Boys Youth Club Soccer

[TheStuff142]

Boys Youth Club Soccer

I find a lot of club soccer discussions on the girls soccer page, but very little on the boys. There is much more high school discussion here. Not that HS soccer discussion is a bad thing…

(I wonder if there is any relationship to the fact that girls club soccer in our area is superior to boys??) :stirthepot:

Anyway…I have U8 and U10 boys club players and we are currently with a ‘middle of the road’ CUSL club that has done well sometimes and not so well other times. We…and more importantly the U10 boy have become ‘concerned’ about the direction or lack of direction maybe is better term (my words) that our team/club is going. We are thinking about leaving with both boys…potentially asking for a release after this fall season if we can find a quality situation elsewhere this Spring. However, we are pretty far from the bigger clubs with OE being the closest to us at 20 miles or so.

I am greatly interested in input from PARENTS of older kids who have gone through the areas various clubs. (OE, Classics, Cincy United) I am not looking for the mudslinging that goes on amongst those in the girls forum…I want to hear the plusses and minuses of the boys clubs as far training, team member commitment, travel, extra training opportunities etc..

I am pretty knowledgeable about what is out there and what they are generally about from their websites… I want to know what is the REAL scoop about the specific clubs (OE, Classics, Cincy United)

What did you like about your child club?
what did you not like about their club?
Did the club do what they said they were going to do? If not..what was not done ?
Were the trainers qualified and teaching age appropriate technique?
If you were to do it again…would you do it differently?
What mistakes you might have made that you would have done differently looking back on it?

Club Specific questions

Is Cincy United going to throw all the kids in the mix at U11 tryouts and make true CUP teams as they say on the slide show? I ask because a birdie told me that no..it might not.

Is OE worth it at the lower ages? I have not seen one (under U12) OE boys that can even breathe on CUSL div 1 teams yet. If the training is so much better…what is taking them so long to catch up or pass other clubs…this is sincere questions even if it doesn’t ask it so nice.

Is Classics in trouble?…word on the street is that there is a ton of drama amongst their board…makes you wonder why all the trainers leaving for OE.

We don’t want to be the ___________ (insert word) parents/kid who has had 5 club teams before HS. We want to get good information now and make the right choices now and then enjoy the ride.

Wordy...I know...sorry & thanks.

[soccerdad]

I think it's more team specific rather than club, but alot would argue that. I think close helps. 5 o'clock practice? Is your child going to be on the best team in his age group?They get treated better.Again some would argue.$$$ All the top clubs have good and bad teams.Only OE girls 15 and up are at the top on a consistant basis.Playing with great teams and great players is the best way to be the best.(playing on top team).If not this direction, then I would go with the team he have the funnest time with.I have kids that have played for OE,west side,kolping,FOSC,Lakota,Corpus cristi,WU,CFA,All had something the other didn't.You'll know it's right when you find it.As you narrow it down, see if you can guest play for them.Maybe go see a game or two of the team your close to deciding on. DON'T BURN THEM OUT! 2 of mine went thru it around 12-13.Too many practices,games,3v3 etc.A good portion of the best players in HS were not ALL THAT in there younger years.They are peaking at the right time.Good Luck!

[DoubleD33]

As the previous person said much depends on the individual coach.

We live in Dayton and my son has played for a Dayton local team, then on the Sycamore United u-12 team which were finalists in State Cup in 2007 and Champions this past year. The head coach of this team used to be with Ohio Elite and then moved 95% of her team to Sycamore. They are now Cincy United but he is no longer playing for them but back in Dayton. Much has changed since last year in Cincy but here is what I think. Take it for what it's worth.

Q) Is Cincy United going to throw all the kids in the mix at U11 tryouts and make true CUP teams as they say on the slide show? I ask because a birdie told me that no..it might not.

A) The TOP teams will be allowed to add or remove as they see fit.

Q) Is OE worth it at the lower ages? I have not seen one (under U12) OE boys that can even breathe on CUSL div 1 teams yet. If the training is so much better…what is taking them so long to catch up or pass other clubs…this is sincere questions even if it doesn’t ask it so nice.

A) In my opinion not at this time. Last year at u-12 and now at u-13 the OE team is about the kick and run. That may change with a new boys director but would take some time.

Q) Is Classics in trouble?…word on the street is that there is a ton of drama amongst their board…makes you wonder why all the trainers leaving for OE.

A) I don't know about the classics but their u-12 team last year was very good.

Unfortunately I am one of the bad parents whos son is on his fourth team at u-13. He wil be a freshman in the fall of 2009 and I am pretty confident that he will not return to the team he is on now because the head coach will also not return. On the other hand my daughter has been on the same team since u-9 and they are very competitive playing in the Buckeye and MRL. It's just tough finding a good coach/trainer in Dayton. Once you find one you'll want to stick with them. I would research & speak to the coach of the team you want to try out for and ask questions. Watch some of their games this season and go to a few of their practices.

Good Luck!

[soccerdad]

Hey DoubleD33, well said. I know of your team,my daughter was on the same age OE girls team. We sctimmaged you guy,s at francis rec. She was little #1.
The boys were excellent. She still remembers scoring in that game.Good luck
with your future team.

[reccos]

First off I want to say I am not bashing any club just want to give you my opinion/experience.

1. Since Roby Stahl left OE, the training is not there (at least on the boys side) and the cost is not worth it. There is alot of travel maybe not quite as much at the younger age but at the older age it's overwhelming.

2. I think if I had to do it over again, I would put my child on a good team and if the quality of training wasn't as good I would take the money that I saved and pay a trainer separately.

3. You need to go out and watch teams play, talk to the coaches/trainers of teams and that will help with your decision.

4. Playing for a team like OE is a big commitment and for some its fine, others get burned out or get tired of the travel.

5. I'm not sure if the boys side will survive. they have lost alot of players on the boys side.

[LetKidsPlay]

Everyone has their own opinion and please take every opinion with a grain of salt. Reccos did say it best when he/she said to go to a match and talk to coaches. I will add that you should go to training sessions. You will get a great sense of the way a club operates by going to the training facility and watching how they treat the kids and train.

The Classics are not in trouble. The only trainer that left the Classics was Mike Cullina. OE now has five former Classics folks. Two coaches left to OE while Mike Cullina was the Technical Director. After Mike left, he had two follow him. In that time, one coach from OE (Doug Conway) came over to Classics. Thom Nickley, who is the Director of Youth has been with the Classics for a long time and is not leaving. The Classics have had problems with the older boys ages but they believe they have fixed that with the addition of Stephen Hauter as the older boys Director of Coaching. There new Technical Director, Brian Bronowski, has a very solid reputation for training and developing kids. The previous older Boys Director of Coaching, Greg Berning, is still with the Classics as the Director of Goalkeeping (his main area of expertise). In essence, they have become stronger.

The Classics and OE are very similar in many regards. They are both very centralized clubs meaning they do thing as a club first, as an individual team second. They both also academy train at the younger age groups. No matter what team you are on, you will train together. At the younger age groups, they each travel to tournaments in packs. CUP does not have the same pack mentality at the early ages. The teams are given more autonomy in the younger ages. They are also parent coached at the younger ages. When they really become CUP at U11, then they are professionally coached and become more centralized.

All the clubs mentioned will travel to tournaments. The younger age groups do not travel much. They all take advantage of the better run local tournaments as well as tournaments in Dayton, Columbus, Louisville (you get the idea). Each one of the clubs also runs their own tournaments. CUP has a youth tournament in the Fall. Classics has a youth tournament and a college showcase in the Spring. OE has several youth tournaments in Fall and Spring as well as a College Showcase in the late Winter.

All three clubs are real good, solid, sound clubs. The Classics have been around the longest of the three, however all three are built and managed in a way that I believe will make them be around for a long time to come.

CUP is the largest of the three. They have many more boys teams at any given age group than OE and Classics. If you added OE and Classics together, you still would not equal the size of CUP.

All three clubs support ODP at the younger ages. All three have staff members that are integral parts of ODP training staff.

Again, all three are very solid choices. Your biggest choice is probably how far you want to travel for practice and are you willing to do that three times a week. All three clubs will attract players from many different areas.

Good luck with your choice. Take some time to travel to practice session. You will get a great sense of the club environment that way.

[TheStuff142]

Rohbino...check your pm's.

[Silence DoGood]

My family and I just moved here from the Boston area this summer, and I must say, I'm shocked at the poor all-around quality of youth soccer in this area.

Granted I've only been here a short period of time, but I've been able to watch the top teams in several age groups from many of the clubs mentioned on this site. Really not impressed. The kids I've seen play look, in general terms unskilled, lazy, soft, and impatient. The level of training the players receive in this area must not be very good.

To read some of the posts on this message board, a reader gets the impression that there are very good clubs in this town. Good at what? Cashing checks, maybe.

[FUTBOOOL]

outside of boston bolts i really don't know another good boston club?

[WAZZSUP]

My family and I just moved here from the Boston area this summer, and I must say, I'm shocked at the poor all-around quality of youth soccer in this area.

Granted I've only been here a short period of time, but I've been able to watch the top teams in several age groups from many of the clubs mentioned on this site. Really not impressed. The kids I've seen play look, in general terms unskilled, lazy, soft, and impatient. The level of training the players receive in this area must not be very good.

To read some of the posts on this message board, a reader gets the impression that there are very good clubs in this town. Good at what? Cashing checks, maybe.

Please update on who you have seen and what ages. I am sure they are all younger players....but before we can reply to your comments I want to know who you watched, who they played and where they played, What league they were competing in. To make the general statement you did leaves it up in the air as to the area your speaking of Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus...Fairborn or perhaps Springfield. We are not the size of Boston, so the pool of players to draw from is ....shallow to say the least. Update us please on what clubs you were trying to compare this area to and we will address your issues. ......... Your club at home that your comparing things here to was trained by who? What were your club fee's .... there are allot of things here to digest if we are to truly compare apples to apples.

[LetKidsPlay]

My family and I just moved here from the Boston area this summer, and I must say, I'm shocked at the poor all-around quality of youth soccer in this area.

Granted I've only been here a short period of time, but I've been able to watch the top teams in several age groups from many of the clubs mentioned on this site. Really not impressed. The kids I've seen play look, in general terms unskilled, lazy, soft, and impatient. The level of training the players receive in this area must not be very good.

To read some of the posts on this message board, a reader gets the impression that there are very good clubs in this town. Good at what? Cashing checks, maybe.

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying what Cincinnati has to offer. It is always good to go into a new environment with an open mind, without being judgmental. It makes the transition from one location to another easier. It is also good for the kids, that you are positive in their new environment.

By the way, did you tell your neighbors how much better the houses were in Boston? Have you already told your co-workers how much better the education is in Boston?

[shs_soccaholic]

i agree with Letkidsplay. You can't come into a new environment and automatically assume that the quality is poor compared to the premier teams of other areas. Ohio in general has one of the largest youth soccer bases in the nation (including noncompetitive such as, say and cyo) and has quite a few top premier teams throughout the state that can compete and have competed with the nation's best.

[WAZZSUP]

........ are you sure your not watching the Bengals compared to the Pat's. If that is the futbol your talking about....then I fully understand your disappointment.

[american football]

Not sure this guy is for real.

Very negative and a few unusual comments.

In a short period of time, how has he possibly been able to see many of the top clubs in the area.

And to then call our players unskilled, lazy, soft and impatient is not only innaccurate but fairly ignorant.

If it is for real, this person needs to give himself some time to actually see the top talent in Cincinnati.

What does Silence DoGood mean?

I would say the with these comments, silence would do them good.

My family and I just moved here from the Boston area this summer, and I must say, I'm shocked at the poor all-around quality of youth soccer in this area.

Granted I've only been here a short period of time, but I've been able to watch the top teams in several age groups from many of the clubs mentioned on this site. Really not impressed. The kids I've seen play look, in general terms unskilled, lazy, soft, and impatient. The level of training the players receive in this area must not be very good.

To read some of the posts on this message board, a reader gets the impression that there are very good clubs in this town. Good at what? Cashing checks, maybe.

[soccerdad]

SDG? you must be watching the bad team your kids are playing on. If this city got serious and came together with it's talent,we could play with anyone.comparing the size of cities your matching up doesn't make sense either.But for general info on rankings.Top 25 in national Rankings.

rankings. cin.-#13b,#15g,#17g,#16g,#21g,#20g,#24g
bos.-#14b,#2b,#5b,#20g
Move it to a 100mi. radius it ain't even close.

[Silence DoGood]

A few comments on the responses to my last post...

First of all, I wasn't trying to be negative and/or insult the players or teams I've seen in Cincinnati. Just making an observation/comment. Doesn't mean my comments were wrong.

Second, I did come in to the local soccer scene with an open mind. Didn't form an opinion based on one weekend. Whoever suggested I did is the one jumping to conclusions, not me. I've watched about 50 games so far this fall (CUSL games, tournaments). At what point am I entitled to my opinion?

Third, my comments were only based on the boys teams that I've seen thus far. Haven't watched any girls play as I don't have any girls.

Fourth, to those that took offense... I suggest you venture outside your little fishbowl and take notice of how things are done in the big world out there. Not bragging here, and not looking for a pat on the back, but my sons did play for the Bolts. A club with a very strong reputation on the east coast. Their training is done with an intensity I haven't seen here. Their players play with a passion I haven't seen here. Hate to break it to you this way, but it's true. Blame it on the fact that Boston is a bigger city if you want, or broader talent pool if that makes you feel better. I'm here to tell you, the quality of training (or lack thereof) is a big, big factor too.

And one more thing, to whoever it was that cited the rankings. Are you serious? You sir, are an idiot. If you believe that youth soccer rankings are important, accurate, reliable, or real in any way.....you need to go away and reevaluate you life.

Hugs and kisses,

SD

[CUP91]

Help a brother out by answering some of these questions.

What ages are your sons?
Who have you seen play in the area?
Did you go to the Mead CUSA Cup over labor day? See any 5 star games? (this is probably the best local tournament for less than 15 year olds with good teams being drawn from MI, Western PA, KY, and OH North)

Unfortunately, if all you've gone to see is CUSL and some tournaments (and, not Mead CUSA cup), I doubt that you've seen the best that Cincinnati has to offer. Normally, those teams are playing in Buckeye Premier League. I will say this.. Cincinnati has a lot of clubs and this tends to dilute the talent some...

[soccerdad]

Well SDG. Congradulations you play in cusl.comp2 or 3? Tell me more about
this incredible club you played for.A guess your kids were so good you didn't have to pay.(checks)A club is only as good as it's players.Thats why they try to get the better players to come to them.Or is it the check? I'm not sure.Please tell us what team your on.Most of us here know who's who in all age brackets.If you would have read the thread, theres no doubt that the talent pool in the lower boys age groups is watered down a bit.All 3 of my kids haven't really got what would be considered the ultimate training,yet have played on alot of the very best teams in the city.They have alot of passion for the game. it shows by there performance on the field.The only way to get better is to play the best players and teams.I'm pretty sure if I trained with the so called best trainers around I still would be no good at soccer.You can't teach talent.If you really want some serious help or opinions just ask.Don't punch me in the face and then ask me to be your friend.Around here the pecking order is say,tcysa,cusl,buckeye,mrl.Peace! enjoy the game at any level.

[soccerdad]

Well SDG. Congradulations you play in cusl.comp2 or 3? Tell me more about
this incredible club you played for.A guess your kids were so good you didn't have to pay.(checks)A club is only as good as it's players.Thats why they try to get the better players to come to them.Or is it the check? I'm not sure.Please tell us what team your on.Most of us here know who's who in all age brackets.If you would have read the thread, theres no doubt that the talent pool in the lower boys age groups is watered down a bit.All 3 of my kids haven't really got what would be considered the ultimate training,yet have played on alot of the very best teams in the city.They have alot of passion for the game. it shows by there performance on the field.The only way to get better is to play the best players and teams.I'm pretty sure if I trained with the so called best trainers around I still would be no good at soccer.You can't teach talent.If you really want some serious help or opinions just ask.Don't punch me in the face and then ask me to be your friend.Around here the pecking order is say,tcysa,cusl,buckeye,mrl.Peace! enjoy the game at any level.

[thedunner]

Although I don't agree with the manner in which SDG states his opinions, I do have to agree with his assesment of our local boys soccer scene. Now I don't think its as bad as SDG makes it out to be, but the bottom line is where are the state cup titles for cincinnati teams?? Every year, look at the boys state cup results and you'll notice that it is dominated by Colombus, why is that? This past year, out of the final 2 teams in each age group on the boys side, 13 from Col 1 from Day and 4 from Cin, state cup champs 7 Col and 2 Cin. This was a good year for Cincy, I can't remember the numbers off the top of my head but the previous 2 years were similar to this years results at best. And if you go to the OSYSA site you can look up the state cup champs from 2005 to 1992, again not much to see from Cincy. So my question is why is this? Again, I don't agree with everything that SDG had to say but if you take a step back and look at the results....

[FUTBOOOL]

Well come on, I'm on the now u-17 CUP red team and we beat Boston Bolts (still a great club) in the semi-finals of the Disney Showcase. So you CAN'T say that Bolts are up and beyond Cincinnati soccer. I can't say too much about the younger age groups, but I know in the older age groups Ohio South would DOMINATE Massachusetts when it comes to how many talented players there are and talented teams. CUP, Team Ohio, Eagles, and Metro would all compete/beat Bolts. And if I'm not mistaken the team in this age group is an academy team and one of the best teams they have in the club.

[IrishFire]

Silence DoGood has some very valid points on the boys side of soccer in the Cincinnati area. The reason.............. Cincinnati is a football (American Version) town. Most of the best athletes play football in the Cincinnati area. That is why the Greater Cincinnati Area has so many nationally ranked high school football teams. Basketball and Baseball come in a distant second and third in the race for boys athletic talent in the area. Soccer is gaining on baseball but I think it still finishes fourth in the race. Sorry to break it to you guys but it's the truth.

On the girls side soccer is king (or queen) and that is why there are so many excellent girls soccer club teams in the area. The boys teams in Cincinnati will never produce the results that the girls do in soccer.

[soccerdad]

The answer to cincy and state cup is again to many clubs.Some kids want to play for different teams for a variety of reasons.My family is big time soccer and it's hard to name more than a couple of clubs in columbus that we have played and thats at premeir level.But,when your any good and your serious about the quality of play then you play for the top clubs.OP and Team ohio.WE are kind of there in the older age groups with OE on the girls side and CUP on the boys.I'm not sure it really maters does it.I mean is anyone player any better just because he or she is on a state cup team.I't would be nice but not necessary.Are some coaches selfish?Do they have a possible star they should help get on a better team.Should the best teams in each city be on a scholarship type program.All players who are good enough to make it play for free and they fly under a neutral flag,say the city or area they represent.Why doeasn't someone find a sponser and start such a team.See how it works.

[floridafutboler08]

Well come on, I'm on the now u-17 CUP red team and we beat Boston Bolts (still a great club) in the semi-finals of the Disney Showcase. So you CAN'T say that Bolts are up and beyond Cincinnati soccer. I can't say too much about the younger age groups, but I know in the older age groups Ohio South would DOMINATE Massachusetts when it comes to how many talented players there are and talented teams. CUP, Team Ohio, Eagles, and Metro would all compete/beat Bolts. And if I'm not mistaken the team in this age group is an academy team and one of the best teams they have in the club.

haven't seen U18 boston teams play so i can't comment on them but i know that what would now be U19 Boston bolts would destroy any ohio south team, Juventus USA would pretty much the same to everyone but what were the eagles and are now Crew Acadmey

[soccerdad]

Irish come on.Your serious? Football players and soccer, I don't think so.Maybe a couple. No different than soccer players playing football.Football players played football when they were young and soccer players played soccer.Why don't football players play soccer in the spring.Also there are very few large athletes that could even last 10 min. on the pitch.My boys could have played what ever they wanted and choose soccer.The other sports were to boring.I have seen what now is suppose to be club grade baseball.My daughter can throw better then they can.As for the football,your right cincy is the stuff but consider that alot of the great football players go to the schools specificly to play football.Not to many doing that for soccer.Also the youth football programs around here are incredible.They almost treat them like pro's.Look at the stadiums they build.What I'm saying is that if you take size out of the loop.There equal athletes to me.

[IrishFire]

Irish come on.Your serious? Football players and soccer, I don't think so.Maybe a couple. No different than soccer players playing football.Football players played football when they were young and soccer players played soccer.Why don't football players play soccer in the spring.Also there are very few large athletes that could even last 10 min. on the pitch.My boys could have played what ever they wanted and choose soccer.The other sports were to boring.I have seen what now is suppose to be club grade baseball.My daughter can throw better then they can.As for the football,your right cincy is the stuff but consider that alot of the great football players go to the schools specificly to play football.Not to many doing that for soccer.Also the youth football programs around here are incredible.They almost treat them like pro's.Look at the stadiums they build.What I'm saying is that if you take size out of the loop.There equal athletes to me.

You better believe I'm serious and if you don't realize what I am saying is true then you spend far too much time on the soccer pitch. There are more than just "large athletes" playing football in the 7 year old - 18 year old age range. I'm sure you're right that many of the offensive and defensive linemen would have trouble with the running that is done on a soccer field but they are in much better shape than you would think, just not soccer shape. Those are not the kids I'm talking about anyway. Take a look at the skill positions on any football team and tell me that with the proper training at an early age those boys wouldn't replace half the kids on your son's select soccer team. The coaches and trainers would love to have them. And don't forget that some of those teams are 2 - 3 players deep on their roster with those type of players. I'm not saying that every one of them are better athletes than the kids playing select soccer but many of them are. Football drains the talent pool available for soccer teams to draw from.

The answer to your "why don't football players play soccer in the spring" question is simple 1) Basketball and 2) Baseball. Like I said earlier soccer is gaining on baseball in this area but isn't quite there yet and the best athletes will still play baseball even when the numbers do catch up. The reason for this is also simple, most good athletes don't want to play the same sport year round which club soccer demands out of their players.

I love your "my daughter can throw better" comment about baseball also. This just shows how clueless you are and that you don't get around to see the good baseball teams in the Greater Cincinnati area. Baseball is still a very exciting game when played properly, it seems you have been watching baseball that isn't played properly. The same thing could be said about soccer if some uninformed person wandered out to some of the "select" soccer fields on a given weekend. Believe me what I see when I go out to some of my nieces games is not select at all.

You can bury your head in the sand if you want but I will tell you this, boys soccer in the Greater Cincinnati Area will never produce the results the girls do for all the reasons I've mentioned. And you can take that to the bank.

Believe me I love soccer, played, coached and reffed it all of my life. I love the game of soccer, it's just not the game of choice for most of the best male athletes in Cincinnati.

[LetKidsPlay]

SDG, It would be interesting to understand just which teams you went to see. There is a big difference between leagues. Soccer Dad did say it best when mentioning the spectrum of SAY through to MRL. There is quality boys soccer in Cincinnati. The quality of Boys soccer continues to grow. The number of Cincinnati boys making state and regional ODP teams continues to improve. The U13 Boys has some very good players. U13 CUP Gold has at least 6 players who made the Ohio South State team with one being a regional pool player (95 and 96 age groups) and Classics Hammer U13 Premier has seven Ohio South State pool players (95 and 96 age groups). The U14 CUP Gold and OE Academy teams also have many ODP players. Five Classics Hammer former players were ODP state players that went to OE this year.

At U12, CUP, Hammer and Warren County have some very nice teams. At U11, the same but also add Kings.

Cincinnati is representing a greater and greater percentage of Ohio South ODP than in years past. These are nice trends.

Classics Hammer's, CUP's and OE's top teams do not typically play in CUSL from U11 up. For the most part, they play in Buckeye.

Check out a Buckeye or MRL match, then make a determination. If you have already done so and have seen the better teams with the better players and still have the same opinion, then that's fine.

Irish Fire is kind of correct when he talks about the passion for American Football in Cincinnati, however, there is some excellent boys soccer coming from Cincinnati. You may have to look harder to find, but it is here.

[IrishFire]

I somewhat agree with the statement above but realistically shouldn’t the same be true for anywhere in the United States? IrishFire’s post outlines an issue that is not unique to Cincinnati and yet some of these other cities have boy’s programs that are better established than those found here.

It may not be unique to Cincinnati but it is sure more pronounced here. You don't get the number of nationally ranked high school football teams in such a relatively small area if the best athletes in the area are not playing that sport.

Football also affords these kids the opportunity to play other sports during the year something "select" soccer has become more restrictive about. Select soccer monopolizes an athletes life from a very early age so it becomes a less attractive alternative especially to boys who want to play more than one sport.

One more thing that I have not mentioned in my earlier posts and that will definitely be more controversial is the fact that soccer is still a pretty "White" sport. You don't see too many African Americans playing the sport. Why is that? Because in it's current state club soccer is cost and logistically prohibitive for African Americans that reside in our urban areas. When I say logistically prohibitive I mean that the kids in urban areas would have trouble getting to the practices and games since most of the practice and game facilities are in the very suburban or rural areas of our area. These facilities are not easily accessible to the public transportation that many of these families rely on. Football, Basketball and Baseball have all done a much better job of getting these kids involved in their sports. I know I'm going to get slammed for this observation but again I say pull your head of the sand and have a good look around.

[soccerdad]

Irish, like my thread said it looks like we agree on a few things.If you base it strictly on numbers.But I am telling you it,s too many teams/clubs in each age group that waters down the talent.Yes I have seen baseball and football at all levels in the area.One of my boys tried baseball and did very well.He just thought it was to slow pase.He played center field and when he thru people out at first on what should have been a single half of them cried.So I know the talent.You may be talking the west side were base and foot are still popular.So yes,if all the foot and base players played soccer there would be alot of good players again all spread out playing for the 1,3456 million clubs in cincy.Kidding.Note I'm actually serious about my 13 yr old daughter who is the smallest kid in her class.She can throw a baseball or football better than 90% of the boys.If you have kids,I hope they do well in whatever there doing!

[soccerdad]

irish,didn't see your last post,but totally agree.

[cincysoccercoach]

SDG to answer your question as to why the quality is not good is because the level of coaching hasn't approached the level of the other cities. If you look at the boys side and state cup results Columbus has done better. Part of the reason for that was the professional team that was there a few decades ago. Those professional and foreign players stayed in Columbus and began to coach. Those coaches created and taught more coaches and the quality continued - this is not disputable. Ask the Paul Rockwood's and Roby Stahl's of Cincinnati and they will agree.

There is a deficit of quality coaches in Cincinnati - It is getting better every year but for right now it needs to get better. Cincinnati is gaining ground on Columbus and Cleveland but we are not there yet.

Another factor is the surrounding college community and the coaches and assistants they bring to the club program. So many more in the Columbus area than Cincinnati. The pool of high caliber coaches bigger and it translates into better players.

I am not saying that to disparage Cincinnati soccer it is just a fact that we need to work on as a community. I have coached high level select programs in this community for over 20 years, been on the board of two good clubs and the problem is always finding and keeping good coaches.

[IrishFire]

Along this same theme though, why is it that the men’s National teams do not achieve the same results that the women’s teams do?

The men's national team is at a distinct disadvantage on an international level for many of the same reasons I mentioned above. Soccer is not a passion in the United States (North America) like it is in nearly every other developed country in the world. Again, football, basketball and baseball are light years ahead of soccer in the US because of the sizeable paycheck you can earn by playing those sports as a man in the United States. The soccer programs in other countries enjoy funding that would be envied by most professional teams in our three major sports. Soccer is the big dog for men everywhere else in the world, there is no other competition from any other sport.

As far as the women's national team they have a distinct advantage over most other countries around the world. Our women are encouraged at a very early age to play sports and in the US soccer is the big dog for women. Most other countries don't encourage their women to participate in sports, in fact they discourage them for the most part. Our women's team enjoys much better funding than most other countries as well. That is why the women's team has enjoyed more success than our men's team.