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What U.S. Soccer Says Must Change in Youth Soccer
How 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.
The 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.
Dan 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.
Dan 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.
In this episode:
Chasing the Game is a weekly show for parents trying to navigate youth soccer in America, the money, the leagues, the pressure, and what actually develops a player.
Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly podcast for soccer parents, coaches, and players who want to understand how youth soccer development really works in the United States.
Hosted by two dads, filmmaker Liron Unreich and investor Matt Tartaglia, the show covers everything from grassroots soccer to elite pathways like MLS NEXT and ECNL. Combining data, real experience, and expert insights from academy directors, college coaches, and former pros, each episode explains what families truly need to know.
Weekly episodes focus on the core aspects of youth soccer: player development, coaching culture, college recruiting, tryouts, travel costs, and the challenges of parenting in youth sports in today’s competitive environment.
For families navigating youth soccer’s complex system, Chasing the Game offers practical advice, credible voices, and relatable stories from two dads working to make sense of American player development, one episode at a time.
Hello, youth soccer fans, or whoever else is watching
this episode.
I cannot believe who would that be, but welcome to
the new season anyway.
I hate to disappoint you all, but no, this is not the apology
video many of you thought I would do.
This actually is good news.
As of September 1st, 2026.
U.S. soccer is taking control over U.S. youth soccer.
this is an organization of 2.7 million
players through 54 state association.
The Federation becomes USYS sole voting
member during a two-year integration.
For parents, this means national leadership will be directly
connected to the state organization running local soccer.
The hope, fewer competing systems, clearer pathway,
lower cost, and less travel.
Now, this doesn't mean you guys don't need to
listen to chasing the game anymore, but it's progress.
We interviewed US soccer COO Dan Hellridge
5 days earlier, so he could not announce the
deal, but called the system too disconnected,
and this is what he meant.
This may be the start of a unification, but the road is still long.
Here's the episode.
Hey parents. Last season some of you told
us go home or go big.
I think it was you, Matt.
It was definitely me.
Yeah, all right, all right. So I'm trying
to impress you here.
New season, we're going big. World Cup is
over,
stadiums are empty, jerseys all sold out.
American soccer is waking up with a
hangover.
But the parent question is not really what
happened to Belgium.
I think we got over that is what do we do
with our kids now?
Because we did not need a World Cup to
know that this country loves soccer.
Fifty to sixty million people proved it to
everyone else.
What the World Cup did not do was make the
youth pathway any more clear,
or make a good game more affordable,
or help every talented kid get seen.
It showed the possibility. It also showed
the fractures.
The system now has to show progress.
Yeah, so ~ we got somebody for that today.
We're talking to Dan Helfridge,
player, broadcaster, coach, referee,
Dad of four, son playing Division I in
Georgetown,
a real soccer guy, not football,
soccer guy. Now he is inside US soccer,
COO, as a matter of fact, working on the
same system.
The rest of us are just trying to
understand from the parking lot and the
sideline.
I told him that coming on the show made us
official,
and guess what? He didn't correct me.
And in a country this big, the list is
long.
Should a ten year old need to travel more
than fifteen miles for a league game?
Why do scouts keep returning to the places
where talent is predictable?
Are there enough scouts? Can video keep
the funnel open longer?
do college soccer,
coaching, and parents fit into what comes
next?
Yeah, Dan calls it a multi-year process.
But ~ he also said this: we have a
guaranteed guest,
nine to twelve months on the record,
he'll be waiting. This is chasing the
game.
Youth soccer in America, we're official,
Matt.
We're official!
Liron: Dan, welcome to Chasing the Game.
Uh, we're honored to have you.
I guess you being here
makes it official for us.
Matt, pressure is on, and,
uh, we're ready to go.
World Cup, sold-out stadiums,
this incredible summer.
Um, then July 6 game, run
ended against Belgium.
Just give us, like, a little
bit, what was it like to be
in U.S. Soccer at that moment?
Dan: it was exhilarating,
and then it was sad.
And, the exhilaration and
the belief has lasted, longer
since, um, the World Cup ended.
the sadness went away, pretty quickly.
And, but the realization that the belief
that those of us inside US Soccer had
in the belief of, our ability as a
country to become one of the world's
great soccer nations, that belief,
turned into, you know, reality and
excitement for a lot more people when
you saw 50 to 60 million people, tuning
in, when you saw jerseys selling out in
a way that no one had ever, predicted.
Like, the, the response that since
then is, "Let's go. let's take this
momentum and let's turn it into
the system for the sport in our
country that the families deserve."
Liron: But that's our job, Matt
Matt: Dan, the, the federation has been
saying two things at once since July.
The World Cup was a massive success
as an event, you just touched
upon that, and the exit shows the
development system has to change.
Which of those two sentences
should parents weigh more
heavily and think about?
Dan: I think it's hard to not consider
both of them in tandem, because, our
belief is that the first shows the
possibility and that we aren't nearly
as far away from the conditions for
love of the sport in our country
as some would have, predicted or
some would've told you was fact.
At the same point, the fact that the
development system does not create
opportunity, for all the players
and families that deserve it, and
the development system is opaque and
fragmented and unclear for families
should be something that we openly
talk about and that we openly declare
is something that needs to improve.
And it's not a 1% or
2% tweak on the margin.
It's a, it, it's a material adjustment
in the way the system functions
Liron: Is, is this something that, I
know you're a parent too, but is this,
and I know your love for soccer and
your history, is this something that
you understood before you took this job,
or this is something that you've kind
of came to the realization through it?
Dan: Yeah, I've, I've lived the sport
in so many different ways, and my
life is so enriched as a result of it.
I was a, a player up through college,
had one, not so brilliant appearance
as a youth national team player, and
then have been a broadcaster and a
volunteer and a coach and a referee
and, a parent of four kids who have
been or are in, um, the system.
So you absolutely form hypotheses and
hunches about the, you know, the state of
affairs, but then it's certainly different
for me when you get inside and it
becomes… It goes from something you talk
with your friends and colleagues about to
something that you work 18 hours a day on,
and, that's been the transition, for me.
And so have turned into,
clear perspectives as a
result of the experience.
Matt: what, what did you believe about
youth soccer before you took this
job that you now see differently?
Dan: I would say I did not understand
the spider web of governance of youth
soccer from rec through the most
elite youth, competitions and how that
spiderweb, how hard it is for parents,
particularly those that don't have
the benefit that I've had of being
so immersed in the sport for so long.
I, I didn't appreciate sorta how
unwieldy the spiderweb is, and there's
so many different levels of the game.
Obviously, there are local, state,
regional, and national leagues, and,
you know, I do like the word pathway
that we use to describe what we're
trying to help families navigate.
But man, is it not a pathway that,
Google Maps is gonna help you, navigate
in a clear way because if it did,
it's telling you to turn left, then
right, then take a U-turn then-- And,
that was starker for me since being--
living it every day than when I arrived
Liron: Yeah, I mean,
Matt: exactly why we started this
podcast, as two dads living it with
our kids and then talking with other
parents and hearing the frustration
and just the lack of understanding.
And I think what we've come across
after a year of doing this and 37-plus
interviews is that 98% of the people
are well-intentioned in this ecosystem,
But it's still unclear to people
of what the progression looks like
and how decisions are made and who
owns what to a certain degree, and
what does the evolution look like.
So we're still tr- trying to bring
on people like you and others who are
involved in the ecosystem who are really
trying to make a difference because we
think it's that important, and people
and families invest so much time, so
much money, trying to understand how
do you provide the best platform for
your kids, whether they're trying to
be a pro or whether they're trying to
have a great time playing grassroots
soccer, and even that to a certain degree
Dan: Look, I think that's fair,
and, I don't know that it's worth us
spending time unpacking how we arrived
where we are with this fragmentation.
and look, history provides
interesting context.
However, I wanna be really clear that
I think US Soccer is the one and only
organization in the United States
with the responsibility to improve
and clarify what you just described.
and so I and the great colleagues
I work with every day, like,
that is our rallying cry.
The families are not appropriately
served today, and we need to do the
hard work and the humble work to,
put the pieces together in a way and
communicate the pieces in a way that
over the next year or so, percentage of
people who are tuning into this podcast
that, can articulate an understanding
of the pathway goes dramatically up.
So I'm happy to be here today at
the early-ish part of our journey
in trying to stand up and say we're
accountable and it needs to be better.
I'm more happy to be back in a year when
I hope the tenor of the conversations that
you're experiencing in the s- you know,
in the circles you run in the comments
that people provide, I expect it should
be materially different because of the
work we're starting to do right now.
If not, we have not done our job as
well or as extensively as we need to.
Liron: Well, th-th-this is really good.
Le- we're parents.
Imagine the, the parent in the car
right now driving to practice, and the
parents are split into pods, right?
You have the parents who don't
know as much about the sport the
parents who know it, and the parents
who can barely afford to do it.
they're all different.
But if they're sitting in the car now
listening to you and awaiting their
revisit in a year, what would you
say would be a, in broad strokes, a
vision of a new system or something
that would be, okay, here is something
to aspire to that things can look
like in 12 months down the road?
Dan: Look, I think, a new system
has new families accessing the sport
in way more natural and affordable
ways in their kids' early years.
that means that in the places where
people gather, with their children,
the sport needs to be more present.
And so I can't emphasize enough that
soccer in schools, soccer in parks and rec
departments needs to be more omnipresent,
because then we are giving people access
to the sport that the three of us love
for free, taking advantage of the public
infrastructure that's already been built,
taking advantage of where people are.
So that's the first thing for those
really early, and that's before
the situation you describe where
parents are in a car driving to,
Liron: So familiar
Dan: a practice right now.
The second thing is that, a new system
will try to create a view of a market,
a community, a city, however you wanna
describe it, where the soccer resources
of that market are integrated, and
there's a common plan that includes,
how to get the players, competing and
playing with people of like ability
and like aspiration without needing
to, join teams or leagues that, price
them out either in time or money.
Sometimes we talk just about money,
Liron: yeah.
That's why
Matt: you're a 100, you're 100%
Dan: so many people price
out because of time.
we need to take advantage in metropolitan
areas of density, and if those families
are in high-density areas, we need
to create the conditions where they
can live and operate and drive within
those high-density areas and get the
high-level competition, that they need.
And then we need a system that allows
any player who is identified as having
talent or the potential for talent,
whether that player is participating in
a, quote-unquote, "elite academy team,"
whether that player is playing in a
street soccer league at a local park
that's been built, whether they are,
in the, you know, Yann Diamande story
that everyone's talking about playing
high school soccer in a community in
Florida, that those soccer players can
get identified as someone with potential
and they can get into an environment
to be seen and play with high potential
players without it being a big deal,
without needing to try out for a team,
without needing to, to write a big check.
We need to have, for lack of a
better term, development centers
that allow players to come together
in their local environments to
play with other top, players.
So all of those things will be part
of the system that we envision.
And then finally, and I'll pause, once
players reach, I don't know, we can pick
an age and debate it, 15, 16, then if
they are of the highest potential, players
that can play professionally, potentially,
players that can play at the highest end
of college soccer who can play for our
national teams, then our system needs
to get those people into, free high-end
competitive environments with the best
coaching so that we're not leaving any
players out because of affordability
Matt: Dan, I just wanna double-click
into-- this mandate is incredibly wide
just for US Soccer and deep, right?
And this is, this-- I don't
think there's anything easy about
what you guys are undertaking.
there's private enterprises
with MLS, ECNL, Elite Academy.
You talked about the governing bodies.
How do you guys actually impact
change and get to a place where, I
think I've heard you talk about the
four areas of alignment: cost and
access, coaching, and space, where you
can start to see your plan working,
and then how do you measure it?
Dan: The only way I know how to
do it is to invite the people in
the current system to the table.
So look at each other
across the table and say,
"Does anyone think that we're configured
to optimize the experience for players and
family? Does anyone think we're creating
the best chance to develop world-class
players?" we've assembled those groups.
We've asked those questions.
And it's clear, no matter if you're
a for-profit or non-profit league,
including some of the ones you
referenced, no, no matter if you have
a connection to a professional league
or not, everyone nods and says, " The
current state is not acceptable."
And so that's the place you start.
Now, then you start to then say, "Okay,
what are the things that could be done
in six to 12 months to demonstrate to the
players and families that a new system and
a new era is coming? What are things that
might take, multiple years?" So that's
the stage where we are, um, right now.
And then, of course, as you said,
measuring it becomes incredibly important.
And, but measuring it, I think is
the, is one of the quicker wins.
I think we can get to a place where
every community has a soccer scorecard
that shows, like, how many schools
in this area is soccer in, and
how does that compare to national
averages in similarly sized cities?
How many, talent identification
opportunities are available for
players in this area, and how does that
compare to other places in the country?
And so I think this notion of a
community soccer scorecard that then
trees up to, you know, a national
soccer scorecard is the kind of thing
that we can start assembling and
then publishing that'll provide some
transparency to the progress we're, making
Liron: you said the magic word community,
and, one of the, this is no secret,
but one of the things that's most
egregious, and I understand why people
do it and I've done it before, but
obviously, youth soccer and travel.
Let's say, let's, like you
said, up to the age of 15.
Over 15 if you're at a
certain level, godspeed.
we've heard it many times here that
directors and coaches say, "Well,
there's great competition across
the street." But travel within US
youth soccer is almost chronic.
It's almost like just something that
people take for granted, and I don't need
to specify on the podcast here today the
time and money it costs families to do it.
Isn't it almost like a, and I'm
gonna super simplify 'cause this
is the only thing I'm good at, is
broad stroke, just abolish that.
Create a system where
you go, you know what?
At the age of 10, you should, no kid
should travel more than 15 miles to play
a competitive soccer game within a league.
Does it go that far what
you're thinking about?
Dan: Short answer, yes
Liron: Okay.
So, well, that's it.
You see, parents?
Yes.
So
Dan: Uh, I, I mean, the… Do I think for
a family to do a vacation to pick your
favorite, fun area once a year to have
soccer part of that vacation, is that
Liron: done that before?
Dan: Sure.
I think that's okay in a… To suggest
to someone that if they don't, if
their 11-year-old misses some national
tournament in X place, that their
future soccer prospects are hanging in
the balance is crazy And look, again,
I, I believe it is part of our job is
to create the clarity around different
pathways and to create the clarity
about what's important and what isn't.
Of course, people are gonna make their
own choices and should, and, but, great
development of people with extraordinary
potential can occur within 60 miles or six
miles of one's home, in 80-plus percent
of the environments in the country.
Now, there's, there-- We should
acknowledge, by the way, that we
also need to have solutions and
answers for people in lower density,
Liron: Sure
Dan: areas.
you know, I have a, a son who
plays at, Georgetown University,
good Division I, um, men's team.
His, classmate, one of Georgetown's top
players, grew up in North Pole, Alaska.
w- there's gonna be talent that comes
from places like North Pole, Alaska.
That's a real, that's a real town.
And, but, we need to make sure
that for the, the majority of our
country, in terms of population, that
live in denser areas, that we can
live up to what you just described
Matt: I think it was 2020 during
COVID when the US Soccer shut
down the development academy.
it seems like the federation
made a conscious decision at
that point that they didn't wanna
own and operate youth leagues.
And, you know, fast-forward six years,
assuming that's still the position, right?
and you guys are focused on what exactly
for the families who are listening?
Dan: Yeah, I mean, I
obviously wasn't here, for
Matt: Right
Dan: discussions and decisions, but, we,
we don't believe US Soccer needs to own
and operate soccer in the United States.
and, we think, as you, sort of articulated
earlier, that there's, thousands of
incredible people and organizations
who are driving the sport every day.
It's just too disconnected
and too fragmented.
And so our job is to create standards and
structures and conversations that, join a
system up that right now is, disjointed.
And, you know, what exactly that looks
like is the work we're doing right now.
but, we don't think that, we need to
own and operate, soccer every day in
order for the things that parents and
families care about to come to life
Matt: Do, do you think that, um, looking
at the FA in England and looking at
Germany's association and looking
at what they do in Brazil or Spain,
and I think I saw a quote from you
saying, "We're not planning to cut
and paste what other federations are
doing," which seems to make a lot of
sense given that our country is pretty
unique in a lot of different ways.
what do you think we can take from
other countries to apply to what
we're doing so we're not trying
to completely reinvent the wheel
when it seems to work pretty well
Dan: I think we can-- I think
there's a lot of, things we can
take from a variety of countries.
I think if you look at the relationship
between, the, the professional clubs in
Spain and the Spanish Federation, there's
a lot to learn about the way they interact
with, with one another on things like
youth national team development that we
can, I think, apply some of that here.
In Germany, they've done some
really, thoughtful things at these
regional development centers that
are spread throughout the country
that allow players to come together.
It's supplementary to their club
environment, where other players
from around the area get together,
you know, once or twice a week to be
in top environments with top coaches
and then go back and play, you know,
matches in their normal club season.
I think there's things
about that we can apply.
So there's, there's lessons,
and ideas from plenty of places
that we're incorporating.
It's been pretty widely reported that,
Arsène Wenger, who leads FIFA's technical
development group, is spending time with,
us at US Soccer and me specifically, so
we make sure we have that perspective.
Arsène's a, a terrific guy w-who
actually cares a lot about the things
that the parents and families that
listen to this podcast care about.
So, so we're very focused
on, on those things.
but we aren't those countries.
Geographically, we aren't those countries.
Culturally, we aren't those countries.
And so that's why we say we, we
don't wanna be a copy and paster,
but we also don't wanna be arrogant
and assume that there's nothing
that exists anywhere else around
the world that can inform our future
Liron: Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna push a
little bit further on, on the almost
your previous note about US Soccer not
wanting to… It's not about the weeds, I
guess, it's the, it's the bigger picture.
But I'm gonna talk a
little bit about optics.
My, uh, my son, uh, was a U15, now
it- was at the U14 talent ID in, uh, I
think we, we went to Georgia and, uh…
Oh, thank you very much.
Uh, that I'm gonna edit out
of the podcast for sure.
But, uh,
Matt: But anyway, so when
Liron: anyway, so when we were there,
um, most- I've known, probably knew
70% of the parents and 70% of the kids.
Most of the kids were MLS NEXT kids.
Um, he's in an MLS NEXT team.
Matt: You're talking professional academy
kids, not just- Yeah, MLS … like, yeah
Liron: yes.
And, but still MLS NEXT.
w- my point being is that there's a sense
of optics that if you're not in an M- if
you don't have the MLS NEXT badge, for
example, as a family, even though many
parents know that their kid is not on
track, let's say, to the talent ID or
the US national team, but it's a sense
that there's more doors open if you're
at a certain league or a certain badge.
Not just you have to choose the
right team, the right geography, the
right location, the right cost, you
also have to be in the right kind
of company for your kid to be seen.
Is that something that you think about or
are willing to address for youth soccer?
Dan: Something we obsess about.
I-- We need the range of environments
that top players get identified from to
go way up, and we need, in order to do
that, we need more people able to identify
people they think are top players.
Part of the challenge with the
current system is we only have so
many humans who work for us or are
affiliates of us to go watch matches.
and if you are assigned to go, if you only
have so many people, they'll tend to go
to the places that are more predictable in
terms of having a bunch of talent there.
That makes sense from a, resource
allocation standpoint, but
it becomes self-fulfilling,
which is part of your point.
So we, you know, our strategy is
saying, how do we reach into the
environments that aren't as mainstream?
And again, whether that's a, a street
soccer league or that's a neighborhood
game in a immigrant community where
there's 12-year-olds playing with grown
men, and there's a 12-year-old who's
dominating the game, we need people to
be able to say, "I saw that kid." Someone
needs to take a look at him, and they need
to have an easy way to share that, and
then we need to have an easy way to invite
them to something where they can play.
and we're, we'll spend
a lot of time on that.
So if you go back to our conversation
about metrics, you know, long term,
could we publish some things about the
percentage of players that came from
different kinds of environments at
different ages that were identified, and
would that be, you know, instructive?
I think it would.
so that's the way w- that's
the way we look at it.
Matt: how are you guys thinking about
using, to, to your point around y-
you can only have so many humans even
if you create an affiliate program,
then you've gotta try to get those,
those people on the same page of what
good, quote, "looks like," right?
but in addition to that, how do, how
are you thinking about technology
and AI and how you can broaden the
network to be able to scout more kids?
Dan: Yeah.
The, on the first part of your question,
I don't know that I-- I don't know how
hard I need to work to get people on
the same page as what good looks like.
if we're in raw talent identification,
if you're someone who's watching
someone and is like, "Holy cow,
that person has something," that's
kinda all I care about at, at first.
I don't need you necessarily to
have a 15-point evaluation of
that player's technical ability,
Matt: Right
Dan: we'll figure that
out as time goes on.
So I don't wanna… The big thing that I
want everybody to think about, and then
I'll get to your technology question,
is wanna keep the funnel for potential
players way wider for way longer.
Like, that visual is really important.
You start with a wider funnel, and then
right now, deselection happens way too
early, and deselection happens because
families can't afford cost or time.
Deselection happens because, people are
deselecting prior to adolescence, when,
as we know, people develop physically
in extraordinarily different ways.
I'm sure you both have seen it.
Show me the dominant 11-year-old.
Fast-forward to age 16.
The percentage of dominant 11-year-olds
who are dominant 16-year-olds is,
nowhere near 100%, let's just say.
And so we gotta keep the
funnel open for way longer.
And so can technology be a huge part
of making sure the funnel is wider?
Absolutely.
the an enormous percentage of
the matches played are videoed.
now it's not 100% by any means, but in
places where a game is being recorded,
which are a lot of places, our vision
is there's no reason over time why
we can't get access to that video and
assess it to make sure we aren't missing,
people and to monitor the progress of
the people we've already identified.
So instead of your progress being
contingent on how you played in one of the
six games that a scout came to in person
All six of those games should matter in
the profile that we develop of a player
Liron: And that, that gets… That process
is initiated by the teams themselves,
so any team from can submit a list of
players that eventually will be… 'Cause
that, that will be an exciting idea.
I mean, even though, like I say, it's pie
in the sky, and many parents know that.
Parents are not, I mean, we're all
dreamers, but people are still realistic.
But it's fun to know that there's
always a, a way out, or the funnel is
expanding where whatever team you're in
Dan: Exactly
Matt: And I, I think even there,
there's so much fragmentation, right?
So trying to figure out how you get that
video and how you get into a central
repository where it's actually able…
people are able to, or machines are able
to analyze it or whatever it may be,
probably has… You've got some work to
do there, but at least it's there, right?
at least it's there.
Yeah.
Dan: We do have work to do there, but
I-- my view is that's worthy work.
Matt: Absolutely.
Dan: because again, we're-- all
of that tries to democratize
the game and to democratize the
opportunity, which really should be
our, you know, should be our goal
Liron: Yeah, I mean, um, I Many people
don't understand that even soccer
in Europe, South America costs money
to parents everywhere in the world.
Soccer is not free, so, but it, there's a
difference between free and affordability.
so, and, and that's, that's
a, a, a very fine line.
I know that U.S. Soccer, I know, um,
your CEO has talked about, possible
government funding, sponsorship,
philanthropy, media partners, you name it.
Arsene Wenger, you, you mentioned.
What could you flag today, what effort
could you flag today that can make
parents feel that, especially the future
generation, feel that there's transition
towards affordability in the game?
Dan: Well, we spoke about,
um, affordability from a
bunch of dimensions already.
So the first thing is, we need to attack
travel as a dimension of affordability,
and the system that we're working with
people to architect should materially
reduce the amount of travel, for players,
including players who have aspirations
to continue to grow with the game.
So that's a major part of affordability.
The second thing is, we think we can,
bring together the, professional, at
all divisions and college stakeholders
in communities to create, development
centers in places where top talent
can come to play, for, free or
close to free, you know, situations.
That's part of, that's
part of affordability.
And we think that there are, commercial--
There are companies and there are,
individual donors or family offices
that see soccer and the incredible
power it can have in a child's
life and want to take some of their
treasure and invest it in those things.
And as that happens, we would do
that in ways that attack the cost
to participate in a variety of ways.
So you're absolutely right that everywhere
around the world, there is an economic
model that sits underneath soccer.
and the difference in the economic models
are extraordinary between countries.
And so, you know, some countries
are significantly directly funded
by federal or state governments.
we are not.
a- and so we have to form our own,
I, I guess you might talk about it
in a geeky way, like we need our own
capital strategy that brings together,
the various pools of resources that
could make the sport more affordable.
But in doing that, we also have to
stop some of the unforced errors
that are unnecessary cost, and again,
travel being really high on that list.
and if you get a little more capital
in, but you use the capital that
exists already in smarter ways,
then the average cost to a family to
participate in soccer will go down.
And the other thing we like to talk about
is we gotta lower the cost of a good game.
and if you actually… You probably
hear us try to explore that metric,
like what's it actually cost to play a
good game when you add in all the time
and travel and player coaching costs?
It's way too expensive in the US
to have a good game right now,
and we gotta bring that down.
Liron: Yeah, I mean, I mean, it's, it…
soccer most, in most parts of the world
is subsidized in some way, like you said.
if it's not local communities, if
it's, philanthropist, government,
but it's also the business of soccer.
in a way, players have a certain value.
is this something that
you're looking at as well?
Dan: Yeah, the, the player marketplace
maybe is a way to describe that.
Liron: That's much better.
That's why I'm a h- podcast
host and you're a pro
Dan: How the, how US clubs of all types,
up to and including the professional
clubs participate in the soccer player
marketplace is an important topic for
sure, because that creates incentives for
player movement and, we get, an aligned
system where money is flowing in a way
that makes sense for all the participants.
That, that's certainly an
area we'll, spend time on
Matt: College soccer, you've arguably
spent as much time in it over the last
30 years as a player, broadcaster,
kids playing the sport, as anybody.
It's changed a ton over the last five
years, as, as all college sports have.
You know, I think 40 to 45% of
Division 1 players are international.
On the men's side, Yep, more experienced.
We're now… We're, we've
heard conversations.
They've-- now there's five-year
eligibility instead of four years.
We've heard that they're talking about
potentially changing the syst- the season
rather, rather than being a two-and-a-half
month sprint in the fall to being
more aligned to a professional season.
What's the future of college soccer,
and ultimately how does it feed
into what you're trying to build
for U.S. Soccer, especially when
you think about national teams?
Dan: Yeah.
So, college soccer is, and I'll quote,
Jed Roddy, who's one of the, folks on
Arsene's team who's spending a lot of
time with us, "College soccer is one
of the U.S.'s most distinct competitive
advantages in global football." and
it is the degree of, the quality of
facilities, the quality of infrastructure,
the quality of coaching, and the
existence of a system that, if done
properly, combines education and soccer
at a high level in the late developing
years of a player, sort of the 18 to
22 years, is a really valuable, asset.
And Our view as U.S. Soccer is
that we need to lean into and not
lean away from college soccer.
now that means, we need college soccer
to lean into the kinds of things that
continue its importance, which is,
includes how do we make the training and
competition and recovery environments
associated with the schedule better
for the player, which we think, you
know, on the men's side, the proposal
to, extend the season and therefore
the amount of recovery and increase
the amount of training is a good thing.
and, certainly for the women's game,
college soccer is still producing the,
you know, majority of our national team
players and the majority of our Division
1, professional league players, and we
hope that, um, we hope that continues.
So college soccer is a big part of
the future and this is the part that
doesn't get discussed enough because
people fixate on national teams, is
college soccer is one of the best
ways to keep youth participation high.
Because there are, across all divisions
in the U.S., Division 1, 2, 3, men and
women, there's 75 to 95,000 roster spots
Matt: Wow.
Dan: If college soccer shrinks and those
roster spots shrink, then the number of
families who are going to invest the time
and money to play youth soccer is going
to shrink, and that's bad for our game.
It means fewer people love the
sport like the three of us do.
It means fandom doesn't get developed as
much because people exit the game earlier.
So college soccer as a bridge to,
a lifelong relationship with the
sport is actually really important.
And so we're act- You know, I'm spending
time on things like, how do I create
more ability for college soccer players
to become coaches or referees while
they're still in their academic life?
Like, 'cause if I can create more
pathways for people to stay in the
game, that has goodness in so many ways.
Without college soccer, it'll be really
hard to accomplish some of those things
Liron: you mentioned the word coaches.
It's really important for us as parents
just to understand, I, I, and I know this
is something you've discussed before,
but one of the areas of improvement
is, you've mentioned, is coaching.
How do you see it?
Do we, uh, do we just, is it just
about the level of general coaching?
Is it that we have, we don't
have enough good coaches?
Matt: Li- licensing is really
expensive, takes a ton of time.
It's difficult to get done for a lot of
coaches who have other jobs too, right?
So it's all of those
Liron: Yeah
Dan: We, we need more coaches.
We need coaches who are better tuned
to their environments, and we need,
licensing and education to match the
aspiration and ambition of the coach.
Um, and, all of those things,
need improvement, and we're
spending, good time on that.
What I would also say to all the parents
is we also need to raise the standard
of both coach and parent behavior,
Liron: Oof
Dan: and, behavior towards each
other, behavior towards the players,
behavior towards the referees.
and you know, my, my wife and I spend
time with the Positive Coaching Alliance
as an example of an organization that's
invested in, in this, but there are…
and you both see it on the sidelines.
There is, there is way too much
inconsistency in what behavior is
tolerated, relative to the trying to
create a positive environment for the
welfare and development of, the players.
And we as a country need to raise our
accountability for, those environments.
And when I hear at an 11-year-old's
game a parent going crazy at a missed,
out of bounds call near midfield in a
U11 game, I wonder what's happening in
the world, because there's literally
nothing less important than whether
the throw-in should be for team A or
team B in a U11 game near midfield.
And yet it's commonplace for that
to be energy that people, sometimes
parents, sometimes coaches are putting
into the world, and we don't need it
Liron: Red card to parents
Matt: Until you unpack that they
drove 90 minutes to play a, a
45-minute game, spent $200 to do
it, and 6,000 for the season, right?
honestly, I think, I think all of
this stuff adds up to what we see as
commonplace, which needs to be fixed.
There's no question about it
Dan: Yeah.
Well, you guys are doing a great service,
and let's agree that, you know, sometime,
you know, nine to 12 months from now,
we'll revisit this conversation and, and
talk about, and you'll give me feedback
on, you know, the progress we've made or
not made relative to, again, beginning
what'll of course be a multi-year process.
Matt: Uh, Dan, thank you so much.
We really appreciate your time,
your effort, and, uh, all the work
that you and your team are doing
WOW, with the little World Cup hangover, man.
Do not confuse momentum with reform.
Dan said it directly.
The families are not appropriately served today.
Parents should remember that line.
They should also measure it.
Are the drives getting shorter?
Is a good game becoming more affordable?
Is the pathway any clearer?
Look, parents, us included, have been saying the same thing for
years, I'm sure, but when you hear it from someone inside US
soccer, someone, a big league guy, saying this, it's a start.
It's not a finish, I get it, and there's confusing pathways,
and it all becomes a decision.
It's somebody's no.
Every confusing pathway is a tough decision at
a family's kitchen table.
Every closed door leaves the kid wondering whether the problem is
their ability or just where to play.
Dan gave us the cleanest measure.
It's way too expensive in the U.S. to have a good game right now.
Not a showcase, not a national event, simply a good game.
I want to say I did the math, but I know you didn't, gave me the notes.
90 minutes in the car.
$200 for the day, I guess,
6000 for the season, $8 for the Coke.
Is this what it really takes to make a good soccer game?
As Dan said, system not serving the family and the player.
The players are serving the system.
Yeah, then there's the funnel.
Dan said US soccer wants to keep the funnel for potential players
way wider for much longer, but scouts are limited.
They go where talent is predictable.
Then, as Dan said, it becomes self-fulfilling.
Amazing right?
For parents, that is a promise to watch.
Can a late developer kid still be found without already
being in one of those predictable places?
And then Dan handed part of the job back to us.
We also need to raise the standard of both coach
and parent behavior.
Laurent, he was talking about us, and I appreciate you
scripting this line for me.
Yeah, and you know what?
This is classic me, right?
I show up with a giant to-do list for the US CEO
of US soccer.
I'm feeling great.
You know, I got my name on it and everything, but he leaves me
with a to-do list.
So we are part of the system, Matt.
That has to change.
Yeah, so 9 to 12 months from now, the question is simple.
What changes can we see?
What changes can we measure and how do families actually feel them?
Yeah, thank you, Dan, for joining us, putting the 9 to
12 months on the record.
We will see you then.
New season.
Big country, plenty to tackle.
Subscribe if you want to know whether these promises become something parents can feel.
And share this with one another, shared with a parent, team
chat, man, I know this is a.
just throwing it in, right?
And Matt, until they hire you as the next CEO of US
soccer, you're stuck with me in the basement.
This is chasing the game or
chasing Le Ron.
youth soccer in America.
See you later, CO.