US youth football advancing on the world stage

By Chris Cermak Jun 6, 2006, 6:49 GMT

Washington - Gary Shinners knew nothing about football, until he was roped into becoming the coach of his son's team eight years ago when no other parents volunteered.

'When I was growing up soccer wasn't available to us. We didn't grow up with it,' says the Arlington, Virginia school coach. 'I had to learn it the same time as my kids were learning it.'

The World Cup, which begins June 9 in Germany, generated a media blitz the likes of which the US has rarely seen - over football at least. But while football attempts to raise its television profile, there are already more kids playing organized football in the country than any other sport.

'It's a grassroots movement more than it is a media-based movement,' Jim Cosgrove, director of the US Youth Soccer Association, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

With kids' interest in the world's most popular game at a peak, parents and coaches from an older generation are struggling to keep up. Cosgrove says finding experienced coaches is one of the biggest challenges.

Despite the many bumps along the road, the US national team has begun to see new talent emerging from its youth programmes. The US under-17 squad has come in fifth in the last two FIFA Youth Championships, beating Italy on the way in 2005.

'We are increasing the overall level of the player pool dramatically,' John Hackworth, coach of the US under-17s squad, told dpa. 'It doesn't seem like there's going to be a drought any time soon and that's a great thing for US soccer.'

That production has come despite player development methods very different from more established footballing countries.

The US currently sends its best and brightest to a football residency programme in Bradenton, Florida, in which 16 and 17-year- olds compete in international competitions.

The programme is unique in that most countries develop their young players through club academies - something clubs in Major League Soccer (MLS), the US football league, do not have.

But while the best prospects receive valuable international experience from their two years at Bradenton, many find it difficult to progress afterwards. Unless signed by a club overseas, those who venture into the MLS will usually get precious little playing time in their first years on the team.

Unlike leagues in Europe or South America, the MLS does not have any lower tiers, nor does it have a strong competition among its clubs' reserves.

Hackworth is adamant that the US will nevertheless produce big names in the future, and rejects the notion that the US lags behind in coaching.

'We've got some fantastic young talent ... that we are keeping our eye on,' he says. 'People around the world don't give us a lot of respect for our coaching ... but the level we expect our players to perform is at a higher level.'

The US national team this year will go into battle in Germany with a number of young, up-and-coming faces, among them the team's top goal scorer from the qualifying campaign, 21-year-old Eddie Johnson.

The US' other teenage phenomenon, 16-year-old Freddy Adu, just missed out this year but will almost certainly lead the team when South Africa hosts the next World Cup four years from now.

In the 2002 World Cup it was youngsters like Landon Donovan - a gifted midfielder and forward expected to anchor the team this time around - who spurred the US to a quarter-final berth.

At younger ages, one of the biggest problems for US football, outside of finding coaches, is keeping kids in the sport. There may be an abundance of school teams, but many leave the game before they can be recognized as potential stars.

'In high school, (American) football is more prestigious,' says Marc Bass, manager of the Lightning Soccer Club in Arlington, Virginia.

Another problem: at home, kids would still much rather throw a ball around than kick one - unlike the rest of the world.

'We can't get them to love it so much that they play it on their own,' says Shinners. 'The kids don't go home after the (school) game, call up their friend and say 'Hey, want to kick a ball around?''

But Cosgrove denies that football is at a disadvantage compared to other sports in the US among children.

'Soccer is one of the only sports that has continued to develop over time,' he says. 'Youth soccer has a big role in helping soccer continue to grow.'