#411 – Have You Been Brainwashed? Dispelling American Soccer Myths

American Youth Soccer and the Road to World-Class Players

In this episode, we dive deeper into why the US hasn’t produced world-class soccer players, despite massive participation numbers.

We address misguided views from Instagram comments, debunking myths like pay-to-play, athlete preferences for other sports, and cultural differences. We explain how the lack of an open system with promotion/relegation is the core issue, preventing true competition and development. Argentina’s new policy on youth players leaving for Europe and how MLS owns your child is discussed.

As in all our episodes and writings, we share our direct experiences (in this case, competing against top global academies) so you understand these are not theoretical musings.

00:00 Intro
04:44 Repetition is Key to Learning What’s Happening in American Soccer
06:59 Sub: It Can Take Decades to “Get it”
07:52 Sub: Is There a Specific “Aha Moment” When it All Makes Sense?
09:37 Topic 1: Most Registered Players in the US Are “Rec” and Not Playing Enough as the Explanation
14:09 Sub: What About the Degree of “Cultural Intensity”?
15:10 Sub: The Reason For Misguided Notions by Americans
17:30 Sub: Does Having Money or Being Well Off and Comfortable in the US Effect Why American Soccer Sucks?
22:04 Sub: Generational Memory and Cultural Inheritance (is it “In the Blood”)
25:35 Topic 2: Do the Other US Sports Have the “Best of the Best” Players?
27:50 Sub: Without Pro/Rel Players Aren’t Operating at Maximum Effort and Intensity
28:40 Topic 3: Pulisic is Not a Top 100 Player
30:52 Topic 4: Kids Aren’t Deciding What to Play Based on Pro Salaries
36:33 Topic 5: The “Best Athletes Go to the Other Sports” Nonsense
41:34 Sub: People Thinking About Black Athletes
42:20 Topic 6: Addressing the “Pay to Play” Myth
46:17 Sub: Coaches Shouldn’t Need an Incentive to Maximally Develop Every Player and Should Work Their Asses Off Out of the Goodness of Their Heart?
48:01 Sub: Is the Youth a Competitive Level the Reason Why The American Player Doesn’t Develop?
51:37 Topic 7: How Much Does Youth Coaching Matter?
56:52 Is it Possible to Produce a World Class Player Without an Open System?
58:20 Sub: Pulic Not a Top 100 Player
01:05:49 Topic 8: 3four3 Coaching Summits
01:08:33 Argentine Federation New Policy Enslaving Youth Players
01:12:46 Sub: The Free Market Should Decide
01:13:47 Sub: Training Compensation and Solidarity Payments
01:16:16 Sub: MLS Coerces Youth Players By Threatening No National Team Call-ups
01:18:52 Japan Having Promotion and Relegation
01:26:28 Agressively Responding to Social Media Comments
01:27:34 Sub: How Logic and Rationality Leads You Astray
01:33:28 Argentines Want Brazil to Win the World Cup

Premium Education for either Coaches or Parents

If you are a coach or a parent of a player, we’ve also codified and made available the remarkable work of a coach who trained and shepherded many, many players from the age of 9 all the way to graduating them to being professionals.

The products that show you how this was done, is what sponsors this episode.

Get aboard a proven path, a legitimately proven path, not something copied or synthesized from elsewhere, or worse. No, but rather a first hand account and curriculum directly from the source, from the practitioners themselves, whose work is unprecedented in the American soccer environment.

For Coaches

Learn the methodology at 343coaching.com.
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Learn to properly guide and develop your kid through the maze and pitfalls that is American soccer (from the folks who have actually done it).
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