"In other countries they don't need cones - they might throw down sneakers and be playing within five minutes. Often the reward for the players is doing something spectacular, even if not always scoring. Here if you take 30 or 40 kids and put them in a grassy area with no lines, cones, and give them a soccer ball, about 10 minutes in you'll see two kids pass it back and forth. After 20 minutes they look around and ask for direction - what should they do? Maybe after you wait an hour they're just starting to get playing."

-- Darren Marshall, a development coach for Massachusetts Youth Soccer and regional ODP staff coach on the difference between the way soccer is viewed abroad and the overl structured soccer environment in the United States. (Boston Globe)