SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Youth $occer is an eliti$t $port

good question.

I don't see many kids showing up at u15 tryouts who have been training with dad instead of playing club soccer. But maybe you've pointed to an alternate approach.

While I have some sympathy with some of the arguments/comments made here, particularly regarding the desirability of increasing minority participation in soccer, some of the views strike me as bizarre.

The notion that it is possible to experience top-flight competition without travelling is, I have to say, silly. In South Carolina in any given age-group, between U-14 and U-18, there are no more than 30 kids whom an objective observer might consider very good players in a national context - and that's being generous. The number that might be considered excellent would be less than half that.

I don't intend to reignite a debate on the relative merits of Academy v. USYS play. However, some comparison is necessary to to make my point. The difference in the quality of the training and level of competition between the Development Academy and the SCYS Challenge League is several orders of magnitude. In nearly every instance, the Academy teams are composed of the best 18-22 players in the state (or major metropolitan area). Consistently playing against the best players from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Washington, California, Illinois...has got to be more beneficial to the development of a player than playing against Challenge League teams. (There's nothing wrong with playing Challenge League, but the difference in the quality of soccer is vast).

In the question of cost, I am surprised at some of the numbers I've seen quoted here. This past season the cost to play for the SCUFC Academy team was $3,750. Included in that cost was: Club fee (which included all administrative and coaching costs); two uniforms; one warm-up; a minimum of three training sessions per week; trips to Florida (2) (one of which was a five day Showcase trip), Georgia, Alabama/Georgia, North Carolina (2), and Phoenix (five day Showcase trip); and a total of 30 games played. Parent travel was, of course, not included. While I grant you that $3,750 is real money, the return on the cost is pretty darned good I think.

As for the alternative approach it's not. It's the old fashioned approach. There are alot of parents who feel it is someone else's job or refuse to take the time out to work with their kid at a sport. Almost every night my son and I go out in the back yard in our bare feet, pass the ball around and...........talk! Unfortunately it seems like a very lost art anymore, everyone wants to drop their kid at the field in one or two hours a week expect their kid to be the best kid in the league.

Here is my concern with the whole issue. In the U.S. are we missing out on the Shon Carson's and how do we introduce them to soccer? For those who don't know about him Shon Carson is a incredibly gifted football, baseball - just overall athelete at Lake City High School. If you've ever seen him play in either sport you would soon realize he is without a doubt one of the best athelete's in the state of SC. He is currently receiving interest from numerous SEC schools in both sports. Now drop back and punt (pun intended) - What if Shon had been introduced to soccer at a very young age? To me that is what the U.S. is missing in order to compete even more in future on the World stage and rid ourselves of the "elitist sport" stigma. The million dollar question is how do we get the Shon Carson's of the U.S. involved? How do we get a lower/lower middle class kid from the Lake City's of the U.S. involved? Do people realize how much $3,750 would be to so many of these athelete's families? Don't hand me the scholarship's are available in club soccer - there are many other issue's these families face on a daily basis that go alot deeper than kids playing a high level of club soccer. These families are trying to simply survive (No - not what most of us call just surviving).

I've seen soccer played in this state from rec ball to both South Carolina United Academy teams to CESA 92 Premier. There are some really gifted players in the upper divisions. Most have played since they were 4 or 5 years old.
What could the Shon Carson's of the U.S. have been like had they been exposed to soccer at a young age? I know I'll ruffle some feathers by saying this but I have seen several kids on the upper level teams that in no form or fashion are the natural atheletes of a Shon Carson. What they do have is years of playing experience and in most cases really good coaching along the way. But athletically - they are no Shon Carson.

I realize it "is what it is" - With all that said, I'm not sure I would say soccer is an elitist sport as I suspect the majority of upper level players throughout the country come from middle/ upper middle class families. Simply put, most are not filthy rich. I will say it is much harder for the Shon Carson's of our state to make it happen at one of the upper levels than a upper middle class kid from Columbia, Charleston or Greenville. Unfortunatley, the same issues hold true in education - which in most cases is the key to everything in life.

PS - I do not know Shon Carson, his family, his friends or anybody from Lake City. I also do not know his families situation - they could be very well off for all I know. I simply used him as an example since he is an incredible athelete from a small SC town.

Thats a good point 63, Imagine if athletes like Kobe, Lebron, D Wade, Adrian Peterson, Wes Welker, Tony Romo had been introduced to soccer at an early age. I don't think we would be little brother on the World Stage.

good points about somehow getting minorities more involved to elevate this sport. & i agree, i've watched some of the most elite teams in the state & scratch my head over some nonathletes on the team, which, kudos to their many years of hard work & good coaching, but still, what if?

2010 soccer = 1950 basketball

What if Shon Carson had been introduced to soccer at an early stage, rather than football or baseball?

He'd probably be looking at earning about $40K per year playing in the MLS after a few years of college soccer, instead of the potential millions he would earn in MLB or the NFL after a successful SEC career.

I think we are doing Shon a favor by keeping him away from soccer.

no big money in professional soccer to attract top level athletes in usa. football, bb, bb, where there is more big money opportunities and better structure to develop/excel at lower cost will get the attention of potential sport stars.

soccer is better suited for those more interested in going professional in something other than sports. and helps keep kids on a positive track and staying out of trouble/hanging with the wrong group.