But, let’s keep our eye on the big picture.

When the term player development is used, what is the general context it is usually being used in? What is it that’s being visualized?

I think you know.

We are thinking and talking about the top levels: The National Teams and MLS.

Those are the products with the highest visibility. And those are ultimately the reference points for the health of our player development pipeline.

I think we can all agree those products are 2nd or 3rd rate.

So naturally, people hypothesize as to why that is.

Culture comes up over and over again

We’ve touched on some of the culture stuff before, but there’s a hell of a lot more than meets the eye.

Today let’s consider the following simple, and consequently seductive, argument:

The average American player does not play or watch enough soccer.

Yeah … true.

And people support this with a variety of reasons: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Xbox, Play Stations, Internet, Academics, etc …

Ok, I’m fine with that.

Here’s The Problem

That whole argument is framed in the wrong context.

You see, at the highest levels we aren’t concerned with the average. We are concerned (or should be anyways) with the outliers, the 3-sigma players, the top 1%.

The question is whether that select pool is watching and playing ‘enough‘.

The answer is a resounding yes!

And pretty much everyone is WRONG!

Wrong about precisely what it is that’s broken. You see, everyone just parrots the reasons the status quo protectors sell them. But the real problem is the status quo protectors themselves.

We’re broken because of the people. Not because of the system.

If you want a quality product, you need quality people.

I think it’s safe to say the Wilmington Hammerheads do not have a quality product.

Cal FC, a team slapped together a little over a month ago, with minimal training just wiped the floor with the Wilmington Hammerheads, a Professional Team in the 2nd tier of US Soccer. 4-0

Questions:

1. David Irving is the coach of Wilmington. Should he be?
2. What are David Irvings “qualifications“? An A license? LOL.
3. Who is the GM of the Hammerheads? Is he just as culpable? More so?
4. What type of product does Wilmington want to field?
5. How did Wilmington select it’s players to contract? Who selected?
6. Are their player selections in error?
7. Does this result say anything of USL Pro in general?
8. Should Wynalda be coaching a pro team?
9. Should these Cal FC players be playing MLS, USL, NASL or on one of those MLS U23 teams (Portland Timbers where you at)?
10. Is anybody digging into who these Cal FC players are?
11. Who has known of these Cal FC players for a long time, and passed on them?

Two more …

• Are the people occupying the federation’s corner offices asking these types of questions?
• Do YOU appreciate the magnitude of what’s being exposed here?

Wilmington was just the unlucky one to get this draw. I assure you this could have happened to any of the other teams in USL or NASL. And that should be unacceptable!

Cal FC is now in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup. Their next opponent are the Portland Timbers.

Listen to me. Any MLS team should completely obliterate something like this! But when it comes to soccer in this country, we live in Bizarro World.

p.s. On the same note, the LA Blues (USL) lost last night 1-3 to PDL side Ventura County Fusion. That organization also needs to take a really close look at what they’re doing and start asking some tough questions.

PSA who?

Exactly.

Before I get all nasty with this … just a touch of background.

I went to watch the final of a U.S. Adult Soccer Association regional (huh?) between a team called PSA Elite and a team that Eric Wynalda formed, Cal FC. (That was May 6th)

These are two teams that were just slapped together this past month in hopes of qualifying for the US Open Cup. No tradition, no history of playing together for months or years. None of that.

To this day, PSA Elite has not had a single training session! Not one! The players just show up for games.

Anyways, I decided to film the match and make some clips of every sequence where at least 5 passes were stringed together. Credit to Wynalda for his player selections! Not bad man, not bad.

Video: PSA in white, Cal in Red

Fast forward a week later …

US Open Cup 1st Round (May 14)

Cal FC’s opponent
They are the Kitsap Pumas. Last year, they were the PDL Champion and advanced to the Open Cup 3rd round where they fell to the Seattle Sounders 2-1.

Cal FC beat them 3-1.

PSA Elite’s opponent
They are the Portland Timbers U-23 squad. A professional organization, with presumably top-tier coaches, and presumably top-tier player selections.

PSA Elite beat them 3-1.

Time to Get Real

You can do all the fucking roster analysis (cough … speculation … cough) you want, but it should be inexcusable that people aren’t asking some serious questions about these results!

Instead, it’s a nonchalant attitude as if these things don’t matter. Or it’s simply the typical culture of excuses based on presumption and superficial, novice-level, reasoning.

Let’s take the biggest ‘shocker‘ here: the Portland Timbers result.

I’m the first to say anything can happen in a game. And I’m also the first to caution against single match analysis without witnessing the game. For all we know Portland could have demonstrated clear superiority for 90 minutes and PSA Elite had a couple breaks on the counter.

What concerns me is the silence and lack of attempt at genuine inquiry.

I want to hear loud and important questions like:

• Does Portland care about its U23′s? How fucking much?
• Does Portland have the best coach possible for the U23′s? How do you know? What was the criteria?
• Is Portland going balls out to get the best possible players? If not, why not?
• Who selects Portland’s players?
• How were player selections done?
• Who’s PSA Elite’s coach?
• Who are PSA Elite’s players?
• Who selected PSA Elite’s players?

and a crap load of other things.

I can hear the responses now, and they’re too fucking simple people. Think bigger! Think deeper!

Is this the case?

That’s what I want to know. And that’s what you should want to know and demand!

No lame ass, weak ass, novice-level and presumptuous excuses. Not only do you not learn anything from that, but you continue to give an easy ‘pass’ to the US Soccer pyramid. You say you want progress, but you’re actually just complicit with the status quo.

You people are mediocre. Why aren’t you striving for excellence?

Can you tell I’m pissed?

Imagine how ballistic I’ll be if either of these no-name teams manages to oust their next opponent.

Cal FC faces the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL Pro).
PSA Elite faces the Carolina Railhawks (NASL)

Here’s the complete Lamar Hunt US Open Cup bracket.

p.s. Is Eric Wynalda out to prove something? Hmmm …

In the US, people point to “culture” as our fundamental impediment to excellence.

And the arguments come in many flavors. But what they say essentially boils down to one theme:

Numbers

We don’t have the numbers, they say.

• Numbers in terms of audience
• Numbers in terms of consumers
• Numbers in terms of money
• Numbers in terms of “best athletes” (whatever that means)
• Numbers in terms of how many years MLS (or any infrastructure) has been around

They argue that if we did have the numbers (always sold out stadiums, NFL level TV audiences, MLB level player salaries, a 70 year old league instead of 19, etc …), that would change everything. Our problem of mediocrity would be solved.

Wrong!

So what’s England’s problem? They have it all!

And yet. And yet the English player and team is no Spain, Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France, or even Germany.

Why?
Because the real cultural problem is not about the numbers!
It’s a fundamental and personal socio-economic issue. It’s in the attitude and the way of life.

p.s.  I’ll be writing dozens of articles on this topic. It’s huge, and riddled with loads of things people are frankly blind to, or scared to talk about. Help get me started with your contributions.

Rite of Passage

Until you cry for a team, you probably don’t have what it takes.

Not as a player, not as a coach, not as a fan, not as a reporter, not as anyone.

It means you don’t feel this game in your soul, it means you don’t understand the genuine emotional labor involved and the sacrifice, it means you lack skin in the game.

And without that, why would you go the distance? Why would you pursue and explore the tiniest of details? How can you be devoted to excellence?

I don’t think the point is getting across.

As it relates to a post, let me just say that it’s ok if a reader “doesn’t get it“. People can’t be convinced or changed with a solitary article – not at their core anyways.

Every time I write one of these, my brain screams:

• “Oh, but what about this?”
• “And I should tell them about that detail!”
• “And how about all these other supporting arguments?”
• “Oh … this is the perfect opportunity to show them why they’re misguided.”
• …

this goes on and on and on.

Pretty soon you realize you need a book, or manifesto, to do a good job of transmitting a block of thought. And hence standing a chance of changing someone in some way.

But … a blog (and its comments) can act as a sort of IV drip.
Small and consistent units of nutrition that by themselves accomplish little, but over time compound. And that can be powerful.

Be careful whose needle you stick yourself with.

1. their soccer age
2. their global soccer literacy
3. their racial, cultural, or national prejudice

Soccer Age

How long you’ve been involved in the game, plain and simple. If you’re fairly new, say within the past 10 years, it’s quite easy to fall into the trap of thinking this is just a “fad”. This group went from not having this ridiculously dominant Barcelona, and hence no mainstream talk of possession, to the rise of perhaps the greatest team of all time. And the consequent rise of the term possession splashed all over the place.

Thus the perception of a “fad”, or some transient style of play that will go the way of the dodo when Barcelona is dethroned.

Global Soccer Literacy

In general, this could be a tough one if you’re not multi-lingual or multi-cultural. In other words, pure Americana / English.

Anyways, it means you have been mostly stuck with the EPL, MLS, and all accompanying English language media. The precise culture that historically does not place a premium on retention of the ball. Sure, you may watch La Liga, Serie A, Champions League, or whatever … but who are you listening to during pre-game, game, half-time, and post-game? Who’s primarily writing the stuff you’re reading?

And that’s what you’ve been ingesting for years, either as a player, fan, parent, or coach in this country. That’s all you’ve been swimming in!

What this group does not understand is that “possession” has been an emphasis of every traditional soccer power (except England and to a notable degree Germany) forever. And finally, even those countries seem to be biting the bullet and adjusting their fundamental philosophies (or at least the discussions are certainly taking place). How long will it take the US?

Prejudice

Let’s not pretend it doesn’t exist at the racial, cultural, or national level.

A Litmus Test:

If you hear anyone so much as hint at possession being some transient phenomena, you shouldn’t be learning from them.

I’m dead serious!

The majority of you likely joined us after the U11 video. That means the chunk of posts you’ve seen since, have been about kids playing soccer and our trip to Spain. So cute youth soccer stuff.

Well, you’re in for a big ass shock if you think that’s what this site’s about.

You’re not going to be getting little heart-warming stories about kids playing this game, and silly “youth soccer development logic”, or the mindless parroting of what perceived US Soccer authorities say.

Not at all!

You know what you’re likely to get here instead?

Consistent slaps of cold hard truth across your face. Yep, that sounds about right.

You’ve decided to subscribe to a site that’s unlike anything in the country. First and foremost, the things that are written here don’t come from reporters or “fans” of the game who for whatever reason chose to write about the sport.

The stuff that’s spit out here comes from a totally different place. It comes from deep within our soul. And it comes from people who actually know what the f they are talking about. Wait! Not just talk, but actually produce. You’ve seen it right? Well that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

Oh yeah, and if you can’t handle the occasional f-bomb, just unsubscribe right now and go read some clueless material elsewhere. There’s thousands of banal, innocuous, and totally clueless media to choose from. But hey, at least their vocabulary is filtered.

Even Worse than F-bombs

Something else you must be able to stomach – and far more threatening – is a likely head-on collision in worldview. Not just a soccer specific one. A general one.

You know why?

This is threatening because you will be challenged at the core of your beliefs. And that’s going to make you angry. Insulted even.

So there it is guys

Think you can handle this?
Think you can lower your defensive barriers?
Think you can make a concerted effort to not rationalize things so that your worldview remains intact?

You sure you want to stick around?
Now’s your chance to jump ship and continue living in your comfortable soccer pigeonhole.

Oh and before I forget and you conveniently label all this as X or Y, I don’t do this for shock value. This is what’s in my belly when talking about the sport!

So if you’ve made it this far, here’s another crucial takeaway in regards to soccer development at all levels:

Peace.

Coaching is an art!

How do you capture this art?

People have been asking me for ‘curriculum’ and things detailing what it is we do. How do we produce our end product they say. Here’s a quickie from our State Cup final:

If you can’t see the video, click here.

They seem to think there’s a cookbook to make this happen, a recipe that can be followed. And that we’re not sharing for whatever reason.

John Pranjic, a longtime 3four3 contributor, happened to be in Southern California yesterday and chose to attend our Sunday training session with the U11′s. He wrote the following:

I think I can speak for Gary and say that they aren’t hiding anything or keeping any secrets! It’s all out in the open and ready to spread like wildfire. I was in the area this morning and Gary invited me out to watch the teams train. All access, right on the touchline.

I don’t think a video or series of videos will ever be able to capture the overall experience that these kids and coaches get. There is too much to capture! I used to be one to beg Gary to post videos and he would always respond with things like “it’s a monumental task” and “I’m not sure what type of hack job I’d do at it.” I completely understand after visiting today’s session.

Sure, he can film a training exercise and write out the dimensions of the grid, # of players, and some rules of the game, but it will never mimic the live product. You can’t capture intensity on tape. Unless you can hear the 10 year old boy panting as he is making his runs… the video will never do his effort full justice. And I bet most people would be shocked at the way the coaches interact with players. You wouldn’t fully understand unless you saw every little interaction- during an exercise, between exercises, and off to the side. (BTW… Amazing how much respect these kids have for the staff!)

Coaching points are good to hear, but the coaching points he gives his boys won’t apply to many/all other teams. He can demand certain things because his players are capable of certain things. His coaching points are specific to his teams/players needs. I for one can’t just go back and say the things I heard to my teams. They wouldn’t make sense. It all goes back to creating your own identity and philosophy as a coach. A series of videos and info will only help if you can use them to mold something of your own. You can’t just replicate it.

With that said- I do look forward to seeing what Gary and the crew come up with as far as a curriculum. I know it’s not going to be one big show and tell session. And I know that it will definitely demand us to think! I’m excited. Hopefully my ugly face didn’t make it onto the tape today! 

Thanks again for the invite, Gary! Another life changing moment provided by 3four3!

With the release of our U11 video showcasing unseen before soccer in the States, and the subsequent chronicling of our younger U10s and those U11s competing in Barcelona, I’ve been bombarded with emails from coaches, DOCs, and parents from across the country (internationally even). Our club president, Paul Walker, has been receiving inquiries about our program as well.

Thank you all for your gift of spreading the word!

But what’s going on with our program in Southern California doesn’t have to stay here. We can bring the program to you too!

Let’s Collaborate!

Six other clubs around the country have partnered up with us, and are now enjoying the benefits of the Barcelona-USA Collaboration Program.

Northern California
Arizona
Nevada
Texas
Ohio
New York

One caveat and benefit: All of our partner’s enjoy exclusivity within their own state and no other Club will have the ability to collaborate with us within it (Exception: California & Texas). Furthermore, each of our partner’s can expand their own programs within their own state.

Click on the map to find out more.