For decades, the pay-to-play structure has dominated discussions about youth football in the United States. Since the USMNT’s exit to Belgium in the Round of 16, critics have argued that the system limits opportunities for talented players who cannot afford high fees. At the same time, supporters point to the resources available for player development. Now, a former USMNT captain is offering a middle ground.
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“What we’re really trying to do is change the culture of youth soccer in America. So what I mean by that is the environments, right?” former USMNT captain Carlos Bocanegra said on the Unfiltered Soccer podcast. “We’re in a country where there is an element of pay to play, right? I think that’s always going to exist. I’m not up here trying to say we need to knock that down.
“But we have developed a culture in youth soccer where the players and the coach are here, and the parents are over there, and it’s ‘Don’t talk to us, don’t come near us, you don’t need to know what we’re doing.’”
Bocanegra, who recently launched the youth club Atlanta Football Club, explained how to bridge the gap between the existing model and a healthier development environment for players: start involving parents in how coaches operate.
“I’ve got a son that plays baseball,” he said, sharing an example. “We’ve got five dads out there helping run the training session or the practice every week. And they help in the dugout, they help in this. So I don’t know why we can’t have volunteer assistant coaches, why we can’t bring the parents along for the journey. And so these are some of the things that we’re trying to change.
“And this is at the youth level, right? This is kind of 8 to 14, 15 years old. The MLS clubs are doing a great job developing players. But can we get them in better environments with better coaching at younger ages before that?”
He also compared the situation to when families hire tutors, where parents naturally expect some insight into the lessons that their kids are being taught. Beyond parent involvement, however, he believes that players, especially younger ones, need environments where they are encouraged, not punished.
Children become afraid to take on defenders and make plays for fear of losing possession and facing immediate benching or bad reactions from their coaches. But that is where the fault is.
“The kids at this age, they need to be able to make mistakes and have an environment of trust,” he added. “We have to be able to try these things or else we’re never going to progress as a country. But you hear the possess, possess, possess, don’t give the ball away. Well, guess what? When you get in the attacking third, you need to take people on.”
Only time will tell if the USMNT or US Soccer actually involve themselves in systemic changes in the youth development system, but Bocanegra is clearly taking steps to start a new wave.
