Inquest finds that pay-to-pay in the US is a problem, but quality training and talent channels are huge.

July 13 – The USMNT exited the World Cup in disgrace, and the post-mortem in the American media was swift. Experts and fans have come to a common ground, which is the price of youth soccer in America.

Families can spend several thousand dollars a year for a child to compete with ECNL and MLS NEXT teams, with some clubs charging as much as $10,000 before making the trip.

Contrast that with much of the soccer world, where kids have traditionally been looked after in grassroots programs, often led by volunteer coaches, and local rivalries. There is no average rate of pay. Nothing.

But here’s a question no one seems willing to ask out loud. If American families spend ten thousand a year on paid coaching, why aren’t they producing better players?

Cost is only part of the equation. Another part is quality. You can price the game out of reach and have something to show for it, if the training is truly elite. Instead, the US has thousands of professional coaches, many with a coaching badge and accompanying business plan, who do not develop players in any meaningful sense.

Too many put out balls and running sessions that aren’t aimed at developing the specific needs of their teams and players. They fill the weekends. They collect funds. That’s not the same as making football players.

That’s a great idea since there are many outstanding youth programs connected to MLS academies and provide teams of players in the college soccer game, but also where the US falls short in the level of well-paid coaches who fail to capture the talent they bring.

US Soccer is trying to go with its Soccer Forward program. CEO JT Batson says the federation has been “very active” in youth discussions and consulting with FIFA’s technical development team, recently holding a two-day conference for youth managers at the new national center in Atlanta. Hope is a complementary approach that lowers costs for clubs and families.

But is there any real value in consulting FIFA that has no history of grassroots youth development beyond PR content, or interest in it? The responsibility for developing talent rests firmly at the national federation level and identifying the right coaches and training standards to be promoted – the same is true for developing talent in the field of sports. That is actually what the FIFA grant organizations get.

In the US – and the college system is a good example – coaches who haven’t developed the way the game is designed, are holding players back at important stages of their development.

The price to play is as high as ever. Adjust the cost, of course. But systematic training reform is a long-term solution if the US is to develop an internationally competitive talent pool. But even that doesn’t defeat the opening of talent trails in the professional game.

While the US blamed Balogun’s red card incident for the team’s loss to Belgium, US coach Mauricio Pochettino actually hit the nail on the head when he commented that “the quality was not there”. Quality over quantity at the highest levels and polishing the gems that can be discovered rather than put down, is what creates world-beating players.

FIFA cannot solve or solutions per se, but a rigorous examination of European youth programs, philosophies and coaching education will provide logical pillars that can be adapted to suit American needs.

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