{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Chasing the Game - Youth Soccer in America","title":"What U.S. Soccer Says Must Change in Youth Soccer","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2925,"description":"What U.S. Soccer Says Must Change in Youth Soccer\nHow is U.S. Soccer trying to fix youth soccer? Its chief operating officer says the current system is \"not acceptable,\" families are not appropriately served, and the federation owns improving and clarifying the pathway.\nThe World Cup filled stadiums and pulled in tens of millions of viewers. Then the run ended against Belgium, and the federation started saying two things at once: the event was a success, and the development system has to change. For a parent in the car on the way to practice, the second sentence is the one that matters.\nDan Helfrich, Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Soccer, describes what he wants a new system to look like: soccer in schools and parks for free, local competition that does not price families out in money or time, development centers where a kid can be seen without a tryout or a check, and a wider talent funnel that stays open past the early-teen years when kids are still growing. He agrees that most young players should be able to find good competition much closer to home, while acknowledging that lower-density communities need different answers. He says U.S. Soccer will not own and operate leagues. These are goals and early design principles, not announced policy.\nDan is also a soccer parent. He asks to return in 9 to 12 months so Liron and Matt can review what has changed and what has not. Parents should hold U.S. Soccer to that check-in.\nIn this episode:\nThe \"spider web\" of governance and why Google Maps cannot navigate the pathway\nSoccer in schools and parks as the first step toward affordability\nWhy an 11-year-old's future does not depend on one national tournament, and where travel can shrink\nWhy U.S. Soccer does not want to own youth leagues, and what it wants to own instead\nWhy scouting becomes self-fulfilling and how video and a wider affiliate network could change that\nKeeping the talent funnel open through adolescence, when dominant 11-year-olds stop dominating\nThe cost...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Pf68ZmEGGzhD_L4GqN2MPEzSyl3kwuk7GVB4PlA2yzk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kZWVh/ODMyNzJlMTg1NDQ3/NWZmZjlhOTAwOWEy/ZGJmYy5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}