Home Forums Long Island & Eastern New York Soccer Message Boards BOTN Main Message Board United States 'arrogance' rotting American soccer's youth system

The United States' youth soccer system is rotting because of "arrogant" parents, according to the coaching director of Eastern New York Youth Soccer.

USMNT youth pipeline imperfect

Kids who stay in U.S. often stall

"Arrogance" a big issue

WHAT HAPPENED? USMNT star Gio Reyna's family scandal - in which an investigation found inappropriate and overbearing actions from his parents towards U.S. Soccer when he was a youth player - was a very public example of the American youth system at its worst. According to Tim Bradbury, the director of coaching for the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association, it's a pervasive problem at every level.

Bradbury advocates for youth coaches to have proper training and licensing but has experienced parents thinking they know better than him, which along with pay-to-play driven inequalities negatively influences youth soccer development.

WHAT THEY SAID: "One of the things that has always baffled me about the United States is the arrogance and absolute belief that many youth sports parents have that they have been ordained experts in a chosen sport as they have watched some games," he wrote in a column for Front Row Soccer.

He added: "A few clubs and communities have, of course, taken the opportunity to call and tell me how wrong we are to suggest that every travel age player deserves a qualified coach."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: While there have been some recent success stories of players remaining in the U.S. as minors and eventually coming up through MLS academies, many other kids quit the sport or stagnate because of poor leadership.

WHAT NEXT? Because the problems in youth soccer reflect broader concerns in the U.S. that extend to other sports such as AAU culture in basketball, it will be difficult to improve the path for young kids to develop as soccer players in a safe, fun and affordable environment.

Not for nothing I would think the bigger problem is Eastern New York scraping the bottom of the barrel with Tim Bradbury as the Director of coaching! Talk about a shortcoming in a lack of leadership. My goodness.

Touché

Yes, the whole soccer world should be run like ENYYSA. LOL

Blabberberry??? He's the definition of arrogant jackass. Mr "I'm against tournaments for youth players" always had his HBC teams at tournaments. DOC of ENYYSA? Never present at ODP tryouts, allowed EM coaches to be ODP coaches and politic the system.
Maybe, just maybe, there are those of us parents who do understand the game. Grew up in it with parents who played overseas. And yes Mr Blabberbery some of us have a USSF coaching license - which is laughed at across the world.
So stop bitching about the system and help bring change since you know so much.

These are the same arrogant parents that make up the board of his beloved East Meadow as well as the other surrounding clubs that subscribe to ENYYSA. If Tim was serious about advocating for a change then maybe he needs to start within and shake down his bedfellows first. Send that message to other clubs that he is serious about the corrupt greedy few that is staining LI soccer. Stop with the lip service Tim.

Well if anyone would know about arrogance, it's Tim Bradbury...

The bigger problem is parent's delusional expectations and naive throwing of $ at the latest and greatest trainer with the best accent and promises of fame and fortune for their kids...

If he doesn't like the system here, and as a district DOC he won't lead to make changes, maybe he should take his fat ass back home and not take the US dollar from these "arrogant" parents.

I remember when TB was much younger and thought he was a good player. He was as awful a player as he is a coach and a person but thought he was good! I guess some things never change. ENYYSA should be embarrassed with their selection of DOC. His opinions of parents and soccer in general is worthless as he is no example anybody should be following. Bad move ENYYSA for hiring this clown and allowing him to even make a comment is beyond me. Just another POS stealing money from Americans. Go home loser!

Peaked with NOGA 25 years ago

Just amazingly narcissistic for a so called “soccer authority” who has apparently made a decent living off of the youth soccer industrial complex to insult and offend the very customer base that has provided him the market that he profits from.

This is further evidence that many, many snake oil salesman have no respect for the parents they depend on for a living.

It is astounding when you see people publicly sabotage their careers by posting ill mannered comments directed at the very people that provide them with a living. If a Coach has a problem with parents would it not be wiser to just lead by example and talk directly to them about what is appropriate behavior and what will not be tolerated?

Wow. talk about the pot and the kettle.
My kids had the full Tim experience and for him to call anyone else arrogant is beyond hypocrisy. He had the luxury of having some of the best talent ever to come across a Long Island soccer field and he nearly ruined them. (ask Crystal Dunn) His overall arrogance concerning his apparent knowledge of the game led to the no-scoring NOGA teams that counted touches and connected passes. God forbid anyone (coach, assistant, parent or player) ask about actually winning a game and he would go off about stupid Americans. Very few, if any players were ever "developed'" under NOGA. Did NYS even check his resume before offering him this position?

On a related note, its nice to see he is still as arrogant as ever and blaming the stupid parents for his shortcomings.

Stated perfectly! Can only speak to our experience at SUSA and East Meadow but both these organizations are run very poorly. SUSA is far worse in our experience and how they treat some families and their kids is shameful. I have noticed who they artificially place above kids who are clearly more talented is based on what that family does for them first and if that family has ever wronged SUSA in their clouded judgement or the coach was told to be spiteful to a family. That last bit of info is from a current and another ex-coach who actually have a conscious.

There is a reason he has no respect for the parents - they are the lemmings that have bought all the snake oil and turned the LI Soccer Landscape into a dump.

PS - I issued a yellow card to Mr Bradbury a few years ago for dissent. Very disrespectful on the sideline.

If your kid is really looking to make it, get him/her out of the country. College soccer is another US joke !