Taylor Twellman Shares HIS Thoughts On The Future Of U.S. Soccer

Ahead Of The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Taylor Twellman shares his thoughts on what the future holds for U.S. soccer.
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• The Problem With Youth...
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#soccer #ussoccer #olympics #usmnt #parisolympics2024 #sports

[@will27ns]

Watching Argentina at MetLife, I saw great individual players with magnificent skills; and a great team with a high level of tactical understanding. Of course they're good athletes, but I didn’t see a lot of Bo Jacksons. The same applies to many smaller but accomplished soccer nations: Belgium, Uruguay, Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, etc. have minuscule player pools compared the U.S., and yet produce excellent players. Anyone knowledgeable in the sport will tell you that a big part of the problem with the development of American players is the near fetish of favoring bigger, faster, stronger kids at a young age. ‘Smash Mouth’ doesn’t work in soccer. And of course there’s entire the mental aspect; I would cite a player like Phil Foden as just one example. He doesn’t have a lot of muscles, but he's got a good 'soccer mind.'

[@marcofabilaYT]

Usa team needs more international competence, you guys can have the best young players in Europe but if you continue playing only against Concacaf teams your football level It will always be low, the solution could be start play in Conmebol

[@robertridley9279]

What if players who wanted to play football and basketball who weren't big enough and weren't ever going to be big enough got funneled into soccer at a young age?

[@TheCommentEvangelist]

We have some 330 million people in this country..shouldn’t be that hard to find a solid 11. Soccer of course requires different kinds of athleticism but it is also very cerebral since it is free flowing with only half time for stoppage. Athleticism without brains does not go far in the sport. The problem with American soccer is the pay-to-play system. It is literally textbook corruption. An institution that should be governed by athletic merit (sport) is gatekept by a paywall. Pricier clubs tend to have more meaningful exposure. It creates a conflict of interest. Do I as a coach play the best players or do I try to get everyone equal pay time since everyone’s parents are all paying exorbitant fees. The best in this sport have rarely been physically imposing and have come from nothing (financially). Hot take: The US has increased the influx of immigrants and naturalized citizenry tremendously over the past 30 years or so. Soccer is the most popular sport amongst this American cohort. USSoccer has not tapped into this whatsoever. Typically this American class does not include club sport in its expenditure as it is quite the financial endeavor to get settled in the US. Main financial expenditures will be transportation, education, and housing. With the amount of time immigrant parents typically spend at work, there is not time to participate in club sport if that is something that they were willing to pay for in the first place. Pay to play has literally priced out most of the American working class. You need to tap in to all areas of your society. Take Christian pulisic for example, the Us system is subpar so his family took him to borussia dortmund in Germany where he grew up at one of the best clubs in the world. Anyway I’ve typed too much at this point. If there are any questions feel free to ask

[@r2dad282]

"greatest athletes" argument in this day and age. Still? I though we were beyond this nonsense 25 years ago but every numpty who knows nothing about the game has to climb their own learning curve.

[@AC-im4hi]

US would absolutely run soccer if it was even a top 3 sport in the country. Just look at every other widely played sport and especially the Olympics

[@r2dad282]

@AC-im4hi What I think you mean is if our culture supported the sport like it was the #1 or #2 sport in the country. Because all our football, basketball and most of our baseball players don't have the bodies to play the sport. 5'-5" to 6'-2" comprises 75%+ of all professional soccer players on the planet. The US produces freakishly large bodies--not the profile of elite players in the sport.

[@jonathonedwardmiller]

@@AC-im4hi no they wouldn't

[@AC-im4hi]

@@jonathonedwardmiller It would be an absolute slaughter like everything else

[@careyfreeman5056]

If our best played soccer, we'd be France. Seriously. Go watch France and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

[@edwardvaldez2628]

No u wouldn't, France are good cuz they have great coaches and have great systems u guys don't that's why the USA players play like robots , A team like Argentina and others have technical ability the US doesn't

[@trorisk]

To have an elite at the top level you need to have a large base of pyramid. In France there are 12,000 clubs. And it doesn't cost more than $250 a year for a child to play football all year round. There is a network throughout the territory and even kids of poor parents can play. A 10 year old child who is good, all the scoots in France are aware of him. The parents then began to receive offers from professional clubs for him to join the club training center as soon as he turned 12. In these training centers everything is taken care of by the club. Parents do not have to pay anything. And for the elite of the elite, those who are destined to join the national team, there is the INF Clairefontaine. --- The fact that there are also many amateur and semi-professional clubs allows late bloomers to be spotted by professional football. Ngolo Kanté for example was not spotted during his youth but only in an amateur club when he was already 20 years old.

[@hennman1965]

sorry, but Musah > McKennie...

[@raulesparza618]

it has gotten worse as pay for play is stronger then ever

[@r2dad282]

Pay to Play isn't the problem. It's that parents get very little for the money they spend because most coaches have never played at a high level and can't teach much beyond tactics. US coaches (and by extension the clubs who employ them) aren't worth all the pay they get.

[@cooltromboner]

@@r2dad282pay to pay is definitely a problem

[@jonathonedwardmiller]

@@r2dad282 its both

[@raulbarron5250]

Who cares what Twellman thinks… he’s a Pay for Play apologist

[@travistarr9433]

Thought Taylor and MLS died when it went to Apple. What a terrible long term play for MLS. Sure upfront money is great but the loss of casual viewers will be devastating long term.