U.S. Soccer is taking over U.S. Youth Soccer, the largest youth soccer organization in the country. The move is being framed as an effort to unify a fragmented youth soccer landscape—but what does it actually mean for the American soccer ecosystem? We examine the potential consequences of consolidating more power under U.S. Soccer, particularly given […]

Debates sound like a good way to get closer to the truth. In practice, they often do the opposite. They reward quick talking points, encourage people to defend positions they already hold, and leave almost no room for the kind of depth required to understand a complicated ecosystem like American soccer. That problem becomes especially […]

When people talk about player development, the conversation usually centers around four areas: technical, tactical, physical, and psychological. But what actually develops those qualities? That question leads us to five major components of player development: the structured club training environment, the household and family, playing on your own, pickup soccer, and personal training. In Part […]