Columnists response

Check out the response from the soccer columnist I emailed a few days ago...he says that we aren't producing players of Brazilian caliber, however this is something that just does not happen overnight. I believe we are on our way to producing quality soccer players and you just have to look at how much better our team has become in the last decade. Our quarterfinal finish in the 2002 world cup was a major accomplishment and has given us something to build on through the next decade...however youth development does need to be more of a focus in terms of actual soccer "development" and not over coaching...slowly but surely we are getting rid of the football clipboard parent coach that has no clue what they are doing, our kids should be aloud to develop in a true soccer environment and one that allows them to use their imagination and develop good technique. I believe that Major League Soccer will have a huge impact on our development throughout the next 20-30 years, and their focus on youth teams that are sponsored by the parent club should produce highly competitive players for the MLS club and our National team.


I agree with a lot of what you wrote. Matters have improved in many ways, and we are far more competitive than twelve years ago. But you did not address my central cliaim: our youth system is not producing technically gifted players; we still have not produced even one world class outfiled player. We could debate whether the Brazil bar is too high, but I think we would agree that the goal is to be among the elite, which means being able to conistently beat the Argentinas, Italys, Germanys, and Frances of the world. And we will not be able to that unless without technically accomplished players. I realize that Rome was not built in a day, but one would hope that after 30 years and tens of millions of kids coming through our system, we could produce one player who was as good as Diego or Julio Baptista.

Thanks for your comments,