Ep 401: WTF Happened to Youth Soccer in America? What You Need to Know and Nobody Tells You

In this episode of the 3four3 podcast, we take a hard look at the evolution of American youth soccer, reflecting on its past and critiquing its present.

We discuss how the competitive, merit-based Coast Soccer League once set a high standard for youth soccer, producing top talent through a promotion-relegation system.

Fast forward to today, we unpack how the rise of MLS Next and ECNL has created a monopolistic environment, sidelining smaller clubs and limiting true competition. We also address the pitfalls parents face, from buzzword-heavy marketing to the financial burdens of pay-to-play systems, and why youth success doesn’t translate to senior-level results.

Join us to understand the systemic issues holding back U.S. soccer and discover how our resources at 343coaching.com and 343masterclass.com can help you navigate this complex landscape.

00:00 Intro
04:00 What was the club scene like when Gary was a kid?
07:04 Was AYSO the Best League?
08:12 Sub: AYSO Costs Back in The Day?
09:46 Sub: USMNT Hasn’t Improved with Professionalization of Club Soccer
10:55 Sub: Will The USMNT Ever Catch Up To The Rest Of The World?
12:14 Failure Stimulates Change
13:20 USMNT Coach Has the Biggest Microphone in American soccer
14:00 Pochettino’s Comments on Missing USMNT Players
15:30 There is No “A Team” Within The USMNT
18:41 Why The Youth NTs Have Success, But Not the Senior Team
21:15 Youth Level Success Does Not Translate to the Senior Level
22:45 Brian’s Club Experience – Coast Soccer League
26:14 How The DA Ruined the Coast Soccer League and the Youth Game
28:43 How MLS Destroyed Youth Soccer
31:18 The Monopoly Controlling Youth Soccer
34:14 Why US Soccer/MLS Does Not Want Promotion/Relegation at the Youth Level
39:45 The “Logical Conclusions” on Why the U.S Sucks at Soccer
41:10 Sub: America Does Have the Soccer Market
42:05 Sub: Money and Infrastructure
44:17 Tangent: Running Up the Score in Youth Games
45:42 Sub: The Excuse That MLS is Still “New” and “Needs More Time”
48:19 Why Does England Suck Even with a 100 Year History?
54:53 Youth Soccer – Parents Getting Sold on “Buzzwords”
57:24 Sub: How Youth Clubs Survive in the system
59:30 The Harsh Truth That Most Coaches Won’t Tell You
01:02:17 Why Full Transparency Doesn’t Work
01:04:20 Hope Being Used to Sell Players/Families on The Impossible
01:06:33 Is There Anything Good About Club Soccer in the U.S.?
01:13:10 3four3 Parent Education – The Masterclass

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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.
If you’re coaching 7v7, we’ve got you covered at 7v7coaching.com.

For Parents

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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).
Gain access at 343masterclass.com.

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Parent Education Program