%

This happens every day in America - only it happens in sports like basketball and football, where "poor" youngsters pour their heart and soul into breaking out of the proverbial ghetto by playing sports - they are encouraged to pursue those sports to the exclusion of all other life-changing activities, and for the most part their families, and the system, does not care if they wash out.

In the US, soccer is generally a middle-class sport, played out in suburbia across the country. In most countries, the "stars" have come from poor backgrounds, much the same way many of our football and basketball players come from. Soccer is a generation or 2 away from having that kind of impact - where kids dream of a better life by playing soccer. As the professional sport grows, so will the desire of kids living on the wrong side of the tracks to play their way out of their environment.

2 problems:Club Soccer is exclusionary relative to the other sports. Sure travel baseball and aau basketball are comparable but parents in the US don't see enough difference between $80 a season rec leagues and $500 a season club leagues. They don't see to payoff in the end like they see for baseball and basketball (and football) with the million dollar contracts unless of course they aspire to send their kids to europe.

Unfortunately, unless a.parent already knows the benefit of club soccer, they will push their kids where they see the most dollar signs.

2. The ncaa. There are so many restrictions on training times, who you can train with, etc because of ncaa eligibility rules, the US for now will ha e to rely on the elite soccer players to train on their own. Club soccer is moving to more of a skill focus and leaving the team focus to rec ball but no more than 6 kids from 1 high s hill can train with the same club or they risk their high school season. That includes scrimmages against another club. If the total is 6, no go. All in an effort to maintain fairness and high school eligibility which all circles back to the ncaa. Pretty sure Europe doesn't have the same restrictions.

 

[pats3in4]

That final 15 minutes was awesome. That's losing with dignity.

The set piece up the middle that came oh so close to tying the game was a world-class play. Just needed a world-class finish.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

I hope you have have $3k-$5k a year to budget for this if he excels.

Bass, I have read a lot about US Soccer trying to change the pay to play model in the academies.

For example the MLS academies (which generated Yedlin) do not cost the kids any money from what I am aware. Diego Fagundez was actually getting paid as a young teenager to be with the Revs academy.

Our big problem is that in a country of 300+ million, too many kids are likely falling through the cracks, not being identified early etc. the pay to play model obviously is horrendous for development. Hopefully it can change, even if slowly over time.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?

Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

shut your whore mouth

If we could have subtitles for the soccer thread, this would be golden

 

[Major]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

Mexico only made it to the Final 14

 

[Sinn Fein]

NCAA - if the US is successful at developing talent, the NCAA will not be an issue - kids will be turning pro at 17 - just like in other countries.

There may be a random late-bloomer who develops or is found in college, but most successful USMNT players will have come through the system, that does not involve going to college.

 

[NewlyRetired]

That final 15 minutes was awesome. That's losing with dignity.

The set piece up the middle that came oh so close to tying the game was a world-class play. Just needed a world-class finish.

It was so well constructed.

It is so rare anyone tries anything clever on set pieces. 99% are just pump into box and hope.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

Mexico only made it to the Final 14

Ahh! I get it now

 

[rascal]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

Show him Omar Gonzalez. He is 6'5". Sure he is not an elegant player but there are plenty of big CB in soccer.

True.

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

I hope you have have $3k-$5k a year to budget for this if he excels.

Same can be said for pretty much any sports program, no? But my point is being missed. If somebody like me, a parent who played football from a very young age, is not going to let their children play football won't other parents be doing the same? Thereby having more kids play soccer, baseball, basketball, etc?

 

[rascal]

The 2 biggest boons to soccer could be concerns over the safety of American football and what seems to be a slacking interest in baseball.

exactly my point

 

[dparker713]

It may have (probably has, actually) been brought up in here already but i'm concerned for US soccer interest in the immediate future. Such a big draw for this WC but the time zones really benefit that growth in interest. Russia and then Qatar (if it stays there) means at least 12 years before we get another chance of having our team draped in the flag in prime time.

I'm relatively new to the sport and for me the NBC addition of PL and other matches across Europe will keep me interested but I love sports and competition. The fringe fan may be lost in the next decade or so. Now, if they move the Qatar to the states, of course it'd be huge. Such a fun sport and i'm glad I found interest in it.

People keep saying this in the face of a strong long-term progression in popularity of the game between World Cups. The demographics are different now. The two youngest generations of consumers are into it big time.

That's a positive sign...MLB is really struggling with teens, and the league doesn't seem to have much of an urgent concern about it.

I have read a ton of articles saying that soccer strongest foothold are the demographics which lean heavily young and have a healthy mix of white and hispanic.

Why does MLB not also benefit from the enormous and growing young hispanic population?

Its an old-white guy's game right now. It is dying on the vine, and no real way to spruce it up.

Yea...the player mix is terrible (who cares about Trout other than Angel fans for example)...and the game is slow.

And the Mkt isn't connecting...the #1 MLB player on Twitter is Nick Swisher.

MLB has had record revenues for maybe a decade running and is at about 85% of the NFL in gross revenues. You're both incredibly wrong.

 

[Major]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

Mexico only made it to the Final 14

Ahh! I get it now

I live in Houston and need any leverage I can get ;-)

 

[sporthenry]

For those that don't know, roughly 1000 elite 6-8 year olds try out for Barcelona's youth system every year. They take the best 200. These 200 go into the funnel with the hundreds of others they already have. These kids have skills and a specific style of play drilled into their head 24/7/365 for years.

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

The US will never get to this point, mostly because the parents in our culture will never accept it. The idea of letting 195 kids wash out in order to find 1 or 2 stars just doesn't work in America.

Disagree 1000%

This happens every day in America - only it happens in sports like basketball and football, where "poor" youngsters pour their heart and soul into breaking out of the proverbial ghetto by playing sports - they are encouraged to pursue those sports to the exclusion of all other life-changing activities, and for the most part their families, and the system, does not care if they wash out.

In the US, soccer is generally a middle-class sport, played out in suburbia across the country. In most countries, the "stars" have come from poor backgrounds, much the same way many of our football and basketball players come from. Soccer is a generation or 2 away from having that kind of impact - where kids dream of a better life by playing soccer. As the professional sport grows, so will the desire of kids living on the wrong side of the tracks to play their way out of their environment.

Well, if you're telling me that our poorer communities (which often see sports as a "way out") are going to buy into soccer 100%, I might agree with you. But I don't think that's going to be the case. And even if it does, that takes away a huge portion of the talent pool.

For us to catch up with the best teams in the world, all the parts of our culture need to be on the same page. I just don't ever see middle class suburbia buying into that kind of mentality. I think they're always going to choose "everyone gets a trophy" and "maybe my kid will get a scholarship" over the "find stars or else" mentality of the soccer power players.

I think we can do a decent system even without the "stars or else" mentality. I don't think it is so much the suburban, everyone gets a scholarship, so much as its, don't put all your eggs in a basket. If you grow up in the burbs, why would you put all your hopes into your kid being a 1 in a million (or 300 million) type player while risking his academics.

I think focusing on training and practicing 4-5 times a week might be a pretty good start for the system. I imagine distance is somewhat of an issue with 40-50 clubs trying to cover the whole US but it is better than just Bradenton.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

Show him Omar Gonzalez. He is 6'5". Sure he is not an elegant player but there are plenty of big CB in soccer.

True.

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

I hope you have have $3k-$5k a year to budget for this if he excels.

Same can be said for pretty much any sports program, no? But my point is being missed. If somebody like me, a parent who played football from a very young age, is not going to let their children play football won't other parents be doing the same? Thereby having more kids play soccer, baseball, basketball, etc?

It has been this way for a couple of decades I think. The % of kids playing pop warner is lower than it has ever been historically.

But it does not matter for football

1) there is no real foreign talent to compete with so all American kids starting later keeps them relatively equal

2) of all the team sports Football is one that can be picked up easier later in life and still excel in it.

 

[Ilov80s]

The 2 biggest boons to soccer could be concerns over the safety of American football and what seems to be a slacking interest in baseball.

exactly my point

And it is a legit point. It's how I got into soccer. I really wanted to play football, but I was small for my age and my mom wouldn't let me. She signed me up for soccer instead and I ended up loving it.

 

[sporthenry]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

Show him Omar Gonzalez. He is 6'5". Sure he is not an elegant player but there are plenty of big CB in soccer.

True.

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

I hope you have have $3k-$5k a year to budget for this if he excels.

Same can be said for pretty much any sports program, no? But my point is being missed. If somebody like me, a parent who played football from a very young age, is not going to let their children play football won't other parents be doing the same? Thereby having more kids play soccer, baseball, basketball, etc?

The only problem is that soccer has its own concussion issues. The Italian professional soccer league actually started the research project that the NFL jumped in on which tied concussions to ALS like conditions.

 

[Sinn Fein]

It may have (probably has, actually) been brought up in here already but i'm concerned for US soccer interest in the immediate future. Such a big draw for this WC but the time zones really benefit that growth in interest. Russia and then Qatar (if it stays there) means at least 12 years before we get another chance of having our team draped in the flag in prime time.

I'm relatively new to the sport and for me the NBC addition of PL and other matches across Europe will keep me interested but I love sports and competition. The fringe fan may be lost in the next decade or so. Now, if they move the Qatar to the states, of course it'd be huge. Such a fun sport and i'm glad I found interest in it.

People keep saying this in the face of a strong long-term progression in popularity of the game between World Cups. The demographics are different now. The two youngest generations of consumers are into it big time.

That's a positive sign...MLB is really struggling with teens, and the league doesn't seem to have much of an urgent concern about it.

I have read a ton of articles saying that soccer strongest foothold are the demographics which lean heavily young and have a healthy mix of white and hispanic.

Why does MLB not also benefit from the enormous and growing young hispanic population?

Its an old-white guy's game right now. It is dying on the vine, and no real way to spruce it up.

Yea...the player mix is terrible (who cares about Trout other than Angel fans for example)...and the game is slow.

And the Mkt isn't connecting...the #1 MLB player on Twitter is Nick Swisher.

MLB has had record revenues for maybe a decade running and is at about 85% of the NFL in gross revenues. You're both incredibly wrong.

Its the demographics that you can't see - baseball is skewing older, which is a bad sign for the long-term health of a sport. It will be a slow decline, but make no mistake, Baseball's best days are behind it. It will follow the same trajectory of Boxing.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Pretty classy

Vincent Kompany (@VincentKompany)

7/1/14, 7:11 PM

Two words.. TIM HOWARD #Respect #BelUSA

 

[NewlyRetired]

Congrats to the US on making the Terrific Ten. That's more than I can say for Mexico.

I don't get it?Mexico finished ahead of the US in this WC.

Mexico only made it to the Final 14

Ahh! I get it now

I live in Houston and need any leverage I can get ;-)

Hey for a couple of months just wave the Concacaf banner . We can go back to hating each other soon enough.

The Gold Cup next year should be fantastic.

 

[The Gator]

I think focusing on training and practicing 4-5 times a week might be a pretty good start for the system.

IMO, it would be the biggest.

If done correctly, kids would get 30,000-40,000 touches between games. If I had to guess now, I'd say the average practice around here has the kid getting less than 1,000 per week and then three games on the weekend sometimes.

The final straw for me with my son's former team was when we played 8 games/scrimmages in 7 days without a single training session.

 

[Ilov80s]

It may have (probably has, actually) been brought up in here already but i'm concerned for US soccer interest in the immediate future. Such a big draw for this WC but the time zones really benefit that growth in interest. Russia and then Qatar (if it stays there) means at least 12 years before we get another chance of having our team draped in the flag in prime time.

I'm relatively new to the sport and for me the NBC addition of PL and other matches across Europe will keep me interested but I love sports and competition. The fringe fan may be lost in the next decade or so. Now, if they move the Qatar to the states, of course it'd be huge. Such a fun sport and i'm glad I found interest in it.

People keep saying this in the face of a strong long-term progression in popularity of the game between World Cups. The demographics are different now. The two youngest generations of consumers are into it big time.

That's a positive sign...MLB is really struggling with teens, and the league doesn't seem to have much of an urgent concern about it.

I have read a ton of articles saying that soccer strongest foothold are the demographics which lean heavily young and have a healthy mix of white and hispanic.Why does MLB not also benefit from the enormous and growing young hispanic population?

Its an old-white guy's game right now. It is dying on the vine, and no real way to spruce it up.

Yea...the player mix is terrible (who cares about Trout other than Angel fans for example)...and the game is slow.

And the Mkt isn't connecting...the #1 MLB player on Twitter is Nick Swisher.

MLB has had record revenues for maybe a decade running and is at about 85% of the NFL in gross revenues. You're both incredibly wrong.

Its the demographics that you can't see - baseball is skewing older, which is a bad sign for the long-term health of a sport. It will be a slow decline, but make no mistake, Baseball's best days are behind it. It will follow the same trajectory of Boxing.

It can't really survive if it ends where boxing has.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Pretty classy

Vincent Kompany (@VincentKompany)

7/1/14, 7:11 PM

Two words.. TIM HOWARD #Respect #BelUSA

Howard has obviously been around for awhile, particularly in Europe, but it was interesting to watch the pre-game walk out for all the games when the players were still in the tunnel - nobody got more attention/recognition from the other teams than Howard. He has earned so much respect over his career - once to see it recognized.

 

[Spartans Rule]

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

That's where the financial model of European soccer really helps them out. Huge incentive for clubs like that to invest in youth development. Here you're not going to do that with a kid only to watch him go to college or a draft instead of into your lineup.

 

[flapgreen]

I'm going to completely disagree. I'm seeing foreign born players coaching high school teams.

That may be true, but it's too late by this time. The great technical players don't start getting technical training at the age of 15. Too many kids have been burned by "soccer dad/coach" by that time

2 of every 3 coaches at the club level has some type of European accent. I've see some great technical coaching.

0 out of 20+ here have a fancy accent, so I'll assume you mean where you're at?

I'm taking about club level play at a young age, not 15.

You may be correct, the redneck SE USA must have a lock on all the European and Hispanic coaches. Honestly we have more qualified coaches than qualified kids to play.

Not many Europeans or Hispanics coaching around the redneck part of the SE USA I'm in.

 

[Premier]

I think the main thing to take out of today were how great Yedlin and Greene looked today and Besler throughout. Couple that with the potential of Brooks and I feel like if don't go a round further in 2018 we have a right to be disappointed.

 

[sporthenry]

I think focusing on training and practicing 4-5 times a week might be a pretty good start for the system.

IMO, it would be the biggest.

If done correctly, kids would get 30,000-40,000 touches between games. If I had to guess now, I'd say the average practice around here has the kid getting less than 1,000 per week and then three games on the weekend.

Yeah, I mean I'm blind to the youth game b/c I've been out for too long but don't have kids so I have no idea what goes on anymore. I've just read about the academies and they seem to know what they are doing with the training/game breakdowns. But those are only for U13 and up and I guess from reading one of the articles, these clubs often skirt the rules of no outside games.

But I imagine that eventually this will trickle down to the U8 and U10 games. But it seems like more and more people are catching on to this so it is only a matter of time.

 

[rascal]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

Show him Omar Gonzalez. He is 6'5". Sure he is not an elegant player but there are plenty of big CB in soccer.

True.

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

I hope you have have $3k-$5k a year to budget for this if he excels.

Same can be said for pretty much any sports program, no? But my point is being missed. If somebody like me, a parent who played football from a very young age, is not going to let their children play football won't other parents be doing the same? Thereby having more kids play soccer, baseball, basketball, etc?

The only problem is that soccer has its own concussion issues. The Italian professional soccer league actually started the research project that the NFL jumped in on which tied concussions to ALS like conditions.

Sorry, but I can't see putting soccer on the same level, or even close, to football in terms of concussions.

 

[roadkill1292]

It may have (probably has, actually) been brought up in here already but i'm concerned for US soccer interest in the immediate future. Such a big draw for this WC but the time zones really benefit that growth in interest. Russia and then Qatar (if it stays there) means at least 12 years before we get another chance of having our team draped in the flag in prime time.

I'm relatively new to the sport and for me the NBC addition of PL and other matches across Europe will keep me interested but I love sports and competition. The fringe fan may be lost in the next decade or so. Now, if they move the Qatar to the states, of course it'd be huge. Such a fun sport and i'm glad I found interest in it.

People keep saying this in the face of a strong long-term progression in popularity of the game between World Cups. The demographics are different now. The two youngest generations of consumers are into it big time.

That's a positive sign...MLB is really struggling with teens, and the league doesn't seem to have much of an urgent concern about it.

I have read a ton of articles saying that soccer strongest foothold are the demographics which lean heavily young and have a healthy mix of white and hispanic.

Why does MLB not also benefit from the enormous and growing young hispanic population?

Its an old-white guy's game right now. It is dying on the vine, and no real way to spruce it up.

Yea...the player mix is terrible (who cares about Trout other than Angel fans for example)...and the game is slow.

And the Mkt isn't connecting...the #1 MLB player on Twitter is Nick Swisher.

MLB has had record revenues for maybe a decade running and is at about 85% of the NFL in gross revenues. You're both incredibly wrong.

Its the demographics that you can't see - baseball is skewing older, which is a bad sign for the long-term health of a sport. It will be a slow decline, but make no mistake, Baseball's best days are behind it. It will follow the same trajectory of Boxing.

The median age of baseball fans is 53, eight years higher than the next closest sport. Frank Fitzpatrick, who I don't think is a soccer guy, has serious concerns.

 

[The Gator]

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

Show him Omar Gonzalez. He is 6'5". Sure he is not an elegant player but there are plenty of big CB in soccer.

True.

I for one will be pushing my son to play soccer. He doesn't come with good genes (I'm 6'5" and 260), but after suffering numerous injuries (concussions primarily) in football there is no way in hell I'm letting my 5 year old play football before HS.

I hope you have have $3k-$5k a year to budget for this if he excels.

Same can be said for pretty much any sports program, no? But my point is being missed. If somebody like me, a parent who played football from a very young age, is not going to let their children play football won't other parents be doing the same? Thereby having more kids play soccer, baseball, basketball, etc?

The only problem is that soccer has its own concussion issues. The Italian professional soccer league actually started the research project that the NFL jumped in on which tied concussions to ALS like conditions.

Sorry, but I can't see putting soccer on the same level, or even close, to football in terms of concussions.

you would really be surprised

 

[Spartans Rule]

Its the demographics that you can't see - baseball is skewing older, which is a bad sign for the long-term health of a sport. It will be a slow decline, but make no mistake, Baseball's best days are behind it. It will follow the same trajectory of Boxing.

I doubt baseball goes downhill in the same way as boxing. It doesn't come with the health concerns, doesn't have a direct competitor like MMA, and Don King isn't involved.

It's never going back to #1 but I think it sits comfortably among the major sports for the foreseeable future.

 

[sporthenry]

Barcelona doesn't care if 195 of those 200 kids never even sniff their first team. They'll gladly pay for their training (and in some cases room and board) for a decade if it means they find 1 Lionel Messi or Xavi. (plus a handful of other squad players and a bunch of others that they can sell to lesser clubs to recoup some of their investment)

That's where the financial model of European soccer really helps them out. Huge incentive for clubs like that to invest in youth development. Here you're not going to do that with a kid only to watch him go to college or a draft instead of into your lineup.

MLS actually has a rule where you can sign someone who came from your own development academy without having to go through the draft. They can even go to college and you can still stake claim to them.

The bigger problem is that the MLS' transfer rules means the league gets a cut of the player's transfer fee.