It’s been called “historic”, “seismic”, even a “reshaping” of the sport, but what does the integration, or really acquisition, of
US Youth Soccer (USYS) by US Soccer really mean? What will that really do for the youth soccer landscape?
US Soccer laid out a series of goals that it feels it will accomplish:
- Create more access to play through investments in growing the game in communities across the country.
- Make soccer easier to navigate so families can find the experience that is right for them.
- Bring more resources to local soccer and the organizations serving players every day.
- Better support coaches, referees, clubs and leagues with the tools and resources they need to deliver great soccer experiences.
- Create clearer opportunities for players to develop and reach their potential in the game.
- Better connect the organizations across American soccer so more time and resources can be focused on serving and growing the game.
It then mentions the takeover of the ODP program and Presidents Cups.
As I read the series of reactions to this news across various sports media platforms, I just kept coming back to a scene from Friends where they are all contemplating their life plans and Monica asks Phoebe “do you have a plan?” Of which, Phoebe very frankly responds “I don’t even have a PLA let alone a PLAN.”
This huge change is supposed to occur in two years…yet to date there really is no laid out PLAN. Which leaves me questioning if this is going to be like when the DA disappeared overnight during COVID, leaving teams leagueless and scrambling while also dealing with trying with a safe return to play? Or when we switched our age groups to align with the rest of the world’s competitive structure (birth year), only to switch back to school year 10 years later? I’ve found these restructuring decisions are often made by those who aren’t on the ground, working in this space day in and day out, and who will feel the biggest impact of this integration. I’m hoping for a better future, but we really don't know?
Open ended questions:
- What happens to the 54 state associations? US Soccer has made reference to needing regional support in the future, but how much?
- What happens to the regional leagues? Regional competitive structure?
- How does US Club? AYSO? SAY Soccer? And others factor into this.
- What happens to the vendor relationships?
- This one is really tough given that about 50% of the USYS state associations just moved over their registration platforms with the consolidation of technology solutions in the space over the past year
- What happens to the local soccer clubs? Who's going to help them with these changes, whatever they may be?
And the kicker on top of it (yes pun intended) is that even the state associations themselves who voted for this integration (which is not saying they shouldn’t have as there were many reasons as to why they did vote in favor) don’t even know what’s next.
Per MSYSA, in a recent
news release:
“For MSYSA and our members, business continues as usual. Our State Association, clubs, leagues, programs, competitions, and membership services remain in place and will continue without interruption. “
So it’s BAU for now….and I guess time will tell.
I hope we do learn more soon, but until then I’m with Phoebe…maybe let’s start with the PLA and then we’ll go from there.
