Sorry. I misinterpreted what you wrote
by Steelhop (2020-10-08 12:43:26)

In reply to: I didn't say all kids will turn to soccer.  posted by NDMike2001

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But, I also don't think you right in the sense that youth soccer is at some tipping point of acceptance at the millenial level (though I might be misunderstanding your point).

Youth soccer has been at about the 3 million or above participants since the late 90s (likely from the 94 WC games). I'm not sure what else can happen for it to grow more.

I lived all over the place growing up in the US. I always played soccer and baseball in every place I lived until 7th grade. It was just something to keep me busy. In 7th grade, my parents finally relented and let me play football. I then moved to MD and started playing lacrosse. So I guess what I am getting at is that if soccer isn't at some tipping point, I doubt it ever will. This isn't to say soccer won't be part of the sports landscape but that other sports come along. I know flag football has exploded in the last 10 years so while the thought is it might be soccer as the move for many parents - my guess is kids will go to something else...as I said lacrosse or flag football or who knows.



I’m referring to the Millennial’s kids.
by NDMike2001  (2020-10-08 20:54:44)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

This generation of parents will be the first ones to really live through the growth of the popularity of professional soccer in the US. Games from the top leagues, in particular EPL, are easy to access and the stars like Messi and Ronaldo are household names.
Soccer is easily the most popular sport in the world. It stands to reason that it would catch on at some point.

participant growth not the same as professional development
by turtle17  (2020-10-08 15:49:24)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I'm personally not sure participant growth is that related to development of professional level players. It isn't unrelated, but I tend to think the key factor is a combination of soccer match attendance, eyeballs on games on TV, and realistically for today's media market views on social media. That can drive the money which can incentivize development of future professional players as compared to incentivizing pay for play.

To answer what can change for soccer given flat long-term participation, one possibility is a new generation can make it a sport they follow similarly to the way other big sports are followed in the US. Of course, people have been talking about this for a long time.