Pitch Perspectives

Grassroots Youth

Future Beckham?

David Beckham was at the age of 14 when he signed a youth training contract with Manchester United. Other players such as Rinaldinho and Wayne Rooney have developed through similar programs at a young age. The rewards of teams having developing players are endless.

This year Major League Soccer is requiring every team to have their youth programs in place; a U-15 and U-18 squad. Only positives can come out these youth development programs as we have seen in the past and will soon see in the near future.

Having a Beckham, Rindaldinho, or Rooney come up through a clubs system is of course the ultimate goal. But it’s more than the increased transfer fees that will occur through "development costs" and waiting around for the next All-Star. Those all are great things but the investment pays off in different ways.

These initiatives will bring the culture of a club face to face with each community. Young players will be exposed to the clubs traditions, goals, and values. Long-term fans and support in the area where each club resides will inevitably grow through this and forevermore connect the club to the community.

The last breed of critics that claim soccer in America can only be played at a youth level will finally be silenced. On ESPN Radio the other day they spoke quickly about Beckham and even implied soccer being a game for 'younger kids'.

Well now, in American sports, this youth development initiative is a first and will have people turning their heads. Not baseball, football, or basketball has enacted such a comprehensive youth development program. Each youth will have a defined road to follow to become a professional player through the MLS club itself.

Red Bull New York, for example, is using a pyramid format in their current system with the first two bottom tiers being paid training programs and the two middle parts acted as the academy and reserve team. All these, of course, eventually feeding into the first team. The paid training programs or camps will cancel out the cost of the academy team. It’s basic training that leads to the player identification which will help lure back the youth who once wandered off into other sports and make soccer more relevant for them.

Building these programs in communities from the ground up will without doubt increase the teams exposure in communities and grow the fan base. Soccer, in general, has an innate ability to turn people on and become addicted to it. After all, it is the worlds game and when America's youth, the fundamental part of soccer in America, gets passionate about it and is leading the cheers at the Dynamo games then you know the system has been successful and they have captured the underlying and invisible meaning of soccer.

These are the kinds of ingredients that may allow MLS to have the edge in what is a competitive sports entertainment market in America.