A while ago I asked a colleague of mine about how he enjoyed working for Major League Soccer.  His response was: "Well, youth soccer is where the money is."  His statement shocked me.  How could youth soccer be more of a money-maker than a professional soccer league?

When I moved to Houston, I saw exactly what he meant.  Houston is home to more youth soccer clubs than I can count.  Fort Wayne, IN (where I grew up) had one major club and one minor club.  Each of these clubs in Houston employees a full time staff whose resumes include USSF "A" License and USSF national youth license credentials. 

These club trainers and directors of coaching/player development have to pay rent and bills somehow right? 

Of course they do and there is a premium cost for their services that many parents out there are willing to pay.  Don't get me wrong- I think soccer coaching would be a great way to make a living, but the big picture must be kept in focus.  Under the current system, quality youth soccer player development and coaching is a service reserved for lifestyles of middle to upper classes. 

Youth soccer has become suburban lifestyle phenomena.  Parents and their soccer-playing kids devote their weekends traveling to and from games often times more than one kid playing on any given day.  With today's gasoline prices, the cost of youth soccer continues to rise.  Not to mention all the specialized soccer camps and clinics out there.  At every field, flyers are posted everything a new European country's FA coming to the U.S. of A. promoting their respective training and playing styles. 

Play the Dutch "TOTAL" Football way!  Learn Germany's World Cup training secrets!  Etc, etc, etc.

What about those players who have potential to be great soccer players but cannot afford top-notch training?  What about the un-tapped inner-city because the scouts/trainers are lost in suburbia?  Think of all the great football and basketball players who are gifted athletes who could have been great soccer players but were never exposed to the sport nor received quality coaching.

The perfect example is DeMarcus Beasley who grew up in inner-city Fort Wayne, IN and has gone to respresent the national team and play in the Champions League.

The USSF and MLS clubs need to create more programs where player development is based on the ability to play- not pay.  The Houston Dynamo academy is based on this principle and has already seen success in its early stages by winning the Dallas Cup.  Brad Friedel created the first independent residential program with his Premier Soccer Academies based outside his hometown of Cleveland, OH. 

Hopefully results in the big youth tournaments will illustrate the issues with what I call the Youth Soccer Beast.