08/29/2026
Potentially dismantling US Youth Soccer over the next two years? Here are my first thoughts on the direction it needs to go right away.
1. Put everyone under the same umbrella with proper promotion/relegation for teams. No leagues run by billionaires who are looking to make major profits. Allow teams to properly grow in a direction that fits them. No gatekeepers to block teams from getting into leagues that deserve it.
2. Small sided matches until u15. Once 11v11 comes, hundreds of players drop out of the game because they are forced to break away from their teams to make an 18 player roster. And in that first year at u15, keep the 9v9 nets on the 11v11 field. It doesn't become about the big fast players who have gone through puberty earlier than others. It now continues development for every single player as well as not lose players in the game.
3. Revamp ODP to what it once was. Best players throughout the state. One team to represent. Not a pool of 50+ players per age group. Use that as a direct way into the national team. It'll bring back the best in the state as well as clean up the mess of it being a financial opportunity for outside companies coming to run the programs.
4. Make coaching education affordable... We struggle to keep up with the coaching courses and the best coaches lose interest because they have to spend thousands just to barely move the needle on their coaching career.
These 4 aren't even close to being enough to help the country go into the right direction, but would be a great start. Financially, events and other things around soccer increase with little support from the top. That's a whole different conversation that I do not believe will be had in these initial discussions, but needs to be on the table. Hopefully they can get it right this time and stick to any type of major changes without harming clubs around the country again.
US Youth Soccer to become part of U.S. Soccer, bringing the organizations closer together to invest more in local soccer and create better experiences for players and families alongside State Associations