Submitted by RG, Nov 21, 2006 23:52

My son chose to attend college after returning from a year at a pro club in europe while still in high school. After watching the D1 teams that he will be playing against and with, I am very saddened.

In one year's time in a concentrated environment of total quality soccer (and school), his game developed tremendously. The strides he made in his decision making was the most profound. His creativity improved, his technical skills improved...even his pace improved although he was already fairly above average in that area. He improved his overall game so much that he was invited to continue his training for another year as a possible candidate for the senior team's reserves.

Now as I watch the college game, it reminds me of a rougher, more physical style of high school soccer, where the disparity of the skill level and experience was enormous. The emphasis of most college teams is physical, strong, and fast. Tactical technical and creative are not necessarily the characteristics most college coaches are looking for in their recruits. It is a rare occasion to watch a team that can actually connect more than one pass to each other on an offensive run. It is even more rare to find players with the flair to use their honed skills to nutmeg or fake out an opponent, let alone find the back of the net as they find themselves remotely close to the goal.

Just as some US players are finding it crucial to their game to play where the competition is, it is as imperative that US coaches (especially college ) learn from their professional counterparts in South america and europe. If they can absorb and convey to their college team, even an iota of the lessons from the soccer masters in these parts of the world, our soccer league will continue to suffer with fan apathy , poor quality soccer, zero entertainment value, and low revenues.

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