Game after game, season after season we roll from one to the next while pointing fingers at the flaws. We all know the US youth soccer system is crap. You just have to compare our Men's National Team to Croatia for example. There are around three times more kids in Arizona than there are kids in the whole of Croatia. Why then do they create better players than us? World class players like Luka Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic, Perisic etc. What about next door to them in Serbia too? Its the same thing with Sesko, Vlahovic, Mitrovic, Savic etc. Uruguay, Belgium, Portugal etc. All are really just like states like Arizona in terms of size but they all out perform us by miles in Arizona.

Even more crazy when you factor in the entire USA that is more than 100 times more population than Croatia. Of course we can look for an easy deflection or justifications like 'we have other sports here like Basketball so we don't get all the best athletes'.

Well take a look at Basketball players from Serbia. Pull up their games and local rivalries and feel that passion. Sport here is commercialized and managed for profit. Sport elsewhere is for the people. We can change that as soon as we realize that we are the people and that 'people make places'. Don't wait and hope someone else is going to fix it in your favor. Prices, politics, drama, complications and stress have only gone up. They will until we have taken enough and we innovate better systems.

The Phoenix metro alone is almost twice as many people as Croatia and trust me we put in way more resources (money) and have better facilities too. But here instead of taking action we all point fingers at US Soccer, ASA, MLS, the guys that run the clubs, events etc. It is never ending clubs v clubs, associations v associations, parents v coaches, parents v clubs, parents v parents and even v other people's kids and seemingly everyone v refs. 

That Facebook page that connects parents and gives them a forum to discuss is sometimes full of evil, hate, ego and insecurity aimed at everyone trying to deliver the programs. It never seems to produce anything constructive, just people looking to hate on others and especially anyone trying to make a difference.There are some excellent people trying their best here in youth soccer, there really is. Yes, there are some bad players abusing their power but let me tell you though from someone on this side. Many of you parents are pretty hard to keep up with and often behave terribly and are not good examples for the kids to become. So the failures aren't only on the clubs, coaches, event leaders and refs, just saying.

We become victims because that is the easiest thing to do. Defer blame, point fingers and feel aggrieved. I tell all the players i coach that there are only two types of people. Winners and victims. It is time for us to show the right way and teach our kids that this generation are not victims. We are winners, if we want to be.

To improve some of the things we do badly and as a priority really as it can kill two birds with one stone. We need to have the kids play more small sided. It is why every top nation in the world beats us. Soccer is a fairly simple sport. The key skills are your technical ability with the ball and with both feet. 

Soccer is just speed of play versus speed of press and at the top two elements are vital.

Technical 

Your ability to manage the ball forms the basis of the level you can play at and the level can be measured out of 20. Or maybe 21 if you are Ronaldinho (my favorite player ever). In the younger ages physical and mental scores impact success more but at the top its a switch. Once a team can move the ball faster than a person then the game changes, slows down and bvecomes more tactical and team centric. We suck at this in the US because we don't give the kids access to the right process.

For technical, To get to the highest number here the ingredients are simply reps but also a coach or methodology that teaches the elements of perfect balance, function and finesse. Most mistakes are technical and most of them are from poor function or posture. These are coaching needs but US Soccer in general does not teach these. As with all elements this should also be a guided plan to develop over time and something you can track and set goals for.

Tactical

Also out of 20 on the scale but split in to two halves of 10. Half are for your ability to know, discuss, play and deliver on a really thorough and team centric game model. This gives your role and responsibilities for every situation in every phase and even to the point where it tells you how and in what order to assess your options. It means the team plays with unified plan, everyone knows who is doing what to best manage or close spaces when defending or attack and create space with the ball to find gaps in the other team. Soccer is just speed of play versus speed of press but the planning becomes vital.

The other 10 points are for when there is no plan and you have to trust your instincts. Reaction time, momentum, off the ball movement, when to try and beat your man, when to go backwards are all things taught by playing free and you making the choices. This is how the final third and penalty box play is. The best tool for this is to play in cages with goals closer together so the whole game is in the penalty box all of the time. No real positions or plans so the players have to think for themselves and make the choices. You know actually 'play' themselves. The ones that perform the best here are usually the ones that will play as forwards. Those that are just behind but have the physical skills needed are likely best to play as center backs as shutting down 1v1 play is a huge part of the game.

Overall

If we want to do better we just have to do better. We the people, not waiting for anyone else to fix things for us. We have facilties and we are happy to share everything we have to make things better.

We will have the first event at the end of April and hopefully a second on memorial weekend. Each event will have a 1v1 and 3v3 for the kids under 10 or 11 years with the first held in the Next Level North location as they have 6 indoor courts there. For the older players 5v5 and/or 7v7 depending on numbers but hopefully both with 11 to 13 year olds playing 5v5 and 14 plus 7v7. Winners get 10 points and if its a team format each player gets 10 points. 2nd place gets 6 points and 3rd gets 3 points. A single point for 4th place. If you finish outside the points then the events become your stretch opportunities and you can see progress over time if you make it. If you score the highest then your moved into the older age group, the 'next level' to amke sure your challenged. You can still play in your own age group too but maybe not all of the time. Some 'coast' work is great for confidence, creativity and fun but stretch is needed for all players.

Each format and bracket will have a leaderboard and we will crown Arizonas best player in each age group. Maybe even host regional events too. For too long our winter weather has served others financially and provided little benefit to Arizona families.

Please help me fix this. If you want to help deliver the event series, oversee the games or just be a field marshall on site that's great. If you want to sign up your kid for 1v1 or in a team then get registered and reach out to your friends or your team mates to make this happen. 

Our kids need us to step up.