SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Time to transform how we do soccer?

Whatever high school football did/does, thats what we need to do, they put a heck of a product out there. I dont think there is any "club" thing for football, just high school.

Alma: While H.S. football is the primary VISIBLE player development venue for college athletes and future pros, it is only a small part of the equation. Most elite (or even not so elite) college aspirants participate in multiple off-season camps and competitions, often on college campuses. This is where primary college recruiting contacts are forged and enhanced.
Baseball and basketball follow another model: H.S. competition, enhanced by off-season AAU and/or travel team scenarios. Again, the latter generally include "the best of the best" in what amounts to showcase formats.

Backscreen, isn't there a way to incorporate that into soccer?

I personally think that the club system in the US is just silly. Every 5 to 8 years they come out with the new "elite" program that gurantees the best soccer player development. It is a load of @$#%. They prey on people willing to fork out large amounts of cash for what? JMO....

The rhythm of the soccer school/club interaction is merely evolving -- at least three or four decades "behind" the other sports.

Too, elite athletes in other countries typically will have soccer much higher in their priorities. Soccer competes with FB, BB, BaseB and now Lacrosse in the US for elite athletes.

... and the cost of the ancillary programs for those other sports is as expensive -- or more -- for aspiring young athletes seeking top competition in those sports.

>>>>The gist of this thread presumes the purpose of playing a high school sport is to develop the competitive athlete -- but it's not; playing high school sports should be a continuation of the classroom so that such lifetime values as citizenship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and hard work are taught and reinforced.<<<<

So all the college and pro bound athletes aren't learning the game, just how to be good citizens?

Here on earth nothing could be further from the truth.

Your football or basketball coach won't last long loosing 56-0 week after week.

i didn't say that "all college and pro-bound athletes weren't learning the game...," only that that's not the primary purpose of high school sports -- if you think that it is, then you're naive; or perhaps a Byrnes Football fanatic?

Too, neither did I mention anything about winning or losing percentages...

Looks like you're just repeatedly running into the guardrail on that post.

These stats don't support your point either -- not that many dysfunctional parents might think their player/student is "all that."

The following percentage of high school participants that will play that sport at an NCAA school
after HS graduation is --
Men’s Basketball 2.9%
Women’s Basketball 3.1%
Softball 4.3%
Baseball 5.6%
Football 5.7%
Men’s Soccer 5.7%
Women’s Soccer 6.3%

[Source: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Estimated Probability of Competing in Athletics Beyond the High School Interscholastic Level.]

At least the statistical chances are better for soccer players than for other athletes!

Expensive clubs do produce great players in every country.

The elite do play for free academies, where only the best players can make it and they dont have to be the sons of lawyers and doctors to afford it.

That being said, high school soccer could be a good start, make it competitive, make it "elite" for those who cant afford the mercedes, it will be better for fans too and just good for the sport and the level.

There have to be a way to incorporate into the elite soccer scenes those with limited resources, like somedy else said it, "we are killing half of the fish" in the little pond we have created.

you dorks are arguing the same point but semantics is clouding the issue. HS soccer could be a force but not at its current stupidity