Song sheets handed out at the NYCFC game.

Some of the best national teams in the world are full of players playing abroad

... and they also come from countries that treat soccer seriously enough to scout at the age of 5 "because" soccer is their number one, if not one of their top sports. That's a rather glaringly important distinction.

Growth of our national league (MLS) = growth of American soccer = growth of our youth development system

Let's not be dense ... our youth development system has historically been crap largely because so few Americans care about the game, therefore the money and interest have not been there until recently to improve the infrastructure for youth development.

Meanwhile, the rise of MLS is changing the state of our youth development more so than any other singular force: by raising the popularity of the game among our current youth (as it's the primary platform to hold their interest for watching soccer between World Cups), by providing the necessary platform for our young athletes to aspire to reach in order to make a profitable living without needing to travel abroad away from their friends and families, and most importantly ... by DIRECTLY leading the charge on our youth development system through professional MLS club affiliated academies for our young athletes.

Is the MLS perfect, fuck no. Do we need MLS academies to start development younger, hell yes (and NYCFC is actually pushing aiding development down to U-9, which hopefully catches on around other MLS clubs). If you don't see the very real connection between the growth in our national league and the growth in our youth development system ... then please, with all kindness intended, get your head out of your ass :)

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