Western Pennsylvania youth soccer is supported by approximately 135 soccer clubs with 50,000 - 60,000 players. There are two major charter organizations: The United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) and United States Club Soccer (USCS). The vast majority of the clubs in our area belong to USYSA via the PAWest Soccer Association (The Sentinels play in PA West District 2). The remainder belong to USCS via the Pennsylvania Premier Alliance (PPA). PPA was formed 3 years ago in response to widespread frustration that there are too many clubs in our area and it dilutes the ability to field competitive teams at the regional level. In our opinion, the creation of the PPA has failed to correct this problem. However, the attempt to create an entirely new charter organization confirms all is not well in the current framework.

Both PAWest and PPA gain their respective authority from the member clubs that have received charters from either organizations. In PAWest Soccer Association, given the large number of clubs and volunteer turn-over, it can be challenging to build an informed consensus to identify and implement substantive changes to the system. PPA has a membership of 5 clubs and probably does not face this challenge. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) could mandate necessary changes in our region but its philosophy has been to allow each region to figure out what is best for their area. For an org chart that shows our position in the USSF league structure (click here).

There are effectively two categories of clubs in western PA: community and classic.

Community Clubs

Community clubs (click for list of clubs) tend to be loosely organized, 100% volunteer-based organizations. Players are drawn from narrowly defined geographic areas around the community it serves. Typically the club is administered by a small group of dedicated volunteers. Other volunteers will coach and manage teams that play in low competition environments within their own club or more competitive leagues that will require some travel.

Unfortunately, most of these clubs are not financed or staffed correctly such that execution of the program can vary greatly year to year. As volunteers come and go, the knowledge required to run the club often will become fragmented. In many instances, the new volunteers have to "re-learn" the lessons of the past. In some communities, the level of volunteerism has declined rapidly as families cope with overloaded schedules. So it is a seasonal challenge just finding enough volunteers to keep the programs functioning year after year let alone work to improve the program over the longterm.

Classic clubs

Classic clubs (click for list of clubs) tend to be "for-profit" organizations even though their legal formation may be a "not-for-profit" designation. Each team will have a dedicated coach that may or may not be licensed or experienced as a coach. Typically, all coaches have played soccer. Less skilled classic teams will tend to compete against each other in a local league that will require some travel. The more dominant teams will either earn the right to play in regional leagues that require weekly travel to the east coast or in the case of PPA, teams will travel frequently to Ohio or Erie, PA for matches. Players are drawn from all over the western PA area and practice sessions might require a local commute of upto 45 minutes each way. For the family, the typical classic registration fee will range from $250-$500/season for the U10 age group and younger and $750-$1,500/season for the older age groups. These fees may or may not include incidentals such as uniforms, tournament fees, indoor training fees and travel expenses. For the family, depending upon the age and how much the team travels and trains - the total cost per player for this type of club typically ranges from $2,500 - $4,000/year. Coaches are hired for each team ($3-5k/season). A club director salary will range from $50,000 - $125,000 and is a direct function of how well the club is managed. A fully rostered team generates $10,000 - 14,000 in profit for the club. Traditionally, classic clubs were meant to be "tournament clubs" only permitted to field teams from U12 and up. Now they are permitted to accept players down to the U08 level via their "academies". The academies offer the chance to begin selecting the strongest and fastest players in the hope they can be trained into the most skilled players in later years. It is important to remember that the academies feed tryout teams and players may be invited to play but may be cut if another player joins the team that the coach feels will be a better fit or the player is just not performing well enough. Every player must earn his or her spot season to season. This can be a challenge for a player that is cut after many close friendships have been made on the team.

There does not appear to be a single source of data on how many western PA players go on to play for a top collegiate team via scholarship or are selected to play on one of our national teams or even how many just continue to play in some form of intramural or adult leagues. Based on what we have been able to estimate, each year out of an assumed 120 classic players per gender in the U18 age group, a good year will be to have 2-3 players selected to play at highest levels within the USSF national team structure with maybe 10-20 playing at the collegiate level via some form of scholarship.

The NCAA estimates that roughly one of out 1,800 athletes in the USA are able to play at the Division I level across all sports. We estimate that in theU12 age group alone we might have upwards to 1,400 players competing across boys and girls in the classic division. By the time we reach U18, that number has dropped to an estimated 240 players. If a family is seeking financial support for college by being recruited to play soccer, this data suggests that investing in classic ($20-$30k over 8 years?) will create some narrow opportunities for the very best players via full or partial scholarships.

In our opinion, we feel this suggests two key points: (1) Out of all the players committed to soccer within our area, we are definitely able to field some outstanding athletes that can play at the highest levels. (2) A large number of players do not continue with soccer in their later teen and adult years.

What we wonder is how do we create an environment where the very best can move on to play at the highest levels while still leaving a a vibrant intramural program for those that do not seek or unable to pursue that path?

Most of the western PA players that start playing soccer at U08 will not participate at the highest competitive levels in their late teens or 20s but they could look to amateur and intramural soccer leagues as a way to experience team competition well into their adult years. We feel the current organizational design does not accomplish this goal. We try to address some of the reasons why we feel this is so and offer our opinion on how it should be fixed below.

There are several critical problems we face with developmental soccer in western Pennsylvania:

• Too Many Clubs We have diluted our ability to field appropriately competitive leagues on a local level because we have spread our athletes across too many clubs across too many leagues. This creates more travel with less ability to perform at the higher levels of competition. It also depletes the less competitive leagues of its players which can in turn cause those leagues to collapse due to lack of participation.
• Too Few Quality Coaches Too many clubs also leads to the dilution of our quality coaching pool. A coach that is not aligned with the goals of player development and is not mentored closely by seasoned, well-trained coaches can have a troubling effect upon the development of a player within the sport.
• Disappearance of "Pick-Up" Children used to hone their motor, spatial reasoning, and socialization skills in the neighborhood park from 4 to 12 years of age. This process has virtually disappeared from our neighborhoods with profound effects on the development of our children. This means that children reach the age of 12 without experiencing years of unstructured creative play where a thousand mistakes lead to skill mastery.
• Lack of Authoritative Organizational Structure The soccer community in western Pennsylvania is highly fragmented with no single vision or set of agreed upon metrics to measure on-going performance. Given our smaller numbers relative to other regions in the country, we hurt ourselves because we do not have the luxury of covering up our mismanagement via large numbers of talented players. We have to work smarter that that by working together to leverage the smaller pools of talent, coaches and volunteers.

To correct these problems and improve soccer development in western Pennsylvania, the Sentinels would support the following structural changes:

• 20-25 Clubs The clubs in western Pennsylvania would be collapsed into no more than 25 clubs with a requirement that membership could not drop below 1,500 players per club. The target membership would be 2,500 - 3,000 per club. There would no longer be "Community" vs. "Classic" designation. Clubs would be geographically dispersed around Pittsburgh and its suburbs. Clubs could have multiple teams in Divisions I, II and III. All teams would have to earn their way into the higher divisions season to season. 6 teams could be pulled from the Division I level across the 20-25 clubs to compete within an elite division. From the 6 teams, the Olympic Development Program would pull its group of 23 players.
• Director of Coaching Each club would be required to hire a full-time Director of Coaching. The DOC would be given a budget to hire a coaching staff of 4-8 coaches. The DOC and his/her staff would be responsible for documenting the training curriculum, selecting, mentoring and managing volunteer coaches, performing player evaluations and overseeing team selection. Each DOC would report to the club Board of Directors as well as to the Director of Coaching for all soccer in the western Pennsylvania region. The DOC would be accountable for the metrics established by the club concerning player development.
• Club Chief Operations Officer Like the DOC, this would be a full-time role. This individual would oversee all administrative aspects of the club. The COO would have a budget to hire part-time workers to perform all the ancillary tasks necessary to run the organization and select, mentor and manage the volunteers assigned to completing the tasks that are not related to coaching.
• Processes, Roles and Deliverables Each club will fully document all processes, roles and deliverables for the organization. This is much more than the club By-Laws. The By-Laws are the rules of the corporation. All the other aspects of the club need to be documented and reviewed in detail to make sure those who follow in future years understand how the club executes its vision.
• Player Development and Parent Education Each parent within the club will be required to proceed through a parent education curriculum that will mirror the player development curriculum. The evolution of the player is a partnership between the club, the coach, the players and the parents. It is widely agreed upon that misdirected parent involvement in the development of a player can be highly destructive and unproductive. Therefore, parents will be required to learn how to behave and provide reinforcement with respect to their role in the player development process.

This type of change will only happen when families take back control of the organizations supporting our community's athletic development. It would be a dramatic departure from our current situation, and its proposal will create some emotional responses. However, we must remember that the majority of our children will not be professional athletes. Every child is entitled to a positive experience while learning the skills to play a life-sport such as soccer. This does not need to cost $3-4k per year but it might only cost $500-$750 per year if we just band together and use our resources within a more intelligent organizational design.

The above proposal is all well and good but it will not impact your child right now. For each of us the decision to make a larger commitment to player development comes down to our own family and children. If a family believes its current community club is failing to provide a complete developmental experience - how does one choose a classic club and prepare their child for that higher level of commitment?

In a classic club, the experience for your child is shaped by aligning three factors: the right coach, the right players and the right parents.

Parents who are not on the same page concerning the direction of a team can destroy the team. For example, if 3-4 families want to have a dominant winning team and the rest wants a positive experience, the former will be dissatisfied and can dramatically disrupt the development of the players. So the parents need to be aligned.

All the players need to be committed and skilled. Otherwise players will start to isolate into cliques and cuts will begin. This can have a dramatic impact on team relationships for young children who are still forming their self-identities. Being cut from a team that has all of your best friends leaves the child with a sense of failure that will stay with him or her forever. This does not mean our children should be protected from accountability and failure but we should be evolved enough to help introduce those concepts in a more intelligent and less punishing way.

A coach may have played soccer but needs to know how to coach soccer. Playing and coaching are not the same thing. So it is important to find a coach who is experienced in the area of child development and knows how to communicate and motivate both children and parents. The choice of an appropriate coach is probably the single most important piece of the puzzle.

These three factors need to come together in order to have a successful classic experience. Considering that you are looking at a $3,000-$4,000 per year investment - you need to be aware that just being accepted to a classic team is only part of the puzzle. There is still work to do to make sure these factors are aligned. Most classic clubs have a limited support infrastructure. So even though you are spending the money, all the areas of team administration will fall upon the parents. This represents a great opportunity for the families to volunteer and help shape the direction of the team.

No one single Classic club has a monopoly on these three factors. There are a few things you can do to help your child have a positive classic experience.

First, players are initially identified for several attributes: a high degree of technical ball control skill, physical stature and playing style. The biggest, strongest and fastest players will often be picked for classic teams. It doesn't mean they will survive but it helps with the initial selection. Over time, technical skill will outshine physical stature. So during the ages from U10-U14 - take your child to small-sided training sessions with a professional. It is preferable to have 4-6 week sessions with 8-12 players in the same age group and skill level. These short bursts of training will greatly supplement the development of your child's technical skill. So even if you don't make a classic team the first time around or even if you do - make sure you do this type of training.

Second, your child "owns" his/her skill development. There is no classic team out there that will make your child a better player. They just don't train enough. So create as many opportunities for your child to play 3v3 or 4v4 in an unstructured, low-pressure environment. Identify players in his or her age group and invite them to play "pick-up" as much as you can. If it is fun because it is low pressure and with his/her friends, they will gain tremendous comfort and confidence with the ball due to the frequency of the touches. Paying thousands of dollars just to play isn't necessary. Qualified coaches to guide and model skills are important. But they don't need to be involved every time your child touches a ball. It takes a million attempts and mistakes before mastery is achieved. Make sure s/he have that chance.

Third, if you don't get selected for a classic team or you have been selected for a team that isn't working out - don't worry. In the early years, the fact that there are too many teams has a hidden silver lining.  Rosters are fluid because parents will move players from one team to another in search of different environments.   This means teams are always looking for new players.    By the time players get to U15 and U16 - things are pretty well set. The number of players have dropped dramatically and there is a small subset of teams remaining from the U11 year (15-25 down to 4-6).

Finally, tryout and play for many different groups of players as frequently as possible. A key trait for any player is to be able to step on the field and immediately adapt to new players, new opponents, new coaches, etc. The player must be comfortable being thrown into new situations and quickly figuring out how to adapt and communicate. If a player can only perform in one position, under the same coach and with the same teammates - that player probably will not be playing soccer in years to come. For example, look at how our national teams are formed: players are brought from different teams and environments and asked to perform at the highest level together within a week or two. Familiarity must be created almost instantly. That is something players need to have baked into their developmental program.