In 2007, I predicted that by now we’d have pre-natal soccer camps and U-2 national championships in the USA. They haven’t quite gotten there.
The toddler soccer school industry doesn’t sign them up until they’re 18 months old. National championships haven’t dipped much below the teens, but your club can find them for every year’s age group starting at U-13. And there are plenty of “showcase” events you can fly to with even younger teams.
Last month’s sad news that Gerard Houllier died reminded me of when we met at the 2008 United Soccer Coaches convention — and his incredulous look when told that in the USA there are U-10 state cups and national youth championships for 13-year-olds. He told us that in France they have regional competition for U-16s and the first French national championship was at U-18. Another World Cup-winning country from the last decade, Germany, is the size of Montana and has two youth national championships — U-16 and U-19.
I can imagine how age groups got younger and younger for American national championships, showcase tournaments and long-distance travel, because I’ve long followed the boasting about the multi-million dollar economic impact of such events. Adding more age groups, which means going younger, swells that economic impact. Whether these youngsters need a national championship or airline travel to find strong competition is a question they easily ignore when they’re adding up entrance fees and hotel commissions.
Four decades ago, U.S. national team coach Bob Gansler warned that America was “suffering from a huge case of tournamentitis.” And that was when the tournament industry was still in its infancy. A decade ago, U.S. Youth Soccer found it necessary to state that: “We believe that excessive play at competitive tournaments is detrimental to individual growth and development, and can serve to reduce long-term motivation.”
I don’t dismiss the value of tournament travel for children — and families. I imagine most who have coached, played and/or parented in the youth game as I have cherish fond memories from youth soccer trips. Travel boosts camaraderie, exposes us different parts of the country and diverse styles of soccer. But I’ve had conversations with youth coaches who said they travel more than they feel necessary — because their leagues require it or parents equate more travel with a higher level. And no doubt there are legions of coaches who relish the all-expenses paid travel, networking opportunities, and the thrills of tournament competition. Why wouldn’t they?
When the Covid hit early last year and the youth soccer landscape began shifting in the wake of U.S. Soccer ending its Development Academy, I imagined an opportunity to localize and regionalize the youth game. That, by my reasoning, would lead to more affordable youth soccer. It didn’t take long to realize that the post-DA era youth soccer will continue to be a turf war between governing bodies and event promoters competing for national championship entries, tournament registration fees and hotel commissions. Indeed, new national championships have already been announced.
But why shouldn’t there be as many national championships and “showcases” as the market can bear as long as there are satisfied customers? American youth soccer will always be a free market, for better or worse. As United Soccer Coaches CEO Lynn Berling-Manuel put it recently: “At the high end of our sport, there are more options for players than ever. I appreciate the desire by some for a single pathway for players but that just isn’t how America operates.”
She followed up with, “What I’d love to see is rather than slice the pie smaller, U.S. Soccer focus on making a bigger pie. The public school systems from kindergarten through high school are blue water opportunities for soccer.”
The potential for schools to play a larger and more significant role in American youth soccer has been on my mind for some time now. What other level of soccer provides as many kids cost-free soccer as high school ball does? Where is time carved out in a child’s daily routine for play? At school recess and P.E. As former AYSO national executive director Mike Hoyer put it: “Sports in schools eliminates the three basic challenges of providing play equity to economically challenged areas or communities that are underserved for youth sports: transportation, affordability, and accessibility.”
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